“Hey Alexa,” said Donny as he jogged up to them.
Pearson shushed him and asked him to not use her name.
“Oh, okay,” replied Donny. “You’re right.” He glanced around and found they were relatively alone in the wide corridor. “A woman, yeah, looking a lot like you.” Donny nodded as he began to understand how to handle the situation. “Uh, the spitting image of you, is all over the news. The lady newscaster is saying The India Herald wants to give you everything you deserve.” During this time Pearson walked them all toward a ladies restroom, past one of those huge newscreens showing a picture of Alexa.
Inside a stall in the restroom, Alexa carefully unfolded the silk. Luckily, a friend once showed her how to put on a sari. Simple, the woman said. Hah.
She elected to not put on the short, cropped top because it was made for a woman with a bigger chest than hers. She would continue to wear her own blouse and stash the colorful top in her tote bag.
Alexa managed fairly easily to wrap the material around the lower half of her body once. Then anchored the topside of the length of silk in the waist of her trousers. Next the hard part: fold, fold, fold, fold the material in the front. Then stick this bulk into her trousers and pray it would remain in place.
Then wrap the end of the yardage once, and twice, round her torso, angling upward each time, and for good measure in this circumstance over her head. Exhausted and dressed to the eyeballs, Alexa began to wonder if she should even think of leaving the stall, much less traveling to Allahabad.
Rachel’s voice came over the top. “You anywhere in here?”
“Rach?”
“Yeah. It’s me.”
“Ahhhhh,” moaned Alexa.
“We’ve got to go, honey. Are you ready?”
“Go how,” she whined as she fumbled open the door. On the first step, the folds slid from her trousers and down underfoot, tripping her. She reached in and around two layers, grabbed and hiked up the front of the garment, then smashed the folds more securely down into the front of her pants, and jerked the end of the silk up and over her head, to the point of seeing about three feet in front.
Alexa didn’t want to even glimpse the smile Rachel was probably trying to hold in.
Chapter 37
The super-fast train from Agra to Jahnsi, the spaceport, wouldn’t show up for another thirty minutes, so they settled themselves in the empty waiting room. The road to Jahnsi was closed because a bridge had become damaged by a recent hard rain and flood. Therefore, train employees agreed to keep a limited schedule instead of joining the general strike.
When the sari slid off her head on their way to the waiting room, two more people approached Alexa about being the woman on the news. The second time Alexa had to resort to acting crazy to drive the person away. She’d noticed other people taking photos of her and her friends. Were they sending them to the news station? Who was this newscaster?
“I need more protection,” said Alexa, as she settled into a seat.
“Here,” said a male voice. “Wear this over your hair.”
Rachel looked up. “Zaire, you found us.”
“That’s me, Zaire Chevalier at your service. And in this case, really at your service. If Varshana Vagwhatar is after you this much, you are in trouble. She has been known to go to extremes for a story but this stunt is beyond anything she’s done before.”
Alexa considered the item Zaire dropped into her lap: a headscarf that could also hide much of the face. An extra benefit was that she could place it over her head and thus it would stay on.
“But you’re in luck,” he said, “I will help you elude Varshana.” He waited two beats. “If you give me an exclusive.”
Alexa did not hesitate regarding the scarf, laying it over her hair and adjusting the extra material to fall over her face.
“You’d better ditch what you’re wearing too,” Zaire said to Alexa. “All over the news is you in living color, trying to hide behind this sari.”
Alexa ducked behind a bank of chairs and began unwrapping the silk. She’d wear her regular clothes and the head covering. Luckily, she had on a long-sleeve shirt and long pants. She’d appear unusual, though not beyond reason.
Rachel asked, “How’d you find us?”
“Been tailing you best I could since Adalans. It hasn’t been easy.” He looked over at Alexa and caught her eye. “All those ‘toes of you and Newcastle on Earth’s space station let me know I was on the right track.”
Did she miss something? Alexa stopped from adjusting her clothes. “Toes?”
