Rio Collection

Miami (2/5)

The entire flight, Olivia's nerves were on edge. Kai did his best to sit in his seat and be good, but he'd just turned three and perfection wasn't to be expected. She alternated between movies on the headrest television, playing rock, paper, scissors,  and pointing out the window at the city lights at night as they passed over.

By the time they landed in Miami, she was exhausted, but she had to keep it together. She had no idea was waiting for them at the end of this, and she started to feel stupid for bringing her son to a place she wasn't absolutely certain was safe.

I can just scream for help, she thought. Airports are filled with security.

While waiting for their turn to get off the plane, Olivia took a few deep calming breaths as Kai bounced up and down in his seat holding his favorite stuffed cow. Soon enough, it was their turn, and she carried the toddler all the way to the gate where a crowd of people were waiting for their loved ones. She searched for Chris, hoping it was him here to greet them, but he was no where to be found.

The instructions didn't say anything about what to do after arriving in Miami, but she told herself it didn't matter if no one picked her up. She had the cash that was left in the envelope, so the worst case scenario would be getting a hotel and enjoying a few days in Florida with her son alone. Just as she was about to head past the gate, she spotted a somewhat familiar face. It was Mick, but his facial hair had been shaved down to just a short goatee, and he'd lost a bunch of weight. He held a placard that said Emily Davis.

She exhaled a big breath of relief, and waved. Mick offered her a nod of acknowledgement. "Miss Davis," he said.

"Hi, um—" She didn't know what to call him, whether or not he was going by an alias.

"Michael," he said, reaching for her carryon. Olivia handed it over and situated Kai on her hip.

"Michael, huh, creative."

He glanced back behind her as if checking to see if she was followed. "Everything go okay?"

"Other than only having a day to plan a trip with a toddler, sure."

"I mean, did you notice any tails."

Olivia hadn't been paying attention, too nervous with her mind on other things, but she didn't think so. "No, not that I noticed."

Mick aka Michael nodded thoughtfully. "Okay, let's go then."

He led the way through the airport, not saying much of anything at all. Back in Detroit, Mick had always been friendly with her, and it was well known that he had a massive crush on Annie, but this version of him was different. Colder, less friendly, and Olivia felt the chill.

There was a car waiting at the curb, but no sign of Chris. "Where is he?" she asked, being mindful to not use any of the names she knew him by back home.

"Waiting on us."

That did nothing to ease her anxiety, and another wave of potential regret washed over her. She was walking into unknown territory with the most important person to her with a bunch of fugitives for company. If this went badly, Olivia had no one to blame but herself.

Mick offered nothing else, and motioned for them to get in the car where an expensive looking carseat was waiting already strapped in. They rode in silence through the city for a long time. Olivia had never been to Miami, so she was surprised by how colorful it was even at this time of night. The people, the architecture, the foliage, all of it was a myriad of shades of green and red and yellow. It was beautiful.

After a while, Mick turned the car off the main road, and they drive through  residential neighborhoods until even those were fewer and fewer, and the landscape opened up to show beaches of beautiful sand and ocean. It was hard to see without the sun shining down, but the closer to the coast they got, the easier it became.