A young Carib Indian boy named Qinta sat at the foot of the volcano on the west side of La Perdita Island, just looking out at the beach and the endless horizon to the north, where only other islands could be seen stretching away into the distance. The little nook he had discovered one day while out exploring with his older sister Yeta had proven to be a perfect spot for cloud-watching, or indeed any kind of watching.
This day he saw something approach the island from far off in the distance. It flew low over the waters of the Caribbean Sea, but it was not a plane or a helicopter as one might think. No, this was shaped differently. Qinta had never seen anything like it. It almost looked like a brick which hovered just above the waters as it moved at an extremely fast speed. Within minutes he saw it moving in more and more quickly, until he could catch a good glimpse of it as it went around the volcano towards the east side of La Perdita Island and the airport. If Qinta had been more interested in science fiction, he would have guessed what the flying craft was: It was a hovercraft. A highly-advanced flying machine which was, nonetheless, already outdated for the military. Thus it had been sold to the highest bidder.
On board the hovercraft, dubbed the Stormloader, Dr. Henry Quantos sat at the helm next to a very quiet ex-American Army officer. After his alarming conversation with a very much alive Kristofer Schanz, Dr. Quantos quickly gathered a few files and some needed paperwork and had a friend fly him from Vancouver down into Washington state to the Boeing plant just south of Seattle. There Quantos met the ex-Army man who he had been dealing with in order to purchase this hovercraft. He threw in an extra hundred grand for the officer as well as a plane ticket back to Seattle if he would personally pilot it down to La Perdita himself, no questions asked. Thus Dr. Quantos made it to the island in record time. It was the first time he had ever been there, despite the team's residing there for a few months now.
The hovercraft moved in to a small hangar bay near the airport which Dr. Quantos had purchased for MBL Consulting back when the deal first began to be made to buy this transport craft. A homing beacon installed in it helped guide them directly to the spot. All it would take was a few minutes dealing with Customs, and Dr. Quantos would be able to finally see the guys again. All but Pete. Poor, poor Pete.
Henry hired a taxicab at the airport and looked disinterestedly through the windows at the passing slices of Perditan life as it rose up the hill towards 56 Oakwood Avenue. The vehicle stopped, and he got out, passing his fee with a healthy tip to the grateful driver. He had no baggage with him except the briefcase containing his documents.
Quantos walked slowly up the steps of the apartment building, impressed at how all this came about: First Pete's great wealth enabled them to settle anywhere they needed to, and the fortunate chance of meeting Sam Dawson, who just happened to own an apartment building in the West Indies left to him by his family. And the chance occurrence of meeting Kit Piper had provided the team with a sense of purpose. Sure, it was luck, and Pete "the Chimp" Glover probably had a great deal to do with it, but the team had been riding a series of incredible events even before they hooked up with the diminutive Newfoundlander who became their lucky charm.
He opened the doors with a key he brought with him which he had cut long ago at locksmith's back home, and stepped inside, walking directly to the office. He knew exactly where everything is due to his own computers at home tapping into the security cameras and system here, but it was a very different experience to be walking here in a place he had only seen through video before. As he stepped into the office, Shirley was visibly surprised to see him.
"Doc!" she gasped, then smiled at the older man she had known only through video-conferencing. "It's good to see you, Dr. Quantos! But what brings you here?"
"Hello, Shirley," he replied, a subdued smile on his face. "Uh... is Kit around?"
"Kit? No, he took the rest of the afternoon off. Do you want me to call him back?"
"No, that's all right. I may need to use his office later on, though, if that's all right with you."
"Fine by me. And I'm sure Kit wouldn't mind at all, Doc."
"Thanks," he said as he turned on his heels and walked out. "I'll be right back."
Henry knocked on the first floor apartment which had been Pete's but was now presumably occupied by Kristofer Schanz. He was still not prepared to see before him in flesh-and-blood the young man whose death had bothered him so back at the beginning of the year.
The door opened, and a dead man looked at Dr. Quantos right in the eyes and smiled...
[ 08-17-2002, 11:44 PM: Message edited by: TheTimeTrust ]