Zaire enunciated, “pho-To-graphs,” and continued. “I would have caught up with you all on the space station, but the pirate scare came up.”
“A scare? I thought they were about to attack,” said Rachel.
“Never happened.” He spread his hands and looked at the group. “Now, it’s easy to find you. Because of Vagwhatar.” He smiled at Rachel. “Miss me?”
Donny rushed up. “Hey guys, we are all over the news screens. Different pictures of each of us.” He realized he didn’t know the person before him. “Who’re you?”
“The knight in shining armor,” replied Zaire.
Both Donny and Pearson responded with, “Uhnn.”
Donny handed Rachel a headscarf similar to the one Alexa had on. “You gotta wear this.”
Rachel studied the cloth in her hands. “No.”
“I’ll take it,” said Alexa, “in case I need to change. And henceforth, I’m not with you all.” She turned on her heel and walked to the farthest end of the waiting room. Pearson watched her every step, and thenceforth pretty much ignored the conversation around him.
It turned out that Rachel wearing Alexa’s castoff sari did a pretty good imitation of an Indian princess. She asked for assistance in donning the sari from the washroom attendant, who was delighted to help. Rachel more than filled out the cropped top, and glided as a natural once they arranged every fold properly. Rachel must have found some eyeliner from her bag, which still contained her ever more battered copy of the Times, because her eyes were rimmed in the same manner as other women they’d passed during the day. Donny ditched the Nehru cap and thus managed to blend into the background.
In this manner, they boarded the train. Alexa searched through the cars until she located a family, and nodded shyly at the mother as she sat on the bench seat right behind them.
Pearson sat about four rows behind and across from Alexa and put on a look disallowing any soul to come near him. Rachel settled on a bench in the middle of the next car in front, with Donny beside her. When Zaire moved to sit on the other side of Rachel, Donny leaned forward. Alexa couldn’t know for certain what Donny said, though it was probably something like, “don’t even think about it,” because Zaire abruptly veered off to the seat across the aisle.
With luck, the one-hour ride to the Jhansi spaceport would pass without incident. Which was the case, until the train began to slow sooner than it should have.
A few people in her car were collecting their belongings. She glanced at Pearson, who sat on the side away from the station they were pulling into. His eyes were closed. Wonder if he sleeps. Perhaps she’d ask him, before they found SivSat and left him behind for their journey home.
Alexa could have continued meditating. First she looked out at the platform. Few lights shone in the station, or nearby. They might be in the middle of nowhere or near a small town, it was hard to tell. She yawned and felt an impulse to slide down on the seat enough to lean her head against the window to catch a nap.
But she flinched when her window coasted past three huge guys. They certainly seemed out of place, big and bad enough to make anybody in any place cater to their whims. No need to check in with her internal question. Her gut said to run, now.
After catching Pearson’s attention, she jerked her head toward the next car with Rachel and Donny. She smiled sweetly at the woman and her family who had been her protectors and slid past the youngest child standing in the
aisle.
Pearson followed into the space between the cars. She had to shout for him to hear above the train noise. “Three men are waiting for us, about to board the train.”
Without comment, he opened the door on the side opposite the platform, made certain Alexa could exit, then left to alert Rachel and Donny. The train had slowed, but it was still moving. Didn’t matter. Alexa jumped out and down about three feet onto a rocky slope. On impact, her clothes and the scarf protected her. She climbed up and sprinted through the dark over two deserted tracks, to hide behind a wagon.
By the time she glanced back, Pearson and Donny were on the ground jogging along with the train to assist Rachel who was encumbered by the sari. After Rachel was on the ground and running too, Zaire appeared in the doorway and jumped. Alexa sighed when she realized the journalist was not going to relent in his intention to tag along. At least he didn’t seem to be aiming for the crystal.
Once her group knew her location, Alexa turned and ran as far as possible from the train. Rachel ditched the silk, leaving her with the sari’s colorful cropped top and her pants, the same ones Alexa obtained for her during the first trip to the Adalans space station.
