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could be an air marshal.” I acted like I knew more about high-level law enforcement than he did.
“I saw the flight manifest beforehand. There is no air marshal. Trust me. I need to know before anyone else what you discover.”
“And then what?” I looked at him. “What are you going to do with a plane full of panicked passengers?”
He tucked his fingers against his jacket and peeled back the buttons. I saw the gun strapped against his chest.
“Holy shit,” I whispered. “What does that solve? We’re on an airplane. Holes equal destabilization. You’ll be the one who kills us all.”
“Shh. Keep doing what you’re doing. That’s what is most important.”
The faster I typed, the more rabbit holes I fell into. I was chasing online ghosts. It was as if they were trying to lead me into phantom chatrooms about the flight. I buried my head in my hands.
“I can’t do this. I can’t. There’s nothing here.” I wondered if Diamond Dragon had purposely sent me on a goose chase.
“You have to keep looking.”
“What if we’re overreacting and this is really just a backup on the ground with other aircraft? A traffic jam like the captain said?”
“I wouldn’t have blown my cover for a traffic jam. My alert was tagged from the bureau and since then I haven’t been able to get a message in or out. It’s like the signal on my phone is jammed. It has to be intentional. We don’t use the same frequencies as everyone else.”
I closed my eyes and leaned into the oversized seat. “Tell me again why you have a cover. You know me. Knew me,” I corrected. “You could have just asked if I wanted to join a team, as you put it.”
It didn’t make sense.
“I wasn’t the one doing the asking. Come on, don’t get off course. Keep at it.”
I shook my head. “No. I need more to go on. There’s more to this. More you aren’t telling me.”
“Like what?” he asked.
“Like the shit you’re keeping from me.”
He exhaled. “We don’t have time.”
“No, we don’t. But I’m going to find out anyway, or we’ll end up in a fiery heap of rubble and it won’t fucking matter.” I didn’t shake. I somehow kept my voice steady. Maybe the idea of dying this way was so preposterous I wouldn’t let myself go there.
“You’re asking me to reveal classified information.”
“I’m classified?”
“Parts of you are.”
“You’re asking me to believe this is a big coincidence? That suddenly after five years you’re vetting me for a top-secret FBI recruitment and our plane is about to go down? That you’re sitting next to me after walking out of my life without so much as a text. That the day you show up in my life, is the day my life is threatened? That’s a coincidence?”
“I don’t believe in coincidences.” He never had.
“Neither do I,” I answered. “So tell me.”
“Syd, there’s no time,” he argued.
“Talk faster.”
He shook his head and exhaled.
Was this how it ended? Us deadlocked in a battle of wills. A fight over who’s pride was stronger while the coffee was served next to us and the kids three rows backed watched a Disney movie. Was this what over actually meant?
Chapter Eight
