When You Were Young

emergency-thus explaining the lack of a flight plan-with a French kiss that almost created a real emergency. "You've been very helpful," she said after they touched down. "You might have saved some lives."

"Really? Since we're here, maybe we could-"

She shut him up with another French kiss. As she kissed the downy-faced pilot, she tried not to think of Andre. Her wonderful, beautiful Andre who had disappeared. She would give anything to kiss him again and to tell him how much she loved him. "Holy shit," the pilot said. "Are you sure-"

"It's been fun," she said. She left him to deal with the aviation officials who would demand information to log the proper reports. Even if he mentioned a mysterious woman asking him to fly her to New Hampshire and Maine, he didn't know her name or her ultimate destination. If the Bureau's computers flagged his report, they still wouldn't be able to find her for some time. By then it would all be over.

She searched the terminals in the Bangor airport for any friends from the Bureau as well as Veronica. A man skulking about a bathroom aroused her suspicion until a young boy ran into his arms. She spotted a woman with dark skin and wild hair near a newsstand only for the woman to turn around with a full beard. "I'm losing it," she said aloud.

She stopped at a coffee shop to get the largest cappuccino possible. The combination of caffeine and sugar would give her a much-needed jolt since she hadn't slept since waking up in Savannah over two days ago. As she gulped down the coffee, she plotted her next move.

Veronica could have already gotten ahead of her, depending on her method of travel. There wasn't any point waiting around the airport on the chance Veronica might happen by. Better to head for Veronica's ultimate destination and hope to beat her there. From there, she didn't know.

She couldn't rent a car, not with her own identification and credit card. The Bureau would already have frozen her credit cards and their computers would have no problem tracking down a reservation in her own name, even out in Bangor. As for stealing a car, she didn't want to risk drawing that kind of attention onto herself. Hitchhiking would be too slow and a cab too expensive with her limited financial resources.

She had another idea. She scanned the terminal for a woman of her approximate age and coloring. After finding a target, she stalked the woman to the baggage claim. She picked a suitcase off one of the conveyor belts at random, the kind with the telescoping handle and wheels.