Sorry, I just tweaked a couple of things that were agitating me about this
chapter. The overall story hasn't changed, so if you read it once and
don't want to read it again, don't worry. You won't hurt my feelings. (
** I just wanted to let everyone know that this gets a little graphic (the bloody kind of graphic). Please be aware.
Kai Taylor began to ponder the wisdom of her impetuous decision of taking on a passenger. Al had tried to talk her out of it, but had she listened? Of course not! Once again, she had ignored him as she had done so many times before. After only an hour in the air, she felt as though she had run a marathon, every muscle in her body aching with tension. One day she would learn to respect his sage advice.
She glanced over at her brown-haired co-pilot. Al Murphy was feeling the anxiety in the cockpit as much as she was. He looked like he hadn't slept in a week. His broad shoulders slumped forward as he pretended to check the gages, just for something to do. Despite her friend's silence, she was glad to have him along. Without his gentle attitude to buffer the hostility, she'd have probably sent the plane into a mountain by now.
Behind her seat, Gus shifted his large frame. The dog felt the uneasiness as much as the rest of them. God, could one person really radiate that much aggression?
Jeff Tracy sat in the passenger area of the 10-seat charter plane that her company used to ferry tourists from the more populated centers of Canada to the wild reaches of the territories. He had chosen to seat himself in the first row where he leaned on the armrest, staring sullenly out the window. Early attempts at small talk had been aborted after it became clear that their passenger did not want to converse. They all slipped into a communal depression, the silence of which was broken only by the low hum of the engine. Kai was reluctant to even talk and joke with Al, lest their racket set him off like it had at the airport. The chilliness of his gaze still sent shivers down her spine every time she thought about it.
Still, Kai couldn't help but wonder about him. Despite his earlier behavior toward Ms. Karen, she couldn't help but feel sorry for Mr. Tracy. Something was eating him alive inside. He just didn't seem the type to go accosting old ladies at random. Al had whispered the words "Arctic Fever" in her ear when Mr. Tracy had pushed impatiently past them to board the plane. However, she felt it was more than just the overpowering need to get away from the dreary scenery of the north. Some people simply could not handle it, and while it was true that Jeff Tracy was likely more at home in business suits than polar fleece, his problems ran a little bit deeper.
Kai quickly reminded herself that she was simply the chauffer and her nosey intrusions into the man's private life would probably be unwelcome. She decided to do what she always did when her passengers began to get to her. She tuned into the plane, her eyes gliding over the instrument panel before her as the machine sent a gentle vibration through the seat and wrapped her body in a reassuring embrace. It felt good to just fly. Even if it was the aircraft she lovingly referred to as 'the bus' she was currently behind the controls of. It was big, but it handled exceptionally well. She wouldn't be performing any acrobatic air displays, but at least the plane ride was smooth.
Below her, the scrubby conifers of the tundra had given way to the majestic trees of the Northern Forest. Cruising at 10, 000 feet, she could see every clearing and lake that occasionally broke the field of giants that held kept watch over the land. Evidence of human existence was nowhere to be seen. It was quite easy to imagine that she was the only person in the world.
Her mood began to change. Up here, there were no worries. There were no late paychecks and no landlords who didn't understand about late paychecks. Problems with the opposite sex were nonexistent. The very strain of living and working to survive did not exist. She was free, bound by no earthly constraints.
Only one thing would complete the sense of absolute euphoria she was feeling. Kai reached down to a portable stereo that she always kept near her seat and hit the 'play' button for the CD player. Al gave her a concerned glance, but she ignored him. Classical music filled the cockpit, and she soared to new emotional heights. It was calm, lilting, as if it embodied the very essence of flight.
The entire symphony had joined in, creating a crescendo of sound as the melody moved to the climax, when a deep voice from behind startled Kai from her revelry.
"Don't you think that's a bit distracting?" Mr. Tracy asked, the tone in his voice implying his opinion on the subject.
Had he asked, had he simply asked, she would have turned it off. Instead, they were going to have to travel the 'I am the client and I know more than you' route that she was so familiar with. "No," she replied, trying hard to keep the annoyance out of her voice, "Actually, I find it quite relaxing."
"I don't know how you could fly a plane with that racket." He answered.
Kai decided to play her trump card, the one she reserved for particularly uppity clients. "And how long have you been flying, Mr. Tracy?"
"Over 30 years, first with the Air Force and then the Space Program."
Damn! So much for that idea. She exchanged a quick glance with Al who was looking back at her with confusion in his eyes. Apparently he was under the same impression she was. Both of them had thought the man they had met in the office at home was Mr. Tracy's pilot. He had known an awful lot about the damaged jet and Mr. Tracy.
