Them

Boris arrived at the airport and parked the car. He then reached into the bag on the passenger seat beside him and pulled out his disguise. He had grown a mustache recently, something he rarely did. Now, with the added beard and cap over his head, Stone shouldn’t recognize him. He knew Stone wouldn’t go down easily, and the last thing he wanted to do was make a scene in an airport, since what he was doing was technically illegal. He wasn’t worried about the legalities, though. Stone was on the FBI’s top-most-wanted fugitives list, and he knew the importance of her capture would override any technicalities on his part. His only fear was that an airport official would recognize her and get to her before he did. It was most important that she be captured, but he would still prefer to be the one to do it. Yes, it was very personal, and he wasn’t about to deny that to anyone. He would do everything he could to see that she did the prison time she deserved, and then, if he got really lucky, she would have to deal with him again when she got out—as probation officer and client. Maybe the second time around, she would get it right. He didn’t care how unethical his hopes and thoughts were. All he cared about was his die-hard obsession to get this bitch. He knew she would arrive under a different name and in a disguise of her own. Unfortunately, it was easier for women to disguise themselves than it was for men. He couldn’t change his hair color because he’d gone bald years ago. What made it easier for Stone to blend in was the fact that more and more obese people were popping up everywhere. Looking at the flight information Stone’s sister had given him, he went to the gate she would be arriving at. He would have to watch closely in order to recognize her. Because none of the airport officials were expecting her, they wouldn’t be paying closer attention than necessary. He saw the plane pull up outside the large windows and waited patiently for the passengers to start trickling in through the gangway. He was starting to get disappointed and a bit worried after so many passed by that he was certain could not be Stone. But then there she was. He knew that big round face and those superhips anywhere. Damn, did she look like shit. She looked twenty years older than she was, and if he thought she had gained a hundred pounds since she and the detective had abducted him, now she appeared to have gained a hundred more. He guessed her to be somewhere in the 230s, which meant she had a good fifty or so pounds on him. He hated to admit it, but God help him if he had to physically restrain her, because he knew there would be no way. If she could do what she’d done to him at around 160 pounds, all she had to do was sit on him now and smother him to death if she wanted to. The most important thing was getting her out of the airport, where fewer people would be in the way. Almost losing sight of her a couple of times and beginning to panic, he managed to follow her out of the airport and into a rental car. So the bitch had at least learned to drive for herself, he saw. That would be a huge advantage. He had thought someone was going to pick her up, and that he would have to stop them on the road and deal with them as well as Stone. Once they were on the open road, he pulled out the siren he had gotten, stuck it to the roof of his own rental car, and made a run for her. The bitch sped up and raced on. “Of course you would,” Boris muttered angrily under his breath. The chase went on for about five minutes, but it seemed like the longest five minutes of his life. It was terrifying. He was terrified he would lose control of the vehicle or that an innocent bystander would be hurt or killed, in which case that would be his ass for sure. But luck was with him when Stone eventually slammed into a tree. Curious bystanders got out of their vehicles, but no one was hurt. He threw his weapon and lied to the looky-loos, telling them he was a cop and that they needed to get back in their vehicles and leave the scene. “Wait!” he shouted to one guy. “Yeah?” the guy said. “Call 911!” Boris slowly and cautiously approached the driver’s side of the rental. He was relieved to see that Stone was alive. Her face was bloodied, and she was moaning, but she was alive. As soon as he heard sirens, he got back in his own vehicle and sped off. This couldn’t have worked out better if he’d wanted it to.