A/N: And here comes chapter 8 ... meet bossy Isabel (again ...)
Thanks to everyone who's reading – looking forward to your comments :)
X
Chapter 8: What Happened To The Helicopter?
Philip wondered if they were finally getting close to the lake as he jogged after Isabel. They must have run about three miles when the path had started to slope upward – very slightly at first but getting steeper after a bit. Isabel was still making a good pace, making Philip feel quite glad for the training he had done at school for Mr Mills' relay race. Otherwise, he might have had to give up by now. He could feel his heart thumping in his chest, and there was an uncomfortable ringing tone in his ears that wouldn't go away.
Suddenly Isabel stopped just before a broad rock that was blocking their way. Philip nearly ran her into her, but he too stopped just in time. He needed a moment to catch his breath so he leaned against a thick tree and mopped his forehead on the fabric of his shirt, pulling it up to his face. Jogging uphill at Isabel's speed had gotten him sweaty even if the morning sun wasn't very strong yet. Isabel watched him with a lopsided smirk.
'Beyond that rock the path falls steeply downhill towards the lake where their water plane is parked,' she said. 'From this point on we must be very cautious.' She wrinkled her brows. 'Let's just start by getting a good look at the scene. I bet they'll be in hurry, now that they know you four are free.'
'And you probably can't just go down and say it was all just an unfortunate misunderstanding, for they won't trust you anymore after you disappeared at the same time as we did,' Philip concluded.
'Why, you're super clever, aren't you?' replied Isabel sneerily. She felt sorry for it a moment later and apologised. 'Never mind my snappish comments – I know I'm being a prickly little beast at times,' she said to him very quietly. 'It's how you learn to behave as an only girl among loads of men in the police force.'
Philip grinned at her. 'Oh, don't worry – I've got Dinah for a sister, so I'd know about prickly. Besides, I don't think you are. Prickly, I mean.' He hoped he didn't blush at saying that last bit, but his cheeks felt hot. He decided to blame it on all the exertion that morning.
Isabel grinned back at him. 'We'll see what you'll say in a few hours.' Then she became very serious again. 'And just to be clear on this – between you and me, and for as long as we're here, I'm to be the boss. You'll do everything I say, the way I say it. There are to be no stunts and no funny ideas on your part – Klaus and the others won't hesitate to hurt anyone that comes in their way.' She made a long pause, looking genuinely worried. 'Don't let me regret my decision to take you. – And now up onto the rock you get! Come over, I'll give you a leg up.'
Philip shook his head indignantly. 'I'm heavy' he said, 'you'll never manage.'
But she let out a snort and then gave him a very stern look. 'I'm the boss, remember? And now hurry up and don't be stupid. I'm a strong girl; you're most certainly not too heavy for me to help you up on that little piece of stone, I'll promise.'
The rock was too high and its surface too smooth to climb up without help. Isabel linked her hands together and held them out for Philip to put a foot into. With a sigh he relented, and she did give him a very good push upward. She was quite a strong girl indeed! As soon as he was safely up, lying on his tummy, he wriggled around to face her and held out his hands to pull her up as well.
They lay side by side flat on their tummies, looking down on a huge lake that lay in a rocky valley. This lake was less accessible than the one where Philip, Jack and Lucy-Ann had spent their first night on this adventure – this one was mostly surrounded by rather steep and rocky slopes that were hugely overgrown with bushes and fern. It was also outside the park boundaries and no hiking map had a path marked to come here. It was a very lonely place – and perfect one to hide one's theft in a cave.
A water plane sat on the lake's surface on the opposite side and not far from it lay a small motor boat on the lake's edge. Behind the boat, Philip could see the narrow entrance to a cave in the rocks and out of the opening came one of the villains now. He seemed to be carrying something heavy, which he put into the boat.
'What is it they've hidden in the cave?' asked Philip, watching curiously as the man hoisted his bag into the motorboat. 'It certainly doesn't look like it's banknotes – it seems to be a lot heavier than that!'
'It's gold,' said Isabel. 'We've raided the banks for gold. One of us would let themselves get locked in at night, turn off the alarm and let the others in. We would carry all the gold out of the storages and leave in the dark of the night. The last attempt failed, though. Klaus – the one locked in – couldn't find a way to open the doors for us. He hid in the vault until we managed to get him out in the morning by threatening the bank staff with our guns.'
Philip let out a low whistle. 'Golly – that explains a lot!' he said.
Isabel nodded. 'Yes, we really had to make a run for it. It was my idea to try and get into the station building next door to the bank and take hostages there to make an escape.' Again, she paused, glancing at him and looking abashed. 'So I am the one to be blamed for getting the four of you into this situation in the first place. I'm sorry.'
'Well, never mind – this isn't our first adventure. Besides, we're all still pretty much unharmed,' replied Philip, trying to cheer her up. But then he thought of Bill and couldn't stop himself from adding, 'except for our friend Bill, of course.'
Isabel looked thoroughly guilty when he mentioned Bill. 'I'm dreadfully sorry about that, too,' she said, avoiding his eyes. 'But for what it's worth, he wasn't harmed very badly. He'll be in pain for a while and his shoulder will be stiff, but the bullet went straight through it. It wasn't life threatening. You see, we really couldn't take him with us, the helicopter was too crowded already and there was really a little too much weight on it as well.'
'Where is the helicopter, by the way?' asked Philip.
