Enshroud- An Avery Carter Novel

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

A large military grade Boeing personnel transport craft landed at the bivouac, moving skillfully through the bluffs of sand and heavy winds.  It taxied over to where the tents were staked and opened the bay doors.  Two men in dark green flight suits with the bulbous and spherical helmets over their heads were standing on either side, waving their hands for Avery and John to board.  Avery and John grabbed their duffels and held their windbreakers up to shield their faces from the storm.

Upon stepping inside Avery comically noted, “Kind of windy out there.”  A couple of chuckles followed.  That was Avery, could make you laugh pretty easily.  He wasn’t a comic, but he knew what was funny and when to point it out.  Unlike most people, the Armed forces didn’t change him all that much.  His psyche was always pretty resilient, that’s why he rarely had bullies pestering him growing up, because they could never get to him.  The only thing that changed was how physically tough he was.  When going through the SEAL’s he gained over thirty pounds in muscle.  His wife, Mallory, noticed fairly quickly when he returned home how much larger he had gotten.  His top benching weight was originally two hundred, but when he got out he was able to bench approximately a hundred more pounds.

The bay door closed shut behind him and a flight attendant showed him to his seat.  The interior was fairly comfy.  It wasn’t Air Force 1, but it would do.  The seats were plush leather and arranged in square sections with a coffee table in between them.  When Avery sat down John soon grabbed a chair across from him.  A stewardess then walked in.  “What can I get you to drink gentlemen?” She inquired courteously, her mouse hands firmly gripping her pad and pen.

John ordered first.  “Can I have a coke with some rum please?”

“Of course,” she said scribbling down, “and you?” turning to Avery.

“I’ll have water please.”

After writing down his order she smiled at them and walked off.  “She is a pretty one huh Avery?”  John said grinning at him.

He shook his head.  “She’s in her twenties man, don’t be that desperate.”

“Marriages between older men and younger women are common.”  John argued.

“But the age gap is too wide.  You are at least ten years older than she is.”

“Can’t a man dream?”

Avery glanced to see if the stewardess was truly out of earshot.  “Personally John, I think you could do better than that” he whispers.

John looked back, and then at Avery and merely nodded.  “I could try eHarmony if I can’t get a date within the month.”

“Care to wager on that?”  Avery smirked.

“No,” he shook his head quickly, “I’ll end up being on eHarmony, I have doubt in my flirting abilities.  Besides, I don’t like betting.”

“I bet I can get you to participate in a wager by the end of the day.”

“Nice try, but I’m not Harry from Dumb & Dumber.”

Avery laughed a little.  “’Ello mate, let’s put another shrimp on the barbie’” Said quoting the movie.

“Gosh that movie is hilarious man” John laughed remembering that part.  The stewardess then comes in with their drinks and puts them on the table.

“If you need anything else just press that button” she said.  John takes his shot glass and takes a sip.

“So are you prepared for a thirteen hour flight?” John asked.

“Yeah, I guess so.  There is a smart TV hooked up to a DVD player with Hulu and Netflix on it.”

“Let’s put something on right now.”  John got up out of his seat and saunters over to the DVD selection.  He fingered through the leather disc holder until he found one that interested him.  “Looky what I found.”

“What is it?”

“Dumb & Dumber!”

“Dude put it in.”  The movie began playing a few minutes later, opening up to a scene of a limo pulling into what appeared to be a poorer region of the suburbs and stopping next to an attractive brunette.  While John was watching the movie, Avery found yesterday’s NY Times.

The big headline that caught his eye was: “Sen. Nathan Butler is Murdered.”  He’d met the senator on a few occasions when he was asked to come into the White House.  Although somewhat pompous and affluent, the man did his job.  Reading intently he learned that the senator was vacationing in France at the time and was likely getting ready to go to bed when he was shot point blank in the head.  The killer left no trace and the only evidence of his presence was the imprint on the couch and the discarded ashes from a cigarette on the armrest.  Ultimately Avery wondered why someone would want him murdered.  He was a grumpy old coot at seventy-five, and apart from his affluence and undesirable personality, there were no obvious motives.  Then he supposed it might have had to do with his involvement during the Vietnam War.  That was possible, but he discounted it after seeing that the time from his involvement was around half a century ago.

He gave up trying to find the answer and started watching the movie.  Hours flew by fairly quickly as the devoured comedy after comedy.  They eventually fell asleep during the middle of Napoleon Dynamite and were awakened when it was announced the plane would be landing shortly.  They buckled their seat belts and sat drowsily in wait.  Avery actually fell asleep again from fatigue but was jolted awake when the plane shook a little upon landing.  It was still morning when they got there.  Jet lag, Avery was sure, would plague him for a while.  They taxied over to a private hangar and were escorted by Federal Agents off the plane, across the asphalt and into black sedans that would bring them to the CIA headquarters.