Spies Like Me

by Doug Solter

  The back door of the cockpit opened. The senior flight attendant looked relieved, but still anxious. “Could you please kill the engines so we can evacuate the aircraft?”

  “Damn, I forgot.” Olivia broke up the hug and found the necessary switches, flicking them off. Soon the engine noise died.

  The senior flight attendant paused. “That was a hell of a thing you just did. I’ll make sure everyone in the world knows your name. What is your name, by the way?”

  Olivia straightened. “Amelia.”

  “Well done, Amelia.” The woman left. The PA system came to life, ordering the passengers to evacuate the aircraft in an orderly manner using the emergency exits.

  Olivia started to worry again. Tell the world about her?

  “Bullocks, we need to sneak out of here quick.”

  “Why? You need a rest,” Miyuki said.

  “We’re spies, you knob. They can’t know who any of us are, and you heard the flight attendant, the media will want to interview me.”

  Nadia’s eyes went wide. “And the authorities too.”

  Olivia climbed out of the pilot seat. “We need to hide among the passengers and look for a way to slip out of the airport. It’ll be better if we go individually. Emma? You first.”

  “Wait. Where do I go? Shouldn’t we have a meeting place somewhere?”

  Olivia’s phone rang. She checked the number. It was Mrs. B.

  “Hello?”

  “A helicopter is en route to your location,” Mrs. B said over the phone, her voice all business. “Go to the north end of the airport and wait for extraction.”

  Olivia was impressed. The woman was always ahead of the game. “How did you know?”

  “The plight of Air Global flight 614 has been live on the news for the past two hours. When they mentioned the teen girl pilot—the conclusion was fairly obvious to draw, my dear. Now get your team to that helicopter before the French authorities get wise.”

  Olivia briefed the girls and led them out of the cockpit. The nearest cabin door was open, letting in sunshine as passengers jumped out and slid down the inflatable slide. The plane was half empty now. Most of the exits over the wings were popped open. The Gems avoided the line of passengers waiting for the slide.

  Olivia bent down to look out one of the windows. “Emergency vehicles are collecting people on this side so—” she pointed to the opposite side—“we go on that side.”

  “Here!” Miyuki found an unopened wing exit.

  Olivia helped Miyuki take the emergency wing door panel off and laid it on a chair. The girls followed Olivia out the window exit, each girl helping the other down on to the wing. The Gems slid down the extended wing flap and landed on the tarmac feet first.

  There was confusion all around them.

  Five hundred passengers were scattered in all directions as French rescuers struggled to herd them into one area. Firefighters pulled out their hoses and checked for any possible fires.

  The Gems broke into a run as they left their plane. They ran up one of the taxiways.

  “The north end should be down near…there. Where those hangars are,” Olivia said before sprinting across the runway that separated the girls from the hangars.

  The other three girls stopped.

  At the end of the runway, a passenger jet spooled up its engines as it prepared for takeoff.

  “Come on!” Olivia shouted. “Quickly!”

  Nadia ran for it.

  The engines screamed as the jet rolled forward.

  Miyuki tried to run, but Emma didn’t move. The girl shook her head.

  The jet closed in on them fast.

  Miyuki went behind Emma and pushed her forward. The two girls broke into a run.

  The jet’s nose lifted off the ground, exposing the belly and undercarriage heavy enough to crush a teenager’s bones. The Gems dropped to the ground as the aircraft swished past them, the wash from the jet’s engines acting like a mini tornado, tossing the girls’ hair and the grass around them in a most violent fashion.

  Soon they reached the north end and the hangars. A couple of private jets were parked in a row. Nadia got the girls’ attention and pointed over at the runway they’d just crossed. An airport police car raced towards them with its blue lights flashing. The Gems searched the sky. No sign of the helicopter.

  “What do we do now?” Emma asked.

  “Sit tight. It’ll be here in a minute,” Olivia said.

  “We might not have that minute,” Nadia replied.

  “Can you fly one of those?” Miyuki gestured toward the private jets on the tarmac.

