Jhondie
I was tired, I knew that much. I had been up for days studying and working on papers constantly. I could not express how much I respected Justin for managing his final semester in college while still having to sleep, handle my emotional breakdown and keep up with Eyes Only. When Spring Break came at the end of March, I crashed hard. I still had a paper that was to be turned in the week after break (the professor that assigned that knowing the timing is surely burning in Hell) but it was mostly done and I knew I could spend at least the first few days relaxing.
The first night when I came home from classes, I knew most of my classmates were off to parties to celebrate. I crashed. Justin ordered a couple of pizzas and we were going to watch movies or something sweet like that. I was out before the FBI warning faded from the screen. Justin watched the movie and managed to wake me up enough to get to bed. For me to sleep three or four hours means I was extremely tired. I had fallen asleep around six and when the phone rang at 2 AM, I was still dead to the world.
The phone was on my side of the bed. Because my side was usually unoccupied, it was strategically placed so Justin has to crawl across the bed to pick it up and by the time he does that, he's coherent enough to talk. You don't work for Eyes Only and not get used to calls at all hours of the night. I grabbed the phone, muttering "Hello?" automatically.
"Are you still willing to be the first to volunteer?" Zack's voice was like a jolt of caffeine. I was instantly awake. Well, mostly.
"Huh?" I said. I said mostly awake. "Huh" was a pretty good response for mostly awake.
"You said before you would be the first to volunteer if an opportunity presented itself. Are you still willing?" My jaw dropped. Now I knew what he was talking about. He wouldn't say names if he was speaking on a cell phone and tended to dance around a subject, but I knew exactly what he was referring to.
Justin had woken up and was looking at me, his expression asking me what was up. I mouthed 'Zack' and then responded, "You know I am. Where do you need me and what do I need to bring?"
"Aerial support is all that's required from you," he said curtly. "Need you in Seattle." He gave me an address. Nice area, from what I remembered of Seattle and I had to wondering who Zack knew there that had a penthouse apartment in these times.
"I can be there tomorrow morning," I said, thinking of all of the things I was going to have to do before I left.
"Okay," he said in a way that let me know he would prefer to hear I was on my way now.
"If we're going to play rough then I have to make a few adjustments to records," I said. "It's going to take me some time, but I will be there before noon tomorrow."
"You sure?"
Okay, Zack sounded really off. I had no idea what was the deal here, but first, he was asking for my help, and second, he was questioning me? He had no idea what it took to get a flight ready, not to mention, going to have to fake all of the logs. He knew I would know all that. What had gotten him all in a daze where he would forget the basics?
"I will be there," I repeated.
"Okay. Good. Later." He didn't wait for a response before hanging up. That was one of the very few times that he ever said a good-bye to me. I had to wonder if the man was drunk. He didn't sound it, but something had him way off base.
I looked at Justin. "Zack has a way to get Bryn back," I said, the words seeming strange in my own head. That was something I never thought was possible, but here I was, saying the words. "He wants me to meet him in Seattle."
"And you're going?" Justin questioned. "Just like that, no evidence, just going?"
I blinked. "Of course I am. How could I not?"
"Because he would do anything to get you out of here."
I thought about that for a second and then shook my head. "I don't think so. The way he sounded...I think something must have fallen in his lap unexpectedly. He's still reacting to it."
"Jhondie, even if he's found a way, you know what that means don't you?"
I shivered. Yeah, I did. "I have to try," I said in a small voice. Our eyes met and I willed him to understand. "How am I supposed to live with myself if I don't at least hear him out? Even if it's impossible, I have to be able to say I did everything I could."
Justin looked down for a long minute. I didn't want to leave on a bad note. I wanted him to understand that she was my responsibility. Bryn was still my sister. If there was a way to save her, then I had to take a chance.
He looked up at me. "There's a lot to do if you want to be in Seattle before noon."
I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and then leaned over and kissed him. "You know I wouldn't take an unnecessary risk, don't you?"
His hands cupped my face gently, but his eyes were deadly serious. "I want you to promise me something," he said urgently. "If you have to make a choice, then the choice is your life over hers. If you have to save a life, if you have to leave her to save yourself, then swear to me that you won't sacrifice yourself for her."
My breath caught. He couldn't ask me that. It wasn't fair. But it would be the same thing I would demand from him. "I promise I will come home," I said. "I don't know about the rest, but no matter what, I am going to come home to you."
