Coffee Shots

9 | What is going on?

Oliver's PoV

. . .

Sweat dripped from my head. I was at the airport, waiting for my flight. Even though the weather outside was chilly, and the air conditioning in the airport was at the maximum too, I still felt hot. My palms were sweaty, and I couldn't stop shaking my leg.

"Hi, could you stop that please?"

I looked around to see a woman sitting opposite me. She was clearly annoyed by my leg shaking. I mumbled a sorry and picked up a magazine from the news stand nearby to deviate my thoughts. Casually flipping through pages, I glanced at my watch. Still an hour to go. Great, kill me now.

"Excuse me?"

I must have said that out loud, for that lady was staring at me with confusion. "Sorry, was thinking out loud."

"Oh, okay."

She went back to reading her book. I tried to look at the title but her gloved fingers were covering it.

"It's called 'Tuesdays with Morrie'. Written by Mitch Bloom."

I smiled sheepishly and nodded. I didn't know squats about literature, but this did give me an opening for a conversation.

"So. . . I gather you're going to Amsterdam too?"

"Yes."

"Nice", I replied, while thinking of ways to keep the conversation going. I observed her a bit closely. She must have been in her early 30's. Wavy brown hair with hazel eyes. Nose and ear piercings made her stand out. Her eyes were soft, yet somehow she looked intimidating. Maybe because of the crisp, sharp suit she was wearing. As if on an official trip or something. Her handbag was kept beside her, occupying the other seat. That must be to keep others from invading her personal space. Good idea. I should have done that too, considering this bald guy beside me was snoring now.

Minutes passed and I still couldn't think of anything. Suddenly, her phone rang.

"Hello?"

I could hear some deep voice coming out from the phone. Kinda like a man's voice.

"Ja, ik zal er zijn."

What the hell was she speaking? Confused, I stared at her.

"Ik bereik vanavond, dus ik zie je dan."

She cut the call, and put her phone in her handbag, and resumed reading.

I cleared my throat to get her attention. She looked at me strangely.

"Yes?"

"I couldn't help but overhear. What language was that?"

"Dutch."

"Ah, okay. Thanks."

"You're going to Amsterdam for the first time?"

"Yeah, why?"

"That's why you couldn't recognise the language."

"Oh, I see. Well, thanks for the highlight."

"Sure", she replied before going back to her book.

Does this lady never smile? Whatever.

I looked around the lounge, which was slowly starting to fill as boarding time came closer. Not far away was a young couple, cuddling in the seats. They looked happy, and in love. Just few seats away from them was another couple, although elderly, but still looked in love. Wow. So like, everyone was with their soulmates here? I thought of Cecilia, and for a minute, I couldn't help but smile. Her pretty face popped up in front of my eyes, and I grinned like an idiot.

The airline's announcement broke my trance, and I looked around. People were starting to line up. The weird lady was gone too. Sighing, I stood up as well and was about to walk off, when I saw a card on the seat opposite me. Does it belong to that woman? Carefully, I picked it up. 'Maya Lukwozski' the card read. I looked up and searched for that woman in the waiting line but she was nowhere to be found. Within seconds, I spotted her going through with the business class line. Hmm, weird and rich, I thought. Putting the card in my back pocket, I jogged towards the boarding line.

The plane was crowded. Elliot had forgotten to check me in via web and so I had to take the only seat available at the back. Those seats suck. It's near the lavatories and the smell is nauseating. The only good thing is that I get served food first. I put my duffle bag in the head cabin and plugged in my headphones. The seat next to me was vacant, so I pulled the restbar up and spread my legs comfortably.

I was whistling and scrolling through my phone when a man came up to me.

"That's my seat."

Confused, I checked my boarding pass.

"Uhh, no man, this is my seat. See? It says that right here", I showed him the pass.

"I meant the one you have your dirty feet on."

"Oh! Sorry, my bad", I smiled sheepishly, and straightened myself up. "I thought no one was assigned to this, so. . ."

"Hmm."

This man looked serious. He had those big burly muscles, and a military cut hairstyle. He was wearing a black suit which I think was too tight for him. He wasn't that tall though, so not that intimidating. Or so I thought.

From the corner of my eye, I saw him adjust his revolver near the belt. My eyes widened and I snapped my head to look at his face. Was he some kind of hijacker? Or a criminal? But that formal suit? Looks can be deceiving! Before I could utter a word, he spoke in a rather heavy foreign accent.

"Stay calm, lad. Utter a word and you'll be on a direct flight to hell."

I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out. I nodded my head and turned to face the window.

"Good boy. Do not speak unless asked to. And don't worry, I'm a bodyguard."

Ah, that explains the gun. I had a million questions now but I'd rather go to Amsterdam than hell. The world hasn't seen enough of Oliver yet, afterall.

I fell asleep soon after, and woke up when the flight attendant came with my food tray. The bulky guy was gone, so I took this as a chance to probe around.

"Hey miss, uhh, do you know who this gentleman sitting on this seat is?", I pointed to the vacant seat.

She looked at me strangely. "I'm sorry, I'm not supposed to reveal that information. Airline policies."

Before I could say anything else, she moved on and the bulky guy came back. He must have gone to the loo.

"Were you saying something?"

I looked at him calmly. "No, just asking for more ketchup."

He looked at my food tray. "You already have four of those."

"Yeah, well, I need more."

He looked at me strangely, probably thinking of me as some lunatic.

"Just eat your goddamn food, son."

I nodded and mumbled a whatever.

Within minutes, I heard loud voices. It seemed that two people were quarreling rather loudly, and the noise seemed to be coming from the business class. The bulky guy beside me slowly lifted his fingers and pressed them near his belt. I knew that move. He was preparing to take out his gun. Few seconds later, a young man came by and whispered something in the bulky man's ears. Both of them then left for the business class quietly. Every single passenger was peeking from their seats to get a glimpse of the drama unfolding. I too decided to see the fight.

I unbuckled myself, and leaned over the edge of the seats. I saw a woman and a man shouting at each other. I tried looking hard to see their faces properly. That's when I realised. It was that same weird woman from the lounge before! What was more surprising was that the bulky guy was shielding her.

Hold up . . . he was her bodyguard? Who is she? What is going on?!

******************