Hi again. Thanks for the reviews!
I've debated recently whether I should postpone writing this story. I intended it to be a long story, but it doesn't seem like many are interested in reading it. Please let me know if you think I should continue or not. We are still at the beginning of the story, so I will definitely write a few more chapters to get us into the more exciting parts of the plot, but after that I'm not sure.
I appreciate your feedback and look forward to hearing what you think!
Here's chapter 4. :)
Chapter 4:
Eliot's mind was racing. Even before reaching the door that had led into the endless hallway, he had already thought up fifty ways he would enact revenge on Hardison the next time they met.
"In here please." Judith said as she opened a regular looking door and ushered him inside.
They had silently walked along a variety of off-white corridors that jutted left and right until he was utterly lost. He remained calm and thought quickly through his options. This was definitely not the worst situation he had ever been in, but usually his challenges were more physical. It's not like he could put Judith in a sleeper hold and escape, right? They were now the good guys and he had to play fair, despite the fact that Hardison was trying to sabotage them.
"Did I do something wrong? I don't understand." Eliot tried to play the confused and innocent bystander.
Her words were professional and no longer flirtatious. "Just sit down and someone will be here in a moment to speak with you."
"But I have a plane to catch!" He called out as she started to shut the door.
Judith held the door ajar and looked Eliot squarely in the eye, "Not anymore you don't."
The door shut firmly and he heard the faint click of the door been locked from the outside.
Not wasting any time he observed his surroundings. No windows, just a painting of a sailboat on the left side of the wall. At the center of the narrow room was a small table with two metal chairs on either side. This was obviously an interrogation room for potential security threats.
He tried to anticipate what Hardison would have flagged him as. Eliot figured that it wasn't a terrorism alert, because he would have had a security detail on him at all times. Maybe drug trafficking? But he didn't have any luggage.
Eliot shook his head, focusing instead on a solution to get himself out.
His mind moved a mile a minute, every possible scenario being eliminated for one reason or another. Finally, he reached the only plausible option, one that he had desperately tried to avoid.
The minutes were ticking and he knew that he needed to make a decision.
"Dammit Parker. You win." He moved quickly over to the air vent, using his fingernails to unscrew the vent from the wall. Parker had told him once that if all else fails, use the vents because they are always easy to unscrew and they always lead to freedom.
The space was tight, but he didn't have many options. He would just have to do this Parker style.
Parker paced back and forth along the ticket counters, looking for any possible weak points through the security checkpoint. She didn't see anything obvious and knew that even if she made it here, she would still have to provide a valid passport to board the airplane.
Shaking her head, she decided that she would have to be more creative. Readjusting her ponytail, she quickly spotted a set of stairs that led to a lower level beneath the ticket area. As she jumped down the stairs, three steps at a time, she smiled as she passed the sign 'Baggage Claim.'
Walking silently along, she watched intently as luggage in all shapes and sizes entered the room through a square hole in the wall covered by black rubber flaps.
She glanced up at the first scrolling sign. 'Baggage Pickup A1- Phoenix, Arizona'
She watched as a bright pink piece of luggage entered through the black rubber flaps, circled around the conveyor belt, and after no one had claimed it, disappeared behind a second set of rubber flaps.
She grinned, wondering if this could get any easier.
Like a cat staking out her prey, she walked down the baggage claim zone to a less densely populated area. She reached the A7 conveyor belt and there was no one in sight. Only a few lonely bags traveling along the conveyor belt. She knew from past experience that when a conveyor belt was deactivated, the belt stopped moving and luggage handlers set up a solid gate behind the rubber flaps as an extra security measure, preventing ill intending individuals from passing through undetected. Luckily for Parker, they couldn't put up a solid gate when luggage was being dispensed. That was her in.
Just like she always did, she walked confidently up to one of the square holes in the wall with the the rubber flaps, quickly crawled on the conveyor belt – as if it was the most natural thing in the world - and passed through the barrier.
It was like moving from one world to another. Just moments ago she was in a clean, carpeted area with calm lighting and welcoming signs and now she was in an enormous storage area. She could see the rafters and there was no heating on this side. She was surprised at how loud it was, considering she had heard only lighthearted music back in the baggage claim area moments before.
Stepping off of the conveyor belt, she quickly ducked behind an empty luggage truck to collect herself and survey her surroundings. She spotted two men with orange reflector vests throwing luggage onto a conveyor belt down the line.
"Richie, I'm just about done, only one more load." She saw a muscular man call back over his shoulder. Her eyes widened when she noticed that he was walking directly toward her. "You get the rest of the luggage unloaded, I'll go ahead and drop the truck off at the loading bay."
The man he was calling back to, Richie, nodded and waved. "Sure thing, Bob. Tell Mindy I said hi."
Parker froze as Bob got into the front of the luggage truck. If he moved the truck, she would no longer have anywhere to hide. Without a second thought, she jumped onto the empty luggage bin, plastering herself onto the floor and holding on as the truck rumbled to life and exited the warehouse into the brisk open air.
The ride was bumpy and she knew that if he looked in his rear view mirror, he would spot her. Luckily for Parker, it wasn't long before she was moving into the loading bay, which meant that she might be able to find the luggage heading to Belize and get on without Bob, or any of the other baggage handlers noticing.
Her fingers were cramping from holding on, but she knew it wouldn't be for much longer. She found that everything was much busier in the loading bay and she knew that if she waited too long in the open she would be spotted.
