Delta Airlines Flight DL107
Frankfurt am Main International Airport, Frankfurt, Germany
Kane walked down the aisle toward the bathrooms, having spotted Sherrie White working away as if she were a pro, the initial drink service just completed. He had to admit he was surprised and pleased to see her. She was a terrific woman and had done wonders for his best friend’s self-esteem, she truly seeming to love him deeply. He imagined Leroux thought of her as out of his league, he too hard on himself. The guy wasn’t bad looking by any stretch of the imagination, just painfully shy.
He had been thrilled to find out Morrison had promoted him, and with both Morrison and Sherrie championing his friend, he had heard through the grapevine, and experienced firsthand, his capabilities.
He was growing up. Coming out of his shell.
And with the way Kane barely glanced at the flight attendants in their form-fitting outfits, he had to wonder if he was growing up as well, thoughts of Fang continually invading his thoughts.
The past weeks had been lonely. Painfully lonely, more so than usual. He had been on ops for weeks, even months, and none had bothered him like this one. In the past, he had simply been bored, but this time he had actually felt lonely.
He missed her.
It was strange, since he had barely spent any time with her, yet he kept reliving those few precious moments over and over when he found himself sitting by himself, perhaps surrounded by the others in his cell, chattering away in Arabic as he pretended not to understand. He would take mental notes of anything said of interest, but the reality was they were all just as much in the dark as he was.
He passed Nazari’s seat, ignoring him, the man perhaps the only one who truly knew what was going on, and even then he had his doubts. It was his belief that when they arrived at their destination, only then would Nazari get the true picture, and perhaps the rest of them as well.
Compartmentalization.
Need to know.
Whatever you wanted to call it, it was effective. They had left Syria only knowing where to meet for the boat and the name of its captain, in case they were separated. This Captain had passed on the contact’s name for when they arrived in Germany, Kane having the distinct impression that the boat had been reserved for repeated voyages carrying only ISIL members.
And in Germany, they had been taken to prearranged hotels in Munich, then transported to Frankfurt and told nothing until their new identities had arrived. Everyone was now travelling in pairs, and with him travelling with Nazari, he had been told nothing about who they were to meet in New York.
He was as much clueless today as he had been weeks ago.
All he knew was the threat was real, and perhaps unstoppable.
Sherrie spotted him coming, walking toward him and bumping into him slightly.
“I’m so sorry, sir. Legs are a little wobbly today.”
“No worries,” he said, smiling down at her. She beamed a smile that must melt Leroux’s heart, then pressed something into his hand. He gave no reaction, instead stepping past her and entering the bathroom. He locked the door and opened his hand to find an earpiece. He quickly took care of business, not knowing when he’d get another chance, and also giving Sherrie an opportunity to find a secure location to talk.
He pushed the bud into his ear.
“You there?”
“Yes. You okay?”
“For now. Surprised to see you.”
“Langley wanted a familiar face onboard just in case you needed help. There’s three other agents disguised as passengers with Air Marshall designations, so they’re armed. What’s your plan?”
Kane could hear the eagerness in her voice, the young woman desperate for some action. He remembered that zeal from the start of his career, but unlike her, he had several years of Army experience to help temper that adrenaline.
After seeing death too many times, you weren’t as eager to get into the fight unless it was absolutely necessary.
And here it wasn’t.
In fact, it could be extremely dangerous.
“Nothing. We’re just going to let this play out. I have no idea how many are on the plane besides Nazari, and it’s just too dangerous. We’ll land in New York and you guys can use the tracker on me to see where we go.”
“Keep the earpiece, at least then you can communicate.”
“Negative. If they search me they’ll find it, then not only am I dead, they’ll know we’re onto them and they’ll scatter.”
“Of course, you’re right. Sorry.”
Kane smiled, checking his teeth in the mirror. “So, how’s Chris?”
“Worried about you and relieved to know you’re alive.”
Kane turned away from the mirror, leaning against the sink. “Give him a big sloppy kiss from me.”
“I’ll do more than that.”
“Umm, if you do, don’t mention it’s from me.”
There was a giggle.
“Has Langley had any luck identifying anyone yet?”
“Not that I know of, but beyond basic status reports, I’m out of the loop for now. We’ve stepped up security at the major airports without it being obvious, and every passenger is being reviewed, but even your guy Nazari has impeccable credentials. His ticket was bought as a single ticket, by a credit card only used once, from an IP address only used once.”
“These guys are smart.”
“Too damned smart. And beyond his face, we have nothing to really check against. Langley is finding some hits in their database among the refugees, but frankly we don’t know who to look for.”
“It would make sense they’d send low profile people for the most part, people who hadn’t been on camera. We’re just going to have to hope we get lucky at the New York rendezvous.”
“Fingers crossed.”
“Okay, I’m going to ditch the earpiece. Tell Langley to be ready to move on a moment’s notice.”
“Without comms, how will you let them know?”
A burst of air blew from Kane’s mouth. “No idea, but I’ll think of something.”
“Good luck.”
“You too.”
Kane removed the earpiece and stuffed it under the rubber floor mat surrounding the toilet, just in case he might need it again.
He returned to his seat, again ignoring Nazari, instead scrutinizing the other passengers.
Wondering who were the agents.
And who else might be a terrorist.