Oh great. Now what?
I had no idea when the next flight was, I only knew we were going to Spain. I walked to a departure listing and found ten different flights leaving for Spain that day, all at different times and spread out over several airlines. The first one was boarding now. All I had on me was my passport and 20 euros. Could I just walk up to a random kiosk, show them my passport and ask what flight I was supposed to be on? I could see myself waving the Euros at the attendant, there is a nice tip in it for you. That might draw some unwanted attention. I silently cursed Alex for not preparing me better for this situation.
"Excusez-moi." A man in uniform tapped me on the shoulder. Too late for the unwanted attention.
"Oui?" Goody, a wonderful time to practice my French.
He tried hard to prevent a look of disdain from crossing his face, but I caught it. He took a deep breath. "Can I help you?"
Dismayed at how he pegged me as an English speaker after just one word I gave up on the French. "Um, no, no. I am okay. Just waiting for my Alex, I mean my brother." Screwed that one up. Why did he single me out, anyway? There were plenty of people just standing around.
He looked me over. "I must ask you accompany me this way, Mademoiselle."
"What, why?"
He grabbed me, keeping a firm grip on my upper arm, and began pulling me along.
I tugged back. "I didn’t do anything!" My voice got louder and people around us stopped what they were doing to look. The Frenchman let go briefly and took a more aggressive stance. One of his hands automatically went to his belt over what looked like a stun gun. The other hand pulled out a walkie-talkie and he began speaking into it urgently.
With how quickly things escalated, I was stunned into stupidity. I should have spent more time learning to think on my feet, instead of using whips. I began to look around wildly for an out. Perhaps I could point out a potential terrorist threat; those things weren’t taken lightly.
As it was, we just happened to be surrounded by blue-eyed, blond-haired tourists, a herd of school-aged children, and a group of uniformed British soldiers. I openly gawked at a woman who had to be too pregnant to fly, clutching her toddler close, and silently damned her for contributing to my bad luck. Just as I was considering turning tail and running, a familiar face appeared. The Frenchman was forced to release my arm in order to intercept Micah’s enthusiastic shake. Micah immediately started a conversation, speaking to him in a polite but commanding tone. To my untrained ear, it sounded like perfect French. I felt someone come up behind me and take my arm.
Before I could glance over my shoulder Shawn whispered in my ear, "Take a few small steps back with me."
Quickly, I looked at the security guard. He could be my out. If I could just go with him, I could rid myself of these deranged people and figure out my powers on my own. Maybe live somewhere secluded until I had them under control.
But Micah was a smooth talker. He actually had the Frenchman smiling. No doubt his hypnotic eyes were working their magic as well. Good to know I wasn’t the only one susceptible. My opportunity was quickly fading. If I tried anything, I would be the crazy babbling woman.
Shawn was still pulling insistently on my arm, and I went with him. We continued our slow walk backward until immersed amongst the onlookers; becoming one of them. Eventually the crowd dispersed as they realized nothing even remotely interesting was coming. As Micah finished up his conversation, the Frenchman sent one more glance my way. Upon seeing me – he looked almost shocked at remembering why he was there in the first place. He had already forgotten. He returned his walkie-talkie to its holster, shook Micah's hand, and pat him on the shoulder. I was surprised they didn't exchange phone numbers; maybe set up a future golf date.
Finally, the Frenchman turned and walked away. Micah sauntered toward us, after pausing briefly to help the pregnant woman retrieve the cup her toddler had thrown. I rolled my eyes.
He took my other arm and escorted me to a nearby café. We sat at a small round table and Micah ordered sandwiches for the three of us. As I sat next to the two people I despised most in the world at that moment, I couldn’t help but feel slightly content. The pair put out an aura of confidence and strength, and if I wanted to get the crux of it – this was the devil I knew. With my own personal bodyguards around nothing could hurt me; except of course for the bodyguards themselves.
Chapter 23
Water Wars
Lunch in the airport was uneventful, and not a word was spoken amongst the three of us until Alex arrived; sweaty and panic-stricken. "Oh, you found her – thank God."
"God had nothing to do with it." Micah pulled out a small device from his pocket and threw it at Alex. Then he bent down, took off my shoe, and showed him a miniscule chip tucked into the sole.
"You didn’t trust me?" Alex asked Micah with a forlorn face.
Micah apparently didn’t trust either one of us.
"Oh, please," Shawn interjected, speaking with his mouth full of bread, "If the Chakra couldn’t handle her, what makes you think you can?"
Alex and I simultaneously turned to glare at Shawn, then broke out in protests, struggling to be heard over each other. Shawn interjected his defense, raising his own voice.
Finally, a two fingered, shrill whistle cut us all off. Satisfied he had our full attention, Micah cleared his throat and said, "Alex, won’t you sit down?"
Alex did as he was told.
"We can’t attract any more attention than we already have." Micah continued, "Let’s just finish eating. Our meeting is in an hour and our flight takes off soon after that. We can resolve any issues we have with each other once we are in private."
