Charges (20 page)

15

The walk to Essex County Airport took over seven hours. Progress was slow because Vincenzo and the Ackermans needed to maintain a degree of stealth, even while going through residential neighborhoods. While no overt danger presented itself, they weren’t willing to place a bet on chance. As they progressed through the suburbs surrounding Hackensack, they saw more and more people out walking, just as they were. They avoided others, not wanting to become entangled in any drama, but Vincenzo examined them discreetly. Many looked tired and haggard, but he saw no signs of major injury or trauma, which told him that things were likely still relatively safe outside of major cities. That raised his spirits a bit, but not by much.

The heat and humidity served to sap their strength, and Jody had to stop and rest often. Vincenzo didn’t complain; he could use the breaks, as well. They were drinking a lot of water, which was good, but at that rate, it wouldn’t take more than a few days to exhaust their supply. They had to cut back on their consumption, but there wasn’t much of a chance of that happening. For Jody, it was impossible. She was pregnant, and denying her incubating infant water and nutrition just wasn’t going to happen. And the humid heat was making them sweat like crazy. Vincenzo had read once that the human body could only digest a gallon of water an hour, but it could sweat two gallons in that same span of time.
God, that wasn’t a very practical design. Just in case you’re listening.

By the time they made it to the airport fence, the sun was already on the horizon. Passaic Avenue was full of motionless traffic, and several people moved around the vehicles. Across from the airport, a sign outside a Petlovers Outlet proudly declared the business had AKC puppies for sale. The building was set back from the street, so Vincenzo couldn’t hear any barking, and he wondered how the pups were faring in the heat and if anyone was still taking care of them.

Down the street was a delicatessen named the Skylite Deli. It was dark and lifeless, and as they walked past it, Vincenzo saw a handwritten sign that read CLOSED INDEFINITELY, SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE.

Rob pointed at the building with his walking stick. “Think we should check it out?”

“Don’t think it’s going to be of much use,” Vincenzo said. He gestured at the empty bags and packages on the street. “At this point, it’s probably been picked over pretty well.”

“Yeah,” Rob said listlessly. He turned and looked back at the airport. “Well, it’s only a wrought-iron fence. If we can’t get in through the entrance, we won’t have much problem climbing over.” He pointed at a fire hydrant a foot or so away from the black barrier surrounding the airfield. “Could use that as a step up.”

“You want to do that or keep walking to the gate?” Vincenzo asked.

“The gate,” Jody said. “Please. I’m not sure I can even climb up the fire hydrant.”

“Heh, look who’s getting run down,” Rob said. “Guess you should have played more Xbox, huh?”

“Maybe you should get pregnant,” Jody shot back.

“Ouch.”

“Keep cool, crew,” Vincenzo said. “We’re all worn out. I agree with Jody. Let’s try the gate first.”

“Thank you,” Jody said.

“Free of charge.”

When they resumed walking, Rob kept casting glances toward the airfield, which was silent and motionless. Apparently, no one had any interest in airplanes at the moment. As far as Vincenzo was concerned, the fewer people around, the better. Though full-on night was still well over an hour away, he still feared that was going to be a problem.

“Rob, can you fly at night?” he asked.

“Well, yeah, but that was back when the lights were still on,” Rob said. “Flying at night is risky business, and I only have VFR certification.”

“Okay. I’ll assume that’s important.”

“Huh? Oh, sorry. VFR is the lowest rating. It means visual flight rules. Flying at night is a lot different than flying in the daytime. You can roll inverted and never know it unless you have a good eye on the instruments.”

“So that means...?”

“It means we’re spending the night,” Jody said. “There’s no way we’re going to be able to leave before the sun goes down. Right, babe?”

“Well, first thing we need to do is find a plane,” Rob said, peering at the airfield. “I see lots of Cirruses, Cessnas, Beeches. Most of them are newer. We won’t be able to get anywhere in those.”

“So you’re looking for something like a biplane? A Piper Cub?” Vincenzo asked with a mirthless snort.

“Yeah. Yeah, exactly,” Rob said.

“Okay. I’m not sure I know what to look for, so I’ll just follow your lead.” Vincenzo knew that those were small planes—
very
small planes—and he wondered how the hell one of those could get to Ohio.

“Well, let’s not get our hopes up just yet,” Rob said. “We still have to get inside, then we have to find a plane that’ll do the job.”

Office buildings lined the drive that led to the airport, but the front gate was open. A few vehicles were in the parking lot, likely as dead as every other vehicle they’d seen during their travels. Rob walked up to the main entrance and pulled on the glass door’s handle. It was locked. He pounded on the glass and peered inside, but there was no response. The airport was vacant, which seemed logical enough. If the airfield was full of dead planes, then there was no need to have anyone onsite.

“So what now?” Vincenzo asked.

Rob looked at the gate that separated the airfield from the parking lot. “I guess we go shopping.”

The entry gate was locked via a card system. The card reader was useless, even if they had a card for it. It wasn’t that difficult for Vincenzo to climb over the six-foot-tall wrought-iron fence, and once he was on the other side, he found a lever that unlocked the gate.

