87's POV. Jo and 87 are on their way to Paris.


170331RJUN17

The freelance attack had changed everything. .He could not miss his flight to Paris, that was out of the question, but he couldn't either leave Jo in that hotel, nor in any other safe house in Chicago. If they'd found them there, they would find her anywhere else. He had to take her with him.

He was annoyed at the realization that a small – a very small part of him – was not sorry about it. On their way to the airport, 87 checked on the web to find a solution. His flight was the non-stop Air France Chicago-Paris leaving from terminal 5 at 0600 AM.

How in the hell can I make her fly unregistered?

87 thought of several tricks but they all seemed too fortuitous or dangerous. Disguising her as a hostess was probably the most viable option, and yet too many things could go wrong. She might be caught out, she might not be able to pretend or someone of the crew might know the real girl Jo would impersonate. It was a hopeless situation.

But the goddess of chance was again pulling the strings of their lives. Suddenly 87 found the answer to all his wishes. He made a phone call:

"Dr. Pratt? I'm very sorry to disturb you, I'm calling from Europe Medi-aid…. I hope you're not yet in the airport…You've just left? I'm glad to hear it because unfortunately your flight has been cancelled…. Yes, I understand, I'm very sorry about that…. The patient has had a flare-up and cannot fly at the moment. They're keeping her in intensive care for at least another day. We'll call you again when we have more news, ok?... Sure, you'll be paid for the stand-by duty as usual, don't worry. Goodbye"

Jo was silent, she had been watching out of the window shield with an emotionless expression on her face but now she had turned to him with an interrogative look in her eyes. He couldn't help being impressed by the way she was reacting. At moments she looked like she might break up but then… the way she'd simply shot that man in the head. No hesitation, not a sound.

Remarkable.

"Jo, in a few minutes we'll be at the airport. You're going to be the replacement for Dr. Oskar Pratt for a Europe Medi-aid assisted repatriation, ok? You'll just tell the ambulance crew he's stuck in I.C.U. and asked you to cover him." Jo nodded, then she seemed on the point of making a question, but they were near the airport area which was full of cameras so 87 made her bend to hide her head and the question remained unuttered.

87 found a blind spot to make her get out of the car and proceeded to the parking lot. When he arrived at the check-in area he spotted her soon: she was talking with ease with the ambulance crew that was assisting an old lady. He stood in the line which was closer to them, trying to overhear their conversation. They seemed relaxed but the older guy was checking the procedure to see if he had to change something in their documents. 87 was tense: if they called the main office, the things could get nasty very quickly…

Then the old lady started talking in French in a very light voice. 87 couldn't hear what she said but the crew asked Johanna if she had understood. Very calmly Jo took the medical records, read them briefly, then answered directly to the lady in a basic but correct French "Je suis désolée Madame mais vous ne pouvez pas boire maintenant. Attendez un moment…" Jo regulated the drip and said "Dans cinq minutes vous n'aurais plus soif, ça va?". The lady smiled and the older guy seemed satisfied by Jo's performance because he put away the documents folder, said goodbye and went away with his younger colleague. The Air France staff escorted Jo and the lady to make them board the plane straightaway.


They had been flying for 3 hours when 87 woke up. Flights were great opportunities to catch up with some sleep. He knew that Jo was with her patient in a restricted area of the plane, screened by two sets of drawn curtains. At a certain moment, however, he saw her head pop out from the curtain that separated the restricted area. She was scanning the rows of people, an anxious expression on her face. When she finally spotted him, however, she relaxed and smiled shily.

If 87 could have felt shock that's what he'd be feeling. Never in his life had somebody – somebody who knew who he really was – been genuinely happy to see him. Of course, he'd been undercover a few times and he'd pretended to be a colleague, a friend, a lover. He'd been smiled at a lot, but it was never really him they were smiling at.

Jo noticed that something was worrying him because her expression changed and she gave him a quizzical look. Then someone behind the curtain attracted her attention and she disappeared from his sight. 87 realized that he was transfixed. He really needed to get a grip...


After the lunch had been served 87 sneaked into the restricted area. He had just seen the hostess who looked after them leave towards the business class and hoped to be able to count on a few minutes undisturbed with Jo. She smiled when she saw him and said "I hadn't seen you board the plane! For the first 2-3 hours I was afraid to be the only one going to Paris!". She was speaking softly because the old lady was sleeping.

"You speak French?" 87 asked her. It was quite an obvious question but her unaffected pleasure at being with him had confused him.

"Thank God!" she answered, still smiling, "The privilege of studying two years in Canada!"

Then he spotted the medical bag and opened it. Drugs might be useful in many situations. There were syringes, gauze and tape, adrenaline, antibiotics and morphine. Jo let him pocket two syringes and the adrenaline but when he took the morphine – six amps, all the content of the bag – she blocked his hand and took back 2 amps saying "Leave two". Her voice was firm, she wasn't asking, she was giving him an order. And 87 obeyed – trying to ignore the warm feeling of her hand on his skin.

He shot a glance at the medical records of the lady and saw that Jo had made some notes, changing the dosage of the drugs and prescribing a lungs C.T. She wasn't pretending; the French lady was her patient now and she was taking care of her. She really was an extraordinary doctor.

GET A GRIP!

"When you get off the plane, wear the mask all the time, can you?"

"Sure, it won't be a problem" she answered then took the records and, scribbled "Suspected SARS co-infection".

Brilliant idea

"When you leave the airport, follow the indications to the town and keep walking. I'll pick you up outside the CCTV area, ok?"

She nodded and 87 left just in time to avoid a hostess who was taking Jo some tea.

In an hour they would be in Paris.