He sighed. That was the best I could do and he knew it. I just couldn't say that I would leave Bryn to save my own butt. How could I do that? Justin cared about the others because I cared about them. But I would always come first. I could understand. I would much rather put myself on the line than see him risk himself. It was part of loving someone, I guessed. But no matter what, I had to go. I had to try. I was terrified, but I had to.
Justin
When I had told Jhondie there was a lot to be done, I wasn't joking. I knew the man that would make it a lot simpler, but I had no idea where I was going to get strawberries at this hour and Dink didn't work on credit. Jhondie had gotten up to get some things together. I thought for a second and then took a chance and dialed a cell phone number.
"Whaa?" Nikki answered. Not a bad response to a phone call at 2 AM, but working for Eyes Only, she was going to learn to be coherent no matter what the hour was and no matter how little sleep you had gotten.
"Need a favor," I said. "But I can't answer questions on it."
"Justin?" Hey, she was doing better.
"As far as I know. You awake yet?"
I could hear her moving around. "Justin, it's two in the morning. I just got to bed an hour ago."
"Hey, then you got all the sleep you need," I responded cheerfully. She was going to kill me tomorrow when she was awake enough to care. "I need you to do something for me. Actually, I need you to get someone to do something for me."
"Now?" she whined. "I've been working non-stop for that other stuff and I have a deadline for the paper and..."
"Nik," I said seriously, "I'm on a serious time crunch here. If it could wait until morning, then I would wait, but it's got to be done now."
That perked her curiosity. "What's so important it's got to happen now, with no notice?" She was smart. If it had to do with the boss, then we would have had some warning it was coming.
"I mentioned no questions earlier," I reminded her. She didn't say anything, waiting. "I need you to get Dink to do something for me. I don't have time to do grocery shopping right now and he's the best man I can think of for the job."
She was still quiet, letting the possibilities roll over in her mind. "There's not something you're trying to scoop me on, is there?"
"Nikki, you have no idea how much I'm praying this never sees the light of day," I replied honestly. "It's personal. No business, and no boss either. Just me and mine."
She sighed and I could hear her moving around. She took the phone from her ear, but I could still hear. And Lord, I wished I didn't when it sounded like she was shaking someone and then said softly, "Honey, wake up. Need to get you to do something."
I would have thought after Dad and Ashley, I now had a concrete stomach and could handle anything. I had suspected this. But to have it confirmed, knowing why she had been up so late, this was not doing well for keeping away nausea. Nikki's voice murmured low for a minute, and I was grateful that I couldn't hear exactly what she was saying. Finally, Dink picked up the phone.
"What do you need?"
"FAA hack," I replied. "I need a whole set up in their aircraft database. Tail numbers, serial numbers, transponder codes, the works. And I don't care if you want a whole fields worth of strawberries later for it, but it's got to be the best, most untraceable thing you've ever done."
"Sounds important." Dink didn't tease. He normally took his pay and went on and did a remarkable job. But I got it. He wanted to know what was going on because Nikki wanted to know. And whatever Nikki had promised him; he would probably get double if he were able to get it out of me.
"I'm trusting you with Jhondie's life," I said softly, seriously. "You're the only person I would with this. If you don't want to do it, let me know now so we can make other arrangements. But this has got to be perfect."
Dink thought for a second. "And you need all this done by morning."
"As early as possible."
He sighed. "Don't worry. I can give you credit one time and one time only. I'll call you when I'm done."
He hung up rather than handing the phone back to Nikki. I wasn't worried about losing my only credit opportunity with him. If he got it done right, then he could ask for anything and it was his. Jhondie's safety was the only priority. I could only pray that she would keep her promise to me. I knew she loved her sister and wanted to make her safe again, but not at that cost. Not ever.
A few hours later and we were at the airport. It was early morning and Jhondie was eager to go. Dink had called and said the FAA had no longer ever heard of this plane and Jhondie and I put new numbers on the tail. Up close, it would be obvious that it was pasted over, but from a distance, you would think they were the ones painted on. Dink swore to me he had never done finer work and for his sake, he better be right. But I wished Jhondie would change her mind. I knew she wouldn't but that didn't stop me from hoping.
Jhondie threw her overnight bag in the luggage compartment and did the outside pre-flight while I did the inside. I had to admit, I missed flying these last several months. Unfortunately, it takes both hands and feet to be able to operate this plane. Jhondie and I had gone up together but she was the one doing the flying. Wouldn't even let me play around while we were in the air since I couldn't use the rudders properly. She quoted FAA guidelines until I stopped bugging her.
