Checkmate (18+) A Michael Jackson Book

Chapter 16: Switzerland Pt.1

Michael's POV:

I opened my eyes as soon as I heard
the captain's voice sound through
the jet's speakers. He was informing
that in a few minutes we'd land on
Swiss soil, and that we should keep
our seatbelts buckled. I looked to my
left side, having the image of Natalie
in a deep and peaceful sleep. She was
exhausted after so many hours of
flight, and ended up falling asleep. I
checked if her seatbelt was properly
buckled, when I felt the aircraft
descending gradually. Natalie prepared everything last minute, since the idea came completely by surprise to her, but it wasn't a very hard task, of course; with the amount of money she possessed, she only had to make a few calls and everything was ready for her. At first I thought about declining the proposition, since it wasn't the right thing to do. However, the thirst for more information consumed me, making me put aside my principles to get any information by a mean metaphorically illicit. If I followed
the normal procedure, I should send
a petition to the police department
of Switzerland, asking them to get in
touch with the bank, to demand the
accurate information of the account
holder; however, I preferred to do it
my way. Once the wheels of the aircraft came into contact with the landing strip, causing that initial impact, Natalie shifted on her seat next to me, waking up from her sleep. I pulled the zipper from my jacket to try and warm up a little more, while the Latina seemed to straighten her clothes.

"We're here, Mrs. Collins." I let out
with a cynical smile.

She brought one of her hands to her
long hair, pulling it all to one side, and
then she looked at me seriously.

"Jones, Lauren. I'm Mrs. Jones here."

"When you're away from your husband you're a different person?"

She didn't say anything, just smiled.
Within minutes the jet stopped at the
place where we'd descend. Natalie
grabbed her purse from the seat beside her and stood up. She was properly wrapped up. She was wearing dark pants, a black wool turtleneck sweater and on top a very thick white coat. On her feet there were closed toe heels. Her long dark hair was loose and silky, the way I liked it. The door of the jet was opened, and soon one of the airport staff put the small stairs in position. I got up from my seat, and just like Natalie, I was wearing dark pants and a good and warm jacket, but mine was black.

"Welcome to Zurich." The man spoke politely when we set foot out of the aircraft.

The cool breeze soon came into contact with my face, making all the hairs on my body stand on end. It was winter in Zurich, the huge city of Switzerland was covered by a thick layer of snow, leaving its scenery somewhat drab and dull. The white of the snow covered everything and anything present there.

"Thank you." She said to the man who
nodded.

"The car is already waiting."

We descended the stairs, walking
towards the black Mercedes parked
right next to the aircraft, while the staff took care of putting our luggage on the trunk. Natalie got in the car quickly, and I followed her. The brunette took a deep breath as she rubbed her hands together for warmth. I smiled and accommodated myself next to her, seeing her hair covered with a few snowflakes.

"I'm going to freeze, my God." She
grumbled, to then ask the driver to
turn on the heater.

"Come here, let me help."

Natalie approached quickly, giving
me the opportunity to hold her hands
to rub them along mine. Then, I blew
a puff of hot air between the Latina's
hands, who was seeking warmth. Her green eyes stared at me for a few
seconds, in which we held each other's gaze for an unknown reason. In that short amount of time, we stared at each other with a different energy.