"Got it. I'll call him."
"Doug, is our photographer in place?"
"On the second floor, in the terminal building."
The airplane taxied onto the ramp and, directed into the light by the lineman, came to a stop. Harry, Doug and Holly had a clear view of the door.
The airplane sat, its engine idling. Holly stood, staring through the binoculars. "Why isn't he cutting the engine?" she asked.
"He's waiting for the oil in the turbochargers to cool down," Harry replied. "It'll take four or five minutes."
As they watched, a gray minivan drove onto the ramp and stopped near the airplane.
"Doug," Harry said, "let the terminal know that I want that van delayed at the gate until our people are in place."
Doug picked up a phone.
The airplane's engine finally stopped. The airstair door opened, and a man got out.
"Who's that?" Doug asked.
"It's Peck Rawlings," Holly said. "I met him at the gun show."
A second man, wearing a suit and a straw hat got out.
"How about him?"
Holly said nothing. She was staring through the binoculars. She didn't recognize the second man, but something about him was familiar.
A third man alit from the airplane.
"That's John," Harry said. "But where the hell is Ham?"
All three men had scurried into the van to get out of the rain, while the van driver loaded their luggage, which was only a few cases. He got in and drove toward the gate.
"Well, shit," Harry said.
"Are we going to run this surveillance if Ham isn't here?" Doug asked.
"I'm thinking about that," Harry said, staring out the window.
"It's Ham," Holly said suddenly.
"What?"
"The second man, the one in the suit and hat. It's Ham."
"Are you sure? It didn't look like Ham."
"It's Ham. I can tell by the way he moved."
"We're on," Harry said. "Let's get out of here." He thanked the tower supervisor and led the way down the stairs to a waiting FBI car.
The van drove up to the gate and stopped, but it didn't open.
"What's happening with the gate?" John asked the driver.
"I don't know." He rolled down the window and pushed the button on the intercom. "I'm at the gate, and it's not opening," he said into the instrument.