'Uh, gate sixteen, I think,' Georgie replied, scanning her ticket.
Josh checked. 'Yep, gate sixteen. That's concourse B. It's not boarding for another thirty minutes yet. Does anyone want to get something to eat?'
'I'm hardly in the mood for eating,' Georgie said.
Lionel shook his head. 'Me neither.'
Josh didn't feel like he could stomach anything either, so they took a slow wander down to their gate, taking a seat when they got there. Joseph started to grumble, but Georgie soothed him back to sleep.
'He's a good kid,' Lionel said, smiling.
Josh, who was also watching, said, 'Doesn't get it from me. That's all Georgie. I couldn't get him to sleep for love nor money. Georgie was able to switch him off like a light. A mother's touch I guess.'
Georgie, cradling Joseph and bouncing him on her lap, looked up at Josh. For a second there was a longing in her eyes, but as soon as Josh saw it, she looked down again. It made Josh feel homesick—not just for New York, but for the home he'd made and lost with Georgie.
'So what are we going to do when we get to El Paso?' Georgie asked both of them. Josh glanced at Lionel, and Lionel glanced at Josh. Neither of them knew.
'Well,' Josh said, 'as far as I'm aware we can walk through the border to Juarez, and from there we'll go as remote as we can.'
Georgie patted her trouser pocket. 'I brought my passport just in case.'
'I only think you need that to get back in.'
'I sure hope so,' Lionel said, 'because we don't have ours.'
Josh rearranged himself in his seat. 'Guess this is a one-way trip then.'
Exhaustion filled him. They continued to wait in silence, while Josh took the opportunity to shut his eyes. His head was throbbing to the beat of his heart by now, and he watched colors pulse and swim against his eyelids. What a mess, he thought. How things had changed in the course of a single day. He thought about the executive he'd shown around just this morning—What was his name? Mr. Miller, that was it—and wondered what he was doing right now. Lounging in his New York penthouse suite, smoking a cigar? On the phone, demanding to know why his site was shut down? Floating face down along the East River, courtesy of the CIA? Who knew. It was all irrelevant now, all of it. Mr. Miller, the tunnel, the drilling—all of it. None of it counted for anything anymore.
In a weird kind of way, it was a weight off Josh's shoulders. He almost felt free, unwound of the commercial machine that ticked on day and night, binding him into society in the way it wanted him to be. Perhaps he'd enjoy this new life; a slower pace, his friend and his family by his side, hot sun and cool shade, warm sand between his toes . . .
'Josh, wake up!'
Josh started, finding himself slithered halfway down his seat. Peeling his face from the faux leather and wiping the drool off his cheek, he slid up again, taking a moment to consider where he was and what he was doing there. 'What's going on?' he slurred.
Lionel was rigid, staring past Josh and along the concourse. Georgie was too, occasionally looking to Lionel, concern pulling her lips thin. Joseph was dozing in his own seat, slumped against Georgie, her coat over him.
'I don't know . . .' Lionel said. Josh sat up and started to turn to see what had spooked Lionel, but Lionel held up a hand, signaling for him to stop. 'Don't!' he whispered.
'What is it?' Josh whispered back, the old headache rising anew. He desperately wanted to turn around, could feel the breath of this apparition on the back of his neck. He was taken for a moment to his childhood, hiding under the bed sheets, hot as hell, not daring to move.
'Suits,' Lionel said. 'They're asking people questions.' He paused, mouth stuck on a word. 'You can look now, but be quick.'
Josh turned as discreetly as he could to see three men in suits, walking and stopping, talking to people, expressions drawn, responses stony. They moved from group to group, sometimes stopping for a few seconds only, sometimes talking for a minute or more. Occasionally they were handing something out, something which was received with apprehension. 'Shit . . .' Josh said, turning back to Lionel and Georgie. 'What are we going to do?'
'We can't exactly run, can we?' Georgie squeaked, panic in her voice. 'Where would we go?'
Lionel was nodding. 'You're right. There's nothing we can do except sit here and wait it out. We can't get by them, and the other way's a dead end.'
