Max & Olivia Box Set

by Mark A Biggs

  I immediately regretting saying Good Man, knowing I was inviting a retort. ‘Don’t say anything,’ I commanded, pointing a finger towards him. Then it struck me, this was the game I loved to play with Linda, bantering back and forth.

  Is he really a buffoon or is he very clever and am I falling for his tricks?

  Monya’s private jet that had flown us to Moscow was fuelled and waiting to take us to Dubrovnik. This time we weren’t alone and were welcomed aboard by a smartly dressed hostess.

  ‘Good morning Claudia and sir. My name is Nikola and Monya has asked me to look after your needs on the flight. Can I get you anything?’

  ‘Breakfast,’ Max said before I had a chance to decline the offer.

  What the hell, I thought, why not and said, ‘That sounds good and so does coffee.’

  ‘I’ll just fetch the pilot and co-pilot their coffees,’ said Nikola, ‘and, the moment we are in the air, I will organise your breakfast.’

  We had been on board for ten minutes when the plane started taxiing down the runway followed by a sprint into the sky. Outside, not a cloud could be seen and I gazed out the window, entranced by the endless blue and the green of the countryside. Soon, Nikola was back, holding a tray, on which were positioned our coffees.

  ‘Milk?’ she asked.

  ‘That would be nice,’ said Max.

  I nodded, still admiring the beautiful scenery from my window.

  Nikola placed the coffees on a table that separated Max from myself. Two minutes passed before I focused my attention inside the plane and moved my hand to the coffee cup ready to take a sip. I noticed that Max hadn’t touched his drink and was gazing at me.

  ‘What’s wrong?’

  ‘Have you met Nikola before?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘It’s probably nothing. Olivia tells me all the time that I’m paranoid but something doesn’t feel right. Nikola is too nice – you don’t know her and she was ignorant of my name. If Monya had asked her to look after you, he would have told her who was flying with you. But, maybe he wouldn’t? I don’t know, Claudia, but I would feel a whole lot better if you went up front and checked on our pilots, before I take a sip – you know, to make sure the coffee has agreed with them!’

  ‘It’s not unusual for a hostess to be on a flight but, you’re right, I haven’t met Nikola and Monya would generally tell me if someone new was on the scene.’

  I too was now feeling uneasy.

  He would always tell me.

  Before rising from my seat, I checked for Nikola and, seeing nothing, I assumed that she was busy in the galley.

  ‘Wait here,’ I said, ‘and yell out if she returns and starts towards the cockpit while I’m in there.’

  I made my way to the pilots and tapped lightly on the door. There was no reply so I turned the door handle, pushed the door open and poked my head inside. Max was right, the pilot and co-pilot were slumped at the controls. The plane must have been on auto-pilot as we were flying level and steady. Quietly, I pulled the door closed and made my way back to my seat, unseen by Nikola.

  ‘Your right,’ I whispered. ‘The coffee must be drugged, but I couldn’t tell if the pilots were unconscious or dead. We’re on autopilot.’

  ‘What’s the plan?’ asked Max quietly.

  ‘Let’s play dead and, when she gets close enough, we take her out. Wait for my move.’

  Max didn’t reply but closed his eyes, sank back into his chair and let his arm fall over the armrest and into the aisle. I took a similar pose but with head resting back against the seat and my mouth slightly ajar. I held my eyes lightly closed so that I could just make out the shapes in front of me.

  We didn’t have to wait long and I sensed her before I saw her. Then she spoke.

  ‘Well, well, well, the great Claudia. Not so impressive now, are we and they said you would be difficult to kill.’

  Lunging with the ferocity and speed of a cobra, I struck, gripping her around the throat. The motion sent her crashing to the ground and her head thudded and then cracked when it slammed into the floor. She went limp as I fell on top of her.

  ‘How is she?’ I heard Max ask.

  ‘Dead!’ I replied coldly, while standing.

  ‘Well that’s taken a nasty turn. I hope you can fly this thing?’ he added sarcastically before continuing. ‘Do you know why she would want to kill you?’

