Chapter 18: Charter Flight

BEFORE I KNEW IT, I was on Simon’s private jet and we were airborne. Regulations or not, I opened the cell phone and called Riley. She was still at the office.

“I thought you’d be headed home with Simon,” Riley said immediately. “Why is the plane going south.”

“Let’s hope not,” I answered. “I’m not sure where I’m headed but Simon is in the cockpit.”

“You found him?”

“Angel led me right to him. I can’t arrest him and he was getting ready to take off. If I wanted to talk to him, I’d have to get on board. I got on board.”

“So you are calling from the plane, but you don’t know where you are going?” In spite of having given me the information I needed to find Simon, Riley was getting a little exasperated with this wild goose chase. I can’t blame her. I’d have been in the nuthouse if she had pulled this kind of stunt.

“I haven’t been able to ask yet,” I said. “Simon and Angel are both in the cockpit.”

“Puts a whole new meaning on that term,” Riley snorted. It felt good to laugh.

“Well, keep track of me, and if I call and say ‘where am I?’ just tell me, okay?”

“Okay, Dag. Get some sleep.”

“Hey, Riley,” I said before she hung up. “Go home. Battlestar Galactica is on tonight.”

“Thanks, Dag,” she said. “Love you too.” And then she disconnected.

Damn.

Shortly thereafter, Angel emerged and came to sit beside me. She brought a welcome bottle of sparkling water with her.

“Simon Says you don’t drink,” she said handing it to me. I wasn’t sure if that was just a statement or an instruction.

“I usually avoid it,” I said noncommittally.

“Simon Says you are the best there is.” Simon Says. What was Simon playing?

“Simon hasn’t seen me in a long time,” I answered. “I’m not sure I’m the best at what he wants.”

“Simon Says there is no one he trusts more than you.” Third time. I was going to have to break this cycle.

“So where are we going?” I asked.

“Simon Says, don’t ask,” she replied. This time I knew a command when I heard it. Simon was warming me up. “Get some sleep,” she continued.

“Does Simon Say?” I asked.

“No, you just look like you need it.” She smiled at me and went back to the cockpit. Whether Simon said or not, I decided to take her advice.

I don’t know how long we were in the air, or how long I napped. The seats in Simon’s plane made up into full beds, and somewhere along the line Angel had come back and made one up for me. I was so exhausted that I didn’t wake up again until Angel came in and shook me awake. There had been rough weather during the night, but frankly it just served to put me further under.

I sat up, strapped in, and called Riley. She answered on first ring.

“Where am I?” I asked immediately.

“Where have you been?” she responded. “It looked like you were headed into a hurricane off the Texas coast, then you skirted it out into the Caribbean, and ended up coming up the Eastern Seaboard. It looks like you are landing in Atlanta, but you’ve easily flown three times that distance. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Riley. I wasn’t flying the plane. I was sleeping.” I gathered my wits. “Does Simon have anything in Atlanta?” I couldn’t remember anything.

“Nothing I’ve found yet, but that’s not where you were headed. At first I thought it was Mexico. He could easily have swung further out into the Caribbean and gone to Jamaica, the Virgin Islands, even as far east as the Bahamas before he swung back north. How big is that plane?”

“Big. It’s a luxury jet. I haven’t even explored the whole thing. I’m surprised Simon could fly it without a crew. He must not have been planning to come back.”

“Just in case, Dag, do you have your passport?” Riley was making a joke but I gave her a little dig anyway.

“Yes, I’ve got two or three with me. You never can tell when I might need to get across a border undetected.” I chuckled.

“Very funny,” Riley said. She was sounding a little more relaxed than in our recent conversations. “Have you been taking your pills?”

“Like clockwork,” I said glancing at my watch. Damn. I was an hour late for this one. Well, I didn’t have any water, so it would have to wait till we were on the ground. I had another thought, though. “Riley, check around with some of your new friends from the condo and see if I should be expecting Angel’s boyfriend to show up. Can you do that?”

“Can I? Come on Dag. Of course I can. But I don’t know. Why should I?” The old teasing Riley was back. I grinned to myself.

