They were facing the tail end of a jumbo, part of the Qantas museum. The facility seemed to be throwing up as much light as the rest of the town combined. It was about nine o'clock; there was barely any traffic. The airport's car park appeared empty, though at that distance it was hard to tell due to intervening trees. 'Whaddya think?' Taipan asked. 'They still got flights this time of night?' 'Like we was gonna fly. We might play it safe and take the scenic route, eh. Don't wanna fuck it up when we're this close.' He turned off the headlight and took a left off the main drag. They passed the hangar-shaped roofs of the Stockman's Hall of Fame, the oversized jackeroo sculpture out front the only witness to their passing, and then ran out of road, but Taipan didn't stop, just slowed down as they steered onto a gravel track that became little more than wheel ruts in a paddock. They crossed a gully and followed a westerly track till they reconnected with the main road running south out of Longreach.
