VISIONS
Part One
By Sean Lennon
Billy Ross was walking on air. It had only been a mere twelve hours since he had asked the biggest question of his life. Even as he walked down the long corridor of Terminal C at Newark Airport along side Wendy Allen, he was still trying to absorb the moment. I did it, he thought to himself. He had done it and survived.
“I still can’t stop looking at it,” Wendy told him, staring at the large diamond ring on her extended hand. She had not stopped smiling since Billy had gotten down on one knee and popped the question.
“I still can’t believe you said yes,” Billy replied. Wendy stopped daydreaming and turned to him. A small frown replaced the sparkling smile on her face.
“What do you mean? Did you think I’d say no?”
“Not really. I was just worried that you might think it wasn’t the right time.”
Wendy did not think that in the least. Her mind rushed her back to the night before. Billy had told her for the past three weeks that he had something special planned for their second anniversary. But she had no idea it was going to be what he actually did. The night began in New York City with two front row seats of the play, Rent. It was the play they had gone to see on their first date. Then Billy drove her back to New Jersey to have a quiet and romantic dinner at DaVinci’s in Hoboken. She wondered why Billy acted oddly during the entire meal until after they had finished. He had ordered one of the finest champagnes and made a toast.
“To our love, may it last forever and a day,” he had told her. She agreed completely and drank to it. Then Billy stood up from the table and dug into his jacket pocket. Wendy froze by the thought that ran through her head. He’s not going to, is he? Billy then got down on one knee and opened up a little black box. Inside was the most beautiful ring she had ever seen. Tears welled up in her eyes. Then he spoke.
“Wendy Allen, I have loved you since the day we met. And down inside I know that will never change. So, I have decided to make this definite. The last two years have been heaven to me and I only want it to get better. So, will you marry me?”
The lump in her throat prevented her from speaking words. So, instead, she nodded fast enough to eventually hurt her neck. Then he took her hand in his and placed the ring on her finger. She threw her arms around him and kissed him deeply. She felt him shaking slightly and thought it was cute. She laughed and leaned back. This was the best moment of her entire life.
“I’ve wanted to do this ever since that day.”
“What day?” she asked.
“Six months ago, I was thinking about our relationship and where it was headed. I remember it was a Sunday because I was out to getting bagels and coffee. And my boss had told me once that if the original spark between people is there every day, then it was meant to be. And I remember coming home and you walking into the kitchen in my plaid pajamas. Just looking at you at that moment put butterflies in my stomach. And I remember having them the entire first date we went on. And it was then that I knew what we have would last till the end of time. So I got cracking on setting it up for our anniversary.”
Wendy brought her hand up to her mouth and squinted. Billy knew that whenever she squinted, she was fighting back tears. He brought his hands up and held her face between them. Then he kissed her with a passion that had been there since the first time. She smiled as he pulled back and licked her lips.
“Mmmmm, I’m going to miss those lips,” she said.
“Do you really have go today? Can’t you leave tomorrow? You know get a red-eye tonight or something. Your parents are a little disappointed that they couldn’t see the ring before you leave.”
Wendy’s company had set her up to travel to Chicago to finalize the deal that would allow them to purchase a struggling competitor with hopes of enlarging their product base. Wendy was one of the company’s best negotiators and the CEO had big plans for her concerning her future with the company. Yet Wendy made it clear that she would not accept any promotions if it meant that she would have to move. She couldn’t do that to Billy after seeing that his construction company was beginning to take off. The CEO agreed to take that into consideration and would see what he could do.
Unfortunately, the meeting was to take place the day after their anniversary. So now, they spent the morning after their anniversary checking in her bags and arriving at Gate C-73 for her flight.
AS they passed a magazine stand, Wendy noticed the book rack. She stopped walking down the corridor and made a beeline for the rack.
“Hang on, honey. I need something to read on the plane or else I’m going to go nuts from the boredom.”
Billy just went along with it due to the fact that he was still tired from being up all night with Wendy calling every family member and friend of theirs relaying the good news. Unlike her, he was not much of a morning person. She twirled the rack, scanning for something that would catch her interest. She stopped at the sight of one of the books on the bottom.
“Ooo, Carol at work told me this was a good one,” Wendy said, pulling a book called Beautiful Midnight off the lower shelf.
“So is she starting to show her pregnancy yet?” Billy asked.
“Oh, is she! Would you mind if we had dinner with them once I get back?”
“Of course not. Ed still owes me a rematch at arm wrestling.”
“You men,” Wendy muttered, rolling her eyes. She placed the book on the register counter and paid for it. Billy looked at his watch and noticed that they didn’t have much time to get to the gate for boarding. He told Wendy and they hurried down to the gate.
As they arrived at the gate, one of the two women behind the counter spoke over the loud speaker and reported that they were beginning to board the last rows first. Wendy looked over at Billy smiled. She took hold of the goatee that he was starting to grow.
“I’m going to miss this. And you.”
“Now you’ll call me once you get to the hotel, right?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’m being serious. I just want to make sure you got there all right. I can’t have anything happening to my fiancée now can I?”
“I love the sound of that.”
“Well, I love you,” Billy told her as the woman called Wendy’s row. “Now get that sexy ass of yours on that plane and be safe.”
“I will, hon.” Wendy kissed him and threw a little tongue in the mix to excite him. She knew exactly what it took when she noticed his ears blush. Smiling, she walked over to the line that was boarding the plane numbered Flight 322.
