Page 58 of Touchdown

The mind was screaming, “Do something! Think of something! Fast!”

The physical plant was whimpering, “Just let me die in peace.”

Screw that. Nobody's dying in peace until I have Noah back to safety.

Shorty kicked at me. Helpful guy. I bared my fangs at him as I pushed myself back to my feet. If I stood a little bow-legged, I could brace myself against the rising waves. The ocean had been quiet for most of the day, but now it was getting restless.

Was it stirred up by the wind from the chopper blades? Or was there a new weather system on its way? Who knew, not me.

“Sit down,” Tall said.

I didn't. “Wait. I want to get something straight here.”

“I ain't got time for your...”

“Oh, I think maybe you do. We could settle this right now. A minute ago, didn't you say, ‘hostages?’ I think maybe what we have here is a big fat misunderstanding. You could drop me off at the nearest port of call right now and be on your way.”

He snorted. “Dream on.”

“No, really. Kidnapping me is a complete waste of time. My people don't have any money. I'm a scholarship kid. You should have taken somebody who was in the NFL. Those guys have millions.”

He snorted again. The hovering helicopters were descending several notches. The resulting wind and noise made further conversation impossible. Hell, it made holding your eyes open impossible.

I wondered why the Zodiac wasn't moving. It didn't seem like a great idea to stay parked under this mess. The two helicopters continued to circle each other in a threatening manner. Nobody had opened fire, but it was only a matter of time.

Or so I thought.

Until, quite suddenly, one of them took off like a streak.

What happened? Where was our aerial battle? What had they negotiated?

I did sit down then, hard, almost in Noah's lap. He curled an arm around me. Whatever this was, he wasn't alone anymore.

We watched Tall text away on his device.

“What's going on?” Noah finally shouted over the roar of the remaining chopper. “Somebody mind telling us?”

“You're our ticket out, buddy,” Tall said. “More than that, you don't need to know.”

“Wait,” I said. “You're trading us for a way out of here? What if we don't agree to be traded away to some unknown clowns we never met before?”

Clowns may not have been the most tactful word. Shorty spat at me. “Looks to me like you're the clown, smart guy. What made you think you get a vote?”

Chapter 41

“Wake up.” A soft, sweet, urgent whisper. “Slate. Wake up.” Nobody in this world owned a whisper that beautiful.

Except for one man.

Noah.

I felt warmth and softness. Smelled spring-fresh laundry and freshly washed man. We were together in a big wide bed. Oh, I could so get used to this. The two of us together floating in the dark.

“Slate.” A hand on my bare shoulder, warm and strong where it squeezed. “Wake up now.”

I slowly blinked open my eyes. The room was as dark as before. “What?” I murmured. “Where are we?”

“We're all right. It's safe here.” Noah nuzzled at the back of my neck. “But do you really want to sleep the morning away?”

---