“And when that happens, all the exits will be shut tight until we’re found,” Liesel said, her eyes on the road. “What’s on your mind?”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Istanbul Airport
Arnavutköy District, Turkey
Caspian looked out the van’s side window. The airport was surrounded by a thirteen-foot-tall metal fence topped with razor wire. He checked the map again.
“There’s a large fuel farm on the west side of the airport. Keep driving north on this road, you should see it soon,” he said. “Let me know when you do.”
Caspian moved to the back of the van and opened the cabinets and storage bins as the van continued to bump along the cracked pavement. The bins and cabinets were filled with socket sets, jumper cables, spray cans of lubricant, and several other tools useless to him. But in one of the compartments, he found what he had been looking for. An industrial-size bolt cutter.
“I’m at the south end of the fuel farm,” Liesel said.
He returned to the passenger seat, bolt cutter in hand.
“Keep the fuel depot to our right,” he said. “There’s gonna be a wooded area to our left very soon. That’s where we’ll make our exit.”
“Right there,” Caspian said a moment later, pointing a finger to a specific spot along the fence.
Liesel pulled the van to a stop, keeping about four feet between the fence and the vehicle. Caspian grabbed the bolt cutter and climbed outof the van. Using the van as cover, he slid the bolt cutter around the first link at the bottom of the fence and applied pressure. The blades bit into the metal with a crunch. It took him just over two minutes to cut a small access hole large enough for him and Liesel to squeeze through without getting shredded by the sharp ends of the metal.
He looked up at Liesel, who was still behind the wheel of the idling van, and gestured for her to lower the window.
“I’ll cross over,” he said. “Once I’m there, I want you to park the van real close to the fence. Make sure the side sliding door is aligned with the opening I made. And bring the keys.”
She gave him a thumbs-up. Caspian pulled back the cut section of the fence, bending it against itself to widen the opening. He slipped through first as Liesel maneuvered the van into position. Caspian stripped off his coveralls and tucked the pistol into the waistband of his pants. Two minutes later, Liesel, also out of her uniform, climbed out the side door. Caspian held the fence open, and Liesel stepped directly from the van to the other side. Caspian tossed his coveralls inside the van.
“Let’s go,” he said to Liesel as she slid the door shut.
As he’d seen on Google Maps, there was a strip of dense brush and trees that separated the airport property from the beginning of an agricultural zone. From where he stood, Caspian could make out wide patches of farmland and a few irrigation ditches, but no buildings.
“There are buildings about half a mile west,” Caspian said. “With luck, we’ll be able to get ourselves a vehicle.”
Liesel pointed to a shallow depression in the field.
“Natural cover,” she said. “And it’s heading west.”
The terrain was rough and uneven, but they were making good time. Every few strides, Caspian glanced over his shoulder to make sure they weren’t being followed.
“You still have the keys?” he asked.
“You want me to toss them?”
“Yep.”
Liesel threw the van’s keys into the air, sending them sailing deep into a section of tall grass to their left. With the van blocking the hole and the keys gone, any would-be pursuers would either have to waste time cutting a fresh breach or race back to a gate, both of which would buy him and Liesel precious minutes. They continued to push forward until they reached a low rise where Caspian dropped to one knee. He motioned for Liesel to do the same, then scanned the area carefully. Ahead of them, scattered along a dirt road, were several modest farmhouses. Four of them had a detached garage tucked behind them.
“I see a lot of rusting tractors and battered pickup trucks,” Liesel said, “but by the look of them, I’m not sure they’ll be of any use to us.”
Caspian didn’t disagree.
A dog barked in the distance, and Caspian tensed. He watched for movement, his hand going to his pistol. “You see it?” he asked.
“I heard it. Hopefully it’s chained up,” Liesel replied.
He spent another minute studying the arrangement of the buildings, noting the distance between them and the main road. None of the properties had heavy fencing, just low stone walls or basic wire stretches that were designed more to keep livestock in than people out.
