Chapter Twenty Four – News
Several weeks had passed since the board members of Harrison Industries had been brought into custody charged by several wrongdoings. Maggie Whelan looking no worse for wear was sitting at the bar dressed in casual clothes, having come from the studio to meet up with Gemma to celebrate their victory. They shared a laugh at Kevin's expense and Gemma snapped her fingers to call on the waitress. A minute later she'd ordered a fresh round and paid for it with money from a joint account that Kevin had set up years ago. Gemma had no qualms about doing so reasoning that he'd caused them so much grief that he could at least pay for their drinks.
They'd talked everything through, laughed and cried together for several days and Gemma had even started to like Maggie but when she sobered up for a while and looked at the blonde woman sitting next to her at the bar she realized that she could never forgive her.
"Thank you, Gemma, for believing," Maggie said seriously the grin still lingering on her face. "It's been a pleasure getting to know you."
"I wish, Maggie, that the circumstances were different," she said. "I like you, I really do and I trust you with my life but I can never forgive you for what you did."
"I'm sorry," Maggie whispered, her eyes downcast. "I didn't mean for it to happen."
Gemma smiled without mirth, a political smile she'd used on many occasion while being away doing business. "But you enjoyed every minute of it, didn't you?"
"Yes," Maggie admitted reluctantly.
Gemma huffed, shook her head and then chuckled. "I harbor no hard feelings toward you. I chose to blame Kevin. He had everything but he wanted more and that more destroyed him and me with it. I'm leaving the country tomorrow, I need a fresh start, and to live where no one recognize me. I've always wanted to go to Bahamas," she said.
Maggie swallowed realizing she was about to lose her newfound friend. "So this is goodbye?" she finally managed, her eyes moist.
Gemma nodded and gently hugged her. "I need to go Maggie," she whispered in her ear. "But if you ever go to Bahamas – come and visit me."
Maggie brightened at the offer.
"Just stay away from any future husband of mine," Gemma cautioned with a faint smile.
"Take care, Gemma. I'll miss you," Maggie said.
She nodded, grabbed her purse and blew the news anchor a kiss as she disappeared out the door.
OOOOOO
Henri Davies shook his head in disbelief but a grin was present on his face. He closed the folder before him and stared out through a window separating the office from the testing facility and focused on the large tailfin of the ill-fated Concorde. The metal was scraped and scorned, the paint cracking and coming close. It would never be restored to its former glory but the story of the aircraft would be forever remembered. The flight investigator still had a hard time to grasp the truth about the incident that could have turned into a disaster had it not been for some quick thinking and seasoned pilots. Thinking back upon it the whole thing seemed a little far-fetched and, truth to be told, hadn't he seen it written in a report first hand he wasn't sure he'd believed it.
He fingered on a report lying on his desk next to his own folder about the accident, a report coming from the FAA. He had several others scattered over his desk. One from the federal police, one from the Swiss Authorities then there were engineering and maintenance reports, conclusions from the manufacturer of the aircraft, a draft from the investigators at the department of defense, the list was long. For the first time he'd been involved in investigating not only an airplane disaster but a scene of a crime. The catalyst in all this and probably the main reason for it to happen in the first place was that Doctor Kevin Harrison, CEO of Harrison Industries, was about to be exposed and confronted with his illegal business worldwide, mostly in third world countries, by an employee.
In desperation Harrison had had the man eliminated. However, his mistress, Maggie Whelan, had gotten wind of the supposedly secret documentation of his arms dealings. Maggie Whelan was a famous news anchor who'd have no problem breaking the news of his illegal deals that had led to many deaths and suffering in third world countries. A statement from her would immediately lead to an inquiry and an investigation of his business also he suspected that his wife Gemma Harrison had started to suspect something was going on. Harrison suddenly had the means to take out both his mistress and the documents at the same time as she would be on her way to Paris on the goodwill flight arranged by FWA with Concorde Flight 28 the same day as the scheduled Buzzard test was to be launched.