'I'm afraid we sank it into the lake,' Isabel explained. 'It was clear we couldn't take it for our last journey – we needed a plane to get out of the country with all that gold, so we had to dispose of the helicopter.'
'It's in the lake?' Philip could hardly believe his ears. He stared at the smooth surface of the water down below and couldn't imagine that there should be the helicopter deep down beyond it!
'I'm afraid so,' said Isabel.
'Gracious!'
'Now, let's stop worrying about that for a bit. We need to think up a plan of what to do,' said Isabel. 'I have to get on board that plane and see if there's any hint to what destination they're headed. Or if there's any information about their boss on board. That's the most I can do now.' She wrinkled her brows, thinking it through.
So did Philip. 'First thing we'll have to take away their boat,' he concluded. 'They won't be able to move more of the gold into the plane without it. It's too heavy to swim with it.'
'But we also need to keep them busy, while I'm searching the plane,' Isabel added thoughtfully. 'On the other hand I don't really want you too near to them – they're armed, as you know. And even if none of them has an interest to become a murderer, a gunshot wound is painful – even if it isn't mortal.'
'Gosh, I'd rather not try it out,' said Philip, paling at the thought. He squinted his eyes at the strengthening sunlight that blinded him, while watching as now three of the remaining villains entered the motor boat and steered it to the plane. He wondered where the fourth was, but forgot about it when a sudden idea popped into his head.
'I could steal their boat, couldn't I?' he suggested. 'While they're in the cave I could unbind it and take it out to the middle of the lake.' He grinned and gave Isabel a light nudge in his excitement. 'Then I should be able to steer it up and down the lake and they'll be quite busy trying to figure out how to get it back from me. I don't suppose they'll shoot, they can't risk accidentally sinking their boat!'
Isabel considered the idea. 'I say, this might really work,' she said approvingly. She studied the embankment along the lake from the spot just below their rock all the way to the cave where the gold was hidden. The entrance to it was nearly inaccessible for there was no path leading to it. 'We must get as close as possible to the cave. Except for the last bit, we can easily move along the brink, then you'll have to climb over the cliffs for a bit or swim to the boat. We'll be hidden from their sight behind trees and bushes for most of the time – they won't see us if we keep low and stay very cautious.'
Philip nodded in agreement.
Shading her eyes from the sunlight, Isabel pointed out and added, 'See that ledge down there, not far from the entrance to the cave, just above the water? I'll swim to the plane from there. You can climb or swim from there as well to get to the boat. Whatever you think you'll be faster with.'
'Golly – this is getting really exciting,' said Philip, feeling slightly nervous at the task that lay ahead of him. His pulse felt to be up to double speed and his palms were sweaty. But he was determined to not let Isabel notice. 'Shall we then?' He gave her a look.
Isabel sighed deeply. 'I do hope I won't regret taking you,' she said once more, rolling her eyes, but then she nodded in agreement. 'Come on then, we'll have to hurry – it's quite a long way to the ledge. We'll have to round the lake halfway.' She grinned at his face as he realised they would be running again, but this time with their knees bent and their heads held low! 'Good thing, we're quite in shape, isn't it?'
'I shan't be able to walk properly for a long time after this adventure is over – I'll be too stiff,' said Philip as he carefully climbed down the rock and into the thick undergrowth that grew along the slope.
Isabel chuckled. 'You're doing well so far – in case that helps. And now hurry up!'
Off they went. Philip was thankfully for the fact that their way led them mostly downhill this time. He certainly couldn't have run another mile uphill. Isabel kept stopping now and again to peer through the bushes and trees and see if the men had disappeared back into the cave yet. At first Philip also stopped every time she stopped, but she urged him to run on, for she easily caught up with him every time.
Finally they had almost reached the ledge from where they could jump into the water. Once there they would be in plain sight so before moving out of their coverage Isabel stopped behind a thick bush. They men had just disappeared inside the cave again. 'Now or never,' she whispered to Philip and started stripping off her clothes.
Philip who had decided that he would swim as well to where the boat lay, also pulled off his shirt and shoes. He was a good swimmer and although he was a little tired already from all the running, he was sure he would be faster that way than by climbing over the cliffs. He left his shorts on, hoping they wouldn't get in the way of passing the distance as quickly as possible. He told himself that dipping into the refreshing coolness of the water would be enjoyable. All the exertion of the past hours had made him feel very hot and sweaty.
Isabel was already in her underwear, and Philip couldn't help giving her a curious look. He thought that she was very muscular for a woman, and although he wasn't sure if he liked that on a girl he couldn't help being impressed! She caught him staring and grinned.
'What? Have you never seen a girl in her underwear before?'
He had – for he had a sister – but none like Isabel!
She didn't give him time to answer anyway. 'Hurry now, Philip, or we'll be too late. And I don't want you to be in any more danger than you are already just because we tarried too long!'
They dived into the water and began to swim. After a couple of yards their ways separated and Isabel crawled over to the plane while Philip passed on to the boat. Getting on board was a bit of a challenge, for after swimming his arms felt a little tired too, but he managed, panting heavily. He untied the boat and then found the starter – and with a roar the motor came to life.
Not a second too early! The moment Philip steered the boat into cover behind the plane the men came rushing out of the cave, shouting angrily. But as expected, they didn't dare to shoot for as long as the boat moved. The couldn't aim at a moving target and there was a chance that they might hit and thereby sink the boat!
Looking back over his shoulder, Philip still counted only three of the men. Wherever was the fourth?
