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Note from Myriad: Techniculties rear their ugly head(s) again, so this is posted late. It's over 5000 words, so it's not necessary to read it to vote (although we certainly encourage you to). Sorry about the late posting.
The assasination of Presidential nominee, Senator Obama(and some side stories…)
By Stormcat
Valentine Lonkiput stepped out of the bathroom – Ladies room – she corrected herself, and instantly the eyes of every male in Chicago – O’hare terminal were glued on her. All as it should be. She smiled to herself, swung her hips, and walked gracefully on.
“Ahmed!” she yelled to a tired looking young man sitting not far from the bathroom’s entrance. “Pick up your feet! I’ve got an appointment with a producer in less than four hours.”
Sayid got up with a sigh and picked up Miss Lonkiput’s bags – why anyone needed two suitcases for two days in LA was beyond him – and followed her. He was really sick of being called Ahmed.
Nathanial tilted his head to get a better look at her. He felt like he had seen a goddess made flesh. Who was that young man following her? He looked attractive enough, but the goddess hadn’t treated him like a boyfriend.
Hurrying, Nathaniel began to follow the odd pair.
“Excuse me, Miss? Which way to gate 32?” an elderly man asked her.
“To your right, sir, straight down. It’s about two minutes away,” she told him.
Sally adjusted the gold nametag on her crisp deep blue blazer, and walked on down the terminal. A train passed her, driven by Frank, her favorite technitian.
“Morning, Sally!”
“Morning, Frank. Busy day!”
“No kidding! They need you down in management?”
“Emergency at gate 23, apparently.”
As they walked, Nathaniel drunk in her appearance.
It was hard to describe her when it was so much easier just to savor her appearance. She had a sort of indescribable grace that made her every move seem a flirtation. Her hair – easy enough to describe – was light, light blonde, cut perfectly so that layers of waves appeared, framing her oval face, and ending at her jawline. Her skin was pure porcelain. Her eyes were blue, of course, her nose straight, her cheekbones to die for. She wore fashionable clothes –straight gray pinstriped shorts that ended a handspan further than they begun, exposing perfect legs covered with black tights and black, high heeled ankle boots.On top, she wore a hot pink, off the shoulder top that covered nothing of her perfectly tanned arms. A gray and pink scarf was draped insouciantly across her neck. She had a tiny black purse with pink studs, long gold earrings that brushed the tops of her shoulders, and several gold chain necklaces. Black sunglasses were pushed up on her head, leaning against a dark gray paperboy. Her eyes were rimmed in gold and pink eyeshadow that made the blue of her eyes pop. Her lips were painted fire – hydrant red. Very Gamine.
Nathaniel was hooked. He kept following this creature
Oh, they were getting nowhere, Valentine could see that. Their gate was only about twenty feet away, past the giant teddy bear in front of the “Chanel” giftshop, but the stupid flight attendants hadn’t even begun to board. If she was going to get to LA on time, she would have to take matters into her own hands.
Valentine changed courses, and instead of going to sit down, walked up to the desk at the front of the terminal. “Excuse me,” she said with a smile that was all charm. “We’ve been waiting a while, and we were wondering what the holdup was.”
The flight attendant, busy on the phone, glanced up at her. “We’re busy right now, miss. We’re trying to ensue the plane will leave on time. We apologize for any inconvenience.”
Valentine pushed a few strands of hair back from her face, and moved down the counter a few feet. No use going on with that one. She had to give her a moment to catch her breath, and give up the phone.
“Excuse me,” she said sweetly to one of the airport workers behind the first air hostess. Male. Males tended to be easier.
He turned, saw her, did a double take, and blinked. “Yes?”
“I’m terribly sorry,” Valentine told him, giving him an embarrassed smile. “But I know you could do me a really big favor. You see, I absolutely need to get to LA in two hours – and you know so much more than I do about these things…Please?”
She gave a light, twinkling laugh. The man grinned, then blushed. “I’ll see what I can do, Miss.”
“Perfect. Thank you,” Valentine replied, turning very slowly, keeping her eyes on him flirtatiously.
The man hurried off to do Valentine’s bidding.
“Miss, you should sit down,” the air hostess said from behind her.
Valentine turned to use her charm once again.
“Excuse me,” said a suave voice from behind Valentine. A tall, darkly handsome young man positioned himself on the counter next to her. “Madam,” he said to the air hostess. “What seems to be the problem? I can see you are doing everything you can to make sure we leave on time. Is there anything we can do to help? Anything at all?”
“It’s the management, sir,” the hostess said, obviously flustered. “They don’t want us to take off for some reason, but I’m having trouble getting a straight answer out of them.”
“That’s them on the phone, I assume?” the man asked.
“Yes,” the hostess replied.
The man carefully picked the phone up, drawing a sharp gasp from the hostess
“Who the hell is this?” the voice on the other end of the phone asked. “Gina?”
Nathanial gave a reassuring smile which he knew his interlocuter couldn’t see. The goddess raised an eyebrow.
“No, I’m afraid this isn’t Gina. My name is Nathanial Drake. I’m a passenger on Flight 912, which is supposed to be leaving from gate 23 in twelve minutes?”
“Ah.” Said the man on the other end. “I’m very sorry for the delay, sir, but I’m afraid we still have some kinks to work out. Mind handing the phone back to Gina?”
“Yes, I do mind, actually. You see, there is a law, Mr – I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name?”
“Thomson.”
“Mr. Thomson, nice to speak to you. There is a law, as I was saying, that states that we, the passengers of the flight, have a right to know why, if there are any delays in our purchase – that is to say, the flight – there is such a delay, or else, we must be reimbursed and given a new flight immediately. Now, I’ve got a room full of impatient passengers, who would very much like to know why their product isn’t being delivered on time. I would hate for this to go any further, Mr. Thomson.”
“There is no such law,” Mr. Thomson said, flustered.
“Actually, there is,” Nathanial shot back. “In fact, a lawsuit was settled just last week on it. My firm worked with the plaintiffs.”
There was a rather pregnant pause. “Fine,” Mr. Thomson said through gritted teeth. “Give the phone back to Gina.”
“Nice talking to you, Mr. Thomson,” Nathaniel said, and handed the phone to Gina, who immediately begun a flurried conversation.
“Expertly done,” the charmer told him, raising an eyebrow. “There really is no such law, is there?”
Nathaniel winked. “I’m sure I could dig one up. Nice work with that other fellow.”
“Hmm,” the woman said in silent agreement. She gave him a mild smile and walked away.
Nathaniel wasn’t discouraged. Not by a long shot
A young man was attempting to talk to her. He had courage, that one. Sayid smirked. He had seen it all before. Ah, even trying to impress her. Nicely done. Very suave. Perhaps Valentine could see right through him. Impossible to tell with her.
Well, he wouldn’t be surprised if the man got himself a blow job by the end of the flight, but Sayid would be amazed if Valentine actually went out with him. And Valentine never surprised him. Sayid understood her far too well.
