“He’s probably still at the terminal, checking the weather,” Peaches said.
Max looked out a window. “He could do that from here,” he said. “It’s a beautiful day.”
“The weather in New York, I mean.”
“Oh. Well, if he can see what the weather is in New York from the terminal, he’s got better eyes than I have. I can barely see the terminal.”
“You better check the rear of the plane,” Peaches said.
Max moved on, toward the rear of the plane, then disappeared into a rear compartment.
He checked the lavatory, then the baggage compartment. Both were empty. Next, he opened a small door marked: ‘Danger-Do Not Open.’
A bland, unsmiling face appeared. “Hello, Max.”
“Agent 44! What are you doing back here?”
“On duty, Max.”
“Good fella!” Max peered through the opening. “What’s in this compartment?”
“A lot of wires,” 44 replied. “I think they control the plane.”
“Hmmmm. All right. But don’t fiddle with anything. It could be dangerous. They ought to put a warning sign on the door to this compartment.”
Max returned to the cabin and buckled himself into the seat next to Peaches.
“Did you find anything?” she asked.
“You wouldn’t believe it.”
“Try me.”
“Would you believe me if I told you I found Agent 44 hiding in the little compartment that contains the wires that control the plane?”
“Hardly.”
“Would you believe Agent 22?”
“No.”
“Agent 11?”
Peaches did not get a chance to reply. At that moment, they heard a sound behind them-the sound of hearty laughter. And, turning, they saw that the pilot had entered the plane. He moved toward them along the aisle.
“Ho! Ho! Ho!” he laughed. He was plump, and looked like a typical airline pilot.
“What’s so funny?” Max asked.
“ ’Tis the season to be jolly.”
Max peered at him closely. “Are you sure you know how to fly a plane?”
“Positive,” the pilot replied. “Although, frankly, I prefer reindeer.”
Max turned to Peaches. “I’ve seen that face somewhere before,” he whispered.
“I think-”
But the pilot broke in. “All ready to fly, are you?”
“Have you checked the weather in New York?” Max asked.
“I can’t see New York from here,” the pilot replied. “I can barely see the terminal.”
“That’s what I told her,” Max said, indicating Peaches. “But she had some crazy idea that-”
“Fasten Seat Belts,” the pilot said, breaking in again.
“Don’t you have a co-pilot?” Max asked.
The pilot shook his head. “They’re too much trouble. They keep wanting to take over the controls. And you’re so busy slapping their hands, you sometimes lose your way.” He saluted. “See you in Kansas City.”
“New York,” Max corrected.
“Oh, yes. Good thing you reminded me.”
The pilot headed up the aisle, then disappeared into the cockpit.
“I still say I’ve seen that face somewhere before,” Max said.
“No, I think it’s the body. It’s plump.”
Max shook his head. “No, it’s the face. I have a little trouble remembering faces, but I never forget a body.”
The engines roared, then the plane began taxiing.
“You’d think the passengers would wake up,” Peaches said.
“Never mind the other passengers. We have work to do.” He took the Plan from his pocket and began studying it. “Let’s see now. We have Sad Al / Astor / Mays / Bronco Con / Map Change / Three Bs and Watch.”
“I’m going to try the Frankmacher method,” Peaches said. “You take the second letter of every word, transpose the letters to numbers, spell out the numbers, then take the first letter of each word, transpose the letters into numbers, then-”
“Do you mind?” Max interrupted. “I’m trying to think. How can I think with you babbling that gibberish in my ear? Please keep your Frankmacher to yourself.”
“Oh, all right.”
The engines were being revved up.
“We must be about ready for take-off,” Max said.
At that moment, sliding panels opened at the front of the cabin, exposing a movie screen.
“Scratch that take-off,” Max said. “Revving up the engines apparently means that the movie is about to start.”
The picture flashed on the screen.
“Drat!” Max said. “I’ve seen it. That’s what happens when you fly these cheap re-run airlines.”
“Max, will you do something about that picture,” Peaches said. “I can’t think with that going on.”
Max got up and went to the front of the cabin. In a service compartment he found a blanket, and he hung it over the screen, then returned to his seat. At that moment, the plane began to move.
“Finally-take-off,” Max said. “Now, let’s settle down to work.”
Peaches began muttering to herself, decoding by means of the Frankmacher method.
“Sad Al,” Max mused aloud. “That might refer to Al Capone. I imagine he was pretty unhappy when they plunked him in jail.”
“So far, I have ‘ALSAROAHHSA’,” Peaches said.
Max ignored her. “Astor. That’s a hotel. That gives me Al Capone in a hotel. Or, any gangster in a hotel. Mays. That definitely refers to baseball.”
“ ‘ALSAROAHHSA’ breaks down to ‘1-12-19-1-18-15-1-8-8-19-1’,” Peaches said.
“And Bronco Con can’t mean anything but Trojan horse. So, that gives me a gangster in a hotel room playing baseball with a Trojan horse. I think I’m getting close.” He frowned, cogitating, and, as he thought, he glanced out the window. Then suddenly he straightened in his seat. “That’s an airport down there,” he said.
“So?”
“It looks like the airport we just left.”
Peaches looked out the window. “It does, doesn’t it.”
“We seem to be flying in circles,” Max said.
“That is strange.”
“Oh well,” Max said, relaxing. “The pilot is probably just taking no chances. My guess is that he’s waiting for another New York-bound plane to take off so he can follow it. That’s the surest way. Especially if you have difficulty distinguishing between New York and Kansas City.”
“I think it’s strange,” Peaches said.
“Back to work,” Max said. “That’s the important thing.” He turned his attention back to the Plan. “Map Change. That might refer to the time when the days change-in other words, 12 midnight. Now, let’s see-Three Bs.”
“I have ‘OTNOEFOEENO,’” Peaches informed him.
Again, Max ignored her. “Three Bs. Bach, Beethoven and Brahms. Music. A tune. A certain tune. ‘Over the Waves.’ ”
“Over the Waves?” Peaches said puzzledly.
“I used to play ‘Over the Waves’ on my piccolo when I was a child.”
Peaches turned back to her deciphering.