  “It’s too late,” Olivia said. “Besides, I doubt they would let me take off.”

  The police car closed the distance. It was hopeless. The helicopter wasn’t coming.

  “All right,” Olivia said. “We’ll just have to shut up. Don’t say anything to the police. No matter—”

  A distant roar crept over her last sentence. Whatever it was…it was coming in fast.

  The girls turned just as a slick-looking helicopter flew into view. It was low off the ground and hauling butt. The pilot spotted them and whipped his craft around to slow down, then hovered ahead of them before landing. Whoever the pilot was, Olivia could tell he knew how to handle a chopper.

  The girls lowered their heads as they opened the helicopter doors and climbed inside. Olivia patted the pilot’s shoulder and gave him a thumbs-up. The pilot put the chopper back into the air and raced it just inches above the trees, leaving behind two French police officers wondering what just happened.

  Chapter 16

  As soon as their private jet landed in San Francisco at 4 a.m. local time, the four sleepy girls were whisked away to The Authority headquarters in Napa Valley where Mrs. B had each girl placed in a comfy recliner inside the dark relaxation area to sleep with the fishes. She also posted Aardvark to make sure the girls were not disturbed.

  Emma stirred around noon. The other girls were still sleeping, but Aardvark nodded to her as he sat patiently nearby. He showed Emma to a private bathroom where she could shower and change clothes. (The Authority had managed to “steal” their bags from their Air Global flight.) Once all the Gems were up, showered, and changed, Aardvark escorted them to the cafeteria, where Mrs. B brought in a special lunch just for them. A pizza from Tony’s Pizza Napoletana in San Francisco. The girls had woken up hungry and devoured it.

  After lunch, Aardvark escorted them inside the labyrinth with its dark blue walls, floors, and ceilings. They followed the glowing white-lettered signs leading them to the CAC Division. They entered a black room with a large black table. Aardvark nodded to the Gems and left them alone. The metal door closed and sucked in air as it sealed back into place. The Gems sat around the table and waited.

  Ten minutes later, the door seal popped as air escaped. The door opened automatically, revealing Mrs. B and four other members, who entered the black room. Mrs. B did not introduce them as they took seats around the table.

  Mrs. B remained standing as she leaned on her cane. “May I begin by saying…well done. This international organization was founded on the principles of protecting all human beings. We pride ourselves on doing whatever it takes to achieve those goals. Yesterday, Emerald here exhibited bravery in the most gallant way possible. Her efforts and those of her fellow team members resulted in the saving of over five hundred innocent lives.”

  Mrs. B moved to the other side of the room. “Officially, we do not give out medals. We do not give out prizes or certificates of achievement to hang on your wall. Our world is a secret one where there is no audience clap when the final curtain drops. However, we can tell you…well done, Emerald. You are a credit to our organization.”

  Mrs. B clapped and the rest of the room joined her. Olivia lowered her chin, a touch of humility on her face. Nadia hugged her. Miyuki gave a whoop and pumped her fist in the air. Emma even caught herself whooping too. Maybe she still had issues with this girl, but Olivia did save her life. She�
�d saved everyone’s life on that plane.

  As the clapping died down, Mrs. B spoke again. “The flagrant attempt on your lives concerns us. I’m afraid we’re dealing with a cunning and ruthless enemy. One we’ve dealt with in the past.”

  “Venomous?” Olivia asked.

  “That’s what we’ve come up with. It reeks of desperation, yet I think it signals you ladies were too close to something. Something important enough to kill Black Opal’s father, his engineers, and our agent.”

  “One of our agents died?” Nadia asked.

  “We didn’t tell you about that part of the operation. However—yes, we had an operative working at an AgEurope facility in Germany. He was killed in a forklift ‘accident’ yesterday. Strange this accident occurred just hours after your doomed flight left Paris. It’s no coincidence.”

  “I still don’t understand what this is all about,” Emma said. “What’s so important about food and seed storage facilities?”