Now she was leaving without me. I wanted to go, but I had another two weeks before the last cast was off completely. It could come off now. Hell, I could come along as moral support. But Jhondie was worried that Zack would clam up and send her home and abandon the rescue plan if she didn't come alone. But she had her cell phone and swore to me she would call me and let me know what was going on as soon as she could. I knew she would call. It was her other promise to think about herself first that I was worried about.
We finished the preflight and the only thing left to do was for her to get in and take off. We both paused and we both were remembering being in a similar position almost five months ago. She smiled slightly. "Promise me you won't end up in a hospital this time, okay?"
I didn't laugh. "As long as you promise the same thing."
Her smile faded. "If there's something wrong with the deal, then I am out of there," she said. "I promise you that. I've been thinking about what you said and maybe you're right that I shouldn't sacrifice myself for someone I haven't really known in a long time. But I still have to at least hear Zack out and see if it could work."
I couldn't think of any way they would be able to get Bryn out without someone on the inside turning on Manticore, but I didn't say that. Those people knew to do so was instant death sentence. They would be too scared to help out one girl when their lives were on the line. And that's why Jhondie had to go, I think. She was better than that. She wasn't a selfish person that didn't care about other people. She was willing to put the interests of other people in front of her own. That was one thing I loved about her, but it still drove me crazy.
Instead of saying any of that, I just pulled her to me and gave her a long kiss. Her arms wrapped around me, and we stood like that for a minute, neither of us wanting to be the first to let go. The kiss finally broke and our eyes met. "I love you," I said softly. "Now get out of here, get your sister and come home so we can still have time before you go back to school."
A smile lit up her face and she gave me another quick kiss. "I love you," she said firmly. "And I *will* see you in a couple of days at most."
"Call me when you get there," I reminded her as I started to move away from the plane.
"Always do," she shot back, getting into the plane and putting on her seatbelt. It was our usual good-bye. We had gotten into this habit of never saying good-bye anymore. That sounded too final. And as she started out towards the runway, all I could think was that maybe this time, we should have.
I was tired, I knew that much. I had been up for days studying and working on papers constantly. I could not express how much I respected Justin for managing his final semester in college while still having to sleep, handle my emotional breakdown and keep up with Eyes Only. When Spring Break came at the end of March, I crashed hard. I still had a paper that was to be turned in the week after break (the professor that assigned that knowing the timing is surely burning in Hell) but it was mostly done and I knew I could spend at least the first few days relaxing.
The first night when I came home from classes, I knew most of my classmates were off to parties to celebrate. I crashed. Justin ordered a couple of pizzas and we were going to watch movies or something sweet like that. I was out before the FBI warning faded from the screen. Justin watched the movie and managed to wake me up enough to get to bed. For me to sleep three or four hours means I was extremely tired. I had fallen asleep around six and when the phone rang at 2 AM, I was still dead to the world.
The phone was on my side of the bed. Because my side was usually unoccupied, it was strategically placed so Justin has to crawl across the bed to pick it up and by the time he does that, he's coherent enough to talk. You don't work for Eyes Only and not get used to calls at all hours of the night. I grabbed the phone, muttering "Hello?" automatically.
"Are you still willing to be the first to volunteer?" Zack's voice was like a jolt of caffeine. I was instantly awake. Well, mostly.
"Huh?" I said. I said mostly awake. "Huh" was a pretty good response for mostly awake.
"You said before you would be the first to volunteer if an opportunity presented itself. Are you still willing?" My jaw dropped. Now I knew what he was talking about. He wouldn't say names if he was speaking on a cell phone and tended to dance around a subject, but I knew exactly what he was referring to.
Justin had woken up and was looking at me, his expression asking me what was up. I mouthed 'Zack' and then responded, "You know I am. Where do you need me and what do I need to bring?"
"Aerial support is all that's required from you," he said curtly. "Need you in Seattle." He gave me an address. Nice area, from what I remembered of Seattle and I had to wondering who Zack knew there that had a penthouse apartment in these times.
"I can be there tomorrow morning," I said, thinking of all of the things I was going to have to do before I left.
"Okay," he said in a way that let me know he would prefer to hear I was on my way now.
