Mom something is wrong we are in a holding flight pattern no information from staff but their body language and looks on their faces is not good THINK WE NEED HELP !

Paige read the e-mail again still not really taking in what it said , unable to speak , she passed her phone to Walter , he quietly read the message and for 30 seconds did not move or say anything . Paige then noticed a change in his face ,an expression she knew well , he was processing and calculating all probabilities and outcome before trying to work out a plan of action .

"WALTER, Walter , what can we do , our son is in imminent danger . You have to think of something quickly ." Said a panic stricken voice that did not seem to be coming from Paige .

"First we need to try and find out what the real problem is ,lets see if we can get in touch with the airport manager ," Answered Walter as he did Paige's phone rang , looking at the screen she saw it was Allie .

"Not more bad news , i hope . " She said quietly and she swiped to answer the phone .

"Hello Allie is everything alright ?"

"Yes fine i just phoned to let you know Cabe is back home ,but your voice sounds shaky are you alright ?" Replied Allie .

"It's good news about Cabe , but no we are not alright . We are at LAX to collect Ralph , but he just e-mailed me to say the plane as a problem . Walter is trying to find some more information , the board is just saying delayed . Walter has gone to see if he can get someone to speak to him ." Paige was now getting upset and tears were filling her eyes

"Hold on a minute Paige let me just explain to Cabe what is going on ." Paige could hear Allie filling in Cabe on the situation but Paige could not quite make out the words .

"Hello Paige ,Cabe says contact Katherine at Homeland ."

"The last time i spoke to Katherine , she berated me and told me Centipede would never get any work from Homeland as long as she held any sort of position there and never phone her again ." Sadly Paige explained to Allie .

"What about Walter phoning her , i am sure she would love to speak to him ."

"You are probably correct but Walter did not bring a phone with him . So my name would appear on her phone ."

"Hold on let me have another word with Cabe ."

Again Paige could hear noise through her phone , but could not distinguish any words .

"Hello Paige , Cabe says he will attempt to contact Katherine and ask her to ring you ."

"O.k. Allie thank you very much , if Cabe does not have any luck will you let me know ."

"Of course i will , Cabe is on the phone now , so put your phone down in case Katherine calls you back quickly ."

Paige disconnected the call ,and went to find Walter , after a few minutes she saw him in a heated conversation with a member of the airport staff . As she approached them , she heard the employee trying to calm Walter down .

"Please sir i cannot tell you anything as i have not be told anything ."Paige reached them just as Walter was about to begin shouting at the poor guy , who was looking as if at any minute he could burst into tears. Paige tapped Walter on the shoulder as he turned she started to speak to him in a soft , controlled voice .

"Walter leave the poor man alone , he will not have any information until he is told something ."

"But we need to know , so we can help our son ." Said Walter calming down now Paige is close to him .

"I am waiting for a call from Katherine , Cabe is trying to get in touch with her ." As soon has Paige had finished speaking her phone rang . Checking the phone she saw Katherine's name on the screen . She mouthed Katherine to Walter then answered the phone .

"Hello Katherine thank you for calling me back . Walter is here , i think you should speak to him .Walter it is Katherine can you explain to her what you want ."

Walter walked over and took the phone from Paige . "Hello Katherine === Yes i am fine ,but we have a problem . Let us move to a less busy area and i will put the phone on speaker ,because Paige needs to hear all that is going on ." Walter took Paige's hand and walked over to a small lobby area that was clear of people . Walter put the phone on speaker and began talking to Katherine .

"Katherine the phone is on speaker and Paige is with me ."

Katherine "OK Walter what is the problem Cabe was a little hazy on the details but i understand you are at LAX .

Walter "Yes we came to meet Ralph he his flying in from Boston and was due to arrive at 1.00.p.m. The arrival board changed to Delayed . Then Paige received an e-mail from him , saying the plane had been put in a holding flight path and no one would give any information out and he called for help ."

Katherine "What can i do ?"

Walter "I need to speak to some one in authority , but no one is willing to tell me who to speak to ."

