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Monday 20 December part 3
Monday 20 December 20:30UTC
Becalmed, Max sat at the departure gate, pulp boarding card in hand, waiting for his row number to be called. They were boarding first and business class, together with economy passengers in the rearmost rows. When would airlines learn, he wondered, that the fastest way to board an aircraft was window seats first, never mind row number? It was a proven fact, verified by experiment.
“Good evening, sir. May I see your
boarding card, please?”
Max had not noticed the newcomer, tall and bow-tied, incongruous amid the sea of tired passengers and carry-on bags. “Excuse me? Is something wrong?”
For answer, the man held out his open hand. Max found he could not stop himself placing his boarding card on the smooth, ivory palm.
“Nothing is wrong, sir. I would like you to follow me, please.”
Once more, for a fraction of a second, Max thought he saw the sandwich board man, in the crowd over the speaker’s shoulder. The suspect turned, and was a complete stranger.
Max swallowed and wondered if he looked as pale as he felt. In desperate need of something to drink, he feared he had lost the power of speech. Had he been discovered? Just a few moments from boarding his flight, to a country with no extradition. Yet, this man did not look like a police officer or a security official. Max mustered every ounce of self-control and looked his interlocutor in the eye. “What do you mean, come with you? I am about to board my flight, which leaves in just over half an hour. Why should I need to go anywhere with you?”
The other’s expression did not vary. “Sir, you really should come with me. It is in your interest, sir.”
Max thought he was beginning to understand. He had been upgraded before, on a couple of occasions, once into first class, when flights had been overbooked and they had sought out smartly dressed, single travellers. He nodded. The man’s expression softened into something that was almost a thin smile, then he turned and began to move through the crowd. Max did his best to keep up - the mass of bodies impeded him more than it did his guide.
Becalmed, Max sat at the departure gate, pulp boarding card in hand, waiting for his row number to be called. They were boarding first and business class, together with economy passengers in the rearmost rows. When would airlines learn, he wondered, that the fastest way to board an aircraft was window seats first, never mind row number? It was a proven fact, verified by experiment.
“Good evening, sir. May I see your
boarding card, please?”
Max had not noticed the newcomer, tall and bow-tied, incongruous amid the sea of tired passengers and carry-on bags. “Excuse me? Is something wrong?”
For answer, the man held out his open hand. Max found he could not stop himself placing his boarding card on the smooth, ivory palm.
“Nothing is wrong, sir. I would like you to follow me, please.”
Once more, for a fraction of a second, Max thought he saw the sandwich board man, in the crowd over the speaker’s shoulder. The suspect turned, and was a complete stranger.
Max swallowed and wondered if he looked as pale as he felt. In desperate need of something to drink, he feared he had lost the power of speech. Had he been discovered? Just a few moments from boarding his flight, to a country with no extradition. Yet, this man did not look like a police officer or a security official. Max mustered every ounce of self-control and looked his interlocutor in the eye. “What do you mean, come with you? I am about to board my flight, which leaves in just over half an hour. Why should I need to go anywhere with you?”
The other’s expression did not vary. “Sir, you really should come with me. It is in your interest, sir.”
Max thought he was beginning to understand. He had been upgraded before, on a couple of occasions, once into first class, when flights had been overbooked and they had sought out smartly dressed, single travellers. He nodded. The man’s expression softened into something that was almost a thin smile, then he turned and began to move through the crowd. Max did his best to keep up - the mass of bodies impeded him more than it did his guide.