Alex sat back in his chair with his arms crossed and sulked. Shawn shrugged his shoulders and went back to stuffing his mouth. Micah and I caught each other’s eyes. It was the first time we really looked at each other in what seemed like ages, and I immediately felt my heart soften. I purposefully recalled what happened in the greenhouse; I couldn’t just let it pass. I needed to look out for myself more than ever now that I knew what he was capable of.
After shaking the last thoughts from my head, what Micah just said clicked. "Meeting? What meeting?"
Without looking at me he explained, "Cato has a contact in the environmental protection authority of France. We are supposed to meet with him and the Charles de Gaulle Airport Board of Directors to discuss joining the campaign for airport water conservation."
I looked at Alex and Shawn, and realized for the first time they were all wearing casual business attire. I looked down at my own wrinkled shorts and t-shirt and immediately panicked.
Micah lowered his voice and said, "The plan was for you to wait here for us, but I’m not sure that is the best idea anymore."
"She can’t go in looking like that," Shawn said.
I glared at him again. It may have been what I was thinking, but that didn’t make it all right for him to criticize my appearance.
Micah waved him away. "Alex, take her to buy another outfit. Meet us back here in 45 minutes."
"Our trip budget is tight. I don't think – "
Micah interrupted Alex, "Make it work." Alex sighed, hung his head in defeat, then held his arm out for me.
I replaced the shoe, complete with microchip, and left the table. It was better than sitting with those two bastards.
I walked through the airport with a slight limp, overcompensating for the foreign object lodged in my shoe. Alex brooded by my side, but I was grateful for the temporary reprieve from Micah. It felt less crowded trying to negotiate the airport amongst the swarms of people and suitcases than it did sitting at a table with him. After visiting the overpriced airport shops, I had a new dark blue skirt suit with matching shoes and even a necklace and earrings that complimented the outfit in less than half an hour. I dug my makeup and hair brush out of our carry-on luggage and put it to good use. After gaining approval from Alex, we quickly headed back to the café only to find Micah and Shawn had dumped ou
t the contents of Alex’s carry-on bag. They were sorting through a mass of brochures, reports, and other paperwork on the table. They looked panicked.
Alex joined them, his eyebrows creasing similarly. "What is going on? Are you ready? We are supposed to be there in five minutes!"
"None of the packets are put together!" Shawn said.
"You were supposed to do that at the Chakra." Micah gave Alex a dark look then looked up at me, explaining their incompetence. "Business school is not a requirement to join the Seven."
Feeling partly responsible for throwing around Alex’s luggage to get it on the boat, I stepped in front of Alex in defense. "He was a little busy, apologizing for your actions."
Micah tightened up, but didn’t reply.
I took a deep breath, trying to quell my anger, for now. "Ok – how many packets do we need?"
"About twenty," Micah answered.
I took charge, putting my organization skills to good use. "Shawn, pull that table over here. Alex – start separating everything into piles." I turned to Micah, "What are you putting everything in – do you have folders?"
"Yes, in here I think."
"Count out twenty-five of them." Everyone followed my orders without question. Five minutes later, due to a very efficient assembly line, we had 25 packets assembled and were on our way to the meeting.
We met a receptionist by an ‘employees only’ entrance and she led us through several offices into a conference room. There was a sea of older men stuffed inside blue and black suites, all swiveling their chairs to look as we entered. I felt a few too many gazes linger on me and suppressed the urge to check for food in my teeth. Shawn and Micah took positions at the head of the table while I helped Alex pass out our freshly-assembled packets.
"Gentlemen, I want to thank you for taking the time to meet us here today," Shawn started. "Also, our thanks to Mr. Vasser for arranging the meeting. Cato sends his regards and regrets he couldn't make it; especially considering the high end hotel suites you have arranged for us in Spain." A few of the men chuckled. One of the men toward the front nodded his head at Shawn’s acknowledgement. "Unfortunately, we don’t have much time until our flight so I will get right to the point."
Micah began translating Shawn’s brief into French. I took a seat in the back of the room, happy to observe. Alex was opening a suitcase and passing out reusable water bottles. He tossed me one of my own and winked at me. I inspected the water bottle as I listened to Shawn and Micah. Besides the ‘made from 100% recycled material’ notice on the bottom, it only contained one symbol – the same one I saw on the doors to Cato’s office, the spiral of life.
Shawn started out by listing all of the other airports they had already visited, highlighting the Canberra Airport in Australia, known for their water conservation efforts. He went into detail about their initiatives. He spoke for a half hour, pausing every so often to let Micah catch up with his translations. He finally finished and opened it up for questions.
A large man sitting halfway down the long conference table cleared his throat before speaking in a thick French accent, "More like a comment, really. Much of what you’ve, ah, suggested, won’t be worth the costs. Beyond that, I don’t see a reason to take such drastic measures." A series of mumbling around the table revealed that half the room agreed with him and half the room disagreed. He addressed his opponents, "I’m just saying what we’re all thinking. During our tenure of running this airport, it will only increase costs significantly and we won’t see the benefits nor be rewarded or recognized once they finally come about. We’ll be long gone by then."
Shawn attempted to address his concern but his voice was overpowered by the Board of Directors arguing amongst themselves. Their agitation caused them to revert to their native language and Shawn could no longer keep up. Micah couldn’t even translate as they talked over one another.
