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  “Karuk, Tri Con Triple One.”

  Charlie couldn’t believe he was hearing the familiar voice.

  “Go ahead, Tri Con.”

  “Gentlemen, we decided to drop by and pay our respects on the way to Lajes. We’re at six o’clock and five miles at 2500 feet. Didn’t want to surprise you unannounced.”

  Charlie and Maxwell walked out onto the bridge wing and looked aft. Maxwell ordered an announcement be made on the ship’s PA, and they could see people on the fantail looking up. The huge Tri Con jet drew closer and Charlie could see the gear and flaps were down to allow the slowest possible speed. Everyone cheered as they roared by on the starboard side of the ship and then rolled into a left turn to circle.

  Charlie found a mic and said, “Colt, are you having fun?”

  “Of course I am, Captain Wells.”

  “Then it must be illegal.”

  “Be that as it may, I have someone who would like to speak to you.”

  Charlie listened and then heard, “Charlie, can you hear me?”

  “I hear you, dear.”

  “I love you, Charlie.”

  “I love you, too Pattie.”

  Colt came back on.

  “We’ll meet you in Lajes, and you can tell the other crew members that I have forty-four of their loved ones on board.”

  “I’ll pass that along. We appreciate it, Colt.”

  “Does this mean you’ll still swap trips with me in the future?”

  “No. Over and out.”

  Maxwell watched the big jet disappear into the distance and realized that he and Charlie shared many things in common, but they lived in two very different worlds.

  Heather had been locked in the lavatory for over an hour. Her hands were numb from the restraints, and her back hurt from sitting in the awkward position. She had racked her brain trying to determine what she should do. All the training she had received in dealing with hijacking didn’t seem to help in this situation. No one had told her what to do if she was tied up and locked in the toilet. The only idea she came up with was to push the flight attendant call button in the lavatory, but she knew that the hijacker would hear the chime and see the light above the door. If someone did come to investigate, he might panic and hurt them. She thought about the two FBI agents but had no way to warn them. Her only option was to wait and see what happened next. She could sense that the airplane had descended, and it felt like they had circled in a holding pattern for a short time. It would not be long before they landed, and she knew one of the other girls would come to wake her and sit by the emergency exit for landing.

  She had not heard the man moving around outside the door in quite some time, and it occurred to her that he might have fallen asleep. If she could get to the interphone, the crew could be warned. For that matter, if she could somehow sneak past him, she would simply run to the front. Even though she had been threatened if she moved, she decided to take the chance. When she stood up, she had to wait for the circulation to return to her legs before she felt confident enough to maneuver. The slide latch that locked the door and illuminated the occupied sign was high on the door, and she could not reach it with her hands restrained behind her. She was able to move into position so that she could get her nose against it and move it a little bit. It took several tries and almost a full minute to unlock the door. Now her nose hurt almost as much as her wrists and hands, and the plastic strap in her mouth made her teeth and jaw extremely sore.

  She leaned against the sink and slowly pivoted her feet until she had fully turned in the tiny space. She felt behind her for the door handle and realized that her fingers had very little feeling in them. At last she gripped the handle and pushed down on it. At that exact moment, the airplane rolled to the right and the door flew open. Heather lost her balance and rolled out into the galley floor. She screamed as loud as she could, but it came out as a mousey squeak with the gag in place. When she gathered her senses, she was laying in the floor looking at a pair of nasty work boots a few inches in front of her sore nose.

  She helplessly watched as one of the oil soaked boots moved against her hip and rolled her over. Ray reached down, grabbed a handful of her shirt collar, and jerked her up on her feet. He shoved the screwdriver in front of her face and said, “I should have shut you up for good. You must be as stupid as my ex-wife.”