Rob pulled it aside and waved Jody in with a flourish. “No climbing necessary, m’lady,” he said.

Vincenzo and Jody followed Rob down the apron toward a slew of parked airplanes.

“Some of these look like they’re from the seventies,” Vincenzo said, pointing at an old Cessna with faded paint and an equally faded interior.

“They are, but if I need a key to start them, that’s no good,” Rob said. “We need something that’s a bit easier.”

“Define ‘easier,’” Jody said.

“I’ll know it when I find it.”

Rob discounted several right off the bat. Sleek low-wings like a Cirrus or a Cessna TTx were scratched off the list, despite their rather comfortable-looking interiors. Some of the more battered trainers were removed as well. Even though a couple of them didn’t seem to need keys to unlock the ignitions, Rob said he wouldn’t want to take a training aircraft on a long-range flight. By the time they had walked the airfield, only three candidates had made the short list.

“Looks like all of these are two-seaters,” Vincenzo said after they had identified the last of the potential planes.

“Yeah,” Rob said. He tried to keep a noncommittal tone to his voice, but Vincenzo saw through it.

“So someone’s going to get left behind,” Vincenzo said.

Jody and Rob exchanged uncomfortable glances. “Well, let’s not get that far ahead of ourselves just yet,” Rob said. “We don’t know if any of them will fly, right?”

Vincenzo nodded. “True.”

“So we’ll go through all the steps tomorrow, when there’s more light. Lots of things to inspect, and I need to be able to see what I’m doing. There’s no need to get worked up over anything just yet. For all we know, we’ll be back on the road tomorrow morning.”

“Okay.”

###

They camped out in the airfield in a flat area some distance from the runway. The neighborhood that surrounded them was mostly dark and quiet, save for where dim candlelight seeped out from the windows of a few houses. Distant cracks of gunfire punctuated the night. None were at all close, but the noise made Vincenzo uneasy.

“Maybe we should sit watches,” Rob suggested as they ate.

Vincenzo nodded then realized Rob and Jody probably couldn’t see him in the dark. “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea,” he said.

Vincenzo checked his watch. It was just after nine-thirty, and the western horizon still held a pale trace of twilight. Dawn would arrive in less than eight hours, and that was fine with him. He didn’t feel comfortable sleeping out in the open. He had considered breaking into one of the empty office buildings, but he feared running afoul of whatever law might still be operating in the area.

“How do we do it?” Jody asked in a tired voice.

“You guys get some sleep,” Vincenzo said. “I’ll sit up for three hours. If I can’t make it, I’ll wake up Rob. Rob, you take the next three hours then wake up your wife. I’m sorry, Jody, but there’s only three of us, and we’ll need you to take a turn. Is that all right?”

“Sure,” Jody said. “I’m willing to do my part.”

“Babe, you need your sleep,” Rob said.

“And so do you. You’re going to try and fly an airplane tomorrow. It won’t do me and the baby any good if you fall asleep at the wheel.”

“Then it’s settled,” Vincenzo said. “Thanks, Jody. I’ll go dig a latrine while you guys finish up here. We’ll probably be needing it.”

“I, uh, could use it right about now,” Jody said.

Vincenzo snorted. “Okay. I’ll be quick about it. You might want to bring a blanket or something to cover up with. Just in case someone comes walking up.”

“Wow, a guy who’s still worried about female modesty at the end of the world,” Jody said. “Maybe I married the wrong guy.”

“Hey, now,” Rob protested in a good-natured tone. He started to stand. “Let me help you with digging that hole, Tony.”

“I’m good, brother. You just sit and take it easy. Like Jody said, you’re flying tomorrow, so you get the VIP treatment.”

“Ah. Okay. Thanks,” Rob said in a heavier voice.

Tony knew why Rob was more sober. The chances of all three of them taking wing tomorrow were extremely low, and there wasn’t any doubt about who was going to be left behind.
Deal with it
.
Suck it up, be a man, and deal with it.

“I’ll be right back,” Vincenzo said, grabbing his entrenching tool. He’d only used it twice before, once while on an overnight turkey hunt, and earlier that morning. He figured it would become one of his most trusted implements over the coming weeks, provided he didn’t break it. He found a spongy patch of earth a hundred feet from the runway and quickly dug a trench.

He returned to the makeshift campsite. “Okay, let me show you guys where it is. Probably better not to use any flashlights or anything, so easy does it. The ground is pretty flat and level, but watch your step.”

Rob and Jody got up and followed him back to the trench.

“It’s not terribly deep,” Jody said, casting about with her foot to feel out the trench’s dimensions.

“Well, it’s not like we’re going to be building an outhouse,” Rob said.

“Yeah, I get that,” Jody replied.

“It’ll be perfectly sanitary,” Vincenzo said. “I’ll fill it back in tomorrow before we leave. Anyway, I’m going to head back. Feel free to break it in.”

“I forgot to bring my sleeping bag,” she said.

“Don’t worry, babe. I’ll stay here with you,” Rob told her.