You're Clear

by JL LeGerrette

  “Wait,” Jahnni said in a very loud, demanding whisper. “I’m sorry. But rules are rules and sometimes you have to figure out a way to follow procedures the best way possible.”

  They all looked at her, and turned to look at each other. “Huh?” they said in unison.

  “I need to do a security search on your bags,” she said with authority. “I’m sorry, but this one,” pointing at Mr. T’s bag, “came down after being in someone else’s possession and had not cleared security at all. And this one,” she added as she pointed to the one Beau was holding, “A passenger accessed after the bag cleared CTX screening and a hand search after it was in a secured area.”

  “Wait, what, huh? How do you know if my bag was actually hand searched?” Beau asked confused.

  “Oh, I meant, uh, possibly searched,” Jahnni said, covering the fact that she did go down and talk to the screeners about Beau’s bag. But her reasons were blended. It was a cross between security and romantic intrigue but there was no time to explain that. Like ever.

  “We don’t have time for this Jahn. We are not waiting to have these bags searched. You need to let go of this need to follow every rule that pops up,” Beau began lecturing. He looked at her face as he finished telling her what was going to happen... and not happen.

  Jahnni bit the side of her bottom lip, torn between knowing he was right and worrying that she would be in more trouble for what would normally be an incident that would get her immediately fired. She looked around, rubbed her lips together and tried to explain. Her eyes darted back and forth from one bag to the other as she tried to just let it go. She started to say something, then closed her lips again.

  Jahnni hurriedly grabbed Mr. T’s bag, mumbling about security, bad guys, directives... “I, I, can’t lose this job. They are going to shoot me, they think I’m the terrorist, I need to make sure, be sure, tell them, let them see...” Then starting with Mr. T’s bag, she blurted out, asking if there were any sharp items, open razors, or needles in the bags. No one answered, just stared at her. She kept her head down, and continued to check the bag as if her life depended on it. Her moves seemed exaggerated and purposeful.

  She ran her hands around the outer edges, bottom, explored the handles, and then ran her hands around the inside edges as well as the entire inside bottom, and inside top. She squeezed all the crumpled and folded items and unraveled them if they felt ‘odd.’ Flipping the clothes over and then pulling out the shaving kit, she checked every item for secret compartments, even attempting to quickly unscrew the bottom of cans, if it were possible, and checking liquid contents. Any electric razors were thoroughly examined for false bottoms and any other items that appeared alterable were focused on as well.

  She began sniffling, keeping her head down but mumbling to Mr. T, “Why do you have these big hard envelopes of papers hidden in the top inside lining of your bag, Mr. T?”

  “I just have important things that I do not want to lose, Janie. I keep them there for many years. Like a safe,” Mr. T answered. “I think it was good that Mr. Perry Prattle no find them. My personal things. Some of my brother’s things. Stuff I keep forever.”

  She went to grab Beau’s bag as she continued her narrative about getting out of there, stopping Perry before he lies about her to more people, losing her job, people not trusting her ever again... when Beau grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her around to face him. Tears were flowing down her cheeks and he looked down at her shaking hands. He grabbed them both, and pulled her close to him first, then enveloped her in a hug saying, “Shhh... shhh... shhh... It’s okay Jahnni. You’re going to be fine. I promise I will make sure that no one thinks those things. I’ll vouch for you. You don’t have to do this. It’s okay. Shhh... It’s okay. Please, trust me.”

  Jahnni muffled her cries into Beaus chest as she tried to calm down. After a couple minutes she finally said, “I, um, still should tag Mr. T’s bag for his flight so he can leave it here, and not drag it around though. That’s okay, right?”

  She pulled away from Beau and glanced around at the others, embarrassed for her lack of self-control at a time when they all needed her. She looked at Samantha.

  “Jahnni, Beau’s right. You’ll be fine. He’s got this, because he’s right,” Sam said as she reached to touch Jahnni’s arm.

