Page 56 of Mile High Ruin

Vadim doesn’t flail or hesitate. He knows exactly how to hurt someone.

Hale manages to raise an arm, but Vadim knocks it aside and hits him across the jaw.

I hear footsteps behind us, and then several people arrive at once. Marek reaches Vadim first and grabs him around one arm while Anton catches the other.

Hale slides down the wall, blood pouring from his nose.

Vadim tears partly free, and goes for him again.

“Vadim!” Marek gets between them, planting himself directly in Vadim’s path.

“Move.”

“No.”

“Marek.”

“Do you want to die mid-air?” Marek snaps, struggling to keep him back. “He’s the captain. He’s supposed to be landing us.”

Vadim’s eyes remain locked on Hale. For several seconds, I genuinely think Marek’s reasoning is not going to matter.

Then the cockpit door opens, and the copilot appears. He takes in the blood on the floor, Hale against the wall, Vadim being restrained by two men, and me standing beside the jump seat.

“What the hell happened?”

Vadim turns toward him. “Why did you activate the fasten-seatbelt sign?”

The copilot looks confused. “What?”

“You announced turbulence and ordered everyone into their seats. Why?”

The man glances toward the cockpit, then back at Vadim. “Captain Hale told me to put the sign on.”

“Was there turbulence?”

A hesitation. “No.”

Vadim’s expression changes. Barely. “What was the weather indication?”

“Clear ahead. Maybe some light chop later, but nothing requiring an announcement.”

The air seems to leave the cabin.

I look at Hale. His face has gone pale beneath the blood.

The copilot follows my gaze, and understanding begins to form. “That was his idea,” he says quickly. “He told me he wanted everyone seated for a while because he needed to check something in the cabin. I didn’t know what he was planning.”

Vadim looks down at Hale. “He is drunk.”

The copilot’s expression tightens. “I smelled alcohol earlier, but I didn’t realize how much he’d had.”

“He is not touching the aircraft controls again.”

Hale tries to push himself upright. “You don’t have the authority⁠—”

Vadim takes one step toward him.

Hale stops speaking.