Nightfall

by Peter Hoole

  Jacob scanned the rest of the lot. There was no-one else in the vicinity. This was his moment.

  The woman lifted her suitcase. As she did, she felt a pressure on the back of her neck. Jacob had walked up behind her, and cupped the back of her head, almost like a cradle. As she began to turn, Jacob firmly placed his left hand on her chin. The woman tried to kick out, but it was useless. Within a split second, Jacob had twisted his hands, applying a terrifying torque.

  The movement created a loud crack, one that would have been heard in the echoes in the parking lot. The crack broke the C3, C4 and C5 joints in the woman’s spine. Her lifeless body slumped to the ground, and she was no more.

  With the efficiency of a man who had seen much worse, Jacob lifted her slight frame into the trunk of the car, ignoring the fact that her head bumped on the bumper. In the same motion, Jacob grabbed the keys from her limp hand. Her suitcase, which had been tipped over in the brief struggle, lay on the ground behind the car. Jacob picked it up, closed the trunk, and carried it to the driver’s door. After getting in the car, he opened the bag and examined the contents. As expected, she had her purse and identification in the bag.

  She also had her parking pass.

  Using the recently acquired keys, Jacob left the parking spot. As he pulled out, he did one last scan of the area. There was still no-one in sight. He drove around the lot, each left turn bringing him closer to the exit.

  As he drove through, he breathed a sigh of relief. He drove the car past the terminal and looked through the windows. The same elderly couple who had taken his place in the line still hadn’t moved.

  He smiled to himself. Suckers.

  Sensing her moment, the prisoner spoke up. “Looks like you’ve only got one choice then,” she said.

  Upon hearing the prisoner talk, Caleb spun around in the motel room. “Oh yeah…” he asked. “What’s that?”

  “I can help you.”

  Dunleavy pulled out his gun, and marched up to the prisoner. Barely able to contain his anger, Dunleavy decided to take it out on the prisoner. “You fucking people,” he shouted, “you’ve ruined my life!” The gun was pointing at the prisoner’s head, and Dunleavy’s arm was shaking.

  “Mike,” said Darcy. “It’s okay. We can get out of this.”

  “How? How the fuck are we going to get out of this?”

  “Mike, we will. You didn’t do anything wrong. We can prove it.”

  “Bullshit,” Dunleavy replied.

  “Mike,” Caleb said, moving towards Dunleavy, “if you shoot her, then we’ll be in real trouble. She’s our solution.”

  It was apparent that Dunleavy was slowly listening to reason, and he began to lower the gun. Caleb and Darcy backed away. As they did, Dunleavy returned his look to the prisoner, and noticed the smile on her face. “Fuck you,” he said. He raised his gun, about to fire. “Mike. No!” screamed Darcy and Caleb.

  As they shouted, Dunleavy swung his arm down, and connected with the prisoner’s face. The swinging gun collided with her jaw, causing a fracture and dislodging several teeth. The prisoner fell to her side on the end of the bed. After several seconds, she sat back up, blood teeming from her mouth. She spat out the blood, along with two teeth.

  Dunleavy put the gun in his belt, and walked up to the prisoner. He grabbed her under her chin, and brought her face up to make eye contact. “I want you to listen closely, bitch!” he began, a harsh whisper in his tone. “Just because we need you alive, it doesn’t mean you get to enjoy it.”

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  After time, the mild concussion she’d received started to subside.

  “Mike… what the hell are you doing?” shouted Caleb, pulling Mike away from the woman, surprised he had gone so far.

  Dunleavy remained quiet, content for now that his rage had been expressed effectively.

  “Who are you?” the prisoner asked, “Are you the good cop? Let me guess, you’re gonna tell me that you can protect me from him if I only help you?”

  Caleb turned to the prisoner. “Listen,” he said as he approached her, “please do not mistake this for a situation where we are weak. We’re not the cops. And your friends have just put a big target on our backs, so we’re kind of at a point where we don’t care if we break the law.”

