Logic decreed he should never have gone back to the pit this morning. Right now he could be on a beach in Bali. But he was the wasp and the wasp did not fly off, it trapped its enemy, it bade its time, it watched it wither. He’d already sold his car to Jake, half what he paid, but he didn’t mind, it had served its purpose well. Ana who worked in the kitchen had let him borrow hers to get out to Donen for his farewell visit and then she’d dropped him to the airport, which was nice of her.
There everything went wrong. He sensed it when he saw other vehicles peeling away, the place near deserted. Ana offered to wait for him but she was due on her shift and he told her he’d be fine. The only people in the terminal were three befuddled backpackers, one young woman behind the airline counter, a rent-a-car girl who had already turned the lights off in her booth and a couple of terminal trolls who were sweeping up.
The plane he was supposed to be flying out on had never arrived, diverted because of the cyclone. Part of him wanted to abuse the counter girl who was telling him this through overly blushered cheeks. Weren’t they supposed to text him? he asked with an edge. She said they had. He checked his phone and found a text sent thirty minutes earlier. She apologised, circumstances beyond their control, blah, blah, blah.
It was at that point he calmed. ‘Circumstances beyond their control’ was a telling choice of words. This whole enterprise he had long known was beyond his control. Therefore this latest permutation might be seen as a deliberate act by the real Power who guided everything. It may be the Power wanted him caught and punished. It may be the Power wanted him protected. Perhaps, had it taken off, the plane would have crashed in the cyclone. Or maybe he would have arrived safely in Denpassar only to be bitten by some infected mosquito. How could one insignificant person think they could understand the machinations of the universe? It was futile to bother.
This did not mean he should abdicate all thought and just expect fate to carry him where it would. No, he still needed to select what he thought was the best course of action. It would be right or wrong but he must act. The girl said he would be re-booked on the first available flight which she expected would be tomorrow. He was trying to decide what to do when his phone rang. He saw from the display it was Marie. He debated about picking up and finally did.
‘Hi Marie. How’s this storm?’
‘Scary. Listen do you know anything about Jake?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Rosa was in town. She said she saw him in the back of a police car.’
‘When?’
‘About half an hour ago.’