"If we're going to play rough then I have to make a few adjustments to records," I said. "It's going to take me some time, but I will be there before noon tomorrow."
"You sure?"
Okay, Zack sounded really off. I had no idea what was the deal here, but first, he was asking for my help, and second, he was questioning me? He had no idea what it took to get a flight ready, not to mention, going to have to fake all of the logs. He knew I would know all that. What had gotten him all in a daze where he would forget the basics?
"I will be there," I repeated.
"Okay. Good. Later." He didn't wait for a response before hanging up. That was one of the very few times that he ever said a good-bye to me. I had to wonder if the man was drunk. He didn't sound it, but something had him way off base.
I looked at Justin. "Zack has a way to get Bryn back," I said, the words seeming strange in my own head. That was something I never thought was possible, but here I was, saying the words. "He wants me to meet him in Seattle."
"And you're going?" Justin questioned. "Just like that, no evidence, just going?"
I blinked. "Of course I am. How could I not?"
"Because he would do anything to get you out of here."
I thought about that for a second and then shook my head. "I don't think so. The way he sounded...I think something must have fallen in his lap unexpectedly. He's still reacting to it."
"Jhondie, even if he's found a way, you know what that means don't you?"
I shivered. Yeah, I did. "I have to try," I said in a small voice. Our eyes met and I willed him to understand. "How am I supposed to live with myself if I don't at least hear him out? Even if it's impossible, I have to be able to say I did everything I could."
Justin looked down for a long minute. I didn't want to leave on a bad note. I wanted him to understand that she was my responsibility. Bryn was still my sister. If there was a way to save her, then I had to take a chance.
He looked up at me. "There's a lot to do if you want to be in Seattle before noon."
I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and then leaned over and kissed him. "You know I wouldn't take an unnecessary risk, don't you?"
His hands cupped my face gently, but his eyes were deadly serious. "I want you to promise me something," he said urgently. "If you have to make a choice, then the choice is your life over hers. If you have to save a life, if you have to leave her to save yourself, then swear to me that you won't sacrifice yourself for her."
My breath caught. He couldn't ask me that. It wasn't fair. But it would be the same thing I would demand from him. "I promise I will come home," I said. "I don't know about the rest, but no matter what, I am going to come home to you."
He sighed. That was the best I could do and he knew it. I just couldn't say that I would leave Bryn to save my own butt. How could I do that? Justin cared about the others because I cared about them. But I would always come first. I could understand. I would much rather put myself on the line than see him risk himself. It was part of loving someone, I guessed. But no matter what, I had to go. I had to try. I was terrified, but I had to.
Justin
When I had told Jhondie there was a lot to be done, I wasn't joking. I knew the man that would make it a lot simpler, but I had no idea where I was going to get strawberries at this hour and Dink didn't work on credit. Jhondie had gotten up to get some things together. I thought for a second and then took a chance and dialed a cell phone number.
"Whaa?" Nikki answered. Not a bad response to a phone call at 2 AM, but working for Eyes Only, she was going to learn to be coherent no matter what the hour was and no matter how little sleep you had gotten.
"Need a favor," I said. "But I can't answer questions on it."
"Justin?" Hey, she was doing better.
"As far as I know. You awake yet?"
I could hear her moving around. "Justin, it's two in the morning. I just got to bed an hour ago."
"Hey, then you got all the sleep you need," I responded cheerfully. She was going to kill me tomorrow when she was awake enough to care. "I need you to do something for me. Actually, I need you to get someone to do something for me."
"Now?" she whined. "I've been working non-stop for that other stuff and I have a deadline for the paper and..."
"Nik," I said seriously, "I'm on a serious time crunch here. If it could wait until morning, then I would wait, but it's got to be done now."
That perked her curiosity. "What's so important it's got to happen now, with no notice?" She was smart. If it had to do with the boss, then we would have had some warning it was coming.
"I mentioned no questions earlier," I reminded her. She didn't say anything, waiting. "I need you to get Dink to do something for me. I don't have time to do grocery shopping right now and he's the best man I can think of for the job."
She was still quiet, letting the possibilities roll over in her mind. "There's not something you're trying to scoop me on, is there?"
"Nikki, you have no idea how much I'm praying this never sees the light of day," I replied honestly. "It's personal. No business, and no boss either. Just me and mine."
She sighed and I could hear her moving around. She took the phone from her ear, but I could still hear. And Lord, I wished I didn't when it sounded like she was shaking someone and then said softly, "Honey, wake up. Need to get you to do something."
