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XLV

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The FBI helicopter flew over the wreckage site. By the time the Bureau figured out the plane never arrived at Dulles Airport in DC, it was almost too late. Their reconnaissance team scattered and tried to locate the downed aircraft. Though GPS is taken for granted in most facets of everyday life, with air travel it's different. Radar is still what was used to track most commercial airplanes, even though every plane is located with a GPS device. Unfortunately, finding an airplane isn't as easy as clicking find my phone.

By the time, Special Agent Dawn Rush and her team's helicopter touched down at the base of northern Alberta's Rocky Mountains, the aircraft was empty.

Agent Rush saw the bodies stacked up outside the plane. Good men, all dead.

"Agent Archuleta," she shouted. "I want every one of these men IDed."

"Yes, ma'am."

Rush immediately recognized Larry Riggler. The men had been dead close to a week, but thanks to the icy weather, their bodies were fairly well preserved. She eyed up the rest of the stack and realized that agents Nashida and Orroye weren't present. Maybe there's hope they were still alive.

"Archuleta?"

"Yes, ma'am," the 5'9" 170-pound field agent with dark hair responded.

"Before you do that, come with me." Rush drew her firearm, a Glock 22.

"Inside?" Archuleta motioned to the rip in the side of the jet.

Agent Rush nodded and led the team of five special agents inside the dilapidated plane. Rush looked up, to the back of the plane, then across and into the cockpit. It was empty.

"Dammit," she said, letting the Glock fall to her side.

"What is it?"

"I don't see any sign of Nashida or Orroye."

"That's good," Archuleta added. "But shouldn't they have stayed with the wreckage?"

"Yes, but I also don't see Parker Cassata or the target, either. Which means, they escaped and the two surviving agents are out there somewhere with them."

"Oh. Shit."

Rush shook her head. "Yep. I don't even know where to start looking for them."