by Violet Paige
“If we don’t know who it is, what do we do?”
AJ didn’t answer right away. I saw the way his eyes bounced around the cabin, assessing everything in sight. Cindy was headed toward us.
She smiled, tucking a strand of purple hair back in her clip. “Do you two need anything? An extra blanket, perhaps?” she asked.
“Are there any updates from the captain?” AJ looked at her.
She shook her head. “No. But I’m sure he’ll make an announcement soon.” She flicked the watch on her wrist. We all knew how long it had been. We should be on the ground by now.
There was no way they were going to be able to keep up this ruse without a mutiny from the passengers. Not to mention, the control tower and the FAA would become involved. There was no reason for this flight to continue to circle. They would be ordered to land. Unless, they lied.
I waited for Cindy to duck into coach before I posed the question to AJ.
“How could Beechum keep the plane circling?” I asked.
He huddled close to me. “What do you mean?”
“We were supposed to land, so authorities on the ground are going to get involved if the plane doesn’t land soon. They have to check in with the control tower. How does he hold them off to buy time?”
AJ inhaled. “Well, he could tell air traffic control there’s a maintenance issue.”
“But wouldn’t that mean we would have to land immediately?”
He cocked his head to the side. The light from the window in front of us caught the midnight streaks in his eye. For a second he looked a little less intense. A little more like the guy I knew in college, not the hardened FBI agent he had become.
“Not if the maintenance problem is the one thing that could keep us from landing—the landing gear.”
“Oh shit. You’re right.”
“I know it’s a long shot, but you have to try to get a message to the Bureau through any channel you have.”
“They won’t believe me.”
“I know.” His eyes pinched together. “It will take hours for them to vet your threat before they act on it, but it might be the only communication we can get to the ground. And let’s face it, if something happens to us, they are going to need a trail of bread crumbs to figure this thing out.”
I nodded. “You’re right. I’ll send out a chain message that will keep resending until someone opens it. That’s the best I can do.”
AJ smiled. “You never have given yourself enough credit, Syd.” He sighed. “How quickly can you plant that in the FBI’s email system?”
I typed in a few more codes and worded the email. I wanted it to sound credible so that it didn’t end up on the bottom of the stack of threats to examine.
“Done,” I announced.
“Incredible.”
As if on cue, the speaker crackled overhead.
“Good news, folks. This is your captain. I have an update from the flight deck. We have been cleared to land. Flight crew, cross check for arrival.”
There was a flutter of cheers around us. If only they knew they were being led down a trail of lies.
My stomach dropped. Despite the relief and shift in atmosphere coming from the passengers, I knew something else horrible was about to happen.
Chapter Fourteen
AJ pulled out his phone. He tried to restart it. “I think I was looking for the wrong device when I checked the cabin earlier. I was looking for a bomb when I should have been looking for a speaker like box.”
We played along and buckled our seatbelts like the other passengers when Jeff eyed us, but both of us knew there was no way Beechum was going to land the plan. The marketplace was still open and the documents along with control over the crew was for sale.
I was certain Beechum wasn’t landing until he had orders from his new boss. I had no idea how long something like this could continue. It was likely Jelly Bean Jack didn’t care. He wanted to vet the buyer and secure funds. A man willing to hijack a plane wasn’t playing by a standard rulebook. There was no guide where he was concerned.
“What do you mean a speaker?” I asked.
“My phone jammed when we took off. Have you seen anything about me in the files for sale? Any mention of an agent?”
I shook my head. “Not from what I’ve seen. It’s primarily for Project Compass and Silver Siren.” I winced even using that alias.
“Good. That’s good. I doubt they know I’m on the plane. I didn’t fly as AJ Hart. Whoever bought this flight would have checked the manifest. They don’t know there’s an agent onboard. They don’t know my identity. We have a fucking break, finally.”
“Then why jam the signal?”
“I’m sure it’s a precaution. If an air marshal had boarded last minute, trying to make another flight, I doubt they would have been able to kick him off. He would have had an outside line. The jamming frequency was just a fail-safe. So let’s find it and get my phone back on.”
“In the plane?”
He nodded. “Yeah. We need to turn it off. It has a manual switch. Someone on the crew used it once we were in the air.”
“That means you’re sure it’s in the cabin.”
“I’m positive. If we can turn it back on, I’ll be able to communicate with the Bureau. We’ll have backup on the ground wherever they put this jet down.”
It felt like there was a small shred of hope. Something we could do to shift the power back into our hands. But where were we going to find it? And how did we start walking around when everyone else was preparing to land? We had been instructed not to move around the cabin and Beechum had turned on the fasten seatbelt sign. Any movement on our part would be noticeable.
I looked out the window. I could see the Capitol in the distance. It was as if the clouds had parted just enough to let the sun bounce off the rotunda. If I peered hard enough I could see the Washington Monument beyond that. It didn’t look as looming from this vantage point. That’s how everything looked from the sky. Unassuming and miniscule. Although, I knew in the parks and buildings below people were busy sloughing through their lives. Some were in church on a Sunday. Others were spending time together on their day off.
