NationStates Jolt Archive

He had never before realised how cramped regular passenger aircraft were until today, which was in a way forced upon him. Sitting back as comfortably as possible, Alan put his headphones into his ears, trying to ignore the idle voice from the grandma next to him. Obviously she didnt recognise him. Luckily because if she did, the media would be onto his tracks right away.

After he had been informed that a warrent had been issued for his arrest, he feared his very freedom, even back at home. High Treason was not a crime to be caught for, its punishment carrying the penalty of death. Still, his options were not yet exhausted, and he knew of several contacts inside a foriegn country. A foriegn nation would be good to hide in, as long as there was no actual police co-oporation treaties, which made Tartarus the perfect destination.

Authorities were well aware of the rumours that such a nation was considered to be Hell on Earth, yet most dismissed this as over-exaggeration, a story which had been passed down and distored over generations. Still, people's fear proved true, and the Austar Union had not yet been in diplomatic relation with the the nation. Alan chose it, not just for the contacts, but for the very reason that men trembled at its existance. Like Transylvania, it carried mysterious stories which children grew nightmares about. Although they were fully grown men, the eerie stories and fears still loomed, though on a more subconcious level now.

The flight would probably take quite a few hours, so Alan decided to rest. Although he had the smashing sounds of Heavy Metal playing in his ears, the music soothed him, and he was able to fall asleep rather easily, something many would never achieve.

For just a few onboard, the flight itself would be recognised as only a short time, most of it spent sleeping. For others, it would be a long flight, every second drawn to its maximum. Alan Thompson was one of the lucky men, as he drifted into a state of unconsiousness.

OOC: For some background information as to what exactly is happening, and why Alan Thompson is fleeing the police authorities in the Austar Union, you might want to read the Rise of Nationalism in the Federal Republic (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=351731) thread. Otherwise, you can just read this thread here as you go along, and it will all be revealed in due timing, so the choice is yours. TAG's are welcome, but I would prefeer that you dont post anything unless you are invited to.

Tartarus, I know you cant really post anything in response to this, but perhaps because Im kinda hoping Alan has contacts, that you can RP someone coming to the airport to pick him up? I dont know. I'll leave the details up to you.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v39/Austar/nationalist.jpg
Nationalist Party Leader: Alan Thompson

Driving into the airport car park, the car wound its way around the multi-storey until it reached the level that was across from the main exit to the terminal building. This would allow for easy access for the arrival of their charge. They did not want to be caught trying to edge their way out of the airport if there was trouble. Sitting inside, they were not expecting the plane for sometime, but it always paid to arrive earlier, check out the lay of the land and make any alternate plans with all the facts at hand.

Stepping out of the car and stretching, Vicki Hammon looked about her, scanning the area for any signs of trouble. She just hoped that the man she was meant to meet was not about to bring the law down upon them. Leaning back into the car, she spoke to her companion, a slightly older man, in his early forties, but his lifestyle made him look younger than his years.

“Keep your eye on the door, once you see me door my paper, that’s the sign that the plane has landed.” She frowned for a moment, then grabbed the folded daily, and put it under her arm. “Give us ten minutes for our guest to get his luggage, and meet us outside the door. Be careful, and if you see anything suspicious call.” She patted the mobile that she had in her pocket set on vibrate, and only her companion had the number.

Dennis Wayman nodded his head. “Yeah, got it.” He watched as she backed her head out of the car. “And you be careful, okay?”

Smiling, Vicki returned his nod and headed over to the car park exit, making her way into the main terminal building, disappearing from sight through the sliding door.

* * * * *

Vicki looked at the arrivals board again, and noted that the plane was twenty minutes behind schedule, which did not help her nerves any. She moved over to a seat that allowed her to keep a check on the arrival times, and sat down, pulling out the newspaper she was carrying to wile away a little time; not that she could focus on the print, her eyes were to busy flicking around the area, before lingering on the clock that counted down the hours on top of the board.

Leaning back in the seat, she smiled at a little old lady who was sitting on one of the chairs opposite, before turning away and once again looking at the clock. She began to tap her foot impatiently, when she heard a voice. It took a while for her to realise that the question was aimed at her.