Katherine "Let me make a couple of calls , i will call you back as quick as i can ."

Paige " Please help it's our son up there ,we cannot stand to lose him ."

Katherine "Are you and Walter back together ?"

Paige "Yes since last Monday ."

Katherine " Give me a couple of minutes ." At that Katherine disconnected the call .

"Do you think she will be able to do anything to help ." Paige with tears still in her eyes asked .

" If she can't we are in big trouble because no one appears to be interested in telling me anything , in fact they don't even want to listen io me ."Complained Walter .

"Fingers Crossed ." Answered Paige . The next five minutes were agony to both Walter and Paige as they waited for the call back from Katherine . It was nearly ten minutes before Paige's phone rang , she checked the caller I.D. and passed the phone to Walter .

"Hello Katherine , hope you have some good news for us . You are still on speaker ."

Katherine "I eventually got through to the Airport manager , there is a problem . It would appear there is a hydraulic problem with the landing gear . When i explained you were a former government contractor capable of solving apparently unsolvable problems he agreed to meet up with you . If you go to the main enquiry desk someone will meet you there and take you to see him ."

Walter "Thank you so much we will go now as fuel on the plane will become a factor soon .

Katherine "Good luck , ring me if you need some more more help , no ring me anyway so we can arrange a meeting to catch up . "

Walter "OK. will do bye ."

Walter and Paige made their way over to the enquiry desk and introduced themselves , as they were doing this a young man approached them .

"Mr O'Brian , Miss Dineen , my name is Steve McMichael , i have been instructed to show you up to the managers office ."

They both turned and looked at him , Paige spoke to him .

""Thank you we are i a hurry so if we go right now ,we would appreciate that we go now ."

"Please follow me ." With that he set off at a fast walking pace . They reached the managers office in a couple of minutes , Steve knocked on the door and they heard a voice shout come in . As they entered the office a large girth man stood up from behind his desk .

Good morning Mr. O'Brian , Miss Dineen . Please take a seat ." Paige and Walter sat on the two chairs that had been positioned in front of his desk . Immediately Walter began speaking .

"We have very little time so i suggest you tell us exactly what is going onboard the Boston flight ."

" I realize that Mr. O'Brian ,but first let me introduce myself . I am Ricky Wallbridge general manage of the airport . Miss Cooper has informed me of your position and to give you what ever you want . The problem aboard appears to be a hydraulic problem with the landing gear ."

Walter stopped him talking and began speaking .

" I need to speak to the pilot so i can get the information first hand , that way i will be able to understand exactly what we may have to do ."

Paige had sat through this short conversation her hands in her lap but her fingers constantly moving .She looked up at Ricky and in a nervous tone in her voice spoke directly at him .

" You are aware our son is onboard that plane . He would not have messaged us as he did if he did not think the situation was that serious ."

"Katherine did mention that to me and i can understand your worries . But as Mr. O'Brian pointed out he needs to talk to the pilot , so i suggest we go to the control tower as quickly as possible ."

Walter immediately stood up and began speaking as he held his hand out to help Paige up from her chair .

"OK lets go , one thing who is flying the plane ?"

"Captain Dan Drake ." Replied Ricky .

"You got to be joking , we have had dealings with him before ."

"When was that?" Asked a curious Ricky .

"About two and a half years ago members of the team , including Paige and Ralph were on a flight back from Hawaii , when a bomb scare was instigated . When a cellphone signal was picked up from the luggage area a warning light came on in the cockpit . It was discovered a stowaway was in a wheel well . Miss Dineen risked her life to go down into the wheel well and ensured his safety , after a lot of work by the team ." Replied Walter , Ricky looked at Paige in amazement .

"I have heard that story , but it was before my time and i assumed it was just an urban legend .Well Miss. Dineen it is my honor to meet you ."

"Well now i need to save my own son , i just hope we can get the same happy ending . " Paige replied with a shimmer of tears in her eyes .

"If you have only been here a short time , have you heard about the problem about six years ago when over fifty planes were unable to land because of a computer problem " Asked Walter.

