Run into Trouble

this pronouncement as he and Melody made the long descent from their hilltop starting point. They had been wearing two-ply socks all along, but each of them wore an extra pair of socks today, expecting the downhill to be hard on their feet.
    Melody looked at the last of the other runners disappearing around a curve in front of them. “Well, we’re bringing up the rear this morning. It’s just like old times.”
    “Not quite. We’ve moved into seventh place overall. We’ve finished first two days in a row. We must be doing something right. Six more days like this and we’ll be in first place.”
    Melody laughed. “The Tom and Jerry and Phil and Brian teams are so far ahead of us that it’s going to take more than a few good days to catch them, I’m afraid. However, I’m glad to see you so optimistic. I suspect we won’t be finishing last today. Too much youthful exuberance can hurt the other lads. If their feet don’t get them on the downhill, their knees will get such a pounding that bad things will happen.”
    “Don’t forget the climb at the end of the run. We’ve proven to be the best climbing team. I don’t know whether to thank Fred for putting the steep climbs at the end of the runs or not.”
    “There isn’t any good time to do killer climbs like those. Although I’m sure Fred would help us if he knew how. He’s got a stake in the outcome.”
    “Had a stake. Blade assured me that the noose was tightening on the Las Vegas bunch. They’ve been under surveillance for some time. The Sterling incident just means that things will move faster.”
    “Fast enough so that none of the runners get hurt, I hope. Do you think we should talk to Casey and have him cancel the race?”
    Drake took a fast swig of Gatorade.
    “Blade will let me know if there’s still a risk. I think we should talk to Casey and fill him in, but in person, not on the phone. He’s traveling around the state, campaigning. We’re bound to run into him. When he finds out what happened, he’ll probably can Fred.”
    “Good riddance.”
    “I need to have a little chat with Fred. I’m waiting until tonight because I promised Sterling he’d have a head start. Although, why I’m keeping my word I don’t know. I also don’t know whether Fred has any contacts in Vegas, himself, or whether it was all done through Sterling. He may be wondering where Sterling is right this minute.”
    “I’m wondering where Sterling is right this minute. Do you think he’s on a plane to Brazil?”
    “The girl from Ipanema must be looking pretty good right now.”
    “Did Blade tell you whether there’s any new intelligence on the Malibu incident?”
    “Nothing new, unfortunately. Casey is still agitating for doing something. He made another speech in front of a business group somewhere. Mentioned the land grab idea. At least he hasn’t suggested attacking the USSR yet.”
    ***
    The first team they caught was that of Glen and Winthrop. Drake and Melody had an easy time catching them because the two were walking. Winthrop was walking very stiff-legged. As they approached them, Drake slowed down. “What’s the matter?”
    Winthrop grimaced. “My knees have locked up.”
    Melody nodded. “You took the downhill too fast. You’ll have to walk it off.”
    “It’ll take us all day to finish.”
    “Do you have anything better to do?”
    There was nothing Drake and Melody could do for them, so they sped up. Drake was making mental calculations.
    “Those two are right in front of us in the standings. I suspect that by the end of the day we’ll have moved up another position.”
    “I’m going to eat some gorp—what Fred calls energy food. We’re going to need all the energy we can find for the uphill.”
    ***
    The heat and the uphill climb were taking their toll again. Although Drake and Melody weren’t running fast by any marathon standard, they had passed all the teams except Tom and Jerry and Phil and Brian during the ascent. They were gaining on those two teams, which were in sight. They figured to at least catch them by the end of the day’s run. They shouldn’t lose any time to them overall.
    “This may turn out to be a three-team race,” Drake said.
    Melody nodded. “Don’t count us out. Maybe we should have bet on ourselves.”
    ***
    Fred’s only sign of nervousness was that he was smoking a cigarette. Drake knew that he smoked, but he usually did it in private because none of the runners smoked. Of course. And yet,