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HEY YOU,” ALLIE SAID as she pulled a chair out and sat down. “What did you do last night?”
Drake grinned when he saw her. “Allie. How are you doing today? I didn’t want to wake you, so I came here.”
“Honestly, I’m much better than yesterday. I was so tired and my leg hurt, so I headed right to bed.”
“I know. Heather told me when I got back from dropping off the UTV. What about dinner? Did you eat?”
Allie nodded. “I ordered room service. Nothing fancy, just a grilled ham and cheese sandwich and fries. What did you do?”
“When we first got back, I talked to T.R. about our suspicions of the... other team. Then when I turned the UTV in, I had Travis show me the odometer readings, and discovered this.”
Drake pulled the sticky notes from his pocket and handed them to Allie. “The one with the larger numbers is us. The other is the red team.”
Allie glanced at the numbers. “Ours are almost twice as much.”
Drake nodded. “Exactly. Somehow, they magically found more geocaches with less distance traveled. There’s no way that could happen unless they have access to a wormhole. Here comes the server.”
Allie folded the notes in half and shoved them in her back pocket. “Good. I’m starving. French toast today for me. You never told me what you did last night.”
Drake and Allie ordered breakfast, then Drake answered. “Not much. Since we got back so early, I spent some time walking around town, then I talked with people as they came in. I ended up having dinner with Ingrid and Geneva. They’re really nice.”
“They’re from out east somewhere, aren’t they?”
“Boston.”
“Oh, nice. I’ve always wanted to go geocaching in Boston. I hear they have a fantastic history trail there,” Allie said.
“Yeah, me too. We’ll have to get their information before the week is out and maybe plan a trip up there.”
The server dropped off two plates of French toast, along with orange juice and a plate of bacon. They had barely taken a bite when Geneva stopped by, and Allie invited her to join them.
“Did you catch the news?” Geneva asked. She looked giddy, like a pre-teenager with a secret to tell. “They busted one team for cheating. I don’t know which one, but I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough, won’t we? I heard they got arrested or something.”
Allie looked at Drake, who took a sudden interest in moving the fresh strawberries around on his plate.
“No, I hadn’t heard that,” Drake said without looking up.
Ingrid trailed in and joined them at the table. She was about to say something when Bruce and Andy made their daily appearance. Unlike the previous days, when Bruce greeted everyone, he stayed close to Andy. His face looked like he was in the middle of a twelve-hour marathon of sucking on a lemon. Bruce’s eyes darted across the room as he surveyed the teams there, determined they had a quorum, and started.
“Good morning, everyone. Before we begin today, I’d like to make an announcement. Yesterday, when the red team checked in, our security chief did a brief investigation and determined they had been cheating. For full transparency, I will tell you they were getting outside help. They had a smart phone with them and were in contact with a third person. That person gave them puzzle solutions yesterday, as well as provided direct routes to geocaches the previous two days. Subsequently, I’ve removed the red team from the competition, and they earned themselves a lifetime ban from Cacheland. Like I said on the first day, we will not tolerate any form of cheating in these games. Now that the bad news is out of the way, here are the updated standings. Andy?”
Andy turned on the monitor and displayed the spreadsheet. Team pink was now in the lead, team black was in second place, and the Beasley brothers, representing the yellow team, had moved up to third. Drake scanned the list and saw he and Allie were holding firm in fifth place. With the red team off the board, it encouraged him that the point spread between all the teams was a lot closer together. He smiled when he calculated that the green team was less than two hundred points behind the leaders. On the downside, fifth in an eight-team race looked worse than with ten teams on the list. Drake felt better when he looked at the chart when he was in the middle, rather than trending toward the bottom as they were now.
“Today is all about the multi-cache,” Bruce said. “Today there are ten multi-caches for you to find. Each multi-cache will have ten segments. You’ll receive the starting coordinates for each multi on your cache sheet today. Those coordinates will lead you to a container with the coordinates to the next set, and so on, until the tenth, where there will be a container with the log ready to receive your stamp. For each geocache log stamped, you’ll get points depending on when you sign each log. First to find will get a hundred points, second to find will get ninety, and points will go down ten points per finder. The last team to sign the log, assuming you all find it, will get thirty points minimum since two teams are now out of the competition. Also, for today only, I’m allowing team-ups. If you want to, you can work with another team, but only one other team. How you choose to work with them is up to you. Each team must still sign the log to get the points available. Check-in deadline for today is eight tonight, so be safe out there, and have a great day!”
Bruce left the room and Andy shut down the monitor and passed the backpacks out to the teams.
Ingrid was the first to speak. “Do you guys want to work together?”
Drake looked over at Allie. “I’d be up for it. How would you feel about a collaboration?”
Allie shrugged. “I’m fine with it. Like the old adage says, four heads are better than two.”
Drake pushed the team backpack toward Allie. “Can you get out the map and start on a plan? I’ll go grab lunch.”
