CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
December 19, 2012 AD – 5:41 PM,
Airport at Chichen Itza, Yucatan
23:41 GMT
• • • • •
“You’re lying…”
Marissé laughed out loud when she said this. Sitting in the jump-seat closest to the captain’s chair where Marissé sat was the helicopter pilot. He was smiling but quiet.
“There’s no way your name is ‘Pilot’… You’re lying.” She sat back and sipped from her Patron this time. She could feel herself getting way too tipsy, and the Sun had just gone down. She still had a long flight ahead.
Before she could think about that, the pilot finished a shot of his own expensive tequila and answered her. “Nope… That’s my name. Honest to God.”
Jacinto couldn’t help himself. He chimed in from his seat next to Marissé, which was fully reclined now. “Okay… What’s your first name? And don’t say helicopter.”
Everyone cracked up at this. They were all in the cabin of the helicopter, which was parked next to the large private hangar at the Chichen Itza International Airport. The cabin was so large and well appointed, there was no reason to go inside and wait. At the request of Jacinto, Zappa had been replaced by the Black-Eyed Peas, and the pilot joined them after shutting down the aircraft.
Now, after running non-stop for twenty minutes, the air-conditioning system had gotten the cabin nice and chilly. The pilot got up and grabbed a blanket for Marissé and one for Jacinto. Then he slipped on an old leather bomber jacket as he sat in the jump-seat again.
“Naaa. My first name is James… Jim to my friends.” He smiled at Marissé, again.
Marissé saw and returned his grin. In the back of her mind, she suddenly thought, ‘What is it with pilots… Do they teach them how to do that handsome, devil-may-care smile in flight school?’ Before she let herself get giddy, she looked away and past Jim Pilot to the runway outside. Then she looked at her watch. They arrived ten minutes before Jay-L’s plane was supposed to be here. Now the plane was ten minutes late. The sun set about twenty minutes ago, but there was still no sign, or word, from Jay-L’s plane. The tower would not give out any information for security reasons, not even to the helicopter pilot. So they decided to relax and enjoy the amenities that Jay-L had provided. Finally, she regained her composure and looked back at the pilot.
“I still don’t believe you. There’s no way your parents named you Jim Pilot, and you grew up to be a pilot.”
“Helicopter pilot only. Don’t do the fixed wing, just the whirlybirds.” His voice had a singsong effect to it, and he smiled that same grin, but it was not as effective this time. He was clearly flirting with her, however.
And she didn’t seem to mind. The strange physical excitement of the day and the glow of the tequila were beginning to mix. The result was a very pleasing body buzz that Marissé did not find unpleasant in the least.
“Okay, Jim Pilot the helicopter pilot… prove it. Show me some ID, big fella.”
Jim kept smiling as he stood up. At six-foot three inches, he had to stoop his head. Then he reached around his standard issue, Air Force leather flight jacket and pulled a wallet out of his pants pocket. He flipped it open and pulled out his Farnsworth Industries ID card.
“See… It says, Jim Pilot.”
Marissé took the card from him and looked at it closely. She almost missed it. Then she looked at the pilot with a smirk.
“No… It says Jim Piloti… I almost missed the little bitty ‘i’ at the end. Nice try smartie pants.” Then she handed his card back to him.
Jim shrugged his shoulders as he put his wallet in his flight jacket.
“I always thought that was just a typographical mistake.”
Jacinto and Marissé laughed out loud at this.
Just then, the radio in the cockpit crackled to life. Jim excused himself and headed forward. After he closed the small door to the cockpit behind himself, Jacinto sat up.
“Damn girl… just throw yourself at him… it’ll be more subtle”
Marissé swung her right arm out and popped Jacinto in the shoulder. He winced immediately.
“Owwww!” He grabbed his arm and put his seat in the upright position. “It’s okay, I get it… You’ve been out in the jungle for a while. So the first suave, debonair helicopter pilot that happens to be named Pilot, and you’re all gooey.”
Marissé reached back to hit him again, but she stopped when the door to the cockpit opened, and Jim came back in.
“Alright… That was the jet. They’re on final approach now. They’ll be on the ground in a minute or so, and they should be pulling up outside in front of the hangar when they stop.”
Marissé and Jacinto both jumped up at this, and a few minutes later, they were all outside in the equatorial night air of the Yucatan with their luggage and the pelican case in a neat pile beside the skid of the helicopter. When they looked across the tarmac, they saw the Gulfstream aircraft as it pulled up in front of the hangar door about twenty meters away. Marissé couldn’t help herself and looked at her watch again.
“Fifteen minutes late… That’s more like the Jay-L I remember.” She said this out loud but no one heard her over the sound of the Gulfstream engines. Suddenly the engine noise dropped as the twin jet turbines wound down. Marissé turned and grabbed the pelican case with the artifact as Jacinto grabbed both bags. Then, the three of them strode over to the plane. As they approached the custom jet, the door swung down and extended into a ramp. Just as the ramp locked in place, a figure moved to the doorway inside the plane. Marissé, Jacinto, and Jim arrived at the bottom of the stairs at the same moment Jay-L popped his head out the door.
“Surprise!” Jay-L put on a big grin, and then he slid down the hand rails onto the tarmac.
They were surprised, alright. All of them had their jaws hanging open slightly. Marissé still had a little tequila buzz, but she managed to speak first.
“What are you doing here? I thought you were going to meet us in Miami.”
Jay-L walked directly up to Marissé and firmly grabbed her by both shoulders.
“Can’t a man drop in to see his wife if he wants to?” Then he smiled that big smile again.
Jim looked at Marissé with honest surprise and shock. “You’re married… to him?”
Jacinto instantly lost his buzz and looked at Marissé. “You’re married boss?”
Marissé looked from Jim to Jacinto and then back to Jay-L. He never stopped smiling.
She snapped.
“What? You pr— You said— You son-of-a-bitch!”
Jay-L still had his hands on her shoulders. He started to say something, but when he did, he lifted his hands up and made a move that looked a little too much like the ‘oops’ gesture.
That was more than Marissé could take.
Faster than anyone could react, she pulled her arm back and swung around with a hook that landed directly on Jay-L’s chin. His huge grin instantly disappeared from his face as Jay-L’s head snapped up and to the side. It was almost in slow motion as his eyes rolled back into his head, and he collapsed in a heap at the bottom of the Gulfstream stairs. From behind her, she suddenly heard Jacinto.
“Well, there goes the trip to Miami… It’s back to the jungle for sure, now.”
Marissé spun around and pointed her finger at her assistant.
“To hell with that! You heard him. I’m his wife. That means half this plane is mine. You two pick him up and get him on board. I’m going to Miami tonight… on this plane!”
At that, she grabbed the pelican case and stepped over Jay-L’s unconscious body. Then she stomped up the stairs and into the private luxury jet.
Jacinto and Jim watched as she stormed off and then looked at each other at the same instant. Then they both cracked up laughing as they walked up and gathered the unconscious multi-billionaire off the tarmac. Jim looked at Jacinto as they started to carry him up the stairs.
“You work for her, huh?” Jim sh
ook his head and whistled.
“Looks like you may be working for her, too,” Jacinto retorted.
They both laughed even harder as they dragged Jay-L on board.