Chapter 34
Because they were all so tired the next morning, Dad said he'd drive the kids and Tim to school, take James into the City and finally Artie to the airport. Then he was going to stop in at the hospital to see Geordie, who'd had a treatment over the weekend. That was a first and they were a little worried, although Rob said he hadn't lost any ground.
Tim was glad classes were resuming and this was not a new term, he didn't think he could handle being Professor Bright and Shiny that Monday. He'd had to hold back tears when he said goodbye to his wife, wishing she were done with her project, he hated her leaving every week. Still, once he had some fresh air and three cups of coffee, he began to feel more awake and greeted his returning students with pleasant nods instead of a zombie-like look. Although this generation of students might appreciate the zombie creature! He did take a few minutes to welcome everyone back and when someone asked what he'd done, he held up his hand, which still had an ink drawing of Mickey Mouse. "Went to see the Mouse and the Acropolis."
Dad was glad to find Geordie doing all right. While he was still fighting jet lag, he'd caught up on his rest. When his father spoke with his primary physician, he was relieved to hear that, aside from being tired, there were no ill after-effects from all their fun in Athens.
The doctor's eyes twinkled, "I think being with all of you, having fun and then meeting the young lady helped immensely. It's difficult for patients to feel they're part of the world when all they do is go from here to wherever they stay between treatments. He's one of the few who are able to stay with family when he's not here. The captain will be ready to join you again on Wednesday."
"Wonderful, thanks!"
Home again, Dad slept for several hours before waking up hungry and finding Sarah also prowling for food in the kitchen.
That night, Tim told them he was joining Artie in Amzida that weekend; he'd fly out Friday afternoon and return Monday morning, bringing some of her Turkish treasures with him. The kids were all right with that, they'd already known he was going there one weekend this month. The adults were fine too, he'd checked with them before making his flight reservation.
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Monday came along and they said goodbye to Artie for 10 days. By Friday, they were all rested and Tim was ready to go again. As he left the lecture hall after his last class, he smiled as he saw Big Blue and his dad waiting to take him to the train. Several hours later, he smiled at his wife as he was cleared by Customs. When his flight landed at the airport, he felt a little anxious although he wasn't sure why. When he saw Artemis waiting for him, his anxiety vanished.
Taking Uber back to the apartment, she laughed at what he'd brought with him, underwear, socks and a clean shirt for Monday. And a foldable suitcase that would be checked baggage on his way home, with as many of her treasures as he could stuff in there.
That weekend, they decided to postpone their trip to Paris. If they waited, they'd be able to stay more than a weekend, possibly close to a week. Besides that, Abby had changed her arrival from Monday the 25th to Sunday the 24th, the weekend they'd planned to be in Paris.
Of course, they didn't have to be there when she arrived, although they were uncomfortable with that idea. Abby and Sarah planned to do a couple of day and overnight trips around the UK before the family would fly to Stockholm for the May 1st holiday weekend. She'd leave on the 8th and Tony would arrive the morning of the 13th.
They'd also hoped to make room on their schedule for a trip to Sorrento, Italy, to meet Artie's uncle Nikolas and his family, but that might have to wait for several months. When they returned from Portugal, Tim would begin working for Joel in London, working from the second week of June through the end of July.
There was also the money they'd spent! They had a splurge fund for their trips but whatever they deposited, they quickly spent. They didn't begrudge spending the money, their trips were fun and educational for everyone who joined them. As the couple kept reminding each other, they wouldn't be living in Europe much longer and they had more places they wanted to experience. Their current list included the trip to Italy, Copenhagen, Oslo and Helsinki, Budapest, Krakow, Paris, Marseilles, Nice, Barcelona, Madrid, Berlin and Munich. Tim thought it would also be interesting to visit the Asian part of Turkey.
With less than 2 months to go on the project, Artie was getting antsy to move her treasures home. As much as she enjoyed the apartment, the city and was pleased with her project, she was ready to be finished and home with her family.
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While their father was away, the kids spent the weekend outdoors. The weather was finally beginning to warm up in Brambury and the kids were outside, playing with their friends as well as their siblings.
Dad remembered whole days of being outside with his friends, tramping through the woods, fishing, riding bikes. He thought it was a healthy thing and, when he heard about it, James agreed. While he hadn't fished, he and his friends rode bikes and hiked through the trees, exploring.
