The Outsider (Outsider #1) ✔️

Chapter 146 : Imperial Security in Panic

While Dawn Hale had managed to park herself in the hotel, Imperial Security, on the other hand, was having a bad time.

The Officer who had gone to receive Dawn Hale at the airport had a copy of the original ticket. He was waiting at the exit for Economy Class passengers, while Dawn left from the First-Class Exit. Regis Terminal 2 had different exit gates for First Class and Business Class passengers, which converged with economy passengers only in the main baggage area. The Officer waited patiently for Dawn, but she did not emerge.

Finally, he informed the airline staff and went into the aircraft. He had heard of cases where spoilt pampered girls in Category X were still sitting inside waiting for someone to carry her purse. The aircraft was empty with the cleaning bots only were working. He came out and caught hold of the airline staff again.

"I need to find a kid who was on this flight. Her name is Dawn Hale. I didn't see her coming out of the flight. I am supposed to escort her home."

The attendant checked the records and said, "Dawn Hale? She was in First Class. Why are you looking here?"

The officer cursed himself. Category X were mostly children of top officials of the Imperial Government. They earned hundreds of thousands a month and it should be natural for the daughter of such an official to travel at least club class, if not first class. He checked the ticket again and wondered why she had bought an economy class ticket in the first place. He considered that her parents were strict and got her economy tickets and she upgraded before boarding.

He called quickly communicated with another officer and asked him to go to the first class exit of the flight and retrieve the kid before she threw a tantrum and complained to someone. It would take him time to reach there, because he had to go through the main arrival area and back. The protocol did not allow him to run, since Imperial Security Officers running in the Airport would cause panic among the passengers.

When he reached the First-Class exit, he found his colleague in an animated discussion with one of the flight attendants.

"Where is Dawn Hale?" he asked.

"She was on the flight with the Hale girl. She says that she asked the kid to wait in the First-Class Lounge since no one had arrived to pick her up. But she is not in the Lounge. The AI says no one from this flight came to the Lounge!"

The Officer groaned. A simple assignment to reach the kid home was turning out to be a nightmare. He turned in irritation to the Flight Attendant.

"You mean, you had an underaged girl on the flight, in First Class too, and you did not ensure she went properly into the Lounge? You just asked her to go? Have all of you turned mad or are you just careless? She is an Imperial Security Protectee! Do you realise what will happen if she is not found quickly?"

"Then shouldn't Imperial Security have been here on time, waiting for her?" The Flight Attendant retorted hotly. She was not going to take the blame. After all, though she should have been more careful, it was not really her job. And if things escalated, she needed to protect herself.

Frustrated both the officers started figuring out what to do.

"If you were a kid in a new place, and there was no one to receive you, what would you do?" He asked the Attendant.

"Most of them would cry, but this one was smart. I guess she would try to get to her home on her own. Or wherever she was supposed to go."

"She would have taken a taxi. Quick, connect to the airport security! She would have used her Communicator ID to call a taxi. They will trace which taxi she took, and the Militia can stop it, and someone will take her to the Occulta Palace."