Unintended Consequences

dinner, Mary had apparently mugged a lobster fisherman, because an enormous platter was piled high with the steaming shellfish.
    Helga produced a bottle of aquavit that she had smuggled to Maine and hidden in Mary’s freezer, and it went down very well with the lobsters. By nine o’clock they were all fairly drunk. They were just getting up from the table when there was a short burst of automatic weapons fire somewhere outside.
    Stone and Dino grabbed their weapons and ran outside, then warily started to cover the property, looking for Stanley and Lewis. They finally found Stanley at the edge of the woods, looking down at someone at his feet.
    “Oh, shit,” Stone said. “This is going to mean calling in the Maine state police.”
    “I hope he didn’t shoot a neighbor,” Dino said.
    They walked over to where Stanley stood, while Lewis covered the area around them. “What have you done, Stanley?” Stone asked.
    Stanley pointed down. “I only got a glimpse of him but I connected with the first burst.” He switched on a small flashlight and illuminated a good-sized deer at his feet.
    “I hope you know how to field dress it,” Stone said.
    “I haven’t a clue.”
    “Go get Seth, and tell him to bring that little utility vehicle of his and some rope.”
    Stanley left in search of Seth, and Stone and Dino started back to the house. They had walked perhaps a dozen yards when they heard two
pffft
sounds and the noise of bullets slapping into a tree. They hit the dirt.
    “Maybe Stanley isn’t crazy,” Dino whispered.
    “Stanley!” Stone yelled.
    A voice came back. “It’s Lewis, sir. I’m sorry I didn’t ID you properly before I fired, but they were just warning shots.” Lewis stepped up and offered them a hand to their feet.
    “Lewis, go inside, get rid of the MAC-10, then get out of your body armor. If you and Stanley
must
patrol, do it in civvies and with well-concealed handguns, got it?”
    “Yessir.” Lewis vanished into the darkness.
    “You know,” Dino said, “I’m surprised you’ve still got any neighbors in New York who are still alive.”

52
    O n Monday morning, Seth drove Stanley and Lewis to Rockland to meet their helicopter. Stone and the others stayed through lunch, then headed back to the Islesboro landing strip.
    Dino was ever the harbinger of doom. “I’m not sure you can make it out of this strip with four of us and our luggage aboard.”
    “What? You want to stay on, rent a car and drive back?”
    “Will we make it?”
    “Since we’ve burned off half our fuel getting here, probably,” Stone said.
    “
Probably?
”
    Stone shoved him onto the airplane. Helga was already in the copilot’s seat, so Dino joined Marcel in the rear.
    Stone ran through his checklist, explaining the items to Helga. He noted that the wind was brisk, favoring a northerly departure, so he taxied to the southerly end of the runway, checked for traffic, announced his intentions on the common radio frequency, and lined up as close to the end of the runway as possible. He went through his final takeoff checklist, then, while firmly holding the brakes, pushed the throttles all the way forward and waited a few seconds for the engines to spool all the way up. With the engines whining in protest, he released the brakes and began his takeoff roll.
    Helga watched as the end of the runway loomed. “I want to fly now,” she said.
    Stone obliged her by easing back the yoke and allowing the bird to take wing. Just above the treetops he leveled and let the airspeed build, then he began his climb and called Boston Center for his clearance.
    “I didn’t think we would make it,” Helga said.
    “I’ve made it at least a dozen times,” Stone said. “The airplane is built to do it. I wouldn’t want to try it with full fuel, though. I’ve tried to talk the locals into adding another few hundred feet to the runway, but nobody wants to encourage larger aircraft to land. I don’t think they want to pay for it, either.”
    When they landed at Teterboro and taxied to Jet Aviation, the big Mercedes van pulled up, with Stanley aboard, and they were away in no time. Stone noticed that, as they drove through the security gate, two other vehicles joined them, one ahead and one behind.
    They reached Stone’s house without incident. “Are you going back to the office?” he asked Dino.
    “Nah, everybody will be gone by now anyway. I’ve got nothing on that won’t keep until tomorrow. I’ll just get a cab