Chapter 2: Auto-Pilot

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Chapter 2

Michael

12-05-2018

The alarm clock sounded. The obnoxious buzzer blared into Michael’s head, waking him up from his good dream. It was still dark outside.  Michael glared at the red digits; 4:15 AM, 12th May, 2018. When he sat up, he realised he wasn’t in the bedroom. Then his memory from the last night returned, in the blink of an eye. He had had a fight with his wife. He rubbed his eyes, and gave himself a few slaps on the forehead.

‘You fucking wanker…’ he whispered to himself in anger.

He got onto his feet. The uniform hung on the chair with the help of a hanger. First, however, he put on a casual blue t-shirt and some jogging trousers, which he had put on the chair. He went to the kitchen, made himself a coffee and took a good look into the fridge. He took out everything he needed, and cooked himself an egg and some bacon. A half English breakfast he called it for himself. He turned on the television, muted it, and turned on the subtitles. He changed the channel a few times, and after realising that there wasn’t anything really interesting, he switched the machine off again. He then went to sit at the table with his breakfast. He had grabbed two fresh slices of bread as well. He cut his egg and bacon and put it on his bread. He took two bites and a gulp from his coffee, after which he checked his watch. 05:00 AM. He had to hurry.

As he ate the remainder of his breakfast quickly with one hand, he wrote a little note with the other. In the meantime, his six-year-old daughter had snuck down the stairs.

‘Are you going already, daddy?’

Michael turned towards the little girl, startled. ‘Hey, Amy, shouldn’t you be in bed with mummy? I’ll be back in a few days, sweetheart. Nothing to worry about.’

Amy ran up to him and put her arms around his waist. ‘I’ll miss you, dad. You’re not going because of mummy, right?’

Michael bent over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. ‘I’ll miss you too, sweetie. Now go back to bed, before mum misses you. Of course I’m not going to leave mummy. I have to fly through the sky again.’ Michael grabbed the note. ‘Take this to bed, and give it to mummy when you wake up, sweetie. Would you do that for me?’

The little girl nodded and took the note. As she walked over the tiled floor and back up the stairs, Michael took off his shirt and changed into his uniform.

As he was busy with changing, his phone went. The vibrations buzzed on the glass table. He picked up.

A low voice sounded. ‘Have you done it? Have you got the stuff?’

Michael laughed; ‘Shut up, twat. I’m almost on my way.’

The man on the other side laughed. ‘I’ll see you when I see you.’

Michael hung up the phone and buttoned up his jacket. He went up the stairs, as quietly as possible. He opened the bedroom door. Amy lay in the arms of her sleeping mother. She opened her eyes and looked at Michael. He blew her a kiss. She caught it with her open hand. In the other hand, she had the note. The girl looked at her closed hand, and then put it on her mother’s cheek with a smile. Michael’s heart was filled with joy. He grinned and closed the door. With that same grin, he went back down the stairs. He got his bag, opened the door and went outside.

5:20 AM. It didn’t take long to get to Gatwick airport. At this time in the morning, it took only 30 minutes from Michael’s house. There were some road-works, but since the road was almost empty, there was no big deal. He entered one of the parking lots and left his car in the garage. He wrote his section number on a piece of paper, which he then tucked safely into his wallet together with the parking ticket, which he then returned to his back pocket. There were surprisingly few people in the main hall of the terminal. When coming to the check-ins, he walked across the gigantic hallway, towards a special, “only staff permitted” area. There his bag of hand luggage was checked and approved by the customs. He boarded the plane as the first passengers entered the boarding lounge. He handed his bag to one of the stewardesses, who stored it in a cabinet as he went through the door to the cockpit. His colleague was already seated in the co-pilot’s seat.

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