Chapter 5 - The Man in the Aisle
"Get down!"
Laura shouted.
The command cut through the cabin.
Elena moved first.
She pulled a passenger away from the aisle.
Laura grabbed Cole by his cardigan and dragged him sideways as the approaching man lunged.
He slammed into the seatback.
The black device fell from his hand.
It skidded beneath row thirteen.
Passengers screamed.
The man recovered quickly.
He reached for Laura.
She stepped away.
His fingers caught her sleeve.
The fabric tore.
Laura drove her shoulder into him, using his forward momentum to force him against the armrest.
He cursed.
"Stay out of this!"
"Then stop threatening my passengers."
He laughed.
"Your passengers?"
Laura didn't answer.
Two flight attendants rushed forward.
The man shoved one aside.
Laura caught his wrist before he could reach into his jacket again.
"Hands where I can see them."
He struggled.
She held on.
A large passenger from row fifteen stood up.
"Need help?"
"Yes."
"Hold his other arm."
The passenger obeyed.
Together they restrained the man while Elena secured his wrists using approved onboard restraints.
Laura stepped back, breathing hard.
Her pulse thundered in her ears.
She hadn't fought anyone in years.
She hated how familiar the adrenaline felt.
Elena retrieved the black device using a protective cloth.
"What is it?"
Laura examined it without touching the controls.
"I don't know."
The screen displayed a countdown.
Twenty-nine minutes.
A small line of text appeared beneath the numbers.
PHASE TWO.
Laura looked toward Cole.
His face had turned pale.
"Tell me what that means."
Cole swallowed.
"They're moving faster than I expected."
"Who?"
"Halden's people."
"Why?"
Cole glanced toward the restrained man.
"Because the evidence isn't where they thought it would be."
Laura crouched beside him.
"Where is it?"
Cole leaned closer.
"Thomas Mercer hid it."
"Daniel's brother?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
Cole shook his head.
"I don't know."
Laura felt anger surge.
"You keep telling me half the truth."
"Because the whole truth will get us killed."
She stared at him.
"Look around."
Nearly three hundred people were trapped in a pressurized metal cabin over the Atlantic Ocean.
A child was crying.
A woman whispered prayers.
The flight attendants were trying to maintain order.
Laura leaned closer.
"We are already in danger."
Cole looked down.
Then he whispered something that made her stop breathing.
"Thomas didn't hide the evidence in Madrid."
"Where did he hide it?"
Cole raised his eyes.
"On this airplane."
The restrained man began laughing.
Laura turned.
He was staring directly at her.
"You really think this is about evidence?"
May you like
He grinned.
"Major Vance, you haven't even figured out who the target is."