  He pushed her back into the lavatory face first and grabbed her hands behind her back. In the tiny room, his body odor and fetid breath would have gagged her without the plastic tie wrap in her mouth. She desperately wanted to cover her nose and mouth with her hand. He closed the door and pressed against her in the cramped space. She felt nauseous and tried taking shallow breaths through her nose to keep from throwing up. Heather was beyond fear now and into full-blown fury. This ugly little sub-human smelled worse than a cow barn, and his face looked like somebody’s cat had used it for a scratching post. The only thing that could make him look more ridiculous would be a beard.

  She braced herself and shoved backward, pushing him against the closed door. He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her head back, forcing her to look at him. He laughed at her, unleashing more bad breath, and shoved her back.

  Nothing would please him more than to teach her not to mess with Ray Slackman, but for now at least, he needed her. He had formulated his plan and explained Heather’s role through a fog of halitosis.

  “I need money and transportation to a safe place. Tri Con is going to provide both, and you are my insurance policy. I’m going to take the gag out of your mouth and you are going to call the cockpit and talk to the captain. If you scream or do anything I don’t like, I’ll need a new hostage, and I’ll get one easy enough. Do you understand me?”

  Heather shook her head yes. Ray took a wire-cutting tool out of his pouch and cut the tie wrap. Heather worked her stiff jaw back and forth and found that it still worked.

  “Why are you doing this?”

  “Don’t ask stupid questions. Just do what I tell you.”

  “How can I help you if I don’t know what’s going on?”

  “You can help by keeping your mouth shut and doing what I tell you.”

  Before he could give her instructions, the seat belt sign came on and the tone sounded through the speaker in the lavatory.

  Everyone on board was thrilled to actually see the little ship that had rescued the crew and passengers. Even the FBI agents were impressed. Colt had climbed back up to five thousand feet and was flying direct to the approach fix they were cleared to. He turned on the seat belt light and told Jenny she had thirty minutes to prepare for landing. He and Glenn Rogers briefed the approach plates for Runway Three Three and set the landing minimums for the arrival, even though the weather was CAVU. Colt was glad the flight was almost over and that there was nothing left but a routine landing. The flight attendant call chime sounded, and Colt wondered why Jenny didn’t just walk into the cockpit instead of calling.

  Rick Stanley was sitting in the relief pilot seat and answered the phone.

  “Yeah, right, Heather. You’re a very funny girl.”

  He listened again and became serious.

  “Colt, I’m talking to Heather in the aft cabin. She says we have a stowaway on board, and we’re being hijacked.”

  Colt didn’t know if this was a joke or not, but he didn’t think it was funny. “Give me the phone, Rick.”

  “Heather, what are you talking about?”

  “I’m serious, Colt. This guy is a Tri Con mechanic, and he hid out in the lavatory. He has a screwdriver to my throat and says he’ll kill me if you don’t do what he says.”

  The words, “Tri Con mechanic,” struck home, and he knew who it must be. “Okay, do you know what his demands are?”

  “He wants a million dollars first, and then he wants to go to Syria.”

  “Will he talk to me?”

  He could hear her talking to someone, and then a new voice.

  “Is this the captain?”

  “Yes,
sir, it is. I’ll be glad to do what you want, but you can’t hurt anybody. If we work together, everybody can go home happy.”

  Now Ray felt an enormous sense of power. He was in control, and nobody could stop him. He was the man.

  “You know what I want, Captain, and I don’t care who gets hurt. I planted a bomb on board in Atlanta, and Tri Con can pay me or lose their airplane and all the people in it.”

  “I understand, sir. We’ll do what you want. You can call me Colt. What’s your name?”

  “Nice try, captain. You can call me sir.”

  “No problem. Can I come back and talk to you so we can work out the details?”

  “You can come back here alone. If I see anyone else, the flight attendant will die.”

  “That would cause more problems than any of us need to deal with. Let’s keep it simple, and you’ll get what you want. Give me a few minutes to brief my crew and tell them to do what you say, then I’ll come back there alone, and you can tell me how you want to do this.”

