The Drop

Lou's picture from the cockpit. The lead plane dropping the last of it's charges. He is flying way to low.


As soon as Antonelli tells us about the explosives, we make our way back up to the house to find Arturo. We both agree that discussing anything with Paulo would probably get us skinned.
I am worried about the safety of the whole situation, worried about Abby being blown out of the sky before any drop occurs, before take-off, hell... before she gets out of the hanger. I want to know more before we go anywhere. But I realize that if I refuse we will be executed by that fucking lunatic Paulo. They think we are professionals, at least that is what Lou told them. So from a professional standpoint I don't want my plane blown into small pieces.

We find Arturo in the library, or whatever the hell it is. He is on the phone and waves us in while he continues his phone call in his native language. I look at Lou, who needs no coaching or prompting. I get the impression that he may have done this type of work before
Arturo finishes his business call and hangs up the phone. "Gentlemen... I take it you have been to the hanger and now you have questions."
"Senior Dominican, I don't mind assisting you in any way I can. But I don't think it is right for you to expect us to risk our employers aircraft in doing so."
"Jake Allen, I assure you there is no risk. "
"High explosives are always a risk."
"Who told you that there were explosives on your plane?" From the way he poses the question I have a feeling that he already knows the answer.
"We... we figured it out for ourselves when we examined the cargo."
Arturo gives me a serious look, and then a slight nod. "These devices have been assembled by a former member of the Bolivian Armed Forces, a specialist in the art of explosives and ordinance. There is no risk involved."
"High explosives are very unstable," Lou starts, "You can't tell us that the cargo isn't dangerous."
"The cargo will not be armed until it is free of the plane, much like bombs that are dropped from war planes. The chutes will slow the drop and allow you to climb out of harms way."
Lou gives him a little nod, "Timed fuses?"
"Yes, it is not armed until the chute opens, and then it is timed to go off once it is on the ground." Arturo's tone signals that he is getting impatient. Paulo hears it from the other room and comes in to join the conversation.
"Is there a problem." He says with a polite but firm manner.
"I am just worried about the plane, that's all."
"Don't worry about the plane. Just worry about following the lead plane and dropping when he drops. There will not be any problem. It will all go according to plan." Paulo talks as he walks to the bar. He pours tequila from a hand-blown bottle and returns to the table where Arturo sits.
"Your employers, they have competitors, no?" He says, sipping on the tequila.
"Well... of course, yes."
"We too have competitors. We have tried to reason with them, to partner with them. But they do not wish to do the right thing for our mutual businesses. They only wish to remove us as competitors. Before your arrival here we found out that one of the men aboard the pilot Guenther's aircraft might have been acting for this competitor and caused the crash of the plane and the partial loss of cargo."
He shoots the rest of the tequila and then continues. "This is, how you say... the last straw."
Paulo stands and paces over to the large picture window that looks out over the valley below, "We know that they receive raw product from the growing area by air drop about ten miles from here. Then they refine it in a mountain laboratory and it is then shipped out to the dealers in Mexico and from there to the United States."
"So you are going to drop explosives disguised as their usual supply drop?" Lou asks.
"This is correct. They are accustom to immediately retrieving these packages. The charges are such that the personel will cease to exist, along with the laboratory."
"Jesus... " Lou grunts.
"Will we have time to get out of there before they blow?" I ask.
"You follow the lead plane and drop when he drops and there will be no danger."
"And then we come back and get the money for our employers?"
"Yes, we will have this ready for you."

It is several hours before we are to take off on this bombing run. I look over the work that was done by Antonelli and his crew. We look for the pilot of this other plane, but never find him. We end up in Abby's cockpit going over our preflight checklist when we hear the other aircraft engines fire.
"Where the hell did he come from?" Lou looks out the windscreen at the arms sticking out of the pilot's side window giving the hand sign to pull the wheel chocks.
"I don't know but it looks like he is ready to roll." I look down out of my window and there is Antonelli giving me the thumbs up for start. "Well... I guess we're going."
Abby's engines start without any mishap. She is solid as a rock. That familiar vibration, the smell of her exhaust blowing back into the plane from the mountain breeze, it is a comfort I cannot readily explain. Antonelli waves us off to follow the other aircraft and then climbs into the cargo bay before we get moving to quickly. His helper is already inside, some young kid who is oblivious to what we are carrying. Chris Antonelli, on the other hand, is soaked with sweat and is constantly wiping his face, neck, and head with the same old shop rag. Like a kid trying to keep up with a melting ice cream cone. He knows.

This should be a quick flight. The Dominican Brothers said it was ten miles down the mountain range, and that the lead plane knows exactly where, when, and how high to drop the load. We drop when they drop. I just wish it was care packages we were dropping.

The lead plane takes us to the end of the field, turns, and hits it hard. He is up before we have even made our turn. All of a sudden I am nervous as hell. We turn and have Abby set up for our roll as Lou locks in the tail wheel. The other plane is way ahead of us. "What the FUCK, is this guy trying loose us or what?"
"Gear up?" Lou says to me. I nod.
Behind us we hear Antonelli shouting over the engine noise and wind blast from the open door.
"Tire las seguridades." He tells the kid.
I look back quickly and see the boy start moving up the cargo bay, pulling something from the top of each bundle where the chute cord attaches.
"What is he doing?"
Lou looks back and watches, "He is pulling the safeties from each of the bombs.
There is a collective tensing of muscle in the cockpit, and I am sure from Antonelli, as the boy pulls the rings and long safety wires from each package. The boy holds them up and Antonelli verifies them and then claps him on the back. He looks at Lou, who is to signal him when the lead plane begins the drop.

I have to chase this guy down, and just catch up to him as he turns into a deep canyon and lines up on what seems will be his run. There is a road below us with a little traffic, some big trucks. We can see them wave to us. They are expecting us... or whoever would normally be dropping their product. We shoot down the canyon. I have never dropped cargo like this, but I know this is too fast.
For whatever reason, the lead plane pulls up and we circle around. As we bank it, I can see more trucks and people down in a wide area of the dirt road. He is letting them assemble for maximum damage. We are going to kill these people. I knew that was what we were doing, but it doesn't hit me until I see them down there. I look at Lou, who seems to know what I am thinking.
"It's either them or us, brother."
Like so many choices in life.
Now we slow. I back off of the throttles when I see the other plane do the same. We are only a few hundred yards apart now. I can see Antonelli's counterpart and another man in the doorway as they push the first bundle out the door.
"DO IT." Lou yells back and our cargo is released piece by piece.
Lou snaps a picture of the lead plane as we turn down the valley.
"CARGO IS AWAY" Antonelli yells. I am to pull up and get out of harms way before the first bomb detonates. Too late.
The first of the diesel fuel/fertilizer bombs detonates early, before it even lands in on the road. Abbey shakes violently and then the second charge explodes. I hit the gas and start to climb, but Chris Antonelli, who moments before was standing at the door to watch the action, is no longer in the aircraft.