Chapter 100 third quarter

"Are you sure it's a good idea?" Esperanza asked. "No. But it makes more sense to me than anything else," Decker said.They were now in the wide but noisy and crowded Newark International Airport.Decker had just returned from the United Airlines counter.He walked over to Esperanza and Beth, who were waiting for him in an alcove next to the lavatory and the flight schedule monitor.He divided the votes among them. "I got a ticket for the 8:30 flight. We changed planes in Denver and arrived in Albuquerque at 12:48 this afternoon." "The seats are not together," said Beth.

"Two of them are together. One of them has to sit a little behind." "I'll sit there," Esperanza said, "and I'll watch to see if any passengers pay special attention to you." "I'm on crutches, and I'm afraid I'm bound to attract attention," said Beth. "The gash on my face has apparently been noticed by the lady at the United counter." Decker looked around to make sure no one was overhearing them. "But I don't think Renata can predict which airport we're going from. I'm not worried about her being in this area. Once we get to Santa Fe, that's when we should start worrying."

"Are you sure she'll be there for us?" asked Beth. "Does she have any other options? She's got to start somewhere, and Santa Fe is where she's sure to bet. She knows that if I'm not going back, I'll have to sell the house and move the accounts. She'd stand there and persuade the real estate agent or the bank manager to tell her where the money was going." Beth frowned at the passing passengers, as if afraid that Renata would suddenly burst from among them. "But that information is confidential. She can't just walk into a real estate company or a bank and tell someone to tell her your new address."

"I was just going down that line of thinking that maybe a broker or a bank manager would have a gun to his head when he came home from get off work," Decker said, "and Renata is an expert in terrorism. Not only does she hate me for killing her brother, but my $1 million galvanizes her. She would do anything to get revenge. If I were her, I'd be waiting in Santa Fe until I knew what to do From which direction to start the pursuit?" Esperanza looked at his watch. "Let's go to the door." They were uncomfortable having to leave the alcove and be exposed to the public.They pushed their way through the crowd, Beth on crutches, two men protecting her from each other, one on each side.It wasn't because she seemed unsteady when she walked.While she hasn't had much opportunity to practice walking with a cane, her natural athleticism has made it possible for her to walk more and more boldly.

Decker felt a surge of admiration for her.She seemed determined, indifferent to the pain, ready to do whatever was necessary. Decker asked himself, what about you?You've been through so much, are you ready? Ready for anything. But he didn't completely trust himself.Now that the immediate and practical details were taken into account, nothing could distract him from the emotional side.He couldn't adjust to the fact that Beth was right next to him.When he was not with her, he would have a feeling of incompleteness, and he would be in a state of turmoil.Even the short time that he walked away to buy a plane ticket was very uncomfortable for him.

Ready for anything?He asked himself again as he walked with Beth and Esperanza to the line at the security checkpoint.Not everything.I wasn't ready for Beth to be hurt again.I was not prepared to learn that she was still hiding her true feelings for me from me.I wasn't prepared to learn that I was a fool. At the security checkpoint, he slowed down to let Esperanza and Beth pass a minute before him, in case the guards staring at the X-ray monitor thought the ten thousand hundred-dollar bills in the bag he was carrying Dollar bills are suspicious.If he was asked to open the bag, he would have a hard time explaining to officials how he got the $1 million.Security officers immediately assumed the money was drug-related.He didn't want Beth or Esperanza to seem connected to him. X-ray monitors show non-metallic objects along with the outlines of metal objects, so to make the bills less obvious, Decker removed the rubber bands from bundles of bills and scattered the money in large bags In it, a dirty shirt, a notepad, a pen, a toiletry set, a deck of cards, a newspaper, and a paperback novel.With luck, the X-ray inspector will be satisfied that there are no weapons in the bag, and won't necessarily notice the visible clutter.

A woman in front of Decker puts her bag on the monitor's conveyor belt and walks past the metal detector with no problems.Decker's pulse quickened, and he took her place, placing the heavy bag on the conveyor belt. The X-ray examiner gave him a strange look.Ignoring the attention he was receiving, Decker put his dive watch and car keys into a basket.A woman in uniform who ran the metal detector took the basket away from him.Decker wasn't at all worried that the metal detectors would pick up a weapon on him—he and Esperanza had dismantled their pistol and thrown it in a sewer before heading to the airport.Still, he didn't want to risk any metal object on his body that would set the detectors beeping and draw attention to him, no matter how innocent it might be.

