Avengers and Rogues by Charles Dougherty

Author:Charles Dougherty [Dougherty, Charles]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-01-20T05:00:00+00:00

21

I watched as the last few people from the Miami flight entered the arrivals area. There was no sign of Mary Beth. After a thirty-second lull in the stream of passengers, the flight crew came out, and then I knew for sure she wasn't on the flight.

"Psst. Don't turn around, Finn. Five minutes, in the bar closest to the restrooms."

She was behind me; I recognized her voice. I gave her a few seconds to get clear. Shrugging, I put a frown on my face and walked to the nearest bank of video monitors.

I waited as the display scrolled through the originating cities, watching for Miami flights. Taking out my cellphone, I pretended to check my voicemail, and then I shook my head. I glanced up at the clock above the video monitors and shrugged again, turning and walking toward the bar.

There were quite a few people sitting among piles of luggage. I found an open table and tossed my mesh bag of snorkel gear on it, marking it as occupied. Mary Beth wasn't there yet, so I went over to the bar and bought two beers.

When I turned back to the table, there was a grungy girl with stringy green hair sitting there with her back to me. Wearing a halter top and greasy jeans, she rummaged in a bulging cloth shopping bag on her lap.

Annoyed, I went to the table and put the beers down while I picked up my mesh bag and hooked it to my belt, ready to look for another table. The girl looked up from the bag in her lap. My eyes were drawn to the hardware dangling from her nose ring.

"Hey, sailor. What's the matter? Don't want to buy a girl a drink?"

Stunned, I did my best to hide my surprise. I dropped the mesh bag on the floor by the table. As I settled into my chair, she fiddled with the nose jewelry and unhooked most of it, leaving a simple gold ring there.

"Gets in the way of drinking from a glass," she said. "It's really good to see you. Sorry for the drama, but I wanted to make sure you weren't followed."

"Me, too. I'm surprised you recognized me with the hat and sunglasses."

"Well, it helped that you were the only one left in the greeting area after the people got off the flight."

"I didn't see you come through the gate," I said. "The hair would have caught my attention."

"No. I wasn't on that flight. I got here earlier. You like my hair?"

"I could get used to it, I guess. There's more to your appeal than your appearance."

"Aw, that's sweet. But don't bother."

"Don't bother?"

She laughed. "You look so disappointed. I only meant don't bother getting used to the hair. It's temporary."

"Good. A darker green would suit you better."

"Same old smart-ass. I've missed you."

"Really? I hear you've been busy."

She frowned. "Where'd you hear that?"

"Long story," I said. "How long do you think we should sit here?"

"You have somewhere to go?"

"No. Not right off. I don't think the boat's a good idea, though.

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