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Grayson stood at the end of the tarmac, awaiting the shuttle’s arrival. Dressed in silver and black fatigues, his small army of guards stood with their weapons drawn. Having recruited mercenaries that worked for him, he had no reason to alert the government or local authorities about the theft of his shuttle. He’d keep matters in-house and exact his own judgment.
Thomas stood beside Grayson and held a small computer tablet. Grayson shoved his muscled hands into his pockets while watching the small shuttle grow larger as it descended from the sky. His jaw tightened.
“The hibernation is still activated?” Grayson asked, never looking away from the approaching shuttle.
“Yes.”
“I suppose we should check it out. If they’re asleep they’ll be easier to take into custody, but it might be a trap. That’s why my men are armed.”
The shuttle lowered and slowly touched down, skidding slightly as the tires met the pavement, at the far end of the runway. Giant chutes pillowed up behind it, drastically slowing the shuttle down. The small army readied their weapons. Their faces were hardened and determined like Grayson.
When the shuttle came to a complete stop, the motorized staircase was driven to the side door. Two guards rushed up the stairs. The door opened, and they headed inside.
Grayson and Thomas walked along the runway toward the shuttle.
One of the guards pushed his head back out. “Shuttle’s empty!”
Perplexed, Grayson looked at Thomas. “What the hell?”
Thomas shrugged.
“How in the hell could it be empty?” Grayson picked up his pace.
“It shouldn’t be. Unless . . .”
“Unless what?”
“They might have parachuted somewhere. The emergency door is on the other side of the shuttle. We should check that.”
“What?” Grayson asked. His face flushed red. “Where would they get parachutes?”
“Most of the personnel shuttles have emergency parachutes. This one does, too.”
“And you didn’t think to tell me that?”
“I figured you knew.” Thomas swallowed hard. “You insisted that every shuttle had every means of safety precautions. That was one of them. It would have been a rare thing for anyone to need to use parachutes during a reentry. I honestly never expected they’d think or even attempt such a maneuver. But desperate people are known to do some crazy things.”
Grayson nodded. “That’s true. But the computer still show the hibernation activated?”
“Yes.”
“Even after it landed?”
Thomas nodded and hurried up the steps to the door. Grayson followed.
Before Thomas stepped inside the shuttle, he glanced back at Grayson. “The computer shows active hibernation, and I want to know why, too.”
They hurried to the passenger cabin. Thomas stopped midstride when he noticed the catheter bag filled with water and the I.V. needles inserted.
“I’ll be damned,” Thomas said. He walked to the bag and removed the I.V. needle. “I don’t know who that third passenger is, but he must be the one behind this.”
“Yeah, I’m curious to who he is, too. But we need to backtrack and find where they jumped from the shuttle.”
“I’m on that.”
Grayson glanced around the shuttle. Less than an hour ago, his three employees had been right here. He shook his head. For months, all he could think about was apprehending them to find out what their motives were. How had they managed to contrive such a plan so effectively within a short amount of time? He wanted to know the specifics, so he could prevent any future attempts. The more he learned, the better he could establish better security protocol.
“While you’re at it, have a team dust down the seats for prints,” Grayson said. “I want to know who this other person is.”
Thomas nodded. “You got it.”
“Do you think they survived the jump?” Grayson asked.
“Possibly. The parachutes were placed here in case an emergency occurred during landing or glitched controls prevented a safe landing.”
“Find them.”
Thomas nodded. “I’ll do what I can, but getting access to the satellite feed will take some time.”
Grayson chuckled. “That would. Call Donovan Taylor at the Sleeper Lab. Get him busy tracing their chips. We should have them in custody by the end of the day.”
“That would be quicker.”
Thomas stepped away to contact the forensics team.
Grayson crossed his arms and looked out the shuttle door at his armed guards. He had another shuttle approaching Earth, but Jonas and his crew were still a month from arriving. Matthews had been forthcoming in the news of its arrival because he wanted Grayson to know that he had not killed Jonas. Jonas had chosen to leave. He needed to know Jonas’ reasons for abandoning his post because he wasn’t certain Matthews had told him everything. Jonas wasn’t a man easily manipulated. There had to be a deeper reason, and that was what Grayson planned to find out.
***
Magnus landed hard. Even though over the past two weeks he had been exercising daily on the stationary bicycle, his legs still were weaker than he expected.
He had tried to run fast when his feet touched down, but his left knee buckled slightly, sending him off balance. With Digger tucked inside his suit, he didn’t dare fall face first because his weight would surely crush the fat little ferret. Instead, he pivoted to his left, dropped, and fell on his back. The loose gravel dug through his silver insulated suit into his back. He groaned and winced in pain, but at least Digger wasn’t hurt in the fall.
“Damn, that’s going to hurt even worse tomorrow,” he said.
