“Who the hell is that behind us?” Quincy asked. “They’re getting so close they’re gonna block my shot.”

“They came from the trailer.”

“Well, reporters can’t follow us where we’re going. You’re heading to the airport, right? If you can call that Tinkertoy setup an airport.”

And you’re getting shoved out of the car at the terminal, and Lily will be dropped off in the closest crowd. Then I’m gone.

“The Cessna is parked on the private strips. Don’t go to the main terminal. You know where the private planes land, right?”

No. I don’t fly in private jets. This guy is a perfect addition to this crapshow of a twenty-four hours. You’ll have to walk to your jet, if it even exists, from where I dump you off—

Wait. The reporters in that van. The news crew won’t leave a kid stranded on the road.

“I think I’ve seen a sign for a private strip near the airport,” William said. Keep thinking that’s where we’re headed. I need this car.

“OK. I know there’s a basically an AH-64 Apache on our ass, but we need a McDonald’s in the worst way to drop her off. She is not part of this deal.”

“There is no deal,” William snapped.

“I don’t know what happened back there, but I am seriously freaked out. Drop her off and she can order a Big Mac and call her parents.”

“I don’t know…” William looked to the back seat and Lily’s frightened face. His voice quieted. “I don’t know if she even has parents.”

“I get it. You’re sensitive to kids in peril. But she scares the hell out of me. Hey, the airport is coming up. Once we get there, we’re out of here.”

“I see it,” William said, seeing the one-mile sign for the airport. But I’ll be leaving here solo.

He’d have to act fast once they got off at the exit. There would be a sudden stop at the entrance road to the airport, and if he was lucky, the helicopter would have to circle around and buy him a few seconds.

He’d walk out and wave the reporters over. Quincy would get out in frustration, and William would help Lily out of the back seat. Once they were away from the car, he could sprint back and be gone fast—

“Hey asshole, we see you! Back off!” Quincy yelled, motioning to a large gray van that had pulled up alongside them. William realized that the headlights in the rearview mirror were gone, and the van had moved into the other lane.

The window rolled down. Even in the dim light, it was clear the van was several decades old. A bald man was waving frantically, motioning them to get off the road.