“Can I come with you?” Geneva asked.
Drake nodded, and he and Geneva got up and headed toward the kitchen.
“I bet Geneva has a crush on him,” Ingrid said as she watched the pair traverse the dining room. “She’s been talking about him nonstop since yesterday.”
“I can see why. He’s a good guy,” Allie said.
“Are you two... together?”
Allie smiled. “No. We’re caching partners and friends, nothing more. We’ve never even been on an actual date. Like I said, Drake’s a good guy, but he’s not really my type.”
“How did you two meet?”
Allie smiled. “I was driving by when I spotted him on the side of the road looking for a cache near a billboard outside of town. I always like meeting other cachers, so I parked behind his truck and waited for him to finish. After five minutes, I realized he was having some difficulty finding it. So, I walked right to where the geocache was, pulled it out, pretended to write my name, put it back, and returned to my car and waited for him.”
“Why did you only pretend to sign?”
“Because I found that cache the week before. I didn’t tell him that at the time, so he thought I was a cache finding genius since it was a such a tough hide. Anyway, since we were both out caching, we teamed up and went out together.”
“How long have you been friends?”
Allie thought about it for a moment. “Not sure exactly. Four years? Five? I can’t really pin a date on it. I guess I could find out for sure by looking at past logs or something.”
“Nah, no need to go through all that trouble. I was just curious. All that time together, and you never went on a date?”
“Nope. Why ruin a great relationship by dating someone?”
Ingrid tittered, and Allie joined her in laughter. They were still giggling when Drake and Geneva returned, each with a thermal lunch bag in hand.
“What’s so funny?” Geneva asked.
“Oh, nothing,” Ingrid said. “We’re just sharing geocaching stories.”
Drake rolled his eyes and took his seat. “Have you mapped out the plan?”
“No. We thought we’d wait for you. Do you have a suggestion?” Allie answered.
Drake started the GPS and plotted out the best route based on the starting locations for each of the ten multi-caches. Unlike the previous day, where the puzzle caches mapped out nicely into a grid, they spread the caches today out all over the property. “I’d say that four sets of eyes are better than two. We could do each cache together. We might go faster that way.”
“I’ve got a better idea,” Ingrid said. “We split the team in two, with one of us and one of you in each UTV. The stamps for both teams travel in one UTV. Then, we split up, and each team goes and finds a cache. When the team with the stamps gets to the final location and signs a log, they stamp for both teams. When the team without the stamps gets to a final, they radio the coordinates of the final to the team with the stamps.”
“Oh, I like that idea much better,” Allie said.
“Me, too,” Drake said. “And when you stamp, you could alternate the finds, so each team gets a fair shot at the higher points.”
“One question,” Geneva interrupted, “what will prevent the other teams from listening in and getting the final coordinates as we find them?”
The four sat at the table, not speaking as each thought about that problem. Allie reached over and grabbed her map and looked at it. “Okay. Eight caches, eight planets. We give each cache a random planet name, so when we call out over the radio, we can say something like Jupiter three one one, nine two seven. The first set of numbers can be the last three digits of the north coords, and the second set will be the last three numbers of the west coords.”
“Good. Why don’t we switch it up and give the west numbers first, then the north?” Drake asked.
“That works,” Geneva said. “As long as we’re consistent, we shouldn’t have a problem.”
“What about naming the first two caches?” Ingrid asked. “Don’t they get names?”
“Don’t need them,” Allie said. “Whoever has the stamps will know which one they’re at, and we’ll know which one the other team goes for when we start out.”
“All in favor of the plan?” Geneva asked.
Four hands reached into the air.
“Okay, it’s settled then. Ingrid, why don’t you and Allie take our UTV and both stamps, and I’ll go out with Drake.”
The four geocachers picked out the two closest caches to search for, then broke into teams and headed out.
Drake drove their UTV to the second-furthest cache. When they got to the posted coordinates, they found a place where there were four bricks laying on the ground with a single rock on top. Geneva jumped out of the UTV, picked up the rock, and turned it over in her hands. Nothing.
“Try under a brick,” Drake said.
Geneva picked up a brick and looked underneath, where she again discovered nothing. The second brick was the same, but the third brick she hefted had a small plastic pocket glued to it. In the pocket were the coordinates they needed for the next stage. Drake jotted down the numbers on his cache page, then entered them into the GPS. Geneva lined up the bricks the way she found them and returned the stone to the center.
When they arrived at the third set of coordinates, there were eight bricks waiting for them. Geneva flipped bricks over, and on the fourth one, she got lucky and found the next set of numbers she needed. From then on, for every leg, the number of bricks doubled until finally, at the ninth stage, there were over a thousand bricks. The bricks were in rows of fifty that looked to stretch all the way to an emerald city. Drake dropped Geneva off at the beginning, then hiked to the other end and, for an hour, they flipped over bricks until they found the specific one they wanted. Drake recorded the coordinates, walked over to the radio, and transmitted the six numbers. When Allie acknowledged the call, Drake picked out the next cache to find as Geneva walked back to the UTV.