They didn't have a lot of time to ponder this mystery, however, as Mr. Tracy had decided to loose his venom. "I didn't realize anyone in this part of the world even knew who Mozart was."
"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" The man beside her shook his head, grimacing.
"It seems to me that there are a limited number of resources available to people in your neck of the arctic. Your aeromechanic back at that rinky- dink establishment was an indication of that."
Oooh, that was it! He could vent all he liked, but now it was getting personal. Mike may not have been the best pilot around, but that wasn't his job. He was a good mechanic and always made sure she had a safe plane to fly. "Sorry, Mr. Rolling Stone," she spat. "People out our way are usually to busy makin' maple syrup and looking for Dudley Do-Right to appreciate a little bit of culture." Al motioned for her to stop, but she was on a roll. "Who the hell do you think you are?"
"Just turn the damn thing off!" He roared.
Fuming, Kai moved a hand to the stereo, but instead of reaching for the power switch, she slid the volume control to '10'. The electric guitar entrance to one of her favorite heavy metal songs cut through the cockpit, the bass pulsing so hard she could feel it through the floor. Al winced and Gus jumped a mile.
"How's that Mr. Tracy?" she yelled over the noise. "More what you expected?"
"Is this what I'm paying for?" Mr. Tracy shouted.
"You are paying us to fly you to Edmonton," she replied, fury in her own voice, "Not to endure your verbal abuse. If you're dissatisfied with the service, I can let you out right here."
"Just fly the plane." he answered. "I'll deal with you later."
"You do that," Kai shot back, slamming the cockpit door. Still hot from the argument, Kai didn't even realize that Al was talking to her. She only noticed him when he leaned over to cut the volume on the stereo by a considerable amount. She shot daggers at him.
"If I didn't turn it down, either Gus or I was going to take a chunk out of you." He stated frankly, a hint of his Canadian accent influencing his speech.
A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, but she said nothing. At least with the door closed they could talk.
"That temper again," Al said shaking his head. "It's going to get you in trouble someday."
"Geez," Kai said, exasperated, "You make it sound like I have an aggression problem. It's not like I jump every passenger that boards the plane."
"No," Al agreed, "Just the ones that are in positions to do the most damage to you. You have a knack for pissing off the really important people. What about that corporate executive last year?"
"Oh, you just had to go and bring that up, didn't you?"
"It was pretty memorable." He chuckled
"And also completely different from this situation." She replied, keeping up the air of dignity. "I had already dropped that guy off. Hell, we were in a bar!"
"Did you have to hit him?"
"He touched me first."
"Just do me a favor, and don't hit Mr. Tracy. That was some shiner you gave that guy."
She snorted. "It might knock some sense in to him."
Al adopted the tone she had heard him use so often when addressing his kids. "I think you're in enough trouble, no?"
"What? You think he's going to get me fired?" Kai asked, amused. "If he gets me fired from this job, I'll got get another one. It wouldn't be any skin off my nose."
He wasn't buying it. "You love this job." He said. "You would be lost without it."
She sighed. He was right, but she wasn't going to admit it. She adored flying and found the diversity in her clientele to add a little spice to the job. Usually, she got along wonderfully with the customers, welcoming them onto the plane as a hostess would welcome someone into her home. Unfortunately, there was that occasional oddball.
"I thought you were fond of Mr. Tracy." Al looked out the window.
"I merely said I thought some of the endeavors of his company were very worthwhile." She corrected him. "After all, it was Tracy Corporation that developed those new oil spill controlling chemicals. You know the ones that break the stuff up so that it can be reabsorbed into the environment? It saved the Alaskan Wildlife Preserve last year."
"But you don't think too much of Mr. Tracy himself?"
"Not at this particular moment, no." Kai answered.
Al was quiet for a beat. Then, a mischievous glint came into his eye. "And what exactly is wrong with making maple syrup, eh?"
Kai tried unsuccessfully not to laugh. "Did I say there was anything wrong with it?"
Al fell silent with a huge grin on his face. Silly man.
Sighing, Kai went back to enjoying her fly-time. It was probably the last she would get, if Mr. Tracy had his way. She hated losing her temper. It was a flaw that she worked continually to banish. It would be her own fault if he did talk to her boss. She really had no cause to act the way she did. Of course, he could have been a little more polite, too.
Gus interrupted her thoughts. The dog got up from behind Kai's seat, growling and bristling. "What's with him?" Al asked, observing the dog's strange behavior warily.
"I'm not sure." Kai answered as Gus began to claw at the metal door. "Maybe some mice snuck into the plane again and he hears them scratching around."
