We made part of the long walk on foot, which was too slow for my taste. Yet I could not reveal to her my true nature. I managed to get to a car that I abandoned a few blocks away from Carla. Upon arrival at her home, the lights were out, but the door was open. She was not there. I entered, motioning to the woman to follow me and she obeyed without a word. I closed the door behind her and showed her the corridor, which went off to the right.
"We have an hour to spare. You can take a shower and change. We have a plane to catch," I said, smiling. "Don't be late!"
She was always on guard, but she moved away and slammed the door of the bathroom. I put on the alarm and went to the other bathroom, on the other side of the house. I suspected that I was not going to find Carla! Surely, she did not want to explain herself and did not want to know anything about the bird and the mission. She trusted me enough to let me use her house and provide me the car I had seen parked ten yards from the house on the way.
My shower was quick and I frowned when I saw another suit, black this time, hung on the left side of the cabinet. She knew my measurements, my style, and it did not make me smile. I knew what that meant.
I sat and waited for the woman, she didn't take long. I watched her horse-face, her dark eyes and short dark brown hair. Why was she so important that I had to come out of the shadows? For some reason, I did not like her and I felt I was going to regret what I had just done. I sighed and showed her the small kitchen in the corner of the room.
"You want a sandwich? We've got about 15 minutes before we need to leave."
"Looks like you are part of the army, always to the minute!"
I looked hard at her.
"How stupid am I! Of course. You want a sandwich too?" she said as she moved away and opened the fridge.
A cry escaped from her suddenly. I turned around and hoped that what she had found was not what I feared - a bottle of fresh blood! But I smiled at seeing a dish with sandwiches already prepared. Three bottles were in there too, but I got hold of them before she got her hands on one and screamed while tasting it.
"You can take everything," I said, grinning. "Let's go! We have to go!"
The car was fast and we arrived at our destination 12 minutes early. I did not know what to expect and who would pick us up.
We were near a port. The woman remained in the car and kept staring at me. I found it weird, but I ignored it. She examined my features and gave me the impression of a spider weaving its web.
The waves collapsed on the beach, and the sound was getting redundant. I heard a boat approaching. The little ship, without lights, stopped its engines as it closed in. A man jumped down, turned on his flashlight and swept the countryside. He walked at a brisk pace to the car, and passed near me.
"Captain!" I called him urgently.
"Ah!" he yelled and stopped. "Colonel?" He waved the light over my features, sweeping it out of my face and onto my chest when I blinked in protest. "You're already here! And the bird? Is it out of the cage?" he questioned me, curious.
"Yes! What's next?"
"We will board the aircraft carrier. You will have a Rafale M F1. It is waiting for you! I know, it's not the latest model, but even to be able to fly it is amazing! I was told that you have already done so and I have nothing more to teach you. Is this true? You have already flown one? How did that happen?"
I understood between the lines that I would be responsible for the return too! We would not be picked up. Did Colonel Hubert want to know how far I was ready to go?
"I am a test pilot."
"Wow! That's crazy! If the plane has problems, you could crash and die! Ugh! I would not do it! No, Sir! Not me!" The captain did not stop to examine my face.
"Shall we?" I pressed him.
"Yes Sir!"
I opened the car door and the woman got out and approached the boat.
"Shit! This is the bird? She will be your copilot! Has she ever flown in an aircraft, at least?" The Captain walked toward to the woman and pointed the light on her face.
"Yes. As a tourist."
"She knows nothing. You must be very good and she must be very important that we spend so much money on this mission."
"Let's go!" I said, annoyed.
The aircraft carrier was not very far and it was ready to sail out into international waters. The lights were out and nobody was waiting for us on the flight deck. The Captain went forward and came back a few minutes later. The woman was following my every move. "Thirty minutes until launch time! Come! I'll take you! This is it, the one on the right," he said, raising his voice and pointing to where the aircraft was.
The aircraft carrier was tracing its route through the dark waters and we went back to the plane.
"This is a Rafale," the captain explained by turning to woman. "Do you know what a Rafale is?"
"No," replied the woman and she gave me a frightened look.
"This is the best of our fighters! With this one you will arrive at Kourou in less than two hours."
"In Kourou?" cried the woman and her gaze swept us both. "Why Kourou?"
"Those are the orders. The Colonel will take you there. That's where the mission ends."
"But why?"
"That does not concern me. We just execute the orders. You will know everything when you arrive!" he said, looking up to the sky. "Your flight suits are inside. The aircraft was checked. It's been fueled, of course!" He opened the cockpit and took out the flight suits and gave them to us with a smile. "Put these on," he said, looking at the woman. "Once you're done, go on up. The runway lights will turn on shortly. The launch time approaches. See you soon. It was a pleasure to meet you, sir. A test pilot! I never thought I'd see one in the flesh, still alive. And welcome back, Madame!"