by KJ Kalis
Outside of the hangers, there were stacks of crates. A forklift had been abandoned near the office. Kat guessed that the operator was probably at lunch. There was a single car parked at the office, an old white sedan with a dent in the back bumper. The blinds on the office door and window had been pulled down. If there was anyone in the office, they certainly didn’t want to be seen. Henry pulled the car up to the office, leaving a space between his sedan and the white car that was parked there. “Let’s go.”
Kat got out of the car behind Eli, Henry and Carson. Henry walked quickly, staying close to the side of the building. A few seconds later, Kat realized that he was focused on a stack of crates that were stacked by the large hanger door. “Mary said they would be going into hanger three.” He pointed to the tallest of all the hangers. “That looks like it over there.”
Carson moved behind Kat and Eli. She couldn’t help but think that he was covering their backs. “Nice of them to leave the stack of crates there for us, huh?”
The group moved quietly to the stack of crates. As she got closer, Kat realized that it wasn’t just a single stack. In fact, there were probably at least thirty in piles. Kat followed Henry between the stacks. She knelt down. As she did, she heard the sound of wood grinding on concrete. Carson had pulled one of the crates in front of the spot where they were hiding, preventing anyone from seeing them as they went by. Henry did the same on the other end, leaving slight space so they could get out if they needed to.
Kat sat down on the concrete and looked at Henry, “What do we do now?”
Henry fumbled in his pocket and pulled an earwig out, shoving it in his ear. “Nothing. We wait.” Henry whispered into the microphone attached to his radio, “In position.” Kat watched him as he paused, listening. He whispered, “ETA on the plane is four minutes.”
Henry slid down next to Kat, his back pressed against the crate. Carson had taken a position watching the open door. Henry glanced at her, “How are you holding up?”
“Well enough.”
“Managed to get yourself involved in another scrape, I see.”
Kat scowled. “For some reason, trouble seems to find me.”
Henry nodded. “Indeed.”
From the distance, Kat could hear the thrumming of a jet engine. She whispered, looking at Henry, “Is that them? Are they coming?”
Henry nodded, putting his finger up to his ear as though he was trying to hear information coming in through the earpiece. “They are taxiing to the hangar now.” He motioned for everyone to get down. Eli sat with his back against a crate right on the tarmac. He didn’t seem to want to watch what was happening. Kat wondered exactly what his relationship had been with Stella’s family. The rest of the group knelt behind the cargo crates, staying out of sight, peering through the cracks. Kat leaned towards Eli, “Are you okay?” she whispered. He nodded.
As Kat glanced up, she could see the gleaming white jet make its way toward them, the pilot and copilot just small dots behind the windshield. The whine of the engines bounced off the front of the hanger. A man wearing blue coveralls emerged from inside carrying two orange flags. He waved the jet right into the hanger.
The engines powered down inside the hangar. From where Kat was watching, she had a good view of how it was positioned. The door on the side of the fuselage popped open exposing a ladder. There was no movement for what seemed to be a long time, although it was probably just a minute or so. Kat waited, her heart beating in her chest. From inside the hangar, a man in a dark suit approached the plane, climbed the steps and disappeared inside. He didn’t reappear. Instead, Kat saw the pilot and the copilot leave the plane. As they walked across the tarmac, she saw they were both carrying briefcases and chatting as though it was a regular day at the office. It certainly didn’t feel that way to her. “Henry, is there anyone else in the plane?” she whispered, not wanting to blow their location.
“I dunno. Mary said there was a shipment, but she wasn’t sure who else was on the plane.”
“Maybe they’re just waiting to unload cargo?”
Henry scowled. “Well, if they are, it’s gotta be something small. They couldn’t move anything large with this size plane.”
Kat knew Henry was right. The information Mary had given them was that there was a shipment coming that was tied directly to Stella’s family. But the size plane it was delivered on was way too small for it to be anything large. Kat frowned, “Is that normal?”
“I have no idea. I don’t usually work on the import side of enforcement.” Henry glanced down at Eli. “Eli? Do companies use small jets for imports?”
Eli shook his head, his eyes wide. “I have no idea,” he stammered. “I suppose it’s possible. Maybe they’re just moving something little like diamonds or cash, or something.”
The minutes passed by. Kat looked to her right. Carson was staring directly at the hangar, although nothing was happening. The man in the suit still hadn’t reemerged from the airplane. Eli was still sitting on the tarmac, staring straight ahead. Henry alternately looked towards the hangar and down at the ground, as though he was listening to someone on his radio.
Kat slumped down next to Eli, feeling frustrated. She had no idea what they were waiting for. Why didn’t the man in the suit come off the plane? Was there a flight attendant? She imagined that most flights require not only a pilot and copilot but someone to service the cabin. They hadn’t seen anyone come off the plane who would fit that description.
Carson tapped her on the shoulder and lifted his head, directing her to look back at the hangar. The same young man that had guided the plane into the hangar was back, this time carrying chocks for the wheels. He placed them behind the landing gear and walked away. Kat sat back down shaking her head. They were wasting time. “Shouldn’t we do something, Henry?” she asked him, although she knew the answer.
