"You immature son of a bitch," she sighed, but when she faced Elliot's laughing eyes, she couldn't stop the smile escaping her lips.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The next time Olivia woke up, she was feeling strange. She rubbed her eyes and tried to figure out what made her feel so restless. She let her gaze circulate in the cabin. Cassidy slept with his mouth open, Fin read the magazine and Munch snoozed against the cabin wall. Brown scrolled his phone and Elliot stared the wall in front of him and tapped nervously the table with his fingers.
"Hey," Olivia whispered and leaned towards Elliot. He slowly turned his head to the Olivia's direction. "You okay?"
Elliot's mouth had squeezed into a thin line, and he paused his tapping fingers. "Do you know what time it is?" He asked quietly. Olivia shook her head and glanced at her watch. It was 8:08 am.
"It's ten past eight," she answered slowly. Elliot said nothing, just turned his gaze forward and started tapping his fingers again. Olivia was confused.
"What's wrong?" She frowned. Elliot didn't look at her.
"I thought this trip was supposed to take two hours," he whispered. "But it's been three hours and we haven't even started landing yet."
Cold shivers ran along Olivia's spine as she realized the reason for her uneasiness. The journey had indeed taken a strangely long time.
"Maybe the pilots have had to avoid some low pressure?" She tried to suggest, but the question did not even reassure herself. Elliot shrugged stiffly.
"But an hour late and the pilots haven't said anything? There is something obscure here, mark my words."
Fin turned to look back, frowning at the expressions of Olivia and Elliot.
"You guys okay?" He asked worriedly.
"I hope so," Elliot blurted. Fin's eyebrows rose.
"The flight has already taken an hour longer than it should have," Olivia continued. Fin glanced at his watch and rubbed his forehead.
"Maybe there has been a change in the flight route."
"But why hasn't anyone reported anything?"
"Maybe the air hostess knows something," Fin suggested and looked around. However, he didn't see her. "But where is she?"
All three began to look around, and at the same time Cassidy woke up growling.
"What's going on?" He asked in a hoarse voice.
"Have you seen the air hostess?"
"No, I mean I just woke up," he growled. "But I haven't seen her for a while."
Fin, Olivia and Elliot exchanged concerned glances. Olivia opened her seat belt and stood up.
"I'm going to check the toilet," she announced. That's when Brown looked up.
"I tried to check our location at the flight tracker app, but the internet connection hasn't worked for over an hour," he said. Everyone turned to look at him in surprise, because they had almost forgotten about his existence. Olivia walked to the toilet door, opened it, and gasped in fright. Elliot stood up in a hundredth of a second and leaped towards her. The words got stuck in his throat as he peeked in through the toilet door.
"Oh my God…" There was Fin's voice behind them. The air hostess laid lifeless on the toilet floor, her head in a frothy puddle. Traces on her nose and mouth revealed the origin of the foam. Olivia crouched next to her and looked for a pulse. Others watched and held their breath as Olivia soon shook her head in disbelief.
"No pulse," she whispered barely audibly.
"Poison?" Elliot gulped.
"Probably," Brown said quietly.
"But how…" Fin started. Then his gaze hit the meat pastry next to the air hostess.
"If these are staff's food, then…" Words got stuck in his throat. Horror shone in his eyes, and Olivia felt her stomach turn into a knot. They slowly turned to look at the door at the front of the cabin, and after gulping for a moment, they started to walk towards it. Cassidy grabbed Olivia's hand, and she felt the need to shake it off for a moment. However, she let it be.
"What are you guys doing?" There was Munch's amazed voice. He had finally woke up from his beauty sleep.
"The air hostess is dead," Fin blurted. Munch's eyes widened.
"WHAT?!"
"Poisoned. She had apparently eaten food intended for staff."
Munch glanced at the cockpit door in horror. "How about the pilots?"
"We're just going to find out, but we've been flying for 3 hours and nothing has been heard of them," Fin wiped his nose with trembling hands and the color escaped Munch's face. Elliot was the first at the cockpit door, breathed in and knocked.
"Hello?" He asked in an audible voice. "It's Detective Stabler." Everyone held their breath, but there was no voice. "Hello?" This time Elliot slammed the door with his fist. Olivia closed her eyes and Elliot looked at others desperately.
"How do we get in? These doors need a code and have strong locks. We can't just break in."
"Maybe there's something in the air hostess' stuff?" Olivia suggested.
"I'm on it," Fin announced and the others started exploring the cabin as well. Suddenly Cassidy pulled Olivia against him and pressed his lips to hers. Olivia flinched and backed away quickly in surprise.
"And what do you think you're doing?!" She snapped. Cassidy looked hurt.
"If we are going to die…"
"If we want to avoid it, we don't have time for this!" Olivia's eyes sparkled with anger. Cassidy turned on his heels demonstratively.
"Asshole," Olivia heard Elliot growl, and he continued to knock the door. Everyone was already getting desperate when Fin suddenly exclaimed:
"I found something!" He hurried to the cockpit door. He had a small note with an 8-digit number in his hand.
"If this isn't it, we're doomed." With trembling hands, he pressed the numbers, closed his eyes, and lastly pressed the # - button. Everyone held their breath and after a time, that felt like a little eternity, the green light came on and the door clicked. They looked at each other, Fin nodded and Elliot pulled the door open. The sight blocked their breathing. The captain slouched lifeless on the controller and the co-pilot laid on the floor. Underneath each of them was a familiar puddle. Olivia's legs suddenly felt numb, and she collapsed to sit against the wall. Fin covered his mouth with his hand, Munch staggered back to his seat and Brown had to take support from the wall. Elliot stood still, but his hands clenched into fists. Cassidy looked like he was going to vomit.
"Forget the door, we're doomed anyway," Fin whispered. Olivia's eyes caught Elliot's gaze, and all she saw was pure horror.