The dog continued to growl and Kai relented. "Take over a minute." She said as she unfastened her safety belt. "I'm going to see what's bugging him."
Al nodded and took over the controls. Kai opened the door and Gus nearly knocked her down in his haste. Jeff Tracy's angry face greeted her as she left the cabin. For a moment, she wondered just how much of their conversation he had overheard. She breezed past him without some much as an acknowledging glance.
Gus had stopped near the port storage compartment where he stood, hackles up, growling. The cabinet was used to store passenger's belongings when they boarded a flight, and occasionally, a few small creatures would find their way in there as well. Though, for some reason she couldn't explain, warning bells went off in her head. She got the distinct feeling there was something larger then a mouse in there this time. The door was slightly ajar. Standing to one side, Kai reached for the handle.
Before she could grasp it, the wood-paneled door slammed into her with sufficient force to knock her off her feet. Gus lunged for the man that emerged from the compartment. He side-stepped the animal neatly, and closed the door on him. Kai had fallen between two rows of seats and wrestled to dislodge her body. Looking up, she found herself at eye level with the barrel of a high-powered handgun. She closed her eyes and waited for the shot that would send a slug ripping through her body.
Instead, she heard the sound of two bodies colliding. Mr. Tracy had tackled the man, and the two fought for control of the weapon in the narrow aisle that ran down the port side of the plane. They disappeared from her line of sight and the sounds of the fight reached her from the back. Getting her feet under her, she pushed out from between the seats, leaning against the wall.
She got up just in time to see Mr. Tracy nail a sturdy bald man with a powerful right cross. The man stumbled, but suddenly came back around with a pry bar she remembered leaving back there that morning. Mr. Tracy attempted to duck out of the way, but the iron bar caught him along the side of his head. He fell to the floor. His assailant walked to the center of the plane and bent over to retrieve something.
"Kai!" Al's frantic voice yelled from the cockpit door. The man brought his gun to bear. The shots were deafening. Al cried out as the first bullet tore through his chest and he stumbled from the door as a second pierced his side. A third shot went wildly into the cockpit as Kai, without thinking, jumped the attacker from behind.
"You bastard!" she yelled as she wrapped her arms around his neck. The sound of his low, guttural chuckle made her blood run cold. She knew she didn't stand a chance against his brute strength, but that didn't mean she was going to give up without a fight.
He flipped her over his head, sending her sprawling on the deck. Before he could right himself, she leapt through the seats and wrenched the compartment open. Snarling, Gus flew out and sunk his teeth in the man's arm. He screamed in rage and fury, his yellow eyes burning at her.
The next sound Kai heard made her heart jump into her throat. It was the sound of the engine dying. The plane changed directions violently, throwing the man off balance. Gus lost his grip on the man's arm and Kai feared a fresh attack. But the noise of the engine sputtering came again.
The assailant got to his feet and raced to the rear hatch of the plane. She ducked between the seats as he popped a round at her. A couple more shots fired, probably to keep Gus back as well. After a few seconds, she chanced a peek around the edge of the seat to find that he had strapped himself into a parachute. He lifted the handle on the hatch and disappeared into the clear blue sky. She moved to the door in time to see his red and white chute open. Kai slammed a fist against the door frame in frustration, before realizing that they were losing altitude rapidly.
She rushed back inside, hauling Mr. Tracy into a seat to strap him in. In was inevitable at this point: they were going down. By the time she got everyone suited up to jump, they would be a smoking crater.
Quickly, she ducked back into the cockpit and slid into the pilot's chair. As she did, she looked over at Al, and cried out. Blood had created a slick red mess over his torso. His brown eyes were half closed, showing no signs of life. She rushed behind his seat and put her fingers to the vein that ran down his neck, but she knew no trace of a beating heart would meet her touch. She fell over the seat back, her face brushing his hair as the tears threatened to fall. She was alone.
The engine sputtering snapped her back to reality. Help the living, she could almost hear Al command her. Straightening, she threw herself back in the pilot's seat and checked their heading. In front of her, a small lake filled the windshield. "Thanks Al." she muttered without looking at him. He had set her up for a perfect ditch-run before he drew his last breath.
The neat bullet hole through the panel in front of her explained their problems. The third pot-shot that son of a bitch had fired had gone straight through to the engine housing, probably damaging the fuel lines as it buzzed around in there like an angry bee. And as if that weren't enough, it had taken out the radio as well.
Kai's eyes narrowed as she concentrated on the procedure for ditching that she knew so well. Once they hit the water, she had about 3 minutes to get herself, an unconscious subject, and a dog out of the plane before it sank. She would attempt to end up as close to shore as possible, but once the plane hit the water, it would be totally out her hands. Mentally, she ran through the checklist of items that they would need, picturing them neat and tidy in their respective storage compartments.
