Blindly Faithful

Airport Hitchhiking

"Lei," called a soft male voice that caught me off guard. I whipped around, levelling the end of the staff at the man's throat. Warm brown eyes crinkled at the corners with a smile, and I lowered the staff. "What were you thinking about?" he asked curiously, and I sighed.

"Axel," I said as I gestured behind me. He nodded a bit as he stepped up on the matt with me. He understood what I was trying to do without having to explain it. It was something that we'd worked hard on, our connection. It wasn't perfect, but Jasper was, more often than not, able to at least understand me when I didn't explain myself.

"I think that you know more about him than you're willing to say," he said, his tone cautious, and I offered him a confused glance, "Both Kim and I have seen the way you watch him whenever he's around," I kept my face clear, neither giving anything away or purposely hiding anything, "You have to know quite a bit about him by now." I flattened my mouth at the comment, but he wasn't wrong. Still, we needed to leave as soon as possible if there was any hope of finding a trail. I tossed the staff at him, a bit harder than necessary, and walked away. I needed to pack, and I needed to think.

Packing was easy. A few pairs of pants, a pair of sweats, and a handful of shirts along with underwear and two additional pairs of shoes. Anything else we could purchase when we got there. Then I opened the hidden compartment. Many of my weapons had yet to be unpacked, but those that had been, I repacked along with a couple additional weapons. I wasn't sure what I would need, but some things are essential on any mission, even when I usually just improvised. Sleep was rough, though . I tossed and turned all night long before I finally decided there was no point. After a long, hot shower I was ready to leave the facility. No one else was up yet, but I could get a plane ready. While the Masters were not lacking in the financial department, they preferred not to use it on us unless absolutely necessary. We were given a cash amount to spend during our mission, but everything else was either taken from the facility or procured by ourselves. Basically, we had to find someone willing to either fly us or allow us to borrow their plane.

The airport was dead at this time in the morning. Flying was something that had gone out of style very quickly. With the constant threat of being shot out of the sky by the barbarians in the Eastern Hemisphere at the beginning of the World War, underground traveling technologies made huge advancements. If I were staying in the West, I wouldn't be here, but there was no subterra travel to the East. Only flight brought us to the Eastern half of the planet. Most of the airports were privately owned, but there were still a few that were public where pilots would offer flights to the public. Still, going into those lands would take some serious convincing.

I walked along the airfield evaluating the planes parked there, searching for the ones that could even make the flight. I identified a handful and sat back to watch them work on their plane. Pilots were fickle people, and many times, they wouldn't be the right type of person for us. Too many questions would make it difficult to get the flight. Too little questions could be just as dangerous. Flight was how most contraband was transported, and there would be checks routinely by the Federation's Army, but there were specific names on their lists. I also did not feel like rolling the dice on a pilot with some kind of addiction, which was becoming more and more common as their jobs became less and less profitable.

By the time Kim and Jasper got to the airfield, I had narrowed the process down to two planes. One was a small plane with a modified engine, single-man crew, and an older man who looked about as desperate as I was willing to chance. The other was a larger plane, larger crew, with a pilot that was younger, easily distracted by long legs judging by his crew. I sent Kim his way and Jasper to the other option as I waited for the fourth member of our group. Kim was unsuccessful. Apparently, her long legs weren't enough to warrant a trip into war country. Jasper negotiated a price for a trip for the four of us with the older man, and I sent Kim with my bag to load up and make sure the plane was mechanically sound while I continued to wait.

It was thirty minutes after the agreed time before I saw the blonde pull up. She'd, of course, rented a f*****g Hummer to bring her to the airfield, and I really had to work not to wring her neck when I saw the amount of luggage she had. She had three bulging suitcases, four, I repeat, four duffels, a backpack, and a purse. Then there was her attire. She wore a pair of jeans, those type that are like a second skin rather than the thick denim, boots, fleece-lined, but heeled and tall, and a sweater, a loosely knitted sweater cardigan over a crop-top tank. We were going to Zamer. Zamer, literally translated to "froze," in the dead of winter, and she looked like she was going to the f*****g coast, minus the boots.

She had the driver bring her luggage, or as much as he could carry, while she just strutted towards me with her large purse hanging at the bend of her arm. I couldn't even bring myself to speak with her. I merely pointed towards the plane and went to retrieve the rest of her luggage. I offered the man struggling with the luggage an apologetic smile, putting a bit of an awkwardness into my steps, roughening them out. "Miss," he said with a polite nod, and I crinkled my nose at that.

"Please," I said with a shake of my head, pitching my voice even lighter than it already was, "call me Elle," I said as I took one of the suitcases and a couple duffels. "I'd like to apologize for my friend," I said with a dirty look in the blonde's direction as she climbed into the plane with the help of the pilot, "She's not used to doing things herself."

He huffed a laugh at that, and I offered him a grin, "No kidding," he said as we walked to the plane, "Where are you off to?" he asked, curious, and I offered him a roll of my eyes.

"Miss Thing," I said dramatically, "wants to travel the world before she has to actually settle and work." He whistled at that, and I gave him a shake of my head, "I'm just a babysitter... and chauffeur." He gave me a sideways look, with a bit of a smile as we got to the plane. After we finished loading, chit-chatting a bit, I offered him a few hundreds to compensate him for his troubles.

"Keep it, Elle," he said with a smile, "I have a feeling your friend will end up needing it more than I do." I frowned at him, but he laughed and shook his head, "Just promise to give me a call when you get done with your world tour," he said with a wink as he handed me a card. I blushed as I took it, and lowered my eyes. He chuckled at that as he turned to leave. I watched him walk away, pull off in his vehicle, and allowed the façade to fade. I tucked the card into one of Bianca's duffels before climbing into the plane and shooting her a deadly glare.