Walk Away

Chapter 3

3

I board a British Airways 747 from John F. Kennedy to Manchester International Airport. The flight is half-empty, the holidays over. I blagged the job at the airport using a fake name, a made-up CV and falsified documents. The number and email for my reference were real. An old mate at Manchester Airport owed me one. So he was happy to pretend I was on his team.

One of the perks of the job is free air miles and discounted flights. It comes in handy at times like these.

I settle into my window seat behind the left-hand wing having opted for a one-way ticket. A return ticket's no good to a dead man. And the landlord will take care of the apartment should I not make it back and the money stops.

I crack my neck left and right, my knees wedged against the seat in front.

The plane takes off. A night-time flight. We bank over New York. A twinkling neon circuit board pulsing with tiny life.

As the 747 nears cruising altitude, the cabin crew get on with the important business of drinks. Mine’s a whiskey taken straight. I knock it back, trying to get the news about Yunjin out of my head. I glance across the cabin. A young couple from the Far East with two young children. Quiet as mice, watching kids films on their headphones.

I close my eyes. But all I see is Yunjin . . . The last time I saw her, and the first time we met.