The feeling of adrenaline coursing through her veins made her feel giddy. It was a challenge, and for a moment everything was as simple as life and death. If she couldn't bring this bird down in one piece, she died. It didn't get much simpler.
She watched the airspeed drop. All right, Kai she thought, just like bringing in the float plane . . . except without the floats. The last part made her laugh and she wondered if she were losing her mind.
Though she was expecting it, the sound of the engine cutting out for the last time startled her. They were 100 feet from the water. Without the engine it was as if she were trying to land a washing machine. The wind whistled in the dead air space, but she took no notice. Kai held her breath as the plane fell from the sky like a fallen angel.
The wheels touched the water first, then the fuselage. Kai realized that she hadn't dropped her speed enough as the plane's two-ton body was tossed back into the air. There was no correcting the mistake now. The craft skipped twice along the surface of the lake like the stones she used to throw on a pond as a kid. She was thrown against the nylon restraints.
Finally, the motion stopped with a loud splash announcing water on the windshield. Her eyes popped open, and she was moving before she even realized she'd unbuckled her harness. Before leaving the cockpit, Kai kissed her friend lovingly on the cheek, and murmured a quick promise to come back for him as soon as she could.
Kai raced to the hatch, already feeling the pitch of the deck change as the engine of the plane sank first. The door was still a good four feet out of the water. She collected two life jackets and an inflatable raft, depositing them behind the rear seats to keep them from sliding away.
Aware that the plane was sinking just a little bit faster than she expected, Kai went to Mr. Tracy and unfastened him from the seat. Grabbing him from around the back, she encircled his chest with her arms, and hauled him to the hatch. After wrestling with his dead weight, she finally managed to get him into the life jacket. Scooping up the raft, she pulled the chord and threw it out the door, keeping a firm grasp on it as she did so. Noting that she only had about a foot to go to the surface of the water, she willed the raft to inflate faster. It took it 15 seconds to expand fully, during which time, Kai anchored it firmly to the plane and found two large backpacks. She tossed these in first, and then lugged Mr. Tracy in after. Untying the line, she shoved the raft hard, sending it safely away from the doomed plane.
"Gus!" she yelled as she pulled on her own life jacket and kicked off her boots. The dog galloped to her. He stood like the well-trained dog he was as Kai clipped the final buckle on her flotation device. "All right, boy," she said, leading him to the door, "Time for a swim!" She loved him dearly, but she couldn't chance his nails puncturing the raft.
The animal baulked for a moment at the door, but Kai dealt with him decisively. Taking a stocking foot, she pushed on his rump, dumping him unceremoniously in the drink.
She was just about to follow suit when the plane lurched suddenly. The floor went up at a dizzying angle and Kai fell on her hip, sliding down the aisle. She reached out quickly and caught hold of a seat frame. Water was pouring through the hatch, pushing against her as she tried to get to her feet. There was no fighting the force of the water as it sought to fill the empty space. The only way out now was to wait until the plane filled and try to swim out. Quickly, she slid out of the life jacket, not wanting to fight the device as she cleared the plane.
The water entered rapidly, but to Kai, it felt like an eternity before she found herself floating in the last air space left near the top of the plane. She hyperventilated, clearing her lungs of carbon dioxide, and took a deep breath. Kai dove under the water and pushed off the side of the plane, rocketing through the hatch. As soon as she was clear, she looked up through the water to see the sunlight refracting through the crystal depths, about 20 feet above.
She began to kick furiously. At first, the undertow of the plane held her and she was being drawn down. After just a few seconds, she felt the force stop, as the plane came to rest on the sandy bed of its watery grave. Reaching forward with her hands, she cut the water and ascended, feeling her lungs start to ache at the exertion of holding breath. She ignored it and forced herself on, pulling herself up.
Kai's hands broke the surface first, and her head burst through. Immediately she gasped loudly, sucking in the sweet air. She fell back, nearly going under the water again.
Coming to her senses, she pushed her wet hair from her face and looked around her. Gus was already halfway to the shore, which was about 200 yards away. The raft was 50 feet from her, floating aimlessly, with no one to steer it. With every muscle in her body screaming from her earlier activities, Kai began to stroke her way towards the raft.
She reached up and grabbed the device, hearing the squeak of rubber against her skin. Kai pulled herself up to look over the edge. Mr. Tracy still lay on the bottom, but he was beginning to stir. Relief flooded her. Many times while she was lugging him around, she had wondered if she were saving a corpse.
Carefully, she hauled herself into the raft, leaning against the gunwales to catch her breath before beginning the paddle to shore.
