Captain by Thomas Block

Author:Thomas Block
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: airline disaster hijacking pilot aviation thriller nelson demille captain aviation airliner terrorist 911
Publisher: Thomas Block

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Tina was allowing herself a few minutes of rest in seat 1C of the first class cabin. Earlier, she had asked the man who had originally been assigned to 1D to take any of the other empty seats in so that the doctor could sit beside her. By being seated in the middle of the first row of the first class cabin, they were only a few feet away from the two pilots who had been laid out on the floor of the galley. With the curtains pulled away, both pilots were easily visible, and each of the unconscious men had a bright yellow life jacket propped beneath their heads. “I didn’t realize how incredibly tired I was until I sat down,” Tina said. “Makes me wonder if I’ll be able to get up again.”

“You’ll have no trouble getting up when there’s a need,” Lee answered. He looked away from Tina and toward the two pilots lying on the galley floor. “The captain seems stable. If I took a guess, I’d say he’ll eventually pull through.”

“That’s great.”

“Yes.” Lee paused, then added, “That’s a pure guess on my part since I don’t have x-ray fingers and my clinical equipment is limited to a stethoscope, a blood pressure monitor and a thermometer. But his vital signs are getting stronger and there are no apparent secondary symptoms. The odds are good that nothing of ultimate consequence was hit by that bullet.”

“Wonderful.” Tina had wondered how on earth two accidental gunshots could have gone off in the cockpit, one right after the other. She had broached the subject with Ray on one of her trips to the cockpit and, reluctantly, Ray told her the story about Peter’s panic attack and how he had suddenly decided that Ray was hijacking the airliner. It was a bizarre story, to say the very least, and when she returned to the cabin she talked to the doctor – the psychiatrist – about it. He had listened carefully, then said that he would explain the significance of it to her later, when they had more time. “How about explaining to me what the co-pilot’s panic was about?” she asked. “We’ve got time now.”

“Yes, we’ve got time.” Lee Frankel sat back in his chair, folded his hands together and took a deep breath. Frankel also knew that he shouldn’t be negative or maudlin. He needed to do exactly the opposite. Right now. Here was his chance. “Okay, I’m going to share my suspicions and my guesses, but only because you asked. Even more importantly, I’m going to answer only because you are obviously a person of great authority here in the passenger cabin, a force of sheer willpower to be reckoned with.” Lee made an exaggerated gesture, waving one hand around the cabin of the airliner.

“Are you joking?” Tina asked. She wasn’t sure if he was being serious or not since what he said seemed so out of character from what she’d seen of him so far. “You must be.”

“Certainly not.

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