AN: thanks for the reminder! :) You know who you are!
"Say that again," I demanded, staring at Benny as I pressed my fingers to my temple.
"John's breaking out," Benny said. "I don't know how, but he asked for the jet to be at the airfield tonight."
"And what else did he say?" I said, through bloodless lips.
"Have some dame on hand for leverage –Veronica Donovan, the lawyer in the Burrows case."
"Lincoln Burrows," I mumbled. "Michael's brother." I shook my head. "Michael's breaking out. And Dad's providing the plane." Suddenly, I frowned. "Benny, why are they taking the tiny three seater when they could take the jet with the compartments for smuggling?"
"Said something about 'not everyone gets a seat'," Benny replied dolefully.
"Just how many people are they breaking out?" I huffed. "You should've told me."
"Sorry, Catriona, but John wanted you to be able to claim ignorance if they question family."
"And they will question family; you know why?" I said. "Because this plan is full of holes. There is no good reason for an Abruzzi plane to be at that airfield. It's gonna have to sit there for a while –you don't think anyone's gonna notice?" I rolled my eyes. "And 'not everybody gets a seat' –if not everybody gets a seat, there's that many more mouths to spill about any plans to the cops. Change the planes –and that's an order," I added, seeing his look. "I'll try and figure out a good alibi for it."
After two hours of doodling on a notepad, I could see no way around it. It was a good excuse, it would track, and although not a hundred percent based in reality, it was all I could think of. I dialed Ethan.
"Hi, Mrs. Wade," I said very cheerfully when she answered. "It's Catriona. Can I talk to Ethan?"
"Sure, dear," she said. "Ethan!"
"Hey," he said breathlessly as the phone changed hands. "Just got in. What's up?"
I made a face. "I need a favor," I mumbled. "A big one. Can you go somewhere out of earshot for a while?"
"Yeah, hang on," he said, and I heard the TV sounds grow faint, followed by a door shutting. "What kind of favor?"
"Well, if I'm being honest, the criminal kind," I sighed.
"Oh," he said warily, "what's going on?"
"How much do you want to know, and how much do you want to have plausible deniability?"
He thought about this. "Can I know what the favor is? Let's start there."
"I need you to dress up sharp and meet me at that small airstrip –you know the one? where people fly their Cessnas –tonight at around eight," I said. "Leave a note for your parents telling them not to worry, somewhere they'll find it but not right away. And bring your passport."
"…Okay…." he said. "That's the favor?"
I squinted at my notebook paper. "In a nutshell, yes."
"I think I can do that."
"Be sure," I warned. "Even if you know nothing, there will be people extremely suspicious of you. And you can say no, I understand if –"
"Catriona," Ethan said, cutting me off. "How badly do you need this favor? Be honest."
I sniffed and cast a glance up at the ceiling in supplication. "Very badly," I whispered.
"I'll be there," he promised. "You can tell me the rest of it tonight."
"Okay," I said. "Thank you, Ethan."
"It's okay, Oh," he said, sweeter than I'd ever heard him be. "I'd do anything for you."
I bit my lip as my eyes started to burn. "Don't be so quick to say that," I warned.
"It's true," he said. "I'll see you tonight –it's a date."
"Don't forget to look sharp," I reminded him.
"Thought I was 'Slick'," he laughed, and then hung up.
I took a deep breath to steady myself. Phase one –I checked it off my paper. Time for phase two.
"Benny, I know a large part of mob life is threats and intimidation, not to mention manipulations," I said as I applied my lipstick, "but you also keep your word and don't do anything drastic if you don't have to. So you can stop giving me that stink eye and do your job."
I examined my reflection in the mirror. Hair piled on my head, little black dress, and some very lethal-looking high heels: I was ready.
Stuffing my lipstick into my purse along with my ID, passport, huge wad of cash, and small handgun (with license), I shrugged on my coat. "Mom," I hollered, "I'm leaving for my date with Ethan! I won't be back 'till late."
"Have fun," she said from the living room where she and the kids were watching some movie. "Don't get into trouble."
I made a face and sighed. "Well, I'll try." Then we were out the door.
"So this is the place?" I said, looking at the apartment number. "You're sure?" I could hear the sound of voices behind the door.
"Sure," Benny replied. "Name's Nick Savrinn."
"And why'd we recruit him, again?"
"He could keep an eye on her 24-7, almost."
"Aha," I said, and reached out to rap on the apartment door.
The voices stopped. I waited a minute, and then looked at Benny. He slammed the lock open, and we walked in on a man with a gun in his shaking hand and a teary-eyed woman.
"Sorry about your door, Mr. Savrinn," I said, as the gun swung my way. "I'm Catriona Abruzzi. Please put the gun down."
His expression cleared somewhat, but the woman's did not. "Your services will no longer be required," I told him, "but your father will remain a free man. Ms. Donovan, could you come with me, please?"
"I'm not going anywhere with you," she said, looking frightened. "I don't know what this is about."
"I can understand your feelings, but in the first case, I might need a lawyer in the very near future, and secondly, I think there's someone you'll want to see." As she remained unmoving, I added, "Ms. Donovan, I give you my word no harm will come to you. But it was not a request." I tapped my foot. "We are on a very slim timetable. If you'll follow me."
I knew Benny was behind me being menacing, and I watched the woman's expression crumble as she reluctantly stepped forward.
I didn't wait to examine the curious mix of power and guilt that I felt. Grabbing her hand, I towed her along to the car as Benny made dire "keep your mouth shut" threats to Mr. Savrinn.
Sliding into the back seat, I opened the briefcase I stashed there and pulled out the documents. "Sign these, please," I said, handing her a pen.
"What?" she exclaimed.
"It makes you officially my lawyer, so I can explain," I said.
She stared at the forms. "These are back-dated."
"Well, it would look very suspicious if they were signed today," I said wryly.
She bit her lip, but she signed the forms. "What is all this about?" she demanded, voice shaking.
"Ms. Donovan –or Veronica, can I call you Veronica?" She stared at me stone-faced as Benny pulled away from the curb. "Okay, Veronica. We met at Fox River three weeks ago when you visited Lincoln Burrows and I was visiting my father. I employed you to get a woman's perspective on the law."
She pulled a face and opened her mouth. I added, "Also my father's lawyers don't like me. Today I'm going to meet up with my boyfriend Ethan to sneak off for a weekend in Mexico. You're here to make sure we observe the drinking age laws, and to say it's okay to use my father's plane. Savvy?"
"You dragged me out for this?" she exclaimed, confused and outraged.
I stared at her, unflappable. "No. But that's what we're going to tell people. Relax. Get some sleep. We have a few hours to go before we reach the airstrip."