Operation: Marauder

Chapter 6

Zoey woke up Sunday morning and looked at her phone. Still no calls. In her own delusional mind, she had been convinced that he would call her while she was sleeping to let her know he had finished his job. He didn't. He hadn't called yesterday either. She had assumed he was a technician or maintenance worker, someone whose job wouldn't take days to finish. Apparently she was wrong.

And Jack said he would be gone at least a week on his mission, so she didn't even have her big brother to rant on about how much men sucked. He usually bought her ice cream and just listened. She loved that about him. He was always willing to listen. He just, you know, was never around.

She puttered around the house for a few hours, doing chores, basic home maintenance. When she finished up, she called Josie to see if she wanted to fly. Flying always made her feel better. Today was perfect for flying, with clear skies and low winds forecasted until late tonight.

Obviously, Josie was all for it and arranged to meet her at the airport across town in an hour. Zoey couldn't get there fast enough and her friend was already there, waiting for her. As soon as Josie, a woman a full three inches taller than Zoey with a whole lot of heart, laid eyes on her, she threw her arms out and gave her a big hug. "Girl, where have you been? Tell me everything!"

Zoey had been counting on Josie telling her everything that had been going on in her life so she didn't have to think about her own. They hadn't seen each other in weeks, surely enough time for a few good stories to tell.

"Work as usual," Zoey dismissed, following her friend to the hangar space they rented.

Josie tossed her curly blonde mane over her shoulder and looked at her, exasperated. "You wouldn't believe what happened to me last week."

Zoey would have never believed any of Josie's stories if she hadn't become a part of many of them. They were wild and definitely not things that would happen to people. Unless your name was Josie Kauler. This time Josie had gone to a VIP club in a neighbouring town just west of Connaville. They wouldn't let her in, she wasn't VIP enough, until a small time actor came by and was transfixed--she said it--by her beauty and asked her to join his party. How could she say no?

After the pre-flight check, she went on to tell her that the actor had caught another guy flirting with her while she was getting drinks at the bar. The men got into a huge fight over her. The cops had to come in to break it up.

They had to wait for a couple of planes to clear the runway before it was their turn to hit the skies. Once they were airborne, Josie, in control of the plane, angled them to fly over the farmlands--on the opposite side of town from the base. They had once made the mistake of going west to check out the mountain passages, just shy of the base's boundaries, but they ended up flying too close and got into a shit tone of trouble. She was embarrassed to say she had to wave Jack's name around to get them out of being charged with trespassing.

They flew for hours, Zoey happily sitting, watching the world unfold beneath her while Josie told her more exciting things about her life. The girl sure could fit a lot in three weeks. Zoey didn't mind; whenever she wanted a break from her mundane life, all she had to do was pick up the phone.

Josie offered her the controls for a third time and when Zoey passed it up yet again, her intuitive friend set a suspicious gaze on her. "Okay, who is he?"

Zoey stared. "Who's who?"

She rolled her eyes at her lame attempt to deflect the conversation. "You always want the controls. . . unless there's a guy on your mind. So spill your guts, girl. Who is he? What's he like? How long have you been seeing him?"

Why did her friend have to know her so well? She let out a reluctant breath. "He was a client of mine. We haven't been on a date yet--you know my rules. We tried on Friday, but his work called him in. He said he'd call me when he was done. He hasn't called yet." She only wished she had something exciting to say about Rowan.