“I’m going to stand right here until you take off,” Billy told her loudly, standing by the large set of windows looking out at the plane she was about to get on.
“You’re such a goofball sometimes,” she replied back.
“Yeah, but I’m engaged goofball now!” Wendy laughed and blew Billy a kiss goodbye. Then she was gone.
Billy never felt as happy as he did now. He had been looking forward to this moment all his life. Love had always been an important part of life to him. Without it, life was not worth living. And he strongly believed that, regardless of the teasing he received from his friends and co-workers.
Billy glanced around the waiting area and noticed that an elderly couple had been watching him say goodbye. The women, seeing that he realized he was been watched, smiled and looked away. He laughed to himself, hoping that one day, he and Wendy would be like that couple.
Then, Billy’s dreaming was interrupted by a sharp throbbing headache. He brought his hand to his temple and closed his eyes, wincing. He waited a moment and then opened them to keep watching Wendy’s flight. Seconds later, the sharp pain returned and he winced again. This time he reached out for the windowsill. It helped to keep him from losing his balance and falling in front of all the people in the waiting area. He became worried that the pain was the result of a tumor or something worse. He would have to schedule an appointment as soon as he got home.
Billy paused, waiting for the next sharp pain to arrive. But nothing came. That was weird, he thought. Billy opened his eyes and looked out to see that the plane was still there.
He blinked and the plane that his future wife boarded minutes before suddenly exploded in a giant ball of flame.
TO BE CONTINUED……
Part Two
By Sean Lennon
Billy Ross flew back from the blast of the explosion and fell hard to the floor. He could feel the glass of the windows slice his bare skin. The heat of the fireball seared his face and hair. And in all the chaos, his life came crashing down around him. And then the black of unconsciousness took him.
“Hey buddy, you OK?” he heard in the dark. But Billy soon realized that the voice wasn’t in the dark. His eyes were closed and he no longer felt any pain. Billy opened his eyes slowly to reveal a small crowd hovering above him. He saw that even the elderly couple was staring at him strangely. He couldn’t figure out why this crowd of people was looking at him as if he were a sight from the local circus freakshow. Then the painful truth hit him.
“Wendy!” he yelled, sitting up with lightning speed. This scared the group of people crowded around him and the majority of them quickly backed off. They were unaware of what had happened to the stranger lying on the floor.
Billy climbed to his feet and dug his way through the onlookers and towards the windows.
The sealed windows that revealed the untouched Flight 322.
“What?” Billy stuttered. The plane that he had just seen explode, now sat before him, waiting for permission to take off. That was impossible, he thought. He knew what he saw. But how can he explain the fact that the plane was now in one piece? He pushed it from his mind once he realized that the love of his life was still alive and sitting on a ticking timebomb.
Billy lunged towards the door that led to the boarding ramp. The other woman behind the counter walked into his path. Her eyes grew when she saw him barreling at her. Her arms went up in defense.
“Sir, you can’t pass through here. The plane’s full and about to depart,” she said, in hopes of him stopping and calming down. But Billy was not going to have that.
“My wife is on that plane. I need to get her off now.”
“I’m sorry sir but once you’ve boarded the plane, you can’t just depart. If there is a message you want to give her, I’d be glad to relay it to the tower and your wife can contact you once she’s arrived in
“That’s just it. She won’t make it to
“I’m sorry?” asked the woman. A worried look took form on her face. She was becoming afraid of Billy, even though she had no reason to because he wasn’t the cause of the explosion. But he stopped short suddenly. His mind was running at a hundred miles an hour. How did he see what he just did? And why did it seem so real? Questions filled his head but no answers could be found. All he knew is that something in his gut told him that unless he intervened, all the passengers on that flight, including his future wife, would die in flames.
“Look, I know this sounds crazy and frankly, I’m having a hard time believing it myself, but I just saw that plane out there explode. Now, I think it would be wise to remove everyone from the plane before it actually happens.” Billy watched the woman’s face for any response and when he finished, she appeared to have heard enough.
“Sir, terrorist threats are a criminal offense. I’m going to have to report you to airport security.” And with that, the woman motioned to the other behind the counter to contact security. The woman briskly picked up the phone and dialed a number.
“You know what? Great, call security, call the president for all I care. Just get those people off that plane!”
By now, the small crowd that had hovered over Billy was listening in on the conversation. They began to murmur between themselves and watched intently at Billy, wondering what he was going to do next. Billy glanced back at the windows, making sure that the plane was still there and intact. When he turned back to the woman he had noticed that she had taken two steps back.
“Sir, if you just calm down we can fix this without having to resort to any violence.”
“Lady, the more I shoot the breeze with you, the more you put them at risk. I’m telling you, that plane is going to explode and those people are going to die! Now either help me or get out of my way.”
Billy’s remarks were followed by several gasps. He even heard the elderly woman whisper a cry to her husband. He did not want to cause such panic but if the vision he saw was true, he would do everything he could in order to save Wendy. He refused to lose her just after becoming engaged.
“Sir, could you please lower your voice? You’re disturbing the others.”
“I don’t care. Look,”
“There a problem here?” said someone behind Billy. He looked to see a middle-aged man in a Ramones T-shirt and jeans. Billy wasn’t in the mood for a nosy guy, thinking he could play the hero and interfere in saving all those passengers.
“Don’t worry about it, buddy. It doesn’t concern you.”
