It all started on a cold California afternoon...the international terminal at SFO was bustling with people trying to get to their destinations...a silver Toyota Camry pulls up the curb along side a sign that says British Airways...out steps a strikingly good looking young man...his sandy blond hair is hastily styled with a wind blown sort of look...he has a light in his eyes alluding to the energy that lies beneath...he carries himself with a confidence and air of one who has been adored all his life...he walks to the trunk of the car and removes two matching suitcases and a garment bag...with a smile that is more of a smirk he says goodbye to the kind gentleman who gave him a ride to the airport...he looks over at the individual to his left...his father...and asks if he's ready to go...with a silent nod they proceed through the automatic doors and fade into the distance...
Exiting the revolving doors at Heathrow airport in London the young man extends a hand and with an effortless wave calls a cab to the curb...the bags are stowed in the trunk and the journey into the city begins...the two individuals in the back seat chit chat idly about the flight and the food and the appearance of sunshine on what was expected to be a foggy London day...
The cab pulls up to the entrance of a hotel in Kensington Park...the “Garden Court Hotel” reads a sign above the pillared stairway to the front door...the cab driver is paid and tipped generously in return for his silence if ever asked who the two were in his cab...he wont talk...he knows better...the look in the young man's eyes told him so...
The Spanish receptionist, named Lola, at the main desk smiles and looks up questioningly...reservation for Kerrigan says the older man...yes I have it right here says Lola...unable to take her eyes off the younger...keys are given, with a smile brighter then most customers get, and the two make their way up the stairs to their room on the 3rd floor...
The room is quaint...a bit on the small size but more then usable...bags are set down and it looks like they may take a break as the older man, Peter, sits down...aren’t you going to take a load off Noah?...in a minute is the reply...he then begins to look over the room...checking behind doors and under beds...unscrewing the phone and checking for anything out of the ordinary...15 minutes later the room is deemed "clean" and Noah sits down on the bed, lays back and stretches...nice to be on vacation...
Kensington Park is a nice area of town...there is a beautiful park down the block from the hotel...a duck pond in the middle is shadowed by Kensington Palace...it's a grand mansion once inhabited by Earls and Lords and Dukes and Duchesses...now it is more a tourist attraction then anything else...
We find our two characters on fold out chairs looking across the pond at nothing and everything all at the same time...sun is finding it's way through the clouds and warming the faces in it's path...30 minutes later the two know they should head back to the hotel room...it has been 27 hours since they last slept...to avoid it much longer would be dangerous...sleep is a weapon...something one must never forget...and they have stayed awake long enough that there will be no jet lag the next morning when they wake up...
9:15am comes early for them the following day...but it is a necessary nuisance they get up if they are to catch the morning breakfast, which stops being served at 9:30am...
