Project: Black Ice

M3

John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City, New York. 

Six days of preparing and discussion to himself, Maverick had gotten his plan down so well, he was ready for it. He finished cooking his breakfast from the stove, a plate of scramble eggs, a few slices of bacon, and a slightly toasted piece of French bread. Standing by the countertop, Maverick ate the food casually while he prepped himself for the journey he was taking on. 

After eating the last piece of bacon, Maverick washed his plate in the sink, then his hands, before drying them on a dry dishtowel. He headed to his study, grabbing nothing but a simple black backpack that he swung over his shoulders. He walked down the hallway before stopping by the bathroom door. The door was slightly open, revealing the mirrored image of himself, staring straight at him. His short cut hair was combed to the right, his outfit consisting of; a slim fit black cotton-jersey t-shirt, slim-fit cotton-Gabardine Cargo Trousers (a mix of olive and gray), black marsell leather boots, and a black, flight stretch- cotton bomber jacket (made by rick Owens). He  turned away from his mirrored self and out into the hallway of the staircase. Maverick locked the door and headed down the stairs to nab a taxi. On the way down, Mrs. Haggins waved at him as she was sweeping the front of her doorstep on the first floor. Maverick nodded to her as he went through the gate, careful to close ti behind him, before walking down the street. He walked about three blocks down before grabbing a taxi, giving him directions to the JFK international Airport. 

Maverick listened as the taxi driver, Juan, talked to him about the news that's going about a shooting down in LA, California. 

"It's crazy to think ten people died in a history museum because a black man came in, guns blazing." Juan said and then laughed. "The news only talks about how whites are bad amigo. Come to my country and you find that majority of my kind from Mexico are worse than anyone on the news. News never says the right stuff."  

Juan dropped him off at the south entrance to the airport and drove to the next passenger waiting to be picked up. Maverick shifted the weight of the backpack on his shoulders, judged the amount of security around due to habits before preceding into the airport. Grabbing his ticket from the counter front, Maverick traveled down to security. He was PSA pre-check, meaning his bags wouldn't be checked very throughly and his person would be skipped over with the least amount of concern, but none of that matter since he had a Government issued ID card that allowed him to bypass security while bearing arms and possible threats to others. Getting behind a family of five who were waiting in line, Maverick took out his phone from his pocket and scrolled through the news. Juan the taxi driver had been correct, there had been a shooting in California two days ago. The attacker had committed suicide before getting captured be police. It was sad news but there wasn't much anyone could do about it except blame it on someone else. 

The line moved forward and Maverick pocketed his phone once more. It took a few minutes before the family in front of him passed through and he was next in line. The officer looked at Maverick for a second before asking for his bag. Maverick placed the backpack on the conveyor belt into the x-ray machine while he walked to pass through. The man to his side stopped him, asking to look at his coat for a second. Maverick shrugged, taking off his coat and the man searched it before nodding to his partner. Maverick thanked them as they let him through, putting his jacket back on and grabbing his bag. Walking down the terminal, Maverick headed to his flight gate, 550. When he got there, they were getting ready to allow first class passengers on board. Maverick went to the desk to check in and they nodded to him, taking his ticket to scan. 

"Good morning Mr. Bourne, thank you for choosing United airlines, you are boarding group 2, your check in process will begin at 9:32, you may be seated in the waiting area while you wait," the airport attendant said but Maverick didn't leave after taking his ticket back. Instead he pulled out his wallet before taking out his government ID card. 

"I have special instructions to board to check all safety regulations on board this flight," he said, showing his ID to her. 

The attendant looked startled, maybe even a bit confused on what to do. She called someone on the phone and five minutes later, a man in a business suit came walking to them. The attendant showed the man Maverick's government issued ID and they talked for a few more minutes before the man turned to Maverick. 

"Welcome to United airlines, you may enter the plane at this time Mr. Bourne, do you want me to accompany you to your seat?"

"That won't be necessary," Maverick interrupted and carried his bag with him down the tunnel to the plane. 

Getting on the plane, a flight attendant greeted him with a warm smile and Maverick nodded to her as a way of saying hello before turning to find his own seat. Finding it, two rows behind the wing exit seats, Maverick had gotten an edge seat. Putting his backpack on the floor by his feet, he took out his phone and turned on music to listen to as he waited. The process of having everyone on board the aircraft took almost half an hour, and another half an hour before everyone was seated. It was Maverick's luck that no one sat next to him, or that would have been nice except ten minutes before they were about to take off, a father and his son came rushing down the isle and stopped at Maverick's row. 

"Hey, uh, sorry, may we pass through?" the man asked Maverick, gesturing to the seats next to him. 

Maverick got up and allowed boy into the row, choosing to sit in the middle seat. The father started to put away the luggage. In a split second, a backpack fell out of his grip and started to tumble to the ground. Maverick caught it seconds after it slipped, and helped put it up. The man thanked him before taking his seat next to the window. Maverick slammed the cover close to keep the luggage from falling out during the flight and took his chance to sit down in his aisle seat. The majority of the trip to Abuja, Nigeria was peacefully. With the occasional curious glance from the kid sitting next to him, Maverick felt relaxed through the flight. He did catch the kid reading some of his notes for his mission which he slowly covered up with another paper. The kid looked up at him when he did and turned his head to the side slightly.

"Are you a spy?" he asked quietly with curiosity? 

Maverick was a bit startled by the question but smiled anyway. "Not the kind you're thinking about," he said and saw out of the corner of his eye, the kid's father coming back from the bathroom. 

Maverick held his finger to his lips and the kid smiled, nodding quietly. Maverick couldn't help but be in a better mood the rest of the day. 

The plane landed without a hitch, and the drive to his hotel went as smooth as butter. The outside weather was pleasant, not too hot for African's end of the summer season. Paying the taxi driver who dropped him off at his hotel, Maverick went inside, getting his room key and heading up to his room by elevator. He got to his room and did a quick sweep before deciding it was good enough, both safe and good enough to sleep in. He dropped his backpack on the dresser before grabbing his wallet and keys and headed down to the lobby. He was going to ask the front desk manager where he could rent a motorcycle but he was interrupted by his phone buzzing. He stepped out of the hotel reception line and turned don his phone. He had gotten two new messages from Jennifer Leruios. 

Meet me @7 Atakpame St Off Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent | Wuse 2 Opposite Ascon Filling Station, Abuja, Nigeria. Cafe name: Tulip bistro. 20 minutes.

Getting back into line, he spoke to the front desk in French and one of them responded right away. He asked them for a motorcycle to rent and they directed him quickly to help. 

In ten minutes flat, Maverick was riding on a 2018 Suzuki SV650 ABS motorcycle, painted black and cherry red. Driving in an out of traffic, Maverick glanced at his phone as google maps showed him the cafe Jennifer needed to meet up with him at. 

Arriving there not two minutes before needed time, he parked and saw Jennifer sitting on one of the outside tables. She was wearing a soppy white hat to keep herself in the shade under the heat. Maverick walked up to her before sitting directly across from her in the empty seat. 

"Here's all the materials you needed," she said, and Maverick didn't need to look down to know that a black duffle bag was by her feet. "Your mission is needed to be completed somewhere in the next week, report back when the subject's been eliminated."

Maverick got up, snatched the duffle bag and threw the strap over his shoulder before heading back to his bike. Turning on the ignition, he road away from Jennifer and into the busy street.