Page 169 - EarthAngelsMatos

NICHOLAS BOOTHMAN
Julia snatched a headset from the passenger seat
before I sat on it and thrust it at me.
“Where are you taking me?” I asked at the top of
my voice.
“Buckle up, Mister Boothman. We’re not going far.”
She yelled above the repeated thwuping of the blades
and the flacking of the engine. I adjusted the four-way
harness and fumbled the headset into place. The
mechanical sounds faded into the background.
“McCarran Tower, helicopter Zero-Mike-Tango,
request VFR departure out of Circus helipad to the east
not above fifteen hundred, heading south leaving your
area.” It took me a moment to realize the voice in the
headset really was Julia’
s.
The reply came back fast. “Helicopter Zero-Mike-
Tango, McCarran Tower, clear for takeoff, report one
mile east at or below two thousand.”
She confirmed the tower’s instructions then jabbed
me with her elbow and smiled. “Give me a minute.”
With a smooth gentle touch she had us crabbing
sideways up and away from the helipad, over the Las
Vegas Strip and east toward the Hoover Dam.
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