What Happened in Strasbourg

Chapter thirty: A flight home

Her eyes were blank, but the sides of her mouth twitched. "I didn't mean that," she said. "The atomizer could have broke. It should have killed him. And I would not wish my brother's death on anyone."

I pulled up the plastic window cover as the plane started taxiing, letting in the early morning sunlight. I had been able to calm myself down slightly with the relief of knowing I was really on my way home for the first time in eight years, but Irina still sat wide-eyed and lost in her memories.

"He didn't even deserve to get away," I said. "He wanted to murder both of us. I wish that bottle would've broken--"

"No, you don't. A chemical weapon in an airport would have made hundreds, even thousands of innocent people ill. It is better that no one was exposed."

I nodded, but the thought of the hitmen leaving with the atomizer still full of nerve agent made me feel sick. Who would be Acheron's next target? Would they go after Amanda next? I had no idea where she was going, or to what lengths the corporation would go to make sure she didn't reveal anything about what they had done.

"How did they find us here?" I asked.

"I do not know--" she replied. "They -- they must've tracked phones, traced calls, AIMA is so fast at it now."

"Do you think they're going to follow us?" I asked. "Can they track our flightpath too?"

"We are safe now. I am sorry, but I do not know what future will be like. It is unlikely, but with Acheron we cannot rule anything out. They are capable of almost anything."

She sighed and looked out of the plane's window as we continued taxiing towards the runway. We might've been on the run, but we still had to wait our turn to take off behind larger planes full of business people and tourists heading home after summer holiday in London.

I turned when I saw a flight attendant with a Mir-tek logo pin on her uniform walking down the aisle towards us. She pushed a cart full of snacks and drinks and had an awkward look on her face, like she wasn't used to a plane being this empty. I remembered Irina saying earlier, "don't eat or drink anything here," so I was surprised when she leaned over, started talking to the flight attendant in Russian, and was handed two trays. Each had a croissant, a plastic cup of orange juice, and a pat of butter wrapped in gold foil.

Irina set one tray in my hands, "Here. I got you something."

"But I thought --"

"You do not have to worry now. This food is safe."

I was thirsty after our run, so I took a sip of the orange juice. I couldn't let myself believe everything was poisoned could I?

Soon our turn to take off came. I hadn't flown for years and was startled by the roaring noise of the plane fighting against the wind it had created and the way I pressed back against my seat. In a matter of minutes we were far above the haze and clouds that hung in the summer sky. The sunrise looked even more beautiful than it had on the ground.

"How did you believe I was still alive when you hadn't heard anything for eight years?" I asked, after the plane had leveled off, and we'd both had some breakfast. "If I were you, I would've thought I had died."

"I was visiting a friend in St. Petersburg when I saw the news that Vitaly had fallen ill in Strasbourg," she said, "and soon I learned Katya and you had too. After Katya and Vitaly's deaths were announced... grief was terrible. I would not talk to anyone. But my phone would not stop ringing. I finally picked it up and realized I was being contacted by delegate from Acheron. This surprised me. I had expected Evgeny Dimetriev to be the one to first call me about what had happened. He was second in charge at Mir-Tek then. The Acheron delegate was calling to ask my permission to have you airlifted from hospital to one in England. Of course I said yes, anything that could save your life. They told me I would hear from them once you were well enough to come home. But no word ever came. I tried to contact Acheron, the EU offices in Strasbourg, anyone, but nobody answered me. It was like you had disappeared from face of earth. But I could not believe you had died."