Stone walked to Sunny Joe’s house. Before he could knock on the door, it opened. Sunny Joe stood in front of him, a troubled look creasing his face.
“Hey, I just got a call from Cole. We’ve got a mission. Is Freya okay? We’re supposed to catch a flight.”
“I think it would be better for her not to go,” Sunny Joe said quietly. “She’s got some stuff on her mind, and her breathing’s not right. Something bad could happen if she’s not focused.”
Stone understood what Sunny Joe meant. Freya had seemed jumpy and volatile ever since she came back from Lakluun, and if Freya was not in full control of her body, she could get hurt — or end up hurting other people.
Stone walked back down the stairs. He tried calling Freya again, but either her phone was off or her battery was dead. Damnit, sis, get it together!, he thought as he jumped in Sunny Joe’s old truck.
After packing a small travel bag, Stone started the short drive to Douglas Municipal airport. He decided that, when he returned, he would bite the bullet and finally buy himself a car. His job paid well, and he did not have any bills. Even though Sunny Joe had said that he did not mind Stone borrowing his truck, Stone felt bad. Plus, he wanted to arrive at his destination in something more stylish than an ancient, rattling truck, held together with Bondo and hope.
Ten minutes later, Cole sent him pictures of the three kidnappers from Bughanum. The three black men could not have been more different from each other if they had tried. The man in the middle was easily fifty — far older than an average citizen of Bughanum was expected to live. The other two were younger, but one was as fat as the Overlord himself, and the other was skinny as a rail. None of them looked particularly dangerous, especially considering that in most of their pictures, they were smiling and pointing to various items in airport gift shops: a small stuffed animal that looked like the Sphinx; a decorative statue of the Eiffel Tower; a t-shirt that said “Noo Yawk.” In the final picture, they all stood together in front of a Krispy Kreme kiosk, all biting into donuts and giving a thumbs-up. It was hard to imagine that these goofballs could pose a threat to anyone, but Stone knew better that to underestimate an opponent.
Stone parked at Douglas Municipal Airport, and sent a quick reply to Ben. Douglas was barely large enough to call itself an airport, but it was only a few miles away from the reservation. Stone entered the airport lobby, and was surprised to see how luxurious it was inside.
A middle-aged lady sat behind the front desk, laughing uproariously at something on her phone. Stone started to speak, but she held up a finger. “Hode up,” she said, before bursting into laughter again.
Stone stared at the woman, who begrudgingly put her phone away. Her smile disappeared with the phone, and she gave Stone a dull, surly glare.
“Welcome to Douglas Municipal Airport,” she said, her voice belying the meaning of welcome. “Whatchu want?”
“Hi, um, I’m looking for Captain Hammond,” Stone said.
“He speckin’ you?” the lady asked, her eyes staring ahead like dull pieces of glass.
Stone wondered if she knew how to blink.
“Yes.”
“His plane is err’thurr,” she said, pointing toward a very long hallway.
“Thanks,” Stone said. The moment he turned his back, he could hear the lady tapping the screen to her phone. Her screeching laugh followed him as he reached the end of the hallway. Stone opened the door, and saw rows of beautiful planes. He was impressed.
Stone saw a man standing next to a particularly beautiful plane. He walked up, smiled, and shook his hand.
“Hi. I’m Stone.”
“I’m Walt,” the man replied. He smiled cordially, but looked confused. “Do I know you?”
“I’m sorry. I thought you were Captain Hammond.”
Walt’s smile disappeared.
“Oh,” he said and pointed toward the end of the tarmac. “Hammond’s at the end.”
“What’s wrong?” Stone asked.
“You’ll see,” Walt said and walked away.
Stone walked toward the last plane, only to find a white-haired man sitting on a lawn chair in front of an old green Cessna. He was wearing a ballcap and reading a newspaper. Both the Cessna and the pilot were ancient.
“Hi. Are you Hammond?”
“Captain Hammond,” the old man snapped, “and you’re late!”
“I’m five minutes early!”
“Not by my watch, and that lady flies by my watch!” Hammond said, pointing to his plane.
“Maybe you need to get a new watch,” Stone said. Under his breath, he added “…or a new lady.”
“This watch is worth more than you are, kid — and this lady has some surprises for you,” Hammond said, motioning for Stone to board.
“So this isn’t a flying death trap? Because that would be a surprise,” Stone grumbled.
As he entered the plane, Stone noted that it had been modified. At one point, it probably held a dozen seats, but the layout was changed to resemble a small office, complete with an office desk and laptop. Stone sat down at the desk and watched the old man enter the cockpit.
Stone thought he could hear an artificial hip clicking as Hammond moved.
“Strap in,” Hammond barked.
Stone fastened the seat belt around his waist and opened the laptop.
“How do I log in?” Stone asked.
“How the hell would I know? I’m not your damn computer teacher,” Hammond said.
Stone grunted and then tapped keys until the camera turned on, scanning his face. A screen asked for fingerprints and a vocal print. Stone mimicked the picture on the screen and swiped his finger over the pad below the keyboard and a graphic of a microphone appeared.
“What’s your part in all of this?” Stone asked Hammond and the laptop logged on as it recognized his voice.
“You ain’t been doing this too long, have you?” Hammond asked. “I don’t know what you do. I don’t want to know what you do. Most importantly, I don’t give a damn what you do.”
Stone returned his attention to the laptop as Hammond fired the plane up. It sounded like a dying lawn mower.
“Sheesh, did you bring parachutes?” Stone asked.
“Bite my ass,” Hammond said and they sped down the runway. Stone closed his eyes after he saw strips of peeling green paint holding on for dear life outside his window.
Cole paid money for this?