  “Raymond Foods and its worldwide divisions produce seventy-two percent of the world’s food.” Mrs. B walked around the room. “If Ron Raymond is involved in some scheme with Venomous, then we are facing a real threat, indeed.”

  “What’s Venomous?” Emma asked. “Is that like a terrorist group?”

  “The brief explanation? Terrorists are motivated by ideology, while Venomous is motivated by money. Murder for hire, extortion, kidnapping, blackmail, their criminal organization is well financed. Their organization is so secret the world’s intelligence services have just as much trouble penetrating their network as we do. Basically, they’re a thorn in the side of the world. And we think it was one of their operatives who not only poisoned your pilots…but also sabotaged your father’s plane.”

  Emma sat up.

  “Observe the video screen.” Mrs. B clicked a remote and a giant HDTV lowered and flickered to life. “We acquired this video through the airport’s security cameras.”

  It was the interior of an air bridge docked to their airliner. A man dressed in an Air Global flight stewards uniform walked down the length of the bridge and turned slightly towards the camera as the image froze. The hi-def camera zoomed in on the man’s ID.

  “We processed his ID through the airport’s log-in records and found this same ID was used to access hangar seventeen located in the public aviation section.” Mrs. B glanced at Emma. “Hangar seventeen was where your father’s plane was stored right before the crash.”

  Emma’s blood went cold. She studied the high-def image of the man on the screen. He had a puff of facial hair on his chin and ratlike eyes. A sudden feeling of déjà-vu took over her.

  “That’s the man who ran off with my computer,” Nadia said.

  Emma knew she was right. That was the man she and Miyuki had chased through the streets of Paris.

  “May I add another wrinkle?” Mrs. B asked. “This man you see has been identified as Bertrand Petit. Three years ago, Mr. Petit moved from France to San Jose, California, to work for AirTech as a building environmental engineer. Then died in a plane crash.”

  “Wait, what?” Emma asked.

  “Bertrand Petit was a passenger on your father’s jet. The French authorities have him listed as dead.” Mrs. B glanced up at the screen. “Obviously Mr. Petit made a miraculous recovery.”

  “So if Bertrand works for Venomous,” Olivia said. “I’d say there’s a good chance Jacqueline Boyay does too.”

  “A strong possibility, but we still don’t know the entire picture.” Mrs. B leaned on her cane. “I’ve discussed this with the other controllers and we feel this operation deserves top priority. We need to find out the objective of this Venomous operation. Who’s involved. And how we can destroy it. All our resources in Europe will be looking for Bertrand. We think he’s the key to exposing this new operation.”

  “How can we help?” Emma asked.

  Mrs. B eased her way around the room, her cane supporting every step as the woman’s mind worked on the problem. She stopped. “We need to find out how deep Ron Raymond is involved in all this. We need you girls to get close to Mr. Raymond and his immediate family and see what they know. Mr. Raymond is either working with Venomous…or he’s clueless about what’s happening inside his own company. We need to know which.”

  Emma stared at the man on the screen. Bertrand Petit. A funny name for a murderer. She hoped she would have a chance to capture him. One round kick to his face would make her feel good.

  “Are you listening, Black Opal?” Mrs. B leaned on her cane, waiting for a reaction.

  Emma snapped out of her thoughts. “Sorry…could you repeat that?”

  Mrs. B flashed her a disapproving look. “I said…you’ll continue your role as your father’s crusader of justice, but with a small adjustment. I want you to get close to Mr. Raymond’s son, Ryan. His girlfriend broke up with him last month. Perhaps you could exploit that. Get Ryan to talk to you and he might give you better access to his father.”

  Emma bit her lip. Did Mrs. B want her to seduce a boy for information? How would she do that?

  ***

  Since the Gems wouldn’t be leaving until tomorrow morning, Mrs B suggested that Emma should spend the night at home with her grandmother. The idea of sleeping in her own bed sounded great to Emma.