  “Ok, ok,” Jahnni said, wiping her cheeks one more time before adding one more teensy thing she needed to do. “I’ll just put a quick tag on this and put it in the bagwell office. It’ll be secure in the locked office here. I mean, it sounds like we need to keep this bag safe for Mr. T but it’s too bulky to drag around. And yours is already tagged, so I’ll just... you know... leave it where it was. Okay?”

  “Sure. But we need to go, Jahn,” Beau said in a tone that came out gentle, but definitely wasn’t a request. Jahnni understood and began moving again in her brisk flow.

  “I’m on it, see?” Jahnni said as she hurried her movements. “By the way... what is so important about your bag? I get that Mr. T is worried about his private paper stash, but all yours had was basic travel items.”

  “How do you know what’s in…oh never mind,” Beau responded, shaking his head like he was confused. “The eternal question. Why does a big guy like me travel with such a... an... uncomely, old fashioned bag? Well, it belonged to someone close to me a long time ago. It’s just a way to remember her.”

  Hmmm... that’s odd he would have the same bag as Mr. T. Maybe it was a fashionable bag many years ago, and lots of people had them. Not me. Once I say, ‘I do,’ I’m not using that bag, she promised herself.

  Mr. T had a worried look on his face. “I can take a little extra medication out and carry with me, right?” he inquired. “But I would like to keep this rock, number two, with me instead of packing it.”

  Jahnni had already turned the thing all over and searched for any way that it could have harbored something internally. Plus, the look on Beau’s face said, hurry... and yes, he can take it. It apparently had something to do with their predicament so she shook her head yes. It was the size of a small grapefruit, but it shouldn’t pose too much trouble carting around with them. Besides, she thought to herself, if it gets too much for him, we’ll just pass it off to our group muscleman.

  She accessed the office and put a special expedite tag on the bag. Beau, Mr. T, and Crutch were fortuitously booked on the same flight to SFO. She didn’t need to see their reservation to know what flight and city pairs to insert on the tag as she had Beau’s itinerary memorized... accidentally of course... after checking him in. She locked the office door and then turned to the group, nodding to Mr. T that he was up. It was his turn to show them that cool shortcut.

  No one questioned anything at this point, and simply followed Mr. T. They maneuvered their way past several other bagwells, always peeking around corners before walking on. He led them behind a section of rollered transfer belts, and then he motioned for them to enter a wide door that was marked “Hazard Zone-Authorized Personnel Only.” Jahnni hoped her badge was still live, and had the full access she gave herself right before she and Mr. T escaped Perry Prattle’s office. She lifted her badge to access the door, and she noted to herself that this was a maintenance door that only the Port maintenance workers ever had access to. She thought it was plumbing or electrical, but she never really had paid attention.

  The green light beamed at her. Mr. T smiled and swung his arms forward like he was directing traffic. Jahnni understood, opened the door, and motioned for them to get going. She gently pushed on everyone’s back to move them along as they passed by her, entering the room. They obeyed, although the frowns on their faces revealed their combined confusion as they looked up, down, and around the little maintenance room. Beau was the last to back into the room, after keeping watch while they scurried in. He checked the door, pushing and pulling on it roughly after he closed it then turned and winked at Pops. It was a very tight room with so many people huddled together.

  Mr. T wiggled his way to t
he back of the group and asked Beau to help him. “This whole electrical box must be... pulled out... forward,” Mr. T mentioned confidently, with one hand on his hip and the other hand wiggling a finger towards the big box.

  “Uhhh... are you nuts? We will all be electrocuted if I yank on this and pull live wires out of the wall,” Beau stammered.

  “No, there is panel... right here... and if I pull on this point... and you pull the box toward you... then it slide forward to you, but stay on own platform,” Mr. T explained. “They use this box to control electrical here in bagwell. They don’t know what else... it does.”