Sometimes Sayid wondered if it wasn’t a bit of a sister/brother feeling, the way he felt about his employer. Of course, like everyone else, Sayid had fallen under Valentine’s spell the moment he’d met her. Total head – over heels moment. It was, as he’d remembered, in an airport. Yuppie love.
“Shit!” Sayid heard, and he was jolted back to reality.
“Oh, I’m terribly sorry,” Sayid apologized, helping a disgruntled woman to her feet. She glared at one of Valentine’s bags, then sighed.
“Not your fault. I should have been watching where I was going.”
She slipped again, off - balance on her heels, and Sayid’s arms went around her waist, pulling her up. “Watch out,” he warned. “The floors are slippery.”
“I noticed,” the woman told him in a resigned sort of way. “Thank you.”
It was then Sayid noticed her crisp blue uniform, and realized she worked for the airport. And, he noticed too, she was visibly pregnant.
She straightened the way her blazer fell over her skirt and walked on, crossing paths with a returning Valentine.
“Cute girl,” Valentine remarked when she sat down. “Watch where you put my bags, Ahmed. My stuff could have been crushed.”
Sayid decided not to point out that in a crowded area like this, the only other place he could have put the bags was on top of Valentine’s seat
The man blinked. “Oh, yes, of course.”
Sally passed by him and behind the counter. She turned around briefly. “I’m from management, sir. I think we should have this sorted out in a few brief moments. Would you care to return to your seat?”
He glanced towards the girl Sally had passed moments before. A brief smile flitted across his face. “Yes, I’m sure things will turn out well in the end,” he said, and headed back.
Gina covered the mouthpiece of the telephone. Hot guy she mouthed.
Tall, dark and handsome, Sally agreed. She gestured for the phone. And taken, from the look he’d given the girl.
“Hello, management? This is Sally Lollep.”
“Yes, Sally, I’m sorry to drag you from terminal management.”
“Not at all, sir. Sir, if I may, what the hell is going on here?”
“We think we may have a terrorist threat at the airport.”
Sally felt her stomach drop out from under her. A wave of refreshingly cool numbness passed through her body. She put her hand to her forehead, and very slowly, sat down. Her face was perfectly composed. “I see.”
“We got a call from the FBI saying that a branch of Al – Quaeda operating out of Liberia had made demands. They say they’ve got someone on flight 789, as well as flight 915 – the one heading out of the gate you’re at – who are going to blow up the planes unless the FBI gives them what they want.”
“Is that likely to happen, sir?”
“They haven’t said what they want, yet, so no. And the terrorists are likely to blow up the planes anyways – Senator Obama, who was just nominated as a candidate for the presidency is on 789.”
“Which is heading towards O’hare, and is already off the ground, isn’t it?” Sally asked, bringing this morning’s flight schedule to the front of her mind.
“Correct. Who they want blown up in 342 is…questionable.”
“In other words, we don’t know,” Sally said, interpreting his words.
Right. Sally thought. In summary. Someone in gate 23 has a bomb, and will use it to blow us up unless certain demands aren’t met. We don’t know who, and we don’t know why. We also have to stop a plane from exploding in midair.
“We think that neither terrorist will detonate until after they’ve heard from the other,” management continued.
“Right sir. You want me in on this job sir?”
Sally could practically hear the management shuffle awkwardly. Putting a pregnant woman in harms way was hardly kosher. She steadied herself. She could back out. But Sally had already made her decision. Since 9/11, every airport worker, every flight attendant, every pilot knew the risks they took. Sally had gone over what she would do in such a situation a thousand times. She was one of the people who had put the O’hare emergency plan in place.
“I wouldn’t want too…”
“It’s fine by me, sir. I have the most experience for this.”
She heard the man sigh in relief. He didn’t want to order her to stay.
“May I make a few recommendations, sir?”
“Yes, of course.”
“The FBI is on their way, I presume? Send me some additional people, I’ll have them take a census of everyone in the gate, make sure all are present and accounted for. When everyone has been checked, send the security to prepare a perimeter around the gate, and have the rest of the airport evacuated. A pretext would be a smart move – storm coming in, gas leak, president deciding to conduct a private affair…
Valentine knew precisely how to handle herself in such a situation. Never look at the person, or engage conversation. Conversly, don’t ignore them. Either way, you’re sending them the wrong message. Instead, when Nathanial sat down, Valentine moved her bag slightly, looked up and gave him a polite smile. “Morning.”
Then she finished unzipping her bag, and pulled out the latest issue of Cosmo, allowing her eyes to flicker frequently up towards gate management. This let her keep an eye on Nathanial.
He was clearly amused by what she was doing, Valentine thought in irritation. And Nathanial was still staring at her. Damn him. Tall, dark and handsome indeed.
Suddenly a flight attendant materialized in front of her. Short, with bunny teeth. Plain. Uninteresting, Valentine thought to herself automatically, dismissing the girl. “Yes?”
“Good morning,” the flight attendant said. “Apparently the delay is over some seat reservation problems – we think some of the people here may actually be on another flight – so we’re just checking everyone’s ticket. May I see yours?”
“If it’ll get us out of here faster,” Valentine grumbled, pulling the ticket out of her perfectly organized little purse. “Here.”
The flight attendant compared the ticket with something on her clipboard, and muttered a thank you, then moved on to Nathanial.
“This is ridiculous,” Valentine said, putting the ticket back into her purse. If this went on much longer, she might end up having to toy with Nathanial. She’d never really been with someone like him. Older, successful businessmen, yes. Young, hot playboys, yes. Young, rich, talented men, yes. But young, good looking businessmen was a no. Maybe because they still had that puppyish adoration of women. Not very one – night – standish sort of people. And Valentine only ever did one – night stand relationships
Why had he feel a chill down his back when the flight attendant had asked him for his ticket? The chill had not disapeared.
Sayid ducked his head for a few moments, noticing Valentine’s wooer still looking at her out of the corner of his eyes. Persistant little bugger, Sayid thought. If Valentine is interested, she makes it known.
Sayid looked out into the busy terminal. Actually, it didn’t look quite so busy at the moment. He kept expecting to hear planes, but there seemed to have been a lull in the traffic. In fact, no one was out there in front of the gate.
He blinked, and suddenly understood. Shit.
A woman detached herself from the group of flight attendants and stepped forwards. The woman who’d fallen down before, Sayid noted, his brain rather numb. Most of the other flight attendants started moving towards the exit of the gate, very subtly.
“The rats leave the sinking ship,” Sayid noted.
“What was that?” Valentine asked crossly.
“I said, you still owe me my salary,” Sayid retorted.
Valentine was spared any further argument when the pregnant woman started talking.
“Ladies and Gentlemen,” she announced. “We have now identified the source of our problem. We’re sorry it has taken so long, but the circumstances are a bit complicated. At this time, I would ask you to give me your full attentions.”
Movement in the gate stilled.
“I am very sorry to have to announce this, Ladies and Gentlemen, but there has been a terrorist threat reported to the FBI involving this plane and the passengers on it. We believe - ”
But the woman was interrupted by a rush of noise and shouts, people standing up, gasps of fear. “Oh my god,”someone yelled.