  The moment Emma stepped inside the house, Snoopy waddled across the wood floor, his tail wagging like crazy. Emma received some licks to the face and she gave him a kiss in return. Grandma ran up to Emma and gave her a tight hug. Tighter than she had ever hugged her before. The two of them stayed up and watched a movie together on the couch. Some romantic comedy that was dumb enough to laugh at. Emma welcomed the stupidity and the escape from her recent reality. The two of them didn’t talk about The Authority, and Grandma didn’t ask what Emma had been doing for the past few days. That night, Emma slept in her room with Snoopy laid out near her feet. The dog’s back brace still prevented him from curling up. Still, he didn’t move from her side the whole night.

  In the morning, Grandma made breakfast again, as if it were just another normal day. Fresh strawberries. Scrambled egg whites. Turkey sausage. Whole-wheat rolls with goat cheese. She even made some fried potatoes with herbs from her garden. Grandma opened the French doors, and the crisp morning air filled the house with promise. They both slipped on sweaters and had breakfast in the garden once again. Emma broke off a piece of turkey sausage and dropped her hand below the table for Snoopy. The dog ate from her fingers and licked them with appreciation.

  “Laura called me yesterday. She said you’d only be staying for one night.” Grandma sipped her steaming herbal tea. “How will you make up all these missed school days?”

  “You could tell them I have the flu,” Emma said.

  Grandma fiddled with the end of one of her long white braids. “How many cases of flu can one girl have in a school year?”

  “Mrs. B…I mean Grandma Laura mentioned something about finding me a professional tutor. Someone who’d be more flexible with my schedule than a school. Like some of those child actors have in Hollywood.”

  Grandma straightened in her chair. “No. You’re going to a normal school with normal kids. Despite this insanity.”

  Emma stopped eating. “I don’t see how I can do that now.”

  “I’m still your legal guardian. You’re still sixteen. I could pull the plug on all this.”

  “Pull the plug? What do you mean?”

  “Order Laura to leave you alone or I’ll bring in the police or the FBI. You’re still a minor.”

  “You told me I had free will to choose my path, remember? Well, I’m choosing this life. It’s what I want.”

  Grandma shifted her pose, maybe regretting what she’d said.

  “I know who killed dad. It wasn’t an accident,” Emma said. “And I can’t walk away now. Not when he’s still out there free as a bird.”

  “If Laura can find the killer, let her take care of it.”

  “I want to do it. I want to kill him.” />
  Grandma’s mouth drifted open, shock on the old woman’s face. “Good God…don’t say things like that.”

  “Why not? I could do it. After what that man did to Dad and all those men who worked for him? Not to mention trying to kill me and five hundred innocent…” Emma stopped herself. She’d better not mention the almost air disaster. “I won’t give a monster like that any forgiveness.”

  A cloud of sadness overtook Grandma’s eyes. “Killing only turns you into a killer, one no higher or mightier than the one you kill.”

  “No, it doesn’t. The good guys right the wrongs of evil people. And this man and others like him are evil. I know you mean well, Grandma. And I would do anything for you. But I owe it to Dad to find him.”

  Grandma raised her voice. “Your father never wanted you to collect some gruesome debt that would turn his daughter into some weapon of death.” She was breathing hard, her emotions rising to a fevered pitch.

  Her words unnerved Emma. The raw emotion coming from a person she loved.

  “It’s too late. I’m all the way in this. By choice.” Emma collected her plate and orange juice and walked through the open French doors into the kitchen.

  Emma placed her items on the counter and leaned against it. Even from inside the house, she could hear Grandma sobbing in the garden.

  A tear traced Emma’s cheek. Maybe she was losing her soul to evil. But it was her life and she wanted control of it.

  Chapter 17

  Tonight, Raymond Foods planned to celebrate the completion of their new world headquarters with a giant gala in downtown Kansas City, Missouri—home of numerous regional federal government offices, good barbecue, and the people who made greeting cards. Raymond Foods was putting on a show for the world, and Ron Raymond himself would deliver the keynote speech. Securing an invitation proved easy since Emma was still heiress to the Rothchild fortune and the large corporation that went along with it. As Mrs. B had said before they left San Francisco…

  “Wealthy people love to show off to their equals.”