Assassin's Apprentice: Chapter 47

47.

He followed Harper through Kennedy Airport with the same professional skill he’d used to follow her from Chicago. He watched her browse through the bookstore, buying two paperbacks and a magazine. Then he watched her eat an omelet and orange juice while he finished off his last roll of Lifesavers. On the way back from the bathroom, she bought a box of animal crackers which she shoved unopened into her purse and the sight of which made his hungry stomach growl. When she decided to go to her gate early, he followed. He passed through the metal detectors without a sound. He had smuggled so many guns past airport security that he no longer considered it a challenge.

When Harper boarded the flight to Miami, he pulled out his ticket and also entered the plane.

* * * * *

Harper tried to read, but nothing held her attention. She’d seen the in-flight movies already and flipping through the various audio channels only made her more antsy. She wouldn’t have minded some pleasant conversation, it had been so long since she’d spoken to anyone face to face except to rent a room or order food. At the airport restaurant she’d complimented the cashier’s hairstyle, just to enjoy a few lines of chitchat.

She glanced over at the passenger sleeping beside her. His head leaned against the window. An elderly man with a long, gray beard and one of those British motoring caps golfers used to wear. She remembered seeing Prince Charles sporting one in a photograph, usually when he was wearing his kilt. The old man also wore a long black coat, even though it was uncomfortably warm with the morning sun beaming through the window.