“Waiting for a loved one?”

The young woman, twenty-five years old with dark blonde hair, turned back to see the little old lady leaning slightly in her seat and smiling at her, a questioningly look all the evidence that Vicki needed to know who had spoken. She laughed lightly. “Not exactly.” The thought of who she was waiting for filled her mind, and made her wish her reason for being her was to pick up someone less prominent. “Just a friend.”

The other woman nodded her head. “My son is coming to collect me, but he’s caught in traffic. I had to telephone him to find out where he was.” She rummaged through her bag and pulled out a notebook. “This is him.” She slipped a photograph from inside the pages. “Always busy.”

Vicki smiled, although her eyes told a different story. She could barely contain her irritation, but at least helped her to blend into the crowd. “Yeah, aren’t we all?” She continued to listen to the old woman rattling on about her family, showing the odd family snap, when she suddenly spotted the board. The flight had arrived.

“It was a pleasure talking to you.” She picked up her stuff and stood, leaving the woman to look after her as she left. Following the instructions she had left with Dennis, she walked over to the entrance, and in a display of juggling her stuff, she dropped the newspaper on the floor, bending quickly to pick it up, as she did she shot a glance at the car park and saw the car backing out of its slot.

Satisfied that things were going to plan outside the airport building itself, she walked over to the barrier that separated the arrivals from the people waiting for them. Getting a good spot near the edge exit gate, she pulled out a card with the name ‘Mr Stephen Hartman’, the alias that Alan Thompson would answer to for the arranged pick up. The suit that Vicki wore added to the effect that she was an official business greeter.

Standing with the card ready to raise, Vicki waited and hoped that everything would still go to plan, and that the authorities had not caught word of Alan Thompson’s plan to disappear in Tartarus.

[ooc: That was my plan anyway, Aust]

Alan frowned as his head continued to throb, his mind feeling like it was about to burst out of its skull. He had been asleep for much of the flight, but with the sheer stress and magnitude of the situation, he had officially gained himself a headache as he walked down the hallway toward the main passenger gate. And the whining of children behind him gave him no justice, their voices making him cringe in pain as they continuallisly, and repeatedly bothered their mother for a drink.

He was sure to surround himself in the main group of passengers, for he was nervous of what was awaiting him around the corner. Although he was in disguise, the Austarian Police would have found out of his dissapearance by now, and would most likely be hot on his trail. The very thought made him afraid, and he pulled his coat around him, and made sure to hide his face underneath the baseball cap he had adopted. Nobody had recognised him yet, and hopefully nobody would.

'Hopefully,' he thought to himself, 'There were no links to tell them that I had fled to Tartacus.'

As he continued down the hallway, he began to imagine a group of police forces up ahead, waiting to apprehend him at the gate. He couldnt fight, but then, he couldnt really just let them arrest him. His crimes were punishable by death if a court was to rule on his behalf. Being arrested really wasnt an option, and he would rather die fighting, over being excecuted after being caught. At least he would be able to keep some honor, some dignity.

Lost in thought, he became aware of a woman next to him eyeing him suspiciously. A knot tied in his stomach as a grim feeling rose in his throat. He wanted to run, he wanted to stop the woman from watching him, but he could do nothing; least not in public. As he walked, he started to pick up speed, trying to shake the woman who had gained interest in his face.

As he began to pull away, he heard a voice behind him yell out to him, "Excuse me sir!"

He stopped dead in his tracks. This was the moment; he didnt even make it properly into Tartacus. Turning around slowly, he was knocked by another passenger in the shoulder, and his heart leapt in his throat. He thought that it was an officer, coming to take him back. Gathering the courage to respond, he opened his mouth squeaking, "Yes Ma'am?"

"Im sure that I know you from somewhere. But your face, I cant quite pick your face..." she said, only making Alan much more nervous, "Ah, I remember now. Your that guy, you went to my school. What was your name, Peter Belemore?"