  Caleb turned to the Sergeant. “Isn’t that right, Sergeant Casey?” he said.

  “Sir, yes sir. I think you’ve summed it up nicely. Either way, we’re kinda fucked.”

  “Well said, Sergeant. Well said!” Caleb replied, again turning his focus to the prisoner.

  “Now let me ask you a question,” he started, his voice filling the prisoner with fear. “Do you think we’re more dangerous than we were before?”

  The prisoner sat still, not able to move.

  “Because, quite frankly, unless you can tell us something – anything – then you’re no more than a paperweight with a bad haircut.”

  The prisoner looked to Darcy, her eyes appealing for help. She knew that Darcy was not military, and would be the one most likely to help her.

  Darcy noted the cry for help, able to feel sympathy for pretty much everyone she met. And indeed, she did feel sorry for the woman. But her sympathy was limited. She had wasted too much of it on Matthew, and she remembered the result. “You know what, Caleb?” she asked her boyfriend.

  “What’s that, babe?”

  “I think you’re right. If she can’t help us…” Darcy’s voice tapered off, and she deliberately left the room, completely expecting Caleb to kill the prisoner if required. Even though she had seen death earlier that day, she had no desire to see someone killed again.

  The prisoner was surprised. She had expected Darcy to help, or to at least act on her behalf. She quickly realised that there would be no help forthcoming.

  Caleb watched Darcy leave. As the interconnecting door closed behind her, Caleb turned his attention back to the prisoner. “You’re going to tell me what I want to know,” he said. “If you don’t, or I suspect you’re lying, my colleague over here…” Caleb pointed to Dunleavy. “Mr. Dunleavy will be given permission to shoot you in the head.”

  “What… no warm-up? No taking my thumbs? No shooting my leg?” the prisoner asked, searching for something to buy her some time.

  Caleb ensured he had eye contact with her. “We don’t have time for that. As soon as my Lieutenant comes through that door… Casey see how long she needs.”

  Casey went to the door and stuck his head out, asking Murphy how long she needed before they could leave. Caleb and the prisoner couldn’t hear her answer, but Casey came back into the room and signalled that they could go in five minutes.

  Caleb again looked at the prisoner. “Five minutes. If I’m not satisfied in five minutes that you’re going to help, Mr. Dunleavy will shoot you in the head, and we will leave. Do you understand?”

  The prisoner nodded her head.

  “Okay, then,” Caleb began, sitting back in his chair. “What’s your name?”

  She was surprised by the question, unsure of why they thought it important. “Natalie.”

  “Okay then, Natalie. What can you tell me about the people we’re up against?”

  Confused by the question, Natalie just stared at him blankly. “That would take forever to answer,” she replied.

  “Let me be more specific. Where are they located?” Caleb asked.

  “I could tell you, but it’s easier to show you.”

  “Casey… bring over the map.”

  “It’s not on any map,” Natalie said, shaking her head. “You people. You just don’t get it. We’ve been hidden since before you were born, since before Dunleavy was born. We do not appear on any maps.”

  “So… where is it?”

  “It’s in the middle. The centre.”

  “The centre of where?” a confused Caleb asked.

  “You know what? FUCK YOU!” Natalie said angrily. Natalie’s tone had changed. She knew that if she continued to give out information for fre
e, then they may as well just kill her anyway. That, she couldn’t allow. Not because she didn’t want to die. She only feared death as it would mean she couldn’t complete her mission.

  Caleb was surprised by her change in tone. He thought he’d made it apparent that they were willing to kill her.

  “No… I’ll only show you. If I tell you where it is, you’ll kill me. Besides, it will be a long drive if you don’t use the plane.”

  “Plane, what plane?”

  “How do you think we got here so fast? We didn’t come in a goddamn SUV, did we?” Natalie replied, becoming agitated.

  The thought had crossed Caleb’s mind. He was surprised that they’d managed to appear in so little time. It had only been an hour and half between Dunleavy making the call to Carl, and the arrival of the pseudo-SWAT team.

  “Alright then. Where’s the plane?”

