ATLAS 776

1

PROLOGUE

"Sir, I am sorry, but we really can't allow you to hand carry that baggage. It exceeds the allowed weight." a petite lady in a pink blouse, with a gold coloured name tag, said.

Marx placed his right fist on the counter, clenched. He leaned over, and said softly in a mischievious tone, "Could you, just, um, let this one slide?"

Adrianna slapped Marx on the back of his head with her passport. "You goon! Just check that shit in!" She rolled her eyes, while she retracted her arms and folded them.

Marx recovered his stance. He forcefully cleared his throat, and took several swiping looks around him. Nobody else seems to be noticing him. "Okay. I will check this in. But I don't want any staff or dogs scavenging through my baggage without my permission."

The counter staff smiled. "Sir, rest assured that we follow very strict guidelines and policies. We respect our customer's privacy and-"

"Yeah yeah. I get it." Marx proclaimed, letting his baggage go on the metal rollers to the left of the counter. The lady in pink picked up the baggage, before sticking a white label with a barcode and a luggage number on the top of the baggage.

"This is your luggage tag. You can approach any of our staff here or at New York if you need assistance finding it." the lady said, with a smile.

"Thank you." Adrianna said to the counter staff, while she returned a smile and dragged Marx away by the hand. They had personal backpacks as well, in a matching blue color.

Adrianna dragged Marx to the side beside a pillar. "Play nice, will you? What was in the bag that you wanted to overlook so badly?" She said in a firm tone. Marx gave a cheeky smile. "The toy." he said with a mischievious wink. Adrianna placed her palm on her face, tilting her head downwards and shaking it in shame. "Ugghh.. God.. Why did I marry you?"

Marx leaned towards her, and placed his left arm to rest on her shoulder. "Hmm! Maybe its because I am the most handsome, charming man in the whole wi-"

"Oh shut up!" Adrianna retorted, walking off and almost causing Marx to fall.

The couple reached the departures area, and proceeded through without issue. They had their passports scanned. It was a fast process, albeit an awkward one for Adrianna who had to watch on as her husband had difficulty getting his thumbprints scanned by the digital gantry scanners.

"We are..." Marx looked at his watch. "Early! Blamo! Twenty minutes to spare."

Adrianna was not paying much attention to her husband. She was looking around at the various shops within the departure area.

Marx catched up to his wife, and squeezed her shoulders. "Oh come on, you're still mad huh..." He ran in front of her, stopping her and tilting her head to the right with his hands. "Look! There! Atlas 776! Isn't she a beauty!"

Adrianna sighed, and replied "More beautiful than me?" she looked straight into Marx's eyes. Marx's expression immediately changed. His cheeky smile morphed into a straight line. He looked away. He had fallen into a trap.

"Of course not... Hah... Hey! Pizza shop!" he said, in a bid to get himself out of the sticky situation.

Adrianna squinted her eyes, inching her head towards him. "Pizza now?"

Marx gulped. "Yeahh! Umm... Pizza is good for any time, you know? Plus, it's my treat, you know..."

Adrianna turned her head away, before reluctantly agreeing to his obvious attempt at reconciliation. "Okay, fine. Double cheese, full meat and double sauce."

Marx felt his wallet. "Haha! of course! For my Queen!" he proclaimed as she smiled and walked towards the cafeteria. Marx slapped himself lightly on the forehead, and pulled his cheeks.

"So..." Marx said, taking a peek at the voracious beast before him chomping down on a massive pizza slice. The beast looked back at him, staring with bubbly eyes, mouth moving and cheeks bloated with food. "About Wednesday..." Marx said, unconfident in his tone and manner. The beast stopped munching, and stared him back with even more intense focus. Marx forcefully cleared his throat, and looked out at the window, away from the looming threat before him. The airplane was in sight. Atlas airlines flight 776. A 24 hour direct flight from Singapore to New York. No transit stops.

"All passengers boarding Atlas airlines flight A776, please proceed to boarding in ten minutes. Thank you."

"That's our cue!" Marx said, hastily taking the opportunity out of the intense showdown.

Author's Note: Hey! Thank you for getting past the first page. :3 I do hope you enjoyed the story so far, and more will come! Here is Marx's chapter's theme song! :