“Well, when I get paid for preventing any terrorist activities, I think this does concern me.” The man pulled out a billfold and opened it, revealing a badge. Billy realized that this was the airport security that the counter woman had called for.
“Since when does security guards dress like that?”
Samuel Ortiz was relaxing in his office on a quiet weekday, playing solitaire on his computer when the phone beside him rang. He was still in his undercover clothes after stopping a small drug run earlier that morning and wasn’t in the mood to be bothered after that. But seeing how it was his job and he was head of security at
“Security, Ortiz here,” he spoke into the phone. Listening to the woman on the other end, he knew that his relaxation was at an end. She told him of a man that was causing a scene at gate C-73, yelling about a plane exploding. Sounds like another nutcase, he thought, why is it that they always wind up here instead of JFK or LaGuardia?
He hung up the phone and ended his almost perfect game. Leaving the office he got on the phone and contacted two of his men to meet him at the gate in case of any necessary force.
A few minutes later, he arrived at the gate and saw the man getting in the face of one of the boarding attendants. The man appeared normal, dressed in a red plaid shirt, jeans and a pair of hiking boots. But then again, those who climb clock towers are always referred to as the nice normal guys.
“There a problem here?” he asked the man. The man turned around, looked him over and told him to mind his business. So Ortiz flashed his badge to let him know that it was his business.
“Since when does security dress like that?”
“Since we get to go undercover just like real cops. And just as fun too.” Ortiz replied sarcastically. “Now what’s the problem?”
“He’s been making threats about blowing up the plane,” the boarding attendant chimed in. Ortiz looked over at the man.
“That true?”
“No, look, I told her I have a feeling that the people on that plane are in danger. I don’t know why, I just do.”
“How about we talk about this elsewhere. There’s a room several gates down where we can sit and talk about this privately.” Ortiz reached out and put his hand on the man’s shoulder. The man didn’t back off, which was a good thing, but did not make a move to follow him.
“Only if you get the people off that plane. Then I’ll follow you.”
Ortiz wondered why this man was so insistent on removing the passengers. This was not normal procedure in blowing up a plane. Most terrorists wanted victims in any attacks. Yet, this man was looking to prevent casualties. Unless he was looking to get his hands on someone that was already on the plane. But the possibility of a bomb being on the plane was still an option. Ortiz needed to play this right in order to make sure that no one was harmed.
“How about this, that plane will not move until we hear your story and figure out if you’re right. Sound good?” Ortiz stared at the man, hoping that the grounding would give him initiative to follow Ortiz elsewhere.
“You swear that the plane won’t take off while we’re in the interrogation room?”
“Get a hold of the tower,” he told the boarding attendant, “and let them know there’s a possible threat for this flight. Keep them at this gate until I get back.” Ortiz didn’t know why but something in the man’s eyes told him that he wasn’t as crazy as he seemed. The man nodded at Ortiz’s deal and agreed to go talk elsewhere.
Ortiz closed the door behind him, leaving one of the security guards standing outside the room. Beside Ortiz stood his right hand man, Angel Martinez. The man, who identified himself as Bill Ross, sat down at the table ready to explain his supposed gut feeling.
“Okay, Bill why don’t you start at the beginning,” Ortiz pulled a chair back from the table and sat down facing Ross.
“Okay, but I want you to know that I’m not some crazy mental case.”
“No one said that you were,” Ortiz replied.
“But you will after I tell you what I know.” Billy went about telling Ortiz and
“Well, that’s quite a story you have there.”
“So you don’t believe me,” Ross muttered.
“Oh no, I believe in the supernatural,” Ortiz lied, “But what I want to know is why do you think someone would want to blow up that particular flight?”
“If I knew that I wouldn’t be talking to you guys. All I know is that you have to get everyone off that plane before what I saw does happen.”
“Ok, let me ask this then, do you know if it’s a mechanical problem or is it actually a bomb?”
“I don’t know. All I know is that I remember the explosion started near the front of the plane.”
“You mean the cockpit went first?”
“No not the very front, more like just past the cockpit. Like in the first class section.”
Ortiz froze in his chair when Ross said that. His memory told him that he had heard that before but couldn’t think of where he had heard it. But if Ross was right, it definitely deserved an investigation. First, he would have to go see one of the guards on his shift for any information. Bruce Fisher was the oldest and most faithful security guard he knew at the airport. And Bruce had been there for fifteen years, longer than anyone on the job. If Ortiz needed to find out about anything concerning the airport, Bruce was the man he would go to first.
“What’s wrong?” Ross asked, noting the stress on Ortiz’ face.
“Nothing, I’ll be right back.” Ortiz stood up and headed for the door.
“I’m right, aren’t I? You know that those people are going to die too! My wife is on that plane, I have to get her off!” Ross stood up fast, knocking his chair back and to the floor. Ortiz spun around and shot his hand out at him.
“Sit back down, now,” he told him sternly. Then to
Billy knew that he was right now. The head security guard recognized something in his rants. It was written all over his face. That meant that Wendy truly was in trouble and that Billy wasn’t losing his mind after all. He knew that if he remained in the room with the other guard, Wendy and all the other passengers may run out of time and die. He needed to come up with a plan to get out of the room and onto that plane without any trouble.
TO BE CONTINUED……
Part Three
By Sean Lennon
Ortiz headed over to the main entrance of Terminal C and down by the baggage carousels. At the end was the other security office. Inside, Bruce Fisher sat, drinking a cup of coffee with his co-worker, Harry Yusef. Bruce placed the coffee cup down and wiped the drops off his bushy mustache that was flecked with spots of gray. Ortiz nodded to the gentlemen and sat down beside Bruce.
