Leo settled back into Suite 1A. Sarah entered the reset code at the galley panel. The entertainment screen cleared, the controls came alive, and the lie-flat bed reclined in one long, smooth motion. Leo accepted a fresh coffee, put on something Italian, and did not think about Julian and Beatrice again for the remainder of the flight.
The plane touched down at Heathrow several hours later. As passengers filed toward the exit, a junior crew member coming out of the cockpit spotted Leo gathering his duffel in the aisle and stopped. “Captain Marsh — anything you need before we hand over to the ground team?”
Julian, passing just behind with his crumpled designer jacket and two boarding stubs still in his hand, stopped walking. He turned slowly. Leo was already moving toward the door, duffel on one shoulder. He passed Julian without slowing, caught his eye for just a moment, and gave him a single, unhurried wink. Then he walked off the plane and disappeared into the terminal. Leo saw that Julian stood there for a long moment, Beatrice beside him, the boarding stubs still in his hand. Neither said anything because there was nothing particularly useful left to say.