Invasion

"We can take care of ourselves from here," Sheila said, grabbing the briefcase containing the hastily assembled report. ''Why don't the rest of you get back home to safety?''

"We're going to see you three off," Jesse said. "I want to make sure there is no more trouble."

"What about the van?" Pitt asked. "Do you want me to stay here with it?"

"No," Jesse said. "I want all of us inside."

The interior of the terminal at that hour was all but deserted. A cleaning crew was polishing the expansive terrazzo floor. The Delta counter was the only one occupied. The monitors said that the Atlanta flight was on time.

"All you people head out to the gate," Jesse said. "I'll get the tickets. Just be sure to have your picture IDs handy."

The group hurried across the terminal and approached airport security. There were a few other passengers who were waiting their turn to put their carry-on baggage into the X-ray detector.

"Where are the black discs?" Cassy whispered to Pitt.

"Eugene has them in his knapsack," Pitt answered.

At that moment Eugene dropped the knapsack on the conveyer, and it disappeared inside the machine. He stepped through the metal detector.

"What if they set off an alarm?" Cassy said.

"I'm more worried that the security personnel might be one of  'them' and recognize the image on X-ray," Pitt said.

Both Pitt and Cassy held their breath as the woman security guard halted the machine. Her eyes were glued to the X-ray image. It seemed like a full minute before the woman restarted the conveyer belt. Cassy sighed in relief. She and Pitt stepped through the metal detector and caught up with the others.

They all avoided locking eyes with any of the other passengers as they walked out the concourse. It was nerve-racking not knowing who was infected and who wasn't. As if reading everybody's mind, Jonathan said: "I think you can tell who they are by either their smiles or their eyes."

"What do you mean?" Nancy asked.

"It's either a fake smile or their eyes glow," Jonathan said. "Of course you can only see the eyes in the dark."

"I think you are right, Jonathan," Cassy said. She'd witnessed both.

They arrived at the gate. The plane was already mostly boarded. They moved to the side to wait for Jesse.

"See that woman over there?" Jonathan said while pointing. "Look at that stupid grin. I bet five bucks she's one of them."

"Jonathan!" Nancy whispered forcibly. "Don't be so obvious."

Vince Carbon pulled the unmarked police car over to the curb, directly behind the Sellerses' minivan.

"Obviously they are here," Captain Hernandez said as he got out of the car. A second car pulled up behind the first. Candee, her parents, and the other plainclothes officers emerged.

Like iron filings being drawn to a magnet, a number of infected airport workers immediately drew around the captain and his group.

"Gate 5, terminal C," one these people said to the captain. "Flight 917 for Atlanta."

"Let's go," Captain Hernandez said. He stepped through the automatic door into the terminal and waved for the others to follow him.

"Now where's Jesse?" Sheila asked. She looked for him back along the concourse toward the main terminal. "I don't want to miss this flight."

"Eugene," Nancy whispered to her husband. "With all that's going on, I'm having second thoughts about leaving Jonathan. Maybe one of us should stay here."

"I'll watch out for him," Jesse said. He'd come up behind the group in time to hear Nancy's comment. "You do your thing in Atlanta. He'll be fine."

"How did you get here?" Sheila asked.

Jesse pointed toward an unmarked, locked door just behind them. "I've been to the airport so many times investigating various crimes that I know the place better than my own basement."

He handed tickets to Nancy, Eugene, and Sheila. Nancy gave her son one last hug. Jonathan remained stiff with his arms at his side.

"You be careful, hear me?" Nancy said, trying vainly to look Jonathan in the eye.

"Mom!" Jonathan complained.

"Let's go," Sheila said. "It's last call."

With Sheila in the lead and Nancy bringing up the rear to give her son a final wave, the three checked in at the gate, showed their picture ID's then disappeared down the jetway. A few minutes later the jetway pulled back from the plane and the plane taxied out into the night.

Jesse turned from the window with a sigh of relief. "They're off, thank God," he said. "But now we ... "

Jesse didn't get to finish his sentence because he saw Captain Hernandez and Vince Carbon leading a large pack of people. They were walking quickly down the center of the concourse, heading directly toward gate 5.

Cassy saw the cloud descend over Jesse's face and started to ask what was wrong. But Jesse didn't give her a chance. Roughly he herded the group back against the unmarked door.

"What's going on?" Pitt demanded.

Jesse ignored him and quickly punched in the combination on the keypad next to the doorknob. The door opened. "Go!" he commanded.