Page 23 of Croatia Collateral

Giva nodded. “We leave the aircraft and climb into the waiting vehicle. It drives through a hanger and out the other side.”

Dax picked up the plan from there. “We won’t be with it at that point. Inside the hanger, we all bail, and five other people leave inside the vehicle.”

Peter leaned in. “Fearghas and I will slip into maintenance uniforms, open the hanger doors and drag a helicopter onto the tarmac.

“I’ll be in the pilot’s seat,” Dmytro said into the headset. “Giva and Dax will be keeping low in the rear.”

Peter nodded. “The Scotsman and I will climb aboard, and we’ll take off to Dubrovnik.”

Dax glanced toward Giva. “While in the air, Giva and I will put on disguises so that when we arrive in Dubrovnik, no one will suspect we’re Evan Maas and Sasha Royce.”

“Which will give the four of us time to look around Old Town while we’re waiting for the text containing the location,” Giva added.

“Meanwhile, Dmytro will continue to our hotel and establish computer access, tracking, and communications.” Fearghas clapped his hands together. “Everybody ready?”

Dax, Giva and Peter nodded.

“Ready,” Dmytro said through the headset. “Fasten your seatbelts, we’re about to land.”

The plane circled and then descended, touching down lightly on the tarmac at the Split airport.

As planned, Dmytro taxied to the designated hangar on the general aviation side of the facility, brought the plane to a stop and shut down the engine.

A dark limousine drove up to the plane.

Fearghas opened the door and lowered the steps.

Dax climbed out first, turned, helped Giva to the ground and then into the back seat of the SUV.

Fearghas and Peter climbed in with them and sat across from the pair.

Dmytro slipped into the front passenger seat.

The vehicle drove across the tarmac into a hangar. As soon as the doors closed behind them,

Dax and Giva climbed out of the limo and into the waiting helicopter.

Fearghas and Peter pulled on maintenance coveralls and caps.

Dmytro stepped up into the pilot’s seat of the helicopter, fit his headset over his ears and a pair of sunglasses over his eyes.

Five other people dove into the limousine, and it rolled out the other side of the hangar onto the road leading out of the airport and southeast toward Split and Dubrovnik.

They waited ten minutes. Anyone who might be following Evan Maas and Sasha Royce should’ve followed the limousine and not hung around the airport.

At exactly ten minutes, Fearghas and Peter opened the hangar doors. A maintenance man pulled the chopper out of the hanger attached to the back of a cart.

Once he’d unhooked the helicopter from the cart, he moved the cart out of the way.

Fearghas climbed into the copilot’s seat while Peter slipped into the back with Dax and Giva.

Moments later, Dmytro had clearance and lifted off.

Dax and Giva stayed down, giving them enough time to put distance between them and the airport.

“You can sit up now,” Fearghas said. “We’ll land in twenty minutes.”

Giva pulled a blond wig out of the backpack she’d brought with her. She pulled her hair up into a ponytail and wrapped it around several times, pinning it down. Then she slipped the wig over her head, tugging it into place and anchoring it with hairpins.

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