Outside the train yard and behind some shrubs, the group congregated as a few dogs barked. Breathing hard, everyone watched to see if they were followed. The train lurched, rolled forward and slowly picked up speed. After it passed from their line of vision, the platform was empty. Each person in the group then peered behind them through the blackness. Alexa didn’t want to be jumped by some goons out from nowhere.
Pearson spoke low, “We need to find someone with a vehicle.”
Alexa whispered, “They’re going to arrive there before us, you know.”
He nodded, took out his mobile, and soon was instructing someone to, “move the plane without delay.” After stipulating other details Pearson finished with, “be prepared to receive visitors. Keep them occupied until I contact you.” He disconnected and glanced around.
Donny leaned in toward Pearson. “There are some lights over there and a car is in front of the house. You know the languages. I’ll wait with the girls.”
Zaire said, “I know them too. And my face hasn’t been all over the news. This place may appear to be the middle of nowhere, but almost everyone has a news feed.”
It was apparent both Pearson and Donny would not be willing to include Zaire in their plans. Alexa weighed in before an argument began. “How about if Zaire goes and Donny is with him? Pearson, Rachel and I would need you if those guys do come around.”
“Speaking of those guys,” said Zaire. “What guys? Is that why you left the train?”
Again, Pearson and Donny truly wanted Zaire to disappear. Alexa decided to explain briefly. “I saw them. My gut said they were sent to stop us.”
Zaire shook his head in disbelief. “If so, Vagwhatar has gone way off her grey. You must be hot stuff.” His voice took on an earnest quality. “I’ll be nice to you, I promise, if you’ll give me your story instead of her.”
Alexa clarified, “Grey?”
Zaire made a face, like duh, and pointed to his head. “Brain.”
Alexa fixed him with a stare. “Do you want to be included?” She emphasized the last bit, “Or not?”
Zaire answered with a chipper, “Okay.” He looked at Donny. “You got my back?” Donny raised his eyebrows in disbelief. With great portent before he left, Zaire said to Rachel, “We will return for you.”
Rachel snorted, “Ah, all right. That’s good.”
* * *
Later in the rattletrap passing for a taxi, Alexa reviewed her decision to cut and run from the train. If the men were simply waiting for the next train, she had complicated their lives considerably. Alas, she might never know if her decision was correct or not.
When the car fell into another deep rut, Alexa’s head bounced up to the roof, again. Then she fell onto Pearson’s lap, again. At first, the contact had been overwhelmingly intimate and decidedly distracting. But it had happened so many times, she was pretty sure neither of them noticed anymore.
Two seats in the front of the vehicle and room for three in the back resulted in Alexa sitting half on Pearson’s lap and half on the middle console. Another bump, and the half of her backside on the console let it be known she would be bruised the next day.
The next day, however, she might be home. The thought kept her going.
Back in the village when the car slowly pulled up to their hiding place, with Zaire in the front passenger seat and Donny in the backseat, two boys ran along beside it. From the way the driver spoke to them, it was clear they were his sons. They’d tagged along to see their father off and to check out the men and now women wanting a ride this late at night. Rachel smiled at them both, then at their father and ruffled the hair on each of the boys’ heads. The two drew together and giggled a bit at such attention, while their father beamed.
Over the silk top, Rachel put on a long white shirt that Donny snagged for her. Before climbing into the backseat she argued with Donny when he insisted on sitting in the middle between her and Zaire. Alexa continued to wear the scarf, without the part covering much of her face.
They made progress through the night via a tortuous road winding around back lanes, in order to bypass the main thoroughfare that included a washed-out bridge. The vehicle would move forward a few yards and bounce through a Grand Canyon. It seemed to take decades, though in reality they arrived at the spaceport just thirty minutes later than if they’d stayed on the train.
