“You okay?” Cody said.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
The pilot was waiting to greet Colton. “Hi, Colton, I’m Robert. You ever flown in one of these?” he asked, shouting to be heard over the engine.
Shaking his head, Colton yelled, “Anything I need to know?”
“Nope. Slate is waiting for you inside. So, if you’re ready, I can take a couple of your bags.”
Cody and Carson handed them over, giving Colton one more hug before heading back to the porch. Colton turned, waving to everyone before climbing into the cabin. Once inside, he saw a man, resembling Steel, point to a seat next to him. He sat down and buckled up his harness. The man gave him a headset to put on before speaking.
“Hi Colton. I’m Slate. Pleased to meet you and thank you for helping me. You have a microphone connected to the headset. It will allow you to communicate with me and the pilot during the flight.”
“Oh wow, I can hardly hear the engine with this headset. How come?”
“These are noise cancelling headsets. It makes it easier to talk and there’s no noise fatigue.”
“Fantastic. I can hear you as clearly as if we were sitting in a quiet room.”
“Yup. Great technology. Dire Enterprises invested in it and we have a plant making them. We look for cutting edge ideas to fund and when a product is ready to come to market, we build plants near shifters so they have jobs and steady incomes.”
“Wow. Oracle told us about the purpose of the Dire Treasure that Maximus is guardian of, but I never really knew much about it.”
“There’re a lot of poor packs out there that need our help. Our goal is to achieve three things for every pack…good paying jobs, healthcare, and education.”
Colton nodded, looking out the window as the helicopter lifted off. He saw his family waving and he waved back, a lump forming in his throat at the thought of not seeing them for at least a month—by which time Jackson would be near the end of his pregnancy. And Dr. Wallace would be here.Shit, he squirmed in his seat at the thought of meeting the man who filled his dreams every night. Hopefully, time away from that voice would help the situation.
Slate spoke again. “We’ll be at the plane in about twenty minutes. Once we’re airborne, it’ll take us about three and a half hours to our destination.”
Colton nodded again, looking at the ground.Shit, how cool is this. This must be how Jackson felt when Steel took him by helicopter to San Francisco for his babymoon. Cody and Carson would want a full report from him tonight about his experiences today. He pulled out his phone, taking pictures he’d send them. Before he knew it, they were descending and Colton watched the ground come up to meet them as they landed with a gentle bump.
After the luggage had been transferred, Slate directed Colton to the stairs leading up to his private jet. Colton’s jaw dropped when he stepped inside and saw the interior—soft buff leather swivel chairs and a loveseat set on dark, rich, brown carpet. The sides of the cabin were padded and covered with cream leather, and high gloss, mahogany wood tables were scattered throughout for working or eating. The overall feeling was warm, inviting and luxurious. Logan needed to see this, so he started taking pictures to send to his brother.
Chuckling, Slate said, “Hey Colton, do you mind if I get past you. I want to speak with the pilot to make sure everything’s in order for our flight.”
“Oh… yeah…sorry. I just want to send my brother some photos of the interior design of the jet.” Colton realized he was acting like a gawking tourist.Dammit, I have to dial down my excitement.He walked further in but waited, unsure of which seat to take.
“Sit anywhere. Gimme a minute. I’ll be right back.”
Looking around, Colton decided to sit next to a window. He’d never flown before, so he wanted to see everything. He set his carry-on next to him on the floor before fastening his seat belt. Suddenly, a man in a uniform appeared in front of him. “May I get you something to drink, sir?” Colton wasn’t sure how to answer.
Luckily, at that moment, Slate returned. “Hi Paul, I’ll take a beer. And this is Colton. He’ll be working with me down in Mexico on the medical project. Colton, this is Paul, my steward. Anything you need, he’ll get it for you. What would you like to drink?”
“I’ll take a beer also. Thanks, Paul.”
Slate settled into a seat opposite Colton’s. “I might as well get Steel’s instructions out of the way, so we can enjoy the flight.”
“Don’t you mean Jackson’s instructions?”
“Yeah, probably, but I got them from Steel so I’ll have to answer to him if I fuck up.”
“Right. Okay, lay ‘em on me.”
“The most important rule is I must accompany you at all times. I’ve arranged for us to share an apartment with two bedrooms. I’ll work with you, helping to unbox and install all the equipment. Anytime you need a break, I’ll be with you. The only time you’ll be alone is when you’re sleeping; however, the apartment has a military grade security system so you’ll be protected even then. All meals will be prepared by my chef…except the ones I’ll make…and all supplies will be shipped to us using my pilot.”
“Holy shit. I knew Jackson would worry but I never expected this level of protection.”
“Colton, I swore to my brother and Jackson I would protect you with my life. If something happened to you, it might cause Jackson to miscarry. I’m asking you to please respect the rules regarding your safety. I know it’s a pain in the ass, for both of us but I’m willing to do it just to get your help with this project.”
