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The best answer he could muster was, “There was a boy once ent to his father’s funeral, only his father wasn’t dead”

The old man nodded solemnly as if Austin had been the soul of clarity

Austin’stoward the task ahead “Thank you very“And for lunch, too”

/>“Wait,” Clarence said He perused the wooden figures he’d carved, picked out two, and gave one to each of the NUMA th and the wolf for cunning”

Austin and Zavala thanked the old enerosity

“Makesyou how to get to that place You go back to that old base, I got the feeling you’re going to need it”

30

THE SUN’S BLINDING REFLECTION on the ood look at the Eagle’s Beak on the first pass Only a thin, ragged crescent of tundra could be seen, part of an inundated coastal plain extending into a pear-shaped bay Zavala angled the plane so that the dark outline of General MacArthur’s nose was visible under the translucent covering of water Austin gave Zavala the thumbs up This is it The thumb pointed down Land

Zavala brought the plane around in a loeep and flew the length of the peninsula at an altitude of about two hundred feet The crooked finger of land wasand less than half as wide Blackwater es of wind and ice that had distorted its original shape

“See how close you can get us to those lacier-carved an where the peninsula joined the mainland

Zavala tapped the brim of his NUMA baseball cap “No sweat This baby can land on the head of a pin Stand by for a picture-perfect landing”

Austin had every bit of confidence in his partner’s flying ability Zavala had logged hundreds of hours flying every conceivable type of aircraft There were ti his doghouse was a World War I Sopwith Caht out of his lide, and reduced speed until the plane’s floats skimmed the shalloater

The plane was about to set down smoothly when they heard a loud thump under their feet followed by the tortured sound ofThe plane snapped around like an aainst their seatbelts like rag dolls The spinning plane cale Zavala had the wind knocked out of hiine

As the propeller spun to a stop Austin felt his head to make sure it was still attached to his shoulders “If that was picture-perfect, I’d hate to see a rough landing What happened to the head of a pin?”

Zavala adjusted his baseball cap and straightened his reflecting sunglasses on his nose “Sorry,” he said with uncharacteristic huer than they used to”