Maverick Effect (Chapter 15)

Jessica pulled the baseball cap down a little lower.  She had been doing pretty well at not being recoginzed.  Now if she could just spend some time out of this hotel, being just herself. Well, that would be like heaven after the schedule she had just had for the week.  She turned the corner to the elevator and saw a large crowd already in it.  The doors were closing and a man near the front put out his hand to stop the doors.  Jessica waved him off though.

  “That’s okay, I’ll get the next one. Thanks.”

  He nodded and the doors closed.  Jessica stopped to tie the laces on her Sketchers, waiting for the elevator.  The doors opened as she stood up and stretched.  She walked inside and pressed for the lobby.  Just as the doors were about the close, a man rounded the corner of the hall and slipped into the elevator without a sound.

‘He looks familiar’ Jessica thought to herself, but she couldn’t think of where she might have seen him before.  They were about halfway to the lobby, having just passed another floor when there was a jolt and the elevator came to a halt.

  Jessica heard a murmer of words and caught one that sounded like “unko” from the man and figured he wasn’t saying happy birthday.  It didn’t sound like english though, it sounded more like a chinese or japanese dilect.  She watched as he popped open the box where the emergency phone was.  After a few moments she could hear the squak of the operator on the line and then the man spoke.

  “No, no one is injured.  Just a hard jolt, but it’s stopped.  Yes, two people, including myself. Are you sure? Can’t you hurry it up any? Alright, yes, alright.”

  Jessica knew she had heard that voice before. Finally, with his last sentence she was able to place him.  She had been thinking so hard about it, that she blurted out his name as soon as it came to mind.

  “You’re Maverick!”

  Maverick turned around and smiled at her.  He shifted his gaze down slightly to look under the cap and smiled wider.

  “Yes and you’re Jessica Alba.  Pleasant meeting you.  And it seems we’re going to get to know each other well enough.  The operator told me it could take between one and three hours to get us out of here.”

  “That long? Really?”

  “Yes, that long.”

  Maverick sat down on the floor and stretched his legs out, getting comfortable.  He looked up at her.

  “So, do you want to start or should I?”

  He smirked at her and she couldn’t help but give him a big smile back.  This was going to be a interesting hour, she thought to herself.

Damien