Carrying on. Living. Oblivious that overhead an entire plane full of innocent passengers was at the mercy of some of the world’s darkest and soulless creatures. Men who put a price tag on life, and payed it for sport. The bile rose in the back of my throat.
But just as we began to descend into the D.C. area I felt the plane start to pull up. I glanced at AJ.
“Folks, this is your captain again. Looks like we have a slight mechanical issue we need to deal with before we’re going to be able to land. Just be patient with us while my co-pilot and I go through the safety procedures for ensuring our landing gear is functioning properly. I don’t want you to worry. We’re going to get you on the ground safely. Just hang tight a little longer.”
“And that’s how they’re going to buy a little more time, while someone buys this flight and everything they have on Project Compass.”
I knew everything AJ said was true, but what in the hell were we going to do to stop the marketplace sale from happening and the pilot from following orders?
Chapter Fifteen
I couldn’t believe we were having brunch together the Sunday after Becca and Travis’s party. Had the bar been lowered so far, that when a guy followed through on a promise it was actually impressive to me? Or was it because it was AJ? The elusive and albeit mysterious hottie from college. It didn’t matter. I still tingled all over. My lips felt bruised and raw. I could have kissed him through breakfast and not cared that I was hungry. He satisfied a different kind of craving I had.
AJ smiled. “Do you think this coffee is better than the stuff I used to make at Buzz Spot?” he teased. He looked especially sexy this morning with the aviator sunglasses pressed against his nose. It wasn’t unbearably hot yet.
I laughed. “Maybe a little bit.” I smirked, already loving how quickly we fell into
flirting.
It was close to 3am by the time we made it to my apartment last night. Neither one of us seemed ready for the night to be over, or at least to go in different directions. Sleep in different beds. Wake up alone. Untangle our bodies. It was an unspoken decision when he climbed in bed with me.
The waiter returned to our table with our orders. My eyes went wide when I saw how beautiful the display was. This was one of those brunch spots where presentation almost meant more than the meal. The chef was more apt to be an artist than a cook.
“This looks amazing. I’m almost afraid to touch it.”
AJ grinned. “I’m starving. I could eat anything right now. No food is that pretty.”
I broke off a piece of bacon, tempted to feed him across the table, I was giddy and equally shocked at how I had suddenly become one of those girls. Incredibly smitten and enamored by my date.
“Tell me about your family.” AJ cut into an omelet.
I blinked. “My family?”
“Yeah. Where are they? Do you have brothers? Sisters? Anyone here in town? Tell me all the stuff I should have remembered about you.”
It hadn’t been long enough that I still didn’t have to bite my lip to fight off the sting of tears. I cleared my throat, and pressed my palms into the linen napkin against my thighs.
I reached for the fresh cup of coffee. It was always easier if I didn’t make eye contact. I focused on the cream swirling in the coffee.
“I have a mom in Raleigh and my sister. She’s in high school.” I took a sip and swallowed. “My dad died last year.”
“Oh shit. I’m sorry, Sydney.”
I cleared my throat. “Thank you. It’s…it was unexpected.”
“I bet.” He stared at me across the table. “What happened? You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I didn’t know what I was asking. Bad habit of asking too many questions.”
“It’s all right. I’m ok. Really.” I paused. “He was out running in our neighborhood, like he did every single day.” I could picture him in the shorts that Kelly and I always told him were a complete embarrassment to us and Mom. They had stripes on the side and were an obnoxious orange color. “Anyway, he collapsed while he was running. One of the neighbors found him on the sidewalk, but by the time they called an ambulance it was too late. There wasn’t anything they could do there or at the hospital.”
“God, that’s terrible.”
“Thanks.” I smiled weakly. I hated how talking about my family brought darkness wherever I went. There wasn’t a happy and graceful way to get out of it. “My sister has one year of high school left, and I don’t know what my mom is going to do once she graduates. It’s going to be a rough year next year.”
“Does that mean you’re thinking of moving back to North Carolina?” he asked.
“No. Not really. It’s not a bad drive on the weekends if Mom needs me. She’s fine financially. We all are. My dad had us covered.”
I didn’t want to divulge just how large my inheritance was. I wouldn’t have to work again if I didn’t want to, but at twenty-four I wasn’t ready to live a retired privileged life. There was normalcy in keeping my job at DataCorp. Even if it did bore me to tears most days. I used my money in other ways. Over-the-top vacations. Label-only clothes and shoes. Expensive tickets. I didn’t flash it around or flaunt it to anyone. It was a secret I kept that only those with an eye for money would see.
“But I’m adopted,” I blurted.
“What?”
Once I started telling AJ my story, I kept going. “Yeah. My parents adopted me as an infant. So they are my parents, but I have another family out there somewhere.”
“Is your sister adopted too?”
I shook my head. “No. Actually, Kelly is one of those miracle unicorn babies. They told us both the stories so many times. After years of trying to get pregnant they decided to adopt. That’s when I was matched with them. And then when I was in the first grade—surprise. My mom found out she was pregnant with Kelly. It was kind of crazy.”