“Hey there, old-timer,” Ortiz joked. Bruce smirked and shook his fist in the air.
“You know if I was 10 years younger, I’d be able to take you down within a minute,” Bruce replied. Then he laughed heartily.
“Got a minute?” Ortiz asked. Bruce saw the serious look on Sam’s face and threw Harry a glance that asked to be alone. Harry smiled and walked away.
“What’s troubling you?”
“Got a situation over by Gate 73. Guy saying that he saw the plane there explode before his eyes and that it’s going to happen.”
“Damn junkies,” Bruce mumbled.
“But, he’s the whopper. The way he described it sounded familiar. He said that the area just behind the cockpit is where the explosion began. Behind the cockpit as in first class. You remember anything like that. I think I heard of something like that once but I can’t put my finger on exactly where I heard it.”
“Hmmmm, I think I have. Yeah, there was an incident a year and a half ago. I think it was a Continental flight as well. Same thing, there was a bomb that went off in first class. They found it to be stored in the overhead carrier bin. Wiped out the front half of the plane first and then spread to the back. Never found out who did it, though. None of those terrorist groups ever took credit for it. You think this guy has something to do with that?”
“I don’t know, but he sure knows a lot. And the whole vision thing is a crock. This isn’t some Twilight Zone TV show.”
“Actually, hold the stew. There was something else. If I remember correctly, there was a survivor.” Ortiz stopped everything and looked up from the table at Bruce. He remembered the incident but never knew that there was someone that lived through it.
“What? Someone survived that?”
“Well, technically, no. There was a passenger that was supposed to be on the plane. She boarded and everything but got off the plane before it exploded. I think she got violently sick and had to be taken off the plane. Gotta thank God for illnesses in that situation, huh?”
“Do you know the name of that passenger?” Ortiz’ mind was turning. A female passenger leaves a bomb on a plane and is removed just in time to escape being caught in the blast. Bill Ross is trying to get his wife off the plane before it explodes. Could the woman on the other plane and Ross’ wife be the same person? It was an angle that Ortiz needed to check out immediately before, like Ross said, time ran out for those passengers.
“No, can’t say that I do. But if you run up to Records, it should be in the file,” Bruce answered. Ortiz thanked Bruce and left the office and quickly headed up to the Records Room.
Billy sat, trying to figure out a way to escape the interrogation room and make his way onto the plane. The other guard stood at the door like a brick wall. There was no way Billy was going to be able to take him out and past him.
“Don’t even think about it,”
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s in your eyes. That plotting to escape look. I’ve seen it before and there’s no way you’re getting out of here without say so from Mr. Ortiz.”
“You don’t believe me, do you?”
“See things before they happen? Sure. Just like I believe that our politicians are really aliens preparing us for an invasion.”
“And when it does happen? Will you believe me then?”
“Nope, just make sure that you’re arrested because you’ll be suspect number one.”
“Look, even I can’t accept what I saw but I know that it felt too real to be some delusion. All I ask is for you to get them off…” The same piercing pain that Billy experienced before the vision of the plane racked his brain again at that moment. He stopped speaking and brought his hand to his head. He winced at the throbbing and hunched over in his seat.
“What’s wrong with you?”
Billy could hear nothing but the underwater sound of the ocean. Then a flash of light crossed his sight and a silhouette of a slim figure with long hair appeared before him. It was a woman. Billy couldn’t see her face but knew that she was the one who would cause Flight 322 to go up in flames.
Billy turned and tumbled off his chair to the floor. He rolled up into a fetus position and moaned.
“Hey, Ross. What do you need? You need a doctor?”
Billy released his head and balled his hands into fists. Then he slammed his fists into Angel’s temples. The large man collapsed to the carpeted floor and Billy jumped up to his feet and dug his hand into the guard’s pockets. He found the security badge that would allow him into areas that he normally be denied access. He knew that going back to the gate would be a bad idea so he would have to find his way to the tarmac in order to get to the plane.
Billy looked at the guard and considered taking the jacket. But he knew that he would never get anywhere because it was at least two sizes too large. So he decided that he most likely would have to play the undercover guard, Ortiz. If he was lucky, no one would question the badge when shown.
Billy slowly opened the door and calmly walked out into the corridor filled with people headed for their gates and flights. He casually glanced around and saw that no other guards were in the vicinity. The coast was clear and he was free to make his way to the plane. He just hoped that he was in time to save them.
Ortiz knocked on the door and waited for the buzzer. After receiving no response, he knocked again harder this time. Finally, a young man in casual clothes opened the door. He had on a pair of headphones around his neck, explaining the long wait.
“You really shouldn’t be wearing those,” Ortiz told him in an authoritive manner. The young man apologized and allowed Ortiz inside. Sam walked in and over to the counter. The young man turned off the Walkman on his hip and climbed back behind the counter.
“What can I help you with?” the young man asked. Ortiz read the small tag on his chest and saw the young man’s name.
“Sure can Chester. I need the records on any downed flights from a year and a half ago.”
“First half of 2000? Gimme a sec and I’ll get it for ya.” Chester disappeared into the aisles of cardboard boxes. Ortiz leaned against the counter and waited impatiently. He hoped that the name of the woman who escaped death was on the passenger list of Flight 322. If it was, then they had their terrorist. And if that woman was not the wife of Billy Ross, then he would have to figure out the connection between him and her.