Tim and Artie had decided they wanted a do-over on their own childhoods, exploring woods, skating, playing with friends, movies, games, riding bikes and all the fun that goes with them. Dad rolled his eyes at them, "That's why you have kids. And if we have that camp in New England, you can play outside to your heart's content."
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Never forgetting they were still newlyweds, the couple had a wonderful weekend, wrapped up in each other's arms, strolling through the city, stopping in at their favorite places. Tim mentioned his strange anxiety and Artie nodded, "There's been some protesting, some unrest. However, there's nothing to worry about, the government is meeting with the protestors next week and the mood is conciliatory. And there's been nothing on this side of the city."
Sunday night, they bundled up the small carpet and several other items Tim would take home. By the time they had them amassed, Tim shook his head, "I hope these make it home!"
"You'll have to pay excess baggage."
"That's all right, it's either that or pay to ship them, probably about the same. Do you have enough room in your luggage for the rest?"
"I thought I'd buy another bag."
He laughed, "We should invest in a luggage store! All right, how about we just ship them? If we can get everything packed tonight, do we have time to stop and have it shipped in the morning?"
"Plenty of time,, we'll leave earlier."
Tim sighed, "I love this place, sure going to miss it!"
"I'll miss your visits here, and the children's, but I won't miss living here without you."
Somehow they managed to gather and wrap all the treasures Artie wanted to take home and shipped most of them home. Tim still ended up with a suitcase full, plus the receipts.
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Back home, Tim paid closer attention to what was happening in Amzida. They put Artie's treasures in the living room for everyone to see and enjoy. When she came home next weekend, she could decide where to put them. He vaguely remembered discussing putting them in the library. In the evenings on Monday and Tuesday, he and Dad worked on the screens they were building for Artie's office in the 'schoolroom' upstairs.
Tim was sound asleep early Wednesday morning when his phone chimed with a call. It was Mimi, "Timotheus, have you heard from Artemis? There are rumors of riots in Amzida, buildings and cars being burned, I can't imagine!"
"I'll call her and then let you know, Mimi. Thanks for alerting me!"
He immediately called his wife's cell number. It took him 15 tries to get through and he almost cried when he heard her voice. "Tim, I've….call. Servi…ba… block….gone, we…backdoor…men, gesture, don't kn … who they … … ."
Her voice was cutting in and out, the only other word Tim got after that was what he hoped was airport. He told her he loved her and to call or text as soon as she could. He called Mimi and told her Artemis was on the way to the airport. He hoped that was true.
Downstairs, Gibbs answered his phone, glaring at it. It was 0317 and he was retired, for Pete's sake!
"Hello."
"Gibbs, it's Leon. I've been trying to reach Tim's phone but can't get through. There are riots in Amzida, serious ones. Pete Russell called me from Athens, I'd asked him to keep an eye out for trouble in Turkey. He was notified by his CIA friends at the Embassy. They're burning buildings and cars, the body count is rising, rioting throughout the city. We need to get Artie out of there. I have contacts…"
"Hold on, Leon. Let me find Tim. He may have already been in touch with her."
Grabbing his robe and slippers, Gibbs stalked through the house, this house really needed an intercom. Spying a light in the kitchen, he headed there and found his son trying to make a pot of coffee.
"Tim, Leon's on the phone."
Tim nodded, took the phone and started to talk, stopping when his father hit the speaker button. "Mimi called, saying there were all kinds of rumors but she'd also seen the early morning news. It took me 15 tries to get through to Artie, but I did. Service was bad so I only understood a little but she was on the way to the airport. I'm hoping she'll be able to call me from there."
"Is someone helping her or did she decide to leave?"
"Hang on, Geordie's calling. Geo?"
"If you have the speaker on, turn it off, Tim."
Tim turned the speaker off on his father's phone and his brother told him, "She's with friends, they're trying to get to the airport on that back road. They're on scooters, only way they can get through, there are burned out cars and bodies everywhere. It's bad, bro. The government is keeping the airport open, letting planes take off. I heard the airlines are going in to help evacuate foreigners but don't know how true that is. If I hear more, I'll let you know. And Tim, you can't tell Dad, who can probably hear me anyway or anyone else. It could mean their lives."
