It was likely the pilot had only needed to use the bathroom. But still, it made Asher uneasy.
Asher turned the overhead light on, then proceeded to use the bathroom. When he was done, he took a bottle of water and knocked on the cockpit door. The pilot startled, and Asher smiled, offering him the water.
The pilot pulled his headphones off one ear and took the bottle. “Oh, thank you.”
He was clearly nervous, and Asher had to wonder if that was because he wasn’t used to people approaching the cockpit or if he knew who Asher and Harry were.
“How much longer?” Asher asked with a smile. He wasn’t at all familiar with a cockpit, and he wouldn’t begin to know if something was or wasn’t out of place, but it was still good to see it.
“Should have wheels down in an hour.”
“Good. Thank you.”
Asher was going to shut the door but thought better of it. Maybe he wanted to hear any radio conversations. Maybe he should have been listening the whole time. So, leaving the door open, Asher went back to his seat and stared at the back of the pilot’s head for a good hour. There was no radio communication in that time, not that Asher heard, but still, Asher had a bad feeling.
It got the better of him, so he took his duffle bag out of the storage compartment and stashed it between his feet.
“Everything okay?” Harry asked, his voice low and sleepy.
Asher doubted the pilot could hear them, but he spoke in a whisper all the same. “Not sure.” He unzipped the duffle bag, took out his handgun, and stashed it beside his thigh and the armrest on the seat.
Harry was more awake now. He sat up, scrubbed his hand over his face, keeping his eyes on the cockpit door. “Do I need to sort anyone out?”
“How about we let him land the plane first.”
Harry smirked. “Probably a good idea.”
“We’re about an hour out.”
He nodded. “Okay.”
“When I woke up, the cockpit door was open,” Asher said. “I don’t like the idea of anyone being around while we sleep.”
“Maybe he needed to piss.”
“Which meant he walked by both of us, and we had no idea.”
Harry looked back at the cockpit. “I should have stayed awake, sorry.”
“Or I should have,” Asher said. But the comfortable seats and the vibration of the plane had put him out like a light. It didn’t help that he’d hardly slept a wink the last week.
“Okay, so from now on, we sleep in shifts,” Harry said. Then he stood up and made his way to the bathroom. “Speaking of needing to piss...”
Nice.
Everything aside, Asher liked how they were starting to think as a team. How long it would last, he had no idea. How long he wanted it to last was another matter altogether.
He liked Harry.
Sure, he was grumpy and his sense of humour could use some work, but he was also thoughtful and protective. And Asher knew, without a doubt, that Harry would have his back if and when it came down to it.
They were so used to being by themselves, this had been a big adjustment for both of them. But there was camaraderie in their solitude. They lived similar lives, shared similar experiences—not many of them pleasant—and they understood each other.
Mostly.
Sometimes they just wanted to punch the living shit out of each other, but that was normal, given the circumstances.
These weren’t normal circumstances.