Josh scanned the space, looking for an answer. There was the shop across from them, selling newspapers and candy and such, the vending machines and— 'We could hide out in the restrooms,' he said. 'They might not look in there.'
Lionel and Georgie checked them out. 'Don't you think they'll look in there?' Georgie asked.
'I don't know, but I don't know what other option we have.'
'Josh is right,' Lionel said. 'There is no other option. Georgie, you go first with Joseph. They probably won't be looking for you—not yet, anyway. Then Josh and I will go together.'
'Don't you two want to go first, before they get close enough to recognize you?'
Josh shook his head. 'I'm with Lionel, you should go first. I want you to be safe—'
'And I want you to be safe!' Georgie interrupted, face reddening. 'Like you said, they're probably not looking for me, but they're looking for you!' She sat up, peering down the concourse. 'A few more families and they'll be here, so you need to go, now, both of you.' She looked between the two men, her eyes pleading. 'Okay?'
Josh was about to respond when a shout made them all start.
'Hey!'
It was one of the suited men, broken away from the rest of the group, who had all turned to see why he was shouting. 'Hey!' he shouted again, before breaking into a jog toward Josh and the others.
'Oh shit . . .' Lionel said.
Oh shit was right—there was no time for them to hide in the restrooms now. In a few seconds the man would reach them, and . . . he went sailing by. The group watched him as he caught up with another passenger and placed a hand on the man's shoulder to stop him. The man turned to face the suit, and the suit handed him something.
'You dropped your passport,' the suit said.
The man, at first confused, pulled out his headphones and took the passport. Then his face broke into an embarrassed smile, and he bowed and nodded and thanked the suit.
'Could have been a bad day for you,' the suit said. 'You hang on to that a little more carefully.'
The man, still nodding and smiling, pocketed his passport and continued on his way. The suit turned, and Lionel, Georgie and Josh all whipped forward again. But it wasn't quick enough—he had seen them. Although Lionel and Georgie now had their backs to the suited man, Josh could still see him, and he was looking their way. Josh kept his eyes forward, staring at nothing, chest thumping and gut wrangling. The suit walked slowly toward them, Josh willing him to keep on walking, but he seemed to slow further as he approached, turning as he came level. Josh looked up at him, and he was standing there, hands on hips, examining them.
'Have you heard the good news?' the man said.
This took Josh by surprise. 'What?' He looked at Lionel and Georgie, who had broken their aimless stares to also look at the man addressing them.
'Have you heard the good news?' the man repeated. 'About Jesus Christ, our Lord and savior? How He sacrificed his life so you could have yours?'
Relief flooded through Josh with such tenacity that he almost fainted. The room spun a while as he gathered himself together. 'No thank you,' he said. 'We've had just about enough good news for one day already.'
'Okay,' the man said. He reached into his jacket pocket. 'Here, why don't you take this.' He handed Josh a leaflet, on which was written For God So Loved the World above a picture of a dove with an olive leaf in its beak. 'Give it a read; it might just save your life.'
Josh took the leaflet, still a little disorientated by what had just happened, gave the man a forced smile and watched him walk back to the group. 'Jesus . . .' he whispered, turning the leaflet over but not really re
ading it. He looked up at Lionel and Georgie, both of them appearing as stunned as he felt. Josh laughed, and at first the other two stared at him, but then they started laughing too. It was ridiculous, hysterical and terrifying, and they were all exhausted. The only option was to laugh.
Joseph stirred, and they all got control of their mirth. 'That was close,' Lionel said.
Georgie pulled her coat back up over Joseph, and they all relaxed a little in their seats. 'The sooner we're at that border,' she said, 'the better.'
Not long later, the speakers overhead announced the boarding of their flight, and they gathered themselves up and joined the quickly forming queue. The rush of cool air from the gangway as the crew opened the doors out to the plane was very welcome. In less than ten hours, they would be free.
Chapter 8
Pulling the belt tight, Josh tried to relax in his seat, but he knew they weren't quite out of the woods yet. They had a two-hour long stop-off at Houston before changing to a connecting flight to El Paso—more than enough time to get caught. Hopefully the CIA had no idea what they were up to, given how out-there this plan to escape to Mexico was. At the thought, a stomach-lurching reality check dropped: the CIA were killing people to keep them quiet, so getting caught was not an option.
