Jack gripped the steering wheel of his car tightly, as he watched the sun as it set on the horizon. He had been driving for an hour. His stomach was in knots as he tried to figure out what the hell he was doing. He kept looking at his destination on the GPS. He kept fingering the card he got from that kid at the hotel. His eyes were drawn to his wife's handwriting. His mind was circling over the same thoughts. Where was she? What was she doing? Would she come back to him? Over and over again. Stuck until he saw a bright light in the corner of his eye. He looked up and saw a semi with its blaring horn growing rapidly louder on a collision course with Jack's car.
Jack swerved out of the middle lane and could hear the passing driver swear at him. The curse drifted away as they drove away from each other. He had to focus. He was trying to find his wife and ... her lover. Everything was riding on him.
But he could not help feel like he was making all the wrong moves. Ever since he slipped Han that drug to bend her to his will, he had been on the wrong track. Sure he loved his wife truly and deeply, but it did not change the fact that his lust for her ensnared her body into Dave's trap. God, he'd give anything to take it all back and bring her home.
He felt as if he were falling apart alongside his life. He held it together when talking to the kids at the hotel. But as he approached his goal, his gut was churning as his anxiousness chewed away at him, bit by bit. Such a jarring change in his life, he felt like a shadow of his former self.
His mind kept wandering to the video and the photos. How many times had Dave taken his wife? Was it driving her crazy how she could no longer control herself? Would she even want to come back to Jack? It was driving him insane, like a piece of his soul had been ripped from him and he was desperately chasing it down.
His wife, Jack thought, was always the beautiful one in the relationship. Not just in body but in spirit. But the videos of Han degrading herself to Dave. She was becoming someone else. Something else that drew a darker part Jack to her, that he did not know existed. In the back of his mind, the filthy thoughts came. How after punishing Dave (oh, he had plans for him) how he would take his wife back, rip her clothes off, push her to the ground...
"Get a grip Jack!" he said to himself.
He was worried. He could not afford to lose it now. He should just be happy Han does not throw him in jail with Dave. And if she did, he could not blame her.
He needed some background noise and turned on the radio. He lost himself to the beat of the music.
-
Jack stopped the car a couple of hundred meters from the airport. It was a small location, with a fence to keep out the casual gatecrasher. But it had an open parking lot so public entry was not forbidden.
Jack looked at the card. Dave apparently either worked for or was associated with some company referred to as SynTeck Unlimited. Its logo was a some sort of microchip, so Jack guessed it was some sort of tech company. He had looked the company up online, but found little information on it. But if they had their own corporate jet, Jack figured they must be a moderately sized company. He turned the card over and looked at his wife's handwriting.
Building D5, Airfield 2
It was all he had. For the life of him he could not think of any plausible story to get him past the front desk and to building D5. His private investigator stunt worked on a bunch of drunk college kids, but no airport personnel would swallow that.
But he was here, so best to keep it simple. He turned on his lights and drove into the parking lot. It was dark now as he got out of his car. The bright lights of the lot gave the impression of an isolated outpost. He walked up to the front door and entered the building.
There was only one person at the counter. A young woman with curly red hair and a stout figure wearing a blue vest. She had an innocent look on her face, which was covered in makeup and lipstick. She must have been trying to appear older but it did not hide the fact she was still under 21.
"Can I help you sir?" she cheerfully called to Jack in a high pitched voice.
Well here goes nothing. "Yes, uhh, I was wondering if you could help me find a terminal. I was waiting to pick up a friend, Dave Creek. But he did not give me the correct time of his arrival in his email. Since I was already close by I thought I'd drop in and check. He works for SynTeck who fly out of building D5."
The service agent (Alison by her name tag) checked her computer and asked, "May I see some form of ID?"
Jack felt his stomach dropped and lied, "Here's the thing, my name is Dan ... Thomas and I lost my wallet at the hotel I was staying at. They said they'd call me later if I found it, but I'd really like to know if I have to come back here."
The service agent smiled sympathetically and asked, "I understand, Mr. Thomas. What was your friends name again?"
"Dave Creek."
The service agent raised her eyes as if she recognized the name. But she just continued to type on her terminal silently for a few minutes. Finally, she raised her face to meet Jack's eyes and said in a standard customer service tone, "I'm afraid he won't be here for a few hours. According to his schedule, he has to pick up a guest in another connecting flight before he arrives here."
Jack blinked. Dave was coming here? And he was... "Do you happen to have the name of the passenger he's picking up?"
The service agent typed out a blur of keys and read the results, "A ... Ms., how do you pronounce that, Nagooyen."
Jack was stunned. This was an incredible coincidence. He would later, very briefly reflect, too much of a coincidence. But now he jumped at his chance. "Yes! Ms. Han Nguyen. I wasn't aware she'd be with him. Do you know what time they are coming in? I want to know how long I have to wait."
The service agent looked at her screen again. "It says that they will be arriving in about three hours. It is a bit of a wait. Did you have to go anywhere soon?"
Jack was starting to grow nervous. This was his chance so he could not blow it. "No, I'll just wait here. It's too much of a drive to my place and back." He made a show of looking around the terminal. It was a simple private airport, so it had none of the amenities of the large international airports. The small waiting area was just a few chairs and a water cooler.
The service agent seemed to take that in as well. She looked at Jack with sympathetic eyes and exhaled dramatically. The she smiled and said, "Listen, the company has a nicer building you can wait in closer to the airfield. I am sure it will not be a problem to wait for your friend there."
She pointed in the direction of a dark shadow of a building quite a distance from the main terminal.
"Oh, that's quite a walk."