eat something—she might have low blood sugar. I’ll try and make sense of the radio.”
She had a panic attack…
I remember walking away from the Cessna, my legs unsteady and my head numb, Vic Myerbridge’s arm around me, strong and confident. Don’t beat yourself up, Mina. The trick is to get back on the horse as soon as possible. Don’t let it get the better of you.
I shake off Derek’s arm. “I’ll do it.”
Rowan starts to speak. “I really don’t think—”
“Let her. Out of all of us, she’s the best placed to do it.”
There’s a loaded silence as the two men glare at each other before Rowan holds up his hands and gives in. He sends a warm smile my way, and as I clamber into the captain’s seat, I hold on to the tiny ray of confidence it gives me, pushing my memories aside. Behind me, I can feel Derek’s presence. He’s not a big man, but the flight deck is small, and a band tightens across my chest.
“Can you stay in the galley?” I turn to him. “And close the door?”
He shoots a stony look toward Rowan but does as I ask, and immediately, I feel better without a presence over my shoulder. I think about Derek’s suicidal confession, and I’m uneasy about his insistence that I take the helm. Does he want me to do it because he thinks I’m bound to fail? Because he wants me to fail?
My hands trembling, I put on a headset, grateful for the times I’ve brought coffee into the flight deck, catching the pilots’ movements as they speak to control. This, at least, I can do.
“Mayday, mayday, mayday. This is World Airlines 79.”
There’s a brief pause after I’m connected, as though the operator is too stunned to speak. And then: “World Airlines 79, what’s your situation?”
I let out a breath. The last time I piloted a plane, it set in motion a chain of events I’d do anything to have changed.
“The aircraft was hijacked. We have control of the flight deck again, but three of our pilots are dead, and the fourth is critically injured. We have no other technical staff on board. Repeat: we have no technical staff on board.” My voice rises as I finish transmitting, and I swallow hard.
“You’re doing great,” Rowan whispers, but I’m breathless with fear, the band around my chest squeezing all rational thought from me.
“What’s your name, World Airlines 79?”
“Mina. I’m cabin crew.”
“Understood,” she says. “Wait one, World Airlines 79.”
The wait is an eternity. In the distance, I can just make out where land and sea meet, although the line is blurred with a golden haze. I can’t see beneath or behind us. I think of the Air Force jets, scrambled to intercept, and sweat prickles the back of my neck. They don’t know that I’m not one of the hijackers or sitting here under duress. For all they know, there’s a hijacker right next to me, telling me what to say. One wrong move, and they’ll take us down…
“World Airlines 79, this is Brisbane Center.” The new voice is male, the headset pouring it into my ears as though he were right next to me. I start to tremble, and I slide my hands under my thighs to keep them still. “Mina, my name’s Charlie. I’m a triple seven pilot, and I’m going to help you get safely down.”
I blink back the tears. “Okay.”
“First things first. I want you to tell me how much fuel we have. See the two glass screens in front of you—right in the middle?”
I scan the vast instrument panel, a sea of levers and knobs and screens.
Here, let me show you…
“Mina?”
“Y-yes.”
“On the top to the right, you’ll see a bunch of around eight buttons. Right in the middle, you’ll see one marked FUEL.”
Rowan reaches toward the button just as I see it and looks at me inquiringly.
“Push it,” Charlie says. I nod to Rowan. “Now read out the figure on the bottom of the two screens.” I do what he says, the figures meaningless to me, and there’s a silence long enough for me to think I’ve lost him.
“Okay,” he says at last. “We’re good for a couple of hours.”
“Is that enough?” I exchange panicked glances with Rowan, who’s looking at his watch.
“Next up is really important, Mina. Around your right knee, you’ll find a dial marked autobrake. Once we’re on the ground, that’s going to stop the plane. Can you see it?”