The Cessna Caravan wasn’t the fastest plane in the arsenal, but when Aaron selected it for their current trip, he had good reason. He wasn’t exactly sure how close the nearest airport was to their destination, and there was a possibility catching Sam might take more complicated measures than usual. He wanted to make sure his team was prepared for anything.
That’s why he had decided to fly the plane himself.
He had selected basically the same team as had been involved in the Sierraville Incident, less the member they were trying to avenge. Cadence, Meagan, and Aurora were the only Hunters on the plane, along with Hannah, Christian, and Jamie to guard them. While he had considered increasing the numbers in order to have a better chance at being successful, he was confident that this team could take Sam out if they were able to find him. He would also have three members from the Dallas area meeting them on the ground with motorcycles, a four-wheeler, and an SUV. Though he wouldn’t be asking any of those team members to stick around and help out in the hunt, he knew they would be nearby should they be needed.
As they neared the DFW metroplex, Aaron checked the altitude, which was approximately 3000 feet, and began to address his team. “Christian, can you give us a rundown of the location?” he asked, using the IAC to make sure he was heard clearly over the sound of the engine. Normally, he would do that himself, but since Christian had been the one to locate Sam in the first place, and flying the plane and relaying information at the same time wouldn’t be that easy, Aaron was content to let Christian have his few minutes. Besides, he didn’t really want to be the one to tell Cadence what was about to happen if he could avoid it.
“Sure, I’ll be happy to tell them,” Christian said, standing and assuming the small space between the cabin of the plane and the passengers, even though that wasn’t truly necessary since they could all hear him through their IACs. He spoke aloud as well; he had a slight English accent that Cadence had noticed immediately but had never been able to place and had never bothered to ask about. She was sitting next to Jamie and Aurora, and despite her desperation to concentrate on what was being said, thoughts of actually catching up to Sam at last had her both nervous and excited. As her thoughts began to drift back to Sierraville, she felt Jamie nudge her, and she locked in on Christian’s words, wondering what she had missed and how Jamie had known she wasn’t paying attention.
She seemed to have caught Christian midsentence. “... Elementary School has about four hundred students age four through twelve, Pre-Kindergarten through Fifth Grade. There are also about forty staff members present. We know Sam has been using the alias Danny Yokes and has been working here as a custodian since right before school started in early August. He’s gotten himself identification cards, a driver’s license, etc., somehow, and while all of our contacts in the Dallas-Fort Worth area claim they have had no communication with him, we have reason to believe that he may have been in contact with Alex Sanchez, though he claims that is not true.”
“We’ll be flying over the school in about five minutes,” Aaron chimed in.
“Where’s the closest airport?” Hannah asked from the row behind Cadence.
“Caddo Mills is a small airport about fifteen miles away. The initial plan was to land there, but we’ll have to play it by ear,” the Guardian Leader replied as he flipped what seemed to be random switches to Cadence. “Three members of the DFW area team are on their way with bikes, a four-wheeler, and an SUV. They should be arriving about the same time as us.”
Christian continued spewing information, but now Cadence was momentarily distracted by how sexy her fiancé was when he was flying. She was so impressed that he knew what all those switches and buttons did, and it seemed like he knew precisely what to do without paying the slightest bit of attention, though she imagined he was more focused than it appeared. Biting her bottom lip, she shifted her eyes back to Christian and instantly regained her composure. Jamie was looking at her out of the corner of his eye, which made her uncomfortable, like he knew she wasn’t listening again, so she adjusted in her seat and crossed her arms, her eyes glued on Christian. “We’ll just need to be prepared for anything.”
As they neared the school, Aaron brought the plane closer to the ground. Cadence wasn’t seated by a window, but she could utilize his IAC to see a few houses and country roads below them. Eventually, they reached a small town with clearly defined neighborhoods bordered by squared-off streets, and then she spotted a school. Even from the air, she could see children running around on the playground, like so many little laughing ants, and the nervous feeling in her stomach began to take over. She had to make sure nothing happened to those kids.
Still using Aaron’s IAC, Cadence focused on the parking lot. The airplane was so low, she could clearly see each of the vehicles parked in front of the school. Aaron circled around, and she wished she knew precisely what they were looking for so that she could be of help, but at the moment, she was simply awaiting orders.
“Is that our truck?” Aaron asked as he maneuvered through a second flyover.
“Looks like the one matching the bill-of-sale I found in the records this morning,” Christian confirmed.
“Then he’s at the school right now!” Jamie surmised for all of them.
“I think that changes our plans,” Aaron sighed as he reached the outskirts of town and began to circle back around. “Christian, we’re switching to Plan-B.”
“Whatever you say, boss,” Christian agreed, a crooked smile on his face.
Cadence didn’t like the sound of that.