  ‘I have no idea,’ I confessed. ‘Any number of people would be pleased to see the end of me.’

  ‘What a wonderful life you must live, Claudia but back to my serious question. Can you fly the plane?’

  ‘No.’ I said and paused before taking a deep breath. ‘Let’s hope the pilots are alive.’

  Grabbing Nikola, I pulled her out of the way so that Max could leave his seat without tripping over the body.

  ‘Come on,’ I said. ‘Let’s go up front and find out what we are dealing with. I have no intention of dying up here!’

  We made our way to the cockpit and, as before, the pilots were slumped at the controls. Firstly, I checked the co-pilot.

  ‘He’s dead.’ I said to Max.

  ‘And the pilot?’ he asked.

  Turning, I placed two fingers on her neck and felt for a pulse.

  ‘She’s alive! Can you hear me?’ I said loudly, but she didn’t respond.

  I put both hands on her shoulders and repeatedly shook her gently while saying again, ‘Can you hear me?’

  Her eyes opened and stared blankly back at me before closing again.

  ‘Come on, wake up, wake up,’ I said loudly while shaking her more vigorously.

  This time, when her eyes opened, they showed some signs of life, awareness like a candle fighting to stay alight in a breeze.

  ‘Will you be able to land the plane?’ I demanded with no regard for her wellbeing.

  She shook her head.

  ‘Can we get you anything?’ I heard Max ask kindly.

  ‘Water,’ she rasped in a voice reminiscent of a person dying of thirst after two weeks lost in a desert.

  ‘I’ll get it,’ Max answered before leaving the cockpit.

  Why didn’t I ask if she needed anything?

  I dismissed the thought as weak and stared out of the windscreen into the expanse of blue.

  ‘What the hell are you doing?’ yelled Max angrily when he returned. ‘Keep her awake, keep her talking or she will die and we with her.’

  I knew that he was right so began shaking her again. ‘Max is here with your water. Come on, wake up! We have your water.’

  She roused and Max pushed past me holding the glass. He took her head and cradled it with a wrinkled hand, lifted it and pressed the glass tenderly against her lips, helping her to take a sip of water.

  ‘We think you were poisoned. We are sorry but your co-pilot didn’t make it. Now listen to me, you have to stay with us.’

  He looked directly into her eyes and in a firm but caring voice said, ‘Do you understand me. You can’t go back to sleep.’

  Before she had a chance to respond, he continued, ‘I want you to tell us how to land this plane.’ Turning to me he directed, ‘Claudia, get the co-pilot out of that seat. You’re going to fly this thing.’

  He returned his attention to the pilot. ‘What’s your name?’

  ‘Melanie-Jane.’

  ‘I knew a Melanie-Jane once, a wonderful artist – she had this mad dog but kind of cute. Can you paint?’

  ‘No,’ she replied, ‘but I do have a crazy dog, a golden retriever called Basil.’

  ‘That’s it, Melanie-Jane,’ continued Max. ‘I want you to keep talking to us and I want to hear all about Basil but can you walk us through a landing first? You will do the chit-chat and we’ll do the flying.’

  ‘I don’t have to because we have ILS, an Instrument Landing System on board. All you must do is put out a MAYDAY call. We change course towards a major airport and traffic control will do the rest. They will tell you how to program the computer and the plane will land its
elf.’

  ‘Sweetie, that’s not going to happen,’ I interrupted. ‘If we do that the authorities will be all over us when we land. They will use it as an excuse to raid Monya’s house and our government connections won’t be able to stop them. We either land at our private airstrip or crash into the sea where nobody can find us.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Claudia,’ said Melanie-Jane, ‘I’m not thinking straight. There is another way. We have parachutes onboard. I will tell you how to lose altitude until we are at a safe height to open the doors. You two bail out while I hold the plane steady and level, I’ll then use the auto-pilot to get me over the sea before ditching her nose first into the water. Nobody will ever find it.’

  ‘What about you?’ asked Max.

  ‘Someone has to fly it into the water, assuming I can. Unfortunately, my arms seem to be numb but some feeling is returning.’

