by Sharon Dunn
When his inquiry was greeted with only silence, Landon gestured that they go inside. The trailer was tidy. Except for an abundance of books, Mitch seemed to live a very minimalist lifestyle.
“How do you guys know each other?”
“We met at a summer camp my parents sent me to in Montana. A year later, Mitch came up here to visit and fell in love with Alaska. It was always his goal to move here which he did after college. He’s been my friend since we were twelve.”
“That’s a long time to be friends.”
“Yeah, we try to plan our vacation time so we can hike or kayak or whatever together. I come up here when I need to get away. Stayed for weeks after Maggie died.”
“This place gave you solace?”
“Yes. You can take the dogsled out so far, you don’t even see another person. Just quiet for miles.” Landon put down the box of supplies.
“So what do we do now?”
“Natasha, I need to tell you something.” Landon pressed his lips together. “I doubt the guy who is after you could follow us here directly anyway, but I think he knows we took off in a plane. There was a tracking device on the SUV.”
The news hit her like a knife to her heart. Just when she’d thought she could get her breath... “But if he shows up, we’ll know. A stranger sticks out like a sore thumb around here. And it would take quite a while for a snowmobile to get here.”
Landon nodded. “Mitch doesn’t know exactly why I came here, and I think it would be good for him to be in the loop, for extra protection. He can be trusted. Why don’t you stay close to me and we’ll go find him.”
“And then maybe we should hide out here?”
“We’ll keep a low profile for sure. The villagers know me, but you are a stranger, so if someone does come around asking questions...”
He opened the door for her and let her go first. They followed a snow-covered but well-worn path. Landon seemed to be choosing side streets where there were no people.
The school was three Quonset huts with enclosed adjoining walkways. It was clear where most of the activity was taking place. Landon and Natasha watched from a distance as people arrived with coolers, casserole dishes and Crock-Pots. Some had costumes slung over their arms, while others carried microphones and sound equipment. Gradually, the activity outside the school died down.
A balding redheaded man came outside, looking one way and then the other.
Landon stepped out of the shadows. “That’s Mitch.” His expression brightened at the sight of his friend.
Recognition spread across Mitch’s face, and he jogged over to Landon and took him into a big bear hug.
Mitch stood back, still smiling, and then turned his attention to Natasha. “This must be your friend.” He held out his hand to her. “Sorry I couldn’t meet you at the house. We’re all hands on deck to pull this thing off.” He turned back toward the school. “I know it looks like total chaos, but we’ve got some pretty talented people, and those that aren’t talented are a hoot to watch anyway. Why don’t you guys come inside and enjoy?”
Landon’s shoulders tensed, nearly touching his ears. “Mitch, I need to explain something to you.” Landon summarized the threat that Natasha was under but did not say she was in WITSEC. “Far as we know, no one followed us here.”
“And they probably won’t, or it will take them a while to show up. I think you are safe for now,” Mitch said. “Look, I’m in charge of this whole thing. The show is about to start. The house lights are already down. No one will see you. Safer in a crowd than back at my trailer when the whole village is here.” Mitch took off and disappeared inside.
“He’s right. We’re no safer at the trailer than in the school. We could at least watch a Christmas show.” Back at the plane, when Ted had first mentioned the performance and potluck, she’d found her heart longing to be able to do such a normal holiday thing.
Landon shrugged. “Let’s find a place toward the back and leave before we’re noticed.” They entered the dark room and slipped into the back row, which had only one other person in it.
The stage was set with risers and a manger scene. A kid walked across the floor, escorting a baby goat on a leash, and disappeared backstage. A girl of about eight or nine handed out programs at the door. The curtain opened, and the stage lights intensified. The few people who were talking grew quiet. Just as the first group came on stage, Ted slipped in beside Natasha.
The auditorium had grown so hushed, she dared not even whisper. She assumed that the pilot had been unable to leave due to the fog he’d been hoping to beat.
A spotlight illuminated the middle of the stage. Three preteen children entered. Natasha could see Mitch in the wings, gesturing and running the backstage show. The three children, two girls and a boy, stepped up to the microphone and sang “O Holy Night.” Natasha’s favorite Christmas carol. The words brought tears to her eyes.
Several more songs were sung by people of different ages. The lyrics of each Christmas carol were like a salve to her heart. Natasha looked over at Landon, whose face was shining, his eyes filled with light.
He glanced sideways, catching her staring at him. Feeling her cheeks warm, she shrugged. His hand slipped into hers. He squeezed her fingers and let go. Somehow, the sense of community created by the performers helped her to capture some of the magic of Christmas that she’d longed for. She wondered if maybe Landon felt the same way.
As the pageant drew to a close, children dressed as Mary and Joseph, wise men, shepherds and angels all came on stage while an older woman stepped up to the microphone and recited the Christmas story from Luke. The goat was led out on stage, as well. The words of the story washed over her, and Natasha felt a deep sense of peace.
