20 In 5 -- Vol. II -- Deboarding Pass

“Can you help me?” The air hostess’ words barely masked fear.


The pilot and co-pilot exchanged quizzical looks. A 777 pretty much flies itself, but the regs make it clear that the cockpit is sacrosanct. “What’s going on?” asked the co-pilot, whose shirt bore an embroidered Lewis above the pocket.


The hostess swallowed hard. “We have a situation with a passenger. He’s—he’s acting strange.”

Between this and baggage fees,
I'll take the fees.

Lewis looked at the pilot, whose shirt read McKinnon. “Doug, it’s your call. I can go now.”


McKinnon swiveled in his seat. “Nancy, what’s happening? Is the guy armed?”


She shook her head. “No. I don’t think so. And he isn’t threatening the passengers. But he says…” She wrung her hands and swallowed hard again. “He says that he’s going to cause everybody on the plane to die.”


The two men were agog. “A terrorist?”


Nancy almost moaned. “No! I don’t think he’s a terrorist. But he’s back there, in 22B, sweating a lot and saying something about some change coming too early.” She twisted her face into an anguished grimace.


“Lew, check him out. I’m notifying Logan and have them patch us through to the FBI.” As Lewis nodded, McKinnon added “Keep it as quiet as possible. And be careful.”


“Roger.” Lewis unclipped his headset and followed Nancy through the quiet plane back to coach, where 22B was. It was almost midnight and most of the sixty-seven passengers were asleep or plugged into some device.


The man in 22B looked like he’d finished a strenuous workout. His face was horribly flushed and sheened with sweat. The man’s eyes were open wide and he was gulping breaths. His hands clutched the armrests as if to anchor himself against a storm. His eyes darted up at Lewis and Nancy, but he made no gesture or effort to speak with them.


Lewis squatted near the man. “Hi. I’m Commander Phil Lewis. Are you feeling ill, sir?”


The man shook his head tightly. “No! Please. Land this plane now! I don’t want anyone to die because of me!”


Lewis was about to assure the man everything was okay when suddenly, the man…

--

Continued in Volume II of "20 in 5." Please purchase a copy today to finish "Deboarding Pass;" available directly from Smashwords in a variety of e-book formats. Or you can purchase it from the Mis Tribus eBook Store. 


Included are the ending to "Deboarding Pass" along with 19 other flash fiction stories. Brought to you directly by Mis Tribus.