They never told anybody about the airport incident.
Why should they? There was really no point, and when you think about it, they did nothing wrong. They were just an innocent couple returning from an overseas holiday. You could say they were mister and misses nobody. That’s not to say they didn’t enjoy their annual break; they did. Taking two weeks out to travel away to somewhere different was a yearly event that they looked forward to. They always brought something home with them; sometimes a trinket or two, sometimes clothes. On this occasion he’d fallen in love with, and had bought, a jacket. It was a subtle shade of green with what he called football buttons. He liked it more than she did, but he had got his way. After a few remarks about its unusual colour he had deliberately bought a red handkerchief to stuff in its pocket. It certainly made him stand out in a crowd and she was fairly understanding, after all, they were on holiday.
Anyway, the incident, it happened just after they landed. They had collected their luggage and were set to go when she needed a toilet. They found one and he sat looking after the cases. It all happened so quickly. She was only just out of sight when it happened. He had picked up a paper someone had left on a seat and had barely read the headlines when the woman appeared. She was attractive, expensively dressed and was carrying a large handbag. To his surprise, she approached casually and stood in front of him. Smiling, she seemed to admire his jacket before taking the seat next him. She sat for a moment or two before she unzipped a piece of his hand luggage, removed a parcel from her handbag and dropped it in.
He was amazed at how quickly she had done the whole thing. It left him in a stunned silence. Then, without turning her head, she whispered, “Tell your people the governor is pleased with the service they provided.” At that, she stood and slowly walked away. He watched her go, gawping. He sat, still trying to take it all in. He peered down. The parcel was a bit bigger than a house brick. He put his hand in and lifted it a little. It was heavy. Something told him it was money, bank notes, lots of them, cash, payment for a service provided. He had time to turn it all over in his mind very carefully before his wife returned.
He saw her strolling back and patted the seat. She sat down, seeing that he had something to say. Quietly, he said, “While you were gone, something absolutely amazing happened.” She turned to look at him. She could see he was serious. He then recounted the incident as precisely as he could, before suggesting that they leave without delay.
When he’d finished, she said, “Shouldn’t we report it or something?”
He looked around and sighed. “What’s the point? Who’re we going to tell?” He shook his head slowly. “The only way any of this doesn’t go badly for us, is if we get out of here without anything else happening. D’you see what I mean? We should accept what has happened and just go.”
At that moment, she surprised herself with how tolerant she was being, first the jacket and now this! “OK,” she said, “if you think that’s best.”
“I do, but we need to move slowly, you know, normal, nothing unusual, just picking up our luggage and leaving the airport.”