He’d been a friendly fellow, with narrow eyes and light blonde hair and beard. The man had asked if they wanted to come aboard their enormous touring raft but taking the mule trail was a faster way to get back to the car and given the events of the last 48 hours, speed was of the essence. When they’d finally reached the top, their legs burned and all three of the hikers were gasping for breath. Where the trail had come out on the desert plateau, they were actually fairly close to the parking lot. When they’d finally reached the top, their legs burned and all three of the hikers were gasping for breath. After a two-hour drive and paying way too much for a plane ticket out of Las Vegas International, the group of three arrived in Atlanta’s Hartsfield International Airport about eight hours later. With the time change, the daylight was already waning when they arrived at IAA headquarters in downtown Atlanta. Tommy received the group’s entrance as he would have on any other day, casually and to the point. He laughed, “You guys look rough.” “Vacation was great. Thanks for asking,”