Pearson pulled out his phone. From the conversation, it sounded like his men had accomplished everything he requested and more. He finished with, “Please have someone file a flight plan to Allahabad under my name for the aircraft. The Jahnsi Tower knows me.” Then he spoke in some dialect to the driver, who nodded and turned a corner. “I directed the driver to take this side road outside the airport perimeter, to a spot not easily noticed.”
Where they stopped, a man waited inside the fence. Pearson must have been generous when he paid because the driver almost dissolved in tears before speeding away.
“Welcome, Captain,” the man said, between snips of the fence. “The craft is about a hundred feet from here, under a tarpaulin. It’s fueled up and ready to go. We also completed a standard checklist on the plane.”
Pearson acknowledged this with, “Thank you, Lieutenant.”
Alexa pushed through the fence first, with Rachel and Donny following on her heels. Pearson caught up and walked with his officer on one side of him and Alexa on the other. She barely made out in the shadows two men near the plane, peeling back the cover from her grandfather’s Cessna. When the red and silver appeared, greyed-out because of the darkness, her heart ached. That last day in Florida seemed another lifetime.
“And, sir,” the lieutenant said to Pearson as they approached the activity, “the men you warned us about? When they attacked, it was brief fire. They’ve retreated to about fifty yards away from the freighter. We didn’t contact the tower, since you seemed to indicate you wanted privacy.”
Pearson nodded. “Please track them until we leave. My next contact may be at any time.”
Chapter 38
Outside the plane Alexa rotated the propeller a couple of times by hand, checked the tires, fuel cap and oil levels. She climbed in, scooted through the back seat and settled into the pilot seat, then turned on the engine to warm it up while verifying each gauge and control. Such a relief to hear the engine’s rumble.
Zaire sat in back of her, beside Rachel in the middle. Donny manned the door.
Pearson was finishing a conversation with his lieutenant outside the plane when a flash of light came from their left and glanced off the runway. Alexa tried to understand the burning smell. Then lights also began bursting from the right side.
Pearson wrenched open the door and Donny leaned over onto Rachel. As Pearson moved around to the co-pilot seat, Donny slammed the door and yelled, “Go!”
“Clear. Ready.” Alexa punched the engine and the plane jumped forward. Laser trails followed them further than she would have expected. While putting on her headset Alexa yelled, “Do we have permission from the tower to take off? What is the protocol?”
Pearson powered on a pad sitting on the dash, checked some numbers, and turned two knobs nestled one inside the other on the control panel. The tower was protesting the fact they didn’t first announce their taxi to the runway. He spoke into his headset, “Jahnsi Tower. November5337Victor is ready for departure.” Off microphone he said, “Go. Traffic is light at this time of night.” Then he spoke into the headset again. “Jahnsi Tower, someone is firing at us, in perimeter area A5. Repeat, weapon fire, in perimeter area A5.”
Alexa paused at the runway. “Do we have permission to take off? Was that another laser flash?”
Then she heard in her headset, “Is this Captain Pearson? What weapon fire?”
“Yes, Jahnsi Tower, this is Pearson. We do not know. They came out of nowhere. They are catching up with us.”
“November5337Victor, this is highly irregular. But you are cleared for takeoff, runway 325. Straight out departure approved. Officials are approaching perimeter area A5 to investigate weapon fire.”
Relieved, Alexa angled into position and took off. It was 11 p.m., and they had two and a half hours before SivSatyananda would leave. After a few moments in the air, Alexa asked, “Do we know the flight path to Allahabad?”
Pearson pulled up an aviation map on the pad. “My crew prepared it for you.” She looked it over and handed it back to him.
The roar of the engine began to have its effect on almost everyone. Zaire fell asleep in nothing flat; head back, snoring intermittently. Donny began fighting off his nods at about the same time. Rachel could hardly keep her eyes open. Before she gave in to the sleep, she asked, “Alexa, how tired are you?”
“Not sleepy. Pearson will talk to me to keep me awake, right?” He nodded his assent.
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