Her grin turned into a smile at the serious look on his face, which made it hard to take him seriously.
She pointed behind her. “One of the ladies on the plane. She told meCapitanoFausti said to give me everything I want or need. I wanted to come back here and check things out. I’ve never seen this part of a plane before. Does this airline offer pins?”
“Pins?” Beni made a confused face.
Ava’s lips tightened into a thin line, and she was struggling not to laugh at him. At least her filter worked somewhat. Beni was mostly genial, but he knew the situation we were up against, and I could tell he saw Ava as a complication for me. And if she laughed at him, without him truly knowing her, he would feel disrespected.
“Yeah, a pin. The ones that attach to your shirt with a needle? Some airlines give them as souvenirs. A gift to mark the memory.” Her face was totally serious.
Beni matched it. “We do not give those.”
“Shame. This is a memorable plane and flight.” She looked at me.
Our eyes held, and I could not control the impulse to stay locked in with her, but I forced my mouth to work.
“What do you need,SignorinaGirardi?”
“That’s a loaded question,CapitanoFausti.I doubt you’re ready for it.”
“The simple version of the question then.”
“The polite version then. Simple answer. I don’t need anything. I just wanted to thank you for getting my clothes and things, and I’m…curious…about what goes on in here.”
I cursed under my breath. Curiosity could be a beautiful thing. It had the power to fire us up, keep us living and learning, but it could also have a dangerous edge when not controlled, when fear was lacking from its nature.
This woman’s curiosity was missing fear and control, just like she was missing a filter.
It made the decision to leave her with Beni or take her with me even harder. I could not trust her with the specifics of Malum, and I could not trust her not to report on the inside of it. Even if I had the time to land and leave her with someone else, the prospect seemed risky. She seemed skilled in escapes.
“If nothing is needed…” Beni broke our connection and stood. “We will be experiencing some turbulent weather in a few minutes. It will be safer for you to return to your seat.”
That was the truth. Even in the best of weather conditions, taking off and landing at Malum was for highly skilled pilots. Storm season was still upon us, and we were about to experience some forceful weather. But I had successfully landed aircraft in many of the most dangerous airports in the world—Lukla Airport and Paro Airport included. I was the ninth pilot allowed to land there.
Beni escorted her out, then came back a minute later, claiming his side. I could feel his eyes on my face, and I turned to meet them.
“You did not mention the electrical force between the two of you,cugino.”
“Electrical force,” I repeated.
“The one strong enough to shock this plane and send it crashing into the jaws of the ocean.”
“You are being dramatic, Beniamino.”
“Am I?” His voice went up an octave before it smoothed out. “Not mentioning the attraction is telling,cugino. You are attempting to cloak it, which tells me you do not want it, but cannot control it.” He squeezed my shoulder, his eyes serious on mine. He spoke in Italian. “You have never allowed anything to have control over you before. I can sense it. You are deep in trouble. You would take the fall for her. And where we are right now with the family…”
I turned my attention back to the controls just as the plane started to tremble from the strong breaths of the sky and the violent swirls of dark water beneath us.
FOURTEEN
AVA
The only reasonI wasn’t crapping myself in this beautiful iron bird: I didn’t want to show weakness in front of the bitches who worked the back of the plane. The three of them, perfect molds for plastic dolls, sat in their seats, hands in their laps, grinning at me.
They had sensed it. Or maybe they had smelled it.
My fear.
I’d probably made the expensive plane reek of it.