The performance ended. After the applause died down, the lights in the auditorium came up and Mitch came out on stage. “Folks, thanks so much for joining us tonight. We have a ton of food set up in the kitchen. You know the routine. Let the children be first in line. Grab your paper plates.”
Landon leaned close and whispered in her ear, “Let’s get out of here while everyone is thinking about food.”
People shuffled around, visiting and hugging.
Natasha gazed up at Landon. The warmth of his smile and the way he gave her arm a friendly squeeze confirmed that she was feeling a bond toward him. Despite how guarded she had been since entering WITSEC, she felt her heart opening up to him. Fine, she felt that way. She could acknowledge her growing affection for him without giving in to it.
They both turned their attention toward the pilot.
“So, you didn’t make it out on time,” Landon said.
“Yeah, the fog came in so fast,” Ted said. “Another plane came in just in time.”
Natasha’s mouth went dry. “Another plane?”
“The guy landed in the fog, showed some real skill. Another ten minutes and I’m not sure he would have been able to land without some problems.”
“Is it someone you know?” Landon’s voice remained steady.
“Didn’t recognize the pilot or the passenger.” He glanced around the room. “I don’t see them anywhere around here.”
Natasha tried to quell the rising panic. There could be another explanation besides the hitman having followed them. “It is Christmastime. Maybe one of the villagers has a late-arrival relative.”
“Yeah, maybe that’s it,” Landon said. He didn’t sound too convincing.
Without a word, Landon wrapped his arm around her and led her to a room off to the side of the stage that appeared to be where the schoolchildren hung their coats and kept their lunches and shoes in cubbies.
She felt like she couldn’t get a deep breath. “We don’t know anything. It doesn’t mean it’s him.” Was she trying to convince herself of that? Her pounding heart betrayed what she was really thinking.
“Well, from what Ted sai
d, neither the pilot nor his passenger came to this event. My guess is most everyone in the village is here unless they physically couldn’t make it.”
“We need to find out who that pilot and passenger are.”
“Mitch might know if anyone was expecting a visitor. My concern is that the hitman figured out where we went based on me knowing Mitch or he got access to the flight plan. That means they might be waiting at his place.”
“How would they find out you knew Mitch?”
“People in town know that I come here. Maybe the guy started asking questions. If he searched my place, he might have found pictures of this place or an envelope with Mitch’s address. Who knows?”
The fear she was experiencing seemed to be intensifying by the second. They didn’t know anything for sure yet. That’s what she had to keep telling herself.
Landon gathered her into his arms and held her close. “You ready for this?”
The comfort of his embrace calmed her. “Guess I have to be, right?”
He held her tighter. “We’re in this together, Natasha.” He pulled away. His hand brushed her cheek. The soft touch, a reminder of the moment they had shared during the Christmas show. She had had a brief reprieve from a life on the run and a reminder of what really mattered in this world. The birth of a baby in trying circumstances thousands of years ago.
They stepped into the open area where half the people were still visiting and the other half had sat to eat. No one was looking at them.
Her eyes searched his. He probably couldn’t explain what they were doing until they were out of earshot of everyone. She would have to trust that he had a plan.
They walked out into the night, zipping their coats against the wall of cold that hit them. It was totally dark. Landon wasn’t kidding about the whole village being at the Christmas show. As she looked out at the dark houses and winding makeshift streets, she didn’t see any people.
She could not shake the sense of terror that chilled her to the bone.
FOURTEEN
Landon took several steps along the path. He did a continual survey of the area around him.
Natasha kept pace with him. “What are we doing?”
He could hear the fear in her voice.
“First thing, we’re going to check out Mitch’s place to make sure no one is there waiting for us.”
“And then?”
They kept walking, their boots crunching on the dry snow. “I’m not sure. Because of the fog, the only way out of here is by dogsled or snowmobile. Not sure where we will go. If he has followed us here, we can’t put the villagers in danger.”
“It doesn’t make sense to run until we know what we’re dealing with,” she said.
“It’s suspicious to me that neither the pilot nor the passenger has made an appearance at the Christmas potluck. If they knew anyone in this village, it seems like they would have showed up at the dinner.”
They turned a corner and Mitch’s trailer came into view.
All of the windows in the trailer were dark.
“I would feel better if I had a gun, too,” Natasha said.
He’d thought about leaving Natasha back at the school and doing this himself. It just seemed that the safest place for her to be was with him. “Just stay close to me,” he said. “We’ll do this together.” He unzipped his jacket and pulled his gun out of the holster.
Landon circled the outside of the entire trailer, peering underneath it, while Natasha shone her flashlight at a place where the skirting had come off and someone might be hiding. He moved to the door of the trailer, knowing that it wouldn’t be locked. No one in the village locked their doors. “I’ll go in first. Wait until I give you the all-clear and you can come in.”
He eased the door open and stepped up the two stairs that led inside. The trailer was so dark, it was hard to see anything. He reached for a light switch. Nothing happened. Someone had cut the electricity. He whirled around toward the door where Natasha was on the first step. “Back out. Something is wrong.”
He jumped on top of her just as a gunshot broke the silence around them. He couldn’t discern where the shot had come from.
