Daniel studied her. There was no anger in his face. That seemed to make Claire more uncomfortable. He simply asked:
"Do you know who I am?"
Claire gave a small, dismissive smile. "No."
Daniel nodded. "Good."
Claire frowned. "Excuse me?"
"You don't know who I am."
"No."
"That's useful."
She stared at him. Daniel turned away from the counter. He didn't argue. He didn't threaten her. He didn't call anyone. He simply walked toward a nearby seating area and sat down. Claire watched him. She seemed confused. Perhaps she expected him to shout. Perhaps she expected him to demand a manager. Instead, Daniel sat quietly. He looked at his watch. 9:18. Then he waited. Five minutes passed. Ten. Claire continued checking in passengers. Daniel watched. A few people glanced at him. One elderly man whispered to his wife. "Did she really tear his ticket?"
The woman nodded. "Yes."
Daniel heard them. He said nothing. At 9:31, a man in a navy airline uniform hurried toward Counter 17. He was in his forties. Tall. Clean-shaven. His badge read:
ROBERT KLINE — DUTY SUPERVISOR
He approached Claire. "What happened?"
Claire pointed toward Daniel. "Passenger doesn't have a confirmed reservation."
Robert looked toward the seating area. "Name?"
"Daniel Cross."
Robert froze. Only for a fraction of a second. But Daniel saw it. Robert typed the name into his terminal. The screen loaded. Then stopped. Robert frowned. He tried again. The computer froze. A blue security window appeared. Robert's expression changed. "What is this?"
Claire leaned over the counter. "What?"
Robert didn't answer. The screen suddenly went black. Then a new interface appeared. Not the airline's normal reservation system. A secure airport interface. Red letters appeared across the screen. EXECUTIVE CLEARANCE VERIFICATION
Claire stared. Robert stepped backward. A second line appeared. IDENTITY CONFIRMED
Then:
DANIEL CROSS
Claire's face went pale. Robert looked toward the seating area. Daniel was still sitting there. The system continued loading. AUTHORIZED ACCESS LEVEL: OMEGA
TERMINAL OPERATIONS: CLEARED
SECURITY SYSTEMS: CLEARED
EXECUTIVE OVERRIDE: ACTIVE