Hellboy: Unnatural Selection(70)

"Hellboy," the taller of the two men said as they approached. He held out his hand. "It's been a long time."

"Jim, good to see you again. I had no idea you were working for our embassy out here now!"

"Just an adviser." He glanced at Liz and smiled, but she could see that he was a haunted man. He looked so tired, his eyes deep and brown, the skin of his face sallow and seemingly hanging from his bones. Even what had just happened to Heathrow Airport seemed not to have shocked him.

"Liz Sherman," she said, holding out her hand. Jim Sugg shook, his own hand cool and damp.

"Pleased to meet you, Miss Sherman."

"Call me Liz."

"This is Peter Fray. He works at the embassy." The man with Sugg smiled and nodded, but he did not offer his hand.

He's the sensitive, Liz thought. Maybe he's scared of what he'd see if he touched us. Fray was looking at Hellboy constantly, but he did not seem able to keep his attention on him for more than a couple of seconds without looking away again. Hellboy seemed not to notice.

"We need to get away from here," Sugg said. "Much as I hate to mess with the law, they'll be wanting to talk with you about all this, and once they've got you, they'll quiz you forever. And from what Tom Manning told me, there's a lot more to discuss."

"Oh yeah," Hellboy said, nodding. "So much more."

"Well get to the embassy, you two can get cleaned up, then we'll do our best to organize a meeting with the minister of defense." Suggs voice was a tired monotone. He actually sounded bored, but Liz knew it was a lot more than that. Either he was guarded and protective of his thoughts, or he had seen so much that nothing surprised him anymore.

"You're the ghost hunter," she said. Hie words came out without her thinking. She supposed she was testing him.

Sugg looked at her, and for the first time she saw the flicker of amusement in his eyes. It suited him, and she was glad. "That's a term I prefer not to use, but yes. I look for ghosts."

"Why?"

"To prevent them from coming to look for me. Shall we go?" Sugg turned and walked quickly toward a big black Mercedes, Fray following.

Liz glanced at Hellboy and raised an eyebrow. Hellboy only shrugged. They walked to the car together, sat in the back, and were glad when Sugg's security card seemed to get them past the dozens of police roadblocks already set up in the area.

"Get attacked by dragons, set up roadblocks," Liz muttered.

"Hey, kid, what else are they going to do? It's not something they're used to dealing with every day."

"I guess not." Liz closed her eyes and surprised herself by dozing.



* * *





Manchester Airport, England — 1997



"SOMETHING ABOUT A disturbance at Heathrow," the man said. "They've had to divert us to Manchester. Bloody idiots, I don't know, they can't do anything right nowadays, always something causing problems, leaves on the runway or bloody air traffic controllers on strike. Don't know their arses from their elbows. I've got a meeting to go to, you know?"

Me too, Abby thought. She had just woken from a deep slumber to find the guy next to her blathering on. "What sort of disturbance?" she asked.

"I don't know, maybe a luggage cart broke down or something. Please excuse my Britishness, young lady. We're the country where everything grinds to a halt at the slightest provocation. An inch of snow in winter? Close the schools, panic, buy bread and milk, barricade yourself in your house. Really, you'd think we were under siege by the rest of the world."

Maybe you will be soon, she thought, but saying it would have achieved little. "I'm sure they have their reasons."

"Whatever." The man had turned on his mobile phone, and his annoyance found new direction when a flight attendant requested that he turn it off until they landed.

Abby turned and looked out the small window at her side. She had a view of the wing and the green landscape down below, fluffy clouds passing by here and there, roads and rivers meandering across the surface of this country she was coming to for the very first time. I'm not that far from Paris, she thought. Maybe that's where Abe will think I'm going. The thought of her friend was depressing, because she was betraying all the faith and hope he had developed in her over the years. But at the same time there were reasons, there was rhyme. When the time eventually came for him to discover the truth, she hoped he would understand. "Understand," she said. Her breath misted the window and then faded away.