"What happened to your face?" the female security guard asked. "The car was in an accident." Decker walked past the metal detector. The machine remained silent. "It looks quite painful." The female security guard said. "It could be worse." Decker picked up his watch and car keys. "The drunk who ran a red light and hit me went into the morgue." "Lucky. Better be careful." "Trust me, I will." Decker walked toward the conveyor belt that rolled out of the X-ray monitor.But his chest tightened when he saw that the conveyor belt wasn't moving.The security guard in charge of the monitor stopped the conveyor belt and stared gravely at the blurry image of what was in Decker's carrying case.

Decker waited, like a tourist catching a flight, trying to be sensible about the security check despite the obvious impossibility of anything wrong with the carry-on bag. The security guard frowned and leaned closer to watch the monitor. Decker heard the pounding of his pulse behind his ear. The security guard shrugged and pushed a button, and the conveyor belt started spinning again.The carrying case comes out of the machine. "It makes me uncomfortable to look at your face," said the security guard. "I feel worse than I look." Decker picked up the $1 million and walked down the hall with the other passengers.

He stopped in front of a pay phone, asked the information desk clerk for the number of the airport, and pressed a few keys according to the number the man had given him. "Please meet the airport security check." pause.click. "Security checkpoint." A male voice said calmly. "Check out a Pontiac in your parking lot, this year, dark blue." Decker called out the license plate number. "Did you hear everything? Did you write it down?" "Yes, but—" "You'll find explosives in the trunk." "what?" "It's not attached to the detonator though. The car is safe, but you better be careful."

"who is it--" "It's not a threat to the airport. It's just that I found myself with a lot of C-4 explosives and couldn't think of a safer way to turn them in." "but--" "Have a good day." Decker hung up the phone.Before leaving the Pontiacs in the parking lot, he had wiped every part of them where they might have fingerprints with a soapy towel.Normally, he'd leave the car where street crooks would steal it quickly, but he didn't want them driving around with dynamite.He was on his way to Denver when the Pontiac and the C-4 explosives were found. He walked quickly to the door, where Beth and Esperanza were anxiously waiting for him. "It's taken you so long that I'm starting to worry," Beth said. Decker noticed her glance at his carrying case.Does she really care about the money?he does not know. "I'm starting to get a little nervous myself." "They're starting to board," Esperanza said. "My seat number has been called. I'd better go now." Decker nodded.He had spent so much time with Esperanza these past few days that it felt a little uncomfortable to be separated from him. "See you in Denver." "OK." Esperanza followed the other passengers down the aisle.Beth smiled affectionately at Decker. "We've never traveled together before. From now on, we're going to have completely different new experiences." "Just a little bit better than what's happened since Friday," Decker wanted to sound like a joke. "Anything is better." "Hopefully." But what if things were worse?Decker wondered. Beth looked at the check-in counter. "They're calling our seat numbers." "Come on. I'm sure you can put your crutches down and rest." Back to Santa Fe, am I doing it right?Decker mused.Am I absolutely sure?Is it possible to do this? Before the boarding gate, a United Airlines staff member took Beth's ticket. "Do you need help getting on the plane?" "My friends will help me." Beth gave Decker an affectionate look. "We can do it," Decker told the clerk, handing him his boarding pass.He followed Beth into the narrow aisle.He warned himself that it was not too late to change his plans. But he felt himself being pushed forward by the line of passengers.Two minutes later, they were in their seats in the middle of the plane.A flight attendant took Beth's cane and put it in the cloakroom.Decker and Beth buckle up.That $1 million rests at his feet. I can still change my mind, he thought.Maybe Beth is right, maybe the South of France is where we should be. But the words he and Beth had said in the motel kept ringing in his head.He had asked Beth if she would still be with him now that she knew she would put her own life in danger, that Renata would try to use her against him.When Beth and Decker are together in the future, she must always pay attention to whether there is danger behind her.Beth's answer was: "Without you, I have nothing to hope for." Decker thought, let me see if she's telling the truth.I want to fix this right now. The 737 left the terminal and taxied on the runway.Beth squeezed his hand. "I've been thinking about you," she said softly. Decker squeezed her fingers lightly. "I miss you too, you'll never know how much I miss you." "No." Beth said, "From what you have done in the past few days, I already know your feelings for me very clearly." When the 737 airliner took off, Beth snuggled up to Decker's side.