  ‘That’s not going to happen either,’ I interjected harshly, staring at Melanie-Jane. ‘You won’t be capable of flying it into the sea.’

  ‘For a second, I thought you cared,’ said Max mockingly.

  ‘I care about a lot of things and not dying is one of them,’ I snapped back. ‘Okay Melanie-Jane, let’s land.’

  She didn’t respond.

  ‘Max, wake her up.’

  Looking over I saw her head had slumped as if unconscious. It took a couple of attempts before Max could again rouse her.

  ‘What do I do?’ I asked.

  In a groggy but coherent voice, Melanie-Jane started her landing instructions.

  ‘Look out of the window. We are flying level because the autopilot is on. When you want to descend, push gently on the stick, the steering wheel in front of you, and pull back when we are ready to level out, just like a video game. Because you can see the ground out of the window and the sky at the same time, you will know when we are flying level again. Look to your right. See a button glowing blue and displaying the letters AP? That’s the autopilot. I want you to look directly in front of you. Can you see the compass? It has an image of an airplane inside of it.’

  ‘Yes,’ I answered.

  ‘Good, underneath, there’s a digital readout from the compass giving us our bearing. It’s showing SW 225. That means we are flying South West on bearing 225, and you need to stay on that course. Now take a deep breath and hold the wheel. Max, I want you to push the blue button and switch off the autopilot because I want Claudia to take us down a few thousand feet.’

  ‘This one?’ Max asked, pointing toward the blue button, but Melanie-Jane didn’t respond. He gave her another gentle shake before repeating the question.

  ‘That’s it, now push it in and remove your finger.’

  The moment the autopilot light went out I could feel the plane through my hands.

  ‘I’ve got it,’ I said.

  ‘Good, Claudia, now push gently forward on the stick.’

  I followed her instructions. The nose of the plane tipped downwards and we began descending. Through the window the ground that was once a blur took form and I saw that we were flying over a mountain range which was becoming closer.

  ‘When do you want me to level out?’ I asked, but Melanie-Jane didn’t respond.

  ‘Melanie-Jane!’ I repeated loudly. ‘When do I level out?’

  She didn’t answer.

  ‘Max!’

  ‘You’re doing well,’ Max replied calmly, ‘but I think you should level out now, because we have some towering mountains in front of us.’

  I pulled gently back on the stick until we were flying level.

  ‘Is she dead?’ I asked.

  When he didn’t reply, I looked across and saw him checking her breathing.

  ‘Unconscious again,’ he said finally.

  Holding the plane level, I could see that, within five or ten minutes, I would either have go up and over or around a looming mountain.

  ‘See if you can wake her,’ I said and then listened.

  Max called out, ‘Melanie-Jane, wake up, Melanie-Jane.’

  After a few unsuccessful attempts, he fell silent before asking a question that I was not expecting, not here and not now.

  ‘Why didn’t you kill me back in Scotland?’

  Before I had a chance to answer, the plane suddenly started dropping, free falling towards the ground. It was not a dive, more a falling brick. The force knocked Max off his feet and I managed to stay at the controls only because I had the wheel to hold onto. We were out of control and losing altitude. If we didn’t stop the descent we would smash into the mountain side.

  I pulled hard back on the wheel, trying to regain some height, but still we fell, heading closer to the ground. I pulled back even more. The control panel in front of me lit up like a Christmas tree with flashing lights and warning buzzers simultaneous echoing throughout the cockpit.

  ‘Push down!’ Max yelled. ‘Push down or we’ll stall.’

  Contrary to my intuition which was telling me to pull back, because we were still heading downwards, I did as he instructed and pushed forward.

  ‘More power,’ he commanded next. ‘The throttles are in the middle and on your right. Push them forward, gently.’

  With the stick pushed forward the nose slowly began to respond and faced towards the ground. Following Max’s instructions, I added more power and the ground raced towards us. Looking to my right and then to the left, I saw that we were diving between the mountains and into a valley.

  ‘That’s it,’ I heard Max’s voice say as our plane screamed ever downward. ‘Now ease back on the stick. I’m going to reduce the power for you and, when she points upwards, I will give her a gut full.’