'I guess we'll need to change our names,' Josh said quietly. The plane was almost empty, but he thought it better to keep his voice down anyway. Georgie, who was in the window seat, with Joseph between them, turned away from the window, where lights flashed and glowed from the darkness.
'I suppose,' she said. She looked tired. Her response seemed numb. Josh was sure the reality of the situation would kick in again tomorrow and that he'd have a whole lot more explaining to do. For now, sleep deprivation and shock were enough to keep her calm. It was probably for the best. Joseph, who had awoken when they had boarded, turned restlessly in his seat. Georgie soothed him, and he cuddled up to her. He too was quiet. He'd never been a loud kid.
'Maybe we can think about that tomorrow,' Josh said. 'You get some sleep.'
He leaned across and pulled the window blind shut. The cabin lights were dim, and Georgie, coat rolled up and wedged between her head and the fuselage, yawned. 'I don't think I'll be able to get to sleep,' she mumbled, shutting her eyes.
'Try,' Josh said. Georgie said nothing, so Josh turned to Lionel across the aisle. 'How are you holding up?'
Lionel laughed softly. 'As well as can be expected. You?'
Josh shrugged. 'Same. Okay. Headache's almost gone.'
'Good, that's good.' Lionel shook his head slowly, staring into the distance. 'What a day, huh?'
'What a day.'
They said nothing for a moment as a flight attendant brushed past. The hum of the air conditioning built as the pre-flight whirrs and clicks began.
'What are you going to do once we get there?' Josh asked. 'You're welcome to stick with us.'
Lionel scratched his leg. 'Truth be told, I haven't really thought about it. I suppose it wouldn't be right of me to hang around with you guys too long—'
'You can stay with us as long as you like,' Josh said, cutting him off.
'—so I'd probably find my own place, you know. Nearby, so we can keep in touch.'
Josh smiled. 'I'd like that.'
'Listen, we'd better get some cash out when we land in El Paso, as much as we can.'
Josh realized the thought hadn't even occurred to him. Could he even use his cards in Mexico? 'Why don't we get it out in Houston, in case they try and freeze our accounts later? Shit, they might have even frozen our accounts now . . .'
'I don't want them to see account activity until we're in El Paso, so we've got time to get clear.'
Josh laughed. 'Are you sure you've never done this before?'
Shaking his head, frowning, Lionel muttered, 'Damn racist . . .'
'I'm joking! Jesus, Lionel, lighten up.'
'Pfff.'
The aircraft jerked as the pushback tug guided them away from the terminal. Once they were squarely on the taxiway and moving under their own steam, Josh had a thought. 'How did you buy the tickets?'
Lionel, eyes now shut and seat reclined, said, 'Cash.'
Josh sat up. 'You had eleven hundred dollars in cash on you?'
'Yeah.'
'Why?'
Not moving, Lionel opened an eye and gave Josh a sideways look. 'I'm gangster, that's why,' he said. 'That what you want to hear, honky?'
'You're such a dick,' Josh said, sitting back and reclining his own seat. They both laughed.
Wheels up, Josh managed to actually get some shut-eye. His dreams were distant but restless, punctuated with moments of semi-awake dozing when his neck or back or arms began to ache. It was around five hours to Houston and one hour back on the clock, which would put them down in the early hours of the next day. He knew he needed to get some sleep now so he'd be able to function when they landed.
As the hours passed, the dreams became more vivid. He was in the tunnel, but he was on his own. Then he was in the room. It was black, but he could feel the energy. He could feel it as he had the first time, but with a new sense that guided him with more clarity and precision than any of his mortal senses ever could. Somehow, through his dreams, he felt more able to interpret the energy in that room now than he could back when it had happened. What had been a bombardment of stimuli then made more sense now, like his brain had needed the time to filter through and sort it out. Messy, tangled strands had been ordered into straight, even filaments, and he could feel so much more through them.
There had been a presence. Life.
But it was more than that. It wasn't life as in the existence of something, it was life as in the journey of someone. A path traveled, leading to that moment. A tunnel, leading into the moments to come. A circle, joining the ends together. Like this moment, this presence, had a memory.