"Well i have heard a story but it seemed to be to much like fiction . I again thought it was another urban legend ." Said Ricky ,while looking in a confused manner while looking at Walter .

"No it was true and if not for the bravery of Paige , all of the crafts would have been shot down , the loss of life would have been unbearable .Paige actually stood on the front seat of a car , i was driving at 200m.p.h. down the runway as the plane was flying about eight feet above our heads . She reached up to take a hard wire connection from the plane and connect to a laptop , so we could download an uncorrupted program from the plane . We managed to transfer the program to the control room and all the planes landed safely ."

Walter explained . By this time they had reached the door of the control tower , before opening the door , Ricky turned to look at Walter and Paige with a look of amazement on his face .

"You two seem to be superheroes ."

"No just people who see a problem and with the I.Q. of the team we always try to solve the problem ." Replied Walter with a smile on his face . At that they entered the tower and began climbing the stairs .

Once inside the nerve center of the tower , Ricky called over to a tall African American man , who appeared to be in charge of the tower . "This is A.J. Brown he can put you in touch with Captain Drake .

AS A. J. approached Ricky introduced Walter and Paige .

"Hi , you probably do not remember me but i was in the tower six years ago when you managed to get all those planes down on to the ground , i never met you at the time i was sat at a screen , but it was certainly a busy day . " Everyone shook hands but Walter was eager to speak to the Captain .

"Thank you but please can you get me in touch with Captain Drake ."

"Give me just a minute . This is Control to DA564XL , come in please ."

"DA564XL to control ,over ."

"Control to DA564XL .I have a Walter O'Brian who needs to speak to you ."

Drake "Understood ,over ."

Walter "Captain Drake we know you have a problem up there , please explain exactly what is wrong ."

Drake "The Hawaiian Mr . O'Brian , over ."

Walter "Yes Captain our son Ralph is on board ,he notified us of a problem ."

Drake "OK the problem is with the hydraulics to the landing gear . We have a red light indicating it is low on fluid , which would indicate a leak ."

Walter turned to Paige and asked her to try and get hold of Happy and get her down to LAX.

Walter "Captain would you call Ralph Dineen into the cockpit , i need to talk to him ."

Drake "He is only a child what good can he do ."

Walter "With respect that child as an I.Q. greater than mine and at fifteen he is studying at Harvard . Now please can you get him into the cockpit and call me back ."

Drake "O.K. ,over ."

Paige walked up to Walter and whispered in his ear

"Managed to contact Happy , she will be here in about thirty minutes . I told her to go to the main enquiry desk , unfortunately Toby insisted on coming as well ."

" Ricky can you arrange for someone to be at the information desk to bring Happy and Toby up to us ."Then looking at Paige with a smile he said ." If Toby starts playing up we can always throw him off the tower ."

Ricky moved to one side and made a phone call .

"That's all arranged Mr. O'Brian ."

Thank you and can you please call me Walter and Miss. Dineen Paige ."

Ricky just gave a nod and moved to one side to give Walter room if he needed to work .

"DA564XL to tower please come in ."

"Tower to DA 564XL go ahead ." " I have Ralph in the cockpit with me ."

Walter "Ralph , good to speak to you , son. Can you see if there is a way to find were there may be a leakage in the hydraulic system for the landing gear remember the Island crash ."

Ralph " OK dad but i will need some guidance as to were the pipes run and also to show me around the belly of the aircraft ." Ralph spoke in a voice that reminded both Walter and Paige just how much he is alike to Walter , when Walter is concentrating on a plan .

Walter "Captain Drake is anyone on board who can do that ?"

Drake " Well the senior server on the plane could guide him through the aircraft but the hydraulics not so sure ." The Captain's Voice had an uncertain tone .

Walter " OK bring him up to the cockpit and i will call you back in a couple of minutes ." Once Walter had finished talking he reached for his backpack and trusty computer . "Ricky what plane is Ralph on ? "

"It's a Delta Airline's Boeing 737 ." Answered Ricky

"Thank you ." At that Walter typed commands into his computer and bought up a full technical detailed drawing and other information on the 737 .He located the current position of the hydraulic pipes for the undercarriage .

