Final Departure

Chapter Nine

It was nearly midnight by the time Jamie, Nick and Eric boarded the train for Boston. Eric and Nick still didn't look convinced, but they were tagging along all the same.  Once they were comfortably situated in their seats, Eric turned to face Jamie.

        "Okay Jamie," he said. "Now will you explain?" 

       "Well, last we know, Johnny was in Portland, Maine," she began. "He could still be there...or at least, in that area. But the longer we wait, the less chance we have of finding him."

        "Mmhmm," Eric nodded and turned away again, realizing this entire scenario seemed pretty far-fetched, and he was now on a train to Boston in the middle of the night.  He couldn't think of a good enough reason to get off at the next stop, however, so he slid down in his seat in an attempt to grab some sleep while he still could.

                                                                *        *        *

        Once they arrived at North Station, Jamie hailed a cab and they all piled in.   It was after 12:30 in the morning when they finally reached the home of Jamie's Uncle Richard, but the time of night didn't seem to deter Jamie, who had marched right up to his front door and started banging frantically on it.

        There was no answer.  Nick shifted his weight from one foot to the other and put his hand on Jamie's shoulder.

        "Jam'e, why don't we come back tomorrow?  It's so late."  Nick said.

      "No one is going to help us in the middle of the night," Eric agreed, relieved that Nick had finally spoken up.  Jamie shot them both a sullen look before turning back to the door and pounding on it again, even harder this time.  Finally, the door swung open and there stood Uncle Richard, grumpy and pajama-clad.

        "We need your help," Jamie said gravely, not even giving him a chance to speak.  "It's an emergency, or else I wouldn't be here."

        Uncle Richard opened his mouth to complain, but given a moments reflection, he realized that Jamie was very serious.  He motioned for them to come inside.

        "What can I do for you and your friends?" Uncle Richard asked, rubbing his eyes.

        "Okay," she panted, a bit relieved already. "We need to use your jet." 

        "Oh?" he asked, his voice doubtful.  He looked from Jamie to Eric and finally to Nick. "Jamie, you know I can't just fly you and your friends to concerts and parties and the like.  I have a business to run." 

      "It's not a party, Uncle Richard, I promise." Jamie pleaded, clasping her hands and putting on a face that is generally saved for when one really, really has to use the bathroom. “I don't have time to explain it all now, but you need to trust me.”

Uncle Richard sized up the group, scratching his head and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.  He was not in the mood for secret emergencies, especially in the middle of the night.

        "I can't pilot for you," he admitted.  "It wouldn't be safe on so little sleep.  But I can check with Jennie and see how she feels about it.  Where do you need to go?" 

        "Portland Maine," Jamie said.

       "As near to Congress Street as you can get us," Eric piped up, finally relaxing a little now that he saw that Jamie's plan might actually work.

        "Okay, fine." said Uncle Richard. 

        "Oh, thank you!" Jamie exclaimed, giving him a kiss on the cheek.  

        "I can't make any promises," he said. "But I'll try."

He went back into the house to make some phone calls, and soon Jamie, Nick and Eric were all boarding a tiny Cessna. Eric climbed in, followed by Nick, who cast a horrified look around to make absolutely certain he had to do this. Jennie, Jamie's older cousin, came last onto the jet, arranging herself into the pilot's seat with a practiced ease.  

        "You guys are lucky my sleep schedule is all backwards right now because of finals week," she said with a smile.  "Everyone ready?" she asked, tucking her long blonde hair behind her ears and putting on her headset.  "Buckled in?"

        "Sure," Jamie replied calmly.

        "Uh, yeah." answered Nick, rubbing his sweating palms on his jeans.

Eric swallowed a lump in his throat and began to act like he was cool with the idea of flying millions of feet above the ground.

        "Sure." he said. 

        "Okay then," Jennie called back, "Maine, here we come!"

                                                                 *        *        *

        An hour later, they touched down in a big, open field, which, from the looks of things, was in the middle of nowhere. Eric jumped down from the jet. "That was awesome!" he crooned. "Will you be taking us back?" Jennie smiled at his enthusiasm.

        "Well, I could hardly leave you guys here. Page me, okay Jamie?" 

      "Sure," Jamie agreed, emerging from the fuselage, looking more than just a little green. "Will do." Without another word, she walked briskly into the bushes to vomit. 

     "Thank you," said Nick, climbing down. He was the perfect mixture of Eric's calmness and Jamie's sickness. 

       "No problem." Jennie answered, smiling again. She looked really radiant when she smiled. Her whole face seemed to light up. 

        Jamie returned from the bushes to stand beside Eric and Nick.

        "Ready?" She asked. 

The boys looked around, not feeling as optimistic as she was.

         "Where are we?" Eric asked. 

        "Bramhall Street," Jamie answered, pointing in the direction of the bushes.

        "And that would be...?" Eric asked, wanting Jamie to fill in the blank. She shrugged.

        "Let's find a convience store or a diner and get some directions," Nick suggested.  "Something has got to be open this late." They both looked at Nick, who added "And after that, maybe we should split up." 

"Yeah, that's a good idea. We'll cover more ground that way." Jamie agreed. 

                                                                  *        *        *

        As it turned out, as a group of teenagers from Boston, they had sorely overestimated the nightlife of Portland Maine.  The diners, convienece stores, shops and the like were all closed up tight until morning.

        "Great idea, Jam'e," chastised Eric as they passed more shuttered shops.  "You're lucky that plane ride was awesome, or you'd be in a world of hurt right now."

They had been walking forever when they finally came to the intersection of Bramhall Street and Congress Street.  Jamie let out a gasp.

        "It's Congress Street!" she yelled. "We found it!"