The sky never looked so blue, she thought as the tears began to fall.
** I just wanted to let everyone know that this gets a little graphic (the bloody kind of graphic). Please be aware.
Kai Taylor began to ponder the wisdom of her impetuous decision of taking on a passenger. Al had tried to talk her out of it, but had she listened? Of course not! Once again, she had ignored him as she had done so many times before. After only an hour in the air, she felt as though she had run a marathon, every muscle in her body aching with tension. One day she would learn to respect his sage advice.
She glanced over at her brown-haired co-pilot. Al Murphy was feeling the anxiety in the cockpit as much as she was. He looked like he hadn't slept in a week. His broad shoulders slumped forward as he pretended to check the gages, just for something to do. Despite her friend's silence, she was glad to have him along. Without his gentle attitude to buffer the hostility, she'd have probably sent the plane into a mountain by now.
Behind her seat, Gus shifted his large frame. The dog felt the uneasiness as much as the rest of them. God, could one person really radiate that much aggression?
Jeff Tracy sat in the passenger area of the 10-seat charter plane that her company used to ferry tourists from the more populated centers of Canada to the wild reaches of the territories. He had chosen to seat himself in the first row where he leaned on the armrest, staring sullenly out the window. Early attempts at small talk had been aborted after it became clear that their passenger did not want to converse. They all slipped into a communal depression, the silence of which was broken only by the low hum of the engine. Kai was reluctant to even talk and joke with Al, lest their racket set him off like it had at the airport. The chilliness of his gaze still sent shivers down her spine every time she thought about it.
Still, Kai couldn't help but wonder about him. Despite his earlier behavior toward Ms. Karen, she couldn't help but feel sorry for Mr. Tracy. Something was eating him alive inside. He just didn't seem the type to go accosting old ladies at random. Al had whispered the words "Arctic Fever" in her ear when Mr. Tracy had pushed impatiently past them to board the plane. However, she felt it was more than just the overpowering need to get away from the dreary scenery of the north. Some people simply could not handle it, and while it was true that Jeff Tracy was likely more at home in business suits than polar fleece, his problems ran a little bit deeper.
Kai quickly reminded herself that she was simply the chauffer and her nosey intrusions into the man's private life would probably be unwelcome. She decided to do what she always did when her passengers began to get to her. She tuned into the plane, her eyes gliding over the instrument panel before her as the machine sent a gentle vibration through the seat and wrapped her body in a reassuring embrace. It felt good to just fly. Even if it was the aircraft she lovingly referred to as 'the bus' she was currently behind the controls of. It was big, but it handled exceptionally well. She wouldn't be performing any acrobatic air displays, but at least the plane ride was smooth.
Below her, the scrubby conifers of the tundra had given way to the majestic trees of the Northern Forest. Cruising at 10, 000 feet, she could see every clearing and lake that occasionally broke the field of giants that held kept watch over the land. Evidence of human existence was nowhere to be seen. It was quite easy to imagine that she was the only person in the world.
Her mood began to change. Up here, there were no worries. There were no late paychecks and no landlords who didn't understand about late paychecks. Problems with the opposite sex were nonexistent. The very strain of living and working to survive did not exist. She was free, bound by no earthly constraints.
Only one thing would complete the sense of absolute euphoria she was feeling. Kai reached down to a portable stereo that she always kept near her seat and hit the 'play' button for the CD player. Al gave her a concerned glance, but she ignored him. Classical music filled the cockpit, and she soared to new emotional heights. It was calm, lilting, as if it embodied the very essence of flight.
The entire symphony had joined in, creating a crescendo of sound as the melody moved to the climax, when a deep voice from behind startled Kai from her revelry.
"Don't you think that's a bit distracting?" Mr. Tracy asked, the tone in his voice implying his opinion on the subject.
Had he asked, had he simply asked, she would have turned it off. Instead, they were going to have to travel the 'I am the client and I know more than you' route that she was so familiar with. "No," she replied, trying hard to keep the annoyance out of her voice, "Actually, I find it quite relaxing."
"I don't know how you could fly a plane with that racket." He answered.
Kai decided to play her trump card, the one she reserved for particularly uppity clients. "And how long have you been flying, Mr. Tracy?"
"Over 30 years, first with the Air Force and then the Space Program."
Damn! So much for that idea. She exchanged a quick glance with Al who was looking back at her with confusion in his eyes. Apparently he was under the same impression she was. Both of them had thought the man they had met in the office at home was Mr. Tracy's pilot. He had known an awful lot about the damaged jet and Mr. Tracy.
