by Nova Rain
Sweet…
Of all the women aboard that flight, I had to piss off a reporter. Not only that, but I had made a move on her, as well. Penny had the power to give me a serious headache. The stall might have been Barnes’s fault, but he had just 300 flying hours on a 777. As a more experienced officer, I was responsible for him. Still, I wasn’t going to be intimidated by a nosy reporter.
“You’re blocking my sun.” I complained, looking up at her.
“I’m afraid that doesn’t answer my question,” she continued. “Why aren’t you answering me, Captain Turner? What do you have to hide?”
“I’m flying back to New York in three hours, and you’re ruining the little time I have to myself,” I protested yet again, sliding my shades down the bridge of my nose.
“Typical,” Penny scoffed. “You’d rather bask in the sun, than let the world know what sort of professional you really are. You…”
Why won’t you shut up?
Yes, that’s what I thought of saying to her. That woman was getting on my nerves. But, just when I was ready to tell her off, I came up with a better idea. As she rambled on, I snatched the phone from her grasp. I tossed it behind me, before grabbing her by the wrist. A scream of fear escaped her, the moment I yanked her downward. Penny’s body crashed through the surface of the water with a big splash. Drops of water shot past me, onto my face, and my sunglasses, and a young couple nearby burst into laughter. Watching her emerge, I was grinning from ear to ear.
“I asked to be left alone. Twice,” I emphasized, my grin staying on. “It’s not my fault you didn’t listen.”
Penny growled, lifting her arm up, her gaze fixed with mine. With a simple thrust of my own arm, I gripped her wrist in mid-air, inches from my face.
“Stop pushing your luck, Ms. Green,” I requested in a calm tone. “Try this again, and I’ll call your editor in New York. I bet he’s going to love to hear that one of his reporters publically assaulted someone.”
“Are you threatening me?” She posed the question, furrowing her brow.
“I’m just stating my intentions,” I shrugged, releasing my grip. “Look, what’s it going to take for you to forget the whole thing?”
“Nothing,” her answer came fast, perhaps faster than I anticipated. “The people deserve to know the truth.”
“Will an engagement be enough?” I lowered my tone, staring at the water glistening off her hair. “You’ll…”
“Excuse me?” Her voice turned into a high-pitched squeal as her face twisted into an expression of surprise.
“Let me finish,” I requested. “As my fiancé, you’ll be able to fly across the States for free. All you have to do is escort me on company occasions. That’s it.”
“That’s two of my worst nightmares, wrapped up in a dreadful package,” she claimed, intensifying her stare. “Flying and dating you.”
“You’re afraid to fly?” I squinted, puzzled by her words.
“Yeah,” she admitted with a nod. “My editor sent my down to Florida to do a story about invasive species.”
“How can I help you with that?” I said, assuming a serious tone.
“You can’t,” she shook her head sideways. “You’re leaving today, remember?”
“Yeah; but I’ll be back on Friday afternoon. Then my next flight is at 4pm on Saturday,” I pointed out. “How long are you here for?”
“A week,” Penny informed me, floating towards the right edge of the pool. “I tell you what. I’m interviewing a python expert later today. She suggests we observe them in the wild; she’ll even try to catch a few. My editor’s idea was for me to videotape her doing that, but I’m just too scared of those damn things. Are you up for the task?”
“Sure, why not?” I attempted a languid tone, my response bringing a smile to her face. “Just don’t disclose anything about the flight, okay?”
“Meet me in the lobby in a couple of days, and I won’t,” she promised, turning her back to me. “7pm. Don’t be late.”
I smiled to myself as my gaze followed her soaking-wet figure. Blouse and pants alike were sticking to her skin, highlighting every curve in her body. Wouldn’t it be amazing if I… No. I couldn’t go there. I shouldn’t go there. Penny was smoking-hot, but she was also one of the few women who had shot me down. More than that, making another move on her, could spell disaster. I could even imagine the headlines. “Reckless pilot can’t keep his hands to himself.” I had no need, whatsoever, for that kind of publicity.
