Alberta Clipper (40 page)

Christine tried to look out the tiny window without disturbing the sleeping lady beside her.   She could see the terminal building clearly enough.  What was going on in there?  Would they let them off the airplane?  Christine could see two other jets parked nearby.  She had been watching them earlier, and she knew that they had their doors open, just like the one she was on, with no stairs, only a long drop between the cabin and the tarmac.  Both planes were also in darkness now.  How many more were there?  And how many people were being held in the terminal building?  Christine didn’t know if anyone had been hurt, but it was surely likely.  She had seen
some of the protesters through
the window
a few hours earlier.  They had been armed.  What would they do with them?  How long could they leave them on the airplane?  How long could they survive?

Christine could feel her pulse race.  This was not helping.  She needed to calm down.  She closed her eyes and put the palms of her hands flat on her knees.  She thought how she should have taken up yoga with Emily like she had wanted her to.  Being able to meditate now would probably be useful.  But just thinking about Emily calmed her a little.  That was what she needed to do right now.  Think of all the people who l
oved her, w
ho would be worrying about her.  Poor Aggie would be freaking out.  Blaming herself.  She knew how awful she would feel if the roles were reversed.  Not knowing if her sister was alright would be too much to bear.  She would be so concerned.  Christine opened her eyes abruptly.  Dear God, please don’t let Aggie get too stressed.  She couldn’t get stressed.  Not now.  What if, what if Aggie’s blood pressure went up?  Christine began to panic.  She looked around her and saw the woman she had been looking at earlier sitting completely still in the same position as before, but with her eyes closed and her arms relaxed.  Her lips seemed to be moving.  She had obviously gone to the yoga classes.  Or maybe she was praying.  Christine turned back in her chair.  She couldn’t afford to have a panic attack now.  There were enough terrified people on board for Vera to worry about without her losing it as well.  She decided not to think about Aggie.  She would think about something else.  Something positive, something comforting that she could concentrate on.  And maybe she might sleep. 

She closed her eyes and saw Mark’s face, right in front of her, lying on
his side in his bed
.  Her eyes shot open.
She couldn’t think about Mark right now.  She wanted to forget about Mark for three weeks.  Vera brushed past her on her beat back along the aisle.  It was so uncanny how things had suddenly changed.  Forty-eight hours ago, she couldn’t contemplate seeing Mark again after what had happened.  Couldn’t contemplate talking to him.  Couldn’t imagine what he might say to her.  But now it seemed so irrelevant.  Unimportant.  He knew. 
He knew about Zo
ë
. 
But so what.  It changed nothing.

Unsolicited, the events of the evening in her hotel room replayed in her head.  She didn’t want to relive it, but it seemed like she couldn’t find the pause button, and like a song you just can’t get out of your head, her mind replayed the evening in detail.  It had been unbelievably unfortunate that he had been there to witness her encounter with Nick.  She couldn’t really remember why she had let him into her room afterwards.  But she remembered being thrown by his reaction.  She still was.  He had been so gentle.  So, caring.  He seemed to have understood her in her confusion.  She can’t have made much sense.  And she didn’t ever expect anyone to really understand how she felt, not even her Dad, or Emily.  Certainly not Mark.  But he hadn’t judged her.  He hadn’t tried to cheer her up.  Christine pressed her palms to her forehead.  She was suddenly overwhelmed by the vision of them sitting on the floor of her hotel bathroom.  It struck her only now, sitting in what was effectively a hijacked plane on the airport runway in Bangkok, that she had felt completely cared for there, on the cold tiles with him.  With Mark.  Cared for and protected.  As she sat in the darkness reliving the scene, Christine could feel her heart beating in her chest. 

Loved. 

She had felt loved.

~

“The
Thai
Prime Minister is on his way back from China.” 
Shay
referred to a page of scribbled notes he held in his hands.  “The Irish Consulate hasn’t much information really, except that they expect the situation to be resolved sooner rather than later after his return.  The
y say the protestors have only gotten
this far
,
because the airport security are helping them.”

“What do you mean?”  Mark sounded angry.  “Why would the security staff be helping them?”

“They’re protesting about the government,”
Shay
shrugged.  “The security staff probably feel the same.  They seem to be in cahoots one way or another.”

“Jesus.”  Mark shook his head.

“Either way, the consulate seems to think that the Prime Minister coming back will help matters.  And if not, they said the King might intervene.”

“What can he do?”  Mark looked hopelessly at
Shay
.

“I don’t know.  But the people seem to listen to him.  I think.”

Petra walked straight into the office, startling them both.  She acknowledged
Shay
, and stood in front of Mark’s desk.  She too had pages of notes in her hands.

“Okay.  You could fly to Chiang Mai, and get a train to Bangkok from there.
  It’s difficult to see a better
route right
now, but it seems that some
local flights are being diverted to a second, smaller airport in Bangkok, so if you were to fly to, say Dubai, or maybe Delhi, you might have a better chance of getting a Bangkok flight from there.”

Shay
looked at Mark.  “Are you seriously thinking of going out there?” 

Mark glared at him and looked back at Petra.  “Is that the best option then really?”

“Well,” Petra dropped her arms by her sides, “Henry Lee in the Singapore office says that he could get you on a train from Malaysia to Bangkok.”  Petra shook her head.  “But it would take half a day to get to the train from the airport in Singapore, and then another
twenty-
four hours on the train.  It just sounds -”

“Sounds what?”  Mark’s voice was hard.

“Sounds crazy.”  Petra said, looking at
Shay
.  “This could all be over later today.  And even if you do get to the airport in Bangkok, well, what then?”  She looked at Mark, and then seemed to cave a little and sat down on the arm of the sofa.  “It’s not like you can just walk in and over to the airpl
ane and insist that they
let her off,” she said in a more gentle tone.
 