They didn't have a lot of time to ponder this mystery, however, as Mr. Tracy had decided to loose his venom. "I didn't realize anyone in this part of the world even knew who Mozart was."
"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" The man beside her shook his head, grimacing.
"It seems to me that there are a limited number of resources available to people in your neck of the arctic. Your aeromechanic back at that rinky- dink establishment was an indication of that."
Oooh, that was it! He could vent all he liked, but now it was getting personal. Mike may not have been the best pilot around, but that wasn't his job. He was a good mechanic and always made sure she had a safe plane to fly. "Sorry, Mr. Rolling Stone," she spat. "People out our way are usually to busy makin' maple syrup and looking for Dudley Do-Right to appreciate a little bit of culture." Al motioned for her to stop, but she was on a roll. "Who the hell do you think you are?"
"Just turn the damn thing off!" He roared.
Fuming, Kai moved a hand to the stereo, but instead of reaching for the power switch, she slid the volume control to '10'. The electric guitar entrance to one of her favorite heavy metal songs cut through the cockpit, the bass pulsing so hard she could feel it through the floor. Al winced and Gus jumped a mile.
"How's that Mr. Tracy?" she yelled over the noise. "More what you expected?"
"Is this what I'm paying for?" Mr. Tracy shouted.
"You are paying us to fly you to Edmonton," she replied, fury in her own voice, "Not to endure your verbal abuse. If you're dissatisfied with the service, I can let you out right here."
"Just fly the plane." he answered. "I'll deal with you later."
"You do that," Kai shot back, slamming the cockpit door. Still hot from the argument, Kai didn't even realize that Al was talking to her. She only noticed him when he leaned over to cut the volume on the stereo by a considerable amount. She shot daggers at him.
"If I didn't turn it down, either Gus or I was going to take a chunk out of you." He stated frankly, a hint of his Canadian accent influencing his speech.
A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, but she said nothing. At least with the door closed they could talk.
"That temper again," Al said shaking his head. "It's going to get you in trouble someday."
"Geez," Kai said, exasperated, "You make it sound like I have an aggression problem. It's not like I jump every passenger that boards the plane."
"No," Al agreed, "Just the ones that are in positions to do the most damage to you. You have a knack for pissing off the really important people. What about that corporate executive last year?"
"Oh, you just had to go and bring that up, didn't you?"
"It was pretty memorable." He chuckled
"And also completely different from this situation." She replied, keeping up the air of dignity. "I had already dropped that guy off. Hell, we were in a bar!"
"Did you have to hit him?"
"He touched me first."
"Just do me a favor, and don't hit Mr. Tracy. That was some shiner you gave that guy."
She snorted. "It might knock some sense in to him."
Al adopted the tone she had heard him use so often when addressing his kids. "I think you're in enough trouble, no?"
"What? You think he's going to get me fired?" Kai asked, amused. "If he gets me fired from this job, I'll got get another one. It wouldn't be any skin off my nose."
He wasn't buying it. "You love this job." He said. "You would be lost without it."
She sighed. He was right, but she wasn't going to admit it. She adored flying and found the diversity in her clientele to add a little spice to the job. Usually, she got along wonderfully with the customers, welcoming them onto the plane as a hostess would welcome someone into her home. Unfortunately, there was that occasional oddball.
"I thought you were fond of Mr. Tracy." Al looked out the window.
"I merely said I thought some of the endeavors of his company were very worthwhile." She corrected him. "After all, it was Tracy Corporation that developed those new oil spill controlling chemicals. You know the ones that break the stuff up so that it can be reabsorbed into the environment? It saved the Alaskan Wildlife Preserve last year."
"But you don't think too much of Mr. Tracy himself?"
"Not at this particular moment, no." Kai answered.
Al was quiet for a beat. Then, a mischievous glint came into his eye. "And what exactly is wrong with making maple syrup, eh?"
Kai tried unsuccessfully not to laugh. "Did I say there was anything wrong with it?"
Al fell silent with a huge grin on his face. Silly man.
Sighing, Kai went back to enjoying her fly-time. It was probably the last she would get, if Mr. Tracy had his way. She hated losing her temper. It was a flaw that she worked continually to banish. It would be her own fault if he did talk to her boss. She really had no cause to act the way she did. Of course, he could have been a little more polite, too.
Gus interrupted her thoughts. The dog got up from behind Kai's seat, growling and bristling. "What's with him?" Al asked, observing the dog's strange behavior warily.
"I'm not sure." Kai answered as Gus began to claw at the metal door. "Maybe some mice snuck into the plane again and he hears them scratching around."
The dog continued to growl and Kai relented. "Take over a minute." She said as she unfastened her safety belt. "I'm going to see what's bugging him."
