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If He opened his eyes and sat up straighter in his seat, because suddenly he received the revelation that he had been expecting Or part of it, at least

He still did not knoas going to happen in Chicago, but he knew the names of the people whose lives he was expected to save: Christine and Casey Dubrovek

To his surprise, he realized they were on this plane with hiht come in the terminal at O’Hare, or at least soon after touchdown Otherwise he would not have crossed their path so early Usually, he encountered the people he saved only minutes before their lives were thrown into jeopardy

Co hiot up, headed to the front of the plane, crossed over to the starboard side, and started back that aisle He had no idea what he was doing until he stopped at roenty-two and looked down at the mother and child in seats H and I The woman was in her late twenties; she had a sweet face, not beautiful but gentle and pretty The child was five or six years old

The woman looked up at him curiously, and Jim heard himself say "Mrs

Dubrovek?" She blinked in surprise "I’m sorrydo I know you?" "No, but Ed told ht and asked me to look you up" When he spoke that nah he had no idea where that knowledge had coave her his best smile "I’, so we drive each other nuts in about a dozen htened "Oh, yes, he’s spoken about you You only joined the co with it, confident the right ansould pour out of him even if he didn’t knohat in the hell they were

"And this irl was in the seat by theShe raised her head shifting her attention froonna be six torandpop and grandhed and said, "I’ll bet they’re sure proud to have a granddaughter cute as you"

When Holly saw hi the starboard aisle, she was so startled that she alht he was looking straight at her She had the urge to start blurting out a confession "Yes, all right, I’ve been following you, checking up on you, invading your privacy with a vengeance"-even before he reached her She knew precious few other reporters ould have felt guilty about probing into his life, but she couldn’t seem to eliminate that streak of decency that had interfered with her career advanceree It alain-until she realized he was looking not at her but at the brunette immediately in front of her Holly sed hard, and slid down a few inches in her seat instead of leaping up in a frenzy of confession She picked up the airline’s azine which she’d previously discarded; slowly, deliberately she opened it to cover her face, afraid that too quick a move would draw his attention before she had concealed herself behind those glossy pages

The azine blocked her view of hi and most of the woman’s responses She listened to him identify himself as Steve Harkman, a company ad executive, and wondered what his charade was all about

She dared to tilt her head far enough to peek around the azine with one eye Ironheart was hunkered down in the aisle beside the woman’s seat, so close that Holly could have spit on hi than she was at clandestine surveillance

She realized her hands were treazine rattle softly She untilted her head, stared at the pages in front of her, and concentrated on being calnize me?" Christine Dubrovek asked

"Well, Ed doesn’t quite paper his office with pictures of you two," Jiht," she said

"Listen, Mrs Dubrovek-" "Call ot an ulterioryou like this According to Ed, you’ve got a knack forto say Already aglow, her sweet face brightened further "Well, I do like getting people together if I think they’re right for each other, and I’ve got to admit I’ve had more than a little success at it"

"You make matches, Mommy?" Casey Dubrovek asked

Uncannily in synch with the workings of her six-year-old’s arette kind, honey"

"Oh Good," Casey said, then returned to her pop-up storybook

"The thing is," Jiht weeks, and I’les’ bars, don’t want to buy a gyure anybody I’d connect with through a computer service has to be as desperate and hed "You don’t look desperate or messed up to me"

"ExcuseJim’s shoulder, "but I can’t allow you to block the aisle"

"Oh, sure, yeah," he said, standing up "Just give me a , but I’d really like to talk to you, tell you aboutfor in a woman, and see if maybe you know someone ?" "Sure, I’d love that," Christine said with such enthusiasm that she was surely the reincarnation of either soht-after troth-finder or a successful schatchen from Brooklyn

"Hey, you know, the two seats next to mine are empty," he said "Maybe you could sit with me the rest of the way"

He expected her to be reluctant to give upseats, and an unexpressable twist of anxiety knotted his stomach while he waited for her response

But she hesitated for only a second or two "Yes, why not"

The stewardess, still hovering near theht Casey would like the scenery from way up here, but she doesn’t seem to care , and it blocks a lot of our view"

Jim did not understand the reason for the wave of relief that swept through his reat Thank you, Christine"

As he stepped back to let Christine Dubrovek get up, he noticed the passenger in the seat behind her The poor wo a copy of Vis Pis in front of her face, trying to take her , but her hands were shaking so badly that the ?" Christine asked

"The other aisle, row sixteen Cole piece of carry-on luggage while she and Casey gathered up a few other small items, then he led them to the front of the plane and around to the port aisle Casey entered row sixteen, and herimpelled him to look across the wide-bodied plane to the aerophobic woman whom they had left behind in roenty-three She had lowered thehim He knew her

Holly Thorne

He was stunned

Christine Dubrovek said, "Steve?" Across the plane, the reporter realized that Jiht in car headlights

"Steve?" He looked down at Christine and said, Uh, excuse ht back Wait here Okay? Wait right here

He went forward and across to the starboard aisle again

His heart was haht with fear But he didn’t knohy He was not afraid of Holly Thorne He knew at once that her presence was no coincidence, that she had stuht now he didn’t care

Discovery, being unhtened hi up his anxiety, but it was escalating to a level at which adrenaline would soon start to squirt out his ears

As he made his way back the aisle toward the reporter, she started to get up Then a look of resignation slid across her face, and she sat down again

She was as easy to look at as he rehtly dark, as if from lack of sleep

When he arrived at roenty-three, he said, "Coive it to hiot to talk," he said