The Favor

Cornelius pulled up in front of the baggage claim terminal and left the engine running, in case he had to make a quick getaway. Now he just had to get to the baggage lost-and-found counter and present his identification. He passed Louis the security guard as he approached the doors. Cornelius knew just about half of the security guards at J.F.K. by name, and said good morning to Louis as he reached the entrance.

Louis gave Cornelius a nod and returned the greeting. Then Louis smiled and said, “Nice suit man; rental?”

Cornelius was in no mood for jokes, but he laughed anyway, just to keep up the façade. When he smiled, Louis saw a slight swelling on his cheek, but said nothing. In fact, he wasn’t even certain whether or not he imagined it.

Cornelius was inside now and the airport felt cool to him. There weren’t many people here, which was unusual, even for a Sunday morning. He was glad not to have to wait on line when he reached the counter. A small middle-aged woman with blonde hair and bifocals was seated behind the counter, thumbing through some papers. She looked up from her work as he approached, and offered him a smile.

“Can I help you?” She said with a slight southern accent. Her name plate read Delores.

“Hi Delores,” he said, returning the smile. “A passenger left a small box here yesterday that read Sicily. I was told I could find it here.”

“Yes, I have it.” She said. “Can I see some I.D.?”

Cornelius removed his wallet from his pants and produced the card that was given to him earlier. Delores adjusted her glasses as she looked it over. Satisfied, she handed it back to him, and told him to sign for the package. Cornelius picked up the pen and roster, and signed as Delores unlocked a cabinet below the desk. As she rummaged around, Cornelius saw a police officer in the west wing of the airport pointing in his direction during an exchange with one of the security guards. It was Louis. He must have recognized the passenger in his car. Cornelius now made the connection. It was Tony that came here yesterday to pick up the package, and it was him that was chased out when Cornelius was nearly trampled by those policemen. They must have put an APB out on Tony. If they make it to the car before him, it’s all over.