Chester came hopping back with a box full of papers. He dropped it on the counter with a loud thud and smiled at Ortiz.
“There ya go. Nothing is allowed to leave this room, though. Let me know when you’re done.” Chester jumped back onto his seat and pulled out a Gameboy from his pants pocket. Ortiz rolled his eyes at the lack of responsibility. Then he opened the box and delved into the files.
It took him fifteen minutes before he found anything on the flight that Bruce had told him about. A five page document explained in detail the investigation into the disaster. Ortiz scanned the pages and came up with the name of the woman that was removed from the flight before take off. The woman’s name was Victoria Singh. That was not the name of Billy Ross’ wife. But what connection did Ross have with Singh and why was he telling airport security about the bombing before Singh detonated it? Ortiz knew that he was missing something and until he had all the pieces, the puzzle would remain unclear.
Ortiz jotted down the name on a sheet of paper and piled the files back in the box. When he was finished, he waved at Chester and nodded that he was done. He then left the Records Room and headed for Gate C-73, where Flight 322 sat patiently. He had hoped that Singh was not getting suspicious about the delay in take off. He had to make sure that the pilots were not revealing the truth about the delay. He was about to call the control tower when the cell phone rang. He answered and found Martinez on the line.
“Sam, he’s gone.”
“What? How the hell did that happen?”
“He got the jump on me. And he took my security badge.”
“Alright, well, there’s only one place he’s going to be headed. Get a hold of Yusef and some one the other guys and make sure he doesn’t reach that plane. I have a feeling he may be right and there’s a bomb onboard. We can not let anyone on that plane know this. You hear me?”
“I got you.”
“I’m headed over to the gate now to verify that the bomber is onboard. Contact me when you locate him.”
“Will do.” Angel hung up.
Ortiz got to the gate and the woman who stopped Ross was still there, trying to keep those waiting for the next flight calm and away from the counter. He pushed his way through the crowd and walked around the counter.
“Sir, you can’t, oh sorry,” the woman said.
“I need the passenger list.”
The woman handed the sheet over and Ortiz looked it over. He searched the list and could not find Victoria Singh on it. He realized that it could be possible that Singh had changed her name since the first bombing. Then he continued looking down the list and froze. It was worse than he thought. Singh’s name was on the list. But she was not a passenger.
TO BE CONTINUED……
Part Four
By Sean Lennon
Billy made his way over to the gate where Flight 322 still sat, waiting for contact from the tower. He knew that the boarding gate would be no way to get onto the plane. Ortiz and his men would most likely be guarding the entrance to the boarding ramp. So he needed to find another way to the plane. The easiest path would be the tarmac, he thought. But getting to the tarmac would be a difficulty.
Billy walked calmly down the corridor and passed gate 73. He kept walking past it and noticed a figure rushing towards him. He looked ahead and saw Ortiz running down the corridor. But Ortiz did not see him; he was only focused on the gate itself. Billy turned his head and slowed down until Ortiz had passed him by completely. He breathed a sigh of relief and continued walking down the corridor, away from the gate.
Billy soon realized how to make his way to the plane when he came across a woman lugging a luggage bag past him. It was that simple. He could make his way down to the baggage area and get outside through that way. Billy took off down the corridor and down the stairs to the baggage claim area.
The area was packed with people. It would be hard to get through without having any witnesses spot him. He would need a diversion in order to climb into the backroom area and make his way to the plane from there. Billy scanned the area and saw a small pile of newspapers by the line of pay phones. He smirked and wished that he had not stopped smoking two years ago.
“Excuse me, buddy? You got a light?” Billy asked one of the men standing at the carousel. The man turned around and handed Billy a used pack of matches.
“Here, keep it. I have more,” the man told him. Billy was in luck. He thanked the man and walked back over to the phones. Making sure no one was looking, he lit a match and placed it on top of the newspapers. Then he quickly moved away from the phones and around the carousels to the one farthest from the phones.
A minute later, a woman screamed and pointed at the flames. Everyone’s attention moved to the phones and several people made an attempt to put the fire out. Billy took advantage and jumped onto the last carousel and climbed up the ramp and out of sight.
Ortiz stared at the list and became worried. Victoria Singh was a flight attendant on Flight 322. That meant, if the pilot had a big mouth, she would know why they were still sitting there. He had to get in touch with the pilot. The woman beside him was still fighting off the irate customers. But next to her computer was the main phone that had access to the control tower.
“Mind if I use this?” he asked her. She waved her hand at him, absentmindedly, and continued arguing with the customers.
Ortiz picked up the phone and dialed the extension for the tower. It rang several times before the phone on the other line picked up. A deep mumbled voice answered. Ortiz thought that it sounded as if the man was in the middle of eating a meal.
“Yeah, this is Chief Sam Ortiz here. I need to contact the pilots of Flight 322. Can you patch me over to them?”
“Yeah, sure. Hang on.” The man in the tower fumbled to transfer him over to the plane’s cockpit. The line buzzed twice and the pilot of Flight 322 answered.
“Pilot Foley here.”
“Mr. Foley, this is Chief of Security Sam Ortiz. I need to know if you or your co-pilot have spoken to any of the flight attendants about the situation.”
