Chapter 9
THE TARMAC CHASE
The twin-engine private jet sat on the illuminated asphalt runway.
Its turbine engines whined with a deafening, high-pitched roar.
Flashing red and green navigation lights cut through the rain.
Rosalyn Voss stood at the top of the airplane’s mobile staircase.
She paused for a brief second to look back toward the valley.
A smug, victorious smile played across her lips.
She pulled her fur collar tighter against the freezing wind.
Then she turned and stepped inside the cabin hatch.
"She’s getting away," Mira panted, leaning against the fence.
She gently lowered Evan onto a patch of dry grass.
The boy was shivering violently, barely conscious now.
Bastian grabbed the heavy wire-cutters from his utility belt.
He didn't waste a single breath on useless words.
He jammed the cutters into the chain-link fence.
With a surge of pure adrenaline, he snapped the thick steel wire.
He pulled a wide opening through the barrier.
"Bring Evan!" Bastian ordered, dashing onto the open tarmac.
The freezing rain stung their skin like stinging nettles.
The jet’s brakes disengaged with a loud pneumatic hiss.
The aircraft began to taxi slowly toward the main runway.
"Dad!" Evan whispered, his voice fading to a faint rasp.
Mira scooped him back into her arms with desperate strength.
She sprinted across the open tarmac behind Bastian.
The jet engines spooled up to maximum thrust, blowing gale-force winds.
The powerful jet blast knocked Bastian off his feet.
He skidded across the wet asphalt, scraping his hands and face.
"Mira! Stop!" Bastian yelled over the roaring turbine noise.
Mira shielded Evan’s face with her body against the jet wash.
She refused to let the wind push her backward.
She locked her eyes on the moving airplane’s landing gear.
With superhuman resolve, she took three more steps forward.
She reached out and grabbed onto the metal ladder of the rolling stairs.
The stairs were still attached to the tarmac by a motorized tow.
The airplane was pulling away, dragging the stairs along.
Mira leaped upward with Evan in her arms.
Her fingers caught the bottom railing of the metal stairs.
Her feet dangled in the air as the jet picked up speed.
"Mira!" Bastian screamed in sheer terror from the ground.
He scrambled back to his feet, sprinting with everything he had.
He caught the bottom of the ladder just as it cleared the fence line.
With a mighty heave, Bastian hauled himself up onto the steps.
He reached down and grabbed Mira’s jacket, hauling her inside.
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The heavy cabin door slammed shut behind them automatically.
[Cliffhanger: Inside the pressurized cabin, Rosalyn turns around with a loaded silver pistol pointed directly at Bastian’s chest.]
