Trace and the driver chatted intermittently on the drive from Suva to Nida. Most of the time, Trace thought and planned. The car with the two men followed at a comfortable distance.
He trusted Kelsey. At the same time, he held certain information from him. He didn’t want to be second-guessed by someone not thoroughly familiar with the entire situation.
Trace wanted to confuse the men following. He had already thrown them off his trail one time and innocently showed up again. He reasoned that those following him could only surmise that losing him was an accident; otherwise, why would he suddenly appear on their radar again? Additionally, Trace wanted them to think he wasn’t really that good, just lucky.
The drive was a good drive. Green tropical foliage hugged the road and climbed slopes and mountainsides. Palms swayed and seagulls swooned. Small houses by the side of the road became more plentiful the closer they were to Nida. Children played in the yards. Old folks sat on porches.
“How far to the airport?” Trace asked.
“Fifteen minutes,” the driver said.
“Did I pay you enough?” Trace asked.
“Plenty,” the driver said.
“If I may ask,” the driver said, “who and why are you being followed?”
“Bad men who are curious and want to know every move I make.”
“How do you know they’re bad?”
“Did someone pay you to get information from me?” Trace asked.
“No.”
“If asked, tell them the truth. Tell them what we talked about.”
“While I was in the prison, did you leave the car?” Trace asked.
“I drove to a gas station and got gas,” the driver said. “I went inside to use the loo.”
Trace bent down and picked up a small tape recorder. He held it forward for the driver to see. “Is this yours?”
“I don’t know what it is,” the driver said.
“It’s a tape recorder,” Trace said. “It’s voice-activated. When you pulled into traffic, leaving Suva, you had to accelerate, and it slipped out from under the seat. I turned it off.”
“What are you going to do with it?” The driver asked.
“I turned it back on and stuck it in my bag,” Trace said. “I’m going to slip it back under the seat. When you leave me off, park your cab at the airport, and get a meal. That will give the guys following me some time to retrieve it. If anybody asks, tell them the truth, I found it, and so on. I don’t want you needlessly involved in anything.”
Soon, they pulled into the airport, and Trace got out. He walked inside and up to the ticket counter.
“I’d like a one-way ticket to Port Vila,” Trace said and added, “the next flight.”
“It leaves in an hour and twenty minutes,” the male ticket agent said.
“That’s twenty-five dollars,” the agent said.
Trace handed over the money from his wallet, and the agent handed him his ticket.
“How many seats are available?” Trace asked.
“Three seats are open,” the agent said.
“I’ll buy them,” Trace said.
“You can’t sell them, you know,” the agent warned.
“Some friends are going to show up,” Trace said. “I just want to make sure there are tickets for them.”
Trace paid for the tickets and hurried to the boarding area. He sat and waited for his flight. He grabbed a newspaper. He occasionally looked from reading to notice the frustration of the men following him. Trace had purchased the tickets they could use. They looked desperate enough to fly in the luggage compartment.
The light to Vanuatu was called. Trace stood in a short line to board and craned his neck looking back at the ticket counter. He smiled at the sight of his two followers having an animated conversation with the ticket agent.
Several people stood nearby.
Trace cupped his hands to his mouth. “Anybody want a free ticket to Vanuatu?”
Several people held up their hands.
Trace waved at them to come over. “I have three tickets.”
He handed tickets to the first three people.
Trace handed his ticket to the agent at the gate. He walked through the door and ducked below the windows. He duckwalked along the side of the building. When he reached the end of the building, his long strides took him to a road next to the airport’s property edge. He walked through a gate and onto a road. He continued the fast pace until he reached the bridge to Naisoso Island. He crossed the bridge and jogged to the roundabout, where he instructed Kelsey to wait.
