CHAPTER 1 [Dublin to Washington, D.C.]
Dublin international airport was filled with the chaos of hundreds of people hurrying to and fro on their own urgent business. Through the mobs and the queues five women made their way to one of the security checkpoints, followed unobtrusively by two men in jackets, wearing dark sunglasses and sporting earphones. The bodyguards' eyes scanned the surrounding, milling throngs restlessly, but they never let the women out of their sight. The women joined one of the lines of dreary length, and settled down to chat, while their security stood with professional nonchalance near them, but not too near.
A slightly built woman looked up at the display of departure times and then turned to one of her companions and asked, "Now, Ariana, are ya sure ya packed everythin? Mind ya don really noo how long you'll be gone, nor where you'll be a travellin." The woman speaking would have been instantly recognizable by almost all her fellow citizens if she hadn't had her waist length, pale blonde hair twisted tightly up under a jaunty cap, and had brown contacts in to hide her telltale green eyes.
Ariana smiled indulgently, but sighed theatrically. Her long, jet black hair was done up in a French twist, and tinted glasses hid vivid blue eyes. She was a decade more experienced than Cassie, but only the closest inspection could have seen the subtle tracery of lines around mouth and eyes that hinted at her age. That and an indefinable sense of world-weariness. "I ha packed everythin everyone suggested, Cassie. You'd think we were goin back on tour early."
The companion with shoulder-length, honey-blonde hair shook her head and tutted. "The break on this tour is but four weeks, and then tis back ta tha states, and near eight months o bookings."
"Linnae, tha Fantastic Race people promised tha tha race would start three days from noo and be over in eighteen days, so I'll be back in plenty o' time." Ariana shook her head and shrugged, "Besides, I'll probably be spending most o' me time on tha beach in this Finish Line Resort place."
"Now don ya go thinkin like tha!" Cassie was indignant. "A winning attitude is everythin. How good a show would we be puttin on if we went oot every night feelin defeated?"
"An what is this Finish Line Resort place?" Lavender asked. She was such an iconic Irish emerald-eyed, willowy, crimson-haired maid that her friends never bothered to remember that her parents were French and had moved to Ireland when she was three.
"Tis a secluded resort or hotel near tha finish line. If a team is last ta a pit stop, they may be eliminated fra tha race, and they are sent ta this Finish Line Resort place ta wait fer tha last three teams ta finish; so as all tha teams are there ta cheer at tha end,"
Marie interrupted, rescuing Ariana from further questions by pulling a book out of her voluminous bag and presented it to Ariana. "You hae been lookin fer this one, I expect?"
Ariana snatched the book from Marie, gasping in surprise. "Me favorite author! I heard he hae one comin oot, but when ...?"
Marie smiled. "First thin this morning. But by special arrangement wit a publisher friend o' mine, tis autographed."
Ariana gaped and opened the cover to see the inscription to the author's 'most ardent fan.' "I don noo wha ta say."
"Say you'll let me borrow it when you're done." Marie looked around. Their three companions were temporarily distracted. She leaned closer. "Are ya sure tha this is such a good idea? Racin round tha world fer weeks wit someone ye hardly noo?"
Ariana smiled in what she hoped was a reassuring manner. "Yes, I'm sure I'll be fine. Don ya go a-worryin."
There was a clearing of an official and rushed throat, and the women looked up to see a security officer eyeing them impatiently. Ariana slipped the book into her carry-on, hugged everyone, and stepped over the security line. With an exchange of enthusiastic waves, Ariana wended her way through the security obstacle course and headed to her gate for her flight.
When Ariana traveled alone she was seldom recognized, and preferred it that way. As she sat down and buckled up, she started worrying about connecting with Nathan. She had started out the flight worried that they had just left it as 'meeting in the terminal,' and hoping they wouldn't have to arrange some meeting via e-mail as they both wandered around the terminal. She chided herself for not getting his cell phone number, though he did have hers, come to think of it. Well, she could reply to one of his old e-mails; that would probably be sufficient. As the plane taxied out for take-off she shifted to wondering if Marie had been right and she had made a major error. She was going to race around the world on international television with a man she really barely knew. She wondered if she would embarrass herself by not recognizing him, since she had only met him at two 'Meet & Greets' and a Celtic Music Convention, and then only for a few minutes each time.
