service and late-breaking stories came across its screen several times a
day. The political and financial data treading across the pager screen
did not interest him at the moment. He turned the matter of the
supposed page from his wife over in his mind for a few minutes more and
then he deleted the page message and put the audio earphones back on.
However, his mind was far away from the images drifting across the movie
screen.
Sidney darted through the crowded terminal at La Guardia, her two bags
clunking against her nylon-stockinged legs. She did not see the young
man until he almost collided with her.
“Sidney Archer?” He was in his twenties and dressed in a black suit and
tie, a chauffeur’s hat perched on top of brown curly hair. She stopped
and looked dully at him, fear thudding through her body as she waited
for him to deliver his terrible message. Then she noticed the placard
in his hand with her name on it and her entire body deflated in relief.
Her firm had sent a car to take her to the Manhattan office. She had
forgotten. She nodded slowly, her blood beginning to circulate again.
The young man took one of her bags and led her toward the exit.
“I got a description of you from your office. Like to do that in case
people don’t see the sign. Everybody moves fast around here,
preoccupied, y’know. You need a good backup system. Car’s right
outside.
You might want to button your coat up, though, it’s freezing out there.”
As they passed the check-in counter, Sidney hesitated. Long lines
streamed out from the busy airline counters as overwrought travelers
tried valiantly to keep one step ahead of the demands of a world that
seemed more and more to exceed human capacities. She quickly scanned
the terminal for anyone who looked like an idle airline employee. All
she saw were the skycaps calmly trucking luggage around amid the
hysteria of panicked travelers. It was chaotic, but it was the normal
chaos. That was good, wasn’t it?
The driver looked at her. “Everything okay, Ms. Archer? You not
feeling well?” She had grown even paler in the last few seconds. “I’ve
got some Tylenol in the limo. Perk you right up. Those planes make me
sick too. All that recirculated air. I tell you what, though, you get
some fresh air, you’ll be A-OK. That is if you can call the air in New
York City fresh.” He smiled.
His smile suddenly vanished as Sidney abruptly bolted away.
“Ms. Archer?” He sped after her.
Sidney caught up with the uniformed woman whose identifying badges and
insignias stamped her as an employee of American Air lines. Sidney took
a few seconds to get her question out. The young woman’s eyes grew
large.
“I haven’t heard anything like that.” The woman spoke in a low voice so
as not to alarm passersby. “Where did you hear that?” When Sidney
answered, the woman smiled. By that time, the driver had joined them.
“I just got out of a briefing, ma’am. If something like that happened
to one of our aircraft, we would’ve heard. Trust me.”
“But if it had just happened? I mean–” Sidney’s voice was rising.
“Ma’am, it’s all right, okay? Really. There’s nothing to be concerned
about. It’s by far the safest way to travel.” The woman took one of
Sidney’s hands in a firm grip, looked at the driver with a reassuring
smile and then turned and walked away.
Sidney stood there a few moments longer, staring after the woman. Then
she took a deep breath, looked around and shook her head in dismay. She
started to walk toward the exits again and looked across at the driver
as if noticing him for the first time.
“What’s your name?”
“Tom, Tom Richards. People call me Tommy.”
“Tommy, have you been at the airport long this morning?”
“Oh, ’bout a half hour. Like to get here early. Transportation
headaches are not what businessmen–um, people need, y’know.”
They reached the exit doors and the stiff, punishing wind hit Sidney
flush in the face. She staggered for a moment and Tommy grabbed one of