As I waited for my belongings to be scanned, another TSA worker held up my carry on and hollered out, “Who does this bag belong to?”
I was so proud of that bag. It was white with black and pink polka dots on it and I just loved it.
I hollered back, waving my arm in the air, “It’s mine! Isn’t it cute?”
He didn’t comment except he said, “You need to follow me ma’am.”
I knew how scary these people could be on any given day, so I just smiled and followed him to another table, where we were immediately surrounded by several men. Now I began to get curious.
They started pulling everything out of my bag and dumping it on the table as they muttered among themselves. I silently stood by and watched. One of them got on his radio and called for the Charleston PD and told them to locate an FBI agent. Now I was really getting concerned.
“Excuse me, can you tell me what’s going on?”
No one would answer me. Three police men ran up and shoved me away from the table. They were all staring at the wrapped gift and mumbling about wiring and such.
“Ma’am, can you explain this?” he asked as he held up the wrapped gift.
“The present?”
The one that asked me the question rolled his eyes. Was that a stupid question I’d just asked?
A man in a suit ran up to us then and he pulled out his ID badge, indicating he was an FBI agent. Before I knew what happened, each of my arms had been grabbed and I was being hauled down the concourse toward a section of the airport I had never seen before.
“What in the world is going on?” I asked.
No one would answer. We finally got to a room with a table and six chairs. I was shoved into the room and a female TSA agent came up to me and patted me down. Then she ran one of those funky wands up and down me a couple of times. When she was done, she shoved me into a seat. The FBI guy, a TSA agent and the two police officers sat in the others, all facing me, staring me down.
“How can you explain this?” one asked, as he held up the wrapped box.
“The present from Melissa?”
“Don’t be a smart ass with us Miss. What is your name?”
“Avery Middleton.”
“Miss Middleton. How can you explain this?”
“It’s a gift from Melissa.”
The FBI guy groaned and rubbed his head. The door opened again and another TSA agent came in with one of those big German Shepard guard dogs. The dog came up to me and I reached out my hand to pet it. I thought it was a handsome looking dog and I’d always loved animals.
“Hi there fella,” I said.
The damn thing nearly took my hand off as it growled and snapped at me, while the agent pulled it back by its leash. I screamed at the top of my lungs and everyone jumped to their feet as the room broke out in chaos. I leaped up on the table fearing that beast was going to chow down on me for lunch, as it was now foaming at the mouth while his saliva was gushing out and pooling on the floor.
“Are you all trying to kill me or something?” I hollered.
“That’s a bomb sniffing dog! You’re not supposed to pet the damn thing. It’s trained to attack!”
“Well, it would’ve been nice if y’all had told me! Dern, it nearly ate my arm!”
“It did not!”
“Did too! What kind of place are y’all running here?”
“Miss, you are in serious trouble here. I’d caution you to take care of what you say. Now get down off that table and take a seat,” FBI guy said.
“Not until you get that man eating beast out of here.”
“That beast is here to determine what’s in that box, because you don’t seem competent enough to tell us.”
“Well! Of all things. I can’t tell you what’s in that box because I don’t know. My friend, Melissa, gave it to me as a going away gift and seeing as I haven’t opened it yet, and don’t have X-ray vision, it would be impossible for me to say what’s in the damn box.”
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Now if you want to find out what was in the box, you're just going to have to grab your copy of Kissing Fire and find out! ;-)
