CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO CAPTAIN MITCHELL’S AIRBOAT TOURS EVERGLADES CITY, FLORIDA

CAPTAIN MITCHELL’S AIRBOAT TOURS

EVERGLADES CITY, FLORIDA

January 10

“Well, we appreciate the last-minute accommodation,” Lund said, sliding several hundred-dollar bills across the windowsill.

“It’s a little colder than normal this morning. Do you want some ponchos or something?”

“Sure. We’ll take them.”

The manager handed some ponchos wrapped in plastic to Lund, who distributed them to Jane Louise, Suki, and Sarina, keeping one for himself.

“Captain Tom Channell is your pilot today. He’s prepping the airboat right now, and you’ll be on your way.”

“We’re really excited to go,” Lund said, feigning enthusiasm. Suki could see him glancing nervously at the highway. Captain Mitchell’s Airboat Tours was right off the Tamiami highway, about forty-five minutes from Naples. With the traffic accident Lund had caused, there hadn’t been many cars coming up behind them.

After pulling on her own poncho, she helped Jane Louise with hers and then helped Sarina. A little drizzle had started.

Suki felt a sudden warning prickle down her spine. She tugged on Lund’s sleeve. He looked at her, then glanced toward the parking lot where their van was parked with only two other vehicles.

“Do any of your girls want to hold an alligator? They’re small.” The manager smiled in a friendly way.

“Maybe when we get back,” Lund said. “Is Captain Tom ready yet?”

“He’ll be here soon.”

It was a risk being here. But as Lund had explained, it would be an even bigger risk to stay on the highway to Miami. Local sheriffs had probably put together a roadblock farther ahead. The Tamiami ran east-west through southern Florida, connecting Naples to Miami through the Everglades. There were few towns along the way. Lund had handed Suki his phone and asked her what kind of shops or hotels might be on the route, but all she could really find were airboat and jungle tours.

That had given Lund the idea to get off the highway and bribe an airboat captain to take them off the grid for a while. The Everglades wove between the trees like a maze, he’d said. Only the local boat captains knew them.

A police car zoomed past on the highway going about a hundred miles per hour. Her stomach lurched with dread. At least the car hadn’t stopped.

A tall older man with thick graying hair and cargo shorts came up to them. He had big dimples in his cheeks and looked close to seventy.

“I’m Cap’n Tom, welcome!” he said with a cheerful voice. “So glad to take you guys on an airboat tour. Have you been on one before?”

“I have,” Lund said. “But this is their first time.”

“You’re in for a treat. I have a copilot, a cantankerous cat named Madge. She’s in quite the mood today, but if any crocs or piranhas try to attack us, she’s our best course for staying alive. I’m just kidding! It’s perfectly safe! Unless we run out of gas.”

Another patrol car zoomed past.

“Wow, they’re in a hurry,” Captain Tom observed. “Why don’t you follow me, and we’ll get going. January isn’t exactly peak tourist season, as you can see, but the Everglades is a beautiful place.”

Suki followed him to the short, squat dock by the small office building they’d been waiting in. The airboat had three rows of blue benches in front and then a pilot’s seat mounted in front of the cage with the propeller. Lund was furiously texting someone, glancing back at the parking lot surreptitiously.

“Watch your step, there’s an alligator right there,” Captain Tom said, pointing off the dock. Sure enough, Suki saw the ridged back of the reptile and half its snout protruding from the brackish waters.

“Can it climb up here?” Jane Louise asked nervously.

“Alligators are pretty lazy, so no. It’s easier for them to climb up the bank. So when we get back, there may be four or five blocking the way back to your car. Hopefully, that’s not a problem. Just kidding!”

His constant, unfunny joking was starting to get on Suki’s nerves.

They reached the only running airboat. “Take these headsets,” Captain Tom said, handing them out. “It’ll help you hear my stories and jokes better. Once we’re all on board, we’ll get going. This tour will be two hours long unless we get stranded in a low spot. No, we’ll be all right. I know these waters pretty well. Most of the time.”

They all put on the headsets, and then Captain Tom spoke through the microphone on his. “If you can hear me, jump off the dock into the water. Kidding! Don’t do that. This is Madge. Wave to her but don’t pet her. She doesn’t even like it when I pet her.”

Madge was sitting on a stool lashed to the captain’s chair. She was black with dashes of white on her paws and belly, had bright yellow eyes, and looked like she’d just been woken up abruptly.

Jane Louise waved at the cat.

“The engine is really loud once it gets going, so these headsets will provide ear protection as well. They’re not equipped with Spotify. Sorry about that. Why don’t you get settled on the bench? You can sit two to a bench, or all together if you want to squish. Makes no difference to me.”

Suki and Jane Louise took the front row and Lund and Suki’s mom, the second. Captain Tom then seated himself in the pilot’s chair and fastened his seat belt. He cranked up the throttle, and the engine began to roar.

That was a good thing, because he didn’t hear the patrol car pull into the parking lot.

“Off we go!” he said, and the airboat left the dock, heading away. The nervous feeling in the pit of Suki’s stomach began to grow. The police car stopped right next to their van. That meant there’d be officers waiting for them when they got back. Unless Uncle Steve had another play to make. Knowing him, he probably did.

