Coffee & Criminals

31. Aca-Scuse Me?

Outside, it was very blustery. The wind moved in strong gusts, whipping light things back and forth and swaying the heavier objects around the large black and white helicopter. It didn't actually land on the grass, but hovered a few feet above it. Inside, I could see a person with balding grey hair and a headset hunched over the controls, checking everything before glancing towards where Wolfe and I stood.

"What is this?" I stared wide-eyed at the rotating blades. They were huge and extended enough to make me uncomfortable from how close we stood, even though I knew the blades were at least five feet above my height. The pilot waved to Wolfe, like a beckoning signal to get inside. He seemed grumpy and had wrinkles all over his face, like a dry piece of beef jerky.

"It's a helicopter, Florence." As Wolfe spoke, he pulled out his phone again. I could barely hear him over the roaring. He tapped some things on the screen as I stood beside him awkwardly, unsure of what to do. Now would be a great time to slap one of his ears and run. Subtly, or what I thought to be subtly, I glanced over his shoulder. It was a bank account transaction from Wolfe to someone named Sven Karsou. Eleven grand, to be exact. After it was complete, Wolfe pocketed his phone and gave me a grin. "Are you ready?"

"Ready for what?" I asked. An uneasy clench overtook my insides. The mischievous way Wolfe was smirking meant something very bad was about to happen and I knew I wouldn't like one bit of what he was planning.

"Come with me." Wolfe held out his hand. It wasn't an order, but an invitation.

Come with me. As if it was that simple. Wolfe was dangerous company, did he not realize that? Of course, it wasn't like I had much of a choice. I was miles away from home, completely vulnerable to the actions of Wolfe Sterling. As long as I was with him, what affected Wolfe in turn affected me. He was my only protection and the only familiar face around. And this familiar face wanted me to go on a helicopter ride with him and Mr. Grumpy to heaven knows where.

"You are so hilarious, Wolfe."

"I'm not kidding."

"Ha! Nice one. Almost got me there."

"I'm not kidding, Florence." Wolfe repeated. He nudged his head towards the helicopter, where the pilot seemed to getting more impatient by the minute. "Come with me. Just for ten minutes, that's all. One quick trip over New York and I'll have you back to Brooklyn before you can say 'Twizzlers'." Noticing my reluctance, Wolfe gave me a smile that could charm Medusa. "Come on, Florence. I won't take you out of state, I promise. When's the last time you've been somewhere other than Brooklyn? There's a whole city waiting for you. I'm not going to shove you out of the helicopter, I promise. You can even wear the cute little parachute vest."

"Like that would make me feel better!" I was mortified at the thought. "Wolfe, a helicopter? What for?"

He shrugged. "Fun."

"You think murder is fun, so excuse me if I don't agree with your activity choices."

"It won't be that bad." Wolfe rolled his eyes, as if flying around empty air in a metal machine hundreds of feet above the ground was as normal as breathing. As if people weren't afraid of heights. Unless there was a bouncy trampoline made of Twizzlers waiting to catch me when I fell to my imminent death, there was absolutely no way Wolfe was getting me on that helicopter.

"Nope." I shook my head wildly. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the pilot's shoulders heave up and down as he sighed impatiently. "No. Absolutely not. No thank you, sir. I appreciate the offer, but I'll pass. It's not you, it's me. No. Nein. Ingen. Non. Absolutely, positively, most certainly, utterly, completely, totally, undoubtedly, precisely, definitely, entirely, wholly, fully, surely my answer is no."