The sleek government Gulfstream jet glided in for a smooth landing, as it barely kissed the sweet earth below and rolled down the runway to the private corporate jet tarmac at West Palm Beach International Airport. Nick Ryan grabbed his bag as exited down the steps and headed for the ticketing counter for Air Jamaica.
As he walked though the airport he saw more security then he had ever seen before, with armed guards, bomb sniffing dogs walking through the airport inspecting anything suspicious. He saw other armed security personnel guarding the planes on the ground. Every television he passed was tuned to local and national news about the recent planes crashes as people watched in silent worry.
He noticed the Air Jamaica ticket counter up ahead to his left. “Good morning. When is your next flight to Kingston?” he asked the young uniform attendant behind the counter.
“Good morning, sir. Let me check. Our next flight is schedule to depart in one hour.”
“I’ll take one ticket, please.”
“I’m sorry, sir, but that flight is sold out. I do have room on our flight leaving the same time tomorrow.”
“Does anyone else fly to Jamaica?”
“Yes sir, but the earliest flight from any of them is tomorrow night. I’m sorry, sir. Would you like to book tomorrow’s flight sir with Air Jamaica?”
Nick thought for a moment trying to sort through his alternatives before speaking, “Well, if that’s all that’s available, I guess I’ll take…”
A soft voice behind him finished his sentence, “He’ll take a pass. Thank you.”
Katie?
He turned to see April standing behind him, waving two airline tickets. “The early bird gets the worm so to speak. I booked us both for today’s flight. I also booked a puddle jumper flight to Little Jamaica and a rental car when we get there,” she said with a determined smile. “We leave in an hour. Want something to eat?” She walked away, as he watched her hips slowly swaying to the sound of a silent slow Caribbean melody.
He ran to catch up with her. “I thought I told you it was too dangerous for you to come along. Didn’t I?”
“Yes, you did,” she said and kept walking. “And I told you I was coming. As a matter of fact, I’m leaving today. If you don’t want to come with me then you can wait for tomorrow’s flight. What will it be?”
She had him boxed in, just like Katie always did. “All right, all right, you win. But I’ll take the lead when we get on the ground, OK? You hear me? Deal?”
“Deal,” she said with Katie’s smile.
He could not stop looking at her. It was as if he was in a dream and never wanted to wake up.
“Hungry?” he asked passing a small concession stand.
“Famished,” she said.
“Grab a table, and I’ll see what they have. Be right back,” he said as they approached a small carry out stall.
He returned with a food tray and sat down across from her at the table.
“Not much to choose from as you would imagine. But here you go. For you a garden salad, a chocolate croissant, and a café au lait just the way you like it. And for me a coke and a cheeseburger.”
“What do you mean just the way I like it? We’ve never had …” she made a face looking at the coffee cup and taking a sip said, “Is there any coffee in this? I like to taste my coffee. I think they forgot it,” she said reaching for the sugar. “But this chocolate croissant is decadent!”
“Like it?”
“I love it.”
“I knew you would.”
“Pass me the sugar,” she asked.
“Sugar? You never drink sugar in your coffee.” Nick, Katie didn’t take sugar but April… get a grip.
She reached across the table and touched his arm, “What do you mean, I never take sugar? Nick, I think we need to…,” She was interrupted by his cell phone ringing.
“Hold that thought,” he told her as he walked away to take his call, it was Luke Garrison.
“Hey Nick, sorry to bother you, but I thought you would want to know we got two more handshakes, but one of them is different this time.”
“What do you mean…different?”
“Well, the first one was like all of the others but the second one was a much weaker signal as if it came more from a local transmission or…”
“Or what?”
“It had the signal strength of a cell phone or personal computer. But that’s crazy. It just doesn’t make any sense.”
“Yeah, I agree but I’m curious if they got another letter from the madman.”
“I don’t know but our target focus has increased a hundredfold here. I got fifty techies working for me day and night on this thing. Something big is going on. Hey, I gotta go, the bosses are back. Talk to ya later,” he said in a rushed tone.
While he waited for his order to be completed every television screen he could see were filled with stories of the plane crashes. Reporters and anchors were espousing their own views of who was behind it and what should be done. The entire nation was on high alert, and from the interviews on TV they were scared.
As he walked to the table he saw her sitting there looking more like Katie all the time. She shook her hair to get it off her face the same way she always did. When she smiled, her single dimple lured him to her big beautiful eyes. When he sat down across from her, an announcement came over the airport intercom:
AIR JAMAICA FLIGHT NUMBER #1842 TO KINGSTON JAMAICA IS NOW READY FOR BOARDING. PLEASE PROCEED TO THE GATE NUMBER SIXTEEN AND PRESENT YOUR BOARDING PASSES TO THE GATE ATTENDANT. THANK YOU. ALL ABOARD AT THIS TIME.
“April, it’s time to go,” he said. “Let’s go find your brother.”