“No, love,” he glanced back at the hangar. “The job right now is to wait and see who comes off that plane.”
Kat scooted back up so she could get another look. The plane was still sitting in the hangar, basically unattended. What they knew was that a man in a suit had boarded but he hadn’t come off. Who else was on that plane? “Henry, I think this is a waste of time,” she said.
Before Henry could answer, she saw him quickly turn his head and look back behind them, sinking down even further. He put his hand on her shoulder pushing her back down behind the crates. Carson did the same. He didn’t say anything, but he looked at her and gave his head a little bob which told her she needed to look in the other direction. From between a sliver of a gap between the crates, she could see a car approaching, a shiny black Mercedes sedan. “Who’s that?” she whispered.
“We will find out in a moment,” Henry said.
Kat pivoted around so that she could see the hangar again. She stared between a gap in the crates that faced the hangar. She could peer through with one eye and see most of what was happening. Carson hadn’t moved. Neither had Henry.
As she watched, the black Mercedes pulled up right next to the plane, stopping near the steps. As soon as it stopped, the driver exited, moving to the back seat and opening the back door on the passenger side. A woman, slight and blonde, got out of the car and walked around to the side of the car that was closest to the plane, her high heels clicking on the polished concrete floors.
Kat’s eyes got wide. Could that be Stella Rusu? Was she meeting the plane personally? Kat wanted to ask Carson or Henry but thought better of it. Making noise of any kind could blow their cover. She glanced back towards the hangar. From the inside of the plane, a long woman wearing a bright red dress exited, the handle of a purse in her right hand. She walked past the driver, the blonde woman and the Mercedes with a brief head nod. She didn’t say anything but simply left the hanger. At least Kat assumed that was the case, as she couldn’t see her anymore.
If their count was correct, and there is no guarantee it was, that meant that only the man in the suit, and possibly someone else, was on the p
lane. Or maybe it was something else, Kat wondered. Before Kat had a chance to think too much, her stomach completely clenched, she saw a man walk down the jet’s steps. He was a large man, tall and blonde, wearing a pale suit. His hands were empty. No suitcase and not even a briefcase. “Who’s that?” Kat whispered to Henry.
“I don’t know,” Henry spoke quietly into his radio.
Kat peeked her head up over the crates to see if she could get a better look. She had no idea who the man was. It was too far to get a very good look at him. Kat hoped that Henry’s other officers were taking surveillance pictures. She imagined they were, but she wasn’t sure.
The man who’d gone onto the plane when it arrived walked right behind the big blonde man that came off first. He took two steps down the jet’s ladder when Kat saw something in his hand. “Gun,” she whispered as loudly as she dared. The man standing behind Christopher clearly had a pistol in his hand. It was pointed, for the moment, downward, but the fact that he had it all sent a wave of nervous energy through Kat’s shoulders. She slumped back down behind the crates, peering out through the crack. As soon as she did, the man with the gun lifted his finger to his ear, as though he was wearing the same kind of earpiece Henry was. The man turned, glaring out the door of the hangar, and started running toward the blonde woman.
From behind them, Kat heard tires screech on the tarmac. The noise was close, so close that it made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Henry and Carson ran out from behind the crates. Kat scrambled up to a standing position, “Come on, Eli,” she yelled, extending her hand. “We’ve gotta get out of here!” As Kat made her way out from behind the crates, she saw Carson and Henry sprinting towards the hanger door. Kat started running, trying to keep up with them, but she only made it a few steps before a strong hand grabbed her and spun her around. A large man with black hair held her arm so tightly she felt like the blood wasn’t getting to her hand. “Whoa, there. Where do you think you’re going?” She started to yell, but the man smashed a rag across her face that instantly made her feel dizzy. As she felt her body slump, she caught a glimpse of the blonde woman driving away. The world went dark...
36
“What the hell was that?” Stella yelled, holding onto the handle built into the door of the Mercedes as it screeched around the corner and sped away from the airstrip.
“I’m sorry, ma’am. I don’t know. I’m waiting to hear.”
Stella slumped back in her seat. Her meet with Christopher had gone south. She had just been getting ready to confront him when one of the guys that worked for Bobby had yelled something. She hadn’t heard what. She only felt Bobby’s hand pushing her into the back seat of the car and slamming the door shut. As they had peeled away from the hangar, she saw one of her father’s black vans and another sedan driving towards a pile of cargo that had been left on the outside of the hangar doors. Two men had been running towards the hangar. She didn’t know what happened to them. She smoothed her hair, quickly putting it in a braid.
Interruptions to their meetings happened occasionally, but not like this. Her mind raced. Who were those men that were running towards the hangar? Before she had a chance to think about it, Bobby glanced in the rearview mirror. “Ma’am?” he asked.
“Yes?” Stella tried to sound as calm as possible although her legs were shaking from the rush of adrenaline. She looked down at her hands and realized she had broken a fingernail when Bobby had thrown her into the car. If that was the least of the damage, she could live with that.
