The Greatest of These by Greg Wendleton (booksvooks txt) 📕

sent Chad Wilhite an email. I was hoping against hope that he would respond to it, but also realizing it was just after 5:00am in Hawaii.

I sent Fonda an email in the hopes that she might read it. Then I took a real risk. I wrote an email to Conrad.

At SAT. Arrive OGG this evening.

My finger hovered over the SEND button for several heartbeats, then I clicked the button. Surprisingly, Conrad responded within a minute and his message was simple.

Good boy.

I closed my laptop and stared out the windows onto the distant boarding gates. I was lost in my thoughts, not paying any attention to what was going on around me. After an extended time, I felt a nudge on my shoulder and I jumped.

“Sir, are you on this flight?”

“What?” I regained my bearings and noticed it was the gate agent standing beside me. “Yes. Yes, I’m heading to Maui.”

“Then I suggest you grab your pack and follow me. We are about to close the boarding door and if you miss this flight you won’t get to Maui today.”

“Thank you. Of course. I think I zoned out.”

“It’s okay. Just follow me, please.”

I did as instructed and presented my boarding pass at the counter. The agent scanned my pass and wished me a good trip. I entered the jetway and was soon walking onto the plane. Due to the COVID restrictions, the flight wasn’t that full and I found my window seat. The rest of the row was unoccupied. I buckled my seatbelt and settled in for the relatively short flight up to DFW where I would have a brief layover, and then a six plus hour flight to Maui.

I don’t recall the taxi or takeoff in San Antonio and woke, startled, when the plane touched down in Dallas. Wow, that was twice in a short period of time that I had zoned out this morning. I needed to get a grip on things and get my brain to focus on the challenge I had awaiting me. How was I going to rescue Chad and Jamie and figure out why the United States government wanted him dead? I knew something wasn’t right. Either Chad Wilhite was an amazing actor and a liar, or Conrad was a liar and I was a fool. My money was on the latter. But how could I be so blind and naïve? Who was Conrad?

I stood and followed the other passengers as we made our way off the plane, up the jetway and into the cacophony that is DFW. We had landed in Terminal B and my connection was departing from Terminal G. I could ride the tram system or take a long walk. Wanting to get to my gate and get settled I elected to take the tram system. About fifteen minutes later I was stepping out of the tram and descending the escalator to the main level of the terminal. I found my gate, took a seat and pulled out my laptop once again. After connecting to the DFW WiFi, I checked my work email. There was a message from my boss that approved my time off request. He took the opportunity to remind me of the company policy about scheduling time off. I fired off a quick thank you and let him know I understood the company policy.

Next, I opened my personal email to see if Fonda or Chad had written back to me. No such luck. My inbox was empty.

Then I opened my third email account. The old school Hotmail email service. There was nothing new from Conrad, or whoever the hell he really is.

The final thing I did was pull out my iPhone and pressed the name Fonda Cooper ICE Wife hoping that she might answer my call. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, she did not answer. She was going to stand by her words, “don’t speak to me until you can tell me that Chad and Jamie are okay and on their way home.”

It was way too soon for that message to be deliverable.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

I was much more focused when the time came to board the long flight to Maui. I had picked up a few things to munch on while we were in the air. With air travel what it was these days, I really didn’t know what to expect as far as food and drink service was concerned. At any rate, I would have my own supply of snacks handy.

When my boarding group was called, I stood and joined the herd of people. There was no social distancing, but at least everyone was masked. When my boarding pass was scanned, I was pleasantly surprised to be awarded an upgrade to first class. I was beyond grateful as I really didn’t want to be wedged into the smaller seats in the economy section. I was given the window seat in row four and slipped in as the aisle occupant stepped into the aisle to allow me access. I nodded my appreciation and stowed my laptop pack under the seat in front of me and buckled my seatbelt.

The boarding process was soon completed and the safety instruction video began playing. Like most people, I ignored the majority of what was being broadcast. After it was completed, the flight attendant made an announcement that we must wear face coverings while on the plane, except when actively eating or drinking. She further cautioned people to not congregate in any areas on the plane and be respectful of the fellow passengers. My only thought was, what a nice fantasy that is. I guess I’d been on too many flights with rude people to think they were going to change for the better because of a pandemic.

After we left the gate, and taxied to the farthest runway from our originating location we waited for seven other planes to take off before us. We finally began roaring down the runway and took off. The takeoff was smooth with some typical Dallas choppiness