Left Behind

 The flight to Alaska was delayed at the airport for a few hours due to an unforeseen stormy weather. Leroy was frustrated and mopped at the sweat running down his chin with a scented handkerchief. He had called his contact, Foss, who had assured him that Luke Martinez was home at his apartment in Alaska. He had decided not to call him previously so as not to scare him away but as the weather worsened, he had no other alternative. He couldn't let him get away but something still troubled him. Luke Martinez was a registered state attorney so why was he trying not to be found? Who was he hiding from?

 Leroy had thought about it all week but could not come up with anything solid. Obviously, someone was either blackmailing him or perhaps his life was under threat. He took out his phone but there was no reception where he stood.

 "Stupid signal, stupid storm!" he cursed and tried to move around but he still had a flat bar. He glanced behind him, where equally frustrated passengers stood, ranting at the airport representatives. The reps tried to control the angry crowd but the noise kept growing, creating a nuisance. Clearly, the flight was not leaving any time soon so Leroy jogged outside to search for better cell reception. He got a bar finally after minutes of roaming around the environs of the airport but it was unstable. He was tempted to fling the cellphone across the road. If Luke Martinez got away under his watch, he would never forgive himself. He dialed Luke's number quickly once again and it rang continuously. It seemed like nobody was going to pick up the phone until there was a click and a deep voice that sounded like a male's:

 "Who is this?" A straight to the point question, which gave no room for pleasantries or circumlocution.

 "Hello, am I speaking with a Luke Martinez?"

 There was a pregnant silence that made Leroy a bit uneasy. He had no idea who was on the other end of the call and therefore wasn't in a haste to give out any information about himself. He could hear the sound of people talking from the phone or was it the television? The man was still unmarried but that rarely stopped many men from messing around. Leroy grinned slightly and rubbed at his wedding band. His Eve would have his hide if he dared to cheat on her. She was the only person he feared besides his dispatch officer during his military days. Evie was a little woman in her late forties, head full of short auburn locks permanently fixed in a pixie cut and richly stocked in the right places. Leroy, distracted by reminiscencing, had almost forgotten he was on the phone with someone.

 "Hello?" Leroy hollered again.

 "Why are you looking for Luke Martinez?" This time, the speaker was a whole different voice, buttressed with a feigned deep tone. Was it the same person as before, faking a different voice? Leroy wondered, or was someone else with him? Had Luke ever even come to the phone at all? Several questions came to mind but with no one to answer them. 

 "I need his help to confirm an issue, a document issue, to be precise. It is rather urgent. Please, are you him?" 

 Another bout of silence ensued and Leroy grew impatient. A simple yes or no would suffice but it seemed like he was dealing with an overdramatic sort of people. 

 "I am he," a totally different voice spoke up, sounding tired. Bingo! Leroy mentally cheered and punched the air with his fist. 

 "Luke Martinez?" he asked anyways, wanting to be sure.

 "What do you want with me?" His voice was a bit sore and hazy, probably from stress or insomnia. 

 Leroy explained the situation at hand as briefly as he could and uLuke remained silent while he spoke.

 "Do you remember Peter Torres?"

 Luke chuckled and got a cough as a reward for his lightness.

 "I don't think anyone can forget Peter Torres and that friend of his, the bronze-skinned one. They were stark contrasts and while the friend looked formidable, he was just a Barnabas to Peter's Paul. Peter did all the talking and I must say, he is quite the fascinating speaker. Forget Peter Torres? Not possible."

 Leroy could not help but notice the underlying adoration in the attorney's description of his once-upon-a-time client.

 "Was, actually. Peter is dead."

 "I know, sorry for the slip-up. I still find it hard to remember that he is gone at times. He was larger than life and just...well, I digress," he caught himself in time. 

 "Were you and Peter close friends?" Leroy questioned.

 When he got no response, he was sure that Peter and Luke had had more than a lawyer-client relationship. He changed tact immediately.

 "Can we meet in person, maybe talk one on one? I am supposed to be on the next flight to Alaska but for the stormy weather. But if you agree to a meeting, I'm sure I can figure out a way to make it happen."

  "Ok. I will be glad to help. Peter was my friend and he would do the same for me."

 Leroy let out the breath he did not know he had been holding onto in relief. The wait had not been in vain. 

 "Great, thanks. Let me just...."

 It was then he heard the final announcement of the flight attendant:

 "Silver Lining Airlines, preparing for takeoff. Have a nice flight and God bless America."

 Adrenaline leaked into Leroy's blood stream and he dashed for the front desk. The female receptionist barely spared him a glance, her attention focused on redoing her make up. 

 "Hello, miss, hi," he greeted, suddenly out of breath. Over-the-hill men didn't run, his body complained but he was too distraught to focus on his body's needs.

 "How can I help you, sir?" she reluctantly asked, slapping her compact box close. 

 "I'm supposed to be on that flight. Can I book another flight to Alaska?"

 The receptionist sighed monstrously and glared derisively at Leroy. "May I have a look at your ticket, please?"

 He handed it over to her swiftly and hunched on her desk. She glanced through the ticket and typed rapidly on her keyboard. He prayed to every God or god out there to create a solution. When he saw the receptionist shaking her head, his heart did a flip. 

 "Passenger 14, that's right. First class, huh? The flight attendant called your number thrice as per agency rules but you were nowhere to be found. See?" She pointed at her screen with a pencil where a bold ABSENT had been placed beside his name on the waiting list.

"I'm sorry but there are no more flights going to Alaska today, sir? You will have to return in a week's time or so. Thank you for choosing Silver Lining."