Mind Trace (20 page)

When she caught sight of the airport, her mind began
filling her in on its layout. It was divided into two sections, commercial and
private. The commercial section, where the normal passenger carriers landed, was
complete with multi-terminal airport. The private side was several miles away
and had only a small tower, several large hangars and a maintenance area. Their
plane would take off from the private side.

From the entrance, they navigated to an open hanger. The
car pulled in, parking just a few yards from the plane itself.  It was a Cessna
Citation X, top of the line. Sleek and shiny in the well-lit hangar, its
presence made her sense of dread increase.

Here's a very expensive, luxury aircraft, of which the
mysterious pilot has agreed to take us to a remote location on his way to some
other place… also casually altering his flight logs in the process. This is bad
news no matter how you look at it. This man is either some sort of criminal
smuggler, or someone who picks and chooses which laws he wants to obey.

I don't like it, but do I have a choice?

As she stepped out of the car, she walked around the side
to get a look at the aircraft registration number. "N34452." She
sorted through her databases until she came across the appropriate record. It
belonged to a company called "Jaenke Exports." They were involved in
several criminal investigations, including some that brought charges against
them, and then all were mysteriously dropped. Alice could find no further
information regarding the situation. From what data she could gather, it looked
like the charges brought against them were perfectly legitimate. 

Garrett did not seem like the type of person who would form
casual alliances with criminals. He was not perfect, but she found nothing in
his records to indicate that kind of behavior. The only occasion that she knew
of on which he ventured outside of the legal realm was when he sent the email
pretending to be EngineerCorp.

Alice was conflicted; she was given the choice between trying
to make it on her own, almost certainly being tracked down and caught…or
getting in a smuggler's plane with Garrett, trusting him to lead her to safety.
Garrett seemed like the better option, in spite of his strange behavior.

I don't have time to ask questions now, but once Concord
is safely behind us, I will get to the bottom of this.

"Alice, are you coming?" Garrett looked somewhat
annoyed.

"Yeah, sorry. I've never seen one of these things up
close before." 

It was not a lie, but it was not the real reason she had
been lingering.

There were a few airport workers walking about, doing last
minute checks on the plane and other various tasks. There was no sign of anyone
else, FBI or otherwise.

"Where's Charlie?" she asked.

"Oh, he's probably already in the cockpit, waiting to
take off. He mentioned wanting to try to leave early, if possible."

As if to confirm his assumption, a man popped his head out
of the open door and waved. He shouted to Garrett, "All ready to go if you
are. Come on in!"

"Thanks, Charlie," Garrett called as the man
ducked back into the plane.

He gave another questioning look to Alice, and then walked
to the stairs leading up to the plane.

Let's get this over with.

She sighed deeply and followed him inside.

The interior of the plane was extravagantly furnished.
There were eight deep leather seats scattered about the interior. Below the
windows were side panels made of varnished mahogany, containing cupboards for
storage. Near the cockpit, across from the entry door was a mini-bar, complete
with refrigerated compartments and stocked with food and drinks.

This is crazy. I had no idea they made planes like this.
Business must be thriving...

Near the back was an open door, leading to a lavatory. Beyond
that was another door, which she guessed housed a closet or something of that
nature, but she didn’t think it was polite to investigate further. Alice
selected the seat nearest to the door and sat down. The window shutters were
closed, but there was not much use in opening them. Once they were in flight,
it would be too dark to see anything.

"I'm going to check with Charlie and see what the plan
is."

He joined Charlie in the cockpit. Alice could see the
outline of two other men there. She guessed Charlie was one of them, and the
other was most likely his co-pilot.

They spoke in tones too low for her to hear, and a few
minutes later Garrett came back out, selecting the chair across from hers.

"Well, everything is set. We will arrive at our
destination in a couple hours. Might as well get comfortable."

The co-pilot came out, gave her a brief smile, then strode
over to close and secure the side door.

"Take off is in five minutes," he said before
returning to his seat.  He shut the door to the cockpit behind him.

Alice heard the engines click on and off and the whirring
of the wing flaps as the pilots went through their pre-flight checks. Then, the
engines started in earnest and they began to taxi to the runway. 

The roar of the engines prevented any conversation as the
plane began to take off.  When the cabin had quieted down after they were in
the air, Alice turned to speak with Garrett, only to find that he had fallen
asleep.

She was annoyed. She had intended to give him the third
degree, including finding out how he managed to be in a position where he could
call in this favor. 

So much for that idea...

Alice reclined the seat back, settling into the plush
leather cushions. She joined him in slumber a few minutes later.

***

Garrett estimated it would take a little over an hour to
drive from Newport to Concord. That gave him a few hours to kill before leaving.

Might as well be productive with the time I have.

He took a warm shower, which helped to clear his head from
the last of the sedatives. In the kitchen, he grabbed a quick meal while trying
to figure out what they would do after they met in Concord.

Wait a minute. Where's my car? Is it still in New York?

He rushed to the window in the kitchen and peered outside.
Oddly enough, there was his little, gray sedan, sitting in his driveway.

At least Jeremy is thorough…even if he is a backstabber.

While he finished eating, Garrett did his best to think of
what they would do once he met Alice. Things had gotten far more complicated
than they had been originally, which meant they were now in danger almost anywhere
they went. They needed to stay outside densely populated areas as much as
possible so there was less chance of being spotted by cameras or anyone looking
for them.

