Kurt noticed Joe looking through a night vision scope. “See anything interesting?”
“There’s light coming from the gap beneath the hangar doors,” Joe said. “The building connected to the tower isn’t fully dark, either. They probably have curtains up or the windows painted over, but they’re leaking enough illumination to pick it up.”
As Joe spoke, the silence was broken by the rumble of an old diesel engine starting up.
Kurt dropped to the ground. Joe and Pru did likewise.
Off to their left, a narrow band of warm light spread across the apron. Moments later a heavy truck rumbled out from behind one of the hangars. Its partially hooded headlights casting a yellow glow.
The big truck labored trying to pick up speed. With a reverberating clunk it shifted gears, heading toward a second hangar off to their right.
“Fuel truck,” Joe said, recognizing the long cylindrical tank on the back of the vehicle.
“Fully loaded based on the lack of acceleration,” Kurt added.
It lumbered across the ramp, followed by a couple of men in a golf cart. A wedge-shaped tug like those seen at any major airport came in from the other direction. A second golf cart carrying a group of men came across the field from the control tower. It headed toward the nearest hangar. The doors opened slightly, and the cart slipped inside.
“Didn’t expect so much late-night activity,” Kurt said.
“Something’s brewing,” Joe said. “Maybe they’re shipping out now that they have the laser.”
“Or getting ready to use it,” Kurt said. “Either way we need to get inside that hangar and find out what they’re up to.”
Joe turned the scope toward the aging metal construction. The fuel truck and the golf cart had taken up positions outside the main doors, which opened just enough to let the tug slip inside.
Light spilled out, overwhelming the optics of the scope. The image flared and then darkened as the scope adjusted. Joe got a brief look at the interior as the doors closed behind the tug.
“Large aircraft inside,” he said. “Couldn’t tell you what type, though. It does appear to be guarded. I see two men with guns. A third just ducked back inside. We could probably hit them from here if we needed to.”
The guards out front were not exactly on high alert, but it wouldn’t do much good to start a shooting match. Even with the suppressors dampening the sound, Kurt and Joe would just give themselves away once the first man fell.
“Rather not,” Kurt said. “Can you think of some way we might get into the hangar that doesn’t require making a frontal assault?”
“I don’t see any doors on the side or back,” Pru said, looking through her scope.
“Neither do I,” Joe said. “But I’ve got an idea. All we have to do is find just the right spot…” He was scanning the metal wall. With a grin on his face, he lowered his scope. “Follow me.”
Chapter 54
Kurt and Pru followed Joe along the edge of the crumbling tarmac until they were directly behind the second hangar. Joe crept in front of them as if he were looking for a secret door.
He paused several times to study the building before moving farther down. He finally stopped for good in front of a vertical support brace, which acted as a binder for two flat wall panels.
“This is it,” he said, a look of pride on his face.
“This is what?” Kurt asked from a spot in the brush. “All I see is a rusty wall.”
“Not just rusty,” Joe said. “Corroded through and through. Water and condensation collect on the panel and trickle down the vertical support brace, pooling in tiny gaps and cracks near the bottom, causing rust. Over time the rust eats its way upward. If this is anything like the hangars I had to patch up when I was in the Navy, you’re looking at a sheet of metal that’s more like Swiss cheese on the inside. You could push your finger right through it.”
In the light of Joe’s explanation, Kurt studied the rust more closely. In the dark it was hard to see how extensive the oxidation was, but it had been sitting in the salt air for decades. Several portions at the bottom had crumbled completely away, leaving gaps thatwere now filled with dirt and debris. Weeds were growing up from another spot.
“So we make our own door,” Pru said. “Ingenious.”
Joe beamed at the compliment. Kurt sensed the flirting was about to begin again. Before he could head it off, Joe interjected, “As an added bonus, this will let us into the back section of the hangar, where people tend to store junk and trash and spare parts that aren’t in high demand. As the only four-time hide-and-go-seek champion of PS 133 in New Mexico, I can assure you that cluttered areas make the best places to hide.”
Kurt let Joe have his victory. It was well-earned. “All right,” he said. “Let’s burrow our way in.”
With Kurt standing watch, Joe and Pru crawled forward until they reached the metal wall. They quickly cleared some of the accumulated dirt and then began picking at the wall from the bottom. The first sections crumbled in their hands. They worked their way higher, snapping off large flakes and putting them aside until they’d cleared a half circle of material nearly two feet in diameter. A faint glow could be seen on the ground as light spilled out of the hangar.