Josh jolted awake, the dream still clear in his mind. But now it made no sense to him at all. He rubbed his eyes, willing the dream and its stupidity away from him. He needed a clear head. He needed to be able to think without nonsense like that clouding his judgment. Looking over at Georgie, he saw that she was ungracefully sleeping, mouth agape and arm wedged between her head and the armrest. He smiled. He liked to see her like this; it was so personal, so intimate, and it felt like home. Home, he realized, was wherever his family was, and right now they were with him. Despite the odds, he felt at peace.
Lionel, too, was asleep, although the grace with which he had wedged himself upright lacked much of the personal connection Josh had with Georgie. Lionel snored, smacking his lips and rolling about in his seat, making it shudder under his weight.
The dream was almost gone now, which made Josh more at ease.
'Good morning, ladies and gentlemen,' the loudspeaker announced softly to the cabin. 'We will begin our descent into Houston very shortly, so if you could all fasten your safety belts, return your seats to the upright position and fold your tray tables away please. Thank you for flying with American Eagle.'
Josh did as he was instructed, then leaned across to jab Lionel awake. 'We're landing soon,' he said, as Lionel blinked his way back into consciousness. Then he turned his attention to Georgie, who was stretching and yawning. Josh held his breath as he saw on her face that she didn't understand where she was—then the realization as it all came back to her. Her shoulders slumped.
'What time is it?' she asked, groggy.
'One in the morning,' Josh replied.
Georgie sighed. 'At least I don't have to go to work.'
Josh helped her wake Joseph, who'd fallen asleep again and slipped down so his head rested on Georgie's arm.
'Where are we going?' he mumbled, rubbing his eyes.
'We're going to Mexico,' Josh told him, clipping his belt around him while Georgie sat him upright. Secured, Joseph slumped back onto his mother.
'I don't want to go to Mexico,' he said sulkily. 'I want to go home . . .'
Josh looked at Georgie, whose
face was sad. Josh felt a pang of guilt over dragging them both into this. He needn't have done it. He'd been selfish. What he'd chosen to do he'd done because he thought he was protecting them, but now, in the early hours of a new day, he could see it was because he didn't want to lose them forever. 'I'm sorry,' he said, to Georgie as well as to Joseph. Joseph grumbled, so Georgie, breaking eye contact with Josh, soothed him quietly.
'It'll be okay,' she said. 'We'll have fun, right?'
Joseph nodded, still sleepy. 'Okay,' he said.
'Good boy.'
The cabin crew took their seats as the plane's nose dipped, banking right to enter the landing pattern. The thought of touching down gave Josh an unwelcome squirt of adrenaline, making him feel a little nauseous.
'Nearly there,' Lionel said. Josh looked over at him. Lionel was properly awake now and sat up, bags under his eyes and a wry smile on his face. 'We might actually do this.'
'I sure hope so,' Josh said.
The thump as tires hit tarmac came sooner than he'd expected, and before long they were gathering themselves up and leaving the plane.
'Have a nice day,' the flight attendant said as they stepped out the door.
'Thanks,' Josh said. 'You too.'
They hurried on through to the main concourse as fast as they dared, finding the gate for the plane that would take them through to El Paso.
'It's not on the board,' Lionel said. 'Too early yet.'
'Well, I'm starting to get hungry,' Josh said. 'Shall we get something to eat?' He didn't really feel like eating, but he knew from the welling nausea that he needed to.
'Sure,' Georgie said. 'What about you, Joseph? Are you hungry?'
Joseph, being held by Georgie, buried his head in her chest. 'No,' he said.
Georgie cuddled him tight. 'Well I am, so let's go get something.'
They settled for the least unappealing food emporium that was still open, a fast food place serving breakfast burgers and hash browns. They sat at their table, eating the greasy food in silence, tiredness weighing them all down like a wet blanket. Josh was still secretly grateful that Georgie was too tired for round two, although he was starting to wonder if she'd just accepted their fate and gone with it. The decision to bring her may have been a selfish one, but she had come willingly, and that pleased him. He hoped that he was still as important to her as she was to him.
New York Deep Page 6