Before they took off, Geneva removed her helmet and ran her fingers through her short brown hair, then reached around with her right hand to her left shoulder. “Hey, can you help me out here? I think there’s something sticking me in the back, and I can’t reach it.”
Drake got out of the UTV and faced her shoulders. “I don’t see anything.”
“Look down the back of my shirt. Come on. It’s prickly and annoying.”
Drake moved closer and pulled on the neck of Geneva’s teal t-shirt. He thought he saw something, so he got close enough to smell the floral scent of her shampoo and the linger of the body lotion she used.
“Easy, tiger,” he thought.
Drake let go of her shirt. “I see something, but I don’t believe I can reach it from here. Can I pull the back of your shirt up?”
“Please. Whatever is there is driving me nuts!”
Geneva pulled her t-shirt loose from her jeans and Drake lifted the back of her shirt. When he reached the area a half-inch above the olive-green sports bra she wore, he spotted the offending object.
“Hold still,” Drake said.
He reached up, plucked the item from her perfect skin, and let her shirt fall back into place.
Geneva spun around and her hazel eyes met his, and he noticed for the first time the specks of gold and green she had in them. He stared at her, awkwardly lost for a moment, and missed the words she spoke.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“I said, what was it?” Geneva repeated.
“Oh. This.” Drake held up the inch long thorn he had plucked from her flesh.
Geneva took it from his fingers and looked at the offending thing. “That’s what I guessed it was. I had a close encounter with a cactus yesterday, something I wouldn’t recommend.”
She got up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek, a kiss that lingered. “Thanks. You’re my hero.”
Drake was dumbfounded and could respond only with a stupid grin. He cleared his throat and pulled away from her, even though he didn’t want to. “Ready to head for Saturn?”
“Sure thing. I’ve never been there before.”
Drake and Geneva got back into the UTV and headed toward the next cache. The silence was awkward, and Drake felt the need to break it.
“Can I ask you a question?” Drake asked.
“Of course.”
“Why don’t you sound like a Boston girl?”
“Probably because I didn’t grow up in Boston. I attended college there and never left.”
“Let me guess, you studied at Harvard?”
“Close. Berklee. I got a master’s degree in music.”
“Wow, that’s impressive,” Drake admitted.
“Eh. My parents don’t think so. They wanted me to be a doctor, not a composer.”
“For like a symphony?”
“That’s my goal, but lately I’ve been doing mostly songwriting and music production.”
Drake was about to answer but stopped when he saw a small stake with an orange ribbon blowing in the breeze ten yards ahead. He pulled up next to the stake, examined it, and discovered the coordinates written on the ribbon. He recorded the numbers and headed off to the next waypoint.
“I like Allie. She’s nice.” Geneva said.
“Yeah, she is.”
“I bet she makes a good girlfriend.”
Drake smiled, since he recognized Geneva’s fishing expedition right away. It wasn’t the first time a lady questioned his status with Allie. “I wouldn’t know. She’s not my girlfriend. We’re only friends and geocaching buddies, nothing more. The most romantic thing we’ve ever done is to be each other’s date at a Valentine’s Day event last year.”
“So, then, you’re not...”
“Nope. I’m not her type, and we’re nothing more than best friends and won’t ever be more than that. Oh, no.”
“What?”
“More stakes ahead.” Drake drove another fifty yards and parked near the five stakes with orange ribbons. He got out and examined them.
“Well?” Geneva asked when he returned.
“Four have random numbers on them. The fifth had the coordinates.”
“Do you think there’s any significance to the random numbers?”
“I hope not, because I didn’t write any of them down. My guess they were there to make finding the coordinates harder since I had to look at every ribbon and couldn’t simply find the one with the writing on it. We’ll see if the theory holds when we get to the next location.”
The third waypoint had fifteen stakes with ribbons, and with Geneva’s help, they quickly found the correct one. From there, the number of stakes increased with each step, until, at the ninth spot, they found hundreds of stakes spread out in an area that covered half of a football field. After thirty minutes, Geneva found the right stake, so she jotted down the coordinates for the final cache location and handed the sheet to Drake.
Drake got the radio and spoke. “Allie, come in, over.”
It took a few seconds, but eventually she answered.
“Allie, Saturn six one seven, eight eight three. Over.”
Allie repeated back the coordinates and signed off.
“I hope all the caches aren’t like this,” Geneva said. “So far, finding the coordinates has been like finding a specific needle in a haystack made with needles.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. Hopefully Allie and Ingrid are having an easier time at it. Where should we go next? It looks like Neptune and Venus are equidistant from here.”
“Let’s go to Venus,” Geneva said.
