Chapter 4 - THE FLIGHT THAT COULD NOT TURN BACK
Samuel read the note twice and gave it to Cole.
“Does Nora know why her mother died?” the captain asked.
“She knows there was a crash.”
“And Voss?”
Samuel looked toward the last row. “He built what failed.”
Cole returned to the cockpit and notified federal security through a protected channel. He could divert the aircraft, but the nearest suitable airport was controlled by the same airline operations team already pressuring him to continue. Washington had federal agents waiting at the gate.
Samuel chose to proceed.
“This is not only your risk,” Cole warned.
“I know.” Samuel looked at Nora. “That is why I won't let the person threatening her choose where we land.”
Cole increased cabin restrictions. No passenger could move between sections. Flight attendants checked the lavatories and galley. Voss remained seated.
Twenty minutes later, Nora woke wheezing.
Her emergency inhaler was missing from the side pocket of her backpack.
Samuel searched every compartment. The zipper had been opened while she slept. Panic rose in Nora's eyes as her breaths shortened.
A flight attendant brought the onboard medical kit. Samuel kept his voice calm, counted breaths with her, and administered the replacement medication. Nora clutched his wrist until the tightness eased.
Voss watched from the rear.
The missing inhaler was found in the forward lavatory trash—an area Voss had not entered after takeoff.
Someone else on the aircraft was helping him.
Cole reviewed the crew list. One temporary flight attendant had been added that morning after a last-minute illness. Her name was Dana Mercer. She had served Samuel's row during boarding and vanished into the rear galley immediately after Nora fell asleep.
When confronted, Mercer denied touching the backpack. Then she requested a lawyer and refused to continue working.
The airline ordered Cole to divert for a “crew medical issue.” His cockpit display received a new route.
Samuel recognized the destination: Fort Morrow Regional Airport, a small field beside a Voss Aeronautics maintenance facility.
“That is where my wife's aircraft was rebuilt after the crash,” he said.
Cole cancelled the route change.
Operations warned that he could be relieved of command upon landing.
“Then they can relieve me in Washington,” he answered.
The cabin lights flickered. A caution sounded from the cockpit.
One of the aircraft's hydraulic sensors reported falling pressure.
The component had passed maintenance that morning. Its manufacturer appeared on the digital service record.
Voss Aeronautics.
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Cole looked from the warning to Samuel's challenge coin resting beside the throttles.
Eighteen years earlier, another aircraft had issued the same warning minutes before it burned.