Al nodded and took over the controls. Kai opened the door and Gus nearly knocked her down in his haste. Jeff Tracy's angry face greeted her as she left the cabin. For a moment, she wondered just how much of their conversation he had overheard. She breezed past him without some much as an acknowledging glance.
Gus had stopped near the port storage compartment where he stood, hackles up, growling. The cabinet was used to store passenger's belongings when they boarded a flight, and occasionally, a few small creatures would find their way in there as well. Though, for some reason she couldn't explain, warning bells went off in her head. She got the distinct feeling there was something larger then a mouse in there this time. The door was slightly ajar. Standing to one side, Kai reached for the handle.
Before she could grasp it, the wood-paneled door slammed into her with sufficient force to knock her off her feet. Gus lunged for the man that emerged from the compartment. He side-stepped the animal neatly, and closed the door on him. Kai had fallen between two rows of seats and wrestled to dislodge her body. Looking up, she found herself at eye level with the barrel of a high-powered handgun. She closed her eyes and waited for the shot that would send a slug ripping through her body.
Instead, she heard the sound of two bodies colliding. Mr. Tracy had tackled the man, and the two fought for control of the weapon in the narrow aisle that ran down the port side of the plane. They disappeared from her line of sight and the sounds of the fight reached her from the back. Getting her feet under her, she pushed out from between the seats, leaning against the wall.
She got up just in time to see Mr. Tracy nail a sturdy bald man with a powerful right cross. The man stumbled, but suddenly came back around with a pry bar she remembered leaving back there that morning. Mr. Tracy attempted to duck out of the way, but the iron bar caught him along the side of his head. He fell to the floor. His assailant walked to the center of the plane and bent over to retrieve something.
"Kai!" Al's frantic voice yelled from the cockpit door. The man brought his gun to bear. The shots were deafening. Al cried out as the first bullet tore through his chest and he stumbled from the door as a second pierced his side. A third shot went wildly into the cockpit as Kai, without thinking, jumped the attacker from behind.
"You bastard!" she yelled as she wrapped her arms around his neck. The sound of his low, guttural chuckle made her blood run cold. She knew she didn't stand a chance against his brute strength, but that didn't mean she was going to give up without a fight.
He flipped her over his head, sending her sprawling on the deck. Before he could right himself, she leapt through the seats and wrenched the compartment open. Snarling, Gus flew out and sunk his teeth in the man's arm. He screamed in rage and fury, his yellow eyes burning at her.
The next sound Kai heard made her heart jump into her throat. It was the sound of the engine dying. The plane changed directions violently, throwing the man off balance. Gus lost his grip on the man's arm and Kai feared a fresh attack. But the noise of the engine sputtering came again.
The assailant got to his feet and raced to the rear hatch of the plane. She ducked between the seats as he popped a round at her. A couple more shots fired, probably to keep Gus back as well. After a few seconds, she chanced a peek around the edge of the seat to find that he had strapped himself into a parachute. He lifted the handle on the hatch and disappeared into the clear blue sky. She moved to the door in time to see his red and white chute open. Kai slammed a fist against the door frame in frustration, before realizing that they were losing altitude rapidly.
She rushed back inside, hauling Mr. Tracy into a seat to strap him in. In was inevitable at this point: they were going down. By the time she got everyone suited up to jump, they would be a smoking crater.
Quickly, she ducked back into the cockpit and slid into the pilot's chair. As she did, she looked over at Al, and cried out. Blood had created a slick red mess over his torso. His brown eyes were half closed, showing no signs of life. She rushed behind his seat and put her fingers to the vein that ran down his neck, but she knew no trace of a beating heart would meet her touch. She fell over the seat back, her face brushing his hair as the tears threatened to fall. She was alone.
The engine sputtering snapped her back to reality. Help the living, she could almost hear Al command her. Straightening, she threw herself back in the pilot's seat and checked their heading. In front of her, a small lake filled the windshield. "Thanks Al." she muttered without looking at him. He had set her up for a perfect ditch-run before he drew his last breath.
The neat bullet hole through the panel in front of her explained their problems. The third pot-shot that son of a bitch had fired had gone straight through to the engine housing, probably damaging the fuel lines as it buzzed around in there like an angry bee. And as if that weren't enough, it had taken out the radio as well.
Kai's eyes narrowed as she concentrated on the procedure for ditching that she knew so well. Once they hit the water, she had about 3 minutes to get herself, an unconscious subject, and a dog out of the plane before it sank. She would attempt to end up as close to shore as possible, but once the plane hit the water, it would be totally out her hands. Mentally, she ran through the checklist of items that they would need, picturing them neat and tidy in their respective storage compartments.
