The aircraft rested on the tarmac just outside the private rental hanger. The sleek, white-and-blue paint scheme never failed to impress Judith. She flew in the Cessna Citation Sovereign about three times a month. Other Find, Inc., execs used it as frequently to woo major distributors, wine and dine key clients, reward designers and suppliers. Nothing made an executive feel more important than being given a ride in a multimillion-dollar aircraft.
Luke parked in a small lot adjacent to the hangar, repacked his computer in its case, locked the car, and stared at it for a moment. Judith now knew enough of the man to know that he was worried that someone would tamper with his car. There was no way to keep an eye on the vehicle while flying at several hundred miles per hour. She thought she saw him sigh as he approached her and the two pilots who waited at the steps that led to the jet.
“Saying good-bye to your baby?” Judith asked.
“You know what I was doing.” He studied the aircraft then the two pilots.
“This is Captain Tim Nelson our pilot and Larry Takita his first officer.”
The pilot stood tall and trim. The gray tint in his hair spoke of a man of advancing years. Still he held himself with a military bearing. Larry Takita looked to be in his late twenties. He bore the attractive, smooth features of Japanese men. Both men nodded at Luke. Both wore white shirts and blue pants, uniforms of the modern pilot.
“It’s a pleasure to have you aboard with us today, Mr. Becker.” The captain extended his hand and Luke took it and gave it a brief shake.
Luke looked at Judith and she answered before he could ask. “Many times. There are two crews for this flight. This crew is assigned to me, the CFO, CIO, and senior VPs.
“Is there a problem?” Nelson asked, eyeing Luke.
Judith gave her best smile. “No, Captain. Mr. Becker is a nervous flier.”
“I understand.” Nelson could have been a diplomat, Judith decided. “We expect no problems on the flight. The bird is fresh from a full ser vice and the weather is clear. We’ll have you up and back on the ground safely before you know it.”
“Did you know that most airline disasters occur after routine maintenance? Some mechanic forgets a screw for this or a bolt for that and the next thing you know the impellers break loose of the engine cowling and come ripping into the cabin.” Luke didn’t wait for the answer. He fast-stepped up the stairs.
The captain turned to Judith and raised an eyebrow. Judith just shrugged.
Fifteen minutes later they were in the air and banking in a wide arc to the north. Judith watched the ground recede. Below she could see the I-10 and I-15 freeways, the San Gabriel Mountains green with spring rains. Large buildings shrunk to tiny boxes. Wisps of clouds decorated the air.
The cabin could seat eight passengers in two groups of four. The seats were soft, with white and brown leather. A green, custom weave carpet covered the deck, and unlike the plain white interior of most aircraft, the bulkheads were covered in a blue and white vinyl decorative covering. Judith’s design tastes were not limited to homes and commercial buildings.
They remained silent as the craft climbed through the air. Some air turbulence over the mountains made the small jet bounce, but the rough ride ended a minute or two later.
Luke broke the silence. “Ever been to Fresno?”
Judith said, “No. I’ve flown over it a few times but have never had a reason to go there.”
“Me either.” He seemed distracted.
“What’s on your mind?”
Luke fidgeted and looked out the window.
“I was only joking when I called you a nervous flier,” Judith confessed.
“A joke to you; a fact for me. I hate flying.”
Judith gave a reassuring smile. “I’m starting to sense that. Bad experience?”
He nodded. “A commuter flight out of Asheville to Atlanta. We hit cruising speed and altitude. The pilot switched off the seat belt sign. I unfastened my belt. Ten minutes later we hit a pocket of bad air. The plane dropped a thousand feet before leveling off. The sudden drop sent me flying from my seat. I smacked my head on the overhead luggage rack. I gave up flying.”
“Yet here you are.”
“Not by choice.” He frowned. “I don’t suppose this thing has a printer in it.”
“It does.” Judith reached down and to her right and pulled a thin mahogany table with a thick bar-top finish from a recess in the bulkhead. The table pivoted into place and a metal knee bracket locked it into place.
“Clever.” Luke reached for his computer.
“One doesn’t spend millions for an aircraft like this without getting the kind of necessities business execs need. There’s a USB cable to your left. Pull it from its holder and plug it into your computer.”
“All the luxury a corporate warrior could want.” The sarcasm was clear.
“A company jet is not just luxury, Luke. When you pay an exec mid to high six figures, you don’t want him cooling his heels in some airport lobby waiting on the mercy of the airlines to get him back and forth to meetings. More than that — and you of all people should appreciate this — is the security issue. The jet allows us to keep execs safe and the material they carry safe. It’s an ugly world out there.”
“You’re preaching to the choir about the ugliness of the world.” He set his computer on the table. “I don’t see the printer.”
“It’s up by the galley. It would just be in the way in the cabin. It’s a color ink-jet. Will that work for you?”
“Perfect. This will take a moment.”
“We’ve got less than an hour before we arrive in Fresno. I wonder …”
“What?” Luke leaned back as he waited for the computer to boot up.
“Our cell phones have been cut off but — ” She nodded to a green telephone handset that sat snug in a cradle in the bulkhead.
Luke pursed his lips. “It might. Is it on the same cell carrier as your phone?”
“No. I’m going to try.”
“I wouldn’t. Even if our — employer — has thought of that or couldn’t cut it off, he would certainly have your company phone tapped, or have bugs placed in your office and that of your assistant.”
“If I don’t call in, my assistant will slowly go nuts. Sooner or later, she’s going to call the police assuming I’m hurt or have been abducted.”
“I think he wants us cut off from everyone.”
“Frankly, I don’t much care what he wants. He’s not our friend, Luke; he’s our problem. I’ll do what I have to do to protect myself. I’ve gone this far because I have yet to figure a way out of this, but I will not be his puppet.”
“We are already his puppets. That began when we answered the phone.”
“So you plan to just go along like a sheep following some sadistic shepherd?”
“Don’t start with me. This morning I was a happy recluse sitting at my computer reading blogs and juggling investments. Now I’m a refugee fleeing my past and on a mission to save a boy who might not even exist. For now we move with caution.”
“We do? You calling the shots now?”
“What?”
Judith knew from his expression that he understood her. “What is it with men? Do you think this is some movie where a man and woman are teamed up and the man makes all the hard decisions because the woman is just too frail or stupid to make the right choices?”
“I said nothing like that. Sheesh, get over yourself, woman. It’s your life, your jet, your phone, do what you want. Do you want me to step outside while you call?”
Judith started to snap back but the image of Luke stepping outside a jet traveling four hundred miles an hour and thirty thousand feet above the earth tickled her. She swallowed the laugh but couldn’t hide the smile. She grabbed the phone before Luke could comment and dialed her office number.
Seconds ticked by at glacial speed. Judith was about to hang up when the crackly ringing gave way to a familiar voice.
“Find, Inc., Judith Find’s office, this is Terri, how may I help you?”
“Terri. It’s Judith.”
“Ms. Find? I’ve been worried.”
Ms. Find? She only called Judith that in the presence of others. Someone must be in the front office with her. “Terri. I had to make a sudden trip and won’t be in the office this afternoon — ”
A loud pop stabbed Judith’s ear and she almost dropped the phone. The pain faded in the thundering pounding of her heart as she heard Terri scream.
The line died.