"Understood."
"I know you're not really a religious guy but this would be a good time to start praying."
"Already done."
Tim disconnected and looking at his father, shook his head, making a motion of zipping his lips.
Dad looked at his phone. "Sorry, Leon, Geordie needed something. What did you have in mind?"
Leon told him and Tim tilted his head, if Artie got to the airport and could get through to him, that could work but he hoped the people she was with would be leaving with her. And that couldn't happen with Leon's idea.
When they disconnected, Dad made coffee while Tim paced, clinging to his phone. While they waited, Sarah wandered out, took one look at them and frowned. "Is it classified?"
"No, Amzida's under siege. Your brother talked to Artie but wasn't able to understand much of what she said. We're waiting to hear."
"Oh my God, how bad?"
"Body count bad. Burned and bombed out buildings and cars."
She wrapped her arms around her brother, "We have to have faith she'll be all right, Tim, we have to."
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While her husband was pacing, Artie was on the back of a scooter, holding on to the stranger driving as they drove up and down streets trying to find one with a path clear enough to get them through to the next street, ultimately to the airport.
She'd woken to the smell of smoke and a call from her project manager telling her to get out, to get to the airport any way she could and take any flight out of Turkey. She quickly dressed and grabbed her pack, shoving in a few things. When she looked out her front door, the entrance to the building was open, the door hanging, the smoke was stronger and she could hear screaming.
Turning around, she closed and locked her front door and ran for the back door. As she opened it, she saw 3 men entering the garden area. In the glow from the light fixture over the backdoor, she saw one of the men give her the signal Tim showed her and she nodded.
The signal giver got on a scooter and pointed her to the one behind him, another man driving. They wore dark clothing and hoods that partially covered their faces. Slinging her pack on her back, she climbed on, wrapping her arms around the stranger she hoped was trying to help her. She'd put her headset on in case she could get through to Tim and almost cried when he got through. She prayed he'd understood what she'd tried to tell him.
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It was an agonizingly long time before there was more news. While they waited, Tim called Susannah and Ian, not wanting them to see the newscasts before hearing from him. Then he called Mimi to see how she was doing. She said she was on her knees praying and told him that when he heard from Artemis, he was to let her know and she would send an email to her daughter. Tim didn't want to argue but he also knew Sophia would be horribly worried. He said that to Mimi who sighed and said she'd send them a text instead.
Sarah had the TV on in her suite and they watched, horrified, at the violence destroying the beautiful, friendly city. Andy was the first one to come downstairs. He took one look at his father's face and said, "What happened? Is it Mama?"
"It's Amzida, son." Tim told him what was happening, stressing that he'd spoken with his mother. When Greg came downstairs with Kyle and Rissa, he repeated the news. All of them cried, the kids huddled on his lap, his arms stretched around them.
Dad gave them milk to drink and toast, they needed something to eat but he was sure none of them would eat much. Except possibly Kyle, their hungry boy. No way were any of them going to school; Tim left messages at the school and the nursery. He also sent a text to his boss, his department master, at 0630, to let him know he wouldn't be in and why.
Leon texted Gibbs around 0700, to check in. When Tony sent a text shortly after, Tim bowed his head, wondering if Dad or Leon had let him know. When Ducky, Lu, Larry Porter and Dr. Biros were next, Tim knew it was Dad and he kissed him in thanks. He sent a mental note to his wife, telling her of all the people who loved her and were praying for her. He asked Sarah to send out a text to their family and friends thanking them for their love, prayers and good thoughts, asking them not to tie up his phone, to text her or Dad if they wanted to send a message. That message did not go to Susannah or Mimi and Tim asked her not to send it to the Palmers either. They had their foster toddler with them now and would need all the sleep they could get.
When Sarah sent the text, she used a group contact she'd compiled after the wedding at Ducky's. After removing the Palmers, she sent the message, one which included nearly everyone else who'd attended, including the senior Galanises. Sophia woke Wednesday morning to a text from her daughter's sister-in-law with an odd message about love and prayers and to send any messages to her phone, not Tim's. Something was wrong.
