In the Golden Triangle

Chapter 2: I'm A Small Person

The plane touched down on the tarmac with a thud and Devon let out the breath she had been holding. Once the plane evened out and she could feel it decelerating she allowed herself to look out the small window. Her seat was situated over the planes right wing and she couldn't see much except the broad expanse of white tiled wing and the tarmac buzzing by as the large Boeing began to taxi to their gate.

For someone who had flown as much as she had, she wasn't a nervous flyer. But last year she had done a piece on Airlines and Plane Manufacturers and it made her uneasy on takeoff and landing.

Devon brushed some of her hair from her face and grimaced at the greasy feel. They had been on this plane for 23 hours and she was more than ready to get off. She began collecting her notebook and papers that had spread out over the course of the flight and stuffed them into her backpack. She had tried to get some work done on the flight but all she had managed to do was gather some background information and irritate her neighbor beside her.

The large woman glared at Devon as she reached for a pen that had slipped across the armrest. "Sorry." Devon said sheepishly. It was her favorite pen and leaving it behind was not an option.

Beside her John stirred as he finally woke up. He had fallen asleep with his head against the window and clutching the large sketchbook he had been working on. He had told her he wanted to work on sketching hands but all he had managed to do was create a little superhero that jumped from page to page.

"Have we landed?" he asked sleepily.

Devon rolled her eyes. "We've either landed or crashed. Judging by the lack of screaming I would say we landed."

John glared at her. "I just woke up. Can you not?"

He turned from her to peek out the window and she shook her head. John's job description was her aide—he was supposed to help her carry out interviews, organize her notes, and keep appointments.

In reality, he complained a lot and tried to keep her from embarrassing herself.

He was also her best friend. But she would never tell him that.

John reached under the seat and yanked out his bag, stuffing the sketch book in and reaching for a packet of gum. Without asking he offered one to Devon and she took it. They both needed the gum to help pop their ears.

When the plane finally made it to the gate, she unbuckled her seatbelt and watched as the entire plane stood and got ready to exit. Her leg started jigging with her impatience and John let out a long sigh.

"You always do this."

"We've been sitting for nearly twenty-four hours." She said without taking her eyes off the line of people filing towards the front of the plane.

"Yes. And the second we get off the plane, we have to spend another day traveling to the middle of god knows where."

"We went over this." Devon said. "Once we get off this plane, we get on another to Chiang Rai. Then we take a Jeep up the mountains to the Border Patrol Unit's base."

"Right. So, what's the hurry?" John said as he slumped back in his chair.

Devon ignored him. John complained a lot, but he's the one who volunteered to be her aide. John pulled out his phone and began tapping on the screen. She was actually glad he was here. He whined a lot and was as far from an outdoorsman as there ever was, but Devon liked having John around.