He’d been sleeping in his clothes, and he stepped down the stairs in his boots into the yard.

He scanned the cold, open, dark outside and glanced over at the truck. She wasn’t in the cab. It was dead silent. There were no cars on the distant road. No lights anywhere.

“Please,” he said.

He was quickly crossing the yard for the barn in the starlight when Ruby stood up from where she’d been sitting in the bed of the pickup.

“Oh, hey,” she said.

“What the hell? Are you okay?” Gannon said, rushing over.

“I’m sorry. I’m fine. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“What are you, um, doing?” Gannon said, slipping the Glock into his coat pocket as he arrived. He could see she was fully dressed in her hoodie and boots and had brought out her blanket and pillows.

“I woke up to get a glass of water, and I saw all the stars, so I came out to take a look.”

“The stars?”

“Yeah,” she said, smiling. “See for yourself. They’re really incredible here.”

The screen door creaked.

“Mike, what’s up?” Stick called over.

“I’m sorry,” Ruby said. “Now I’ve woken everybody up.”

“Nothing. It’s fine. False alarm,” Gannon called back. “Ruby was just getting something from the truck. It’s all good.”

“I can go back to sleep?” Stick called.

“Yep,” Gannon called back.

The screen door creaked again.

“I’m sorry,” Ruby said again.

“Nothing to be sorry about. We were just a little worried for a second. So you’re into astronomy, huh?”

Ruby nodded, looking up at the sky.

“From my father. He was a high school science teacher, but space was his passion. Every summer we’d camp at stargazing places all over Ohio. My little sister about died with boredom, but I actually started to get into it. It’s all about getting away from light pollution from cities and highways. There’s hardly any here. It’s pretty perfect.”

Gannon looked up at her, at the light in her eyes as she gazed up.

“Don’t you need a telescope?” he said, watching her.

“Actually, no. I mean, it’s good to have one, but you don’t need one. To me, it’s more exciting with the naked eye. More, I don’t know, old-school.”

She looked at him, almost blushing.

“I know what you must be thinking. ‘The whole world is after us, and she’s out gazing at the night sky. This chick has lost her marbles.’”

“If anyone has lost their marbles, it’s me,” Gannon said as he helped her down out of the truck bed. “I got myself into this by taking that money. What did you do? Just your job?”

“Not even,” Ruby said as they walked in the cold. “They wouldn’t even let me near the plane.”

“Exactly,” Gannon said. “You’re on the run for the seditious crime of wanting to do your job.”

Gannon looked up at the sky.

“You ever see them from way out in the ocean?” he said.

Ruby shook her head.