She poked at her husband, who'd received a text hours earlier, waking them both. He'd mumbled that it wasn't Greece before falling back to sleep. Now she wanted to know what it was about. When he wouldn't wake up, she did something she'd never done before, looked at his phone messages. She knew what his password was, she'd created them and kept a list so he'd know which one to use each month when it had to be changed. Now she input the code, her hands trembling. When she saw the text, she rose from her bed, got dressed, took a few Euros from his wallet, she had her own credit card, packed a suitcase and left, not bothering to leave a note for her cruel husband. Who couldn't even be bothered to worry or tell his wife when the city and country where their daughter lived and worked was experiencing deadly violence, already over 100 people reported dead.
Calling her husband's boss's aide, she asked for a flight to Athens and a car for the airport. She would go home, to Greece. Her reluctance to leave her worthless husband may have cost her a last chance to reconcile with her oldest daughter. No more, she was done. If her mother wouldn't have her, she'd rent a place of her own and do whatever it took to reconcile with Susannah and her grandchildren. And her poor son-in-law. She'd liked him but Kosmos said he was 'puffed up', full of himself, which she thought ridiculous. Kosmos was the one who was puffed up! She'd been very upset when she realized his kindness toward the children was only a tactic to use until he figured out how to manipulate Timothy.
She waited downstairs in the reception area for the car to the airport. She was a little surprised when Eleni Caras, wife of Kosmos' superior, joined her. "My husband told me about Amzida and I remembered you saying Artemis would be working there. Is she still there?"
When she saw the woman's lip tremble, she wrapped her arms around her. "Sophia, she will be all right. We must have faith, come, let's say a prayer."
Together, they said a brief prayer before Eleni said, "You're going to Greece? Will Kosmos join you there?"
"No, Eleni, I'm leaving him. He sent someone to spy on our daughter Susannah and that person was found out. Neither of our daughters, my mother or my son-in-law are speaking to us. My mother told me recently how disappointed she is in me and she's right. I should have left him years ago. He's a heartless man without a trace of human kindness or love in him."
"Oh, Sophia, I'm so sorry."
"I only found out about this because Sarah, my daughter's sister-in-law, sent a text thanking us for the love and prayers but please not to tie up my son-in-law's, phone. When I think how long he had to wait to find out about Jason and how little time he and Artemis have had together, it breaks my heart."
"Why did he have to wait?"
"Because Kosmos forbade her telling him about the baby, about Jason. He said he wasn't worthy of being part of our family and that Jason would be better off without him."
Eleni was shocked but the more she thought about it, it made sense. While she liked Sophia, she'd disliked Kosmos for as long as she'd known him. Her husband kept him around for 'old time's sake', they'd been in school together and her husband said he felt sorry for him back then, a poor kid who lived with an ancient great-uncle. He wasn't the best diplomat but wasn't bad enough to let go and he was useful in tough negotiations when his heartless attitude frequently helped.
He was never allowed to work with any of their close allies. When he'd requested leave to go to his daughter's wedding in DC, there had been many hurried and sometimes heated discussions with the Greek Embassy in Washington. When they learned through the Greek Ministry of State that the American FBI was vetting him and would watch his every move, the Washington Embassy finally agreed to him coming but only if he stayed at the Embassy where they could control who he saw and spoke with and only for long enough to go to the wedding plus a few days. And those few days were only granted because with the holiday season, there wasn't a lot of room on the diplomatic flights.
"Then you're right to go home, to your mother. Is there anything I can do for you?"
"Except for prayers for Artemis and her family, no, thank you, Eleni. I'll send Kosmos a text when I get on the plane, I don't want a fuss, I just want to leave. I'll also let my daughter's family know…something. Or perhaps I'll wait until we hear more."
"Will you let your mother know?"
"Yes and thank you for reminding me. Ah, the car is here. Thank you again for all your kindnesses over the years, Eleni."
Exchanging kisses, the two women parted and Sophia took her suitcase to the door where the driver met her. Realizing she would be giving up her very comfortable life, she mentally shrugged. She felt like she was exchanging the luxury of free housing, a car, driver and free flights for her family for the freedom to make her own life and that suited her just fine.
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Susannah and Ian had both called off work, sitting at home in their flat, jumping at every noise. They spoke off and on but there wasn't anything to say until Ian suddenly realized what they needed to do.
"Suse, let's pack our bags and stay with my parents until Artie gets home. Then we'll go visit the family."