Chapter Four
Penny
“Log in to Skype. I need to talk to you.”
The text to my friend, Ava, was a bit too vague. Why? Because I wanted to vent, not talk. I was bursting with frustration. Jake’s uniform didn’t do him justice the night before. It hid every delicious thing about him, except his—gorgeous—face. He was a perfect example of the inverted triangular body shape.
Shoulders? Each broad enough to hold a concrete block.
Chest? Cut. Wide. Inviting.
Arms? Long and muscular, his shoulder muscles forming shadows over them.
His abs were hands down his best and most mouthwatering feature. They were almost perfectly symmetrical, with deep shadows adorning the ridges of his muscles.
All of the above had me wondering about one thing: why the hell was that terrible man blessed with such impeccable looks? Why was he so smolderingly-hot? So that he could take naïve women to bed and never call them again? Okay, one could argue that the body was a result of hours upon hours of grueling workouts, but that doesn’t happen to everyone. In fact, I knew quite a few cases of guys from college who lost tons of weight, but could never get a six pack, or toned muscles.
The incoming call on Skype came while I was putting a fresh change of clothes on. I clicked the “yes” button on my laptop and sat down on the bed, wondering why he had been so lucky.
“Hey girl!” Ava greeted me with a smile, her kitchen cabinets in the background. “How’s Miami? Have you been anywhere yet?”
“I almost went to hell last night, but they changed their minds about having a feisty girl like me down there,” I spoke in sarcastic tones. “My plane went into a dive over the city, Ava. The pilot was able to recover it, though.”
“That’s funny,” she remarked, her smile disappearing. “I haven’t read anything about that.”
“Go to YouTube. I’m sure someone will have posted a video there,” I suggested. “Anyway, that’s not my problem. Do you know who I ran into in the hotel lobby bar?”
“Who?”
“The captain of my flight himself,” I continued, an image of his wet face coming back to my mind. “He offered to buy me a drink. I dashed my drink in his face instead.”
“You and your temper,” Ava shook her head in disapproval. “That’s not a way to repay someone who saved your life.”
“Turner happens to be a ladies man, too,” I spoke in a weaker tone. “Judging by what a barmaid told me about him, he must be pretty successful. That bastard is beyond gorgeous.”
“Well, don’t leave me hanging here,” she urged, her eyes glinting with anticipation. “What does he look like?”
“A lot like the statues of Greek gods in the Museum of Art we visited in September,” I explained, remembering his ripped abs. “I saw him in the pool this morning. I didn’t know if I should punch him or kiss him.”
“When you get back, I’m signing you up for an anger management course,” Ava groaned, tightening her jaw. “I mean, you’re thirteen hundred miles from home, you have all the time in the world to enjoy yourself, and what do you do? You flat-out reject a hunky pilot, instead of going wild with him.”
“I don’t like arrogant people, Ava,” I reminded her about my attitude, putting some force in my voice. “You know that.”
“Well, you wouldn’t have to go and marry him, would you?” She wondered, her tone more high-pitched.
I let out an amused snort. “Your hunky pilot got pretty desperate when I told him I
was a reporter. He suggested a fake engagement. I’d get to fly anywhere in the States for free, in exchange for my silence.”
“Let me guess. You said ‘no’ to that, too,” Ava spoke in a monotonous voice, demonstrating her annoyance yet again.
“Of course I did!” I exclaimed. “I’m terrified of flying. I would also have to go to company dinners with him, as part of that arrangement.”
“You would go to insanely extravagant dinners, get to meet billionaires, on a gorgeous guy’s arm, in exchange for free flights across the country. Gee, I’m so sorry for you.” Irony was dripping from her tongue. “Do me a favor, Penny. Next time you’re in such a grave emergency, text someone else. Now, I’m late for my yoga class, because you couldn’t evaluate a situation properly.”
