Burnington Gaol

F I F T Y - T W O | Adeline

The doors opened before us and a burst of cold air filled my lungs.

The lights were blinding and the chitter-chatter of travellers hummed through the building. Every corner was curved and railed, as if the building had been warped by the imagination of a small child, and the glass windows that made up the walls were lit up by the midday sun. I stared at it all in wonderment, never having seen an airport before.

"You'd better be right about this, kid." Frank said, sauntering in.

He wore Dad's jacket over his broad shoulders, his red jumpsuit pants replaced with a pair of Billy's trackies. His beady, hard eyes, tattooed skin, lean muscle and the scarring across his left cheek made him look downright terrifying, as if someone had dressed a shark in a pink tutu.

"Where should we start?" Billy asked.

The roar of an aeroplane thundered overheard and through the window, I watched the magnificent metal bird land on the runway. I bit my lip, trying to ignore all the new sights and sounds.

"Split up," Frank said. "We'll cover more ground that way."

"Good idea," I piped up. "I'll go with you."

Frank looked down at me and nodded. Dad echoed the movement before taking Billy towards the East end of the airport. Frank I went in the opposite direction.

As we walked, I studied his face. Seeing him so close and surrounded by hundreds of people seemed so surreal to me, as if somebody had cut his face out of a photograph and pasted it into a magazine. But Frank was too pre-occupied to lend me any attention. His dark eyes instead scanned the crowd intensely, with a laser-beam focus, and a pang of concern rippled inside me.

"What are you going to do when you find him?"

Frank's upper lip twitched.

"Do you really want to know?"

I looked away from him.

"You can't hurt him," I said. "Not here. If anybody finds out that my dad snuck you out of prison, he'd – "

"No need to fear," Frank said, looking down at me. The hardness in his eyes seemed to soften with that look. "I won't put any of you in that situation."

I nodded, looking at my shoes.

"Thank you." I cleared my throat. "So where are you going to go once all this is over?"

Frank tilted his head, his eyes still focused on the masses.

"Bayton, most likely." He said. "Jimmy always said he wanted to live in Bayton, and it seems like a good place to start over."

"You'll come back and visit, won't you?"

"Once or twice, maybe. If you're lucky." He said with a wink.

I pushed him lightly, but he didn't budge, only chuckled.

"You could visit me, you know."

"Really?"

"Yes, of course. I'll find a bed for you. Bring the kid, too, if you want. I don't mind him."

"He grows on you."

"Yes, he does."

"I don't think Dad will let us, though."

"Probably not, but you'll be a woman soon, and he won't be able to stop you. As for your brother," Frank smiled, "put him in your suitcase."

"Knowing Billy, he'll probably put himself in my suitcase."

Just as the words passed my lips, Frank's head jerked up, the relaxed smile on his face vanished.

"There," he said, eyes narrow and focused.

I followed his gaze, trying to find Tony's face in the crowd, but all I could see were the hundreds walking by.

"Where?"

"Hold on."

I paused, and all those lovely chirpy voices were suddenly drowned out by the quietness between Frank and I. I stared for a long moment, spotted the back of his head. With thick blond hair that stood an inch above the rest, it was a surprise that I could've missed him. I stepped forward.

"Wait," Frank said sharply, pushing me back. "Not yet."

Tony weaved between the crowd, heading for a door.

"He's leaving," I said impatiently. "We have to get – "

"He's not leaving," Frank interrupted. "Look, Adeline. Look where he's going."

Above the doorway that Tony was headed to, I spotted a sign. It was a toilet. I glanced up at Frank, unsure.

"Wait here," he said.

"What? No!"

Frank launched into the crowd and I hurried after him, trying to wriggle through the closely-pressed bodies without falling over or suffocating.

"Frank!" I called. "What are you doing?"

I lost sight of him, kept zigzagging through the mass until I came to the door. I tried to shove it open, but it wouldn't budge. Frank had locked it behind him. Frowning, I knocked hard against the painted wood.

"Frank!" I yelled. "Frank, open the door!"

Fear began to bubble up inside me. What was going on in there?

"Frank!"

I leaned forward, pressing my ear against the wood. With closed eyes, a loud crash broke through the quiet, making the door shake. I sucked in a gasp.

"Frank!"

© A.G. Travers 2018