Tony found the pot of coffee in the hospitality room and poured himself a cup. Putting it to his lips, he smelled something a bit off. "Musta burned the bottom of the pot," mumbled Tony as he put the cup down, not taking a sip.
Aidan walked out of the restroom, her purse a little fuller, and coughed. Tony noticed it was a little rough. "Ade, you all right?" he asked.
"Yeah ... I think it's just the beginnings of allergy season," she said softly, and cleared her throat. "Listen, I'm going to head out there now. I take a couple of minutes to get comfortable in these types of planes..."
"Why, you need to set up a barf bag? C'mon Ade, with what you do now..."
"No, I just like to get the feel of the plane and its vibrations. After all, that can save a life," she said a bit cynically. While she hadn't told anyone else, since becoming the new suit wearer, anytime she flew in a plane Aidan had to just sit when she boarded and get used to the plane's sounds so she didn't panic about being in the air and not hear the wind blowing by her ears.
"All right, go on. I'll be there in five minutes," said Tony, not quite believing her and entered the restroom. Aidan only rolled her eyes and went to the plane.
"Hello," said Aidan as she arrived at the plane. The pilot straightened up at the voice and glanced at the young woman. "Hello, miss, may I help you?" he said, smiling but showing a slightly different emotion in his eyes.
Aidan tilted her head slightly, noticing something odd in his mannerisms, but couldn't place it. "Yes, I'm Aidan Hinkley, and I'm supposed to be aboard this plane," she said.
"Oh yes, the search for the agent," said the pilot.
"What about an agent?" said Aidan frowning, wondering what the man knew. She knew Tony said missing person to her and if it was an agent, the airport wouldn't know for security reasons.
Not quite realizing his faux pas, the pilot continued. "Don't worry ma'am, they had to clear us as far as security. Why don't you come in and get seated?"
Aidan nodded, but kept an eye on the man as she walked toward the plane door. She had walked a couple of steps when she saw someone else move out of the corner of her eye. Before she could react, the gangster wrapped one arm around her waist and clamped the other over her mouth. She struggled and kicked at the man hard, making it difficult for him to keep hold of her.
"Knock her out man," said the gangster, yelling out in pain when Aidan bit down on his hand. Before she could yell for help, the pilot moved over to the side just behind her to avoid being kicked and placed the mask over her nose and mouth. Aidan tried to jerk her face out of the mask but the gangster grabbed her jaw forcefully and kept her head still. She felt a gas be misted into her face, which she was forced to inhale when the gangster sqeezed her stomach to keep her from holding her breath. After a few moments, her struggles faded and she slumped unconscious in the second man's arms.
The pilot removed the mask from Aidan's face and nodded to the gangster. The man picked her up in a fireman's carry, her arms hanging limply behind him.
"That was risky, you know," said the pilot, realizing that he was a part of this now no matter what.
"I know, but she had a suspicion something was wrong," said the gangster, climbing into the plane and putting her in the chair. He tilted the chair back a bit so her head would loll back on the head rest to hide her true condition. "Besides, if the agent wonders why she's 'asleep,' you can say that she took a Dramamine in the plane and it kicked in too soon."
"What if he still persists or finds she's been drugged?"
"How about you just don't take any risks with the male agent and just get them there, for your health, " said the gangster as he climbed out and walked off so no one could link him to the assault.
The pilot nodded, a bit worried about the threat and climbed in the plane. He checked Aidan's vitals, finding them strong. Pinching her hard, he sighed in relief that she didn't respond, meaning she wasn't faking. "Well, one agent down, and one to go. Then I can deliver them to the Scorpios and move on with my life," said the man softly, wincing softly at another pain in his back and arm.
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A few minutes after the attack, Tony left the restroom and stretched he arms out as he headed toward the plane, seeing the pilot come out of it. "Mr. Villacana? Hi, welcome aboard the plane," said the pilot warmly.
"Thank you," said Tony. "I'm sure you've been told where we need to head."
"Yes sir. We need to do a sweep of the main forest area for signs of the missing person. Your associate said that there had been several sightings. We'll arrive at the search area in about 30-35 minutes."
'Yeah,' thought the agent as he climbed in the plane. 'I never thought he'd be my boss.' He was surprised to see Aidan lying back in a slightly tilted back chair, apparently asleep. Her purse was tucked in the back of the plane along with some basic medical supplies and food the pilot had if they were hungry during the flight.
The agent looked at the pilot and he shrugged. "She decided to take a nap, said something about hating the takeoff," said the pilot.
"Yeah, you'd think she'd be used to it given how much she flies," said Tony with a chuckle, but then paused. 'Aidan never said she hated flying in an airplane, just needles ...' he thought, but dismissing it as another one of Aidan's fears, he sat down in his seat and buckled in. The pilot closed the doors and, after receiving the all clear, taxied to the runway and took off.