Alan breathed a sigh of relief. She had not in fact recognised him, but only proved to him that his disguise was more effective than ever. Even when someone took the time to study him, they did not recognise that he was one of the most powerful men in the Austar Union, the keyword being 'was'. Taking not too long to reply, he was glad that she didnt realise his true identity, "No, sorry Ma'am. I think you are mistaken. I have never met you in my life..."

The woman frowned. Obviously she was very embarresed to be so clumsy, and she tried to avoid his eyes as she apoligised. Turning back around, he was in a much better mood than before, having just conquered his first troubled spot. Little did he know though that he would have very little of them for a while. The police forces back at home hadnt made links to where he had fled to, at least not yet.

Glad he was when he exited the main tunnel and saw the card he was looking for; 'Mr Stephen Hartman’. As he approached the young woman, he smiled and extended his hand in politeness. He was careful to be polite to those who were helping him, and was most certainly grateful to those who were pulling such a magnificant stunt with him, "Hello, I am Mr Stephen Hartman. I take it you have come for me?"

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v39/Austar/nationalist.jpg
Nationalist Party Leader: Alan Thompson

Lifting her card as the first people began to emerge from the tunnel, Vicki searched the faces of each of them, quickly discarding the women and children, she focused on the men, not really sure what her contact looked like. She had seen pictures and footage of him, but she had been told to expect him disguised; not that she had thought he would just get on a plane without preparations. He was a wanted man after all.

She began to get edgy as more passengers began to appear, and none of them seemed to be the one she was waiting for. Her eyes darted around the arrivals lounge, easing her fears as she saw no increased police presence. There were always officers around, but none seemed to be taking an overly close interest in any one.

Turning back, she saw a man approaching, and a faint stirring of recognition played in her mind. She smiled as she took the man’s hand and listened to him identify himself. “Mr Hartman, welcome to Tartarus. Your car is waiting outside.” She moved her arm, indicating the direction they were to take. “I hope you had a pleasant and uneventful journey?”

Without waiting for a reply, she began heading in the direction of the main door, her message board tucked under her arm. As they neared the exit, she could see Dennis parked just outside; they were so close to getting away, but the nearer they got, the heavier her heart beat with trepidation. They were so close, for something to happen now would be a cruel trick of Fate.

It was too bad that Alan had the strange ability to sense fear when somebody nearby was afraid, and he grimaced as he could sense such feelings as the woman led him to the approaching car. He had been informed that these people were on his side, yet he was unsure. He had never met the people before, and didnt really know who they were at all. That made him nervous, as his eyes darted left and right watching every person around him.

It was a normal scene, regular passengers just walking around to or from the airport, and the car ahead seemed harmless enough. Still, he had the option to either run or follow the strange woman. She was attractive, which didnt help any. It had always been taught that the most beautiful things were the most deadly, but was mostly true with fish more than anything, amongst other things if you found them to be beautiful. Still, the choice wasnt entirely his.

If he decided to run, he would have no-where to go, and nowhere to stay, and he knew he would have difficulty in the new country. He had been told that these people had contacts all over Tartarus, which would only help in his hiding from police searches back in the Austar Union. Following seemed like the best option, and that he did. Nevously, he continued to follow the woman to the car, where they eventually slowed and stopped.

Quite delayed, he gave his reply to the woman who had escorted him;

"Apoligies for my delayed reply. As you may understand I am a wanted man, and am quite nervous. My flight was rather uneventful thankyou, but at least that shows that some things are going well. I would think that uneventful is good right now. Perhaps we ought to continue this conversation inside the car?"

Luckily, Alan was travelling light, and the only luggage he had with him was his personal goods which he carried with him inside the plane, rather than in the luggage compartment. Inside his small bag, he carried the nessasary essentials, which would at least last him a few days.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v39/Austar/nationalist.jpg
Nationalist Party Leader: Alan Thompson

Opening the backseat door, Vicki held it open for Alan to get in, then closed it behind him as he settled himself in. With another brief look around, she climbed into the front passenger seat, and looked at Dennis. “Whenever you are ready.” She smiled at him, as he hit the gas and made his way towards the airport exit, driving casually like all the others, not doing anything that would attract unnecessary attention to them or the vehicle.

