Chapter 15

Ann spent hours packing and unpacking her suitcase on Sunday. She was nervous about flying. She had only been on an airplane once in her life. Although she wasn't afraid of flying, she was happiest when they landed. She called Brenda in the afternoon and talked to her for a while. Brenda had to go to some college thing so the call was short.

Ann went to bed early and it took a long time for her to fall asleep.

Ann pulled into the parking lot of the Manassas Regional Airport a couple of minutes after four o'clock Monday morning. Just as she was getting her suitcase out the BMW a Ford Expedition pulled next to her with two men in it. John waved at her and nudged Paul to wake him up. Paul was still half asleep when they got their luggage out of their car.

John led the way to the charter company and checked to make sure that the plane was ready and that all of the documents had been submitted.

"You didn't forget your passport, I hope?" John said with a smile.

Ann patted her purse. Paul looked like he was going to fall asleep on his feet.

"Ms. Simmons, I'd suggest that you stay away from caffeine this morning," John said, "If I were you, I'd try to sleep most of the way to Stockholm. They're six hours ahead of us. The jet lag will hit you good if you're not used to it. The pilot said that he wants to take off at five. We'll top off the fuel in Gander Airport in Newfoundland. The plane has the range to fly to Stockholm but most pilots like to play it safe. We won't even get off the plane at Gander. We'll land at Arlanda Airport and take the train to Stockholm. It's about twenty minutes by train. We'll be staying at the Grand Hotel. It's five stars and it has everything that you'd expect from a five star hotel. I don't know if you've ever been in Sweden but many of the people speak English very well."

"Yeah," Paul said through half-closed eyes, "They speak better English than John. At least you can understand them."

A couple of minutes after five the airplane lifted off of the runway and was airborne. The plane climbed above the scattered clouds quickly and soon leveled off. John walked up to Ann and dropped a blanket on her lap and went to his seat and pulled his blanket around him. Ann pulled her blanket around her and looked out of the window at the ground far below. She doubted that she would be able to sleep on the plane. The drone of the jet engines soon had her eyes getting heavy and she was asleep ten minutes after they took off.

The planes wheels touching the runway at Gander woke her up for a few minutes but she fell asleep while the plane was being refueled. She didn't wake up when the plane took off.

Ann was awakened by John shaking her shoulder gently, "Ms. Simmons, we'll be landing at Arlanda Airport, in Stockholm, in about fifteen minutes. We'll have a walk to get to the train. If you need some help with your bag let Paul or myself know and we'll be glad to help you."

Ann went into the restroom and checked her hair, washed her face and fixed her makeup. She felt the plane bank to begin its approach. She hurried back to her seat just as the plane began its decent. She tensed as she saw the runway rising up to meet the airplane. The wheels screeched and the plane began to slow down and coast until it could be maneuvered to the business terminal. They had arrived in Sweden a little before seven o'clock in the evening.

John and Paul were standing before the plane came to a complete stop. Someone opened the door and the three of them walked down the steps. Ann followed John closely as he walked to the train for the ride to Stockholm. When they got to the central terminal John put his luggage down and Paul stood holding his bag, almost falling asleep on his feet.

"The train leaves every fifteen minutes," John said, "I'll get the tickets. You two wait here for me."

The train ride to Stockholm was uneventful and Ann could see very little of the countryside because of the dark. What she could see seemed to be very clean and the buildings looked to be old but well cared for. The train went underground when they got into Stockholm and they pulled into the central station.

"It's a short subway ride to the Grand Hotel Ms. Simmons," John laughed, "Are you up to it?"

He grabbed her suitcase before she answered and started toward the subway. Ann had to hurry to keep up with him. She looked back at Paul and he seemed to be walking in his sleep. John finally stopped at the subway platform and began to wait for the next train.

"How many times have you been in Stockholm?" Ann asked John.

"I was with MI5 here for a couple of years. It's a very nice place though a bit cold in the winter."

About fifteen minutes later John signaled that they had to get off of the subway train at the next stop. After they got off of the car they walked up the stairs and Ann saw that she was in a medieval city, just like the postcards that she had looked at when she was young. In front of her was a beautiful old building.

"That's the Grand Hotel where we'll be staying," John said, "They've got the best food in Europe I think."

Bob Long was waiting for them in the lobby. He walked to them and shook each one's hand and then walked with them to the desk to check in.

Bob's satellite phone started ringing and he answered it. He spoke to someone in German and then hung up.

"I'm going to have to call these people back," he said, "Why don't all of you get settled and meet me here in the lobby in about an hour and we'll get dinner and get our game plan ready for tomorrow.?'

Bob walked away without waiting for an answer and pulled out his satellite phone and dialed it. He was talking on the phone as he walked out of sight. Ann couldn't make out what language that he was speaking on the phone.

When she got to the room she was astounded at how luxurious the room was. This was the first five star hotel that she had ever stayed at. She smiled to herself and told herself that she could get used to this quite easily. She freshened up and changed into a dress. When she was satisfied that she was presentable she started down to the lobby.

Bob long was sitting on a couch when she reached the lobby. John and Paul were nowhere in sight. He patted the seat next to him on the couch and she walked over and sat next to him.

"How was the flight over?"

Ann chuckled, "I don't know. I couldn't sleep Sunday night so I slept most of the flight to Sweden. When we refueled in Gander I only woke up for a minute. John had to wake me up when we landed in Sweden."

"It's a shame that you landed after dark. You didn't get a chance to see what Sweden is like. I'll try to see if we can't take a day to see a little of Sweden."

"That's Ok," She said, "My, this hotel is beautiful. Do you always go first class like this?"

"My people go the extra mile whenever I ask them. I feel that I should go the extra mile for them whenever I can. I try to treat my people well. I rarely have anyone leave me to go work for someone else."

John and Paul walked into the lobby and looked around trying to find Bob Long. They saw him and walked toward Bob and Ann.