Sorry this took so long to get out, but I am currently in the process of finishing final tests for my first year of high school. Over the summer, I'll hopefully have much more time to write. Enjoy!
Cherbourg = worst city EVER
Zai had traveled across the globe in his turbulent life. From rural Tibet to crowded Peru, Zai had always found adventure, and he loved most of it. But he had never wanted to leave a place as badly as he wanted to leave Cherbourg, France. After wandering around this pathetic airport making inquiries in broken French and trying to understand even more broken English, he and Natalie found out that there were no scheduled flights anywhere. All flights were charter only. In other words, they were back at square one.
Of all the cities in France, in the world, why did it have to be THIS one? This is absolutely not the way I planned it. Zai was almost ready to drive to Nepal at this rate. But they had one more shot.
There was only one pilot at the airport-as they were told by a cheerful janitor-named Julian, and he often made trips to Paris, Lyon, and Nice. Zai and Natalie immediately knew that this Julian was their only way out of this miserable place. And that was if he was available. And if he was willing to travel with two unaccompanied minors. And if he wasn't a Vesper.
Alot of 'ifs' stand between us and getting out of here. Natalie internally grumbled. We must find Julian. If he doesnt't accept, I'll have to pay him. If he still doesn't accept, I'll have to poison him. That's what Mum taught me. The three 'P's'. Politeness, Payment, Poison.
"We're getting nowhere." Zai told her quietly. They had been in almost two whole circuits of the entire airport, seeing nobody but the janitor, two lazy desk workers, and an enormous security guard whom Zai was sure was supposed to be a joke.
"Excuse me, can you tell us where to find Julian?" Natalie asked the obese security guard, who was sitting on a chair eating a doughnut near the airport's only restroom.
"Eh?" the man asked, and immediately started choking. Zai sucked in a breath through clenched teeth, imagining how this fat oaf of a security guard would look on the ground with knockout poison coursing through his arteries.
"Monsieur Julian. Could. You. Take. A. Moment. And. Tell. Us. Where. To. Find. Him?" He said through a forced smile, his twitching eyebrow betraying his immense annoyance. The security tried to say something, but he entered another coughing fit and was cut off. Zai was on the verge of incapacitating the man when he finally managed to dislodge the doughnut from his trachea. He took a deep breath and wiped his eyes.
"Ah am Monsieur Julian, young ones." he announced, standing up in a flourish, his knees straining to support his enormous abdomen.
"You?" Natalie asked incredulously. Zai wished he had a tennis ball to stuff in her mouth. How was being rude to the only person that could get them out of here help?
"Yes, me, madamouiselle. Great heroes can come in any form." He didn't sound irritated in the least, just slightly bored as he tightened his belt. "Now, what can Julian do for you today?"
"Umm..." Natalie started. Julian broke in, puffy eyes thoughtful.
"You have lost your mummy and daddy, and you have the brains to ask a security guard when you are lost, no?"
"Most definitely not." Zai interrupted sharply, glancing nervously at Natalie. Did they really look enough alike to be confused as siblings? "We need, if you are currently not otherwise engaged, to charter a flight."
"O-ho! You want to charter a flight with Julian!" Julian smiled, stroking his chin. "Flights are not free, children. Do you have jobs?"
"Don't need one." Natalie answered primly, handing Julian her Visa Black card.
...
"Ian, is this really necessary?" Amy asked, glancing a motorcycle-riding Lucian guard just outside her window.
"Perhaps not, but it seemed prudent." Ian answered. After Ms. Dabria had taken her report, Elias had told them that they were picking up a heavy increase of Vespers in Nepal. They had all agreed it was the most likely place to find Fiske, as well as seek out Elizabeth. Ian had insisted on taking a Lucian escort to the airfield, since the Vespers were probably already monitoring them.
"I'm hungry." Dan announced, putting his phone in his pocket.
"What else is new?" Nellie drawled, slumping against the window of Alistair's van.
"Here." Matt tossed him a bar of dark chocolate. Dan mumbled a quick thanks and shoved it into his mouth, smearing chocolate around his mouth and chin. He was about to another when his phone beeped again.
"Who's messaging you?" Amy asked, noticing that Dan had been looking at his phone frequently since they left the stronghold.
"A friend." he answered, discreetly angling his phone away. On the screen, a picture of Nyla appeared next to a message.
Thnx, Dan, store was GREAT! When u get back, u should c my collection.
Dan typed a reply, thinking how nice it was to have someone who had the same interests that he did.
...
"How long till we get to Paris?" Natalie shouted over the loud noise of Julian's ancient Cessna propeller plane. "We're on sort of a tight schedule!"
"Well, de old girl sometimes don't feel well, but without engine problems, er..." Julian thought for a moment. "Mebbe two hours!"