I parted my lips, ready to comment on her statement, but, just then, the screen went black. Ava ended our call, adding to my frustration. Her reaction confused me as much as it annoyed me. She could have expressed her disagreement in another way. Yet, she chose to ditch me, because she thought I was overreacting. I should have seen this coming. Ava and I didn’t always see eye to eye, especially when it came to men.
Chapter Five
Jake
“Sometimes I think you live under a rock. This video has gone viral, and you haven’t even noticed it yet?”
Linda Grimes’s words after our flight back to New York reminded me of my—poor—understanding of technology. The video she was referring to was just forty-two seconds long. For the two hundred people in the cabin though, those had to have been the longest and hardest forty-two seconds of their lives.
The video had captured their horror, along with a few, other disturbing pictures. The two trolleys that had rolled all the way down to the cockpit were a minor detail. My anxiety, along with the noises in the cockpit had prevented me from hearing people’s screams. An elderly woman had assumed the “brace for impact” position, saying a prayer. Couples were hugging each other, women were crying on their husbands’ shoulders. The last image broke my heart to pieces. A baby was screaming in her mother’s arms as she rubbed her daughter’s cheek.
It had been less than two minutes once we landed at JFK, when I received the notification on the radio.
“Captain Turner, first officer Barnes, your presence is required at the T4 VIP Delta Sky Club. Our customer service director and our airport general manager are expecting you.”
No surprises there. Those two had been made aware of the situation we had faced in Miami, and they had questions. Answering them would not be easy, especially for Barnes. His mistake could cost him his job.
“What do we tell them?” he wondered while we crossed the noisy terminal.
“We stick to the truth,” my response was sharp. “They have ways to determine whether we’re lying to them or not, so, it’s pretty much the only choice we’ve got.”
“I’m afraid, Captain,” Barnes confessed. “How did I screw up so bad?”
I chose not to respond to that as we entered the elevator. I had a good explanation for his blunder. I had even given it to him when I noticed it, but now wasn’t the time to scold him again. I needed to concentrate on the task at hand. Telling him off would not avail either of us.
The meeting room had not changed at all since the last time I’d been in there. It was just as cold and unwelcoming as ever, with a long table in the middle, cheap, plastic seats and three lights suspended from the ceiling. Ron Matheson, the customer service director was facing the door, whereas Howard Ellis, the airport general manager was staring at his laptop monitor.
“Captain Turner, it’s good to see you again,” Matheson gave me a polite smile. “I take it this is Mr. Barnes.”
“Yes, sir,” my second officer affirmed.
“Be seated,” Matheson gestured to the seats across from Ellis’s and his own. “Let me start by saying that our customer care hotline has been inundated with calls from happy passengers. All of them praised the skill and the cool head you exhibited during a moment of crisis. Many of them called you a ‘hero,’ Captain Turner.”
“I’m not a hero,” I rejected that notion. “I just put my training to good use.”
“That’s good, but I’d like to hear what you have to say about this.” Ellis interjected, rotating his laptop. “The boys in the control tower in Miami were kind enough to send us your flight path.” There was a graph with the triple seven’s course, depicting a slow decent from 35,000ft to 11,000. Right after that though, it showed a rapid decrease in altitude, until I was able to recover it from the stall.
“There’s a very simple explanation for all of this,” I spoke first, not allowing my co-pilot to open his mouth. “Barnes asked if he could land the plane while we were in cruising altitude. Since he’s not that experienced in a triple seven, I okayed it. I lowered the flaps, but hit the thrust reversers’ button with my elbow. I realized that I put the plane into a stall immediately. So, I took control of the aircraft and performed a textbook recovery.”
“So, this whole thing was accidental?” Ellis asked with a hint of suspicion in his voice.
“Yes,” I said with a nod. “If you’re looking to blame someone, blame my long arms.”
“Can you verify this, Mr. Barnes?” He shifted his gaze to my first officer.
“Yeah, that’s what happened,” Ted affirmed, his voice coming out lower than usual. “After identifying his error, Captain Turner was able to correct it.”
