They quickly loaded up the Millers truck with as much gear as they thought they'd need to send with the girls and then use to hide out for four days. Miller sent Webb with the girls and Coco in the truck. Coco, who was just happy to have her people back, wagged her tail and guarded Ava and Patsy. They headed out first.

Miller and Dink quickly consolidated several bags worth of gear into two each. They also broke out Miller's supply of war-belts and chest rigs in the event they ran into trouble. He added his own suppressed AR to the one Dink had reacquired from his truck. They also grabbed radios and other interesting gadgets that might come in handy at night.

While Miller topped off the gas in the ATV's Dink drove his truck into the barn and covered it with a tarp. It wouldn't fool anybody looking for it but at least passersby wouldn't spot it. They figured to use the ATV's to cover as much ground as possible between here and the airport. They'd have to hoof the last mile or two to avoid detection as it was guaranteed that Ketch would have men at the airfield. Once they dealt with them the truck could be moved into position.

Once they rounded up what they needed, they went back around front and hauled the now cool bodies of the contractors off as far as possible into the weeds and tossed them into a small ravine. Their SUV was also driven into the bush to conceal it. It was a hasty job, one that wouldn't fool anybody looking closely, but was enough to avoid immediate detection. Dink grabbed one of their radios before turning off the SUV.

With that they extinguished the lights of the house, each mounted an ATV and they made their way down the driveway. For the second time in as many days, Miller looked back and thought "I knew this was too good to last".

****

Ketch knew something was up. The contractors at Millers place were 30 minutes overdue from checking in and the radio protocol for checking in after the allotted time frame was not being followed. Wasting only a couple of minutes he picked up the phone and called Smythe.

Smythe was the leader of the contractors assigned to assist Ketch. Technically Ketch was in charge and Donovan was glad to allow that allusion to stand for now. Smythe, however, was Donovan's eyes and ears in the area. Smythe was as hard as they came. He was skilled, no pushover and had a ruthless streak that would have fit in well in African tribal warfare. Tall, lean and bald and always in an impeccably clean outfit he played the role of hired gun to the tee.

He had purposely let Ketch run the show and allow his men to report in to the Sheriff in the beginning. If Ketch performed well so much the better and Smythe could focus on operations elsewhere. If Ketch failed, it opened the door for Smythe to retake charge of the operation and swallow up Ketch's organization, men and equipment in the process.

"Smythe?" Kretch asked when the connection was made.

"Yes Sheriff, what can I do for you?" inquired an almost friendly voice.

"Listen, unit 5 was sent out to Millers place earlier tonight. They blew a check-in time and aren't following the subsequent blown cover calls" Ketch let the statement hang in the air.

"Yes, Sheriff..." answered back Smythe who preferred to let the other person ask the favor instead of volunteering any assistance.

"Well " Ketch continued "I'm getting ready to send a couple of my boys out there. Do you have any men you'd like to send along?"

There was a brief pause from the other end before Smythe answered. "Yes Sheriff. I'm sending you 3 men to go along with your deputies. Wait for them to arrive and send them in together. If Miller and anybody else is there in ambush you'll need the extra firepower. If they are gone the 10 minutes you have to wait now won't mean anything anyway".

Ketch thanked him and hung up the phone. He paused for a minute trying to think through what Smythe might have been up to. While he admired Smythe's efficiency he didn't trust the man. After a few seconds he bellowed out to his desk Sargent. "Patty! tell Junior to get in here".

****

At five minutes past three in the morning they heard the sound of a plane flying low. It continued to get closer and closer until almost the last impossible second it flipped on it's landing lights. The field was a small country airport so there was nobody in the control tower.

Webb had taken care of the two guys Ketch had stationed in the small terminal area. So unless anybody else showed up they should be able to make the hand off unmolested.

The airplane touched down just past the end of the runway. Webb had been talking to the pilot on a handheld and told him to simply land, back taxi and be ready to go as soon as they loaded up. As soon as the planes wheels chirped Webb, Miller and the girls drove the truck through a hole in the fence and headed right at the airplane. Dink hung back to provide cover in the event it was needed.

They pulled along side the idling twin engine airplane. The pilot wisely left the engines running and hopped out of the plane. Webb and pilot spoke briefly while Miller escorted the ladies and dog to the plane. After loading in Coco , he helped Patsy and Christy into the plane and then handed up Ava after giving her a big kiss on the forehead. She looked back at him groggily.

"I love you girl. I'll see you in a few days" he said over the roar of the engines while handing her to Christy. Patsy helped get Ava settled in while Miller and Christy started grabbing the bags out of the back of the truck. They loaded up the four that Webb allowed them to avoid overloading the plane.

Christy gave Miller a huge hug. "Are you sure about this?" she asked him holding him tightly.

"Sweetheart" he said with mock seriousness "I'm not sure about much since this morning. I'll see you before the end of the week". They kissed and then she climbed into the plane and Miller shut to door. He gave a thumbs up to the pilot and he and Webb drove off in the truck.

Before they got back to the fence the pilot had rammed the throttles forward and was moving down the runway. Soon he rotated and he pulled up the wheels. He kept the plane low and zoomed off into the night after extinguishing his lights. The truck hadn't made it back to Dink before the sound faded in the distance.

Miller turned to Webb. "You sure this pilot friend of yours is square?".

"I hope so" Webb replied "he's my brother".