Chapter 15 - The Man Behind Nightglass
Adrian Cole didn't resist when Laura approached him.
He simply closed his paperback novel and looked up.
"You figured it out."
Laura stood in the aisle.
Elena remained behind her.
Two crew members waited nearby.
"Who are you really?"
Cole smiled faintly.
"Adrian Cole."
"That part was true."
"Then what was a lie?"
"Most of the rest."
Laura felt anger burn through her.
"You knew Nathan."
"Yes."
"You worked on Nightglass."
"Yes."
"And you knew someone was targeting this aircraft."
Cole nodded.
"Because you helped plan it."
He didn't answer.
Laura leaned closer.
"Why?"
Cole looked toward the window.
Outside, the darkness was beginning to soften.
A thin gray line appeared along the horizon.
Dawn.
He watched it for a moment.
Then he spoke.
"Your husband was a brilliant man."
Laura said nothing.
"He understood what Nightglass could become."
"He saw the dangers before the rest of us."
"Then why did you let them kill him?"
Cole looked at her.
"Because I was afraid."
Laura stared.
"Afraid of what?"
"Losing everything."
He laughed bitterly.
"My career."
"My reputation."
"My money."
Laura felt sick.
"So you sacrificed Nathan."
Cole shook his head.
"I didn't know they were going to kill him."
"You knew the operation was compromised."
"Yes."
"And you said nothing."
Cole lowered his eyes.
Laura stepped back.
For seven years, she'd imagined the person responsible for Nathan's death as a monster.
Someone who enjoyed cruelty.
Someone who had planned every detail with cold precision.
But Adrian Cole looked ordinary.
An aging man with tired eyes.
A man who had chosen comfort over courage.
And because of that choice, Nathan had died.
Laura's voice trembled.
"You watched my husband die."
Cole whispered.
"Yes."
"Then you watched me lose my career."
"Yes."
"And you watched my daughter grow up without a father."
Cole began crying.
Laura felt no sympathy.
"Why are you on this flight?"
Cole looked up.
"Because Thomas Mercer found the original Nightglass records."
"And?"
"He contacted me."
"Why?"
"He thought I wanted to help expose the program."
Laura stared at him.
"But you wanted the evidence."
Cole nodded.
"I was supposed to retrieve it before anyone else could."
"Who sent you?"
Cole hesitated.
Laura leaned forward.
"Victor Sloane?"
Cole shook his head.
"No."
Laura frowned.
"Then who?"
Cole swallowed.
"Richard Halden."
Laura stepped back.
"But Halden is threatening Sophie."
"Yes."
"And Sloane is trying to kill everyone connected to the program."
"Yes."
"Then why would Halden send you?"
Cole looked toward the cockpit.
"Because Halden wanted the evidence before Sloane could destroy it."
Laura stared.
"Why?"
Cole's eyes filled.
"Because he finally decided to confess."
Laura couldn't speak.
Cole continued.
"Halden was prepared to testify."
"He had contacted federal investigators."
"But Sloane discovered the plan."
Laura felt the pieces shifting again.
"Then who interfered with the airplane?"
Cole looked down.
"One of Sloane's people."
"Who?"
Cole whispered.
"The man you trusted."
Laura's stomach tightened.
"Who?"
Cole raised his eyes.
"Daniel Mercer."
Laura stared at him.
"No."
Cole nodded.
"Thomas found the evidence."
"But Daniel was already working for Meridian."
Laura shook her head.
"You're lying."
Cole leaned forward.
"Ask him why he requested a fighter pilot instead of another airline pilot."
Laura went still.
Cole continued.
"Ask him why he knew you were in seat 8A."
Laura's hands began shaking.
"Ask him why every emergency message appeared only after you entered the cockpit."
Laura turned toward the front of the airplane.
The cockpit door was closed.
Behind it, Daniel Mercer was flying nearly three hundred passengers toward safety.
Or toward something else.
Laura began walking.
Her heart pounded with every step.
She reached the cockpit door and requested entry.
No answer.
She tried again.
"Daniel."
Silence.
Then the speaker beside the door activated.
Mercer's voice came through.
Calm.
Controlled.
Almost gentle.
"I'm sorry, Laura."
She froze.
"Daniel, open the door."
"I can't."
"Why?"
A long silence followed.
Then Mercer spoke again.
"Because my brother wasn't the only one who knew what happened to Nathan."
Laura felt the world stop.
"What are you saying?"
Mercer's voice broke.
"I was there."
Laura stared at the locked door.
"Where?"
"In the operations center."
"The night your husband died."
She could barely breathe.
"Daniel..."
He interrupted her.
"There's something you need to know before we land."
"What?"
Mercer took a shaky breath.
"Nathan's last transmission didn't end when you lost contact."
Laura pressed one hand against the door.
"What do you mean?"
"There was another recording."
"Thomas found it."
Laura's voice came out as a whisper.
"What did Nathan say?"
Mercer was silent for several seconds.
Then he answered.
"He said your name."
Laura closed her eyes.
"And then?"
Mercer's voice trembled.
"He said, 'Tell Laura I know who betrayed us.'"
Laura felt tears slide down her cheeks.
"Who?"
The cockpit speaker crackled.
Mercer whispered the answer.
May you like
"Someone who was at your wedding."
And then, without warning, the cockpit door's emergency warning sounded.
