Chapter 2

The next day I checked out of the hotel and had the concierge hail a cab for me. "Le Bourget airfield" I told the driver. As we drove out of the city, I scanned the calendar on my phone to make sure I had cleared all my appointments for the next five days. I had also canceled my non-refundable flight back into the states – I was annoyed at the loss of the airfare, but then I remembered where I was going. With me I had a single suitcase. I left my other luggage at the hotel and reserved a room for when I returned. Even though they, "the Club" advised that I travel without any ID, I kept my passport hidden in the liner of my suitcase. I don't care what they say, I wasn't taking any chances!

When we arrived at the airport, I had the cab drop me at the private charter terminal. Inside the building, I asked the lone security guard where I could find Tripp Airlines. He had no idea but pointed me toward the back. I wandered across the small room with my bag in tow, and out a set of glass doors onto the tarmac. There, not far from the terminal, was a sleek white 60 XR – very nice! The boarding stairs were down with a man and woman waiting at the bottom. As I moved toward the jet, the woman, and then the man started toward me. She was very attractive, wearing a short white business dress. The guy was dressed like some soft of security personnel.

"May I help you?" "Yes, I'm Mr. Hi ... Aldridge, Mr. Aldridge." Fuck, I almost blurted my real name. This was going to be tough. "Are you sure you are who you say?" "Yes ... all this ... secrecy stuff has me a bit flustered." Hopefully that would cover my slipup. "Do you have something for me?" I handed her the boarding ticket. "Passcode?" "Zenith" I replied. "Very well, you may board the aircraft. Please leave your bag. Its contents will be searched, for security reasons you understand." "Uh, ok." "Oh, and Mr. Aldridge, from this point on, please reframe from revealing your full name. Privacy is of the utmost importance and most guests prefer to use just the first letter of their first and last name – so you will be Mr. P.A. Is that acceptable?" "A, yeah, sure." I wonder what Aldridge's (my) first name is? P something.

I entered the private jet. Passenger capacity, nine. Aside from myself, there was a man and woman sitting side-by-side in the back seats. They were whispering quietly. I decided to sit toward the front – no sense in risking any more slipups during a casual conversation. Besides, I doubted they would want to 'chit chat' much. Five minutes later the blond woman, did I mention she was blond and gorgeous, boarded the plane, retracted the stairs, closed and latched the door, then turned toward the passengers, us. "Welcome. We'll be departing as soon as we receive tower clearance. Please buckle your belts." She then walked into the galley at the back.

Sitting in silence, I stared out the window, watching the airport activity. The engines began to wine louder and my ears felt the cabin pressurize. Then we were moving. Blondie returned from the back and handed what looked like black sleeping blinders to the man and woman, then moved to my side. "Sir, as you are new to our procedures, I will explain. You must be blindfolded for the first thirty minutes of flight. If you do not wish to comply, we can return to the terminal." She handed me the blindfold. "No problem, I understand." With that I placed the blinder over my eyes, pulling the elastic band over the back of my head. This was weird. "If you would like, we can provide an audio distraction, music." "No, I'm fine. But could I get a beer? Just kidding, I'd spill it anyway."

With my eyes closed, I tried to relax. The planes engines wined louder and softer as we accelerated and decelerated across the airport (I assumed). We sat still for a bit, then a new female voice came over the internal speakers; "Please prepare for departure." What, no weather forecast for our destination? A moment or two later, the plane accelerated with intention, and we lifted off.

As our altitude increased, I pushed my seat back, and listened to the engine drone. Soon my mind was wandering ... So, you could only get into this club if you're invited. Who invites you? Or, you have to 'donate' a female relative or close friend – jeeze, that's pretty extreme. Could I have done that? Who would I donate? I had a couple of friends with very attractive wives. There was also my niece – nah, she was too young. I wonder if the Club had a minimum age – they must. Then again, my niece didn't seem much younger than Jeanne, if at all. Holy fuck, how could I even consider this! My thoughts were interrupted by the woman in white. "Ladies and Gentlemen, please continue to don your blindfolds; we should pass the threshold in ten minutes."

And as promised, ten minutes later we were allowed to remove our masks. A quick look out the window indicated we were now over water. No land in site and no way to know which direction we were traveling. The flight continued for a few hours. The attendant chick served us drinks and a gourmet meal, but she refused all conversation. I considered moving back to talk with the only other passengers, but just then the captain's voice over the intercom informed us that we would begin our descent soon. Decent where – all I could see was water.

A short time later the drone of the engines changed and my ears began to clog. Still no sign of land. Then, off in the distance a speck came into view – an island. As the land mass grew in size the plane banked to the left for its approach. Dam, the island didn't look big enough to even have a runway. But as it turned out, it did, and we landed safely. After the plane came to a stop, the chick in white opened the doors and a warm breeze entered the plane. I had made it to the Club!

Out of the plane and down on the runway I looked around. Palms swayed in the breeze. The paved runway ended at a small hanger. A path led off from one side to a white building with a red roof. The other two passengers had already started down the path – I guess they knew what to do. So I followed. Inside the building was a waiting area with a reception desk. Behind the desk was no surprise, another attractive woman. I was beginning to see the benefits of the Club. The couple had already proceeded through another interior door. "Mr. P.A., please have a seat, the doctor will be with you shortly." "I'm sorry, doctor?" "Everything will be explained shortly, please make yourself comfortable. Can I get you a drink, water, juice, wine?" I was starting to get a bit nervous; maybe a drink wasn't such a bad idea. But I declined and sat.