"Tower to DA564XL ." Walter spoke into the mic .

"DA564XL to tower go ahead Walter ." Replied the Captain

"Please put Ralph on ."

"Hi dad have you got the information ."

" Yes son , but first can you see if you can get some cell connection and phone your mom."

"Give me a few seconds dad ." A few seconds later Paige's phone began to ring .

"Hello Ralph are you OK ?"

Ralph " Yes Mom I am fine Dad wanted me to ring his phone ,can i speak to him please ."

Walter " Good what strength have you got on the phone ?"

Ralph " At the moment five bars , but i am in the cockpit don't forget dad ."

Walter " Yes Ralph i am aware , but we are going to need some communications so i can direct you to the correct pipes and i am not sure if we will get reception in the belly of the airplane ." Walter took the mic back "Captain are you there ? "

Drake "Yes Walter ."

Walter "How much flying time have you got left ?"

Drake "At this altitude and speed i would calculate approx. seventy minutes maximum ."

Walter "OK is your server there ?"

Drake "Yes his name is Stuart ."

Walter " Stuart can you show Ralph where the hydraulics of the plane are located ?"

Stuart "Yes sir but i do not know which is which ."

Walter "That's ok leave that to me . First show Ralph where they are so we can check out if our communications wo

"We need to wait to see if Ralph can get a cell reception before we can do anything else , if no cell reception we will rk. " Talking into the phone he explained to Ralph to follow Stuart to the hydraulics and see if he can still use the phone . Walter signed off to both Ralph and Drake .need some other idea . What i do not know at the moment ." Walter explained to Paige and the others . They had an anxious five minutes before Paige's phone rang .

"Hello."

" Mom it's me reception is only two bars but i seem to be able to hear you clearly . I only have a half charge left on my phone , so i am going to cut the call and wait until Walter can call me with some information . In the meantime i will look around to see if i can see any leaks ."

"OK but don't touch anything until dad phone's you with the information . We are waiting for Happy to turn up , her skills may be needed . Just be careful . We both love you ."

As Paige finished the call , she could not stop a few tears escaping from her eyes . She turned to Walter to explain what Ralph had just told her .

"That is good , as i still cannot think of any other method of communications , that would be effective." Walter said as he gently reached over to wipe the tears that were escaping her eyes .

"Do you really think we can be sure we will get Ralph , our son , back down on the ground safe and well."

"I have every faith in our abilities to do just that . Ralph means as much to me as you do , which is an immeasurable amount ."

" Thank you Walter , you may still be a little low on E.Q. , but you always seem to know the right thing at the right time to say ." Paige reached over and pulled Walter into a hug as she kissed him on the lips .

As they broke the hug , the door to the control room opened and a young man appeared followed closely by Happy who was trailed in by Toby . Happy immediately ran over to Walter and hugged him . Toby stayed just inside the door looking rather sheepish . Paige looked at him and signaled him to come over . Happy released her hug on Walter who put his hand out to shake Toby's hand . Walter then began to explain what was happening . Happy began scanning the plan of the hydraulics, in her opinion they appeared to operate on a separate system to the rest of the hydraulics . Which at least meant less pressure would be needed to bring it back on system .

Meanwhile down in the belly of the plane Ralph and Stuart were still checking the pipework , with the help of two torches Stuart had managed to find .

"Have you seen anything yet Stuart ."

"No sign of any leaking but not knowing which of the pipes are connected to the undercarriage it is a lot more difficult ."

"That is true , hang on I'll phone dad see if he has found out were the actual pipes are. Hello mom can i speak to dad .Hi dad can you identify the correct pipes we should be looking for .

"Hang on son ,i am with Happy have you figured out which pipes are for the landing gear hydraulics "

"Yes i would say that they are the ones"

As Happy was speaking there was a loud BANG over Ralph's phone . In unison Paige Walter and Happy yelled.

"RALPH ."

But all they were met with was silence.