“We believe,” the woman continued over the tumult of voices – that instantly quieted down to listen to her. “That this is a genuine threat, and that, unfortunately, we are in danger of a terrorist attack. We also believe that the terrorist is among the passengers of this flight - ”
Then she lost control of the situation. “What!” “We have to get out of here!” “Where?” “Who?” “I’m scared!” “What are you going to do about it!” “I want to leave!”
And several eyes turned towards Sayid, who winced.
Valentine stood up.
Several people moved towards the exit of the gate. Which was no longer an exit. Twenty SWAT members had “plugged” the entrance. They were all holding extremly menacing looking guns. They pushed the wannabe – escapees away. The shouting grew louder. Sayid grabbed Valentine’s arm and pulled her down before she got pushed over.
“Shut up!” the woman at the front bellowed.
Everyone shut up. “This is, as I said before,” the woman continued. “An extremly real threat. However, you are not in any immediate danger. For that matter, so long as the plane stays on the ground, we are all quite safe. So, please, if you wish for this to be resolved as quickly as possible, you must do everything I, or any other members of the airport tell you, and for now, keep calm and still. Take under advisement that members of the police force have been authorized to use deadly force if necessary. Please do not put yourself in any situation under which the use of such a force would be needed.”
She paused for a moment, letting the full force of her words sink in, then nodded smartly. “Right. Now, if you please, I will be speaking with the airport crisis center, and we will try to resolve this as quickly as possible.”
The woman turned on her heel and moved back towards the desk. On her way, she spoke in muted tones to the head of the SWAT team, then glanced back in Sayid’s general direction.
As, Sayid noticed, everyone else was. It had taken the gate’s occupants only a few moments to locate the only arab person in the vicinity
Nathanial glanced around. “I agree, but what can be done? If there is a genuine threat, they can’t let any of us out until they locate the terrorist.”
Her lovely feautures looked ready to explode. “By which time we’ll all have been reduced to little piles of ashes, thank you very much,” she retorted. “Worse, I’m going to miss my meeting. And the producer simply won’t forgive me for it.”
“The way this is going, you’ll miss it no matter what,” Nathanial grimaced. “Can’t you call him?”
“And say what, I’ve been taken hostage by terrorists in the Chicago airport?” the goddess demanded impatiently.Perhaps, Nathanial gauged, there was a bit of fear in her voice as well.
He changed the subject with the smoothness of a born lawyer. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”
The goddess glanced at him again, this time taking a second more, the harshness falling from her face as she was pulled away from the reality of the situation. “Valentine,” she said with a small smile that transformed her entire face. “Valentine Lonkiput.”
Nathanial nodded. “Valentine. It fits. A beautiful name for a beautiful girl.” Assesing her, he changed his tone to be more cheerful and plummy. “ So, Ms. Valentine Lonkiput, why are you flying out to LA? Or, as things seem to be going, why were you flying?”
“Uh,” Valentine answered, blushing – she looked beautiful when she blushed, the creamy pink offsetting the light gold tints in her face. “I was meeting with a producer, about an acting job.”
“An actress,” Nathanial responded, impressed. “Well, I’m intimidated!”
He startled a laugh out of Valentine. “Don’t be,” she assured him, looking down towards the floor, the blush creeping further up her cheeks.
Nathanial laughed with her. “I am! I feel very out of my league! No wonder you did so well with that airport worker.”
“You handled yourself well over the phone,” Valentine pointed out, trying to change the subject.
“Ah, but that was because the person on the other end couldn’t see me,” Nathanial said graciously.
“Flirt,” Valentine said with a dismissive giggle.
“I can only tell the truth,” Nathanial responded, raising his eyebrows, mock-hurt over her accusation. Immediately her face turned grim again.
“I really need to get out of here,” she said again, this time under her breath. The color drained out of her cheeks.
Nathanial nodded. “Right…”
He looked beyond her to her assistant, who was looking fairly green himself. Of course, he couldn’t blame him. Everyone in the terminal was staring at him or muttering in fairly threatening undertones. It wouldn’t be long before someone said something, or did something. Nathanial didn’t know if that was why Valentine wanted to leave, but her reasons seemed fairly pressing.
“I’ll see what I can do,”Nathanial told Valentine, standing up
On the other end of the line Greg sighed. “It’s not that I don’t trust you Sally…”
“Listen, I’m not quieting these people down again until I have some assurance that things are moving forwards,” Sally snapped. “Then you’ll have dead bodies and a riot, and that won’t help us any.”
“Okay!” Greg answered, alarmed. Sally knew there was a whole room of FBI crisis managers and airport management with him. Good. Maybe they would see reason. She wiped sweat from her forehead. “Let me talk to them…”
Sally waited a few moments, glad the desk hid her from the crowd outside it. She’d sat down against the wall, giving up on both her black pumps and her chair. She tried to tell herself that the SWAT member next to the desk with his over – large gun wasn’t actually reassuring, but failed.
“Right, Greg, are you back on the line,” Sally asked when she heard Greg’s breathing again. “Look, out of one hundred and thirty passengers, I’ve got - ” she checked her list again. “Fifteen children under the age of sixteen. I want them out of here, Greg.”
“Miss,” the voice at the other end of the line said. It wasn’t Greg. “I fully agree with your concerns. However, if we attempt to evacuate anyone, the terrorist may decide to, well…”
“Bathroom,” Sally said, prepared. “I can get the kids into the bathroom discreetly. I’ve got a SWAT member stationed there, who can give them instructions. They can crawl through the ceiling to the emergency stairwell, if you have a SWAT team waiting for them. Then they can be checked for bombs and explosives and brought somewhere’s else.”
“This is extremly complicated,” objected her interlocuter. “It could go wrong very easily.”
“Sir, with all due respect, I know this airport, and I know people, and I know a crisis. This plan can work.”
There was a sigh on the other end of the line. “Right. We’ll give you the go ahead, but we have to move the plane. If the bomb is in there, or if anything, for that matter, is in there, and it goes off, it’s close enough to you to do some serious damage. But we can’t remove the plane until your children are out…”
“Because after the plane is removed, the terrorist will be even more suspicious, right. But if you coordinate it correctly, it could be a perfect diversion to get the kids out of harms way. Can the team you’re using to move the plane get there right now?
What is wrong with you? She chided herself. This is definetly not going according to plan. You have to get out of here, now.
Right, Valentine told herself straightening. Time to get to work.
She glanced at Ahmed on her right side. He was staring straight in from of him, trying not to appear anything in particular. She snorted. Valentine could have looked less suspicious with a gun in her hands and a murder victim attached to her back.
“Ahmed,” she hissed. “Stop looking so tense, will you? Relax. Spine against your chair.”
Ahmed glanced sharply at her, but complied. “Why did I take this job?” he asked, his eyes closed.
Valentine snorted again. “Because I pay you well.”
“You pay me terribly,” Ahmed murmured. “Is it because I’m in love with you?”
“You aren’t,” Valentine said sharply. “I know.”