“Correct it?!” Ellis yelled, slamming his hand onto the table before focusing on me again. “You fucked up a perfectly good flight, Turner! I should have your ass for this!”
“Go ahead,” I encouraged, not at all intimidated by his outburst. “You want to fire me? Fire me,” I added, waiting for some sort of reaction. Yet, all Ellis did was huff in exasperation and palm his forehead, his eyes locked with Matheson’s. “Look, I know I messed up, but the truth is, United got some good press because of this. What would everybody think if they found out you laid off a hero?”
“That’s not the point,” Matheson spoke his mind. “You…”
“That’s exactly the point,” I interrupted him. “People will want to fly United even more, because they know their pilots are well-trained, and keep it together when things get dicey. Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t that mean profits will go up?”
Unlike earlier, I didn’t expect either of them to utter a word. Airlines, just like every other major corporation in the world, are about one thing: Money. By getting rid of a pilot with my spotless record and my good reputation, they would only harm themselves.
“That’s what I thought,” my voice broke the silence. “Now, excuse me. My flight to Indiana leaves in forty-five minutes. Have a good day.”
Finishing my sentence, I rose from my seat, while Barnes stared at me in utter disbelief. I left the meeting room, with him walking alongside me.
“What ever happened to sticking to the truth?” He asked, his voice an octave higher.
“That was the truth,” I emphasized, keeping my eyes on the crowded hallway up ahead.
“No, it wasn’t,” he disagreed, his tone weakening. “Thank you. You saved my ass back there.”
“I hope you learned something today,” I told him, my voice returning to its usual standards.
“Yeah,” Barnes giggled. “I work with a caring Captain.”
“No,” I groaned, my feet bolted to the ground. “You just saw how easy it is for them to lay someone off. Make no mistake, kid. They would have kicked me out if that stall hadn’t worked in their favor. They don’t care that those people were terrified to death, as long as it makes them money. That’s who we’re dealing with, Barnes. Remember that.”
I strode off, hoping that I had gotten through to him. Ted was still very new in our line of work. It was understandable for him to believe that everything was coming up roses. However, the truth was far from that. The world of aviation was cruel. One mistake could be enough for him to lose his job or even his
life. And if he wanted to survive, he had to realize that focusing on work was more important than partying all night long.
Chapter Six
Penny
“Watch out for pythons.”
I had heard that same phrase more than thirty times in the past couple of days, and frankly, I was getting tired of it. In the backseat of an open-top Land Rover, I scoured the Everglades, searching for “the species that was wreaking havoc upon other domestic species.” Brenda Thomas was adamant. The Burmese python was responsible for wiping out thousands upon thousands of other reptiles, mammals, and even alligators. I had no reason to doubt her, but I was way out of my comfort zone. I was a city girl. I knew little about wildlife, and that knowledge came from documentaries I had seen years ago. I hadn’t read the hundreds of books Brenda had. So, with a total amateur as a spotter, it came as no surprise to me that we had failed to spot even one of those elusive snakes in the past forty-eight hours.
Needless to say, my editor wasn’t thrilled with the news. I was down here to write a piece about “the modern plague of Miami,” and so far, all I had to show for my efforts, were pictures of irrelevant animals, like alligators and water snakes. Walter was getting more and more frustrated. Every time we spoke on the phone, I could hear his initial excitement when he asked about pythons. Afterwards, that enthusiasm had vaporized into thin air. I would talk about anything else for two or three minutes, and he wouldn’t interrupt me once. His words at the end of our phone calls were: “Better luck next time.”
Friday came, and with it, came a feeling of doubt. Sadly for me, Jake’s face was all over the internet. Despite his attempt to silence me, he hadn’t been able to do the same with the rest of the passengers on that flight. His so-called achievement had attracted a lot of attention. Would that playboy show up for our appointment, knowing that he would have nothing to gain? What a silly question… Of course he wouldn’t. Jake had better things to do with his time than chasing reptiles in the Everglades.