Daniel’s face turned a pasty white and the beads of sweat suddenly became a waterfall of moisture. Bogey grinned at the other two men, knowing they’d struck a chord with Daniel.
“You have no idea who you’re dealing with,” he stammered.
“Oh, we’ve got a pretty good idea who we’re dealing with. What are you doing with the data? Where does it go?” asked Bogey.
Daniel shook his head side to side, pushing back from the desk. He unbuttoned the top button of his shirt, loosening it from around his loose waddle.
“You okay, Danny old boy?” asked Benji.
The man didn’t respond, simply pushing himself from the chair, only to fall back into it. When his face started to turn purple, the men realized he was in trouble.
“Call an ambulance,” said Bogey. “Relax, Daniel. Breathe.”
He looked up at the intruder and shook his head again. This man was dying, most likely from a stroke or heart attack.
“Do one good thing, Daniel. Tell us who wants this data,” said Bogey.
“Y-you won’t believe…”
It was the last thing Daniel Harvey said. He never finished his sentence. When the ambulance arrived, they attempted to resuscitate him but agreed that it was too late. Workers in the hangar stood outside waiting for word on the man.
“Do we question them?” asked Tanner. Benji didn’t even wait for agreement, he just walked toward the men standing on the fringes of the hangar. “I guess that’s a yes. Let him do his thing. I’m going to keep the first responders busy. See if you can get into that office and find anything.” Bogey nodded, disappearing behind the crowds.
Bogey snuck back into the office, closing the blinds and quickly downloading files from the computer that was still up and running. He swiped through paper files but didn’t see anything that would be helpful to them. He pulled out the bottom drawer of a file cabinet and immediately saw what he was hoping for. A plastic bag filled with small fiber-like cables.
When he reached for them, he heard Tanner in his comms, arguing with someone.
“I’m here to see Mr. Harvey. I was with him when he had his stroke. Who are you?”
“None of your fucking business. Leave. Your reason for being here is no longer alive.”
“That seems cold,”laughed Tanner.
“Leave.”
“Make me.”
“Oh, shit,” said Bogey.
He shoved the cables into the pocket of his jacket and the slip drive containing the downloaded files into his front jean pocket. Peering through the blinds, he realized he wouldn’t be able to walk out without drawing suspicion.
Turning, he looked at the windows facing the runway and was grateful to see that they actually opened. Pushing one open, he crawled out and then lowered the window as closed again. He walked around the hangar and found the crowd of men that Benji was speaking with. Mingling in with them, no one seemed to notice him. Just as he arrived, two men went into Daniel’s office.
“We didn’t have much to do with him,” said one of the men to Benji. “He only handled the flight attendants and pilots. If you ask me, he was a dick to them. Always yelling at them, telling them they were worthless. I’d have left if I had to answer to that guy.”
“Did anyone ever report him?” he asked.
“I think a few of the flight attendants did. They didn’t last long. That one flight attendant, I don’t know her name, I think her old man or someone was on the board. He was in the military. Stormed in here one Tuesday morning and nearly broke the glass on that damn office he slammed the door so hard.” The men all laughed, nodding, remembering that moment.
“Did anything happen after that?” asked Benji.
“Man, we’re so busy out here we don’t see much other than the inside of an engine.” Bogey stared at the two planes closest to the crowd of people and frowned.
“Those engines look pretty old for those planes,” he frowned.
“They’re all refurbished. The airline is cheap but they pay the mechanics well. Besides, get a few years of work here and move on. That’s the plan.”
Benji thanked the men and then walked toward Tanner who was still doing the death stare contest with one of the men that had walked in demanding he leave.