“Oh, I know too. It’s the defining factor in our relationship.”
“Ridiculous,” Valetine said even more sharply.
“Right,” Ahmed said, his voice becoming as sharp as hers.
Valentine looked towards the front desk where Nathanial seemed to be talking to some hostess. Not the cute one. Valentine needed to talk to the cute one. She was the one in charge, after all.
Time to get up
“Yes?” she said. He read the name on her name tag.
“Sally Lollep? One of the people here really needs to leave – they’ve got a really important…”
“Whatever it is, they can’t leave,” Sally said, her voice soft. “I’m sorry.”
“But - ”
“But nothing, sir. I am very sorry.”
“You don’t understand. The woman’s father is dying of cancer, and he’ll probably be dead in a few hours! This is her last chance to see him!”
Sally hesitated. He had gotten to her, Nathanial knew. “Please, I know you can help.”
She caught her breath and turned to him, eyes blazing. “Oh, yeah? Well, Mr. Nathanial Drake, it’s no use trying to use your charm act on me right now. Dying father? How about a blind sister and a homeless dog your equally charming friend has to go save from their horrid fates? Listen, I’m sure there are extenuating circumstances, but you aren’t the only person who has any in this gate, and I’m not the person who will listen to you right now. Make up a more convincing story while I try to get something real done. Don’t lie to me, and don’t waste my fucking time!”
A kid passed them on the way to the bathroom.
“Wha?” Nathanial asked, bewildered.
“Out!” Sally hissed. “Out, out, out! Go impress her some other way!
And then, to the other side, someone looked towards the bathroom with a slightly suspicious air. Shit, Sally thought. I need a diversion.
She glanced pleadingly towards the ceiling. God, of course, the diety she’d stopped believing in when her father ran over her cat, decided to comply. For once.
“Are you mad?” a stocky man said, shoving his way to the front, pushing everyone out of his way. “You’re keeping us all here when the terrorist is staring at you right in the face!” he yelled, and pointed straight at the airbrushed girl’s neighbor, the arab man Sally had already pegged as Sayid.
“Sir!” Sally hissed. But the fire had started.
“Who else would it be?” someone yelled. People started to stand up. “He’s the only Arab in the room!”
“Why haven’t you arrested him?”
Sayid stood up nervously. Wrong move, Sally thought. Shit. Shit. Shit. Perfect diversion, thanks, God. The plane couldn’t leave yet, and they were going to burn the kid alive.
One of the more enterprising men grabbed Sayid from behind and punched him in the face. Sally froze. The plane couldn’t leave yet, she kept repeating to herself. The plane couldn’t leave yet.
This was a perfect opportunity for the terrorist to strike, was Sally’s next thought. She signaled to the nearest SWAT member. “Break it up, now!” she whispered. “I’ll see what I can…”
And then the airbrushed girl’s clear voice cut through the silence.
“Are you mad?” she asked quite frankly in a loud, scared voice. “Why are you hurting him? He hasn’t done anything wrong, has he?” she continued, eyes wide.
Oh, she’s good. Sally thought with grudging admiration. She’s very good. Not even a bit sarcastic. Very genuine, very sincere. Should cut the crap, as they say.
“If he hasn’t done anything wrong, you should leave him alone,” the airbrushed girl said, her beauty combining with her charm to make every person in the room spellbound by her voice. “You really should. We’re all scared, but we can’t go around hurting one another. The police will find out who did it. You should listen to them. We won’t find out who did it by hurting other people.”
Every person in the room is now in love with her, Sally thought sardonically. She signaled to one of the SWAT members. “Tell them to return to their seats,” she whispered. “Then get the boy – Sayid – and bring him to the bathroom. There’s a first aid kit there.”
She whispered a few instructions. Sally gave one last look to the crowd, and ever so slowly hung up the phone. Then, as SWAT began to deliver orders, she headed to the bathroom.
Sally’s self composure lasted just long enough to nodd to the SWAT member stationed in the bathroom, and to note the carefully concealed hole in the ceiling, and then to barge into the furthest stall, lock it, and draw her feet up, before the sobs she’d been clenching down ripped through her chest and tore through her throat.
She cried silently, clutching her knees, her tears staining the perfect blue of her skirt. She sobbed, staring up at the ceiling, her face a contorted mask of anger and grief. Every inch of her body shook as spasms of pain tore through her. She kept a hand on her stomach, almost as though to shield it from what Sally felt.
Null and Void, she thought. Jerk. . Jerk. The way he’d talked to her. The way he’d talked! The way they all talked, come to think of it. He wasn’t talking to Sally, really. He was trying to use her to get what he wanted.
Everyone uses everyone, she thought murderously. That’s all I am, a uniform. That’s all I’ll be, a uniform for these people to look at, to use to get what they want. A uniform. The airbrush girl would have tried it too, had she gotten the chance. All other people are are things to be used to get what you want. A robot, to be manipulated into performing a function. Press the right switches, and you’ll get the right results. Well, not with me. You cannot manipulate me. I am a person, not a thing to be used.
Sally knew the realities of life, and her work. But today, of all days, she found them particularly intolerable. And she was scared. God, she was scared. She might die today, and the people she had sacrificed herself for would never see her as more than an object to perform a function. Not a real person at all.
We all use each other, Sally thought remorselesly. It’s all a big circle
Sayid gave him a weary smile. “Thank you,” he said. “Mind if I get cleaned up?”
“Not at all,” the officer assured him, packing up the first AID kit. “I’ll be outside if you need me.”
Sayid nodded and headed towards the sinks. He had to admit, he did not look good. The first punch had given him a nasty cut on his forehead, one of his cheekbones was badly swollen, and his elbow was aching, probably, the officer had told him cheerfully enough, a sprain. And his whole left side was one big bruise from where that brute had grabbed him.
“Why did I decide to major in Philosophy?” he groaned, and splashed blessedly cold water on his face. They would come after him again, that he knew, Sayid thought grimly. Eventually. Valentine, through all her wiles, wouldn’t be able to stop them. And this time, they might kill him.
If SWAT didn’t grab him first. Oh, after Valentine’s passionate defense, they wouldn’t dare take him for a bit, but when push came down to shove, they believed him as guilty as the others did.
Which was why the cheery and rather kind officer who had patched Sayid up had done a quick scan for explosives with the kit in the first AID box, accompanied by a brief apology and a murmur of “policy, don’t you know.”
Sayid personally thought that if Valentine had been in there instead of him, there would have been no mention of “policy.”
Well, at least he was clear for now. No explosives on him. Sayid grabbed his coat, and yanked it on. He put his hands in his pockets automatically.
And pulled something out.
For a few moments Sayid stared at it, then murmured: “Shit.”
What was he going to do now?
He had to get out of there.
The door to the last stall in the bathroom opened, and someone stepped out.
“Oh – sorry,” Sayid stammered, sticking his hand back into his pocket, and staring at the woman who’d tripped over Valentine’s suitcase. She looked a mess, her eyes red with crying, her dark blonde hair pulled out of its neat ponytail. Only her uniform, with its crisp blue blazer, white shirt and blue skirt looked neat.
