"That gives us the upper hand—they come to us and not the other way around. As long as we stay on the plane with the door open, we're not going anywhere, and we can call for help." Hernando pulled out his mobile phone and frowned. "Why isn't it working? I know I charged the battery last night."
"I know it's weird. You'd think we'd be able to get service, and we've not been able to since we came on board. Something is blocking the signal." Olivia turned her smartphone over and examined its signal strength. "Mine's still not working, either."
Annara's face set in a determined expression. "Then it seems we shall have to go hunting—and I'm very good at hunting."
Without another word she slipped through the open door and all but skipped down the airstair.
"Wait!" Olivia called, but Annara had disappeared into the shadows alongside the hangar. Olivia grabbed the canister of pepper spray Annara left behind. "Why doesn't she listen? She could be walking into a trap."
"There's no holding back Annara when she gets in the mood to hunt." Hernando sighed. "I guess we'd better go see what we can find." He leaned against the wall as he peered around the door. "Looks deserted. I expected someone to be here to greet us. Instead they just pushed this set of steps up to the door and left. Why is that?"
"It could be more of this Grundfest guy's head games. He's trying to show we're of little importance in the great scheme of things by not having a reception committee. He left it to these sleeping beauties to escort us to him."
"It's not very neighborly of him not to greet us at the door." Hernando shrugged. "We can't wait forever. Let's go see."
"Will Valori be okay if we leave her?" Olivia glanced at their friend. The older woman sat with her head tilted back, eyes closed, a blanket over her lap. Without opening her eyes Valori made a shooing motion with her hands. "Go, children. I shall be fine."
"Only if you're sure."
"Yes. I sense the pilot's thoughts. She's terrified of what might happen to her if she comes out of her little room. She will remain where she is. Go."
They descended the stairs taking soft steps and headed for the hangar. The massive main doors were closed, but a personnel door set in one of them stood ajar with light shining through the crack. Hernando risked a quick peek inside.
"What do you see?" Anxious, Olivia glanced around at the empty tarmac to double check they weren't followed. "Is Annara in there?"
"I don't see anyone, but there's a light showing in the windows of a small office in a corner at the back. Another similar jet plane is housed here. It bears a big letter G on its side."
Olivia snorted. "I knew it! It's the Grundfest business logo. Let's go in and check out the office. There's bound to be a landline there we can use to call for help. I wish Annara had stayed with us."
"So do I, but I'm confident she knows what she's doing."
He pulled the door open wider and stepped over the sill. Olivia followed, her nostrils twitching at the reek of aviation gas and hot metal that greeted her as she stepped inside.
The concrete floor of the hangar was polished smooth as glass. Her sneakers squeaked on the glossy surface, earning her a pained look from Hernando. "Sorry," she whispered.
They moved to the side of the cavernous interior where barrels of aviation gas and large mobile tool chests stood. The hanger looked spotless and free of unnecessary gear.
"It's weird. Why is it so clean?" Hernando's soft voice echoed as they made their way with deliberate caution toward the office.
" I read somewhere they worry about things getting sucked into the jet engines. It's why they sweep and polish the floor and keep everything tidy."
He nodded then pointed to the office. "Makes sense. I don't see anyone moving in there. We might be in luck."
"In luck or not, we'll have to move with speed." Olivia pointed up to a small black glass hemisphere mounted on one of the metal roof beams almost overhead. "The camera's focused on the door we just came through. Grundfest's security could be here any minute."
Hernando looked perplexed. "Why do your people feel the need to constantly spy on each other?"
Olivia took his arm. "Good question, but let's not get into that right now."
They trotted toward the office. The door stood closed but the light shone bright within. Olivia risked a quick peep through the window and saw the little room looked empty. "I'll go in and use the phone. You keep watch at the door."
She slipped inside and pounced on the landline phone on the desk. She lifted the handset and heard a dial tone, then punched in 9-1-1. A rising trio of sharp beeps sounded. An automated voice told her the number was unrecognized and to press zero for an outside line.
"Duh!" Olivia bit her lip and tried again. As she pressed the last button the phone went dead. "Oh, no... The line's dead. Security must have seen us on the camera feed and cut this phone off at a central switchboard."
Hernando glanced about the windowed office. "We can't hide or defend ourselves well here. We need to go back to the plane."
Taking her hand, he pulled her from the room and into the hanger proper. They hurried toward the personnel door. As they drew near it opened wide and a hulking man in a black suit stepped through, his hand thrust inside his jacket in a way Olivia knew could mean only one thing—he had a weapon. They skidded to a stop and looked around, frantic to find another way out.
A rich chuckle sounded from the rear of the hangar, reverberating through the vast space. "I
