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THE TINY PLANE landed in the dark on a runway that felt way too short When the plane finally skidded to a stop, I couldn’t o of the arht that ht would have done a daood if the plane had wrecked The pilot turned his head to look at ive me a thumbs-up I just stared at hi, and this bu to quiet my fears

He took off his headset and said, “Oh, come on, it wasn’t that bad, was it?” He slared at hi badass while the only mantra in my head was I will not throw up I will not throw up Only knowing that a otten ressively smaller planes until this final one

“Well, welcoan, Marshal Blake,” the pilot said at last, and opened the door

As I pried ain why I was doing this Because it’s your job, I thought I kept tellingone through the door ahead of me

The pilot said, “That bag’s big enough to hold a body”

“Only if it was uess I could cut it up and ot the rest of h the door and down onto the tarmac

“Very funny,” the pilot said

I gave hi?”

“Weapons,” a ht of the setting sun

I’d had just a moment to see the forest, and then it was dark as if sohts off You know you’re in the boondocks when it’s that dark even before you step into the trees; in their shade, it would be cave dark

I smiled at Marshal Winston Newman He was as tall as the first time I’d met him, as in over six feet, but had aining ht to be sure whether he was hitting the gy the donuts His hair was still short underneath his white cowboy hat, but the hat wasn’t brand-new anymore The brim had been worked with his hands so that it made an almost sharp point over his face It fit him now When I’d first met him, the hat had struck me as a present from someone who hadn’t really known him or wanted him to be more cowboy than he’d seemed

He offered to take a bag so I could shake his hand, and I let hi out at the last minute, Blake”

“I appreciate you reaching out on this” I almost added “rookie,” but he wasn’t one anymore He was newer than me, but then, most ht of us from the old days; everyone else was either dead, worse than dead, or retired

“Thanks for helpingby his plane watching us