The sun had been out for several hours by the time Claude's plane touched down at Ted Steven's Anchorage International Airport at 6:00 am. During the flight, he'd kept his eyes closed, but failed to sleep for more than ten minutes at a time. His kids would be waking up in a few hours, wondering why he'd been gone the whole weekend. It was typical that he'd miss some weekday nights, but never a weekend.
This wasn't how he wished his out would come, but for the first time, he could see the light at the end of the tunnel. If everything went right, he'd be able to spend every night with his kids. He'd already planned his escape. Drive down the coast to Southern California, detach the battery in Los Angeles, then board the first plane to the east coast. He'd find a small town, a fulfilling job, and give his kids the life they deserved. If things didn't go well this weekend, well, he didn't want to think about it. He had to get out even if the tunnel was immensely dark before the exit.
Claude wandered the terminal. A beautiful mountain range could be seen looking out across the runway. He pulled the tracker from his pocket. They'd moved. Not far, but they'd moved. "Excuse me," He asked a barista at the small coffee store. "Could you please help me locate where this is?"
She grabbed the tracker and examined it.
"It's an old GPS, It doesn't have any city names or anything, just a location."
"Oh, that's interesting," She looked at the screen, "I'm not sure, it's south of here. There's not much down there."
"Could you compare it to your phone?" Claude asked. "I somehow left mine at home. It wasn't until I was buckled into my seat. I realized it wasn't with me." He had decided to leave the stolen phone in the vehicle before entering the airport. He wasn’t sure if the police would track it and didn’t want to take the chance.
She shrugged and pulled out her phone. It took her a few minutes of close examination before she handed the device back to him. "It looks like it's Moose Pass."
"Thank you." Claude gave a slight bow.
"Would you like a cup of coffee?"
"No, thanks." Claude hurried off.
The airport was slowly coming to life as the morning travelers arrived early for their flights back home. Claude walked past the art exhibits, down the corridor that included a stuffed moose, out into the public waiting area to the baggage claim. He was relieved to find his hard-cased briefcase had not been opened or labeled. He wasn't sure the procedure for firearms, so he hadn't disclosed the briefcase's contents with the clerk.
He entered the men's restroom stall and opened the case. He pulled the pistol and slid it into his waistband and then covered it with his jacket.
He made his way to the car rental lot and was pleased to find one young tenant working the booth. "Excuse me, can I borrow your cell phone?" He asked the man. "Mine died, and my wife's somewhere at the terminal to pick me up."
The young man adjusted his beanie as he thought about the request, and hesitantly said, "Sure."
Once Stuart had the phone, he turned to make sure no one had entered the lot after him. They had not. He pulled the pistol from his waistband. "I need a car with a built-in GPS."
“Woah!" The young man raised both his hands. "Here." He tossed a pair of keys across the counter that slid and landed on the floor. "It's in the second row on the right."
"Show me." Claude demanded. He held the pistol in his shirt as they walked to the car. When the vehicle unlocked, Claude told the man to walk twenty feet past the car and face the wall until the car was out of the lot. Stuart climbed into the car. As soon as the car made it to the edge of the aisle, he saw the worker take off in a dead sprint. In a matter of minutes, security would know the car was missing. They'd have the model and license number. In an hour, they'd probably have video footage of him, and possibly his identification.
He couldn't worry about any of that now. He had to get to Moose Pass. He couldn't wait and think, he had to go now. He'd worry about the rest later.
He kept under the limit until the GPS directed him to the near-empty highway.
"In eighty-two miles, keep left onto AK-1S."