wouldnât be using the same wheelchair she had in Sydney?â
âNo. Unless she was very disabled or it was a very special chair. Anyway mystery flight passengers donât know where theyâre going until the last minutes. They fill up the empty seats.â
Christopher interrupted. âShe seemed to move quite easily.â
âHer chair in Sydney had a squeak.â
âProbably the wheels needed oiling,â said the porter.
âI thought she might have been a bird smuggler.â
âYouâve got birds on the brain!â muttered Christopher.
The porter laughed. âCustoms and immigration catch a few of them. Cruel ,really, the way they drug those birds. Theyâve just caught a couple more today.â
âWe know. We were there. Weâve been learning about what happens.â said Christopher.
The porter looked interested. âOh, were you the UMs that helped? I heard about that. News gets around the airport fast.â
The twins nodded.
âThey donât smuggle only birds, you know. Sometimes itâs snakes, or eggs or lizards. Quarantine look after them because theyâve broken the laws by trying to move birds illegally out of the country.â
âWhat about other sorts of animals?â
âWhat kind?â The porter finished drinking his chocolate.
âSuppose you had a pet dog. Could you take that on the plane, if you told the people in charge?â
Amy didnât mention the name Bozo. That was a famous dog.
The porter shook his head. âPets have to go into quarantine for a few months so they donât spread disease in Australia or to another country. Thatâs for overseas flights. Domestic, flights between cities in Australia is okay. Pets go in special containers. Fragile freight.â
âFair enough,â said Christopher. âOur Aunty Viv has lots of animals working as actors in her Animal Actors business.â
âDoes she fly overseas?â asked the porter.
âAunty Viv doesnât fly anywhere if she can help it.â
âDo her animals need to go overseas?â
Amy shook her head.
âWith racehorses, often they have a special plane,â said the porter. âDoes she have any racehorses?â
Laughing, the twins said, âNo. Sheâd never fit them in the van.
And they wouldnât sit at the No Standing zone. Too nervous.â
Gloria re-appeared. It was time to go back to the transit lounge.
âWhat about mobile phones?â Christopher asked as they walked past a business man using his phone.
âNot allowed in the arrival hall. Otherwise drug couriers warn their mates about baggage searches. Canât use them on board,â explained Gloria. âSometimes they interfere with the planeâs sensitive instruments. The pilot and navigator might not realise because most of the instruments are computerised.â
âAre battery-powered wheelchairs allowed?â
â Yes. Security wands them down. We move them very quickly through customs. And the people assisting them. Theyâre called assistsâ.
Perhaps thatâs how Mrs Smart got the navy security uniform past customs for her son, the bank robber, thought Amy. But she didnât say it aloud. Christopher would say she had mysteritus again.
Gloria left them in the transit lounge.
âListen for any announcements,â she said.
Christopher started sketching the banned goods on display. Amy people-watched.
A few minutes later, Mrs Smart rolled past in her wheelchair, pushed by her bearded son.
Amy looked up in astonishment. âItâs her! Letâs follow them!â
âGo on the walkway,â yelled Christopher.
Amy ran along the moving belt. Her legs felt funny. The belt was moving and so was she. She started to jog. She touched the moving handrail to keep her balance. On either side of the walkway, people were moving, in slow motion. She was on fast-forward. Her legs went