The feeling of adrenaline coursing through her veins made her feel giddy. It was a challenge, and for a moment everything was as simple as life and death. If she couldn't bring this bird down in one piece, she died. It didn't get much simpler.
She watched the airspeed drop. All right, Kai she thought, just like bringing in the float plane . . . except without the floats. The last part made her laugh and she wondered if she were losing her mind.
Though she was expecting it, the sound of the engine cutting out for the last time startled her. They were 100 feet from the water. Without the engine it was as if she were trying to land a washing machine. The wind whistled in the dead air space, but she took no notice. Kai held her breath as the plane fell from the sky like a fallen angel.
The wheels touched the water first, then the fuselage. Kai realized that she hadn't dropped her speed enough as the plane's two-ton body was tossed back into the air. There was no correcting the mistake now. The craft skipped twice along the surface of the lake like the stones she used to throw on a pond as a kid. She was thrown against the nylon restraints.
Finally, the motion stopped with a loud splash announcing water on the windshield. Her eyes popped open, and she was moving before she even realized she'd unbuckled her harness. Before leaving the cockpit, Kai kissed her friend lovingly on the cheek, and murmured a quick promise to come back for him as soon as she could.
Kai raced to the hatch, already feeling the pitch of the deck change as the engine of the plane sank first. The door was still a good four feet out of the water. She collected two life jackets and an inflatable raft, depositing them behind the rear seats to keep them from sliding away.
Aware that the plane was sinking just a little bit faster than she expected, Kai went to Mr. Tracy and unfastened him from the seat. Grabbing him from around the back, she encircled his chest with her arms, and hauled him to the hatch. After wrestling with his dead weight, she finally managed to get him into the life jacket. Scooping up the raft, she pulled the chord and threw it out the door, keeping a firm grasp on it as she did so. Noting that she only had about a foot to go to the surface of the water, she willed the raft to inflate faster. It took it 15 seconds to expand fully, during which time, Kai anchored it firmly to the plane and found two large backpacks. She tossed these in first, and then lugged Mr. Tracy in after. Untying the line, she shoved the raft hard, sending it safely away from the doomed plane.
"Gus!" she yelled as she pulled on her own life jacket and kicked off her boots. The dog galloped to her. He stood like the well-trained dog he was as Kai clipped the final buckle on her flotation device. "All right, boy," she said, leading him to the door, "Time for a swim!" She loved him dearly, but she couldn't chance his nails puncturing the raft.
The animal baulked for a moment at the door, but Kai dealt with him decisively. Taking a stocking foot, she pushed on his rump, dumping him unceremoniously in the drink.
She was just about to follow suit when the plane lurched suddenly. The floor went up at a dizzying angle and Kai fell on her hip, sliding down the aisle. She reached out quickly and caught hold of a seat frame. Water was pouring through the hatch, pushing against her as she tried to get to her feet. There was no fighting the force of the water as it sought to fill the empty space. The only way out now was to wait until the plane filled and try to swim out. Quickly, she slid out of the life jacket, not wanting to fight the device as she cleared the plane.
The water entered rapidly, but to Kai, it felt like an eternity before she found herself floating in the last air space left near the top of the plane. She hyperventilated, clearing her lungs of carbon dioxide, and took a deep breath. Kai dove under the water and pushed off the side of the plane, rocketing through the hatch. As soon as she was clear, she looked up through the water to see the sunlight refracting through the crystal depths, about 20 feet above.
She began to kick furiously. At first, the undertow of the plane held her and she was being drawn down. After just a few seconds, she felt the force stop, as the plane came to rest on the sandy bed of its watery grave. Reaching forward with her hands, she cut the water and ascended, feeling her lungs start to ache at the exertion of holding breath. She ignored it and forced herself on, pulling herself up.
Kai's hands broke the surface first, and her head burst through. Immediately she gasped loudly, sucking in the sweet air. She fell back, nearly going under the water again.
Coming to her senses, she pushed her wet hair from her face and looked around her. Gus was already halfway to the shore, which was about 200 yards away. The raft was 50 feet from her, floating aimlessly, with no one to steer it. With every muscle in her body screaming from her earlier activities, Kai began to stroke her way towards the raft.
She reached up and grabbed the device, hearing the squeak of rubber against her skin. Kai pulled herself up to look over the edge. Mr. Tracy still lay on the bottom, but he was beginning to stir. Relief flooded her. Many times while she was lugging him around, she had wondered if she were saving a corpse.
Carefully, she hauled herself into the raft, leaning against the gunwales to catch her breath before beginning the paddle to shore.
The sky never looked so blue, she thought as the tears began to fall.