“They have arrived,” she said, gesturing vaguely in the direction the plane was facing. “It seems they decided to add another passenger at the last minute.”
She stepped into the fuselage, turning to face us as we crossed into the passenger seating area. “Wow,” Bennett said in an unusual expression of appreciation. “SlickBlade must do well for itself.”
He wasn’t kidding. If I hadn’t known better I would have thought I’d stepped into someone’s living room instead of onto a plane. Soft music drifted around us as I took in the cream-colored cushy seats, teakwood tables, and curvy blue neon lights running along the plane’s center. A flat-screen TV took up one side wall, with a built-in cream colored sofa opposite.
“Oh, you mean because of all this.” Evelyn circled a hand in the air. She winked at us. “It’s more like they have friends in high places.”
Bennett and I exchanged a puzzled look as we made our way through the elegant space. Evelyn ran a hand along the back of one puffy leather headrest. “You’ll notice how far apart these are spaced?” She grabbed the top of the seat with both hands and swiveled it right then left. “Each goes all the way around and reclines fully so that passengers may sleep if they like—any direction they like. Here. . . .” She pointed to the control panel on the armrest. “Push a button and the lights dim, push another and I’ll come over to get you whatever it is you need, whether it be a pillow or to have your drink refreshed. My galleys are at the front and back.” She pointed. “All meals have been prepared by local chefs here in town, and I can guarantee they’ll be delicious.”
“Sounds heavenly,” I said. “Do we choose where we want to sit, or are we assigned?”
“I suggest you choose two together in the front, or if you prefer, the very back. That way you don’t split the group up. They tend to make use of the sofa and television, though I’m certain you’d be welcome to join them. Either way, there’s no doubt it will get cozy in here.”
My preference would have been to take the back seats, but Bennett pointed to the two up front, on either side of the cabin. “These will do,” he said, lowering himself into one.
I sat in the other. “So much for having a quiet conversation,” I said gesturing to the expanse between our seats. “We’ll have to shout to hear each other.”
Evelyn brightened. “Oh no, this is an incredibly quiet plane,” she said. “Not only that, but look. . . .” She pulled at a recessed handle built into a wall directly in front of Bennett that separated the seating area from the front entrance. With a smooth, almost inaudible whisk, she pulled another seat out from the wall. It wasn’t as soft and cushy as the reclining models, but it would serve its purpose if Bennett and I chose to have a private conversation en route.
Just as she folded the seat back into the wall, we heard a ruckus coming from outside. Men were shouting, or more accurately, shouting insults at one another, each voice trying to outblast the others, it seemed. I stood to see what was going on, but Evelyn waved me back. “Sounds like SlickBlade is here.” She started for the door to welcome them, but before she disappeared around the corner, she turned and winked. “Buckle up.”
Chapter 8
BENNETT’S FROWN MATCHED MY CONCERN. I whispered, “I hope they don’t plan to carry on like that for the whole flight,” but he couldn’t hear me over the din of the approaching argument. From what I could tell, it was mostly good-natured, but there was no disputing that it was loud.
“I think Evelyn sold us a bill of goods,” Bennett said. “They haven’t been inside arranging passage for one of their group, they’ve been drinking. Heavily, too, from the sound of it.”
At that, a man stumbled through the doorway, grasping both sides of the wall that separated the passenger cabin from the front of the plane. “Hey,” he slurred, leaning forward, “who are you?”