Blake Schwendiman's Blog and Blook

Chapter 18

Wednesday, 09 March 2022 – 8:45 p.m. MST

From Q-Morrow headquarters to the Biltmore area in Phoenix was a relatively short drive, but it allowed Ramesh some time to reflect. He stared out the window and absorbed all the changes to the landscape since he had been gone. Tempe itself had become an enormous business and technical center riddled with high-rise buildings. The growth had also migrated west through Phoenix practically joining the two into one large corporate corridor.

Ramesh felt his heart skip as he saw the road signs indicating Sky Harbor airport. He hadn’t been there for years, but his last visit there had been the beginning of his emptiness. He tried to force the memories from his mind. He hated reliving the pain.

When he arrived at the Biltmore, the driver spoke briefly with the concierge and Ram was taken directly to his suite. He had never stayed at the Biltmore before and he had certainly never expected to be in one of its grand suites. He found that it was an unnecessarily large accommodation for his short trip, but he did enjoy the luxury. He quietly settled into bed and lay in the quiet while he let his thoughts drift.

Ramesh drove quickly as he made his way from his downtown Phoenix office to Sky Harbor airport. Fortunately, traffic was lighter than he expected on the 202 and he was making up for leaving a few minutes late. He was so excited to see Padumi and their twins. They had been away for nearly two weeks visiting Padumi’s cousin in New Jersey. Today was their forth anniversary. Ramesh had made arrangements for a surprise night out, something they hadn’t done often enough since the twins were born.

Ramesh slowed as he approached terminal four. He had planned on parking in the short-term lot, but as he approached he found that emergency vehicles were blocking access to the upper-levels of the terminal. He slowed as traffic began to bottleneck. He checked his watch. There was still just enough time to circle the terminal and find different parking.

He moved to the outside lanes which seemed to be flowing a bit better. As he passed in front of the terminal he saw groups of people standing, huddled around the various information terminals. There was a solemnity on their faces that caused Ramesh’s heart to sink. He intuitively felt that something was very wrong. He fumbled with his car stereo, searching for any news. He found it.

A radio journalist spoke, “... possible terrorist attack. We are still receiving information. We know for sure is that a flight bound for Phoenix from New York’s JFK airport has gone down ...”

Ramesh stopped his car. He jumped out and ran into the terminal. On the screen he saw images of wreckage, fire, a torn airplane fuselage. He stood in stunned silence for a moment then collapsed to his knees.

Ramesh woke with a start. The sound of his own screaming voice still rang in his mind. He sat up in bed. For a moment he could not recall where he was. He looked around the unfamiliar large room. Then it came back to him. He was in Phoenix, in the Goldwater suite of the Biltmore. He rolled out of bed and walked slowly to the sink. He splashed warm water on his face, erasing the streaks of tears from his face.

He leaned forward on the counter and stared at himself in the mirror. “What am I doing here?” he asked himself. He sighed and turned back toward the bed. It took several moments for the images of his dream to fade. He tried to push it out of his mind by thinking of his conversation with Quinn, but that only made his mind race. He lay awake for about an hour before he finally drifted to sleep again.