Episode 6

Shannon sat nervously in the waiting room at the airport.

The waiting area where she had sat was not very well populated. There were a few people that she tagged as reporters.

She noticed they were all having a quick fag on the sly even though it was 'no smoking' area.

The two black suited security people didn't seem to be bothered about this infringement. They probably had bigger fish to fry.

She was sure they must have noted her presence and due to the lack of other suspects to watch she was under close surveillance.

That would make what she had to do more difficult.

Her nerves were making her empty stomach churn.

She knew Thomas was coming in by plane any minute now. When she had recieved the call at Thomas' flat she had driven here as quickly as speed limits would allow.

It had been months since Thomas had gone to Egypt. It had been just as long since they had spoken too.

She loved Thomas, but his constant paranoia saw conspiracies everywhere.

It was one of these that had led him off to Egypt.

He had changed though, since she had originally met him.

Whereas before he was a reclusive, conspiratorialist, something in her had inspired him to suddenly become an activist and try to change the world.

She felt a pang of responsibility for him as well as a whole bunch of other feelings.

Her stomach reminded her how hungry she was. Making her way to the vending machines, Shannon tried to look inconspicuous, even though she worried it might actually look like she was attaining the opposite effect.

Her heart was pumping. The phone call had given her a brief idea of what had happened to him.

What had he got mixed up in now!

He had always been easily taken in. He believed he had been abducted by UFO's and seen monsters and aliens at various points in his life.

She had seen some strange things in her time with him but nothing as unexplained as those.

Thomas had told her that he had been institutionalised at one point by his father when his fantasy life had influenced his real behaviour to such an extent he believed it was all real.

This had left him in a delicate balance between what he thought he saw in the world and what he was told he should be seeing.

He had demonstrated these qualities plenty of times in her company, yet she found his vulnerability and his innate goodness to be some of his most charming traits.

Who had gotten to him now? Who had taken advantage of him to get him to act like a terrorist? He hated violence.

She found herself standing by the window, looking out over the runways. Dawn was breaking. She was eating a chocolate bar.

She wasn't a chocolate person, but she figured her body knew what it needed and at this time of the morning it needed a peanut-packed chocolate injection.

A small plane appeared in view and she followed it down.

In the intervening months Shannon had tried to get on with life as best as possible, knowing that Thomas could turn up at any moment with numerous stories of the adventures he'd had.

She still felt unable to return to her family in Edinburgh. She had burnt those bridges when she left with Thomas.

There was still something to prove to them. They were good people. They had their beliefs, which she generally shared, but she had questions that they couldn't answer.

Maybe it was a character flaw but the self-confident, independent daughter was exercising those traits in a reluctant rebellion against their compassionate but narrow world-view.

Before she had a chance to think anymore Shannon pressed her hands against the window pane. The small plane had landed and its passengers were getting off.

Although they were far away and tiny she recognised Thomas' lanky, drop-shouldered frame as if it were burned in her memory.

"No!" she gasped. They were being shepherded into the other end of the airport.

She was going to miss him!



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