"Two HOURS?" Natalie exploded. She turned to Zai, who was pressed against her in the cargo-filled rear of the plane. "I can't sit in here for two hours! I'll surely go deaf!"
"You're welcome to jump out." Zai told her dryly, gesturing to the door on the other side of the plane. "You're so good at surviving. Otherwise, I truly don't see any other options."
Natalie turned back, stung. Did Zai really mean what he said? They had saved each others' lives multiple times now; she didn't expect Zai to like her, but could he at least try to be nice.
...
Zai could see that he'd hurt Natalie. He could tell by the way her back was to him, her black hair obscuring her face. He wanted to apologize, sort of, but apologizing would be admitting that he made a mistake. And, based on how things were going, Zai needed to reassure himself that he was doing an excellent job.
After all, he reasoned, how many fourteen-year-old orphans could survive on their own in a foreign country, accompanied by the most annoying girl in the universe, while being pursued by the most bloodthirsty and viscous killers in the world? And how many could manipulate their situations to achieve exactly what they want, all the while doing some poor little Cahill children a favor? I think I'm doing well.
"What's in these boxes?" Zai whispered, drawing Natalie's mind from the tension between them. All around them were stacks of blank cardboard boxes, obscuring the view of the pilot.
"How should I know?" Natalie hissed back. Zai was about to counter with a stinging remark but bit his lip. After all, that was the response he would make.
"By looking." he said instead, removing one of his carving knives from his coat. Natalie shivered. He truly looked dangerous at that moment, a swathe of black hair on his forehead and a glinting knife in his hand.
He raised his knife and carefully began carving a small hole in the box, keeping his cut shallow in case there were valuables inside.
"Be careful!" Natalie whispered, her curiosity getting the better of her. Zai was moving painstakingly slowly, even though Julian seemed very preoccupied at the controls.
"Almost..." Zai muttered. He finished his circle and removed his knife, popping out the cut piece of cardboard.
"Too dark." Natalie couldn't see anything in the box. Zai took his phone out of his pocked and switched it on. Wordlessly, he aimed the lighted screen at the hole.
Inside, the box was nearly empty. But Zai could see a dark shape at the bottom; two dark shapes, to be exact.
"There's something..." he reached his hand inside, groping around the bottom for the two objects. When his hand made contact, he nearly gasped. The shapes were both recognizable, terrifying, and exciting.
"What is it?" Natalie mouthed. Zai slowly withdrew his hand. Natalie's eyes went wide when she saw what he held. In his hand were two pistols, each barely five inches long and charcoal grey. They were strange looking; they had no triggers, but a small black hole where the holder's thumb would be.
"Microphones." Natalie said. "Those are microphones. These guns are voice-activated."
Zai could see she was right; and he knew these were too valuable to give up.
"Here." he said, thrusting it into her lap. "You might need this."
"Thank you." Natalie said, meeting his eyes. Zai turned away, annoyed with his impulsive thinking. I could have kept both for myself. What's better, one person with two guns, or two people each with one gun?
"Gun!" Julian exclaimed. Zai and Natalie snapped forward, their faces masks of innocence.
"Gun?" Zai asked. If Julian knew they took the guns, they might have to use them on him.
"What? No, gone! The cruise liner, Ah was trying to poin' it out to you and now it's gone!" Julian seemed oblivious to the teens' actions. "Too bad you couldn'ta seen it!"
"Hard to, with all these boxes in the way." Natalie muttered. Not quiet enough, for Julian turned to face her.
"Sorry about that, madamouiselle, Ah'm delivering bread to a bakery in Paris."
Bread? Zai mouthed to Natalie. She shrugged. Julian was obviously hiding something. Zai and Natalie couldn't get off the plane soon enough.
...
"Review: Where are we going?" Matt asked the group.
"Kathmandu." Dan answered.
"We're having a layover where?" Alistair continued.
"Almaty." Amy replied.
"And our aliases are what?" Nellie prodded.
"Hank McPhearson." Dan said.
"Julie McPhearson." said Amy.
"Jasper Hirl." Elias offered.
"Gregory Kim." Alistair said.
"Riley Asher." Matt told them.
"Madonna Garcia." Nellie finished. She looked at the rest of her traveling companions. "I think we're ready. Let's go, homies and homettes."
They stepped from the jetway onto the plane. Dan looked at his phone one last time, sending a picture of some of his collectors' items before boarding.
...
Nyla Zaviera's phone beeped. She entered her password and looked at the picture Dan Cahill had just sent her, in which, she could see a beautiful, full tang, battle-ready Mushashi replica. She smiled slightly, running a finger along the hilt of her own sword, which was resting, perfectly balanced, on her lap.
I can't wait to show you how sharp mine is, Daniel Cahill.
She allowed herself a short, cynical chuckle before getting up. She had many preparations to make.