Cobra’s fist never came down on him.
“Enough,” Bogdanov said, then left the lab, followed closely by his men.
…15
Alex waited on the tarmac, oblivious to the early dawn coloring the sky with a reddish palette of hues, and to the fresh morning breeze. Her eyes scouted the runway, waiting for the plane to appear, worried about her friend, Blake Bernard. The calm and composed Blake, who held his own impeccably while transacting billions of dollars without breaking a sweat, would never give anyone seventeen missed calls. Yet he’d done just that.
The familiar silhouette of his Phenom 300 taxied quickly and came to a stop right in front of the VIP terminal, where she waited. The door opened immediately, and Blake stepped down, rushing toward her. She met him halfway, registering briefly how disheveled he looked. Dark circles under his eyes, clothing and hair in disarray. His signature elegance was completely gone, replaced by the aspect of deep distress.
“Alex,” he said in a broken voice, swallowing bitter sobs, and hugging her tightly.
“Blake, my goodness, what happened?”
“Adeline, my wife, she was on flight XA233,” he said, his face still buried in her shoulder, sobbing.
Her eyes welled up instantly. Adeline… oh, no!
“Oh, my God, Blake, I am so sorry! Please accept my deepest—”
“No!” Blake snapped, pulling away from her. “No condolences, that’s not why I’m here.”
“Then what can I do?”
“I want you to find her,” he said, looking her straight in the eye. “You’re the only one who can.”
He couldn’t be serious. The entire world was looking for that plane; what could she do?
“Blake, I–I can’t, there are—”
“No!” Blake almost yelled. “You don’t understand. She isn’t dead. She can’t be! I’d feel it in here!” He pounded his chest above his heart with his closed, white-knuckled fist. “I’d know it!”
She took a step forward as to attempt to console him. He was crazy with pain over the loss of his wife, and he wasn’t thinking straight. She wished Steve were here; he’d know what to say and do to help Blake. She was going to have to do her best, and hope her best was good enough.
“Blake,” she spoke softly, “such a loss can be devastating, I understand. And I am here for you. Why don’t we go to Tom’s, get you a hot cup of soup, and help you get some rest?”
His eyes shot her a glare filled with disappointment.
“Not you too! Not after everything we’ve been through together, Alex! Do you think I lost my mind? Is that it?”
She shrugged a little, involuntarily, and felt her cheeks catch fire. “Blake, I—”
“No, I’m still sane, Alex, and I am appealing to that fantastic brain of yours! You who found a ten-billion dollar, money-laundering scheme hidden so deep inside my bank’s business systems that no one else had managed to find it before. I am pleading with my friend, Alex Hoffmann, the best investigator I have ever met, to just hear my case for a minute. Can you do that for me? Give me one minute of unbiased attention?” Blake’s pleading voice reached a higher pitch, while he still struggled to stifle heavy sobs. “Do you still trust me that much?”
She considered his words, embarrassed she’d jumped to conclusions and dismissed Blake so quickly. She shouldn’t have made that error in judgment; she knew better.
She managed to look at Blake, unable to hide her embarrassment. “I am so sorry, Blake, please forgive me. Can we please start over?”
He let out a pained, long sigh. “Don’t apologize. I sometimes think I’m crazy, too. But believe me, she isn’t dead. She can’t be. Oh, God…”
“OK, let’s talk. I am all ears. Why do you think she’s not dead? The authorities confirmed the plane went down over the Pacific.”
“I’d feel it… I know I would,” Blake said quietly, looking Alex in the eye with an unspoken plea to believe him, to trust his call. “And… and I had a dream right about the time her plane went missing.”
“A dream?” Alex couldn’t hide the doubt in her voice.
“Yes, a dream, and I know just how this sounds. But Adeline and I are very close; we’re what people refer to as soul mates. We’ve always had our ways to feel each other’s pain, stress, or fear.”
She didn’t dismiss the thought so easily the second time. Although the science behind it was blurry to say the least, there were numerous documented cases of such mental connections existing between closely connected human beings, able to transcend thousands of miles.
She decided to believe that was a possibility in Blake and Adeline’s case. Steve would have been a great asset to her right now… damn it! And Blake wouldn’t move from the damn tarmac. No way could she get him to Steve. She refocused her attention.
“What was the dream about? Was she saying anything to you?”
“She said she loved me, and then…” Blake almost choked, “well, I don’t know how to describe it, but the message was that I shouldn’t let her go. I shouldn’t give up.”
“OK, good enough for me,” Alex replied, her usual analytical self taking over. “What do you think I could do, that the authorities aren’t doing already?”
“Believe,” Blake replied. “Believe that it’s possible that plane didn’t crash into the Pacific. During the past 48 hours, I’ve been traveling like crazy, speaking with everyone. Airlines, the FAA, no one would even listen to me. It doesn’t matter who I am, or how much money I’m willing to spend. No one even wants to hear me out; they all dismiss me and recommend some shrink or another, after expressing countless regrets.”
She blushed again and looked at the tarmac for a minute, trying to hide it, disappointed with herself at how narrow-minded she’d been about the whole thing. She’d done the exact same thing the airlines had done. In her mind, she had wished she had a shrink present to help Blake. Must be the early hour to blame for her atypical shortsighted logic. Forget Steve. Blake was there to see her.
“OK, let’s talk scenarios,” she managed to articulate.
“Yes! Thank you!” Blake said, hugging her tightly. “I knew you would hear me out. What do you want to know?”
Where the hell do I even start, Alex asked herself bitterly.
“Umm…” she said, “what do you think could have happened to that plane?”
“I don’t know,” Blake answered with sadness, “but I just need you to consider the possibility that it hasn’t crashed in the Pacific, and start looking for it.”
“That I can do,” Alex replied, “but why do you think that’s even possible? You think the entire world that’s looking for it is just plain wrong? Everyone’s looking for it in the middle of the Pacific.”
“Where they fail, you can succeed. I have that much confidence in you, Alex.”
Oh… OK, no pressure, she thought, a little flattered by his confidence, yet feeling overwhelmed.
“Blake, I don’t even know where to start,” she admitted.
“Maybe… but you’ll think of something. I’m willing to bet a ton of money that by the end of today you’ll have a few ideas. Only you can find her.”
She smiled. “Thank you for your vote of confidence, Blake. I hope I’ll earn it.”
“You will, and I will help you. Any resource you need, you got it. All my money, all my influence, you can use at will, no questions asked. I will sign blank checks, I’ll do anything.”