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The Long Way Home

By June Foster

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Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. Matthew 7:7


Chapter One


If David Maguire wouldn't look like an idiot, he'd kneel down and kiss the hot, well-traveled sidewalk outside the airport. Finally, he stood on U.S. soil. A new beginning awaited, and God willing, a new job after his interview next week. The thought thrilled him more than Christmas morning as a kid.
The silver Ford sedan described on the Uber app inched up behind a line of cars at passenger pickup. He stood on tiptoes and waved at the driver who neared the curb. Then David moved his thumbs over his cell's screen. Mom. Just landed. Can't wait to see you guys.. Got a flight from JFK to Birmingham tomorrow.
The driver stopped and jumped out. "Lieutenant Maguire?" His accent hinted of Middle Eastern origins. "I'm Hadjira Khan, your driver." He whipped off his ball cap, wiped his brow, and plopped his hat on again. "Let me get this." The driver grabbed David's duffle bag and set it in the trunk next to a light pink suitcase.
"Appreciate it. I'm going to the Rockford Hotel in Queens."
"Yes, sir. I have two more passengers besides you."
"No problem." The cheaper fare suited David just fine. He couldn't be too extravagant since his army pay would end soon. He sure didn't want to sponge off of Mom and her new husband. "However I can get there is fine. I'm just glad to be home." He opened the door, tossed his backpack in, and sat.
A woman with long, dark hair and dressed in white jeans and a tight filmy blue blouse sat on the other side. She looked up, nodded, and then continued tapping her cell's screen.
David smiled then focused on his text when his phone dinged.
I can't wait to see you. Let me know what time to pick you up from the airport. Mom
Tomorrow at 3:13. See you then. Love you.
No matter how hard he tried to disguise his smile, the wide grin stretched his lips. He'd be in Oak Mountain soon.
The Uber driver pulled from the curb. "You two comfortable back there?"
"Yeah, sure." David took a deep breath and glanced toward the woman again. He tried to identify the aroma emanating from her. It wasn't likely Hadjira that smelled like roses.
"Yes, thanks." She peered at the driver then cast a quizzical look to David.
He gave her a weak smile and turned to face the front of the car, mentally kicking himself for staring too long.
Hadjira pulled off on a main thoroughfare and lifted his chin to glance into his rearview mirror. "We stop at a strip mall off 135th for one passenger. Then I take you to Rockford Hotel, sir, and you to Regal Gardens, ma'am."
"No problem," David mumbled, trying not to draw out the words into multiple syllables as his southern drawl tended to do, worse when he got nervous.
So the woman was staying at a hotel in Queens as well. He cleared away the hesitation that impeded his question. "Where you coming from?" Ugh. The most uninspired conversation starter he could've thought of. And to make things worse, this lady was probably a big city woman and resented his intrusion into her space.
He slid down in his seat, preparing for the humph or scowl, but her smile delivered a pleasant surprise.
"Jada Atwood. I flew in from Dallas to attend a medical conference at Regal Gardens." Her eyes fixed on his face. "You must be from the South."
"Yeah, how could you tell?" He snickered. "I'm from a small town in Alabama. Oak Mountain, east of Huntsville. I guess my twang is showing. I'm David Maguire."
Jada gave him a nod and turned to her phone again.
That would probably be all the conversation they'd have. He slipped his passport from his vest pocket into his backpack.
The Uber driver left the airport and turned on a thoroughfare lined with cars and busses.
In Oak Mountain, if more than five cars were at a stop light, it was considered heavy traffic.
They passed a sign advertising a real estate company. The words actually produced meaning in his brain rather than looking like a jumble of letters he couldn't understand—like the ones in Germany.
He leaned back in the comfortable seat. One night's stay in Queens would do him good. Enough time to recover from jetlag before he ventured on to Mom's house and began working on his future.
The job at Red Stone Arsenal in Huntsville was key, but first, he had to make a good impression at the interview next Monday. Since it had taken three months to land the appointment, starting the process over again would delay him getting a job, and he couldn't afford it.

*****

Jada Atwood finished the text to her fiancé and pressed send. He might not see it until later since his job as assistant to the hospital administrator kept him occupied. But that was okay. He'd eventually find time for her message.
She wiggled her left finger. Still no engagement ring, though Jeff had promised it for a month. Surely, he'd give it to her before the engagement party the nurses had planned upon her return.
She sneaked a quick peek at the guy to her right. Head against the back of the seat, he stared out the window. His clean-shaven cheeks and short military haircut hinted he might be a soldier. A lightweight vest and blue t-shirt that matched his eyes covered wide muscular shoulders and arms, muscles he probably got in the service.
She looked away before he could find her scrutinizing him. She fished in her purse for the conference information. Though the demand for additional training for a registered midwife was incessant, it was worth it every time she brought a new life into the world.
The driver peeked into his rearview mirror. "Ma'am and sir, I stop for one more passenger here. Then we be on the way to your hotels." The driver slowed as he approached a strip mall and pulled into the parking lot. "I look for lady going to Liberty Inn, a few miles from the Rockford."
A long row of stores, including a bank and sports restaurant, comprised the entire strip mall. An older woman at the far end waved and picked up her pace, striding toward them.
"I think I see her," Jada said.
The front passenger door creaked and a chunky man with a mustache, blacked rimmed glasses, and a scowl barged in.
"This car is filled. Sorry," Hadjira said.
The man glared and set a small black bag beside him then drew a gun out of his pocket.
Jada sat frozen to the seat, numb, as if she was watching a thriller movie on TV.
Two seconds later, the backdoor ground open and a man in a black knit cap shoved David toward her then poked a revolver at them.
The chunky guy in front craned his neck to look at the man in back. "Passengers. We hadn't counted on them."
"Yeah, but we don't want to ditch them now. They could go to the police." The other guy winked. "We'll dispose of them later."
"Fine." The guy in front waved a handgun in the driver's face. "Drive. Now."
A wave of icy chills raced Jada's spine and down her legs. No. This couldn't be happening. She gasped. If she knew how to pray, she would, but God had alluded her for far too long. She gripped her purse instead of holding onto David like instinct dictated. She wasn't ready to die.
Hadjira gasped. "You have wrong car. Please get out."
The fat man poked the gun harder in Hadjira's ribs and pushed heavy glasses up with the other hand. "I said drive. Out of town. Toward Pennsylvania. Now or you're a dead man."
David's arm jabbed against Jada's shoulder. His fists tightened into round balls, and he held his breath. "You'll never get away with this."
Black Cap rammed his gun into David's stomach. "Just shut up."
The driver, sweat rolling down the back of his neck, pulled into traffic. He glanced at the guy in front and then back to the road. His lips pressed tightly together as he turned corners and finally took the expressway west.
"I don't know what you guys want, but why don't you let this woman out." David rasped his words. "She's an innocent bystander."
"What?" Black Cap barked. "No way. Like I said, she'd only go to the cops."
The guy in front turned to look at Black Cap and pushed his glasses up on his nose again. "You weren't too smart ordering me to get in the Uber. Now we've stuck with these two."
"Will you stop complaining!" Black Cap yelled. "I'm going to figure out how to get rid of them."
Other than the humming of the tires on the road, daunting silence crept inside the car. Silence akin to the stillness in the funeral home the night Jada said good-bye to Mom and Dad filled the space. Dread welled in her throat, dawdled a moment, then slunk to her stomach.
Maybe she wouldn't have to worry about a ring or an engagement party. She might not be alive to attend. She covered her mouth to restrain the scream.
 

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