“The best view is ahead of us,” Captain Tom said, “not behind. Once we’re farther out, we’ll enter the mangrove forest. I’ll stop now and then to point out some curious sights. Do you have any questions?”

“How fast can an airboat go?” Lund asked, an edge to his voice.

“We normally go at thirty-five miles per hour but can crank it up to fifty. A modified one can go over a hundred miles per hour. This one can’t. Madge won’t allow it. She’s my GPS system and regulator. She’ll start clawing my leg if I go too fast. Just kidding! Look, there’s a pair of gators right off to the side. Looks like a papa wants to get frisky with a mama, and she’s running away.”

Suki sighed with relief as the airboat continued to pick up speed.

“The Everglades is one of the rarest sights in North America. You’ll find several species of trees here, but the most interesting is the mangrove. I have one mangrove joke but I’m too swamped to tell it ... ha ha!”

Suki rolled her eyes. Jane Louise smiled. She held Suki’s hand as the airboat cut through the water.

“Right now, the water you see is pretty shallow, about four to five feet deep. In the peak season, it’s even shallower, sometimes only a foot deep. But we’re still faster in an airboat than walking. Not kidding!”

The airboat continued to accelerate, and Suki felt the wind and spray on her face. It was fun, but she was too distracted by the problem of the police to enjoy it.

“Okay, see the trees coming up on the left? Those are mangroves. The Native Americans called them ‘walking trees.’ The roots dangle from the branches and then form new units. The most popular are the red mangroves, but there are also black and white. Like chess pieces. They can survive in salty water, unlike most trees. They shed the salt through their leaves. In fact, those leaves can get pretty salty, along with some of my jokes.”

He turned the airboat into the mangrove forest, which consisted of a series of tunnels. The trees grew up overhead but left enough room for the airboat to pass in between, like a twisty highway on the water. Captain Tom began to show them the maneuverability of the airboat. It could easily pull off a 360 or a hairpin turn. He was a skilled pilot and continued to adjust the throttle to build up speed and take the turns. Other times, he’d stop and explain the wildlife, both the reptilian and mammals, before continuing to zoom through the maze again.

Suki looked back at Lund and saw that her mom’s head was dipping. Alarm coursed through her. Her mom looked tired and weak. How much longer would she last like this?

Lund tapped his wristwatch for her to see, indicating he was keeping track of time. Suki wasn’t sure how long they’d been gone, probably about an hour, when they reached a little lagoon. Captain Tom talked about piranha in the waters and, of course, asked if anyone wanted to go swimming.

“Well, it’s about time to head back to the shack,” he said. “We need to navigate the mangroves again. I hope I don’t get lost this time!”

Lund spoke up through the headset. “How close are we to Ochopee?”

“What?”

“How close are we do Ochopee?”

“We’re going back to Everglades City.”

“How much to drop us off at Ochopee instead?”

“Why do you need to go there?” His brow wrinkled in confusion.

“How much to drop us off there?”

“Oh. I see.” He was getting it now. He rubbed his nose. “So ... I know this area pretty well. We’re only fifteen minutes from there.”

“That’s what I figured,” Lund said. “How much?”

“Two hundred? Call it a tip?”

“I’ll give you a thousand in crypto if you keep your mouth shut about where you dropped us off.”

Suki almost added, And if you can keep your mouth shut for the rest of the trip too.

“A thousand in crypto. That’s ... that could be worth a lot more if I hold on to it.”

“Exactly. Just drop us off at another airboat dock. An out-of-the-way one.”

“Donna’s Wildlife check station is on the east side of Ochopee. It’s pretty small.”

“Works for us. Take us there now.”

He squinted at Uncle Steve. “You got it, sir.”

The rest of the tour wasn’t full of banter or jokes. True to his word, in about fifteen minutes, Captain Tom was navigating up a channel toward an old dock with two airboats tied up. No cars in the parking lot. When they got there, a woman in shorts came out and greeted Captain Tom. They obviously knew each other.

“This is Donna,” Tom said.

“What’s your e-mail address?” Lund said. “I’m sending the payment now. You’ll have to register to get it.”

“Of course!” He shared his e-mail address, and Lund showed him the screen from his crypto account. Suki saw the sum of one thousand on it before he clicked send.

“What you doing this way, Tom?” Donna asked.

“Had to drop these folks off. They’re getting picked up here, right?”

“Exactly,” Lund said. He motioned for them to follow him.

“That was pretty slick, Uncle Steve,” Suki said under her breath once they were out of earshot.

“The police will be swarming the other place. My people are sending a driver from Miami to take us to the airport. Should be here in ...” He paused to check his watch. “Five minutes. Timed it pretty good. Haven’t lost my touch.” He checked his phone. “Still out of cell service. Wait until we’re back on the highway.”

“I’m really thirsty,” Sarina said. “And I need to eat again.”

“They’re bringing food and drinks too,” Lund said. His brow wrinkled when he checked a text message. His phone rung a second later.

“Lund,” he said, answering it. He kept walking and then stopped in his tracks. “When?” He paused, listening intently, his eyes narrowing with worry. “Brower? Are you sure? We’re an hour outside Miami. State police are looking for us, and that means the jaguar priests are on our tail too. I need that private plane ready to take off in an hour. We’re on our way.”

He ended the call and stared at the phone. Then he looked at Suki and her mom. “It’s started. Calakmul tried kidnapping the president this morning.”