Thoughts, Observations, and Meetings at Heathrow

Waiting in lines to drop off luggage and get through CAA security scans gave Lumina quite a bit of time to ponder the things she had read about the Mothman and Ley Lines. While the Mothman was most commonly associated with the sightings reported around Point Pleasant in 1966 and 1967, there was also a sighting reported in Moscow and other places. After the Silver Bridge collapsed in 1967, future sightings of the Mothman also came to be associated with imminent disasters. How legitimate those other sightings were, let alone the sightings in Point Pleasant, was difficult to assess, as it seemed like all authorities were inclined to pass them off as birds and such, and no doubt the Illuminati were keen to proliferate the later opinion as well. Also curious was the association certain fringe writers drew between the mothman and a figure known as Indrid Cold, aka the Grinning (or Smiling) Man, a reported alien person who haunted Point Pleasant in 1966. None of the reports from San Francisco mentioned this figure to Lumina’s knowledge, so perhaps this later note was extraneous.

Regarding Ley Lines, Lumina didn’t get too much time to dig and so she didn’t find much beyond what Richard Sonnac had mentioned in his memo. She did find that point about ancient civilizations building on Ley Lines intriguing. While she considered the type of disaster that might strike San Francisco, the first thing that came to mind was earthquakes, since the city had suffered so severely from them in the past. This reminded her of the ancient City of Antioch, which had once been the capital of the Seleucid Empire, the Roman Province of Syria, and of course the Crusader State of Antioch, and was also considered to be one of the first ‘capitals’ of the Christian Faith. Antioch also suffered greatly from earthquakes, because, like San Francisco, it sat on a tectonic fault line. Could there be a connection between fault lines and Ley Lines? Probably not. Causation doesn’t imply causation after all, but Sonnac had advised considering such possibilities.

Before she knew it, she was through security and in the terminal. Or at least a terminal. And even with a little time to spare! Punctuality could suck it. Although it was probably best to figure out where she needed to go and how to get there sooner rather than later.

A little while later, Lumina approached the waiting area by the boarding station they were to take off from, struggling under the weight of her overstuffed carry-on bag more than she cared to admit. As she did so, she saw a somewhat familiar man near the window, who seemed to detect her at just about the same moment. As the distance between them closed, she almost immediately spotted his gun. How the hell did he get that through security? Perhaps he had a special permit. Then again, nobody else seemed to be giving him grief for it, which was odd considering how strict gun laws were in Britain, especially in an airport, so maybe he had some kind of concealment enchantment instead. She would have to ask him about it sometime but not here.

Lumina recognized the man himself after a moment, although it certainly helped that she'd been informed who to expect. Corinth Whitethorn was not somebody she interacted with on a regular basis, and other than his badass vibes, smoking habit, and workaholism, she didn't know much about him. Well, that, and she had heard that he was good at what he did, hence the amount of jobs that went his way. So that competence would certainly be a plus, but competence alone does not make a dream team.

“You must be the one they call Lumina, right?” Corinth smiled, extending his right hand out of his pocket. Lumina confirmed his assessment with a nod as they shook hands, and he continued, “I’ve seen you around the office a few times, not as of late, mind you, but a few times. I'm Corinth, but I'm sure you knew that already. We got some time to kill till we board, you wanna grab a drink or some food while we wait?”

“Works, for me,” she replied, although she wouldn't have minded putting her bag down for a bit. “Are you in the mood for anything in particular?”