Landon rolled off her. “This way.” He crawled toward the spot in the trailer where the skirting had been torn off. At least he knew nobody was hiding there. His heart raced as he ushered her under the trailer while he pressed against the side of it with his gun drawn.
Where had the shot come from? The door to the trailer swung on its hinges. Though the sound was distracting, he listened for footfalls from inside. The trailer wasn’t on a permanent foundation, the weight of a footstep would make the whole trailer creak.
It seemed a foolish move for the shooter to trap himself inside the trailer.
Landon studied the area around them. Plenty of places to hide. Yet it didn’t seem like the shot had come from there.
In the distance, he heard rising voices and chatter. People were leaving the school and heading to their homes.
He lifted his head as a realization spread through him. The shooter was on the roof of the trailer. He had waited until Landon had gone inside to take aim at Natasha in the split second she was on the steps alone. He had counted on Landon using up time to deal with the electricity not working.
Landon pressed closer to the trailer and then moved to join Natasha. He scrambled to get under the trailer just as another shot was fired. This one had come so close, the percussive boom hurt his ears, though it sounded like the hitman was using some sort of silencing device so as not to alert the villagers.
He pressed close to Natasha. In the silence, he listened for the sound of the shooter moving to get off the roof. If he did that and came after them, they were easy targets. They needed to move out of the hiding place before he could get to them.
The sound of people talking grew louder as they came toward the street where Mitch’s trailer was located. The trailer shook slightly. The shooter had jumped off from the other side, maybe scared by the approaching villagers.
A group of maybe eight people walked by the trailer. Laughing and engrossed in their own conversations, they didn’t notice Landon and Natasha under the dark trailer. They passed by and turned a corner.
Landon crawled out from under the trailer. “Maybe I can catch him.” He bolted to his feet. “Get in the trailer and lock the door.”
He hurried around the side of the trailer, searching every dark corner. There were no streetlights. Most of the houses were still dark. With his weapon drawn, Landon pressed against the side of the nearest dwelling. He heard no pounding footsteps.
He was keenly aware that this might be an ambush. He inched forward, tuning his ears to any noise around him. He could hear people several streets away as they headed back to their houses. Up ahead, in the darkness, he heard a slamming sound like someone bumping into something. He quick-stepped in the direction of the sound. A light flashed and then disappeared. That had to be the hitman using his flashlight to see what was in front of him and then turning it off quickly.
Landon ran as fast as he dared on the uneven terrain. His feet hit a patch of ice. He slid but righted himself. He saw only shadows up ahead.
The hitman was moving farther away from the village and the dwellings. It got even darker. Landon slowed down. There were more silhouettes up ahead. Still holding his gun, he pulled his phone out and clicked on the flashlight app to see what he was dealing with. It appeared to be some storage sheds with piled-up furniture and appliances that probably couldn’t be hauled away until spring.
He turned off the flashlight. The hitman could be hiding anywhere, but he couldn’t stay there all night. It would get too cold. Raising his gun, Landon took a step forward, drawing close to the first storage shed.
There weren’t that many places the guy could run. Landon contemplated alerting the village and doing a search, but didn’t want to c
ause a panic. Maybe just Mitch and a few men he trusted could cover most of the village.
Landon took another step, listening for any noise that might be human and hoping his eyes would adjust to the darkness so he could see better.
A creaking and squeaking sound alerted Landon. He turned toward where he thought the noise had come from. It might have been a gust of wind pushing on metal. He was aware of his own breathing and his heart drumming in his ear. He took another very cautious step. Now he was only a few feet from the first shed. Up ahead were dozens of possibilities for hiding places.
The hitman didn’t have lots of options as it got colder. Would he return to the plane and try to keep warm in there? They still weren’t sure where the pilot had gone. What if he was somehow connected to the hitman and helping him?
An awful thought entered his mind. What if the two of them held one of the villagers hostage, so they would have a warm place to stay through the night? He couldn’t let that happen.
Doing the search alone was not a good idea. At the very least, he needed to enlist Mitch’s help. There was no official permanent law here in the village, but Mitch probably knew men he could depend on when any crime occurred.
Landon turned slightly, preparing to head back to Mitch’s trailer as a plan formed in his mind. They’d have to post a guard by the plane to make sure the two men didn’t return to it. Even if they couldn’t leave until the fog lifted, they might try to hide there.
A scuffing noise caused him to pivot. A weight like a wall slammed into him and knocked him on his back. He’d lost his grip on the gun in the fall.
The attacker pummeled him in the face. Landon recovered enough to land a jab to the man’s stomach before the guy got in several more blows. A fist slammed against Landon’s neck, taking his breath away. This was the same guy who had attacked him at his house. He used the same tactics.
Landon heard footsteps.
As he struggled to take in air, the man leaped to his feet and all but vaporized. From the other direction, Landon saw a bobbing light—someone was coming toward him. That must be what had scared the attacker away. He heard approaching footsteps and then Natasha was kneeling over him.