  Both copilots had heard the entire conversation. “Rick, get Jenny and the two FBI guys up here. Glenn, tell Santa Maria that we’re going to hold at the next fix. Request twenty-mile legs, and tell them to standby. Explain the situation and declare an emergency if you have to. You fly the airplane until I tell you different.”

  A few minutes later, he had explained the situation to Jenny and the FBI agents. Jenny looked pale but seemed to be under control. Colt related who he thought the hijacker was, and the agents knew right away whom he was talking about. They were up to speed on the investigation and familiar with the prime suspect. Colt told them in no uncertain terms that they were not to interfere unless he asked them to.

  When he walked into the aft cabin, he could see Heather standing in the galley with the screwdriver at her throat. The man holding her also had some sort of electronic device in his hand. Colt was more than a hundred feet away, but he could sense the anger and determination on Heather’s face. He continued down the aisle, and when he was about ten rows away, Ray spoke up.

  “That’s close enough, Captain. I can hear you just fine from there.”

  Colt had to control a surge of anger when he saw the bright red streaks on Heather’s cheeks where the plastic gag had cut into the skin. “Look, we’re going to give you whatever you want. There’s no reason to hold the flight attendant. Why don’t you let her go, and we can talk about how to meet your demands.”

  “She’s my insurance. Just do what I say, and she won’t get hurt.”

  “The bomb you planted is plenty of insurance. You don’t need her, too.” Colt could now see that the electronic device the man held was a simple voltage checker that all the mechanics carried in their tool pouch. It was obvious that there was no bomb aboard.

  “Don’t tell me what I need, Captain. Just get my money and take me to Damascus. There are organizations there who will appreciate an aviation expert who understands airline operations.”

  “I intend to do just that, sir. My only concern is the safety of my crew and passengers. I don’t care how much money Tri Con gives you or what you do in Syria.”

  “I’m glad to hear that. Make it happen.”

  Colt could sense that Ray was really enjoying his position of power. It must be frustrating to go through life and never have the opportunity to control or influence another person. He could see that Ray was living his dream, and it had nothing to do with money.

  “I’m glad you understand airline operations because you know we’ve been flying for seven hours and we’re low on fuel. We need to land and refuel, and we can get your money for you.”

  “I’ve already thought about that. You’re going to land and taxi to the most remote part of the airport. I want one fuel truck with one man on it to refuel us. If I see anybody else, I’ll blow the airplane up on the spot. Next, I want the money delivered, and then we’ll be on our way to Damascus.”

  “That sounds like a good plan. I don’t see any problem doing that, but I want you to let the girl go.”

  Ray turned red in the face.

  “I’ll decide what happens here. I’m in charge. Don’t try to tell me what to do. You land the airplane and get the fuel and the money. I’ll let you know what happens next.”

  Colt turned around and walked away without speaking, but he was thinking about what he would do to this cretin at the first opportunity.

  He convened the FBI agents and Jenny in the cockpit and filled them in on what was going to happen. He explained what he wanted them to do and how and when he wanted them to do it.

  Next he coordinated with Santa Maria to get the clearance to land and taxi to the remote area. Glenn and Rick had filled the controllers in on the hijacking and declared the emergency. Colt gave the controllers the details on what he planned to do and ordered them not to interfere unless he asked them to. He did not want Ray to see any activity outside the airplane.

  They ran the descent and approach checklist and prepared for landing. Colt flew along the southern coast of Terceira Island at thirty-five hundred feet, and near the eastern end, he turned left to intercept the Runway Three Three localizer. They could see the runway ten miles ahead and tracked the glide slope down. There was a mountain to the left of the airport, and the town of Praia da Vitoria passed beneath them. As they neared the runway, Colt ordered the gear down.