  “It’s close.”

  As she spoke, Murphy entered the room. “We’re good to go, Cap. Trackers all gone. Plus, I discovered some really cool stuff. You’re gonna love this thing,” Murphy said, unaware of any of the happenings inside the motel. “Geez, everyone. Why the long faces?” she asked.

  Casey quickly brought her up to speed about Dunleavy’s new status, and Natalie’s revelation.

  “Oh… that would explain it.”

  Caleb stood up from the chair, and went into the adjoining room. There he found Darcy, lying on the bed, crouched in the foetal position. She heard him enter, and sat bolt upright. She did not want anyone to see her struggling with the situation. It was important for her to appear strong.

  Caleb recognised this, and decided to ignore her obvious anxiety. “We have to go, babe,” he said.

  Wiping away the beginning of a tear, Darcy nodded, and walked to the door. Before she got there, Caleb closed the door behind him. He pulled her close, and held her. Her head turned and lay on his chest. His bulky arms wrapped around her.

  “Babe, I’m okay,” she said, not wanting anyone to know how she felt.

  “I know you are,” Caleb said, “but this is for me.”

  He looked down and smiled at her. He was also in a dark place, one that he couldn’t immediately see a way out of. But, with the information he’d just garnered from Natalie, an idea was starting to form.

  Darcy also regained focus, knowing that Caleb needed her too.

  “Come on, soldier-boy,” Darcy said, “we’ve gotta go”.

  Her words provided comfort to him; the familiarity of the good times. The times that seemed they would never end just twenty-four hours ago.

  Caleb turned and opened the door and they left the room. In the adjoining room, the others had already made their way out. Caleb left both keys on the bed, and he and Darcy left the motel room.

  “Gotta be the shortest stay in motel history… or at least the shortest without payments changing hands,” Caleb said, attempting levity.

  The joke made Darcy giggle, as they got into the car. When Caleb started the car, he turned toward the back seat.

  “Where to?” he asked the prisoner.

  “Back the way we came,” she said. “Plane’s in an airfield off the highway.”

  Caleb turned out of the motel, and headed back north. A few hundred yards up the highway, Murphy stuck her head between Caleb and Darcy’s seats. “Wanna see the cool stuff?” she asked enthusiastically.

  “Yeah, sure,” Caleb replied.

  “Press that red button. The one marked ‘Thrust’.”

  Caleb pressed the button. The car sped forward, going from fifty miles an hour to eighty in less than a second.

  “Sweet, right?” an enthusiastic Murphy asked.

  “Yeah… very cool. Doesn’t really help us trying to stay incognito though,” Caleb said.

  “Fair enough,” said Murphy. “Darcy, why don’t you turn on the GPS?”

  “What? This?” Darcy pointed at the centre screen on the console.

  “Yep. Just go ahead and turn it on.”

  Darcy did as instructed; and the screen came alive. After a two second boot-up screen, a standard map came up.

  “So what, Murph?” asked Caleb. “I’ve seen this before.”

  Murphy smiled with glee, enjoying the reveal. “Darcy, press that little blue icon. The one that kinda looks like a London Bobby’s hat.”

  Darcy pressed the button. About fifty blue dots popped up on the screen, the majority in and around SEATAC.

  “That, Captain, would be all the police in the area.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Well, one went screaming passed the motel, and this thing tracked it along the highway.”

  Caleb was impressed, but a little disturbed. “Good work Murphy, should make the drive a bit easier,” Caleb said. He turned to Darcy and Murphy. “How do you think they got all this information?” he asked.

  “My guess,” Darcy replied, “is they have someone inside the Department who has given them the low-jack frequency.”

  “Shit… these guys really do have reach, don’t they?”

  There was no need for a response, as Darcy and Murphy both understood the implication.

  Trying to refocus, Caleb again asked Natalie the location. “Where’s this plane of yours?” he asked.

  From the back, Natalie responded. “It’s at the airport.”

