The helicopter was just about on time. It was, she saw, amused, the one Atlanta’s pop radio station used for traffic reports and had that big logo on the side. She wondered how the commuters were going to get home tonight.

The pilot got out, bending slightly under the rotors, and put out his hand. “Hello! I’m Jim Syzmanski,” he said in a shouted Georgia-accented voice. “You’re Doctor Sutton?”

“Yes. I’m sorry for the bulk, but they didn’t give me much notice on this.”

He looked at the two suitcases. “No sweat. You ought to see what some of ‘em take to a mere accident.” He picked them up as if they weighed nothing and stored them in back of the seats. “Get in, and we’ll get you goin’.”

Although not new to helicopters, she’d never been in one of these small, light types with two seats and a bubble, and it was a little unnerving for a while. Still, the pilot knew his business; it was smooth and comfortable, and they were approaching the airport in a mere twenty minutes, about two hours less than it would have taken to drive and park.

“Sorry to rush you here so you could wait,” the pilot told her, “but they need the chopper back over the highways, and this was the only slot I had to get you. Your bags will be okay here. Not many facilities in this area, but unless you want to hike a bunch to the terminal and back, I’d say just head for that waiting room over there. It’s pretty basic, but it’ll do. I’ll radio in once I’m up and tell them that you’re here and waiting. It shouldn’t be long.”

She thanked him, and he was off as soon as he got clearance, leaving her alone in the hangar area. There was a sleek-looking twin-engine Learjet just beyond the barrier with the news organization’s corporate logo; she assumed that it was the plane they were going to use.

She turned and walked toward the indicated lounge area, which wasn’t much more than a prefabricated unit sitting on the tarmac. A few official-looking people were around beyond the fence, but she suddenly felt nervous about being there without some kind of pass or badge. What if she got arrested for possible hijacking or something?