“Professor Diaz,” he said, opening his eyes. “Is it ready yet? I am running out of patience.”
“Yes,” he said. “It is ready, and may God forgive me for the part I have played in this disgrace.”
The Snake King laughed loudly. “Your weak and pathetic God may forgive, but mine will not. All praise the mighty Huracan!”
He stepped forward, removed the Huracan idol and activated the device. Instantly, they felt it drawing electromagnetic waves up through the skyscraper and gathering power. The building began to rumble and clouds started to swirl above their heads.
“Start the chopper, Tarántula!”
“Boss.”
“When this gets up to full power, we don’t want to be anywhere near this city.”
“I’m on my way.”
“You’re insane!” Diaz yelled, his hair whipping across his face in the gathering storm. “Crazy!”
The Snake King calmly fitted his jade mask and laughed loudly. “Huracan!” he screamed into the sky. “Huracan! Destroy this corrupt and wicked city!”
*
Smoke poured from the starboard engine as Decker brought the slab-sided seaplane around and finished the turn. Then, he reduced power to the mighty Wright R-1820 Cyclone radial engines. He was judging their power by the hum but he checked it by reading the instrument panel. Extended flaps. The airplane descended like a feather, then some turbulence buffeted them up and down for a moment.
“One hundred above.”
Less power, engines down almost to idle.
Fifty, forty, thirty…
With a sailing boat on the portside and a tour boat on their starboard, he touched down on the surface. The deep-V hull sliced into the water like a hot knife through butter. Great arcs of water sprayed either side of the plane and into the air in frothy white jets. The aircraft juddered and rattled as the friction of the water against the hull slowly dragged them down to a crawl.
“Tower, be advised we’re down on the water.”
The controller directed him to moor the Avalon on the east bank. He had landed on the Jersey side of the river and gently steered the old bird to the east. The famous Manhattan skyline slowly turned into view as he slowed the revs further and then killed the engines.
Riley had already popped up in the forward hatch just in front of the cockpit. He was holding the plane’s boat hook, which he now pushed out into the water. Hooking the end around a mooring buoy, he pulled it back in. Then he grabbed the loop at the end of the heavy rope and lashed it to the mooring hook on the aircraft’s nose. As the plane drifted in closer to the shore, Charlie hopped out and ran along the jetty, further securing the plane to a mooring pole.
They were officially in New York City.
Out of the plane and over Twelfth Avenue. Traffic was busy and they weaved in and out of the cars and trucks on foot but with weapons concealed. Horns blew, drivers shouted and waved fists. Diana apologized with a wave. Charlie tried to explain. Riley laughed. Then they were on 57th Avenue. From the far western end of the avenue they could already see the colossal sight of Central Park Tower. The giant glass and steel structure rose up from the busy and expensive block in between Seventh and Eighth Avenues.
They were already crossing Eleventh Avenue. “Just another three blocks to go!” Decker said.
“And then about another block vertically, by the look of that tower!” said Diana.
Riley laughed. “I think it’s probably got elevators.”
“It’s got elevators,” Decker said.
They ran on, dodging pedestrians ambling along the sidewalks. Another busy day in Midtown Manhattan, Decker thought. He hated this place. He was a country boy, from Monroe County upstate New York. That was where he learned to fly, in a reconditioned Tiger Moth. If he wanted a nightlife, the busy streets of Rochester were enough for him. This place was just crazy.
“Nearly there!”
Selena’s voice. He turned and watched her run beside him. Yeah, he was good at landing things, but how a guy like him had landed a woman like her was something he would never understand.
“And we’re here, folks!” Riley yelled. “Buckle up for big laughs.”
They looked up the front façade of the enormous skyscraper and saw angry, dark black clouds gathering just above the large steel spire. They began to form into a ring, and then another and another until several concentric circles of the clouds expanded above the building.
Acosta simply stared and whistled. “Are we too late?”
“It’s like what we saw back in Miami!” Diana said.
Decker looked at the clouds and frowned. “Only this time the clouds are about ten times bigger. This is going to be bad.”
“We have to get up there in a hurry, mate!” Riley said, staring up at the gathering electrical storm. But when he turned back to the American, he had already left his side and was running toward the building’s main entrance.
36
Decker burst into the lobby. “Get to a shelter! Everyone get to safety, now!”
Dozens of people stopped what they were doing and turned to look at him, a mixture of confusion, fear and ridicule on their faces. A large man in a security guard uniform strolled over slowly and raised his palms to calm them.
“What the hell is going on here, buddy?”
Selena was now alongside Decker. “We have to get everyone out of this building! They need to get to a shelter.”
“Who are you people?”
“I’m Professor Selena Moore.”
“Means jack to me, lady.”
“I’ll have you know good sir that I am a very respected archaeologist!”
He shrugged.
“Listen, there are some men on the roof,” Decker said. “They
