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6. South

After a very long and tiring journey, Delilah finally ended up in a city that seemed to be free of Sanctuary officials. St Albans, Vermont.

St Albans was a pituresque american city, with buildings fitting neatly along the edge of streets with those big yellow traffic lights hanging from cables above them. Delilah decided that she might like to come back here once the heat had died down, and look around. For now though, she just needed to reach the airport. She managed to find the airport and booked a flight from the parking lot. This was the closest she'd gotten. This was promising.

The flight left in five hours, so she got out of the car in case it was recognised. She took Otis for a walk, sticking mainly to less crowded streets and took a look around the city. She didn't see anything suspicious, no signs of sanctuary. It made sense, she supposed. She was out of Canada, so they wouldn't be able to use as many resources. The sanctuaries were all for helping each other out, but sending hundreds of cleavers into a country was a bit much. The American Sanctuary probably had a team looking for her, but it wasn't their administator that had been assassinated, so they were probably not as motivated to find her as the Canadian Sanctuary. Plus, the states were big, and she could have been anywhere by now. She sat on an uncomfortable bench and realised how tired she was. She took a moment to work out that she couldn't have slept since she left Toronto. That was, what? Thirty-seven hours ago? She'd stayed up longer, but something about being in the car and the stress of running all that time had wiped her out.

Still four hours until her flight.

She managed to check into a pet friendly hotel and set an alarm on her phone. She napped for an hour and a half before getting back up and checking out. She got back to the airport and headed through security, buying a few snack for the plane. She was sad to have parted with Otis, but pets had to stay in the storage area. She decided it would be best to wait in a bathroom stall until it was time to board the flight, so she could avoid being seen. She didn't want this to go awry last second, especially now that Otis was being loaded onto the plane. She couldn't afford to fuck up now.

Five minutes before the plane was due to be called, she came out of the bathroom and went to the gate. She wanted be on the plane as soon as possible. She sat on a seat and waited nervously until the loudspeakers announced that the flight was now boarding. She'd booked a first class ticket in hopes that she'd be able to get some sleep on the flight, so she got to board first. It was a ten hour journey including the transfer at JFK, so she deserved it. She got up and showed her passport and boarding pass to the flight attendant and got on the plane. She only had a little case with just the basics, so it didn't take her long to get it stowed away. She sighed, and finally, finally, sat down, on the plane. Once the plane had taken off, she closed her eyes.

She'd done it.

"Miss Valour."

Shit.

She opened her eyes and looked across the aisle where a woman sat in her seat with her hand in her purse.

"I'm guessing there's a gun in there," Delilah asked, although she was fairly sure she knew the answer.

"Good guess," the woman's voice was monotone and devoid of emotion.

"Although, there's always the possibility that you're bluffing. After all, how would you have gotten the gun through airport security?"

"I'm a sanctuary official. We have ways to get stuff done which don't involve murder."

"Ouch."

Apparently the woman had nothing to add, so Delilah continued, "So what? You're just gonna shoot me here on the plane?"