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Chapter 14
After five minutes he stopped talking, and looked at Andrea to see what kind of response there would be. In all the time he been speaking to her, her eyes had never left him, and she hadn’t stopped him at any stage. She hadn’t even gasped, let alone said anything.
Over the backdrop of the noise filled plane that still was thick with screams and whimpers, there was a strong silence between them. After what seemed an age, Andrea eventually spoke, “I don’t know what to think. There is so much of what you’ve just said that seems so improbable it’s laughable, and certainly if you’d have told me any of this when we were on the tube I’d have laughed in your face. However that is now tempered by what has gone on today. Some of it now seems to make sense, the main problem I have is trying to come to terms with the fact that I’ve been living a life controlled by someone else. It makes me feel kind of worthless.”
She stood up before continuing, “I think I need a little time to let this sink in, I’m going to go back to my seat. What do you plan to do?”
“Get a gun. Discreetly. I don’t want anyone else seeing for a couple of reasons.”
“Well, you don’t want to give them ideas, do you?”
“Not only that, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there was someone planted amongst us, who isn’t here as a hostage, but as a watcher. Someone who can report back when we get to our destination. It makes sense seeing as he’s killed all the armed hired help.”
“Won’t they expect someone to get a gun, and have sensors or something?”
“They wouldn’t expect it, as their programming would eliminate the chance of that, but I’ll lay odds that they’ll have it anyway, mainly because of the random factor I seem to bring to proceedings. Anyway I had thought about that, and it made me think. The hijackers on the original planes got guns on board and they went through all kinds of sensors. I’ll lay odds that they have some kind of porcelain gun, like a Glock. That’s what I’m going to look for.”
“Well, be careful.” Andrea said as she headed back to her seat.
He sat for a while and looked around trying to place any of the hijackers from the original flight, while at the same time checking what the other passengers were doing, trying to see if any of them were being as watchful as he. He got up and wandered around slowly, trying to look as if he was wandering around randomly, and then he saw what he wanted. The first two hijackers he had encountered had been sat together near the rear of the cabin, and he made his way slowly over to them. There were no other passengers nearby, and he was quite thankful there wasn’t as much mess from these two as from some of the others. He bent down as if he was looking to see if there were signs of life, and he saw what he wanted. In fact there was more than he expected as next to each other sat two hand guns. He leant in and picked them up with his left hand and put them quickly into his inside right jacket pocket. He stood back up and felt the bulk of the guns, and realising that it would be fairly obvious he’d picked up something, headed into the nearby toilet.
Once in there he took the guns out. They were actually Glocks, and the weight and sound told him they were what he wanted, they weren’t made of metal. He slipped one into the small of his back, where it felt slightly uncomfortable, and then started to put the other into his sock, but stopped, as that was stupid. It may work in films, but in reality, it probably wouldn’t stay there and would affect the way he walked. He opted to put the second one into his trouser pocket, where he found with some surprise it fitted quite nicely and didn’t really show. This done he headed back to his seat.
He sat in his seat and contemplated just what he was going to do. He had no idea of just what would face him once he arrived at the destination that had been decided for them all. Would a gun be any use to him. Was there going to be any way out of his situation.
He shifted in his seat as he struggled to get used to the concealed gun in the small of his back. It felt uncomfortable pressed against his spine, and it took him several minutes to get into a position where the gun didn’t dig into him, and he was able to sit and forget about it.
Then suddenly hidden speakers crackled into life and a familiar voice started speaking. “Ladies and Gentlemen, as I’m quite sure you will have noticed, the crew have had an unfortunate accident - they became expendable. However let me assure you that you are in no danger. The automated controls on this aircraft are the finest ever constructed and you will be safely at your destination within the next ninety minutes. Once you have landed you will all be told the reason for you being here today, and, as long as you behave, you will find very comfortable lodgings for the next couple of weeks.”
The speaker clicked off, and he was stunned by the silence on the plane. For the first time since the guards had started dropping like flies with blood exploding from their internal organs, no one was screaming.
He had ninety minutes to come up with some kind of plan of action for what to do when they landed. He would have to assume that they would be keeping a fairly close eye on him as he seemed to be the perennial thorn in the side to them, and the fact that he wasn’t acting as he had been programmed to do.
Normally he would have gone straight to the source of the problem and try to shoot the lunatic in charge, but trying that would probably get him killed before he got anywhere near the target. He was going to have to be patient, and probably subtle as well. He could do with finding out exactly what was going on, and see if he could sabotage that at the same time.
The identity of the man in charge was niggling at him as well. The voice was certainly familiar, and so was the face that they had all saw briefly when he had addressed them through the television screens back in the airport terminal at Nyuk. He knew who this person was, and it was driving him nuts trying to think about it.
Eventually he got up out of his seat and headed over to where Andrea was sat. It was time to have a plan, and perhaps she had some idea as to who the lunatic in charge was.
He hadn’t really seen where Andrea had been seated, and he realised that he hadn’t noticed which way she had come from when she’d approached him, or which way she’d gone when she had headed back. He’d been a little preoccupied, and therefore was having a bit of difficulty locating her. The way the chairs had all been set out facing different directions didn’t help much either. It wasn’t like walking down the aisle of a normal plane, and some seats faced him and some had their back to him. It took him a couple of minutes to find her, in typically the last area of the passenger cabin that he searched.
She squinted up at him, and reached into her bag and put her sunglasses on. He wondered why she’d ever taken them off in this hellhole of bright light, and as he did he couldn’t even recall if she’d been wearing them when she had come over.