Kevin Harrison had purposely misguided the drone, reprogrammed it, to have it attack the Concorde instead of the original prey. Fortunately the flight crew acted rationally and managed to fool the attack drone long enough for the Airforce to respond. Then, as Harrison failed in his attempt to eliminate his lover, he apparently called an associate in France who bribed an officer, had him steal a French military jet, fly under the radar and try to shot down the unknowing airliner.
Henri shook his head again as he thought back upon the conclusion. Kevin Harrison had been nothing but persistent in trying to keep his company's name clear. The next day he'd with the help of an associate bribed the chief engineer at FWA and given a man on the borderline of being broke enough money to buy himself a small island if he saw to it that the Concorde never made it to Moscow.
In the light of the accident it scared Davies what engineers could actually do nowadays as he thought about how the man named Froelich had programmed the cargo door to open in mid-air. He felt a gratitude towards Captain Metrand who'd briefly worked as a test pilot for the Concorde and knew the aircraft inside out. Furthermore he was grateful that another captain with decades of experience in flying had the copilot's seat for this special voyage.
Doctor Kevin Harrison had never even considered the aftereffects should anyone survive the flight and took his own life in an act of desperation to avoid capture, detention and humiliation. Davies sighed, and when he thought back at it he wondered how in heavens name anyone could have survived the flight. In some wicked way faith seemed to have chosen the place where the Concorde had started to break apart and right then and there Metrand remembered a small ski resort he'd visited years before which happened to be nearby. Davies didn't believe in faith, at least he hadn't before but this one time he wondered if some divine figure hadn't intervened. He had once met a pilot who'd survived a crash where most people had died. When asked why he thought he'd been spared he'd shrugged his shoulders and said to Davies, when the flight investigator had visited him at the hospital, that it hadn't been his time to die.
That day up on the mountainside it hadn't been meant for anyone to die either. Captain Metrand, Captain Patroni and all the rest was meant to survive. Davies gingerly got out of his chair and headed for the door leaving the files and folders behind him, he needed air and after this report and the story of the Concorde he needed therapy.
OOOOOO
Maggie Whelan closed her eyes and took a deep calming breath as she sat down briefly to be given the final make up touch before going on air. It had been a couple of tough months and some events she would never forget but she was happier now, stronger, and more comfortable with her own image. She still couldn't believe the lengths that Kevin had taken to keep her from exposing his business and she was even more perplexed about what had driven him to close those illegal deals in the first place. The latter was one question she would never be given any answer too.
"You're looking absolutely fabulous Miss Whelan," the make-up artist said with a warm smile.
Maggie opened her eyes and crinkled her nose at the statement. "Thanks, Sara," she returned as she gently vacated the chair and headed for the studio.
"There you are Maggie," Antonio Vest said with relief and then added teasingly. "I was worried I'd have to put Jeffrey in the hotspot. He's not that charming to look at though."
Maggie Whelan gave him a dazzling smile as she walked past him and took her usual position behind the camera.
Antonio gave her the thumbs up and then nodded to the camera man. "We're rolling."
"Good evening, this is the Nightly News with Maggie Whelan," his familiar voice boomed in her head set.
Maggie unconsciously straightened and focused as she looked right into the camera. She professionally reported the latest news but it as she was to report about the Harrison Industries there was a brief pause, a second of hesitation as recent events caught up with her. She forced herself to act as usual and focus solely on her job shutting out her conflicted emotions that threatened to surface. It was with a plumbing mood she realized that she still wasn't free of his grip.
"We can now report that Doctor Kevin Harrison's murder was a cover up from the company. Doctor Harrison's time of death coincide with his flight between Paris and Washington. He was at the time travelling in a private jet and had no travelling companion. The flight crew found him in the cabin with a small caliber pistol in his hand."
"As for why he committed such an act is still in the dark but speculations run high. The company is facing several charges for the Buzzard Incident as it is now called. William Halpern, Doctor Harrison's longtime friend and designer of the Buzzard, has admitted his personal involvement in reprogramming the drone to intercept the flight path of Concorde Flight 28 in route from Washington and Dulles International to Paris and the Charles de Gaulle Airport. It has been confirmed that it was a deliberate attempt to try and shoot down the supersonic aircraft carrying a complement of 109 with passengers and crew."
