The Archfornicator of Canterbury

43 Apollinaris International Airport, Transvestitia

The bus from Hospodar came to a halt at the Apollinaris airport. The international terminal was quite modern. It was an impressive structure made of timber and steel and looked like it had been designed by some young hot-shot Scandinavian architect who always wore a black turtleneck sweater and black slacks. Jack Back got off the bus and headed into the terminal.

Inside, the air-conditioned terminal building was full of life. Japanese tourists, half of whom wore a fisherman's hat, were being herded by a young Japanese girl who probably went through the same ritual every day, but still managed to keep a polite smile on her face at all times. A retired American couple was queueing at check-in, the husband wearing sandals, shorts and a souvenir T-shirt that had a picture of a crying chipmunk and said "I LOST MY NUTS IN TRANSVESTITIA", the wrinkled wife almost collapsing under the weight of her hairspray, make-up and jewelry. Jack spotted the Delta Airlines counter at the far end of the hall. He started walking towards the counter, when he spotted a man in a black suit and wearing dark sunglasses talking into his lapel. There was another identically dressed man behind him, and they both started walking towards Jack.

Jack ducked into the toilet next to him. There were six stalls inside, only one of which was occupied. The occupant flushed the toilet and unlocked the stall door. At that same instant Jack pushed at the door with his whole weight, making the person inside lose their balance and hit the back wall. Jack wasted no time. He used a Kung Fu blow on the side of the neck to knock out the man, noticing to his satisfaction that they were of roughly the same build. He checked the man's pockets and got out his wallet and travel documents.

The man was a Russian by the name of Sergey Fukov. According to his boarding pass, he was on his way to Moscow via Frankfurt. Perfect. Jack spoke passable Russian, but not well enough to be able to pass for a native at Sheremetyevo. He wasn't planning on flying that far anyway. He just needed to get out of the reach of the two spooks waiting for him outside. He pocketed the wallet, passport and boarding pass and lifted Sergey on the toilet seat. After that, he locked the stall from the inside and climbed over the wall. He was just about to leave when he remembered something. Walking back to the garbage can, he removed his Glock from its holster, dropped it in and threw a few paper towels on top for good measure.

At the toilet door, Jack took a deep breath. He opened the door and without looking to his sides, he started to run towards the security check between landside and airside. He didn't look over his shoulder, because he already knew without looking that the men in black suits would try to catch him. There was a long queue to the metal detector. Jack ran right past the queue, all the while shouting PRIORITY! C4! EXCUSE ME! PRIORITY! C4! which had the effect of everyone standing back to let him pass. He passed the detector without a beep. On the other side of the detector, a security guard stopped him.

"What's C4."

"Damned if I know. It never fails to work though."

The security guard smiled and let him pass. Next stop was passport control. At this point he allowed himself to look behind him. The two men in black suits were standing at the metal detectors. One of them was talking into his lapel. Jack smiled to himself and joined the queue. Ten of the booths were manned by border guards, so there was no queue to speak of. When his turn came, Jack presented the passport and boarding pass of Sergey Fukov. The border guard stamped the passport without saying a word and handed both documents back to Jack.

The Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt was due to leave in twenty minutes. A nearby monitor displayed the flight status as "GO TO GATE". Jack could see that the passengers at gate 34 were only starting to board. He stopped to buy the Time magazine and walked up to the gate.

After a few minutes he boarded the 747 and found his seat. A luxurious blanket and a pillow were waiting on the seat for him. Jack was glad Sergey's employer obviously thought quite highly of him, since they'd splurged for First Class. Perhaps Sergey was the owner.

A smiling flight attendant walked down the corridor. She was a tall, busty German girl in her late twenties or early thirties whose body was complimented by the uniform. Her long platinum blonde hair was rolled up in a bun. According to her name tag, her name was Helga.

"Welcome aboard Herr Fukov. Can I get you something to drink."

"A gin and tonic please. And a pair of eyeshades. And earplugs."

"You'll find the shades and plugs in your seat pocket Herr Fukov. The á la carte menu is also in the pocket. I will bring your drink in just a moment."

"Vielen Dank Helga. Sie sind ein Engel."

Helga smiled and went back to the galley. Jack couldn't help noticing that her attractive undulating posterior matched the front in a way not all female fronts and backs quite managed to match.

The Archfornicator of Canterbury by Olli-Pekka Rinta-Koski
is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Australia License.