She opened her mouth but just nodded. Ian's parents were wonderful, she loved them as much as her sister loved Tim's father and siblings. Throwing a few things in a suitcase, they were on their way in a few minutes.
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When Rob woke about 6:30 AM to eat, he read a text from his dad that had him throwing clothes in a bag and calling his supervisor to tell her about Artie. He was on his way in minutes, riding the Tube to Brambury. At the stop, he shouldered his bag and started walking. An unmarked car pulled up and a familiar face peered out. "Any news yet, mate? Come on, I'll give you a lift."
"Thanks, Clayton. Nothing new. Tim talked to her a few hours ago, she was trying to get to the airport. Nothing since but my dad says cell service was bad when she and Tim talked. Took him 15 tries to get through to her."
"Horrible. But you know, she's probably sitting on a plane waiting to taxi out. Have to think positive, eh?"
"Yes. You don't know anything?"
"No, sorry, and if I did, I probably wouldn't be allowed to share it with you. All right, here we are."
Rob nodded his thanks as he climbed out of the car to join his family.
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Tony woke to the sound of a new text on his phone. He frowned, a new case would mean a phone call, what the heck?
After reading the message from Gibbs, he nearly ran downstairs to the living room to turn the TV on. He and Maggie had been talking about moving it into the bedroom but hadn't done anything about it yet. Good thing, let her sleep.
Clicking through to ZNN and then BBC America, he turned on closed captioning and muted the sound while he jumped back and forth between stations, watching the horrifying video of an ancient city being destroyed piece by piece. He jumped physically when an arm circled his waist. "Where's that?"
"Amzida."
"Oh my God, Artie!"
"Yeah, Dad sent me a text. Mimi, Artie's grandmother, called Tim early their morning to tell him this," he gestured to the screen, "was rumored to be happening. Tim called Artie, took him 15 tries to get through and then he could hardly understand her because of the cell service. He believes she said she was on her way to the airport but there's been no word since."
"How far would it be, from her place to the airport?"
"I don't know."
"We know her address there, let's Google and see."
He nodded, tearing his eyes from the TV screen long enough to see the answer. "45 minutes. She was already on the way and it's been at least 3 hours."
"Was she alone?"
"I don't know, Dad didn't say."
"It could just be cell service."
"There's nothing on the news about flights in or out."
They looked at each other.
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In Baltimore, Lu sat, her eyes glued to ZNN; during commercials, she'd switch to BBC America. One by one her boys arrived, bringing breakfast for all of them, holding her hand. While none of them knew Artie that well yet, she was Tim's love and the thought of him possibly losing her so soon after they'd reconnected made them hurt. Then too, they thought of Tim's children, all of the guys having been children who'd lost their parents, some to violence. Lu told them Tim's adoption of Marissa had been finalized and that made them feel a little better, at least she was legally safe.
When Lu asked Freddie about Abby, he blinked back tears. "She went to the convent. She said the only thing she could do is pray and that's what she's going to do, with her friend Sister Rosita and the others."
Bill thought about that, "Those the sisters she bowls with?"
"Yeah."
Bill huffed, "I didn't know they're nuns! She always says 'sisters', I just thought, you know, that they were a group of sisters."
That got a little laugh and then the video changed and they turned their attention back to the TV.
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Ducky woke, with an awful feeling that something was wrong. He looked at the time, he'd been asleep for several hours. Then he noticed his cell phone was lit up. He knew he hadn't missed a call out, Jimmy would have called him if he had. Then he remembered Jimmy was on paternity leave, spending time with their new foster child David.
Pulling the phone to him, he saw he had a new text and with a growing sense of dread, saw it was from Jethro. Opening the message, he read it with horror and then jumped when another text popped up, this one from Sarah, thanking everyone, on behalf of Tim, for their love but please not to tie up his phone. He sent an immediate text of love and hope to Sarah and then climbed out of bed. There was no way he'd be able to sleep until he knew that Artemis was safe. He wouldn't wake Jimmy and Breena, they'd learn soon enough.
After making himself a pot of tea, he turned the television on and sat, waiting for his tea to steep, feeling sadder and lonelier than he thought he'd ever been. His heart ached for Tim and the children. And Jethro and Tim's siblings. He jumped again when his phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Ducky, it's Tony. Did I wake you?"
