The C-17 settled onto the runway at Stewart International, braked, and taxied to the lighted ramp in front of the airplane’s hangar. The copilot went aft and lowered the rear ramp, then started releasing the cables holding the pallets in place. Two forklifts rolled up the ramp and began removing the pallets to waiting trucks.

Mike Freeman stood behind the trailer, looking at the sides of the airplane. “I count eight bullet holes,” he said to Todd. “You’d better get your maintenance people on that right away. They’ll either have to be patched or the panels replaced.”

Todd produced his cell phone. “I’ve got to call Lance Cabot,” he said.

Holly put a hand on his arm. “I think you’d better let me do that,” she said. Leaving Todd to speak to the maintenance crew, Holly, Stone, and Mike walked into the offices of Airship Transport and sat down in the lounge. Holly dialed a number on her cell phone.

Stone sat next to her, and he could hear both sides of the conversation.

“Cabot,” a voice said loudly.

“It’s Holly. I hope I didn’t wake you.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Where are you?”

“Back at Stewart.”

“I got your text message,” Lance said. “Congratulations on a successful extraction.”

“The extraction went perfectly,” she said. “Todd did an outstanding job of planning it.”

“Then why do you sound so down?” he asked.

“As we were approaching the coast we lost Estancia.”

“You lost him? How the hell did you do that?”

“He lowered the rear ramp of the airplane, then got into the Mercedes that delivered him, started the engine, and backed out of the aircraft.”

“Backed out of the aircraft? Onto the tarmac?”

“We hadn’t landed yet.”

Lance digested that for a moment. “You were still in the air?”

“Yes.”

“Estancia committed suicide?”

“Maybe not. Stone says he was wearing a parachute.”

“I saw the shoulder straps,” Stone said, leaning into the phone.

“Where the hell did he get a parachute?”

“There was a binful stacked right outside the cockpit.”

“Let me get this straight,” Lance said. “Estancia put on a parachute, got into the Mercedes, and drove it off the airplane into thin air?”

“Exactly,” Holly said.

“My God,” Lance said. “I hope it didn’t land on somebody’s house. We’d never hear the end of that.”

Fred Holland’s gardener arrived for work shortly after dawn, and on going to the rear of the house saw that the swimming pool’s water level was down by a foot. He got a hose, turned it on, and walked to the edge of the pool and dropped the hose into the water, then he looked down and saw a black automobile sitting on the white bottom. “Jesus H. Christ!” he said aloud to himself. “That must have been some party!”

Pablo Estancia got onto the five-ten train and took a seat. He bought a one-way ticket from the conductor and then got out his cell phone and dialed a number.