“It’s all right,” the woman said with a grin, her voice sounding a bit clogged. “The pressure’s gotten to me.”
She turned on a sink and splashed water over her face. “Days like these… You’re Sayid Nowamer, right?”
Sayid stared a bit more. “Uh, yeah. And, you are?”
“Sally. Sally Lollep.”
Sayid nodded a “pleased to meet you”, and started washing his hands carefully, as his neighbor pulled her strawberry hair out of her poneytail and started twisting it into an efficient bun.
She was very pretty in her own way, Sayid noticed, the kind of girl who merited the title “cute” several times over. Her eyes were a warm brown, her face an ivory opal, with full lips, her nose wide and stronge, her light colored brows nearly invisible on her skin. Sally was tallish, but without seeming tall, and she might have had a good figure, if it hadn’t been for the fact that she was pregnant.
“I’m sorry,” Sayid said, looking back towards her. “You must think me terribly rude…”
Sally looked up from her hair – pining opereta. “Not at all.”
“I was just wondering… won’t the babies father be worried? You trapped in a room with a mad terrorist…”
“Not to mention several blood covered Arabs,” Sally chimed in with good humor.
“And you volunteered to stay when most of the other people left…”
“I want a promotion, and these days, you really gotta set yourself apart.”
Sayid snorted. “Oh, if you don’t want to tell me, I’ll just…”
Sally stopped him with a gentle touch on his arm. “It’s okay. I don’t mind telling you.” She looked down at her slowly roundening stomach. “Truth is, I’m having this baby alone.”
Sayid looked down at his feet. There was probably a good response to this, a condelance, or encouragement, or an expression of support or even an “oh, how very typical” that would be appropriate in this situation. Unfortunately Sayid was not coming up with any of them.
“Sob story, I know,” Sally said busily. “My boyfriend and I were really not working out when I got pregnant. He wanted to get rid of it. I’ve wanted a baby for a long time, but for various medical reasons, doctors always told me it would be impossible. So you see, getting pregnant – I’m not one much for miracles, but this was miraculous. I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Long story short, evil boyfriend leaves me, then gets himself killed in a motorcycle accident.”
Sayid gawped. “You’re joking.”
“Nope,” Sally told him. “Not that it did me any good. If he had been alive, I would have had him in for child support.”
“Revenge is a dish best eaten cold,” Sayid quirped.
Sally grinned. “Quite.”
They exchanged wolfish grins for a few moments, then Sally said: “Is that why you stick around your airbrush lady? Revenge?”
“Airbrush lady?” Sayid asked, confused. “I – oh. Valentine, you mean? No, I stick around because she pays me.”
Sally raised an eyebrow. “And she’s an interesting and beautiful woman.”
Sayid groaned. “Yes, okay? I was in love with her, once upon a midnight nightmare.”
“Your therapist must be so proud,” Sally said. She looked down at her cuticles, pushing a few back, muttering: “I knew I shouldn’t have done my nails,” then saying: “I don’t blame you. I’ve seen women like that. Like Valentine.”
“No,” Sayid said emphatically. “Not like Valentine. She’s different. Other women, they look good, they flirt, they have the manners. Valentine is… powerfuly seductive. She doesn’t need to flirt. All of her movements are individual invitations. Every word, every expression, every smile, it’s exactly what Valentine wants it to be. No one can really resist Valentine. I’ve watched her for the past two years, I’ve seen her at work. It’s a real work experience, being with Valentine. And the ironic thing is, I fell out of love with her about a week before she hired me.”
“Why’d she hire you?”
“She needed a personal assistant, or so she said. I think she made that excuse up, but she pays me, and I need the money for med school, so I don’t care.”
“Valentine loves you, then.”
Sayid shook his head. “Nope. Valentine’s in love with no one.”
“With herself?”
Sayid shot Sally a look, and said quite flately. “Especially not with herself. That’s why she keeps me around.”
“But what…oh.”
Sally got it then. “Ah. That explains the contempt, and the way she treats you.”
Sayid nodded. Sally gave a rueful sigh.
“Well, fascinating as this is, I have to get back out there. Good luck with your life, Sayid, as this is probably the only time we’ll see one another. It was nice talking to you.”
It was very nice, Sayid thought, watching her back retreat
Nathanial looked around. “I think SWAT brought him to the bathroom. They probably have a first AID kit over there. It could take a bit.” He looked at her curiously. “Why do you worry so much? I’m sure he’s okay.”
Valentine raised a perfect eyebrow. “I really do have to get out of here,” she sighed. “And I can’t just leave Ahmed to fend for himself in this den full of wolves. And I can’t get a handle on that cute hostess.”
Nathanial snorted. “Not that it would do you much good if you did. She’s given me the brush – off more than once.”
“That’s because you’re male, and have no talent,” Valentine told him sweetly. “Now me, I know that when you want to catch someone, you go to their…”
“Den,” Nathanial finished, looking with sudden interest at the small area between the airline desk and the floor to ceiling walls. “Okay, you may be right.”
Valentine grabbed his hand. “Let’s go.”
They snuck around the other airflight attendants and SWAT to hide behind the cute girl’s desk. Not that it was really hiding, as three attendants and a SWAT man had noticed them, but they all knew they had other problems than two passengers who needed room.
Nathanial tried to fit his long limbs into the small space, grinning wryly as Valentine slipped gracefully in, as though she was stepping into the world’s newest limo. For a moment, he forgot where they were, and what was going on, looking at this beautiful woman making herself at home.
She caught him staring at her. “What?” Valentine asked.
Nathanial shook his head. “No wonder every man in the room is in love with you.”
“They are not,” Valentine argued.
“Does wishing you weren’t married count as love?” the SWAT officer volunteered above them.
Valentine glared at him, her lips forming an attractive pout, but Nathanial beat her to the punch. “Keep out of it, will you?” he told the grinning officer with a grin of his own.
The man’s grin widened and he looked away.
“Oh, you know how people are naturally attracted to you,” Nathanial said. “You aren’t stupid. But there’s a part of you that’s ashamed of it, that wishes it weren’t there, that doesn’t really believe in the power of your beauty. So you taught yourself to be everything people wanted you to be, to shape themselves to their desires, encouraging their attraction. Like you did when you defended Ahmed. Acting exactly like they needed you to.”
Valentine looked away, not responding, an ironic smile on her lips. When she did speak again, it was in a wry voice that matched her face – acting like Nathanial expected her too, Nathanial noted. “Lawyers. Always jumping to conclusions. Anyways, if your right, it’s a good trait for an actress to have, don’t you think.”
Nathanial couldn’t stop grinning. “But you’re more than the sum of the images you project, aren’t you?”
Valentine’s head snapped around to stare at him, true shock in her eyes. “Right?” Nathanial prodded gently.
And then Valentine leaned forwards and kissed him.