  The runway was over two miles long, and Colt gently touched down in the first thousand feet. The runway had a pronounced slope, and they were coasting uphill. Minimum reverse thrust and little braking allowed them to decelerate to taxi speed as they approached the end. Colt stowed the ground spoilers and ordered the flaps up before leaving the runway. The airport chart indicated a concrete run-up pad on the taxiway at the northeast corner of the airport, and Colt spotted it as he made the right turn to exit the runway. He slowly taxied to the pad and turned the nose of the airplane to the northwest, pointing it out over the farmer’s fields and pastures that gently sloped downhill between the airport and the ocean. The entire airport complex was now behind them, allowing any and all who cared to approach the airplane to do so unobserved from inside. The APU had been started before landing, and now Colt set the parking brake and shut down all three engines. He had ordered that there be no intervention without his approval, but he looked around the area to try to spot where the tactical snipers would be deployed in case he changed his mind. They must be doing a good job because he didn’t spot them.

  He left the two copilots in the cockpit and walked to the back of the airplane. He found Heather and Ray where he had left them before and stopped twenty feet away when he saw that Ray was becoming nervous.

  “Heather, are you all right?”

  “My hands and shoulders hurt, but other than that I’m okay.”

  He turned his attention to Ray.

  “Look, you’re hurting her for no reason. The bomb threat is enough to make sure you get what you want, and it’s no skin off my teeth that Tri Con is giving you a million dollars. I don’t owe Tri Con anything. I just work here. But I do care about my crew. I don’t want anyone to get hurt, including you. I’m sure you have your reasons for what you’re doing, and it’s none of my business, but there is no excuse for hurting her when there’s no cause to.”

  Ray replied, “Do you have my money?”

  “Of course not. We just landed, but they’re working on it.”

  “When will it be here?”

  “I don’t know, but we can ask them on the radio. Why don’t you come up front so we can talk to them?”

  “No way. I’m not going to try to keep my eye on all those people at once. Me and Heather will stay back here.”

  “Well, I can’t keep running back and forth with messages. What if they call with the money, and I’m back here? Why don’t we send everyone else back here and the three of us will stay up front with the radio?”

  “How could we do that?”

  “Easy. You and Heather go up the right side aisle, and I’ll se
nd everyone else down the left side. You’ll never be close to them. Not only that, but all the food and drinks are up front, and I haven’t had breakfast. We can eat while we wait for the fuel and money.”

  The thought of food weighed heavy on Ray’s decision. He was starving, and if he was up front, he could also hear the radio if they tried anything funny.

  “Okay, we can do that, but I only want the three of us up there. I better not see anybody else.”

  “No problem. We don’t need anybody else. I’ll go let them know we’re sending them to the back while we do business up front. When they start back here, you and Heather go up the other side.”

  As Colt walked away, Ray wondered if he could trust him. He seemed like he really wanted to help, and he probably just wanted to get this over with. It was only a minute or so until he saw the first passengers appear at the front of the cabin. When they were halfway down the aisle, he pushed Heather ahead of him. They moved up the other side. Some of them gave him contemptuous looks, but he didn’t care.

  When they reached the cockpit, Colt was resting with his feet propped on the instrument panel.

  “Welcome to my office. It’s been a long night, so I’m relaxing while I can. I was waiting until you got here to check on the progress.”

  He picked up the mic.

  “This is Tri Con Triple One, what’s the progress on the money?”

  “Tri Con Triple One, they tell me it’s being wired from Atlanta to a bank here on the island. After that, it will be transported by armored car to the airplane.”

  “Good, but don’t let them approach the airplane until we say so.”

  “Roger, sir. I’ll let you know when they get here.”

  “How about the fuel?”

  “It’s coming. We only have a five thousand-gallon truck, and he will have to make several trips to get you fueled.”

  He turned to Ray.

  “How about this rinky-dink operation? These guys wouldn’t know what to think about a real airport like Atlanta.”

  Ray smiled. “You got that right.” He thought This guy is totally relaxed and unconcerned. I don’t think he likes Tri Con any more than I do.