"No, I woke up with a horrible feeling and found Jethro's text waiting for me – and the one from Sarah. Have you heard anything?"
"No. Maggie and I have ZNN and BBC on but there's nothing new, we noticed the video we just saw was one that played an hour ago."
"So nothing fresh."
"Not yet. Are you all right? We could come over, bring breakfast. The bakeries are open."
Ducky started to say no and then changed his mind, he wouldn't mind the company and perhaps he could be of some help to his friends. "That would be lovely, Anthony, thank you. Are you going in to work later?"
"No, well yes, but we're off rotation. I let Ellie know, didn't know if she was on the original text. We'll be over in about a half hour, all right?"
"Yes, that's fine, thank you. I'll put the coffee on."
Disconnecting, Ducky realized he too would need to go into work. He'd rather be there, with other people who cared about Tim and his bride, then here at home, waiting by himself. With a huff, he rose and headed back to his room to shower and dress before his friends arrived.
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In Brambury, it was noon and still no news. Susannah sent Tim a text saying she and Ian were with his parents and Tim sighed in relief, glad to hear it. He and Mimi had exchanged a few calls; the last time they talked she said her priest and some of her neighbors were there with her, praying. That made Tim cry and he gave the phone to Sarah.
His dad was having as hard a time as he was, this bringing back memories of the worst days of his life, when he was told his wife and daughter were dead. He'd talked to Lu a few times and that helped, then he could be more help to his son and his grandchildren.
The kids were glued to them, terrified. They'd move from their father to Grandpa to Aunt Sarah, Uncle Rob, Mr. James and back to Papa again. Knowing that Greg and Kyle were remembering the loss of their first mother made it even tougher and Tim held onto them so fiercely he was afraid he was hurting them. He kept thinking of Marissa, thankful his adoption of her had been finalized weeks ago. If the unthinkable happened, at least they could stay together.
In mid-afternoon, they decided to go for a walk. They knew the cell phone worked on the path in back of the house, they'd used it out there before. They all went, the boys holding hands with each other and their papa. Grandpa carried Rissa. She would have been fine walking but Grandpa and Papa were sad and scared and carrying her made Grandpa a little less scared. She missed her mahnoola and wished she was home.
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Artie nearly cried when they stumbled onto the airport grounds as a jet took off. Gesture whispered, "That won't be the only one, don't worry. Keep on going."
They'd had to leave the scooters behind when they'd come too close to a gun battle and the tires were shot out. They'd hidden until the bullets stopped and then walked the rest of the way to the airport, hiding in doorways, behind dumpsters and bushes whenever there were other people. Twice they'd had to wait nearly 30 minutes for whoever else was out there to go away. Although her escorts had their own packs, they rotated carrying hers as well, wearing it on their chests. Right now, she was carrying it. She put one foot ahead of another and kept going. It was all she could do, she had to get home to her family.
During their trek, she'd given names to her escorts. The man who'd made the gesture was named Gesture. The man she'd sat behind on the scooter while he drove was Driver. The third man was Smiley because he would occasionally give her a bit of a smile.
Finally, they could see the terminals. Artie had been afraid, several hours ago, before she'd nearly stepped on the first dead body she'd ever seen, that there would be so many people that there would be no seats left on any flights for the four of them but now the terminal they could see best looked empty.
Gesture shook his head, "Looks like not many made it here."
"But will there be more planes?"
"Yes. We got this far, didn't we?"
"Yes, my trustworthy stranger friends."
She heard a chuckle at that and felt a little better. She'd have to remember to tell Tim.
As they got closer to the terminal, they saw there were plenty of people, mostly sitting on the floor. As the doors swooshed open, the sound of voices washed over her, she thought there were maybe a hundred or more people of all ages, murmuring to each other. As the crowd sitting on the floor caught sight of them, the murmurs slowed and stopped. She noticed the passports she could see in passing were all Turkish.
As they crossed to the ticket counter in silence, feeling somehow incongruous after their struggle to get here, a baby cried and Artie noticed no one shushed him or her, or murmured to the child. She turned to look and saw an infant, probably 3 or 4-months old, lying on a blanket on the floor. There was no one within 20 feet of the baby. Moving to the people closest, Artie asked if the mother or father was nearby. An older woman answered, saying a woman had come in, put the baby down, told her, when she was asked, that the baby was 4-months old, and then said she would be back. It was then they'd noticed she was bleeding from a hole in her stomach. Some of them had tried to help her, but she was dead in minutes. A man, sitting near the woman who was talking, said the child was obviously cursed. Everyone around him rolled their eyes but no one got up to help the baby.
