The Call

Chapter 1

Ding. The seat-belt-indicator-light flickered off as the plane came to a halt. Everyone rushed to get their bags from the overhead compartment. We all waited anxiously for the pilot's announcement.

"Attention passengers, this is your captain speaking, we have arrived at El Aeropuerto Internacional de México. Please exit in a calm, quiet, and orderly fashion. Your luggage is in terminal E-17. ¡Bienvenidos a México!"

I grabbed my carry-on bag and left the plane as fast as I could, nearly knocking over a flight attendant. Once out of the plane, I ran to the nearest Customer Service Desk.

"Con permiso," I asked. "¿Usted me puede dirigir a la terminal E-17?"

She pointed to her left. How could I not have seen it before? There was a huge red sign that read: Terminales E-17 y E-18.

As I approached E-17, my luggage bag popped onto the conveyer belt. Finally, I can get my bag, and go to Pablo's.

Suddenly, a tall hooded man grabbed my bag and ran. I went after him.

The thief was about ten feet in front of me. I broke into a sweat. Nine Feet. My adrenaline kicked in. Eight Feet. Nearby onlookers saw the man running with my bag, and joined the chase. Seven Feet. He made a left toward the sliding glass door. Six Feet. I removed my jacket and gripped it by the sleeves. Five Feet. He broke into a sprint. Four Feet. I did too. Three Feet. He slowed down for the automatic glass doors to open. Two Feet. I threw my jacket over him. One Foot. The unexpected darkness caused him to come crashing down into the door. The glass shattered, and an alarm went off in the distance.

I caught up to his bleeding body. Glass shards were embedded in his skin, clothes, and my bag. I crouched down in front of him. I could now see his face clearly, despite the running blood. He had a narrow jaw, a scruffy beard, and a few strands of blond hair peeking out of his hood. Police circled us and began to yell at the crowd to keep moving. Their chief grabbed me, being that I was the only one conscious.

"What happened?" He demanded.

Still out of breath, I was hardly able to speak. "He stole my bag. I chased him for it. When he almost escaped, I threw my jacket over him, and he fell into the door."

Meanwhile, one officer put a DO NOT CROSS tape around the area. The chief officer told two other policemen to examine the thief. One found a wallet in his back pocket.

Apparently he did have an ID, but it only had his picture, and the words Agent C under it. His wallet also held a note, the size of a business card, which said:

Thomas Davis,

Movies keep it fake,

To us it's a line.

Expect a call,

Today around nine.

- Agent V (IGS)

As the cop read it aloud, I realized that the note was for me. I took out my ID, and showed it to the officer. "I'm Thomas Davis. Why would it be addressed to me?"

He shook his head. "I don't know. It doesn't make sense. It's like he knew he was taking your bag. I'll hold onto the note, and if anything else comes up, give me a call." He handed me his business card.

Agent C began to gain consciousness. He reached for his jean's pocket, pulled out a circular orb, and pushed a button on it. The orb began to glow blue. Fog began to spill out of it, until I was blinded. The officers shouted orders. They couldn't see anything either. Passengers ran in circles, confused. Suddenly, the fog was sucked back into the orb. Agent C was gone. The floor was clean, as though there had never been a bleeding man or glass shards on it. The sliding glass door was, mysteriously, fixed. Where Agent C had been, was now occupied by the jacket that I threw over him.

The chief officer grabbed his phone and dialed a number. "Javier," he said "check the security cameras around exit E. A thief escaped with some weird smoke ball. Can you tell me where he went?" Then, he hung up.

The chief officer looked at me. "Officer Javier will call me back as soon after he sees the footage. Wait here."

Since I was instructed to wait, I might as well call Pablo. He would be expecting me to arrive at his house soon. I took out my phone and dialed his number. His voicemail began, "Hey. This is Pablo Santiago. I can't pick up now. Please leave a message, now. Beep."

"Pablo," I began, "There has been an incident at the airport. I'm safe, but I won't be able to get to your house for another half hour or so. I'll keep you posted. Call me when you get this."

As I left the message, Officer Javier had called the chief back. When I hung up my call, the chief officer was doing the same on his phone. "Javier said that the fog had some chemical in it that ate away the memory chip of all of the nearby cameras. We don't know where Agent C went. I'm sorry. Due to the inconvenience, the airport staff and police would like to give you two free tickets for your next trips." He pulled out two paper-coupons and handed it to me.

"Thank you, officers." I responded.

They nodded and left. I picked up my bag, and walked towards the exit.