Quickly taking the initiative, she rolled herself off of the luggage truck, tucking her arms and head in as tight as she could.
No matter how often she did it, or how graceful it appeared, the landing was always the most painful part. Luckily, the floor was slick and the truck was slowing to a stop anyway.
With an uncomfortable thump, she rolled behind a pile of luggage under a sign that said 2361.
For a moment, she thought Bob had spotted her during the dismount, because he immediately jolted to a stop after her disappearance. She was relieved that after a moment he rubbed his eyes and drove up to a pile of luggage 30 feet away.
Stealthily moving from one pile to another, she analyzed the system they used for transferring luggage from entry conveyor belt in the ticketing system, through metal detectors, x-ray machines, past the dogs smelling for illegal substances or hazardous materials, and then into various piles with numbers on top.
She skimmed the numbers, and caught the one she was looking for. Flight 7432 to Belize.
"Are you sure you are okay?" Sophie asked for the sixth time this morning.
"Fine." Hardison answered as he craned his neck to peer from one side of the terminal to the other.
"Really?" She asked in her sarcastic British accent. "Then why do you keep staring at your phone and fidgeting like a lunatic?"
He didn't respond, just kept shifting his weight, flipping his attention from his phone to his watch and back again.
Sophie knew he was running on no sleep and had been overzealous in getting to the airport, but she couldn't understand why he was so nervous all of a sudden.
"Now boarding flight 7432 to Belize." A feminine voice issued from the loudspeaker.
Hardison literally jumped out of his seat ready to fly onto the plane. Sophie pulled back, worried that she would be knocked unconscious as he lunged into the air.
"Now boarding business class and first class." The feminine voice continued.
"That's us." Hardison said more to himself than to Sophie.
"Great." Sophie answered sarcastically. She was now wondering if she could even handle a trip like this with such a crazed Hardison.
They shuffled themselves through the line, down the ramp and onto the plane. Sophie had to admit, Hardison was acting too bizarre for her comfort.
Entering the cabin, they were welcomed by a smiling stewardess with hair pulled into a brown ponytail. Hardison smiled at her, slightly relieved, and pushed his way down the aisle. He ushered Sophie to sit by the window, while he took the aisle seat.
Hardison's heart began to slow just a bit as he sat down in the leather seat. First class, especially on international flights were the best. No squeezing into seats next to noisy children and random old men who liked to drool on you while they took a nap on your shoulder.
His head whipped around. He could have sworn he heard Eliot's voice. Was he here? Sophie gave him another quizzical look. He wasn't sure if he should tell her. It had been more of an impulsive decision that he had made before she arrived that morning and he hadn't had the courage to share it with her yet.
When he received the alert on his phone that Parker had tried to use her credit cards and they had been denied and Eliot's alias had been flagged, he knew that he was going to get it, big time. He was starting to feel like this was more of a punishment for him than it was for them.
"Seriously, Hardison, what is the matter?" Sophie was giving him that look again, the one that he hated.
"And where are Eliot and Parker. I thought they were on this flight too."
He choked, Sophie giving him a suspicious look. "You have to tell me what's going on, we are a team, remember."
He felt ashamed, wincing at the word team. That had meant so many things over the past five years and now, it was slowly crumbling apart. Their team was no longer really a team, was it?
"Ehhh." He rubbed the back of his neck, glancing up at the passengers walking past him to the rear of the plane. "Fine." He sighed. "I might have done something."
"Hardison." She warned, giving him a scolding look.
"I was really angry." He defended.
"Hardison." She repeated, her voice getting harsher and her body leaning toward him in an accusatory stance.
"It...uh...might be hard for them to get on the plane without a passport or cash...that's all." Hardison quickly looked away, trying to prevent himself from getting the brunt of Sophie's wrath.
"You did what!" She yelled, quickly lowering her voice into a loud whisper as the remaining passengers took their seats.
A larger man sitting across the row, sent them both a dirty glare as he focused back on his newspaper.
"I know." He whispered emphatically. "It was impulsive, but honestly, they can't benefit from our help. It just wouldn't be fair."
Sophie rubbed the bridge of her nose.
"You know he is going to kill you, right?"
"I know." Hardison resigned, knowing that Eliot wouldn't make his death swift.
"And I don't even know what Parker will do to you." Hardison tensed at the sound of her name.
They were both interrupted by the sound of the seat belt sign turning on. Hardison jumped as the plane separated from the loading ramp and began to pull away from the airport.
"Maybe they didn't make it on." Hardison looked over at her hopefully.
"I hope for your sake, you are right." She responded, then leaned her head back and closed her eyes.
Hardison felt the energy quickly sap from his body. His eyes drooped closed as he heard the pilot make some announcements, then felt the groggy pressure of the take-off pop his ears and push him further into his seat.
In the daze between awake and asleep he could have sworn he heard Parker's voice, announcing the exit instructions to the passengers in case of an emergency, just like last time, when he had missed their flight and had to stop a bomb while in the air and save the entire team...his entire family. His face softened as his mind whisked away into the unconscious.
It could have been minutes or it could have been hours, but most of the passengers had closed their windows and were sleeping silently.
Hardison on the other hand went from a deep satisfying sleep to frozen dread when a low growl that only he could hear issued from the seat behind him.
"Hello Hardison."
He knew that voice instantly. It was Eliot.