The dry wind yanked on the puffed out parachute and tugged at him. Had he been a smaller, lighter man, the chute probably would have dragged him across the ground. Instead, he was a giant anchor with the wind rippling the parachute behind him.
Forcing himself to sit up, Magnus unfastened the straps and slipped his arms from the harness, allowing the wind to yank the chute away. Scrubby shrubs and sharp rocks snagged the billowing material, preventing it from sailing away.
He gazed up into the sky, looking for Carter and Sylvia. He located their position in the bright blue sky. They were much farther away, being as they hadn’t immediately jumped after he had. He watched Carter and Sylvia floating downward, their images growing larger, and he hoped they had more graceful landings than he had.
At least the wind seemed to be carrying in his direction. A professional jumper could have maneuvered with the wind current and dropped somewhat closer. As it was, Magnus would probably have to walk a good half-mile or more to join them. Provided neither of them was injured upon landing, they could get to a small town or community where they could hide until they found a way to make their next move. He assumed that Grayson had discovered they were no longer aboard the Percival 3000, which meant a search team would probably be dispatched immediately to find them. They had little time to disappear.
Digger squirmed and rolled near his stomach, pushing his pointed nose against the fabric, trying to weasel out. Magnus chuckled, unzipped the suit, and Digger popped his head out and chattered with excitement.
“Easy, Digger. We’re okay. Well, I’m a little cut up and bruised, but at least you’re okay.”
The harsh arid breeze kicked up layers of dust that made the air reddish brown, instantly reminding him of Mars. For a moment he felt trapped inside of a nightmare and they had somehow returned to Mars instead of reaching Earth.
Magnus stood slowly. Every slight movement ached. He imagined that was why most three-hundred-pound men weren’t interested in skydiving. The landing was excruciating for heavier individuals. Of course, it could have been worse. He could have dislocated his knee or torn an ACL.
He stooped slightly, brushing off the reddish dust on his pants, not that it mattered. The wind freed the parachute and carried it upward until another set of bushes snagged it.
Magnus began walking in the direction of where he anticipated Carter and Sylvia would land. At first every step brought involuntary groans from him, but after twenty yards or so, walking actually seemed to lessen the pain. Digger sniffed the air and seemed to enjoy the warmth of the sun.
“Good to be outside, eh?” Magnus said.
Magnus had walked the length of a football field by the time Carter landed, took to running, and skidded to a stop without falling. Sylvia dropped behind him. Right as Carter turned, she ran straight into him. He caught her, but the impact sent him backwards with her landing on top of him.
“Sorry,” She gasped, staring down into his eyes.
His grimace showed the obvious pain their collision had inflicted upon him. Before he replied, she planted a kiss on his lips. His lips didn’t respond immediately, due to his pain and sudden surprise of her affection. After a moment, he kissed her back.
Magnus walked over to them. He offered his hand to Sylvia. She accepted it, and he pulled her to her feet. She unlatched her chute while Magnus helped Carter get up. He glanced back at Sylvia. “I didn’t know if you’d dare the jump or not.”
“Carter pulled me with him because I was terrified. But, wow! I’d like to do that again.”
Magnus chuckled. “You liked it?”
She nodded with a huge smile. “It was exhilarating.”
“At least the two of you landed better than I did.”
Carter frowned. “I don’t know about that. She almost killed me.”
“Sorry.”
He shrugged and unfastened the Velcro straps around his briefcase.
“Where are we?” Sylvia asked.
Magnus nodded toward the road. “According to the road sign, we’re in a place called Red Rock. Either of you know where that is exactly?”
“No,” she replied.
Carter shook his head, kicked away his chute, and released it before the wind caught it and propelled it like a sail. He looked to be in pain.
“You okay?” Magnus asked.
“Yeah. I’m fine. You know, it really doesn’t matter where we are,” Carter said. He immediately checked the latches of the briefcase to make certain the rough tumble with Sylvia hadn’t jarred it open. It was still tightly shut. He sighed with obvious relief. He brushed the dirt and grit off his pants. “We need to find a change of clothes quickly. Grayson probably has already issued an APB for state patrolmen to look for three individuals wearing Grayson Enterprises suits. His emblem is easily identified by most people.”
Magnus nodded at the suggestion. “I agree. These jumpsuits will definitely make us stand out more.”
While he stared across the terrain, Sylvia adjusted her pants and then fidgeted with her hair, shaking dust from it.
Another gust of wind churned more grit and dust into the air, forcing her to shield her eyes. She turned her back against the wind. “Where are we going to find any clothes out here? Looks like we’re in the middle of nowhere. And I’m not making clothes out of leaves.”
Magnus smiled and headed toward the road. Digger was curled against his chest in the crook of his left arm, basking in the sun.
“Where are you going?” Carter said.
“There are some RVs and campers over there,” he replied. “Looks like a campground. I’m going to check it out.”