Her lips were as soft as sheets of egyptian cotton, gently pressing on his, sending a shock wave of sticky sweetness through Nathanial’s mind and body. He closed his eyes, rendered dizzy by her chanel perfume, her gentle hand on his knee, the wispy touch of her hair brushing against his cheek. She maintained the kiss for a few moments, then drew away.
Nathanial kept his eyes closed for a few more seconds, not ready to open them. When he did, he saw Valentine looking at him with an impulsive, awkward smile, her eyes wide with fear or confusion.
“What was that for?” Nathanial asked softly, smiling.
Valentine shrugged. “A necessity,” she whispered. Then a blush crept up her cheeks. Nathanial didn’t let her get any more embarrased. He brushed her hair away from her face and drew her in, kissing her just as her mouth fell open with an “O” of surprise.
She responded, her lips wrapping around his, and when he started to draw back, she followed him, pulling him towards her. The kiss deepened, each exploring the other gently, then more passionately, coming up for air occasionally, only to resume with more ardor.
The tap of a heel next to Nathanial’s foot sliced through their self – concentration.
“EXCUSE ME?” the cute girl said in a voice loud enough to alert the entire room. “HAS MY DESK BEEN TURNED INTO A TEENAGER’S MAKEOUT SPOT?”
Valentine and Nathanial seperated hastily, staring up in horror at Sally who was wearing a very amused smile on her face. They stood up shakily, untangling limbs, very aware that the entire remenant of the airport’s population was staring at them.
“For further notice,” Sally continued. “I’d prefer if you practiced your seduction skills in the bathroom.”
A current of laughter ran through the room.
Nathanial imagined his face was very red by now. Ahmed popped up next to Sally.
“What’s going on?” he asked. Then he took one look at Valentine. Then he shifted his eyes to Nathanial. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Ahmed said, a huge smile forming on his face. A laugh jumped out of his mouth, then he dissolved into hysterics.
Heat coursed through Nathanial’s face, and it certainly wasn’t due to the summer warmth. He tried to take control of the situation. “Ms. Lollep, we were waiting for you…”
“And keeping yourselves amused, I’m sure,” Sally said.
“We need to get out of here,” Valentine told Sally bluntly. It was the first time the two had spoken, and Nathanial noted the tension between them immediately. An unspoken pact of mutual respect and animosity formed.
Sally raised her eyebrows. “So does every other person here, but I’m not leting them out, now am I?”
“But you could let us out, couldn’t you?” Valentine pointed out. “You got the kids out…”
Nathanial hadn’t noticed that. He looked quickly around, and saw that Valentine was right. He’d noted a few children coming in here, but they were all gone. Two patches of color formed on Ms. Lollep’s cheekbones.
“I’m sorry,” Sally responded. “But no matter your considerable charm, you aren’t half as cute as a kid, and my crazy hormonal craves aren’t bad enough to make me feel maternal towards you or a harvard business lawyer. I’m pregnant, not brainless.”
Valentine flushed. “You owe me,” she said through gritted teeth. “I stopped the crowd from getting Ahmed. They’ll come after him again if you don’t let him out, and you owe me for saving him the first time.”
Sally shot her a confused glance. “Isn’t his name Sayid?”
Valentine’s flush increased. “No.”
“You sure?”
“I pay him, I oughta know.”
“In any case, this isn’t a favors game. I stopped you from getting shot by SWAT in the first riot, or getting trampled, and I didn’t see you dropping to your knees in gratitude.”
Valentine opened her mind again, but Sally suddenly went white. “I’m sorry,” she murmured. Her complextion turned a bit green. “I think I need my insulin shot.”
Was it Nathanial’s imagination, or did Sayid stop laughing?
Sally opened her blazer pocket and sifted through it, pulling out lip gloss and a pack of kleenex. Nothing that looked like Nathanial’s expectation of an insulin kit. “Excuse me,” she whispered, then fled to the bathroom
Sally looked up to stare at her reflection. “Shit.” She said frankly. “They stole it.”
Valentine and Nathanial knew she was the only one who could get them out. They’d gone all the way to make sure she would.
Well, they’d get their wish. Sally pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed management’s number.
“Hey, this is Sally,” she said.
“Sally? How are things?”
“Under control right now,” Sally assured them. “And on your end?”
“We haen’t found the terrorist through background checks, but it’s only a matter of time. We just need you to sit tight.”
“Yeah,” Sally said reassuringly. “Listen, has the plane with the presidential nominee landed yet?”
“It should be coming in in a few minutes. So far, so good, so we’re hoping the FBI can get the the target out of the way. Of course, the media are having a field day outside the airport. We may have to hold a conference in the International terminal.”
“Media,” Sally agreed disgustingly. “I think I can hold them calm for a while longer. Just hurry, please.”
“Yup.”
Sally hung up, then, with a swift motion, she threw the cell phone down on the ground and slammed her practical two – inch heel into it. The cell phone disintigrated into several parts. With a grim smile, Sally picked one of them up, and exited the bathroom
Ahmed looked up. “In that case,” he said, his smile full of repressed hilarity. “I’d better stop.” He got up and grinned at her and Nathanial. “I’m really loving this.”
“You aren’t my keeper,” Valentine said hotly.
“My sister’s keeper,” Ahmed responded dreamily. “I like it.”
Sister? Valentine thought, annoyed. She looked towards the bathroom, hoping to see Sally re – emerge. “I have got to get out of here,” she hissed.
And then, miracles of miracles, Sally came out, her brow glistening with sweat.
The woman exchanged a smile with the nearest SWAT officer, said a few polite words to an air hostess, and ignored Valentine and her group entirely.
Valentine’s mouth dropped. “Sex – deprived bitch,” she muttured. “What do I have to do to get her attention, strip?”
Nathanial turned and grinned at her, making Valentine’s insides feel strange again. “I think she’s seen women naked before.”
Valentine rolled her eyes, unable to keep a stupid smile off her face. Sally swung back towards the group.
“Hey!” someone yelled. “What’s that?”
They turned in unison, starting at the spot on the floor only a few inches from Sally’s desk, where a fat man was pointing with a shaking finger. A beeping black square.
A beeping black square.
Beeping.
Valentine had almost forgotten about the terror threat with her urgency at needing to get out. It was a bomb. But how….?
“Move away!” SWAT yelled, several men starting forwards to get people out of the way. One man headed towards the device, but Sally beat him to it. She grabbed it, and, her arm moving with the perfection of a baseball pitcher, threw it as far as she could, beyond the gate, so far it hit the giant inflated teddy bear. Valentine wouldn’t be surprised if Sally had played softball in high school.
There was a small explosion. The teddy bear went up in flames.
“Holy…” Sally said in awe. “What’s happening to their teddy bear?”
SWAT pushed people towards a corner of the room, trying to get them as far from the fire as possible. Valentine was inclined to agree with them. That could have been only the first explosion. Some devices were made to explode twice, one to fill the air with certain gases to widen the range of the second explosion.
Sally didn’t move, staring at the fire as though hypnotized. Valentine frowned, then grabbed the woman’s arm. “Hey! Didn’t you hear them?”
