50. Tickets.

The attendant looked up and smiled. "May I help you?"

"We're going to India," said Sid.

The attendant frowned disapprovingly. "You're pushing it. The Delhi flight starts boarding in about--" she glanced at her terminal--"ten minutes. Ticket?"

"We don't have tickets," Sid said.

The attendant paused in her key-tapping. "Oh. Okay. Just the two of you?"

"Yes, just us."

More keys tapping. Nan could feel the sweat prickling up at her hairline, the way it did when she found herself anywhere without the money to pay for whatever she was doing, or when she was dangerously close to her credit card limit. The racket of the terminal behind her felt like it had congealed into a solid mass, just one little sound here or there spiking up above the others. Sid stood, relaxed, his arm leaning against the counter.

"Any baggage to check?"

"No."

"Traveling light!" the attendant commented. "Not even any carry-ons?" There was an edge of suspicion in her voice.

"Just what we're wearing," Sid said.

"All right, here we go. You're in luck. The flight's almost empty. I'll just need a major credit card. And your passports, of course."

Sid didn't move. "We don't have any money. And we don't have passports."

The attendant's fingers froze above the keyboard. "You don't--"

"You said the flight is almost empty. Will it make much of a difference if we're on it?"

The attendant stared at him. She'd been trained to spot drunks and weirdos. These two didn't seem like either, though the girl was nervous.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand."

"We need to get to India. Your airline is going to India, and there are unused seats. Can't you reserve a place for us?"

There was a way to override the payment step, one of those secrets reservation agents knew. The attendant glanced at the clock across from her counter. Her shift had ended fifteen minutes ago, but she'd stayed on to deal with the inevitable rush of stragglers for the London flight. She looked again at Sid. What remarkable eyes he has, she thought. Something inside her shifted and became quiet. Her fingers tapped out the keystrokes to override payment. She printed the tickets and boarding passes and handed them to Sid. The tickets were made out to John and Jane Smith.

"All right. Here are your tickets and boarding passes. New York-New Delhi. You're stopping over in Zurich for a couple of hours. Have a good trip."

Sid accepted the documents gratefully. "Thank you," he said. Nan gaped at the attendant, then at Sid as he turned and walked toward the security gate, and hurried to catch up with him.