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She sat up and then got to her feet. After flexing her hands, she pulled on her coat and tried to close the buttons with her too-stiff fingers. Cursing she wrapped her coat around herself and moved to the end of the fuselage.Breathe. Focus.Panicking wouldn’t help. It was the same lecture she’d given herself time and again when she’d had to go up against some asshole in the board room.
With her mind clearer, she switched to worrying about Xavier. Had he wandered off? Was his head injury worse than they first thought? He could be hypothermic and disoriented out there in the darkness without a coat. She was tempted to yell his name but instinct stopped her. Disturbing the darkness might not be the best idea.
She shivered despite the sweat breaking out between her shoulder blades. What the hell was she supposed to do? Until now her idea of roughing it was going glamping with some friends in California. Nothing could have prepared her to survive in a situation like this. The sound of footfalls coming fast reached her and she froze. She squinted in the darkness. Movement. Flashlight beam bouncing. Xavier was sprinting toward the wreckage.
“What is it?” she rasped.
Xavier arrived inside and brushed by her, pulling on his parka, and then going for the backpack which he slung over his right shoulder. “There are men coming on snowmobiles.”
“That’s a good thing, isn’t it?” she asked.
“These men are wearing white camouflage gear and have automatic weapons slung across their bodies. I don’t think that’s good.”
“I don’t…won’t the police have guns?” She didn’t get what he was saying.
He came back past her and turned. “If they were a rescue team, they would have florescent vests on and uniforms with police or whatever emblazoned on their backs. These guys are dressed to blend in with the scenery, and they’re heavily armed. Don’t have to be a rocket scientist to recognize they are part of a hit squad. I’ve seen them before. I’ve been…I was in the military. Army Ranger. I know what I’m talking about.” His voice died out and he cocked his head as if listening. “They’re coming. Time to go.” He reached back and grabbed her hand tugging her out in the snow.
What the hell is a hit squad?Her knees gave out as the words sunk in. She stumbled but managed to keep going. “H-how are we going to outrun them if they are on snowmobiles?” she yelled at him as they ran down the scarred path the airplane had made.
“We’re not going to outrun them. We’re going to get away from here and hide.” He picked up his pace and she stumbled again but he still held her hand and helped steady her.
“Won’t they see our footprints in the snow?”
“Yes,” he said over his shoulder but didn’t elaborate.
They veered off the debris path and headed through the snow deeper into the woods. “They can’t go in here with their machines,” he called over his shoulder as he tugged her along, the flashlight beam dancing with every step.
A few minutes later, he stopped and pulled her down on top of a hill looking down at the crash site. She was panting but he was barely breathing at all.
“What are we doing?” she asked, gasping for air.
He held his finger to his lips. If she’d ever wanted to be a bat, now would be that time. It was hard to see through the darkness. The snow wasn’t falling as hard, but the flakes had gotten larger.
“We’re waiting,” he replied in a hushed voice. Keep low. He glanced down at her coat. “Close your coat and then lay down behind the hill. You’re going to get wet but we don’t have a choice.”
She did as she was told, already cold all the way through. Being wet was going to make things so much worse. The sound of the snowmobiles approaching grew noisier.Shit.A minute later lights danced down in the debris field. There were four of them. They rolled to a stop and the people got off, slowly approaching the fuselage. They were lit by the headlights. Two fanned out to the sides with their weapons drawn. The other two entered the wreckage.
Her heart rate was pounding so hard breathing was difficult. She didn’t dare move.How could this be happening?Two days ago, her life was normal, boring even and now someone was trying very hard to kill her. It was ludicrous. She peered at Xavier. He needed to know the truth. She owed him that much. Now wasn’t the time, but soon.
A minute later the pair came back out and conferred with the other two. Someone shouted a curse and then they fanned out over the wreckage. She lost track of them in the darkness but then there was a shout. The person on the far left pulled something out of the pile of wreckage. Another flicked a flashlight beam at the object.
“Shit,” she murmured as she realized they’d found her messenger bag. She felt the weight of Xavier’s gaze but refused to meet it.
The men conferred some more and then one pointed to the ground. Great. He’d spotted their footprints. The foursome fanned out and followed the prints until they hit the tree line. Their flashlights bobbed in the darkness.Please don’t come up here.As if they’d heard her, two of the men swung their flashlights into the trees. Allegra ducked behind the hill.
“They can’t see you,” Xavier whispered. “We’re too far up and their beams don’t penetrate far enough.”
She bit her lip. “Are they going to come after us?”
“Probably, but they can’t right now. The storm is getting worse and they won’t be able to see. Our prints will be covered in another hour anyway. It’s enough that they know we left the crash site. The storm hampers them but it’s worse for us. They’re prepared for it. We aren’t. They’ll wait it out and then come searching for our dead bodies.”
She emitted a small groan. “Way to think positively.”
“They won’t find us but they’ll look. The darkness and the storm are working in our favor. Buys us a bit of time.”
The men walked back to the wreckage. Three of them got on their snowmobiles and went back the way they’d come. The fourth man stood watch, gun cradled in his arms, right outside the fuselage.
“Where are they going? Now what are we going to do?” she whispered.