Sally looked at her, and the surprise in the woman’s arm changed to contempt. Valentine recoiled. She heard the hiss of steam rising from the fire, and felt drops of water on her skin. The airport fire security feature had kicked in.
Suddenly Valentine noticed that everyone but Sally, Nathanial, Sayid and Valentine was being herded to a corner of the room. The SWAT barrier had dissolved. You could barely see through the pouring water.
Sally started forwards, running out of the gate.
“Let’s go!” Valentine yelled, picking up her purse. “NOW!”
She ran after Sally, not waiting to see if the boys followed. Sally had won them a few seconds, no more.
She immediately turned a corner, putting a wall between her and SWAT bullets… which were starting with a POP POP POP. Valentine followed Sally, beelining straight down the terminal, avoiding the flaming teddy bear, and keeping up her speed
“They won’t look for us here,” she whispered. “Besides, I doubt they’ll move from the gate until the fire dies down.”
“How – did – you – do – that?” Nathanial gasped.
Sally glared it him. “Don’t change the subject. If you hadn’t stolen my insulin, I wouldn’t have had to!”
“What?” Nathanial asked indignantly. “I did NOT steal your insulin.”
Sally looked to Valentine. “Don’t look at me,” Valentine said with disdain.
Sally raised her eyes to the ceiling. “In any case, I really don’t care anymore. I got you out. I don’t want to see either of you ever again. You should be fine exiting by the front door.”
Nathanial nodded. “Thank you,” he told her.
With a snort, Sally indicated her feelings towards him. “Don’t be ridiculous. You aren’t thankful. You’re proud you got out. By tommorow, you’ll have forgotten all about me, except as an aspect of your plan that you manipulated into place.”
Nathanial looked shocked, but Sayid could see that part of the shock was due to the truth in Sally’s statements. He looked away from her, and opened his mouth.
“Don’t,” Sally said. “Just don’t.”
He shut his mouth.
“Have you got a car?” Valentine asked him. Typical of Valentine, to think only of herself in situations like this.
Nathanial perked up at that. “Yeah, I do. Need a ride?”
Valentine nodded. “That’d be great.”
“ Follow me,” Nathanial said.
He exited the bathroom, followed by Sally, though she looked like she was going in a different direction. Sayid glanced towards her. He wanted to follow her, not Valentine.
Valentine looked at Sayid. “Come on, Ahmed. Let’s go.”
Sayid looked at her cooly. “My name is Sayid.”
“What?” Valentine said, baffled.
“My name is Sayid.”
“Wh – I know.”
“I quit.”
Her jaw dropped. Sayid thought she’d never looked so genuinly shocked in her life.
“You heard me,” Sayid said. “I quit.”
“Fine,” Valentine snapped, regaining her control. “I don’t need you.”
Sayid snorted, immitating Sally. “No, you don’t. You know why you keep me around, Valentine?” he asked her. “Not because of my wild skills as a personal assistant. No, you keep me around because you need some sort of proof that you’re justified in living the way you do.”
Valentine didn’t say anything. Sayid pursued relentlessly. “I fell in love with you – who doesn’t? But then, I saw through your façade, and fell right out of love. I saw the real you – and I didn’t love you. And you couldn’t stand that, could you? Me, the only person who’d seen the real you, and I held you in contempt, and in disdain. You hated me for that. But at the same time, you saw it as a way to vindicate yourself for pretending to be something you’re not. People love your illusions, Valentine. They love you. I didn’t. You needed me because you wanted to prove to yourself that you could deal with my contempt, and that you had something better, even if it was a lie. And I stayed with you because I admired you. I admire the real you, Valentine. I despise it, I dislike it, I don’t love it, I’m not attracted to you. But I admire you. You’re an incredible woman.”
“You’re wrong,” Valentine said. “The real me is just fine. Nathanial…”
Sayid grinned. “I bet you my job that he doesn’t know a thing about you.”
“You’re wrong.”
Sayid shrugged. “Maybe I am. I really don’t care anymore.”
He walked by Valentine, then, as a last minute thought, he turned around, grabbed her by the elbows, and slammed his mouth on hers. She kissed him back with equal passion, pushing him back into the wall, eagerly pressing her lips to hers, her level of passion nearing savagery. Sayid gripped her back, pulling her as close to him as he could, pushing all his feelings about the woman back onto her. She recoiled.
He pulled away slowly. Valentine stared at him incredulously. “It’s not there, Valentine,” Sayid said gently. “I’m sorry.”
Then he left
“Where’s Ahmed?” Nathanial asked, his voice matter – of – fact.
“It’s Sayid, actually,” Valentine answered. “He’s going with Sally.”
Nathanial raised an eyebrow. “Really? Interesting pairing, that.”
Valentine shrugged. “He likes her. I don’t know about Sally.”
“Oh, she likes him,” Nathanial said. “Trust me on this.”
Valentine raised an eyebrow flirtatiously. “Trust? You?”
Nathanial leaned down and kissed her.
It was a gorgously sweet, eager kiss, making Valentine press into the car in dizzyness.
“Let’s go do something,” Nathanial suggested when the kiss was over. “Museum? Restaurant? Walk next to the lake?” And Valentine would have done anything in the world to just nodd her head.
“No,” she said instead. She felt a feeling of elation rise in her.
Nathanial cocked his head, not understanding. Valentine smiled at him, sadly. The sadness covered her elation. “I’m sorry. It’s not going to work,” she said.
“What’s wrong?” Nathanial asked.
Valentine’s smile widened. “I’m not really who you think I am.”
“Of course you are,” Nathanial said. “You don’t need to be sexy, or, or beautiful, or the perfect woman. You’re right exactly the way you are.”
“Nathanial,” Valentine said slowly. “I’d be tempted to believe you. But really, what you see me as… It’s just me acting the way you want me to. Just the way you know I can. And because your vision of me is so much more attractive than anything else other people expect – bimbo, playgirl – and so different – you think it’s a reflection of reality.”
Nathanial was bewildered. “It isn’t?”
“I’m just acting out your fantasy, Nathanial. Just like I did for the people at the airport.” She paused for a moment. “But I like the role.”
“So…” Nathanial said, his head spinning. “Stay.”
Valentine grinned at him, and it was a grin of pure manipulation, and glee, and attraction. “Now, who says I’m smart enough to do that?”
She turned on her heel, and walked away, feeling Nathanial watch her go. Valentine pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. In a few quick moments, she’d gotten a flight out of Chicago’s other airport, emptied out her bank account to pay for it - jet plane, private – and called the producer, saying she might be five minutes late. But, with the jet, Valentine doubted it. The flight would last twenty minutes. Enough to redo her makeup.
She turned to waved to Nathanial, who was watching her in complete bewilderment. With a laugh, Valentine continued down the parking lot
“Hey!” he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. Sally turned around. Her smile could have put a model to shame.
“Hey yourself! I thought I’d seen the last of you!”
“Nah, you’re better company than the crazy couple. Where you headed?”
She indicated the international terminal. “I need the insulin pretty bad, and I know the FBI should have some paramedics with them. You done with Valentine?”
