When I Found You

“Thank you for coming, Captain, Officer Clemens,” Ariana said, keeping a cautious eye on the dogs.

When Boomer opened his mouth to pant, Ariana took two small, hurried steps back.

“Ah, here’s the plane in question,” she noted, looking over Logan’s shoulder.

They watched the Boeing 767 wide-body, twin-engine jet taxi slowly into place. A deafening roar briefly drowned out all other noise as a fighter jet soared overhead. Incredulous, Logan turned to Ariana. “A fighter jet escort?”

She shrugged. “Probably a training exercise.”

“That would make sense.” Logan was having trouble keeping his eyes off her. It was more than her appearance. There was an indefinable quality about her that appealed to him. He forced himself to concentrate on the situation that had brought him to the airport. “Nothing came up on the two women involved when we ran them.”

Ariana nodded. “That corroborates what we know. Not surprising. The two women are barely out of college and this, we’re told, was supposed to be a celebration of the start of their so-called independence.”

“Heck of a way to start.”

“I hope their field of study wasn’t law. This little fiasco is likely to leave a smear on their record.”

Logan noticed the slight curving of Ariana’s lips and returned the smile. He was feeling distinctly better than when he’d arrived. Damn, she was beautiful. In addition, she was clearly smart and had a sense of humor. She was the whole package.

He directed his concentration to the approaching plane. It shimmered in the dry heat rolling in waves off the asphalt. He couldn’t resist a sideways glance at Ariana. Her body was angled toward the aircraft. Loose strands of dark chestnut-brown hair fanned around her face. The sharp line of her cheekbone, small straight nose and what he could only think of as pouty lips, drawn in a straight line as she watched the plane advance, made for a profile as striking as her face head-on.

Focus, O’Connor. You’re here to do a job.

Ariana’s phone signaled an incoming call. She stepped away, had a brief conversation and walked back.

“They’re ready for us. We’ll get the mobile staircase in place. Those buses—” She motioned to their right. “They’re for the passengers, to take them to the terminal building once you’re finished with them.”

Another car pulled up as she was speaking. It was marked with the United States Homeland Security crest and the words Transportation Security Administration. A tall, slim man with a slight hunch to his shoulders and thinning blond hair got out and approached them.

“This is Federal Security Director Angus Stewart,” Ariana said. “FSD Stewart, meet Captain O’Connor and Officer Clemens of the SDPD K-9 Unit.”

“FSD Stewart,” Logan acknowledged the other man, mildly surprised by the lack of strength in his handshake and the clamminess of his palm. He had an immediate dislike for the TSA director. Judging by Ariana’s body language, she wasn’t a big fan either. “You don’t have explosives detection dogs at this airport?” Logan asked to confirm.

“No. We mostly rely on electronics trace detection technology.”

Logan wasn’t about to get into a debate with Stewart about the relative merits of the two methods of detection. The data showed that dogs were far superior in terms of accuracy and cost effectiveness.

“The report stated that the women were already inebriated when they boarded. Why were they let on the plane to begin with?” Stewart asked.

“Good question, and one I would like the answer to, as well,” Ariana responded.

“If someone had done their job, it could’ve saved us all a lot of hassle.”

The cat’s-eye shape of Ariana’s lids, which hinted at some exotic heritage, narrowed as she held Stewart’s gaze. “FSD Stewart,” she began in a voice that could have doused a raging fire. “Of course you’re aware that passenger boarding is the responsibility of the airline.”

Prickly, Logan thought, but somehow that just made her more intriguing.

“Yeah, I’m aware of that. If the women were that drunk, shouldn’t the people doing the boarding have called security?”

Her light blue irises were icy as a glacier, but she remained silent. Logan had the odd sensation of wanting to squirm even though her steady-eyed scrutiny wasn’t directed at him.

“They didn’t call security nor did they report it to their own management, correct?” Stewart persisted. “They just took the path of least resistance and let the women board.”

“That’s right.”

“This is a ridiculous and unnecessary use of our time due to sloppy procedures,” Stewart sneered.

Despite the improvement in Logan’s disposition, the headache that had been brewing behind his temples began to throb. He longed for his bed. He shifted from one leg to the other. “Yeah, I can understand your frustration,” he cut in. “You must have a lot on your plate, implementing all those recommendations from the Inspector General’s office.” He resented Angus’s jabs at Ariana. He put it down to how tired and irritable he was that the nasty comeback was out of his mouth before he realized it. He’d implicitly referenced the colossal failure of the TSA in a covert testing of its practices conducted by Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General a year ago. The classified results had been leaked and were very much in the public domain. Included in the recommendations was one for the TSA to introduce more dogs, especially at larger airports. Angus must not have gotten the memo.

Angus’s sharp intake of breath told Logan he’d hit the mark. He noted that Ariana’s expression remained inscrutable, but her eyes sparkled. She mouthed the words “thank you.”

He acknowledged it with a slight incline of his head and, when Angus wasn’t looking, a quick grin.

They waited as the mobile staircase was moved into position.

“If everyone is ready, we can start the deplaning,” Logan said and glanced at Stewart for confirmation. The FSD didn’t seem eager to take charge. TSA had jurisdiction, but without detection dogs there was little they could do in this situation. “Okay, then.” Logan turned to Ariana. “Two hundred and six passengers and crew in total, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Boomer and I’ll check them for explosives before they board the buses. Officer Clemens and Darwin will assist. Once the passengers are all off, we’ll sweep the aircraft.”

“I’ll need you to take the two women involved to the division,” Logan addressed the other cops. “Ms. Atkins,” he turned to her again.

“Ariana is fine.”

“All right, Ariana. I would appreciate it if members of your team could hold all passengers until we’re done with the aircraft.”

She nodded. “Of course.”

“Anything you’d like to add?” Logan asked Stewart.

“No. Let’s get this done,” he grumbled.

Man, no wonder TSA had problems, Logan thought as the passengers started to disembark.

Although Darwin was still in training, Logan had Shannon do the primary check of passengers with her dog. It was good experience under low-risk conditions.

They deplaned the two women first. The other passengers followed, their irritation apparent. Who could blame them? They were losing valuable vacation time.

Logan did his best to ignore the pounding in his head, and to be polite and pleasant as he and Boomer did a brief secondary check. When all passengers had disembarked, he and Boomer, aided by Shannon and Darwin, went to work on the aircraft itself. An hour later, and with the headache hammering so hard behind his eyes it made it almost impossible for him to see, Logan led Boomer down the stairs, Shannon and Darwin right behind him.

“Good job, Shannon.” He bent down to scratch Darwin’s ear. “You did great, too,” he praised the dog. “I’ll see you tomorrow to debrief,” he said to Shannon.

“I can go back to the division with you now, if you’d like.”

Logan couldn’t fault her for enthusiasm, but going back to the division was the last thing he wanted to do. “Thanks for offering, but there’s no need. We can cover it tomorrow.”

“Great. Thanks.” Shannon said her goodbyes and headed back to her SUV with Darwin.