“Well, let’s see. Assuming that having a job and a salary isn’t enough motivation, why would you do this? Surely not for the cause of social and criminal justice. Certainly not because you would do anything for poor old Dag if he asked. Maybe you’d do it for dinner at the Ninety-nine when I get back to town?”

“Consider it done,” she laughed. “The things a girl has to do to get a date these days. Geez! I better get started. See you soon.” She was about to disconnect but I caught her before she could.

“Riley,” I said. “Thank you.”

“Dag, you don’t have to thank me for just doing my job, no matter how much I tease,” she answered.

“Improving my mood and brightening my day wasn’t part of the job description,” I said. “That’s what I’m thanking you for.” There was a little pause. “Bye,” I said.

“Bye, Dag. Be careful.”

I had no more than hung up before I felt the wheels bounce on the ground. I relaxed until Simon had taxied to a hangar and the engines died. Then I stood up and stretched. Simon and Angel came out of the cockpit. He looked tired, but I assumed that was just the strain of having flown all night.

“Well, you look better than last night,” Simon said brightening. “It would have complicated things if you’d croaked on me before we could talk.”

“I like to keep your life simple, Simon,” I cracked. “So why are we in Atlanta instead of Cuba?” I asked directly. Simon was surprised, but grinned and turned to Angel.

“Didn’t I tell you he was the best?” he asked her. Then he turned back to me. “Let’s just say the weather there turned suddenly cold and leave it at that. Atlanta was the nearest airport I could get clearance to land at that I wanted to trust. Miami is way too complicated.”

“I see,” I said. “You know people here and they smooth the path for you, right?”

“In a manner of speaking,” Simon agreed. “Actually, this was the best place Angel could get us a reservation on such short notice.” He opened the hatch and let down the stairs. We disembarked, each carrying our light luggage. A limousine was stopped about fifty yards away with a uniformed driver approaching us to take our bags.

“It looks like you were expected, Simon,” I commented.

“It helps to have a travel agent in the family,” he answered giving Angel a squeeze around the waist. “She made all the arrangements while we were in the air.” We got into the spacious car. I had plenty of room, but Angel and Simon looked a little crowded where they were sitting practically in the same seat. I had to chuckle. Even in the car, Angel towered over Simon’s 5’7” frame. When they were standing, Simon faced her chest rather than her face.

Well, maybe that was the way they liked it.

“Did you bring it?” Simon was asking me. I pulled myself back into the moment.

“Bring what?”

“The laptop, of course.”

“Of course not. You can’t imagine that I’d bring a client’s property with me when I’m out in the field, can you?”

“Damn it, Dag. Everything we need is on that laptop. That’s why I had our mutual friend deliver it to you.” I noted that he didn’t call Brenda his wife. Perhaps that was just sparing Angel the insult.

“If I had brought the laptop, Bradley would have it now.” I related the story of my laptop being grabbed and how I was thrown in the river. I omitted my rescuer and resuscitation afterward. But I did sneeze into my handkerchief. I’d woken up this morning with a stuffy head and runny nose.

“Christ Almighty! Angel did you hear that? We’re lucky to have Dag with us at all. You’re tough as nails, old buddy. But that was brilliant, carrying a decoy. So how long will it take to get the laptop here? Do you have someone who can ship it reliably? Maybe hand-carry it. I know. We can get one of the girls to pick it up from your office and fly out here with it. Angel says you were up at the condo and all chummy with Cinnamon. It’ll be nice for you to have some company while we’re working, don’t you think?”

“Simon,” I said. “I’m not having the laptop delivered out here. Suppose you tell me what this is all about. You take off and leave clues for your wife to bring me a laptop. You ask me, after thirty years of staying away from you, to find you. I find you and discover you are playing a game to get me out here to join you for something, but you haven’t told me what. Your company is being investigated for money laundering, fraud, and possibly smuggling. This is the end. Unless you start getting into some details that explain your actions, I’m calling a friend at FinCEN who will be very interested in your activities and current whereabouts. That’s it, Simon. Give.”