“No, sir. Neither Pilot Austin nor myself have informed any of the attendants yet. We’ve been waiting for some kind of an update on the situation from you or the tower. Is what they tell us true?”
“Well, Mr. Foley, we haven’t confirmed any bombs on your flight but we have reason to believe that one of your attendants is linked to a bombing that took place over a year ago. Do not, I repeat, do not speak about this to anyone on that plane. If they ask, tell them that the tower is having technical difficulties or something.”
“I hear you, Chief Ortiz.”
“Now we are going to have to somehow board your plane to remove this flight attendant. I’m going to disguise myself as a technician in order to do this. I’m letting you know this now so your co-pilot and attendants can be informed of my presence.”
“I’ll inform them immediately, Chief. Best of luck to you.”
“Thanks.” Ortiz hung up the phone and heard a squawk on the radio hanging from his belt. He plucked it from his waist and brought it to his ear. It was Bruce Fisher.
“Chief, I just saw Ross. I’m at the baggage carousels and he just set a fire by the pay phones and climbed up the last carousel. Should I follow after him?”
“Negative, Bruce. Take care of the fire.
“I’m down on the tarmac,”
“Let me know when you have him. Yusef, stay in your position. Bruce, I’m sending help.” Ortiz contacted the fire crew for Terminal C for Bruce’s situation.
Billy walked his way through the baggage area backroom, searching for the way out to the tarmac. He couldn’t believe the maze that the bags went through just to be delivered. Two minutes later, he found a sign that pointed the way to the tarmac. He began making his way down the hall and froze when the big guard,
“It’s over Ross. There’s no way you’re getting near that plane.”
“You don’t get it, I’m not the one trying to blow it up. There’s a woman on that plane. She’s the one with the bomb.”
“Yeah and your wife is on that plane. That the woman?”
“No, look, you have it all wrong. I’m trying to save them here. You and your bull headed boss don’t seem to listen too well. Why don’t you help me get on that plane and figure out who has the bomb and where?”
“Yeah, that’s exactly what you want, isn’t it? Nice try Ross.”
“Do all big guys in security act as dumb as you?” Billy asked. Then, the searing pain in his head struck again. His hand gripped his forehead and he collapsed.
“Forget that, Ross. It’s not going to work twice.”
Billy’s mind flashed in and out of the darkness. A man’s face appeared and Billy took note of the features and the mustache above the man’s frowned mouth. Seconds later, the pain faded away as did the vision. Billy knew that there was a reason why he had seen the man’s face. The woman was not alone in this. It was a couple. But if the woman was on the plane, where was the man?
“Hey, Ross. Get up now. I’m not telling you again.”
“There’s another one. It’s not just a woman,” Billy tried to tell him. Martinez heard but ignored Billy’s babbling.
“Stand up and put your hands behind your head.” Martinez opened up his cuffs and took a step towards Ross.
Billy couldn’t believe what was happening. Here he was, having visions which had never happened before today. And then to top it off, the visions were of the plane his future wife was on exploding. Was there a divine reason behind the visions? He had no idea. But when he looked up at Martinez, the questions didn’t matter. Because he saw the face that had just flashed across his mind seconds ago. And the man stood several feet behind Martinez.
“It’s him!” Billy yelled, pointing beyond Martinez at the mystery man. Martinez turned to look behind him and the air was cut with the loud bang of a gun. Martinez crumbled to the floor and Billy was out in the open of the man’s aim. Billy spun around and ran back towards the maze that he had just went through. The man fired the gun again and missed, hitting the doorway.
Billy didn’t pay attention to where he was going, just as long as the man was far behind. He turned left and right in no particular manner and ended up running straight into a door that opened up to the tarmac outside.
Ortiz made his way through the baggage area and found the hall that Ross had just been in. Martinez lay in the middle of the hall, a small trickle of blood appearing from under him.
“Shit, Angel!” Ortiz ran over to him and checked for a pulse. He found one, yet a faint one. Sam called for help over the radio and looked Martinez over.
“Angel, talk to me. What happened?”
“Ross,” was all he could say.
Ortiz gritted his teeth. It had gone too far. He knew that Ross had been involved from the get-go. This verifies it. He waited until the volunteers arrived and then took off running for Flight 322.
Billy reached the flight finally and stared at the huge machine. He had no idea how to get into the plane itself. He peered up into the wheel wells and searched for a way in. Not finding any, Billy moved on down the plane and saw the hatch for the baggage compartment. It was too high up to reach it from the ground. Billy saw the baggage car several yards away and rushed over to get it. Once on the car he managed to reach the handle for the compartment.
Billy pulled the hatch open and jumped up into the compartment. He climbed over the luggage and looked around for a hatch leading up into the passenger area. The lack of light made it difficult, but also helpful. Billy saw a thin line of light at the end of the compartment. He crawled over and saw another handle. He pulled the hatch open and found himself staring into a small cabinet. Billy climbed through the hatch and opened the cabinet door. He found himself in the back galley of the plane. A thin blue drape closed him off from the seating area. Billy slowly pulled the drape aside and found that the passengers were sitting in their seats impatiently. Then, it dawned on him that being on the plane was not as important as knowing which woman had the bomb.
Billy tried to think of a way to figure out who has the bomb when the drape was thrown open by a flight attendant. She looked at him suspiciously and put her hands on her hips.
“Can I help you?” she asked. Billy was at a loss for words, unsure of what to tell the woman.