I would have thought after Dad and Ashley, I now had a concrete stomach and could handle anything. I had suspected this. But to have it confirmed, knowing why she had been up so late, this was not doing well for keeping away nausea. Nikki's voice murmured low for a minute, and I was grateful that I couldn't hear exactly what she was saying. Finally, Dink picked up the phone.
"What do you need?"
"FAA hack," I replied. "I need a whole set up in their aircraft database. Tail numbers, serial numbers, transponder codes, the works. And I don't care if you want a whole fields worth of strawberries later for it, but it's got to be the best, most untraceable thing you've ever done."
"Sounds important." Dink didn't tease. He normally took his pay and went on and did a remarkable job. But I got it. He wanted to know what was going on because Nikki wanted to know. And whatever Nikki had promised him; he would probably get double if he were able to get it out of me.
"I'm trusting you with Jhondie's life," I said softly, seriously. "You're the only person I would with this. If you don't want to do it, let me know now so we can make other arrangements. But this has got to be perfect."
Dink thought for a second. "And you need all this done by morning."
"As early as possible."
He sighed. "Don't worry. I can give you credit one time and one time only. I'll call you when I'm done."
He hung up rather than handing the phone back to Nikki. I wasn't worried about losing my only credit opportunity with him. If he got it done right, then he could ask for anything and it was his. Jhondie's safety was the only priority. I could only pray that she would keep her promise to me. I knew she loved her sister and wanted to make her safe again, but not at that cost. Not ever.
A few hours later and we were at the airport. It was early morning and Jhondie was eager to go. Dink had called and said the FAA had no longer ever heard of this plane and Jhondie and I put new numbers on the tail. Up close, it would be obvious that it was pasted over, but from a distance, you would think they were the ones painted on. Dink swore to me he had never done finer work and for his sake, he better be right. But I wished Jhondie would change her mind. I knew she wouldn't but that didn't stop me from hoping.
Jhondie threw her overnight bag in the luggage compartment and did the outside pre-flight while I did the inside. I had to admit, I missed flying these last several months. Unfortunately, it takes both hands and feet to be able to operate this plane. Jhondie and I had gone up together but she was the one doing the flying. Wouldn't even let me play around while we were in the air since I couldn't use the rudders properly. She quoted FAA guidelines until I stopped bugging her.
Now she was leaving without me. I wanted to go, but I had another two weeks before the last cast was off completely. It could come off now. Hell, I could come along as moral support. But Jhondie was worried that Zack would clam up and send her home and abandon the rescue plan if she didn't come alone. But she had her cell phone and swore to me she would call me and let me know what was going on as soon as she could. I knew she would call. It was her other promise to think about herself first that I was worried about.
We finished the preflight and the only thing left to do was for her to get in and take off. We both paused and we both were remembering being in a similar position almost five months ago. She smiled slightly. "Promise me you won't end up in a hospital this time, okay?"
I didn't laugh. "As long as you promise the same thing."
Her smile faded. "If there's something wrong with the deal, then I am out of there," she said. "I promise you that. I've been thinking about what you said and maybe you're right that I shouldn't sacrifice myself for someone I haven't really known in a long time. But I still have to at least hear Zack out and see if it could work."
I couldn't think of any way they would be able to get Bryn out without someone on the inside turning on Manticore, but I didn't say that. Those people knew to do so was instant death sentence. They would be too scared to help out one girl when their lives were on the line. And that's why Jhondie had to go, I think. She was better than that. She wasn't a selfish person that didn't care about other people. She was willing to put the interests of other people in front of her own. That was one thing I loved about her, but it still drove me crazy.
Instead of saying any of that, I just pulled her to me and gave her a long kiss. Her arms wrapped around me, and we stood like that for a minute, neither of us wanting to be the first to let go. The kiss finally broke and our eyes met. "I love you," I said softly. "Now get out of here, get your sister and come home so we can still have time before you go back to school."
A smile lit up her face and she gave me another quick kiss. "I love you," she said firmly. "And I *will* see you in a couple of days at most."
"Call me when you get there," I reminded her as I started to move away from the plane.
"Always do," she shot back, getting into the plane and putting on her seatbelt. It was our usual good-bye. We had gotten into this habit of never saying good-bye anymore. That sounded too final. And as she started out towards the runway, all I could think was that maybe this time, we should have.