Finding Jessie
Destination: Manhattan, New York
The tires slashed through puddles of rain, as the motorcycle furiously weaved through traffic. The young man on the motorcycle wore a heavy sport jacket, and he was clad entirely in black. Suddenly, he reached in his pocket, pulling out a sleek cell phone, which was glowing blue as it rang.
"Hey Dad," He said, laughing playfully, "Yeah I'll be there - on time."
He snapped the phone shut, and his black gloves flexed over the handles, forcing the motorcycle to go faster than a hundred miles per hour, leaving the cars around him a silvery blur as he sped past. In a moment, he turned smoothly round a corner, leaving the cars and wide streets behind. The road was near the dark sea harbor, and he looked to the side, to see a large jet roaring on the tarmac, readying for flight, the noise of the jet drowning out all sound.
He turned the bike and floored the brakes, smoothly skidding to a stop a few dangerous meters from one of the jetliner's whirling engines, which was making ripples in his dark heavy jacket as he dismounted. The young man took off his visor covering his deep blue eyes as he strode to the jet.
The engines shuddered to a stop, and the plane door was thrown open.
"JONNY QUEST!" Dr. Benton Quest thundered through the pouring rain, "Where have you been?"
Jonny bounded up the stairs, brushing past Dr. Quest as he boarded the jet, "Nice to see you too, Dad."
Dr. Quest was blustering red behind him out of anger. He closed the door, and walked briskly to his seat in the cockpit. A loud barking noise came from behind, and a small white dog bounded up to Jonny, jumping on him.
"Bandit!" Jonny cried, as he let the little dog lick his face, "Down, boy!"
"You know, Jonny," came the low voice of Race Bannon, who was sitting in the cockpit with a large headset around his ears, "You could try to be a little more responsible. Dr. Quest and I haven't heard from you for hours! Where have you been?"
Jonny pulled on his seatbelt, "Quit worrying about me, Race. I was around ... And you know, you could save some of that nagging for Jessie."
Jonny smirked as Race turned his head to see him, his eyes narrowed.
Race turned on the microphone, speaking into it, "Thank you for flying Quest Airlines. Please fasten your seatbelts. Passengers - and by that, I mean you, Jonny - are encouraged to stay inside the plane till we land. Please avoid urges to moonwalk on the plane's wings to impress a certain girl…"
Jonny gave a harsh laugh, "I'll try, Race."
Jonny held Bandit close to his wet jacket, as they both looked out the window as the jet lurched to the air, the glittering Manhattan skyline falling away below them.
He felt strangely excited. In a few hours, he would be home again at Quest Compound. He hadn't been there for ages, since he spent his whole summer in New York. Hadji had gone to Bangalore, while Jessie was on another one of those archeological digs in South America with her mother Estella. He couldn't wait to see Hadji again, and go hover-boarding with him in the compound.
And Jessie – Jonny couldn't wait to see her too.