“Listen,” Billy said, showing her the badge he had taken from Martinez, “We’ve got a big problem here. One of the passengers on this flight has brought a bomb on board. We’re not sure who, but hopefully you can help.”
“Are you serious? My God!”
“Yes, but please don’t alarm anyone about this, Miss?”
“Singh, Victoria Singh.”
TO BE CONTINUED…….
Part Five
By Sean Lennon
“Ok, Miss Singh, I need you to help me get up to the cockpit so we can do a look-over on the passengers,” Billy told the flight attendant.
“How do you know that there’s a bomb on board?”
“Well,” Billy lied, “We’ve gotten a call about it from the local police.”
“Wow, is that why we’ve been sitting here, waiting for the tower?”
“Yeah, we didn’t want to panic the passengers and alert the bomber.”
“Good idea. Well, let me get you up front to see the pilots,” Victoria said. She led the way, down the aisle towards the front of the plane. Billy followed, looking at the faces of every passenger. Wendy turned her head away from the window and saw Billy.
“Billy?” she asked, puzzled by his appearance. Billy brought a finger to his lips to keep her quiet. Victoria Singh caught the exchange and continued down the aisle. Billy reached the front and saw another flight attendant who wondered why he was not sitting down. Victoria informed her of his badge. Then she knocked on the door to the cockpit. Pilot Michael Foley answered and looked over Billy.
“Excuse me, pilot, my name’s Bill Ross, I’m with airport security. I’m sorry to intrude but there is a bomb on board thanks to one of your passengers. I need your help in locating this woman,” Billy told him.
“I thought Chief Ortiz was trying to keep this quiet?” Foley replied.
Billy knew he’d have to be believable or else everything would crumble and they would all die.
“He knew that if we wasted any more time, the bomber would catch on and detonate the bomb. That and we believe that the bomber is not working alone,” Billy explained.
“You mean like a terrorist group?” Victoria questioned.
“Not quite. The bomber, who is a female by the way, has a male partner outside the plane. We’ve found him but he’s escaped.”
“So how do you know that the bomber’s a female and not know what she looks like?” Foley was not believing Billy completely.
“We’ve involved a psychic in the case.” Billy was running out of sane excuses. If they would only just agree and help him find the woman, everything would be fine.
Ortiz bolted down the corridor past all the people casually walking to their specific gates. He couldn’t believe everything had gone wrong. If the bomb on Flight 322 went off, he would go down as the scapegoat. The airport’s officials would see to it. And it was bad enough that Ortiz’ record was spotted. The whole reason that he was chief of airport security and not chief of police in a local town was the scandal years ago in Hawthorne. Greedy politicians had gotten sloppy with their corruption and needed someone to take the heat off of them. So a lawyer set up a plan to put the brunt of the blame onto his shoulders, thus allowing the politicians to walk away with a mere slap on the wrist. The only job, Sam was able to find after the career nose dive was airport security. Ten years later, he gained the trust of those above him to be promoted to Chief. If he failed the plane full of people, he’d never find another job, other than bag boy at a supermarket.
Ortiz knew that Ross was on the plane and was ruining everything that he had done up to that point. There was a possibility that he had alerted the bomber. And Ross had even shot a man to get to the endangered flight, meaning that he was already wanted for attempted murder. Ortiz was determined to take Ross down, along with his bomber partner, Victoria Singh.
Sam reached Gate C-73 and saw that the boarding ramp was already being moved to the door of the airplane. The woman who had been involved since the beginning was there, awaiting word that the ramp was locked.
“Hurry it up, dammit!” Ortiz yelled at her.
“Chief, we can only move it so fast. There’s nothing else we can do. I’m sorry,” the woman replied. Ortiz reconsidered his misplacement of anger and knew the woman was right. He took a deep breath and slowly released it.
“I’m sorry. But there’s a plane full of people who are in grave danger and I refuse to let them die while I have the chance to prevent it.”
“It’s okay,” she replied.
The door’s light turned green and the lock clicked open. Ortiz removed his gun from it’s holster and threw the door open. He rushed down the ramp and screeched to a halt at the airplane’s door. He banged his fist on the door and stepped back. He heard movement inside and a minute later, heard the handle of the door turn. With a whoosh, it opened and Ortiz found himself face to face with one of the pilots.
“Security! Everyone freeze!” Ortiz yelled, stepping past the pilot and into the plane. He saw Ross and Singh standing next to each other and aimed the gun at them.
“Chief Ortiz?” the pilot asked, pointing at Ross, “Is this man with you?”
“No, Mr. Foley. This man is working with Miss Singh here.”
Ross’ eyes grew and his hands went out towards Ortiz in surprise. Ortiz pulled the firing pin back in response. That made Ross consider speaking out loud. Victoria Singh’s mouth dropped open at the revealing of her involvement.
“That’s right, Ross. I know all about the plan. And you’re going to pay for shooting Angel.”
“Officer, don’t shoot,” said a woman who approached the front of the plane and the scene. Ortiz glanced over and kept Ross and Singh within his sight. The blonde woman held her hands up, giving Ortiz a sense of innocence. “My name is Wendy Allen and I’m engaged to Billy Ross there. I can assure you that he is no criminal.”
Ortiz had forgotten about Wendy Allen. That meant there was some truth to Billy’s story. But then how did he know so much about the bombing?
“Ross, tell me how you knew about Singh here?” Victoria Singh looked over at Ross, wanting to know that answer to the question as well. Ross slowly put his hands down and sighed.
