Page 61 of Through the Storms

Oakley turned quickly, so the conversation could end on a positive note.

“I just want a whiskey and Coke,” Sandy called.

“Hell, I’ll just have my whiskey straight up,” Peggy added.

Oakley glanced over her shoulder and laughed. “And I’ll join you.”

The scientists from the Weather Service stood around the Oakanator awaiting her arrival. “Hey, guys, are we ready?”

The lead patted the roof of the car. “She’s all ready to roll.” He gestured toward the clouds moving toward them. “I think we’ll be in position in about five minutes or so.” He tapped the headset attached to her helmet. “Remember the mic is open, so you can communicate with us any time.”

“And Britt and Asher?”

“Yep, they’ll be on the same channel, so we’ll all be connected.”

“But the passengers won’t hear anything, right?” They’d told her before that they wouldn’t, but she wanted to make sure. She wanted to be able to speak freely without having to worry how it would come out.

“They won’t hear anything you say, but of course, they’ll hear what Britt or Asher says to you.”

She’d told both to keep their mouths shut, but that was like telling a parrot not to squawk. She grinned. “Yeah, we’ll see how that works out.”

The lead clapped her on the shoulder. “Be smart out there. No taking unnecessary risks. Remember you’re doing this to advance tornado science.”

“Thanks.” Oakley slipped into the Oakanator and pulled the race-car-like harness over her. One thing she didn’t have to worry about was being ejected from the seat. She glanced up at the heavy-duty roll cage across the roof of the car.

No doubt, this vehicle was a beast. Even though it was compact and smaller than the vans, it weighed at least three times what they did.

The lead leaned inside the car and pointed at the red button on the dash. “The cannon is already loaded and ready to fire. You’ve got two rounds, which means two chances. Get as close as you safely can before you launch. The operative word issafe.We don’t want any heroics or daredevil moves. We’ve got all summer to do this. We can’t expect miracles on the first run.”

Oakley nodded. She knew he was right. Studying tornadoes and storm chasing took patience, not daring. She grinned to herself. Maybe a little daring since most normal people didn’t drive a glorified tin can into the bear’s cage.

Although a descriptive term, it left her, thebear, slightly nervous thinking of the heavy precipitation that couldcageher. She wondered who’d come up with the term.Really?This was what she decided to think about?

“Time’s a-wasting,” she said to the lead and reached for the door handle.

“May the force be with you.” He winked at her as he closed the door.

She laughed. He was always so scientisty; apparently, he had some personality. She started the Oakanator and pushed it into gear.

She shot forward and glanced into her tiny side mirror. The mirrors were mounted close to the frame and were less than half the size of a regular mirror. They were encased in steel mesh to prevent hail damage, as were the windows.

The Weather Service team pulled up behind her. A sense of unease flooded through her. Would it be wrong to ask if Britt could follow her?

“Move your ass over,” Britt’s voice came through the speaker in her helmet. “I’m gonna be the one following Oakley to the drop point.”

Oakley laughed. Leave it to Britt. “No fighting back there, kids. I don’t want to have to turn around and break this up.”

Oakley glanced in the mirror as the white van cruised around the pickup.

“No fighting here,” said the lead. “I know better than to mess with her.”

“Smart man,” Asher piped in.

Oakley smiled. “Now that’s settled, you lot stop babbling, so I can focus on the storm.”

The group fell silent and left Oakley alone with her thoughts. She wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or not, but it did allow her to study the storm.

In the last five minutes, it continued to grow. No telling what would happen, but it had the makings for an EF4 or EF5. The odds were against it, but she’d be happy with EF3 or even an EF2. All she wanted was to get the sensors launched.