Thin Line by L.T. Ryan Read Free Book Online Page A

each pass until it came to rest, slightly off-center.
    I returned to the stool and sat down next to Bear.
    "She had tears in her eyes," he said.
    I nodded, said nothing.
    "Wanna talk about it?"
    "Nothing to talk about."
    Bear stuffed the last bite of steak into his mouth. He glanced down at my plate. "You gonna eat that?"
    I was no longer hungry, so I slid the plate in front of him. A few seconds later, my cell phone reverberated against the bar top. I flipped it open. Frank
    was calling.
    "Yeah?" I said.
    "You guys alone?"
    I glanced up at the panoramic mirror and saw three patrons remaining, seated at the booth in the corner. "Yeah, we're alone."
    "I've got you on a charter out of there at eleven tomorrow morning. Think you can get to Long Island? Place called Republic Airport."
    "Should be able to do that. Where's the flight heading?"
    Bear glanced at me in the mirror, a piece of steak fixed in front of his face to the fork. I held up a finger in response.
    Frank said, "D.C. area."
    "Just the area? No place specific?"
    "You'll see when you get there."
    "It's cool with me as long as I get to depart from the plane under my own power and won't be walking into a hornet's nest."
    "Nothing to worry about, Jack. It's on the up-and-up, and I've got some stuff to show you." He paused, and I said nothing. "I'll meet you on the runway."
    I set the phone down on the bar and grabbed the last roll out of the basket between Bear and me. It was slick with butter and laced with garlic. If Bear
    hadn't eaten the others, a single bite would have led me to devouring the entire basket.
    "What's the deal?" Bear said.
    "We're on a charter tomorrow morning. Leaves at eleven out of a private airstrip called Republic Airport on Long Island."
    "Peachy." He lifted his mug to his mouth and tilted his head back, draining the remaining liquid. "We get to show up to God-knows-where unarmed."
    "Won't be the first time."
    Bear set his mug down. It clanked against the bar top. "And hopefully not the last."

     

Chapter 10

    THE SNOW HAD stopped by midnight. Crews worked tirelessly throughout the night, clearing the streets and sidewalks. Finding an unoccupied cab outside our
    condo building had been the toughest part of leaving Manhattan that morning.
    The charter departed fifteen minutes after our arrival at Republic Airport. We were the only ones on board. Takeoff was quick and effortless. Bear had his
    typical bout of anxiety during our initial ascent, but seemed to do well after the plane leveled off. I did my best to distract him by discussing the
    playoffs. I never held the fact that he was a Cowboys fan against him. They'd already been knocked out anyway.
    The altitude thwarted my attempts at keeping track of our location. The plane flew over an endless patch of thick white clouds. We traveled in a southwest
    direction, which was to be expected if we were going to D.C. It wasn't until moments before we landed, ninety minutes after takeoff, that I recognized
    where we were.
    Halfway between D.C. and Charlottesville, Virginia.
    Tall pines surrounded the airstrip for at least a mile in every direction, ringed by a ten-foot security fence about a quarter-mile out. The barren patch
    of land that snaked through the forest had been visible from the air. A narrow gravel path wide enough for a large SUV led from the runway to the nearest
    access road. It passed a guard station positioned at the gate and manned twenty-four hours a day.
    Several agencies had access to the runway. Most used it when they had to bring in a guest they wanted no one to know about, or when an agent returned home
    from a clandestine operation, or when someone had to get out of the country and security was at a premium.
    The first time I'd been diverted to the runway was because I was coming in hot. Two and a half years ago, I got into trouble across the border while
    working with the SIS. Two of our agents had been kidnapped while scouting a drug cartel. One of them didn't make it out