Unable to sit still any longer, I stood up and made my way to the end of the table. Perhaps the mere reminder that a woman was present would keep the men cordial. It partly worked; the men sitting closer to me calmed down but the others didn’t even notice. Shawn and Micah certainly noticed; though they were too far away to do anything to stop me. Never having learned the talent of a shrill, two fingered-whistle, I used the only other talent that came to mind. I summoned a small amount of energy and expended it in the form of wind. I had practiced it only a few times, so it wasn’t steady, but it had the right effect. Papers in the room flew up as the wind raced away from me, then settled as I willed the air to change direction. It pulled everyone’s attention toward me along with it.
I released the energy and quickly said, "If I may…"
The beginnings of a wall, a Shawn-made block, clearly exuded ‘you may not’, but Micah placed a hand on his shoulder, and the wall crumbled away. I turned to the Frenchman and began, "Perhaps the end of humanity won’t occur for another five or six billion years; and that your children’s children will even be long gone by then. In fact your entire family line may no longer exist." I recalled some of the facts from the reading material, "But consider this; climate change will begin to affect urban water supply within the next 80 years. That means the next generation will face a water crisis, which may warrant some action now, don’t you agree?" Without waiting for his response I went on, "Up until now, most conflict in this world has occurred due to land or border disputes and more recently - oil rights. Can you imagine what kind of conflicts might occur over freshwater resources? How bloody will those battles be? And who will be blamed for the problem?"
The question hung in the air, echoing off the walls like an empty canyon until one word sliced through the silence, "Us." It was spoken by a nameless face at the table, but the one word reflected everything I was trying to say.
I made my way through the crowded floor to stand behind the original pessimist. I leaned over to lay my chin on his shoulder, admittedly brazen on my part for sure, but it had the effect I wanted. I whispered the word again in his ear, "Us."
His eyes and facial expression told me he understood. I took my place in my seat, the room remaining respectfully quiet until I did so. Shawn broke the silence, "Thank you, Kaitlyn, for making that point. On that note, let’s open up the floor for questions."
By the time we made our exit, a commitment was made to arrange another meeting between the Canberra and Charles de Gaulle Board of Directors.
We headed to our gate and Micah slowed his pace to walk by my side, "What did you think?"
As much as I didn’t want to compliment him, I had to admit it. "Impressive."
He smiled humbly then returned the compliment. "As were you – thanks for all your help."
"So is that it? Will there be any follow up?"
"No – we’ve said our piece. We’ve brought to light the right thing to do, and provided much of the information necessary to proceed. It is up to them now. If they need anything else, they’ll let us know."
I nodded, then busied myself by looking at artwork on the wall as we passed it. I was determined to maintain a cold attitude toward him.
Chapter 24
Dirty Boots
After another flight and a short taxi cab ride, we arrived at a beautiful beach front hotel. Checking in, we received keys to two different suites, side by side, with two rooms in each. Our bags already upstairs, the four of us stood awkwardly in the hallway, staring at each other. Room arrangements obviously hadn’t been discussed.
"Well if no one wants the bitch, I’ll take her," Shawn said crassly, trying to put his arm around me.
"Asshole! You’re the only one that is out of the question." I ducked his arm and moved behind Alex.
"I figured as much. Well you three figure it out, I need a shower." Shawn grabbed one of the keys and went into the room, slamming the door behind him.
Alex and Micah both looked at me for a decision.
I froze.
"It might be safer if Kaitlyn stays with me," Micah said, looking at me. "There are two rooms in
each suite, anyway."
I didn’t say anything, trying to sort through the possible consequences in my head.
Alex took a step closer to me, lowering his voice. "He has a point. If anything gets out of control, he is the most likely to stop it." He looked at my face and back tracked. "But it is totally up to you, whatever you want."
Micah nodded. "Yeah. Whatever you want."
I sighed and relented. "Fine." I entered the suite quickly leaving Micah and Alex staring after me. It was a large suite with a full kitchen and even bigger common area. With leather couches and a huge flat screen television, Mr. Vasser spared no expense. Two separate bedrooms with king sized beds sat across from each other on either side of the common area. I chose a room and locked the door behind me. Spotting the attached bathroom, I took full advantage of it for the next hour. In the lavish, Spanish-tiled shower, with water pouring over me, it was almost possible to forget the past few days. Almost, but not quite. I released a breath.
Just a few hours away from the Chakra, and I already felt like I was dragging. I suddenly craved the caffeine that kept me going in my normal, day to day life. I went into the bedroom and dressed in a light, cotton dress I hadn’t worn yet. It fit well, showing off curves that weren’t easily seen in the shorts and t-shirts I had been wearing the past few weeks. I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked – good. He almost raped me. Fuck the dress. I changed into baggy pants and an oversized sweatshirt and looked in the mirror again. Nope – not gonna bring myself down a peg because of what he did. Back into the dress I went.
"Kaitlyn?" Micah spoke through the door, giving a light knock.
I tensed. "Yes?"
"Don’t unpack okay? In case we need to leave in a hurry."
"Okay." I was short in my response hoping to get rid of him quickly.
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