“Andrea,” he started, “Were you watching the screens when the guy in charge addressed us back in Nyuk?”
After a short pause, Andrea responded with an unsteady “Yes, Why?”
“It’s been bugging me. I recognise the face from the screen, and the voice is really familiar. I get the feeling that we should know who this man is, but I can’t put my finger on it.”
“Are you sure?” Asked Andrea, “You might well have said the same thing about me!”
He hadn’t thought of that, if Claire hadn’t been dead then Andrea would have been easy to mistake for her, even to the extent that as he looked at her now, it’s all he could do not to actually address her as Claire. He mumbled, “I suppose so,” and weakly added, “but it’s not the same.”
She nodded, before adding softly, “It’s alright, I know.” There was another silence before she added, “I’ve got something for you, but you’ll need to bend or kneel down for me to give it to you safely.”
He stood wondering for a moment before kneeling down by the side of her, catching himself glancing at her cleavage as he did so, and feeling himself flush as he did so. Once on his knees he looked up at Andrea and wondered if she’d noticed, but if she had she didn’t let on. He found himself asking, “Well? Go on and surprise me then, what have you got for me then?”
She looked around surreptitiously before, going back into her handbag and producing a gun, which she quickly thrust into his hand. He knelt there looking at it for a while before realising he ought to put it out of sight and quickly put it in his pocket.
“I just saw it lying on the floor as I came back over and so I picked it up as no one was looking.” She added in way of an explanation.
He was surprised that she’d picked up a gun, let alone stashed it and then handed it to him, she had seemed quite squeamish at his mention of guns earlier, and she was on of the last people he'd have expected to have picked one up. Saying that though, he was glad of the extra gun, though he needed to check it wasn't metal before getting off the plane, and he wasn't entirely sure about the size of the ar5enal he was now carrying around with him.
Regaining his composure he started, "I've been thinking about what to do when we get off the plane. I've definitely decided not to go for the all out attack method, and to see what's going on first. In fact the longer I leave it, within reason, the bigger surprise it will be, and the more likely any chance of success will be." He paused and then asked Andrea, "Do you think that you'll be able to stay calm until we see what unfolds, and are you sure that you want to get involved?"
Andrea sat there for a second and calmly replied, "Yes I can do it, and yes, of course I want to help. Just let me know when it's time and I'll back you all the way."
He smiled, glad at the calm and confident reply he had received, and glad that there was going to be someone else there to help him. "Thanks," he said, "I'll seek you out when the time comes, but I suppose for now it's a case of see you later, as I guess we should all be seated for the landing, it can't be too much longer now."
Before he could stand, Andrea said "OK", and leant over and kissed him. He felt himself melt, as it felt good and there was that smell. He looked at her and smiled stupidly, overcome by the moment.
"I'm sorry," Andrea said, "I couldn't help it, I hope I didn't startle you."
"No," he said, "I've wanted to kiss you since I first saw you, though I'm not sure that it's for the right reasons."
"Do I remind you that much of Claire?"
"Yes, and it's not fair, cos it's not your fault, after all it's only natural."
"I can see why she loved you, and I don't feel bad about it, if you don't."
"I don't know, it's just really strange, it would take some time to get my head around it."
"That's fine, it's not as if either of us is exactly going anywhere in the near future, is it? Just think about it."
"I will."
"Good. Now then, off to your seat, before anything else happens."
"OK" came the somewhat dazed response as he got up and half walked, half floated back to his seat. Things just kept on getting weirder.
He sat in his seat in a daze wondering whether he was just dreaming this. Could he even contemplate being with Andrea? He couldn’t imagine he would not cal her Claire by mistake at some point, and that wouldn’t help anything. Would it even matter what he though or did though? At the moment there were other, probably more important things to consider. And as if on cue, the reminder came, as the speakers clicked into life
“Ladies and Gentlemen,” came the voice, “If you could all please take your seats and strap yourselves in, we shall start the landing process. Due to your low altitude, there won’t be much of a descent, and you will be on the ground within the next five minutes. Once the plane has stopped, please remain in your seats and await further instructions.”
Sure enough, about three minutes later the plane had come to a halt, and the passengers sat silently awaiting what was coming. The speakers clicked back into life and the voice came again.
“As you may be able to tell, there has been a successful landing. Any moment now the rear door should be opening and a few of my representatives will be on hand to show you your way to your accommodation. It is advised that once n your accommodation, you take the opportunity to shower and then get some sleep. The local time is 9.57pm, and for most of you it will have been a very long and confusing thirty six hours. It is also advised that you make yourselves familiar with the layout of the complex, as you will need to make your way to the dining room for Breakfast at 7.30 in the morning. The maps that are on the back of each of your doors should help you.”
“While you are here it is mandatory to attend all meals, and any other gatherings that you are instructed to. There will be a head count made every time, and any person that is missing, WILL be found and punished accordingly. If you obey all instructions, then everything here will be completed within two weeks, and you can go back to your normal every day lives. Anything else apart from total co-operation will lead to a much longer, and possible permanent stay. It is important to remember that all of you are important, but none of you are expendable.”
With that the speakers clicked off and the rear door started to open. The dark night outside was a welcome contrast to the excessively bright light in the plane. A man and woman walked up the ramp and onto the plane as the passengers started to get up and head for the exit. He undid his own safety harness, and got up and joined the rest of the departing passengers. He looked around and spotted Andrea making her way to the exit, and he tried to join her.