The Edge Read Online Free

war-torn Afghanistan in the morning to climb a mountain for a Christmas television special made perfect sense.
    Rolf took a gulp of his drink, then a second gulp, before responding.
    â€œOf course you both know that Sebastian Plank, like many geniuses, is nuts.”
    â€œYou’ve met him?”
    â€œTwice. He’s a little hard to follow when you’re talking to him because he talks faster than any other human being on earth, and most of what he says has nothing to do with what he’s supposed to be talking to you about. But that’s okay because he always shows up with four personal assistants. When Plank leaves a meeting—no more than ten minutes after he arrives—two PAs stay behind for a couple of hours and interpret what he just said. In our firm we call it getting Planked. Other firms call it a Planking.”
    â€œSo you don’t trust him,” Mom said.
    â€œOn the contrary. Sebastian Plank, as odd as he is face-to-face, is completely reliable. If he says something’s going to happen, it happens or it has already happened.” Rolf looked at me. “This might be my fault. I may have let the cat out of the bag.”
    â€œHow so?”
    â€œPlank was in the office a couple weeks ago. He asked about the family. I told him about the twins, the bookstore, and”—he took a breath— “your Everest climb. I told him you stopped just short of the summit to let a friend get the glory.”
    Mom frowned.
    â€œI’m really sorry, Peak,” Rolf said. “It was out before I knew it. I didn’t think Plank was even paying attention. I thought he was just being polite.”
    â€œNo big deal,” I said. And I meant it. Sun-jo was still the youngest person to reach the top of Everest.
    Rolfe looked relieved. “Did you know about this Peace Climb before the film crew showed up at the bookstore?”
    â€œNo.”
    He looked at Mom. She shook her head.
    â€œI bet nobody else knows about it either, except for his people and the people participating in the climb. This is how Plank works. There’ll be some rumors floating around by now because of the Internet and social networking. But the climb will be over before any of the rumors are confirmed. Did they have you sign anything?”
    â€œA nondisclosure agreement,” Mom said.
    I hadn’t signed anything, but at fifteen, my signature wouldn’t have been legally binding anyway. I knew this because Rolf was my stepfather. Obviously some of his legalese had rubbed off on me.
    â€œThere you go,” Rolf continued. “You just got a Planking. It seemed like a last-minute deal to you, but it wasn’t. I’ll bet you that almost every climber and participant was contacted within a two-hour window. The only odd thing, in Peak’s case, is that they sent the film crew to enlist him. But there was a reason for it. Of that you can be sure.”
    I told him about the film crew’s deal being dependent on me agreeing to climb.
    â€œWhat did I just tell you?” Rolf said. “I guarantee there was a backup plan to your saying no. Probably a plan C and D as well. One of the backup plans, no doubt, was to call me, or someone in our firm, and enlist us to get you to climb.”
    â€œDo you want us to pass?” Mom asked. “It’s not too late. We don’t have to go.”
    Rolf laughed. “It might be fun to see what Plank’s next move would be if you did change your mind, but no, I don’t want you, or Peak, to pass up this opportunity.” He set his drink down and took Mom’s hand. “To be honest, I’ve been waiting for you two to go climbing together for years. I didn’t think it would take this long, and I certainly didn’t think it would be in Afghanistan, but the day has finally arrived.”
    â€œI’m not climbing,” Mom said. “I’m just a technical advisor.”
    Mom had not climbed since