Turbulent Wake (Jason Wake Book 4) by Matthew Rief

Author:Matthew Rief [Rief, Matthew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Exotic Latitudes Press
Published: 2021-09-07T16:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-THREE

Fire trucks and police cruisers rushed to the scene, sirens howling and personnel springing into action. Firefighters doused the fiery wreck with streams of water, doing their best to control the blaze. Wreckage lay scattered all over the tarmac and grass. Much of the fuselage was completely destroyed, including the cockpit.

Scott stood with his arms crossed, staring intently at the destroyed cargo plane. Even from two hundred yards off, he could feel the heat radiating from the burning fuel. Black smoke billowed from the wreck, tainting the afternoon sky as the inky haze was carried off with the coastal wind.

“I’m no explosives expert,” Alejandra said as she stood beside him, “but that first blast sure didn’t look accidental.”

Scott nodded, narrowing his gaze. He’d gotten a good look at the explosion while hustling toward the downed aircraft. Though the blast wave had knocked him back immediately after detonation, there seemed to be a primary explosion that detonated the fuel tanks.

“You’re right,” Scott said. “This was no accident.”

The aircraft had been moving upwards of seventy miles per hour, but it didn’t strike anything hard enough to combust. Modern liners like the Boeing 767 were equipped with an array of advanced interlocks and automatic safety features to ensure that fuel tanks didn’t ignite. The only way for the tanks to go up in flames was in the event of a powerful, catastrophic collision. Otherwise, the flammable liquid was unlikely to ignite.

Scott’s radio crackled to life, Jason’s voice coming through. He informed Scott that he was heading for Keflavik Airport, then briefly explained what happened at the villa and the tip that Novikov had supplied. Scott told him what happened and that he believed the cargo plane had been destroyed intentionally.

Despite their apparent success in preventing the samples from being smuggled out of the country, Scott called the Icelandic president again to request that the UN jet remain grounded for the time being, but he wasn’t able to get through. He then tried members of the UNSC but received no answers there, either. After checking his watch, he realized no one was picking up because it was time for the jet’s scheduled takeoff.

In a last-ditch effort, Scott called the air traffic control tower at Keflavik and explained the situation.

“We’ve already received the order to ground the jet, sir,” the man said.

“Copy that. Make sure it stays on the tarmac until it can be thoroughly searched. I’m on my way.”

Scott motioned to Alejandra, and they turned toward the beat-up BMW. The group’s leader was confident they’d already succeeded, but he’d learned over the years to pay attention to his operatives’ hunches.

If Jason thinks there could be something to Novikov’s tip, then it’s worth investigating.

“The jet’s already airborne,” the ATC said, his voice blaring through the speaker and freezing Scott in his tracks. “She took off less than a minute ago. We tried to stop it, but the pilot switched off his comms.”

Scott pinched the bridge of his nose. “You tracking it?”

“Bird’s flying southwest. Sticking to the flight plan.

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