Chapter 9 - Into the StormWarren had once flown into storms because orders demanded it. Tonight, he flew into one because his daughter was waiting on the other side.
The first lightning strike illuminated the clouds like a battlefield.
The aircraft shook.
Passengers screamed.
The captain grabbed the controls.
“Visibility zero.”
“I know.”
“We're not supposed to be here.”
“Neither are they.”
Douglas strapped himself into the jump seat.
Victor disappeared into the cabin.
I kept both hands on the controls.
The aircraft climbed.
A warning sounded.
“Too steep.”
“I know.”
“Warren!”
“I know!”
The plane entered the storm.
Rain hammered the windshield.
The nose pitched unexpectedly.
I corrected.
The aircraft rolled left.
Corrected.
Then turbulence hit hard.
Norah's voice came over the intercom.
“Dad!”
I pressed the cabin communication switch.
“I'm here.”
“I can't see outside!”
“You don't need to.”
“I'm scared.”
“So am I.”
Silence.
Then:
“You're not supposed to say that.”
I smiled despite everything.
“Why not?”
“Because you're my dad.”
I took a breath.
“And dads get scared.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
The aircraft dropped suddenly.
I pulled gently.
Not violently.
The old military training returned.
Don't fight the storm.
Ride it.
The bomb timer read eleven minutes.
I looked at the casing.
A biometric lock.
There had to be another way.
I examined the wiring.
Military encryption.
Old design.
Crowe's work.
Then I saw the insignia.
A raven.
Three lines.
I remembered a training exercise from seventeen years ago.
Crowe used three circuits.
One was real.
Two were decoys.
He always said:
“Never cut the wire that looks most important.”
I smiled.
“Of course.”
Douglas looked at me.
“What?”
“I know how to disarm this.”
“Can you?”
“Yes.”
“Then do it.”
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because if I disable it, the trigger moves to the aircraft.”
His face went pale.
“So?”
“So we're dealing with two bombs.”
He stared.
“How do you know?”
“The device isn't designed to kill me.”
I pointed at the hull.
“It's designed to force us to land.”
“Then the second bomb…”
“Is probably beneath the cabin floor.”
Douglas whispered:
“God.”
“No.”
I looked at him.
“Men.”
The aircraft shook again.
I adjusted heading.
The storm began to thin.
For a moment, we could see stars.
Then the radio came alive.
Crowe.
“You're doing well.”
I responded.
“You sound disappointed.”
“You always did prefer impossible missions.”
“You taught me.”
“Yes.”
A pause.
“Then you remember the rule.”
I frowned.
“What rule?”
“Never fly toward home when your enemy knows where home is.”
The transmission ended.
I looked at the navigation chart.
Chicago was ahead.
But if Crowe knew we were going there…
He knew something else.
Our destination wasn't safe.
Then I saw a new target on the navigation display.
An airbase.
Old military field.
Inactive for decades.
A place I knew.
The one place no one would expect me to land.
I smiled.
“Hold on.”
Douglas asked:
“Where are we going?”
I pointed.
“My first airbase.”
Then the cockpit door opened.
The captain stumbled inside.
His face was covered in blood.
May you like
He whispered:
“Your daughter is gone.”
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