“
It’s just not, sensible.”

Mark thought about it.  It sounded eminently sensible from where he sat, behind his desk.  Christine was in trouble.  She was being held on an airplane against her will somewhere in Asia.  What didn’t sound sensible to him was staying here in his comfortable chair, drinking coffee and checking updates on the news websites now and then.  But then, Petra couldn’t know how he felt.

“I presume I’d have more options flying from London?” he said.

“Of course.”

“Well get me on the first available flight to Heathrow so.”  He stood up and opened a drawer in his desk, taking out a phone charger and his passport.  “I’ll head home now and go straight from there to the airport.  Anything after,” he looked at his watch, “two-thirty should be fine.”

“What else can I do?” 
Shay
looked worried.

“Nothing.  Thanks
Shay
.  Go to the hospital.  I’ll keep in touch over the weekend.”

“Do that.” 
Shay
reached his arm out over the desk and shook Mark’s hand.  The gesture unnerved Mark.  Petra looked a little bemused, but made no comment. 

“I’ll go and sort tha
t flight now,” she
said.  “I’ll let you know if I can confirm a route to Bangkok.”

“I’ll keep this on,” Mark waved his
BlackBerry
at her.  “Thanks Petra.”

Just then, Amanda appeared, followed by a man with grey hair and a worried expression on his face. 
Shay
was standing nearest the door, and he reached out his hand again when he saw them.

“Mr. Grogan. 
Shay
McAvoy.  We met last year, you mightn’t remember.  I’m really sorry about all of this.”

“Thanks,
Shay
.  I do remember meeting you.  Your baby?  She’s sick?  Is she okay?”

“Actually yes, thank you.  She’s okay now.” 
Shay
put his hands into his trouser pockets.  “She gave us a bit of a scare.”

“They keep doing that,” Matt smiled at him.  His eyes seemed to be glistening.  “Even at almost thirty years of age.” 

Shay
nodded silently. 

“Mr. Grogan?”  Mark walked over to where everyone was crowded around his office door.  “I’m Mark. Mark Harrington.”

“Mark.”  Matt stepped into the office and shook Mark’s hand.  “Thanks again for this.  I don’t want to disrupt your day.”

“Please,” Mark gestured to the sofa.  “We don’t have much news. 
Shay
was on to the consulate.”

“They’re hopeful that it will be resolved in the next twenty-four hours,”
Shay
said almost apologetically.

“We’re waiting to hear back from the Singapore office.”  Petra now seemed to be embracing her role as crisis co-ordinator.  “They should be in a position to get better information from their embassy in Bangkok.”  She looked up at Mark.  “I’ll make Mr. Grogan some coffee and book your flight.”

“I’m afraid I have to get back to the hospital,”
Shay
shook Matt’s hand again.

“Of course, of course. Please give your wife my best.”  Matt’s voice broke a little.  “I know Christine thinks very highly of her.”

Shay
and Petra left the room.  “Please,” Mark held his arm out and Matt sat down on the sofa.

“I really am grateful for this Mark,” Matt said.  He unbuttoned his coat but kept it on.  “I was going crazy by myself at home, staring at the news channel on the television.  At least, at least now I feel like I am doing something.”

“Of course, of course.”  Mark sat on a chair and set the phone charger he was holding down on the low table in front of him.  “I meant it when I said that Christin
e is more than an employee to us
.”  His eyes flickered up
at Matt.  “
To me. 
I
… I
care a lot about Christine.”  He turned his
BlackBerry
over and over in his hand.  “I got quite a shock when you phoned this morning.”

Matt was silent.  Just then, Petra knocked and came in with a tray of coffee. 

“Amanda has your flight booked to Heathrow,” she said to Mark, setting the tray down before Matt.  “It leaves at three.  The travel company are working out the best option after that.  I’m hoping to hear from them in the next hour or so.”

“I’m sorry Mark, I’m sure you must be very busy.”  Matt looked like he was about to stand up again.  “I shouldn’t be taking up your time with this.”

“Oh, but Mark is flying to Asia,” Petra began.  “We’ve been trying to establish the quickest way of getting to Bangkok as, of course, the airport is clo -”

“Okay, thank you Petra.”  Mark stared at her.  “Let me know if you hear back from the travel agent.”

Petra looked from Mark to Matt and back again.  “Of course, Mark.”  She smiled at Matt and left the room.

“You’re flying to Bangkok?”  Matt looked confused.

“Mr. Grogan,” Mark could feel the heat in his face.  “I can’t, sit here, knowing that she’s over there.  Alone.  In trouble.”  His voice was almost a whisper.  His eyes darted to Matt’s, and he recognised their blueness instantly.  “I need to get over there.”

Matt said nothing for a moment.  After a second, Mark pushed the coffee tray over closer to him, but he ignored it. 

“Are you and she…
?”

“Not really.  I don’t know.”  Mark sighed heavily and looked straight at Matt.  “I love your daughter,
Mr. Grogan.” 

The bizarre circumstances
under which they were having this conversation made Mark want to laugh.  Or cry.  He wasn’t sure which.  Matt just sat quietly, looking at this man professing his love for his daughter.  Mark sat up straighter in his chair, suddenly conscious of the fact that he was being assessed.  He could see that Matt was worried.  Of course, how could he not be.  But somehow, he sensed that the worry was farther-reaching than current events.

“She told me about Zoë
,
”
he said.
 
Mark saw Matt’s eyes widen. 

“What?”

“In London.  On, on Tuesday.  We were at a conference together.”