athlete, but she couldn’t sit still if her life depended on it. I didn’t know if it was because of nerves or just her natural state of being. I wondered how she had survived on the softball field as she seemed more suited for soccer. But who was I to argue her choices in sports, she was good enough to obtain a scholarship to play college ball.
I continued to watch her as we circled Heathrow airport. I was grateful we didn’t have to change planes. I really didn’t want to wake her nor did I want to deal with her questions and I needed to use my phone. I wasn’t sure if they were going to make me take her to a safe house somewhere or continue on to Albuquerque. Her boss was dead, killed by someone or some group we hadn’t figured out yet. We also weren’t quite sure how he was connected to the gentlemen she had given the processor to in Tel Aviv.
As the plane came to a halt at the Heathrow terminal, I waited patiently for the passengers to deplane. I knew it would be about 40 minutes before the next group would begin to board and that would give me enough time to check in. I wanted to have a clear picture of what I needed to do once we touched down in DC.
Conway was not happy with my phone call but frankly I really didn’t give a damn. “Moussad let on who she gave the processor to?”
“No, they aren’t the most forthcoming with information. And they are pointing fingers at us and Tom.”
“Do you think it was someone on the inside,” I had my suspicions but I wasn’t ready to discuss that over a cell phone connection even if it was a secure connection.
“We are trying to track down everyone he had contact with and frankly, everyone he had contact with has a Q or above clearance. That doesn’t help the situation much. We have had someone tailing him for about a year now in Albuquerque and you when he went overseas. We are combing through your reports now to see if we can catch anything. Right now everyone is under suspicion.”
“And the girl?”
“Does she know she gave the wrong processor yet?”
“Yeah. She’s asleep now, when she wakes I will talk to her more.” I glanced over at Alison. She had turned away from me and was sleeping quietly. I was pretty confident she had no idea of my conversation. “She had no idea what Tom was up to.”
“I know. She did what she was told to do. But talk to her and see what you can get from her. See if anything rings a bell. We will go from there. Depending on what we find out in the next 5 or so hours is when we will make our decision about a safe house.”
Our conversation ended there and it was a good thing as first class began to fill up with passengers. It would be a full flight back to Dulles. Alison stirred as the noise level increased around us. She tossed in her seat but she was constricted by her seat belt. I couldn’t help but watch her as she moved. She seemed so innocent lying there. My gut told me she was innocent in all of this. Sometimes being young and naive wasn’t such a bad thing. Watching her, made me feel so old in age and in life experiences.
She tried to move once again but seatbelt once again got in her way. I quickly reached underneath the blanket and unbuckled it for her. It was just my luck that her eyes flew open and she sat straight up in her seat. Her movement was so quick that I was sure she was going to fall out of her seat and block the aisle that was now full of people.
She shot me one of the most evil glares I had ever seen. I had to laugh, I knew she was scared and waking up from drinking a fair amount of vodka didn’t help with the sudden disorientation she was most likely feeling. “Hello Sonny.”
“Where are we?”
“London. We should be back up in the air shortly. Do you want anything? Coffee, water, soda?”
She nodded her head and looked at all the people who now at around us in first class. “I guess this means I can’t ask you any questions can I?”
This time