“Okay guys, in you go- watch your head, man…hey! Watch that thing! It costs forty thousand bucks!…no, Craig, I don’t have the goddamned schedule sheet…is everybody in? Sam! I told you the baggage are already on their way! Stop running around, will ya? Yeah, yeah- we’ll be fine- AJ, GET INSIDE THE DAMNED JET!” Mike roared, finally losing his temper.
“Eya!” AJ gave a little squeak and jumped into the comfortably furnished plane like a scalded cat, making everyone laugh.
“Sheesh,” he muttered, fixing up his sunglasses. “He scared the crap outta me.”
“You don’t see him like this often.” Kevin agreed. He was dressed comfortably for travelling, as did the others. The morning was what they usually called a hell on earth. They were literally dragged out of their warm, nice beds and hurled through all the preparation. Nick gave his head a hard shake. Some of the sleep still lingered, and he was just a touch little offended by the way he had been manhandled out of his room. By the look of it, they all felt the same way. Brian was brooding, his eyes half-closed. Howie’s face was a mask between a grimace and a scowl. He would have made a gargoyle proud of him. The only guys that looked okay were Kev and AJ. And himself…well, he still had that euphoric feeling from the day before. He looked around the interior of their jet distastefully. He couldn’t wait until they got out of there, and they haven’t even started their journey yet.
Wherever it was.
He sat up suddenly. “Wait a minute!”
“What?”
He whirled around. “Where the hell are we going?” he asked.
Brian opened one eye, the only reaction they got from him all morning. “Dunno.” He grunted.
Nick stared at him. “You mean…nobody actually said anything?”
“They didn’t tell us.” AJ shrugged. “Wherever it is, I don’t’ really care- as long as we come back.”
“Remind me never to ask you about insurance,” Kevin chuckled.
AJ grinned then said to Nick, “Where’s your pretty little bodyguard?”
His voice had that smug, irritating tone in it. “I don’t know, man. If you’re so interested, why don’t you go and look for her yourself?” Nick shot back.
“Nicky, Nicky, Nicky,” AJ admonished mockingly. “You went and lost her, didn’t you? Tut, tut- shame on you, Nicky. Shame.”
“Will you SHUT UP?” Brian yelled finally. “Hell, Boner, if you go on I’m going to chuck you off this plane!”
“After all I did to get him in here? Don’t be silly.” Mike grunted, heaving himself into the plane. “What’s the fuss?”
“They’re just playing,” Howie muttered. “Just playing.” He definitely didn’t sound good.
“Hey Mike?”
“Yeah?”
“Where are we going?”
Mike blinked, then sighed. “You’ll see.” He said somewhat cryptically, then headed back out as they started bringing the personal luggage in. With those came the securities, among them Rachael.
“Morning, guys.”
“Hey, wakey wakey, sleepy head! You’re gonna miss the take off!” Remo said brightly.
“I don’t reckon I want to be awake, man.”
“Mornin’. Jet lag, anybody?” Carlos grinned.
Rachael, as usual, didn’t say anything. Nick sometimes wondered if she swallowed a rock every morning and got it down with endless cups of coffee. Then she would talk a few, then swallow another one…he chuckled soundlessly. The image he created was quite amusing. Although, he mused, it wouldn’t be bad if she said good morning to him every now and then…
Suddenly, he realised she was talking to him. He blinked and focused on her. “What?”
She turned back impatiently. “I said, did you sleep okay last night? No calls?”
OK, it wasn’t quite a “Good morning”, but he reckoned it was fairly close. He shrugged. “No. I told you, she doesn’t call regularly. It’s not like I’m gonna be ready when the phone rings.”
“Maybe you should be,” She murmured before turning to face the front again.
Finally, the chaos outside subsided a little and the last of their small passenger settled in. The pilots on the gangway nodded and closed the small jet’s door.
“Strap on, everybody,” Mike grunted as the plane started moving with a little jerk.
*************************
Brian must have dozed a little, because when he opened his eyes they were in the air. It was almost a habit now, falling asleep on planes. He’s had experiences, after all. Looking around, he saw Nick and Howie napping, Kevin talking quietly to Marcus and AJ was on the phone. Beside him, Rachael was working away silently on the ever-present stack of papers she had with her. Sometimes it was the laptop, but usually it was those cream-colored folders that took up her days. Apart from the time she took away to do her job with Nick.
She really puzzled him. Surprisingly, he found that the fact that she was there to safeguard Nick didn’t bother him too much now. From his perspective, Nick was settling in as well. His curiosity probably overrode the initial wariness and humiliation. Better for him, Brian thought. The first few weeks had been dangerously uneasy for him, and for all of them.
He wondered if it would all be over soon.
