Chapter 52

We were up early eating the buffet breakfast, the wheels left the ground at 0700 for the seven hour flight to Rabat, Morocco. We were refueling there for the flight across the Atlantic.

Time was spent with Andy, Axle, and Ellison Burr discussing things that needed to be done. We were discussed out after a couple hours. I turned the swivel seat, reclined and closed my eyes. Jet lag was starting to take effect on me.

At 1400 we were on the ground at the general aviation terminal getting fuel and having the waste tank pumped out. While that was going on the rest of us were in the shops in the general terminal. We could go there and buy small items without going through customs as long as we returned back to the plane.

I was just taking my bags from the cashier when my satellite phone started ringing.

“Hello, BJ where are you?” it was Lorrie.

“Morocco - refueling,” I replied, “Why do you ask?”

“Can you meet us in Copenhagen at the Kastrup Airport?” Lorrie asked.

“Sure. What’s up?” I asked.

“Gregory set it up so that we can look at the 737 BBJ tomorrow - the 2013 with the low hours. The 2016 that ran off the runway has been returned to service from Boeing’s repair facility; both are there,” Lorrie said.

“Have you left Morton yet?” I asked.

“Yes we have, flight track says we are two thousand miles from London,” Lorrie said.

“Who is the ‘we’?” I asked.

“Jenny, Ching Lee, JJ, RJ, Sara, Takeo, two more pilots in case we bought it, Jeanna, Lisa and me.”

“I hope you remembered to bring all the passports, even for Takeo and Sara,” I said.

“Yes I have them all,” Lorrie responded.

“How about motel rooms?” I asked.

“No, not yet,” Lorrie replied.

“I will get Marcy to call as soon as we get on the plane. We should get there an hour or more before you. I will let you know. How are you making out with JJ and RJ since this is their first flight?” I asked.

“They have been good, looking at everything, plus they have a mouth full of gum to help with their ears. They have been looking through the door into the cockpit watching the pilots and all the gauges. So far so good,” Lorrie said.

In the plane I told the pilots of the destination change. I did not how long it would take get the flight plans changed. Then I put Marcy on the trail of finding ten rooms on the same floor close together.

“Jeanna is with them,” I said to Marcy.

“Oh my, she is not fond of flying over the ocean. She must have really been bored at home,” Marcy replied.

While Vicky and Marcy were sorting out the motel rooms, I called the US embassy on MTAC to see if they had any trusted travel connections to get us to the motel.

Copenhagen embassy security was not supplied by JBG. It was considered one of the top embassy assignments in what was known as the playground of Europe, along with others that were considered prime assignments. Those were reserved for the President’s most favored donor or political confidants getting the Ambassador positions.

The same was true for the security jobs. They were reserved for special connected people in the services and enforcement agencies. I had never talked with the Copenhagen embassy before - I had not needed to.

When Marcy was done we had ten rooms at the Marriott on the same floor, all with two beds.

Less than a half hour later I was paged to connect to MTAC.

When it went live I was looking the President, Troy and Dick James, “What are you doing in Copenhagen? That is a long way from South Africa. I just got a call from Ambassador Hammond that you were inbound. He wants to know if he should be concerned,” Dick said.

“I have been quiet for a couple days, time to piss off a few more people, maybe kill another one or two. I was a little rusty the other day - damn near got me hurt, I need more practice,” I said as I watched the expressions change.

“You can breathe easy. This is simply a business trip a follow up on the Paris air show,” I then said.

“The air show was business and look what happened there - that is what worries us,” Troy said.

“I don’t expect any villains that need killing to be in Copenhagen,” I replied.

“Well let’s hope you are right and none find you that do,” the President said.

Three hours later we were on final approach when we heard N896D contact air traffic control for vectoring, they were one hundred and fifty miles out. We would still be in customs when they landed. A shuttle carried us from the general aviation terminal to the main terminal to go through customs.

When we landed Marcy called the Marriott to send their shuttle vans. The two vans would have two trips to get everyone to the motel. Customs was slow, very slow. I soon figured out that it was by design.

When we finished two officials from the Danish government were waiting at the end of aisle.

“Ambassador Jones, I’m Allyn Jensen - assistant minister of foreign affairs - and this is Finnbar Hansen from the Danish Defense Intelligence Service. May we have a word with you? In private,” Allyn said.

“Normally when someone of your stature and position in government visits our country we get several days notice to either deny the visit - or to prepare an appropriate reception,” Allyn said.

“I am not here in an official capacity so no reception is called for. My travel plans were changed mid-flight to meet my family here for business purposes. I plan on leaving after the business transactions are completed,” I said.

About that time RJ and JJ came running though an aisle and wrapped their arms around my legs. I squatted to give then hugs and kisses.

“I missed you two so much,” I said to them.

“We will pass that on to our superiors. Enjoy your stay,” Allyn said as they turned and left.

I wondered if the EU had put a flag on my travel since France. If they did, there was little I could do about it. As soon as my hands were free I would text the EIT desk to research that thought.

We had a late dinner with the complete family with the addition of Jeanna and Lisa. JJ an RJ never stopped talking. They filled us in on everything they had done in the last couple of days, mixed in with questions of why.

Jenny and I with JJ and RJ took one room, Vicky with Sara took another and Ching Lee and Marcy with Takeo took another. Jeanna and Lisa were in another. The rest of the pilots and crew were in the last six rooms. They had to pick their own snoring partner.

Jenny, the boys and I were awake early at 0600 and decided to go to the gym before we met the others for breakfast in the hotel restaurant.

When we went through the lobby to the gym, I noticed two men in suits who looked out of place. If we had been in Washington they would have stood out as cops. I was willing to bet these were cops here as well.

We worked out in the gym until 0800 and then headed back to the room to change and meet everyone else for breakfast.

The same two men were still sitting but had changed seating so they could watch the doors to the gym. They were still seated watching the elevator doors close behind us.

We had finished breakfast and were drinking the awful stuff they called coffee when Gregory Simms and another man came into the restaurant. The other man was introduced as Howard Freeland from Boeing Commercial Financial Services.

After introductions the courtesy vans carried us out to the planes. There were at least six people waiting by the plane, all of them with a Boeing corporate jacket and pin. This was a hard sell. I wondered what the Boeing interest was in a plane they had already sold three years ago to an obviously very wealthy individual.

The first one was the 2016 model. Jack started going through logbooks and various documentation. The pilots began looking over the exterior of the planes.

“I want to know if anything is amiss, I want to know about it even if it was a dab of grease or an application of silicone in excess or in the wrong spot. Make this the most thorough walk around inspection you have ever done,” I told them before I followed the girls and salesman into the plane.

We were given little disposal booties at the base of the stairs to keep the floor clean.

The plane was immaculate. It was divided into sections with earth tone interiors and darker carpets. The first section was laid out as an elegant office with an office sized walnut table surrounded by swivel seats that made the expensive executive chair I had at Section Twelve sit like something from cheapest line that Walmart sold.