dozen chairs with attached desks all facing a dry erase board on the far wall. There was also a door to the left that could only have led outside.
Night air greeted Logan as he opened it. Beyond was a concrete sidewalk, then a wide paved area, and finally what he could only describe as a carport for planes. All the spaces were filled with small, prop-driven aircraft.
He scanned the entire area to make sure no one was around, then stepped outside. The building Ryan had gone into would be on the other side of the sheltered planes. Logan walked over to it, and made his way to the far end. When he got there, he could see the runway directly in front of him, maybe fifty yards away, just beyond an access road and a strip of grass.
He rounded the side of the shelter, then stopped at the rear corner and peeked around. Back toward Airport Avenue was the building Ryan had entered.
There was a lot of activity going on down there, all centered around a sleek-looking private jet parked nearby. Logan could see lights on inside its cabin, and was pretty sure there was someone in the cockpit moving around. The door at the back of the building was open, and light was shinning from inside it as well.
Unfortunately, everything was too far away for him to make out any details. He needed to get closer.
On the other side of the jet, directly across from his position, was an open area where nearly two dozen small planes were parked. It would provide a much closer, unobstructed view of the jet and the back of the building. The problem was getting there without drawing attention.
He glanced around. There was a wide spot in the access road, about hundred feet away, where a half dozen plane were parked. If he could get there, then work his way along the aircraft until he could cross over to the other lot, that might work. And if at any point someone saw him, there were enough planes around that he could act like one of them was his.
He crossed over to the grass strip, and turned down it. When he reached the aircraft, he paused, looking back toward the jet. So far no one was rushing in his direction, or trying to see what he was doing.
He continued on until he was directly across from the open parking area where he ultimately wanted to be. This was going to be the tricky part. While he hoped he wouldn’t be noticed, he was going to be in plain view for at least ten seconds. The best he could do was to make it look like he had zero interest in whatever was going on at the jet. When it appeared that no one was looking in his direction, he crossed the access road at a diagonal
Once he reached the safety of the first plane, he looked back.
“Dammit,” he said under his breath.
He hadn’t been as clever as he’d thought. Two men were standing on the tarmac, facing in his direction. One of them was pointing at the road where he’d just crossed.
He watched as they talked for a moment, then the one who had pointed started walking back toward the building, while the other began heading toward Logan.
That was an even bigger problem than it could have been. If the guy found him, there’d be no way he could play off the lie that he was just checking his plane.
Logan had met this guy before, in the refrigerator at the back of the Coffee Time Cafe.
21
Using the planes to mask his movements, Logan scuttled back to the next row, then started trying each aircraft door that he passed.
Locked.
Locked.
Locked.
Locked.
Big city people. No trust.
By the time he arrived at the fifth plane, Tooney’s assailant had reached the parking area. Logan tried the next door, and was already in the process of moving on when he realized the handle had actually turned.
Easing the door open, he crawled inside. The plane creaked as it took on his weight. He just hoped it wasn’t loud enough to be heard more than a few feet away. He closed the door, then scrunched down in the space between the front and back seats. A blanket would have been nice, or something else to cover himself with, but there was nothing.
All he could do now was wait and listen.
At first he could only hear the man’s footsteps, but then a familiar rattling sound joined them, and Logan instantly knew the guy was trying the doors of the planes.
Logan glanced over to see if there was a way to lock his cabin door from inside, but if there was, he couldn’t spot it from his current position, and couldn’t risk twisting around to take a closer look.
He slipped the gun out of his pocket and pointed it at the door, hoping he wouldn’t have to use it. The steps and the rattling grew nearer. Logan had no idea exactly where the man was, but he couldn’t have been more than a few planes away.
Suddenly an outburst of music cut through the night, stopping after a few seconds, mid-note.
“Yeah?” a voice said, the same voice Logan had heard in Tooney’s cafe. “No. Nothing. Are you
Logan assumed the man had hung up, but he held his position because he hadn’t heard him walk away.
One minute passed, then two. Then—