“Sounds like it. Have you ever tried to find them?” he asked. “Your birth parents?”
“When I was in high school I became obsessed with it. I wanted to know what they looked like. How they made such a hard decision. I wondered if they wanted to meet me. If they ever thought about me.” I sighed. “I think I got distracted in college and honestly was so absorbed in myself I just stopped looking, but I’ve started trying again. Just little things. I haven’t hired a private investigator or anything, but ever since my dad died it’s been more important to me. I don’t know if I can explain it.”
“Yeah. I get that. I’m not adopted, but I can imagine you would want to find your biological parents. It makes sense.” He refilled our coffee cups with the carafe the waiter had left. “You know I might be able to help you out.”
“How?” I added enough cream to lighten the dark coffee to a caramel color.
“I have access to every database you could imagine. The FBI has a wide reach”
“What? Really? You do? They do?” I was tripping over my words.
He leaned into the table. The cups rattled with the weight of his forearm. “I can’t break any laws, you understand.”
I nodded quickly. “Of course not. I wouldn’t ask you to do that.”
He grinned wickedly, and I wondered how much of AJ was a rule breaker. A bad boy. A man with a throw-caution-to-the-wind attitude. Was that why he wanted to be in the FBI or was it to stop people who walked on the more dangerous side of the law? Maybe he liked to flirt with darkness more than I realized.
“I’ll see if there is something I can do maybe to help you get a lead or something.”
“That would be amazing.” My stomach did a somersault.
“No problem.” He leaned back in his seat.
I didn’t know what to say after that. He had given me a gift in the form of hope. There was nothing concrete or tangible. It didn’t mean that I didn’t feel it. The possibility. The potential that I would have information about my biological parents. It was incredible.
The waiter waltzed over and slid the check toward AJ. I offered to pay, but he turned me down.
“I’ve got this. I owe you this cup of coffee.”
I laughed. “Ok. Fine. I’ll accept that.”
“Plus, I like taking you out. Does this count as our first or second date?”
I looked upward, pretending to think. “Hmm. We didn’t go to the party together, so that can’t be the first date.”
“But the second half of the night should count. The part in that empty townhouse.” I saw his eyebrows lift. I giggled. If all our dates were as hot as last night with AJ I knew I’d fall for him so hard and so fast it would defy logic.
He stood from the table and I met him at the edge of the patio dining. He looked at me and I wondered if our date had ended. I dreaded going home without him.
He took my hand in his. “Where to next?” he asked.
I smiled widely. So much my face practically hurt. I thought about all the things we could on a summer day in D.C. The museums. The parks.
“How about your place?” I suggested.
“Hell, yes.” He lifted me toward him and I clung to his neck. “Come on.” He tugged me behind him and we took off around the corner toward AJ’s apartment.
Chapter Sixteen
“Mechanical issue? What the hell is wrong with this flight?” The man behind our row raised his voice. I peeked at him between the slit in the seats. “I’ve already missed my connection. Now this shit. I want vouchers. Lots of vouchers,” he yelled.
He made the woman next to him uncomfortable. She shifted her elbow farther from him.
“Where are we going to land?” AJ whispered to me. “What has Jelly Bean Jack said in the marketplace? Do you have a location for us?”
I shook my head. “It depends on where the buyer directs Beechum,” I answered. I kept my eyes on the screen. The activity on the marketplace picked up. I had no
way to determine which buyer Jelly Bean Jack would choose. “I’m sure they will come up with another cover story to redirect the flight to another airport.”
“Can you make us a buyer?” AJ asked. “We could get in on it. We can buy the Project Compass files and your safety.”
“I don’t see how. He’s verifying all the bids. I can’t create a shell fast enough that he won’t see right through it.”
“What about your personal accounts?”
I stared at him. “Are you crazy?” I stopped to lower my voice. “I’m not putting myself in that line of fire. And I’m certainly not linking my inheritance to the black market. No way. Besides, I have things scattered. It’s not all together. I don’t have that kind of time to transfer everything.” I didn’t like admitting how I had separated my inheritance so that it wasn’t vulnerable in one place.
“Even if it secures your freedom?” He raised his eyebrows.
“I’d give it all up if it was possible. It’s not,” I snapped. “I would need weeks to set up that kind of plan.”
“All right. All right. We’ll figure something else out.”
I was glad he had let it go. We needed to focus on something that would work. A way to keep the sale from happening. Or a way to intervene.
“I could try to hack into Beechum’s communication equipment. He has something in the cockpit, separate from the jet’s controls that is allowing him to receive orders. Maybe I could send him a message that he has been compromised. We could try to bring him over to our side and land the plane.” I considered what I was saying. “If we tell him we know what’s happening maybe we could be the ones to control him.”
AJ nodded. “Do it.”
“Ok. I hope he’s the kind of man who has a conscience.” I had a sickening feeling as soon as I said it, he wasn’t that kind of man.
I didn’t know where to start my route. I had to close out the marketplace and try to locate the channel Jelly Bean Jack needed for communication with the pilot. My available options were limited. That was the only good thing I had going for me.