With a look at her trustworthy escorts, Artie picked up the baby and the blanket, taking her, she'd decided the baby was a girl because of her own little daughter, with them to the ticket counter. Without saying a word, Driver removed her pack from her shoulder.
As they were given information about the next flight, the counter person checked their passports. When Artie started to say something about the baby, the woman talked over her, saying emphatically, "Babies under a year travel under their parents' passport."
Artemis opened her mouth to continue what she'd been going to say, that this wasn't her child. She shut her mouth again, realizing the people waiting might help the baby at the last minute but they hadn't done anything so far. She decided to take the child with her. They'd contact the International Red Cross when she got home, try to find her father or other family.
"What's the baby's name?"
"Hope. Hope Luella McGee." Following Greek tradition, she used the name of the woman Tim saw as his mother and thus the baby's grandmother, for the baby's middle name. If little Hope turned out to be a boy, she didn't want to check in the middle of the terminal, she'd change his first name to Nikolas, her uncle's name, and give him Jethro as his middle name. Whoever the baby was, he or she would need a strong identity.
"Pretty name. All right, your paperwork is ready. Your flight will leave in about 30 minutes. Plenty of time to get the baby changed and something to eat."
Artie was amazed when the woman handed her a box of milk and a package of diapers. Leaning forward, the woman whispered, "It's all I could find for her. Take her and be safe."
The group of 4, now 5, headed to the gate. The security area was empty, no scans to go through today. They stopped at a restroom with a baby changing station. Artie was amused and thankful when Gesture came in with her. They smiled at each other as she removed the dirty diaper. Hope was indeed Hope.
When they got to the gate, a flight attendant put them right on the plane. "We're not waiting to board, we're leaving as soon as possible."
As they boarded, they instinctively ducked as something outside of the plane exploded. A few minutes later, the pilot spoke to them. "This aircraft is not damaged. However, we have a few visitors. Please remain calm, don't panic, don't speak unless spoken to."
Several grungy looking men boarded, all holding weapons. There were a few cries but for the most part the passengers remained quiet, not wanting to attract attention. Except for little Hope. Artie had been feeding her, using an eyedropper someone handed her. She'd rinsed it out and now she was giving her minute amounts of the boxed milk. When the milk stopped, Hope was not happy.
One of the grungy men stopped, saying in Turkish, "Who is this?"
"My daughter, Hope. I was feeding her when you came in. May I continue?"
"Yes, certainly. You are Turkish?"
"No, Greek. I've been working here for a few months, almost finished." She offered her passport and visa, he looked and nodded.
"And what work was that?"
"I'm an engineer, building the new bridge over the highway for the students to use."
"Ah, we saw that earlier. It is a good bridge, honors our past while providing safety for our young ones. It will remain. You are returning to Greece?"
"Yes and then to London, where my husband and children are waiting for me."
"They left without you?"
"My sons had to return to school and my husband to his work. It's only been a few days. They had colds so I didn't want to send the baby with them."
"I see. Mrs. Engineer, thank you for speaking so honestly with me. I'm told there are no Turkish citizens on this flight, is that true?"
Artie nodded, she'd heard the counter people talking about it. "I heard the airline people say that."
"Good, we need all of our citizens. Now…" he straightened up, looking at the rest of the passengers and speaking in English, "you may thank this woman for speaking with me honestly. For that and because you are not Turkish citizens, we have no problem with you. Go home to your families."
Turning, he gestured to the others and the men left the plane. There was dead silence and then the flight attendant, who looked like she'd been crying, locked the doors. Without a word, the aircraft pushed back from the gate and taxied out. With no other flights queued up, the jet took off immediately. The flight attendant finally spoke, "I know everyone wants to use their cell phones, let their loved ones know that we're out, but please don't. Not until we've cleared Turkish airspace. It's very important, folks, despite Hope's mommy's help, we don't know what's happening on the ground."
As if to emphasize her words, something whizzed by, close to them. They held their breaths but nothing happened. To them, anyway.