“We had words. I think she figured out my name.”
Sally laughed. They continued down the hallway.
“Sally?” Sayid said a few moments later. The contents of his pocket were weighing heavily on him.
“Hmmm?”
“You know in the bathroom? Earlier?”
“Yeah?”
“Listen,” he said hurridly. “I found something in my pocket. Something I hadn’t put there.”
She looked up at him. “What?”
“A device.”
Sally recoiled, fear registering on her face. She took a step back, holding her hands up to keep Sayid away. He stopped. “Stay away,” Sally warned.
“I didn’t put it there!” Sayid howled desperately. “But I was afraid! Sally, I swear, I’m not the terrorist!”
He pulled the device out of his pocket, and dumped it on the ground. It was different from the previous one, bigger and covered in wires. “Please,” he pleaded. The device wasn’t beeping.
Sally stared at it in horror. She put a hand on her face. “I believe you,” she said, shaking. “I…Leave it there. We’ll tell the FBI…Anyways. I think I know who the terrorist was.”
“What?” Sayid said. “Valentine? She’s the only one who could have put it in my pocket.”
“Let’s keep going,” Sally responded, looking nervously at the device. “I don’t want to tempt fate too much.”
They hurried forwards. As soon as she could, Sally got them into an employees only hallway, muttering: “This should be faster.”
She took a breath. “I think it was Nathanial.”
“WHAT?”
“He was the only one who could have swiped my insulin. And remember how he talked to management? Nathanial was trying to get them to send the plane up! And when the crowd attacked you? The man who accused you had just talked to Nathanial.”
Sayid stared at her in horror. “My god…”
Sally nodded grimly. “I know. Oh…”
Sayid heard the roar of voices behind the door.
“Must be the press conference they’re having,” Sally said. “The terrorist organization tried to blow up the plane with the presidential nominee. He’s just arrived.”
“Oh...” Sayid said. “We should wait here a few minutes, until it’s over, right?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
Sayid moved away from the door. They waited for a few moments in silence. Then:
“Sayid? Would you mind terribly if I kissed you?” Sally asked.
Sayid looked at here in surprise. Sally shrugged.
“It’s hormonal. Pregnancy does weird things to my brain.”
“Ah. In that case… As a purely medical routine…”
Sally grinned, and stood on tiptoe to kiss him. He ran a hand through her hair, allowing himself to be manuvered towards the wall.
“All this kissing,” Sayid whispered in Sally’s ear. He put a hand under her chin and kissed her gently. “I feel like I’m a soap opera.”
“You are,” Sally said. “You know the insulin you stole? In your pocket.”
Sayid felt a twinge of guilt. “Sally…”
“Is actually a nitroglycerin compound with quite a bit of firepower. By pulling the syringe up, just now, when I was kissing you, I armed the explosive.”
Sayid stared at her, not registering what she was saying. “I needed to get it through security,” Sally continued. “Bingo! Terror threat. Security just buzzed me through. Then to make sure I could get the president elect, I staged the whole comedy in gate 23, guarenteeing that when he would land, he’d hold a press conference to explain what was going up, and ensuring that security would be concentrated around him, not near me. It was a nice, big distraction. Kept management busy – they may never figure out it was my advice that kept them scurrying around. It’ll also serve quite well for my getaway. They’ll be so busy sorting through the mess in there, they won’t even think about the poor hostage the terrorist executed to get the the presidential nominee - me – until I’m far, far away. I thought they’d find the device on you when the crowd tried to beat you up… remember when I tripped over Valentine’s suitcase? That’s when I slipped it in. The device would have exploded – it was a small firecracker, actually – and in the pandemonium, I would have slipped away with a SWAT member – to report, of course. I had to improvise a bit, but you stealing the insulin… I couldn’t have planned it better myself. Now I don’t need to use SWAT as the fall guy. They’re harder to overpower. And an arab guy… Well. Oh, and Nathanial and Valentine were pure fun.”
Sayid finally got it. “You’re the…”
Sally smiled. “Yup.”
Sayid tried to get away. Sally slammed her practical, two inch heel into his foot, then gripped his left arm with a speed she seemed incapable of and twisted it behind his back, so that he faced the door.
“By the way,” Sally said conversationally, pulling the syringe in Nathanial’s pocket a second time. “You’re a very good kisser.”
And then she pushed him through the door.
Sayid found himself on stage, with a man at a podium. A flood of lights - photo cameras, Sayid thought automatically. He opened his mouth
Poor Sayid, she thought, pulling a pocket mirror out of her skirt. He was sweet. And this’ll only reinforce the whole “arab – terrorist” stereotype. Oh well.
She walked through the parking lot, to her car. A blue VW bug.
A man was sitting in it.
“Good morning,” Sally said, slipping in. “I assume you’ve got the money.”
He glanced at her, and her huge belly, and her smiling face.
“You’re the terrorist?” he said incredulously.
Sally rolled her eyes. “I prefer the term: freelance assasin, but yes. The money?”
He handed her a briefcase. Sally opened it, checked it quickly.
“All there. I hope we won’t have to deal with you again,” he said. “My organization does not like to resort to using independent agents.”
Sally grinned. “I’m sure they don’t. Now out. I have to go.”
He got out. When he was a good distance away, Sally slipped a hand under the dashboard and pulled out a crudely made explosive device. She wasn’t surprised. “Cynical,” she muttured under her breath, and exited the car. She’d take the bus.
Sally pulled out her second cell phone. This one had an extra firecracker in it too. Sally liked firecrackers. She threw it into the car.
Then she called her husband.
“Honey?” she heard behind the noise of her car exploding. “I saw on the news. How did it go?”
“Well,” Sally answered. “It was a fun day.”
Happily ever after…
Okay, author’s note. I could write PAGES on this story, but I think you’ve read enough… I loved writing this. I did. It’s like, (likelikelike) my favorite story I’ve written. Doing something in an airport was my first inspiration, since I’ve spent way more time in airports than is good, and in recent year, I’ve tried to figure out various ways I would conduct a terrorist attack if I was a terrorist. This is my latest renditio. It was also my first attempt at a thriller. I hope it works (somewhat) on both a practical and an emotional level, and that it isn’t too obvious who the terrorist is… The characters kept changing. Sally and Sayid were originally really going to stay together, as were Nathanial and Valentine at the VERY beginning. Sally is definetly my favorite character, but Valentine is a close second… The women rock in this piece. Sayid was a joy to write, and his fate is slightly based on the real life person he is based on… (I kinda hate this person right now, so I needed a release). He is NOT in love with Valentine, though he was in the first three drafts (like said person). Valentine got more and more interesting as the drafts went on… I haven’t got her down, quite, but I’m getting there. Also, if you look through this piece, I tried to include a bunch of connections that aren’t obvious at first (the Ahmed – Sayid is one of them). And one of the character’s last name is an anagram – which one?
Basis for characters… no basis. Sally has some elements of mine and a friend of mine, and Valentine is the way I used to view someone. Okay, so they’re all slightly based on someone…