She ruefully admitted to herself that they would probably be eliminated after a few legs and spend a week or two at wherever the Finish Line Resort was, where she could catch up on her reading, work on a tan - with extreme care, given her fair skin - and relax before the resumption of the tour. Though she doubted she would ever hear the end of it if she were eliminated in the first leg. When Kelly Manor, the publicist for the Madri-Gals, had approached her about the Celebrity Fantastic Race, bubbling over with enthusiasm, she had reluctantly agreed. It was obvious why she had been chosen; the other performers would be spending break with family and friends. Ariana was about as estranged from her family as it was possible to get, barring infrequent and surreptitious e-mails exchanges with her younger sister; and nearly all of her good friends were members of the group. On breaks she hung out with one of her co-stars when she could, or drifted off sightseeing anywhere and everywhere it was safe for an unescorted woman to do so. The celebrity race was supposed to consist of teams where one member was a celebrity and the other member was a fan, friend or family member. Well, family was out of the question, and all of her friends were fans of the Fantastic Race and had goggled at her and asked if she were crazy agreeing to go. Since she had only ever heard of the show before, and never seen a single episode, she was a little perplexed and more than a little apprehensive. She gathered she would be expected to run occasionally, solve puzzles, which she was extremely good at, and eat a few unpleasant things ... which actually sounded a lot like being on tour. So that had left fans - none of whom she felt she knew well enough to ask to be a teammate.
She had resolved to go to Kelly and back out as gracefully as she could, but Kelly hadn't been in her office, and while she had been waiting she had gotten the weekly text message from the president and web administrator of her on-line fan forum. He quite religiously sent her an update on what the fans were planning for the next week and which fans were going to be at which upcoming 'Meet and Greets'. Completely spontaneously and entirely without thought she had texted back her dilemma and, jokingly, asked if he wanted to be her teammate. The answer, from halfway around the world, had been back seconds later - "If you are serious, I'm in." In her consternation she had almost, almost, texted that she wasn't serious, but at that very moment Kelly had walked around the corner, given her a beaming smile, and asked if she had found a teammate yet. Looking desperately for an out, she had texted Nathan with the dates, travel conditions, legal documents and the need for a valid passport, hoping this would scare him off, or not fit his plans, or ... . His reply had been back in seconds; "No problem. Just send me the details." And that had been that; quick enough to near cause whiplash, she had been swept away by events.
The flight was uneventful, but despite the enticing book in her hands, she had been unable to read. Her mental wrestling match had been of Olympic proportions; not the modern games, but the ancient gods grappling madly atop a storm-wracked mountain. And the whirlwind of assorted worries were like a tornado in a kaleidoscope factory in her mind. Spending weeks in the close company of someone she barely knew seemed crazier by the minute as the flight soared on toward Washington, DC. She dozed fitfully, ate and drank sparingly, and was, at best, edgy, when the airplane's wheels slapped the concrete of the runway, making a rude ending to a smooth flight.
She disembarked, endured the official scrutiny of all her paperwork, had her well-stamped passport duly stamped yet again, and followed the herds of humanity to the automated baggage claims. She waited patiently, blending in with the crowds, until her bags came around. She dragged them off and started toward the doors to the taxis. Nathan would probably ... she shivered slightly, strangely not a cold chill, but a warm one; almost like opening a warm oven with a savory pie in it. Someone fell in step beside her, and a half familiar voice said, "May I help you with your bags?" She hesitated and looked up, then stopped.
He loomed over her; taller and with broader shoulders than she remembered. His head was shaved and it gleamed in the banks of lights. Sea grey eyes sparkled behind the gold wire rimmed glasses and the smile was beaming. He was wearing dress jeans, a green polo shirt which fit exceptionally well, and a sleek, serious-looking backpack.
"Thank you," she responded automatically, passing him the heavier suitcase. "I'm surprised ya recognized me. I don usually hae problems no bein recognized."
"You have a very distinctive walk, you are exactly the height I remembered, and you haven't changed your hair color, though the style is much different than you wear on stage."
She thought about it and gave him points for being observant. "How long do ya think it will take ta get a taxi?" she wondered out loud, looking at the line of people outside the windows at the taxi stand, many waving their arms in the air..
"No time at all. It's already waiting." Nathan angled to the left and headed to the VIP door. Ariana followed, puzzled. The letter had been specific that the network didn't have any responsibility until a contestant checked in at the designated hotel. She looked around curiously as Nathan flashed a card to a scanner and the doors whooshed open importantly. On the other side were three limousines. Nathan immediately went to largest one, where the driver was leaning against the side of the car, reading a newspaper. The impeccably attired driver noticed their approach and whisked the paper out of sight like a magician vanishing a volunteer's watch. Nathan flashed the card and said, "Ariana and Nathan." The man nodded and opened the door for them. The inside of the car was spacious and luxurious. They left their luggage on the curb and climbed in. The trunk shut with a muffled thud and with the slightest rocking of the vehicle the driver entered the car, "Welcome to Washington, D.C." he said over the intercom speaker. "Next stop is the Regency Hotel." The limo pulled out of the underground garage, entered a long, well-lit tunnel, and after a few minutes slid smoothly into boisterous morning traffic, incidentally bypassing several vehicular knots around the airport entrance.
Nathan turned to her and smiled. "I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate the chance to do this. I have done some international travelling for work, but never anything like this. Thank you."
