Chương 6
He was a compact man in his late fifties with tired eyes and the posture of someone who did not waste movement.
“Ms. Vance.”
“Captain.”
“Thomas Hale.”
We shook hands.
“I’ve been told not to use the satellite line except for operational communication,” he said.
“That sounds appropriate.”
“I’ve also been told Customs and corporate security want this aircraft met on arrival.”
“What reason were you given?”
“Security irregularity involving passenger records and potential federal interest.”
“Nothing more?”
“No.”
“Good.”
He frowned.
“Good?”
“It means people are respecting compartmentation.”
“I prefer information when I’m flying an aircraft full of people.”
“So would I.”
“That wasn’t agreement.”
“It was sympathy.”
He studied me for a second.
“I was told your security status was altered before departure.”
“Yes.”
“Was there a threat?”
“Unknown.”
“I don’t like unknown.”
“Nobody does.”
“I need a decision about diversion.”
That surprised me.
“From whom?”
“Operations says remain on route unless I identify an immediate safety concern.”
“That decision is yours.”
“They also told me you’re former intelligence and currently chair of the airline’s parent company.”
“Majority shareholder and CEO.”
He stared at me.
“Is correcting everybody a hobby?”
“Apparently.”
The corner of his mouth almost moved.
Then he became serious again.
“If there’s even a possibility someone targeted you on my aircraft, I need to know whether continuing to JFK increases risk.”
I considered the question carefully.
“No evidence suggests an onboard physical threat.”
“Evidence.”
“Yes.”
“Not reassurance.”
“No.”
He crossed his arms.
“Who changed the record?”
“A gate supervisor’s credentials were used.”
“Used by him?”
“We don’t know.”
“And the woman in your seat?”
“Her husband’s business is connected by name to a separate cargo inquiry.”
His expression changed.
“That sounds like more than coincidence.”
“It sounds like enough to investigate.”
“Are you protecting her?”
“I’m protecting the distinction between suspicion and evidence.”
“Same thing lawyers say right before things get ugly.”
“Sometimes lawyers are useful.”
“My ex-wife would disagree.”
The aircraft bumped lightly.
He reached automatically for the counter.
“So we continue.”
“If that’s your operational judgment.”
“Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“Make me feel like I’m asking permission while telling me I’m in charge.”
I looked at him.
He was right.
“Continue to JFK,” I said.
His shoulders settled a fraction.
“That helps.”
“On arrival, request a remote stand if federal authorities still want one.”
“I was already thinking the same.”
“Do not announce why.”
“Obviously.”
“And preserve cockpit communications from the moment operations contacted you.”
His eyes narrowed.
“That sounded less like a suggestion.”
“It was.”
He almost smiled again.
“I’m starting to understand why people correct their posture around you.”
“Most of them are pretending.”
He returned to the cockpit.
I remained in the galley for several seconds.
A coffeepot rattled gently in its bracket.
Somewhere behind the curtain, Victoria was speaking rapidly into her phone.
Marisol joined me.
“You okay?”
“Yes.”
“You do that thing.”
“What thing?”
“Say yes when you mean something else.”
“I’m sixty-seven years old.”
“That doesn’t answer the question.”
“Exactly.”
She handed me a bottle of water.
I drank half of it.
“Does she know who you are now?”
“Yes.”
“How did that go?”
“Poorly.”
“For her?”
“For both of us.”
Marisol glanced at the stain.
“You could have destroyed her at the gate.”
“I could have corrected the seat.”
“Same thing, in her world.”
“That’s part of the problem.”
We stood quietly for a moment.
A passenger in 3C asked for another sparkling water.
The forward attendant found one.
A man in 4A complained that the Wi-Fi had dropped.
Nobody cared that a federal inquiry might be waiting at JFK.
The normal complaints were oddly reassuring.
Then Victoria’s voice rose behind us.
“No, Richard, listen to me.”
I turned.
She was standing beside 2A with her phone pressed hard against her ear.
“I am not deleting anything.”
The cabin went still around her.
She noticed too late.
Her eyes met mine.
On the phone, Richard said something loud enough that even I heard the shape of anger without the words.
Victoria’s mouth tightened.
“No.”
Another burst from him.
“I said no.”
She ended the call.
For several seconds she stared at the screen.
Then she walked toward me.
This time there was no swagger.
“Can I speak to you?”
“You are.”
“Not here.”
“No private conversations.”
Her jaw flexed.
“Fine.”
She lowered her voice.
“Richard told me to delete our messages.”
Marisol’s face changed.
I kept mine neutral.
“What messages?”
“I don’t know which ones he means.”
“Then don’t delete anything.”
“I wasn’t going to.”
“Good.”
“He said I should wipe my phone before we land.”
The flight attendant beside us stopped arranging cups.
I said, “Do not do that.”
“I just told you I wouldn’t.”
“I heard you.”
Victoria looked behind her toward the passengers.
“Everyone’s listening.”
“Yes.”
“This is humiliating.”
I looked at the dark stain across my chest.
For once, she followed my eyes.
Something like shame crossed her face.
It did not stay long.
“I said the wine was an accident.”
“You’re still saying it.”
She looked down.
When she spoke again, her voice was quieter.
“Fine.”
Marisol folded her arms.
Victoria glanced at her and then back to me.
“I did it on purpose.”
Nobody said anything.
She pressed her lips together.
“I wanted to embarrass you.”
“Why?”
“Because you annoyed me.”
“That’s not enough.”
“For you maybe.”
“Victoria.”
She looked toward the window.
“My husband has been treating me like an employee for six months.”
“That still doesn’t explain me.”
“No.”
She swallowed.
“Chad told me you’d made trouble about the seat.”
“I hadn’t spoken to him before he reassigned it.”
Her head turned sharply.
“What?”
“You arrived after he had already altered my passenger record.”
“That’s impossible.”
“No.”
“He texted me before I got to the airport.”
Every muscle in my body went still.
“What did he say?”
She unlocked her phone.
“Something stupid.”
“Show me.”
Her thumb hovered.
May you like
Then she opened a message thread.
The contact name was CHAD AIRPORT.