"The reason behind it was that Nightly News anchor Maggie Whelan-" She felt a knot form in her stomach as she thought about it. That he'd been trying to kill her and make it look like an accident that would have ended not only her life but those 108 other innocent people. She saw Antonio wave at her to keep going and after inhaling deeply she began to talk again. "-was that Maggie Whelan had received secret documents from a high official of the Harrison Industries, documents that relieved several illegal dealings with weapons in third world countries."
"According to the documents Doctor Kevin Harrison sold high quality weapons on the black market for several years and earned a lot of money for it. Money that he then invested in many goodwill projects to make it appear like the company had a genuine interest in doing good deeds. When the new Buzzard drone, developed for the US military, failed to bring down the Concorde, FWA Flight 28, Doctor Harrison wasn't discouraged to try another approach. He contacted a business associate in France, who is now under investigation for the involvement in the so called secret deals, and paid a considerable amount of money to a highly skilled ex Airforce pilot who was to fire at the airliner."
"The flight crew onboard the Concorde managed to avoid the missiles aimed at them by several evasive maneuvers in wait for the French Airforce to respond," Maggie said feeling the dryness in her mouth as she recited what had transpired over two months ago. She wasn't sure how much she was supposed to say or how much she was even allowed to say but at the moment she didn't care about secrecy, the world needed to know, it was secrecy that had gotten everyone in danger in the first place.
"Had Harrison Industries stopped there they might, just might, have gotten away with it. However, after confessing about the illegal dealings to the news anchor of Nightly News Kevin Harrison contacted, through his associates, Manuel Froelich, the chief engineer at the Federation World Airlines in France. For a considerable amount of money, the engineer reprogrammed the automatic lock system on the Concorde's cargo door so that it opened mid-flight. The purpose was to make the inevitable crash look like an accident. Had it worked 109 people would have lost their lives. However, several factors contributed to the doctor and his associates being brought to justice."
"When Manuel Froelich checked in his luggage on a flight to Bahamas he appeared nervous and on the edge. He dropped money on the floor and when the security guard tried to hand it back he took off running. The action made the guard suspicious and the engineer was chased across the tarmac and out on one of the eastern bound runways where he was caught in the tailwind of the Concorde bound for Moscow. Froelich life couldn't be saved, fortunately his intended target and it's passengers could after a terror filled flight that ended at the mountainside of the Swiss Alps," Maggie finished with a faint smile.
She suddenly felt exhausted after the delivery of the story. She thought she could hear faint applause from behind the camera and was encouraged to carry on with her Nightly News. She felt a gratitude to life and to the new friends she'd gotten on the ill-fated flight and she knew there was a picture of a Concorde behind her back at the very moment.
"Federation World Airlines has claimed insurance money for the accident and a new Concorde will be delivered within the year. However, FWA will fly with a supersonic aircraft in their jetfleet sooner. Their second Concorde was delivered today, brand new from the factory," Maggie said as a picture of Paul and Joe appeared behind her. "Federation World Airlines chief pilot Captain Paul Metrand and Captain Joseph Patroni, the same pilots that performed the miracle landing, personally flew the aircraft to Charles de Gaulle earlier today. FWA plans their first Atlantic flight with the aircraft already next week."
Maggie cast a quick sideway glance and saw the young stylish woman prepare the notes for the weather forecast. She shuffled her notecards with ease in front of her and then delivered news of a more national character before the camera man finally announced that she was off the air. With a sigh she sagged in the chair and closed her eyes. It was over and everything was fine.
"Excuse me Miss Whelan," apologized a young aide as she neared. "I know it's a bit early but I was just wondering how you would like to travel on your extended trip to Paris in two weeks."
Maggie smiled at her, scrutinizing her, the aide seemed so young and so unexperienced. Maggie wondered for a moment if she'd ever been that young herself. "It's all right," she finally managed with a tired smile. "I'll travel with the FWA. Book me on the Concorde flight. It's been a while since I've seen Captain Metrand, Joe and the others."
OOOOOO