Once they were on their way, she turned slightly in her seat, looking over her shoulder at their charge. “I’m Vicki, and this is Dennis.” She indicated the driver, who nodded his head in greeting. “We have a safe house ready for you in Erebus, then we hope to take you out of the capital as soon as possible.”

She looked at his belongings. “It also looks like you need to do some stocking up.” Turning back around, she gazed out of the front windscreen. “Of course, that’s something we can deal with once you are settled in. For the moment, I guess we focus on getting you there in one piece.”

Smiling, Alan nodded and thanked them both for their assistance. He knew that it must be quite stressful for them both, and was grateful for their help. Tired from the trips, he began to nod asleep, before reality was conformed into a world of dreams. It would be a relaxed sleep, much better than the one possible on the aircraft he was on earlier. Plus, it helped to reside in the fact that things were getting much brighter.

OOC: Apoligies for the short post, I didnt really have too much to say, and im tired. Im such a poor buby... lol

Looking back over her shoulder as her questions remained unanswered; Vicki turned back to Dennis and smiled. “I think our guest is a little tired.” She sighed heavily and relaxed back into the seat, feeling for the first time today as if everything was going to go to plan. The worse part had been getting him out of the airport, but it seemed as is the Austar Union authorities had not caught up with Thompson’s movement, and hopefully should they do so, he would be safely hidden deep within Tartarus.

Dennis turned to Vicki and flicked his head in the direction of the sleeping man. “Are you going to let them know that he’s safe, and that we are coming in?” He risked a glance at her. “You know how he hates people arriving unannounced.”

Nodding her head, Vicki pulled out her phone and dialled the number, keeping no numbers in the phones memory. She held it to her ear, and waiting for a voice, which appeared after the third ring. “Hello?...Yes, everything went fine. Our guest is safely of his way to the rendezvous…No, no trouble at all…We’ll be there in…” She looked at Dennis questioningly, and smiled as he gave her the answer. “In about forty five minutes.”

Listening for a while longer, without uttering another word, Vicki ended the call and put her phone back into her pocket, before once again sitting back in the car seat, as she watched the city of Erebus flash past outside, as they rushed off towards their destination, taking the more scenic and less likely to be a policed route.

Alan wasnt sure of the time when he began to stir. He was still in the car, laying on the backseat. His two companions were still driving in the front seat. Still groggy, he stretched his arms as the snapped quietly, and opened his mouth to speak;

"Wow, I must have been tired. How long have I been asleep?"

Looking outside the window, he watched as the scenery passed by quickly. He had only seen maybe a picture or two of Tartarus, but of those he had seen the nation looked rather interesting. He didnt exactly know why the nation was considered to be hell on earth, for what he had seen so far didnt seem to be so bad.

For some strange reason, when he imagined the nation, he imagined Greece, and its architechture. But at the same time, this only confused him when he looked at the buildings outside. Maybe he was still groggy, nothing he thought made any sense really. Anyhow, as he watched the scenery pass by, he thought of all that had happened over the past twenty-four hours.

Looking back over her shoulder as Alan spoke, Vicki smiled and nodded. “You’ve been asleep for a while. We’ll be at our destination soon.” She turned back to face the front of the car and looked out of the windscreen at the view ahead. The location was very familiar; she had spent a lot of time in this place, especially lately. She had been working on getting the safe house ready; she just had not expected it to be used so soon.

The journey continued in silence for a while longer, until the gates of a property, pushed back from the road. The route was quiet, few people ventured out here unless they had a house or business in the area. It was on the outskirts of the city away from the main flow of traffic.

As he drew near, Dennis wound down his window and pressed the comm button. He waited until a voice answered the buzz. “This is Dennis, we’re here with our guest.” He looked briefly back at Vicki and raised his eyebrow.

“Please enter the entry code.” The bodiless voice intoned.

Leaning out of the window, Dennis input the four digit code, and settled back in this seat as he waited for the gates to open. “Code accepted,” the box on the wall spoke out as the mechanical whirr of the electronics began to move the gates open. Putting the car into gear, he hit the accelerator and drove them up to the house.

