I wasn’t prepared when he leaned over and kissed my cheek. His lips brushed over my skin with a heated breath and were gone again. “I know you can do this.”
I closed my laptop and shoved it in the bag with my recording gear.
I climbed over AJ and walked to the first-class galley. Jeff C met me before I was able to cross over the line. He puffed his chest out.
“The fasten seatbelt sign is on. We’re in the middle of a mechanical issue.” His tone dripped with annoyance.
“I know,” I whispered. “This is important. Really urgent. I need to talk to someone. Someone I can trust about the plane’s emergency.”
His well-crafted eyebrows rose. “About what?”
“The emergency,” I repeated. My palms were clammy. I had to stop myself from shaking or he would never buy this act.
I looked behind me to check if the other passengers noticed us. “Do you think it would be possible to call the flight crew together?” I asked. “I know this sounds crazy, but I think…well, I know the pilot is acting on some kind of orders. I know this sounds crazy.” I bit my lip. “Can you get them? Can we talk to everyone together?”
Jeff C had a choice. He could either reveal to me in that moment that he was a part of the conspiracy and knew exactly what Beechum was up to, or he could pretend to be shocked. AJ and I were counting on him to be appalled.
“You’re not serious.” He threw his hands on his hips. “This is unhinged. You are probably unhinged.”
“I know it sounds that way. I have access to some information,” I shared. “Can you get them together, please?” I stopped. “Wait, is there an air marshal on the flight? I could talk to him. Maybe I should do that before we scare everyone”
Jeff’s lips pressed together. “Are you trying to cause some kind of drama? Because we have enough of that if you haven’t noticed. This entire flight has gone to hell.”
“I see that, but what I’m trying to tell you is that there’s nothing wrong with the plane. It’s being used as a bartering tool. Please, let me talk to the marshal and the rest of the crew. We can figure out what to do together. I’ll tell you everything I know about it.”
He exhaled. “All right. But you wait here.” He pointed to one of the jump seats in the galley. “Don’t move until I come back with everyone.”
I nodded obediently. “I won’t.”
“And don’t say a word,” he warned. “If anyone hears this they will panic. We can’t have that.”
“That’s why I came to you,” I explained. “You have one of those faces. I thought I could trust you. I didn’t know what else to do.” God, I hoped he believed me. I hoped he bought my distressed act.
“I’ll be back.”
He walked away, passing AJ on his way to the rear of the jet.
AJ nodded at me as if to say I’d completed the first phase. I had to keep going. There was more to do.
A few minutes later, I glanced over his shoulder and saw the flight crew marching toward me in a single line. I scooted into the corner of the galley. AJ only had a quick second to disappear beyond the curtain once the last attendant filed past him. I was out of his line of sight, and felt the nervousness hit me. I was on my own. He depended on me to get this right so he could unjam the scrambling device and get back to his seat before anyone noticed.
Jeff tilted his head toward me as the others gathered around. “Here they are. I gave them a quick rundown of what you told me. I’m not sure that they believe you, honey.”
“Thank you. I really didn’t know what to do. But we have to figure out a way to stop the captain. Do any of you have any ideas? Do you have a way into the cockpit? Is that even possible?”
I saw the way they exchanged glances.
It was then I noticed a man in plain clothes step forward into the circle. He had a long face and sandy brown hair. He was mostly non-descript except for a wide scar on the top of his left hand. I had a strange feeling he didn’t get it from an accidental cooking incident. The look in his eyes was chilling.
“Ma’am, I’m the air marshal for this flight. Agent Hancock. I think you and I should talk privately. This sounds like something that might need to be addressed at a different level. It’s beyond what the flight attendants can handle.”
My throat closed in. I felt the panic ripple through me. There was no air marshal assigned to this flight. AJ and I knew that. And this man wasn’t on the flight crew. Did that mean there were others disguised as passengers?”
“But-but we need everyone’s help,” I protested.
He took a step toward me and the crew moved out of his way.
“Ouch,” I whined when he gripped my upper arm. “What are you doing?”