Once the plane had taxied to a stop, Caitlyn left her seat. “We’re at an abandoned airfield just outside of Leesburg. I believe you have friends waiting for you in a black Ford Explorer about two hundred yards down the street at a strip club.” She pointed toward the starboard wing. “Go that way until you hit the road. Then turn left.”
Two hundred yards?Fuck me.The way Scott’s leg throbbed, that was bound to be a long, slow walk. Not her fault, though. He rose and took her outstretched hand. “Thanks for this. I owe you one.”
“Sure thing.” Her green eyes sparkled in the dim cabin lighting. “But it’s Kurt who owes me, not you.”
He smirked. “I’ll pass that along.” Something was up between those two, but Scott didn’t have a clue. As far as he knew, his boss and Caitlyn hadn’t spoken in person for at least ten years, back when they were in the Air Force together, before Kurt was a PJ. Before he’d lost his legs in Afghanistan. Did she know about that?
“I can’t thank you enough,” Valerie said, also giving the pilot a handshake.
Caitlyn nodded. “Okay, time to get moving,” she said, all business again as she strode to the back of the plane and opened the hatch, letting in the rain and frigid air. “I landed without permission, and I have no idea who’ll come to check it out.”
“Sure thing, ma’am.” Scott slung his backpack over his shoulders and limped toward the door, gritting his teeth so he wouldn’t wince with every step.
“Shit,” the pilot said. “What happened to you?”
“Just a scratch. I’ll be fine.”
“A scratch,” she muttered. “My ass.”
He chuckled and scanned the area outside the plane for threats. Beyond the concrete strip was an open field, low hills behind it nearly invisible in the rain, despite the city lights reflecting off the clouds. No obvious threats.
He took the stairs like a toddler, placing both feet on a step before moving to the next one. As long as he didn’t bend his knee, he was fine. It was the only way to ensure he didn’t go ass over teakettle onto the pavement. Icy rain pelted his head and soaked his shirt before he reached the ground.
Valerie joined him, staying close as he hobbled behind the plane and onto the short, slippery grass alongside the runway. “Can I help?” she asked over the noise of the idling engines, her teeth chattering.
“You could go on ahead and flag down the car.”
The propellers started up, drowning her response, but she shook her head. The plane turned and taxied behind them as they followed a paved walkway behind a small shed. The rain fell harder, tapping a deafening beat on the metal roof. Beyond the building, they encountered a chain-link fence separating the airfield from the tree-lined road.
The gate was chained and locked tight. “And me without my bolt cutters.”
Valerie walked away from him, scanning the fence, presumably for a gap or hole.
He did the same for about twenty yards on his end and returned to the gate. “I think we need to go over. We’ll freeze to death before we can cover the entire perimeter.”
She looked up, hugging her shivering form. “What about the barbed wire?” The prickly topper that canted toward the road had been designed to keep people out, not in, but was effective either way.
“We’ll have to take our chances. At least here there’s a break.” He pointed to the gate hinge where there was a gap in the barbed wire to allow the gate to swing open. “We can use the hinges as steps and slip over between the brackets.”
“Will you be able to do that?”
“I’m fine.” He could suck it up. He’d suffered much worse. “You go first.”
Without argument, she shifted her bag so one strap hooked over each shoulder, tucked her toe into a space in the chain-link fencing and pulled herself up. The barrier was only about seven or eight feet tall, but their hands were turning numb from the cold, and the rain made everything slick.
Valerie climbed like a monkey, quickly reaching the top. Once there, she crouched with her hands on the brackets that held the barbed wire and carefully stepped over to the other side, sliding her calves through the gap in the fence posts. She planted one foot on a hinge and the other in the fence, and gracefully lowered herself to the ground, dropping the last couple of feet with a muddy squish.
“Perfect,” he said. He’d forgotten she was a climber.
She beamed at him through the wires, her face wet and shiny, hair plastered to her head. “Throw me your bag. It’ll be easier to keep your balance.”
He hesitated. She was right, but his camera was the backpack. If she dropped it… Then again, if he fell, both he and the expensive toy would be worse off. With his leg protesting every movement, he had enough issues.
“All right.” He removed the bag from his shoulders and turned it straps up. “Ready?” When she nodded, he shoved it almost straight up and over.
Thank God it wasn’t too heavy. The pack cleared the barbed wire and Valerie caught it with ease. “Come on,” she said, glancing down the road in both directions.
Nothing moved, but the longer they lingered the bigger the chance of discovery.