Through the back window, as Vicki turned to look at Alan, she could see the gates begin to close up behind them, once again making the house secure. “Welcome to your new home.”

* * * * *

The house was relatively large, more on the scale of a mansion than a house. The owner had bought it several years ago, but had never made it his home. He had other properties for that. This one was for the soul purpose of helping people hide, not that he was a naturally generous man, if he did something it was for some kind of personal gain.

Five steps led up from the ground to the double door, made of dark wood, and standing out against the white walls. Around the front were a lot of trees, the front of the building obscured from the main road, making coming and going inside the grounds hard to see once you were halfway down the drive.

Pulling the car to a halt, Dennis watched as Vicki emerged and walked to the back car door, pulling it open for Alan to get out. “If you leave your bag, Dennis will take it inside, and get it to your room.” She smiled as he rose out of the vehicle and stood beside it. “Mr Wilde will be here soon.” She indicated for him to lead the way up to the door, as she ducked back inside the car. “See if you can arrange some refreshments on your way in.” She smiled, and followed Alan up to the entrance.

* * * * *

Having put the phone down after the call from Vicki, Jerry changed to his other phone and placed a call, filling in the man on the other line exactly what the situation was. He was the one who was organising everything after all, so it was only right that he be kept abreast of developments, even if he would never show himself opening as being involved. Finishing the second call, Jerry began to make preparations to meet Mr Thompson. He hit the shower, put on a fresh suit and grabbed a cup of coffee, as he went over a few details. Before he left his apartment, he patted his jacket to ensure his weapon was securely in place.

Leaving his building, he made straight for his car, flicking off the alarm before making himself comfortable inside. It was over a half hours drive to the mansion, so he would arrive not long after Vicki and Alan.

Switching on the ignition, he hit the gas pedal, and set the car in motion. Turning on the CD player, he whistled along to the tunes as he made his journey.

Alan walked through the entrance of the massive house in admiration. Never before had he really had the opportunity to live in such a grand residence, and now, ironically when he was on the run, this was his home; least for now. Inside was a beautiful decore, mostly olden style with a modern look to it. It was strange; perhaps it had been renovated.

Being shown to his room, he knew it would be hard to remember the location amongst the endless corridors, yet he didnt stay too long. He wasnt quite ready to rest, despite the fact that he had just come from a very long trip. So curiousity gained the better of him, and he began to explore. It would take a long time, perhaps the rest of his lifetime to know all the secrets of the old building.

Vicki sat in the lounge, a newspaper open before her as she tried to catch up on what had been happening; especially focusing on any stories that might point towards their guest, but the news was devoid of all mention of Mr Thompson, which suited her just fine. The Empire obviously did not think anything was worth reporting on the man from Austar Union, if only they knew. She smiled to herself when she thought how full of the story they would be if they had any idea that he was sitting in their backyard.

As the door opened, she lowered the paper, and placed it beside her on the couch, as she rose to greet Alan. She smiled at him and indicated a chair. “Make yourself at home.” Retaking her seat, she made herself comfortable. “I see you managed to find your way back. This house can be a little confusing at times. Seems people from ages passed like their guests to work for their stay.” She laughed a little then looked at the man sitting opposite her, unsure really what to say.

Just then the door opened again, and Dennis appeared carrying a tray, which he placed on the low table in front of Vicki. “I brought a selection, tea and coffee. If you want anything stronger there’s some in the cabinet over there.” He pointed over to the corner of the room, where a cabinet stood, the glass front showing an arrangement of glasses. “Cook is preparing some lunch, just a few cold snacks, but if you have any special needs, she can make something special.”

He looked between the two, his eyes lingering on Vicki questioningly. She shook her head slightly and smiled. “I think we’ve got everything we need for now.” She watched as he took his leave, calling him as he reached the door. “Will you let Mr Wilde know where we are when he arrives?”

Nodding his head and grunting his reply, Dennis left the two alone. Vicki sat forward on the couch, looking at the drinks before her. “What can I get you?”