“Look, Ortiz, I was telling you the truth the entire time. I saw the plane explode in a vision. Then after you left me in the room with Martinez, I had another one about a woman. I figured that she must be the one who caused the explosion. But when Martinez had me in that hall, it hit me again and I saw the face of a man. The same man who shot Martinez.”
“Man? What man?” Ortiz asked, puzzled at the explanation. It sounded too much like a Twilight Zone episode, but from the sincerity of Billy’s voice, he felt that Ross was telling the truth about it all.
“That man!” Ross said, pointing over Sam’s shoulder. Ortiz went to turn around to see who Ross was pointing to and saw only the butt of a gun swinging down at his temple.
Billy could do nothing but watch as the mystery man knocked out Ortiz. Sam dropped to the floor, letting go of his gun. But before, Billy could make a move to grab it, Victoria reached out and picked it up. She climbed over Ortiz and over to the mystery man. He hugged her with one arm and used the other to hold the gun at Ross’ face.
“So, this is the man who somehow knows about the plan to blow up this plane,” he said, “Please, tell me how this is possible.”
“He says that he saw it in a vision,” Victoria answered. The man looked over at her in bewilderment and then back at Ross.
“Is this true? Did you actually see us detonate the bomb?” Billy nodded and lowered his head. He knew that it was over and that he had failed Wendy and the other passengers. It was too late now. But then he remembered something. He might be able to get out of this without letting the entire plane go up in flames. He just needed to get them to relax a bit.
“What I don’t know is why you’re doing it. Why an entire plane of innocent people?” Billy asked the man. The man laughed at him.
“You’re right Mister Ross. Every bomber has a reason why he does what he does. And seeing how you have gone to such lengths to prevent this, I guess you deserve an explanation why you and everyone here is going to die.
“My name is Harry Yusef and Victoria is my sister-in-law. My brother, Norman, was one of the best pilots that ever flew out of this airport. Until one day, when a stupid engineer was in a rush and ignored a thorough exam of the plane he was scheduled to fly out of here. The officials of the airport blamed the horrible accident on the pilot, saying that he had fell asleep in mid-flight. My brother was never one to fly tired. He was blamed for the death of forty passengers and twenty-five innocent people who died as the result of falling debris. That was wrong. Those officials were wrong. And now they must pay. The death of these passengers will be on their hands. And they can then see what it’s like to live with the guilt and knowledge that they could have prevented this.”
While Yusef explained the whole plan, Ross was slowly reaching into his back pocket for the pack of matches that the man at the baggage carousel had given him. He managed to retrieve them from the pocket and pulled one free. If he could light it and then throw it at Yusef’s face, he might be able to knock the gun from his hands and disarm Victoria as well.
“We tried it a year and a half ago, with Victoria in first class. She was to detonate it just as the plane took off over a nearby town. But the situation worried her and made her too ill to stay onboard for take off. So I was forced to detonate it remotely while it was on the runway. But I felt that was not enough for these moneymakers. So we have been plotting it to the point where it was flawless. But, of course, there is always that unknown factor. There is you, Mister Ross.”
“Don’t forget this either,” Billy said, tossing the lit match at Yusef. Surprised, he jumped back and Billy followed with a straight kick to his abdomen. Yusef puffed as the air was forced of out him, dropping his gun in the process.
Then Billy went for Victoria. He grabbed her wrist and tried to get her to release her grip on Sam’s gun. She held strong and pointed it at Billy’s face. Billy gritted his teeth, trying to move the gun’s barrel away from him but was unable to. He could hear Wendy scream his name as the firing pin slowly moved backwards. Billy knew that if he was going to die now, he would at least make sure that Wendy would not follow. But his worries were not necessary because a fist came shooting out of nowhere and connected with Victoria’s chin. Singh howled in pain and get go of the gun. Billy stepped back and saw that Ortiz was up and awake again. He leaned over and picked up his gun.
“No one ever handles my gun but me,” he stuttered.
It was two hours later and the passengers had been diverted to another plane taking off for Chicago. Billy and Wendy sat by the entrance to the boarding ramp while Ortiz was off talking to his bosses.
“I’m telling you, I’ve never had that happen until today. And I have no idea why I was the one it happened to,” Billy told her.
“That’s so weird. I mean the day after we become engaged, you have this premonition of me in danger. I think it’s quite romantic.”
“Yeah, it’s very romantic that I’m in all this pain and trouble because I saved you and a group of people who will never actually thank me for it.”
“Well, I can certainly think of several ways to thank you,” Wendy purred. Billy looked over at her and smiled. They were then interrupted when Ortiz walked over to them.
“How’s the psychic hero doing?” he asked. Billy smirked and shrugged.
“Doing okay but feeling unappreciated.”
“Well, don’t be. I spoke to my bosses and they are willing to make your effort very worthwhile. All right, they were only going to give you a lifetime of free flights but I persuaded them to add more to the thanks. So they are willing to fund your entire wedding and will set up a college fund for any little psychics you two will have in the future.”
“Thank you,” Billy said, standing up and shaking Sam’s hand. Ortiz smiled and nodded to him in return.
“Now, there’s no need for you two to sit here any longer. Go home and take it easy. Oh, and if I were you, I wouldn’t go around telling anyone else about those little visions of yours.”
“Don’t worry, I don’t anyone would believe me anyway,” Billy laughed. Then he took Wendy’s hand and walked away from Gate C-73 towards home.