  Beau paused, then took a couple deep breaths and readied his arms to pull out the large panel. He felt around the sides until he found some indentations just large enough along the sides to slip his fingertips into. Pops slid his hands down the side of another panel and pushed down on a hidden lever. He nodded to Beau to begin pulling and slowly, the electrical box slid towards him. It kept coming, and coming until it was sticking out of the wall about twelve inches. It was seated on a platform like a shelf that obviously could be pushed back, as easy as it came out. The entire back appeared to be coated in some type of water resistant foam or rubber material that completely encased the back of the box, but this was not visible to anyone from the front if they had to work on it. Still, Jahnni didn’t yet understand what they were doing.

  “Stand back a bit please,” Mr. T ordered as he patted the wall nearest him. “This wall going to move. Here comes cool shortcut!”

  They all shuffled... slowly... and looked at each other for some type of explanation. Even Beau didn’t seem to know what Pops was doing. It was silent in the little room as Mr. T then walked over to the electrical box and pushed on the right side of the unit until it pivoted to the left out of the way of his reach. All the wiring that fed into the back of the rubber casing was wrapped in a type of insulated tubing that ran upwards out of the way. Above the top of the box, inside the wall, was a rubber coated handle hanging downward. He pulled it towards him and stepped back immediately. The concrete wall to the right of where everyone was standing began to slowly move back. It inched its way further and further away from them until it had created a large opening. Mr. T’s eyes sparkled and his mouth gave way to a large smile that tried to breach the limits of his cheeks. He looked like a kid who found his long-lost toy.

  “What in the world is THIS?” Jahnni asked. “How did you know this was here?”

  Mr. T didn’t speak right away. He just smiled, beaming with a look of pride then said, “I tell you that I know shortcut. And here is shortcut.”

  “I certainly realize that this is something... but a shortcut to where? And you didn’t answer me. How did you know this was here?” Jahnni panted out like she couldn’t get the words out fast enough.

  “Because...” He breathed in like he was filling his lungs before answering, then held his head high when he proclaimed, “I design this. I design all this.” Mr. T arced his arms as if he meant to include the universe. For the first time, Jahnni was beginning to see there was something to know about why Perry Prattle kept demanding to know information from Mr. T. Mr. Prattle must know that he used to work here when this was designed? Or built? Or?

  “You were what, a construction worker for the airport relocation in the 70’s?” Jahnni asked.

  “No, I was lead engineer. I have much to show you. Much to show you all. I get us safe,” Mr. T said, nodding up and down. He pointed to the opening and motioned for everyone to follow him.

  Chapter 19

  Cool Shortcut

  “Allow me,” Mr. T said with a bow, his hand folded at his waist. “I must be sure it is safe time to enter system.”

  Beau had already motioned his arm forward when Mr. T first indicated he was going first, so who am I to argue? Jahnni thought. Mr. T sure seems to be able to handle his own and more than once had the wits about him to think and perform his way in and out of situations that I’m grateful for. So, she waved her arm toward the opening and calmly said with a fake smile on her face, “Absolutely Mr. T. Just let us know what to do.” A little trepidation had begun to creep up her back. There better not be any spiders. I hate spiders.

  “Let me go first, Pops. I can ascertain the safety of the environment down there.” Beau insisted as he looked down into what Jahnni could only describe as an abyss.

  “No, my boy. I am the one who needs to check couple things. I can tell if it is safe. I climb all my life. I never forget. What do you call it? Like riding bike,” Mr. T said with pride in his voice.

  “He’ll be fine Beau. I trust him,” Jahnni blurted out a little louder than a whisper. She waited for Beau to look at her then added, “Like I trust you. With my life. We are a good team.” Of course, her head was talking about the current situation but her heart was thinking of so much more.

  “I’m good with it too,” Sam threw in.

  Mr. T grabbed the handrail for the stairs with his left hand. With great agility, he slipped his right foot onto the first metal stair. That appeared to surprise the new fast friends because they opened their eyes wide and smiled at each other before turning back to watch him further. He looked down, then to the left. After glancing to the right, he let his right foot slide over to the edge of the first stair as he pulled his left foot onto the railing. Then he let his right hand grab the other side of the handrail in an old but familiar movement. His joy was evident in his smile. He raised his eyes to Beau, made jumping motions on the stair rails and announced, “See! Good as new. No problem.” He nodded his head to the group to follow.

