“Pretty much,” I say.
He inches closer to my face, his stare drilling a hole through my forehead.
“I was kidding.” I hold my arms in a goal post.
Jeez this guy is uptight. This is exactly what happens to people in a job like this. Like the one my father has. They forget that life shouldn’t be taken so seriously all the time. They forget to have fun! I refuse to get like that—in a dead-end job doing the same shit every day. It’s not me. I need stimulation. Adventure. A challenge.
“The way I see it, you have two options, Mr. Morgan. You can either cooperate and answer my questions, or I can go ahead and slap you with a civil penalty and you can forget about your flight today. There are rules for transporting weapons. I know I don’t have to tell you that knives are prohibited on an airplane. Or maybe Idosince you seem to act like the rules don’t apply to you.”
I roll my eyes. “I forgot it was in there, okay? I got a last-minute job out of McCall. I’m looking at a six-week camping trip and thought it would come in handy. I never meant to leave it in my pocket.”
He blows out a gust of air. “What job requires you to camp?”
“Wildland firefighting.”
His smirk settles, and he straightens. “Consider this your verbal warning then. Don’t expect to go through an airportcheckpoint without anticipating that every part of you will be checked. Understand?”
I nod.
“You can go.” He motions for the door and the metal feet of the chair drag against the cement floor, the sound echoing off the walls like a prison cell.
“And my knife?” I ask.
I doubt that I’m getting it back at this point, but it belonged to my dad. Add it to the long list of ways in which I disappoint him.
“You should have checked your pocket, kid,” he says.
Thought so.
He tugs on the exit door, propping it open with the toe of his boot. I meet the eyes of the next obstacle in my journey on the other side.
“Keep it real, officer.” I salute the guy.
Was that a chuckle?
Regardless of the consequences, it makes me feel like I won. Like I might’ve made this guy’s day a little less dull.
“What the hell, Reed?” The door isn’t even shut before he’s closing in.
“What?”
“Your pocketknife? Are youinsane?”
A wicked smile lances my face. “Thought we could do a little sparring on the flight like those old Indiana Jones movies you love so much.”
“You mean the plane we almostmissedbecause of your little stunt?”
“First of all, it was an accident. And second, I’m still getting on it, aren’t I? It’s not like I said screw it and bailed. I just had a hang up.” I shrug.
“A hang up that cost you a family heirloom!” he shouts.
I sigh. That part I feel bad about.
“I know. And I’m sorry.”
“Dammit, Reed. It’s not just that it was sentimental. It’s that you never take anything seriously. There are consequences for your aloof behavior.”
“Wait—” I hold out a hand, stopping him. “I’m sorry, aloof behavior? I spent the better part of last year preparing for this. Getting my red card, training to be in the best shape of my life and applying to every open slot on the western coast that usajobs.com listed. Then yeah, I didn’t get hired at the start of the season. It wasn’t my fault that every position got filled with someone other than a rookie.”