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Unbeknownst to the air travelers, it was about 20 minutes into the flight when in the forest, the gang in the hideout was busted by members of the FBI. Not too long after Tony was at the airport, they received a good tip to the Scorpios' whereabouts, making the bust quick and easy. The gangster who attacked Aidan was also caught shortly before the raid.
Watching the men get handcuffed, the FBI boss cleared his throat slightly. "All right, we got them," said the man. "Now, we need to contact all agents on the case and tell them we have our missing agent."
The group headed outside with the injured agent to an awaiting ambulance when the FBI boss was stopped by another agent. "Sir, the search plane has taken off with Agent Villacana..."
"That's fine, just have the control tower contact them and have them return," said the older man.
"There's a big problem sir... they said the plane is in flight on the radar screen, but is not responding to any calls."
The agent started to work out a possible reason and frowned further. "All right, I want to speak that one gangster we caught outside right away. I want some answers... now."
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As the group flew, Tony from time to time watched the pilot and frowned. The man seemed to have a tendency to look at Tony nervously, expecting him to do something, but wasn't sure what. "Something wrong fella?" he asked a bit tersely, hoping the man also wasn't trying to hit on him.
"No, nothing. We should be nearing the area to search in about 10-15 minutes," said the pilot a bit nervously.
Tony just nodded and leaned back, deciding to scope out everything. He turned to Aidan and looked at her closely. He thought for a moment, and remembered her saying once that she never took a nap longer than 20 minutes, mostly because she just always woke up by then. Frowning and making sure the pilot wasn't watching, Tony leaned over and gently shook her shoulder. Concerned when she didn't stir, he lifted an eyelid...
"Listen guy, we need to head back to the airport now," said Tony urgently.
"Why? Did you leave something?" said the pilot, a bit hesitantly and hoping Tony'd pass out soon.
"No, Aidan here's out like a light, I can't wake her. She needs a doctor."
When the pilot didn't turn the plane around, Tony grabbed the man's shoulders. "Damn it, what's wrong with ya," he shouted.
"Nothing," said the pilot incredulously, thinking Tony had the constitution of a horse. "Didn't you drink any coffee?" he blurted out, then realized his mistake.
"Coffee? That stuff that smelled like tar?" said Tony, only to realize that the smell might've been a sedative.
"Why you son of a ..." started Tony, only to see the pilot hold a mask of some sort.
Not knowing exactly what it was but assuming it was used to drug Aidan, Tony backed off. He frowned when the pilot stood up. "What are ya doing? You've got to fly the plane." said Tony, really wishing he didn't pack his gun in his tote afterall.
"I can fly it on autopilot," said the man, slightly nervous and again, felt a pain in his arm, only sharper.
Tony noticed the man's complexion gray slightly and frown. "You OK pal?" he asked, genuinely concerned.
"Yes. Now, I'm sorry I'm going to have to do this, but I'm going to have to knock you out too," said the pilot getting the mask ready. "Just please make it easy and not struggle. My life's in danger if I don't bring the two of you to the Scorpios."
Tony took the nervousness of the man and used it to his advantage. "Listen, I'm an agent, and I can help ya out. If ya turn this plane around, you can give us the location of these Scorpios. We nab them and ya don't haveta live your life in fear."
"No. I'm sorry, but don't worry, the drug's fast-acting and there aren't any side effects..." The pilot stopped and started to turn red as he gasped for air. Tony, seeing the pilot clutch his chest and realizing something was seriously wrong, unbuckled his seatbelt and headed toward the man. "What hurts?" said Tony.
"My heart, it's crushing me," said the man, still gasping for air and staggered. In his fight to stay conscious, he accidentally dumped the plane's gas in the process. The pilot then fell to the floor board.
Tony paled. "Come on, stay with us until you can land the plane. We can get a ..." he said, only to hear the man gasp and lie still, eyes open and fixed. Checking the pilot's neck for a pulse, Tony knew that the man was dead and couldn't have been resuscitated.
Tony closed the man's eyes as he felt the plane shudder slightly. He frowned, realizing that he didn't know how to fly a plane and turning to Aidan, he realized that she wasn't wearing red under her clothes. While he guessed she might've tried morphing the suit to hide it, with Aidan out cold, she couldn't jump out in the suit and fly it to safety, unless...
"Damn it, Aidan, ya've gotta wake up," said Tony, panicking and shaking her shoulder roughly. He even resorted to slapping her once, but Aidan didn't even flinch.
Frowning, Tony jumped into the pilot's seat and, after disabling the autopilot, took hold of the controls. To his horror, he heard the engines stop running. He realized he wasn't going to be able to keep it level for long. Turning around to make sure Aidan was securely fastened, he buckled his safety belt and held the plane as straight as he could as the plane started its descent into the forest.
Tony found a fairly open spot to try to land in, and saw the trees rushing up to meet the plane. He heard a tearing sound as the plane was ripped apart just before he felt the impact and blacked out.