  Their preassigned order was now out of synch. Generally, Mr. T was next to last. They didn’t know who should go next as they shuffled forward, then back, bumping into each other. Beau stepped forward, and poked his head into the opening. He didn’t act like he saw any type of imminent threat so Jahnni decided that the words harmless so far, came to mind. After all, she was sure that Pops wouldn’t take ladies or a child into a dangerous situation on purpose, would he? Beau motioned for Jahnni to go next, then moved Crutch into the next position. He pointed for Samantha to head down the stairs after Crutch. He would obviously be last.

  Jahnni looked back up that ladder after she climbed down. She watched Beau reach out and climb onto the stairs, the last person to leave the maintenance room. After he accessed the top of the stairs, he reached back and grabbed onto the panel and pulled it towards him, causing the edges to become flush with the inside wall. He stared at a lever next to the panel for a few seconds, then pushed it up. Jahnni could faintly hear a dragging sound that she attributed to the concrete wall in the maintenance room, sliding back into place.

  Once gathered together on the floor, Beau asked Pops, “What is this round room? And why do I feel like a bug in the pipe under the kitchen sink, waiting to be flushed away when the water is turned on?”

  Crutch was turning circles, with an awestruck look on his face. “Hey, why is that copper ridge coiled like a fat hose along the length of this cartoon size pipe we are in?” Pausing to look around, he added, “I saw a movie once where all the people were very small and they had to make everything on the movie set ginormous so it made the actors look like they were really small. This is SO COOL.”

  Jahnni tipped her head as she studied Crutch. “You don’t seem very rattled by everything that’s been happening kiddo. Are you sure you are okay?”

  “Well, not too much rattles me. I always just go with the flow. Watch everyone else. Figure things out as I go along. I’m not a planner so this is more like an... adventure. We’ll be fine. You guys will get us out of here,” Crutch answered. “My parents play a new game where they try not to ask me yes or no questions because they want more than a two or three letter word answer. They say I’m too quiet most of the time.”

  “I’m a little worried, if anyone wants to know. Where are we going?” Samantha asked in a quivering squeak. “But more importantly, where are we?”

  “This is a pipe. A bi
g, big, pipe! First, I already check before we climb down. This part is dry and still sealed off from water system that goes to pretty fountain and the other pipe that gives water for nice roses,” Mr. T said. Then after he looked around, he added, “Second, the curling copper slat is part of old water processing plant. Help with centrifugal movement of water. Just watch step Mr. Crutch or you trip. I can still take you to more exit. Not sealed from...” Mr. T stopped to stand tall, looked at each of them and said, “me.”

  “Do we move this way Pops?” Beau asked, more like a suggestion as he started walking forward. He already saw the end of the pipe near where they were and Jahnni watched him as he had canvassed every inch with his eyes. Jahnni looked around as well and didn’t see a place that appeared to harbor what could be an exit. Not even a hidden one.

  “Yes. We go that way with Beau,” Mr. T confirmed, pointing forward.

  Beau walked towards the curve of the pipe. He was now in the lead yet he continued to look back at them. Jahnni kept walking forward, keeping everyone together, and she herself kept glancing forward to watch Beau, feeling her heart melt every time she looked at him. The feeling got worse if he was looking at her when she glanced at him. What is he thinking? Does he think he can get us safe once Mr. T shows us the way out? It shouldn’t be too long I suppose. I wonder if he is going to get my number. Maybe I should get his, even though it is in his reservation. It will be better if he gives it to me so I don’t look like a stalker... which I’m not... I don’t think. That way he’ll know I’m interested. Then I’ll call him in a couple days to see how he’s doing. Maybe he will call me back next time he is in town. When he comes over, I’ll leave the Bridal magazine on the coffee table, then if the topic comes up...