Where could they go? He hesitated to even bring up the idea
of asking any more of his "friends" for help, considering what
happened with Jeremy. There had to be somewhere to seek refuge, at least until
they made more secure plans.

He did have a client who owned several vacation homes, one
of which was in the area. Garrett had done odd jobs for him every now and then,
but he knew that he was overseas this time of year and all of his homes would
be vacant. He did not particularly like the idea of using one without
permission, but honestly there just weren't many options to choose from.
Besides, he and Alice would only be using it for a short while. He would run
the idea by Alice, in any case.

I need to take care of Cyberconn before I leave. They
have to know what to do while I'm gone, especially since the situation with
Alice is about to get a lot more complicated.

Garrett went to his lab to work on one of the few remaining
computers in his house. He shot off some emails to his coworkers, explaining
that there was a situation that required him to be out of the office for an
indeterminate amount of time.  Garrett gave some instructions, designated who
would be in charge while he was out, and said he would do his best to update
them when there was any new information on his situation.

That takes care of that. Time to go.

Garrett would still arrive in Concord early, but he could
get a room at the hotel and wait for her there. He packed a small travel bag,
putting some extra toiletries and some of his clothes inside for Alice.

Garrett went over his mental checklist again, taking one
last glance around his house. When he was satisfied, he locked the front door
behind him. Twilight was just beginning to settle as he drove towards Concord.

An hour later, he arrived, with plenty of time to kill
before he needed to be at the hotel.

I could go straight there and wait for her, but more
than likely, she'll be starving when she gets here. I'll just stop somewhere and
pick up some food first.

A supermarket close by was still open. He parked and entered
the almost empty store. As he was walking up and down the aisles, Garrett
realized he had no clue what Alice liked to eat.  He selected a random
assortment of food, hoping she would find something that she liked.

Why am I so worried about what she likes to eat? I
should be worried about how to keep her alive.

Garrett paid the cashier, taking the paper sack of
groceries as he left. He almost ran into a man hurrying into the store,
carrying a large bag of tools. The man mumbled an apology and continued quickly
to the back of the store. Garrett made out the nametag on his shirt that said, "Antonio."

Garrett shrugged it off and exited the store. As he was
fumbling one-handedly for his keys, something caught his attention.

It's darker out here... Some of these lights are out. I
don't get it. The store's still open; there's no need to turn off the lights
yet.

Calm down, Garrett. You're just being paranoid.

As he approached his car, he realized that only the lights
next to his car that had been extinguished.

That's kind of creepy.

There was also a large van parked a few spots over from his
car that had not been there before.

Okay, now this is just ridiculous. Get it together. No
need to panic.

He placed his hands firmly around his keys, doing his best
to look confident and alert as he walked the rest of the distance to his car.

He glanced sidelong at the van as he unlocked his trunk to
put away the groceries. The van was quiet, and there did not seem to be
movement near it. He looked closer and could just make out faded lettering that
said, "Antonio's Plumbing Services."  It was the same name of the guy
he had almost run into.

Garrett laughed audibly then, greatly relieved.

This stuff is really starting to get to me. It never
hurts to be too careful, though.

He lifted the trunk open. Just as he was about to put the
groceries inside, a dark cloth was thrown over his head and his hands were
wrenched behind his back. The sounds of his protests were muffled by the cloth.

Wait! How can this be happening?

A split second later, his hands were tied and he was
tossed, roughly, into the back of his open trunk. The door clanged shut over
him, leaving him in total darkness.

He was in complete shock.

I'm such a fool. I'd been so preoccupied by the van, I
didn't noticed anything else.  I should have been more vigilant. What will
happen to Alice now?

Or me, for that matter?

***

The seats on the plane must have been more comfortable than
Alice originally guessed. When she finally opened her eyes, almost two hours
had passed. By the tilt and speed of the plane, they had begun the final
descent to…wherever it was they were going.  She sat up and stretched, looking
over at Garrett.

He was already awake, and watching her with a strange,
queer expression.

"What's up?" Alice questioned.

"We should be landing in twenty minutes.  Not much
longer now."

What's wrong with him? He's acting so strangely. Did I
say something wrong?

There was a few more minutes of silence before Alice spoke
again.

"Is there anything to eat around here?"

He laughed and then gestured to the bar. "There are
some sandwiches and things over there. I ate while you were sleeping."

"Oh. How long have you been awake?"

"Not very long."

The small talk continued as Alice stood up and gathered
some food for herself. There was not much point in starting a serious
conversation now, as close as they were to landing. She brought her food back
to her seat, eating in silence.

Garrett had been acting off since she met him at the hotel.
Had something else happened with Jeremy that she didn't know about? Surely, he
would have told her if something was wrong…wouldn't he? Part of what had been
bothering her was that he seemed…different, somehow.

 Alice lurched forward as the plane touched down. It rolled
down the runway, taxiing for several minutes before coming to a stop.  The door
to the cockpit opened and the co-pilot came out again to unlock the exterior
door. Alice heard a metallic clanking as stairs were unfolded and met the
ground outside. 

It was almost pitch-black beyond the open door. The only
lights that were visible were those coming from the plane.

Once the door was open, Garrett approached the exit,
hovering in the doorway of the plane just long enough to say, "Well,
Alice. I just want you to know...it's been nice."

What is he talking about?

The tone of his voice was so unfamiliar, so malicious; her
insides felt like ice.

"Garrett? What's going on?"

"Why don't you come out and see for yourself?"

He stood aside and let her pass.

This is no time for games. I would think he realizes
that.