  A what?

  ‘More power,’ Max said.

  Gradually our decent began to slow, but the ground kept racing towards us.

  ‘Come on,’ I said. ‘Pull up, pull up.’

  We were now so close to the earth that I could make out individual rocks below; then, as if the plane heard my command, the nose began to lift. Still the land was rushing closer until finally we began to level out and fly around forty feet above the ground with mountains surrounding us on either side. The plane slowly lifted skyward and, at the same time, shook violently as Max pushed the throttles forward and the jet engines roared with maximum power.

  With the immediate threat of crashing into the ground over, the next obstacle, a solid wall of rock, now confronted us as the valley came to an end.

  ‘Climb, come on climb,’ repeated Max, and I pulled back harder on the stick. The engines bellowed.

  As the mountain loomed in front and slamming into it seemed inevitable, sweat started trickling down my face. I recalled my military training and focused. Evermore we pointed skywards until the plane felt as if it was climbing vertically, scaling the mountain only feet away which filled the front window.

  When everything seemed lost, the mountain peak fell away and we cleared the top. Breathing out in relief, I heard Max’s voice and glanced over. I saw him hanging onto the pilot’s chair, trying to stop himself from being sent flying to the rear of the cockpit.

  ‘Ease the nose down, Claudia,’ he said coolly, ‘and reduce the throttle. I can’t reach it for you. Then let her climb gently. We still need to get over that big one in front.’

  With the crisis over, the cockpit gradually returned to normal. The alarms ceased flashing and buzzing, engines gave a more comfortable hum and Max stood without clinging on.

  ‘I think we hit an air pocket, or air turbulence – anyway, well done, Claudia.’

  ‘Thank you, Max,’ I said, wiping the perspiration from my face with one hand and levelling the plane with the other. ‘Once we clear that big one, we will be free of the mountain range, then we will have to think of putting her down. How’s Melanie-Jane?’

  ‘Melanie-Jane,’ I heard him call before saying, ‘I almost managed to rouse her, but then she drifted off again.’ After a short pause, he said. ‘Claudia, you didn’t answer my question from before. Why didn’t you kill me
in Scotland?’

  He’s still asking me, after all we’ve just been through and what is to come. What is it about this man?

  In truth, I had been thinking about this question since Scotland. I always knew at some point he was going to ask but hadn’t settled on an answer. Sometimes I rehearsed punishing him for not knowing who I was and blaming him for everything I hated about my life. At other times, I heard myself speaking warmly and saying, you don’t remember me? I was the little girl you saved, and thanking him for all I loved about my life. I’m unsure how long I was lost in my own thoughts before I heard Max’s voice breaking the silence.

  ‘I know you, don’t I?’

  ‘What makes you say that?’

  ‘I saw it written in your eyes the first morning on the submarine and then again when we were having dinner with Monya. You gazed at me with warmth but I sensed disappointment too, perhaps because I hadn’t recognised you. Mostly, when you look at me, you can’t hide the loathing and I fear that must be an awful burden for you to bear. Your feelings are contrary but together they tell me that I should know you.’

  There was an awkward moment of silence before Max continued, ‘You’re wrong, Claudia, because I have never forgotten you. I still see you in my dreams and you are forever etched into my heart as that little girl and not the woman you are. I see you now.’

  He paused again, trying to entice me into filling the void.

  I wasn’t going to say anything but, despite the lump in my throat and my lonesome emptiness I had to know, I found myself saying. ‘When did you know?’

  ‘I was reminded of you when Monya mentioned Macinec. Then slowly it seemed to make sense. I wasn’t sure until now, when you asked me, when.’

  I felt tricked but relieved at the same time and, unsure of what to say, chose silence. Max wasn’t going to let up.

  ‘Is this the life for which you hoped?’

  ‘It’s the life I know,’ I replied.

  ‘That wasn’t my question.’

  ‘Sweetie, you don’t know me,’ I retorted angrily, before regaining my composure and continuing. ‘You have no idea of the kind of person I am.’