  The three at the front of the car shared a look. The airport was shut down, and emergency personnel would be covering the entire complex. There was no way they would be able to take-off from there.

  “Not that one,” Natalie shouted from the back. “The other one… About five miles north of SEATAC.”

  Darcy typed some details into the GPS.

  Sure enough, there was another airport, located exactly where Natalie said – Kings County International, also known as Boeings field. One of the busier non-hub airports in the United States, the airport had over three hundred thousand landings or take-offs each year.

  Caleb looked in the rear vision mirror, and directed a question to the prisoner. “Won’t we be seen?” he asked her, “I imagine it will be frowned upon if we take off as well.”

  “Don’t worry about that, Captain,” Natalie said. “I’ll look after the details”.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  A twenty-minute drive later, and they had arrived at the outskirts of the airport.

  The place was almost deserted. Any travel for that day had obviously been cancelled, and any emergency personnel had been sent to SEATAC. They pulled up on the eastern side of the complex. A fence was between the car and the runway.

  Caleb exited the vehicle, leaving everything behind except for the binoculars. He moved towards the fence. Darcy exited the vehicle, and walked around its front and joined Caleb at the fence line. Caleb was scanning the area, and could only see smaller jets and passenger planes. No sign of anything that looked out of place.

  “What are you looking for?” asked Darcy.

  “Couple of things,” Caleb replied. “First, we just need to make sure, before we move in, that there are no major threats. From here on, everything we do has some risk. But I just want to make sure we aren’t walking into a no-win.” Caleb again panned across the runways, noting the minimal staff placed mainly around the exterior of the facility. “Looks like we’re okay in that regard,” Caleb continued, “I can’t see anything that could turn into an ambush.”

  “Isn’t that the point of it?” Darcy asked.

  “Yeah, you’re right. But I’ve been through enough of these,” Caleb answered, and continued, “the next thing we need to look for is the plane. Now, I can’t see anything that looks like it doesn’t belong.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’m guessing that our guest and her friends brought the SUV with them. It’s not like anything I’ve seen before, and I’m thinking they brought it with them from wherever they came from. Plus, they had to have gotten here fast. I mean, there wasn’t much time between the call Dunleavy made from the plane and them arriving, so the plan
e has to be fast. If they’ve got anything like the boosters the SUV has, they’ll stand out.”

  “And, can you see anything like it?”

  “No. No I can’t.” Caleb turned back to the SUV. “Sergeant. Bring her here!” he ordered.

  Casey quickly exited the vehicle, Natalie with him. Natalie had been relieved of her restraints - the sight of a black SUV with four people looking at the airport was suspicious enough, let alone if one of them was visibly restrained.

  “I’m sure I don’t need to remind you about Mr. Dunleavy’s itchy trigger finger, do I?” said Caleb as the prisoner approached the fence line.

  She shook her head, still smarting from the blow to the jaw she’d received earlier.

  “It’s there. It’s towards the northern end of the runway”

  “I don’t see it,” replied Caleb.

  “Of course you don’t,” she replied condescendingly. “Do you think we’d hide it in sight?”

  Caleb looked into the distance, and tried the different settings on his binoculars. Each view showed nothing.

  “Just take us up there, and I’ll show you,” said Natalie.

  Caleb was sceptical. He didn’t know how far he could trust her. He knew she was leading them into a trap, but how long would it take for the trap to be activated?

  Was it at the airport? Was it at the colony she had mentioned?

  At that point, he couldn’t be sure, so he decided to play along. After all, he had very little alternative. The only other option was to kill her and run, hoping that the Colonials would tire of chasing them.

  That option, however, had too many negative aspects, the main being that the Colonials seemed to have a big plan in motion, and they were the only ones who seemed to be trying to stop it. And if it was as big as everyone had been hinting, it needed to be stopped. “Okay then, everyone back in the SUV. “The four walked back to the car, Casey escorting Natalie closely. Murphy again stuck her head in the gap between Caleb and Darcy. “Couldn’t see it could you?” she said.

  “No, Lieutenant. We couldn’t.”