“I still don’t know exactly who those people were that were watching us, but Anton just radioed in and said he’s taking two of them and Christopher to the warehouse.”
“Very well.” Stella smoothed her pant legs with her hands and pulled a compact out of her purse. She checked her makeup. It was still acceptable. Anton was one of her most trusted men, right next to Bobby. He would do what needed to be done.
Being properly dressed for meetings with something her father had taught her. He never showed up to meet anyone, whether friend or foe, without being dressed in a suit and dress shoes. He had told her long ago that dressing up for meetings gave the impression that you deserved respect, whether you had earned it yet or not. When Stella took over the import business, that was one of the few things that she took from her father’s teaching.
“Bobby? Let’s go to the warehouse now. I want to know who was following us as well as have my conversation with Christopher.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Bobby didn’t say any more. She couldn’t tell whether he approved of her request to go to the warehouse or not. She didn’t really care. She was sure the minute he had a chance, he would reach out to her father if Anton hadn’t already. She shook her head slightly. Although she ran her business, she knew it wasn’t exactly hers. Her father’s specter always hung over every move she made.
She took a deep breath, looking out the window, trying to allow her body to relax. It was no use to go into a business negotiation upset. They would cause her to make rash decisions that weren’t the best for her business. She knew that.
She glanced down at her shoes, realizing that one of the nude pumps had gotten scuffed. She would have her housekeeper take care of it. The woman was a wonder with shoes. As soon as she finished the thought, she chastised herself. She should be less concerned about her broken nail and her scuffed heel than what was happening in front of her. She needed to focus, and focus fast. “Bobby?”
“Yes, ma’am?”
“Please have Christopher put in the office and keep a guard with him. I’m not sure who Anton picked up, but please put them in the back of the warehouse in the stock cage. I will deal with each of them separately.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She saw Bobby reach for the earpiece he was wearing. Her father’s company had invested in encrypted communications for its staff. It had been expensive but was worth it.
“And one other thing. I want to know who was watching us. I want to know before we get to the warehouse.” Stella knew that only gave Bobby and his team a few minutes to figure out who was there. She wasn’t sure that would be enough time, but she had found that putting a little bit of pressure on them helped them to work more efficiently, whether they liked it or not. The odds of them being able to get identities before she arrived at the warehouse was small, but it was worth trying.
By the time Bobby pulled up in front of the warehouse, a black van and a small black sedan were already parked out in front. Each of them was nearly as shiny as the Mercedes. Her father insisted that the teams that worked for him take good care of the equipment they were given. Severe consequences had been known to happen for items that were not maintained. Her father felt it was part of running a disciplined organization.
Stella didn’t wait for Bobby to let her out of the car. She opened the door and got out herself, walking towards the office entrance. Once inside, she paused at the doorway, allowing her eyes to adjust. As she looked straight ahead, she could see Christopher pacing in her office, one of her father’s men standing in the corner, his jacket off, his pistol exposed. Christopher would be no threat. Her father’s men were so well-trained that if Christopher tried to make a move, he would be dead before he took one single step out of line.
She weighed her options for a moment and decided to walk to the back of the warehouse first. Her curiosity about the people that Anton had scooped up outweighed her desire to deal with Christopher. He could wait.
Her heels clicked on the concrete floor, the noise bouncing off the high walls in the warehouse. She walked quickly, Bobby following behind her. She heard a noise coming from the back of the warehouse, where the stock cage had been built.
From time to time, there were some high-value items that came through the warehouse–antiques, statues and even a 1955 Jaguar she was shocked to find out was worth more than twenty million. She had had a cage erected in the back of the warehouse to give those items an extra level of protection. It was ma
de of cyclone fencing, the sides and the top covered in heavy wire with a locking door. There were no important items in there right now, save for the people that Anton brought in.
As she rounded the corner, she glanced ahead of her. The lights were on, long black shadows wriggling on the floor. Two people were seated in chairs. Anton looked to be finishing tying a woman’s hands behind her back, her head lolled to the side. There was an older man next to her who seemed to be out cold.
“What did you do to them?” she asked Anton. Of all of her father’s men, she liked Anton the most. He was at least six foot three, with an enormous frame and a shock of the same black hair that so many Romanians had. His nose was crooked, the result of being broken too many times. He was loyal and had been kind to her when she was a teenager. Not all of her father’s men had been.
“Chloroform. They both went down like rocks. The woman is starting to wake up now.”
“Any idea who they are?”
Anton shook his head slowly from left to right, like a tree moving in the wind. “No. I’ll be able to get more out of them as they wake up.”
Stella nodded. Though she would like to know who the people were before they were conscious, she wanted to be reasonable. She turned, walking back to the office, Bobby following. “Any news on who these people were with?”
“It looks like it was police surveillance, ma’am. One of our guys spotted a team up by the perimeter fence. Looked to him like customs enforcement.”
Stella gritted her teeth. The last thing she needed was British customs enforcement breathing down her neck when she was trying to launch a new transit line for opioids into Europe. That could stall her efforts by weeks, if not months, if she could ever get it moving again.