Page 21 of Strictly Business

‘Okay,’ Liam was shouting into the radio. ‘I’ve found the airspeed dial. It says we’re flying at – er – one hundred and twenty knots. Is that OK? It is? Great!’

Alice kept up the rhythmic pressure. Please let Joe would revive soon. As she worked she could hear the voice on the radio explaining the basic controls to Liam, and the confident replies Liam gave to each set of instructions. Wow! How did he stay so calm?

In the midst of terror, there was something commanding about his manner, something reassuring. Perhaps it was an illusion created by broad shoulders?

But the illusion was destroyed when Liam yelled, ‘Brace yourself back there. We’re already approaching the Redhead Downs airstrip. I’m going to have to land this thing soon.’

Alice’s chest squeezed like a vice, breaking the rhythm of her pumping. She had a vision of the ground racing up to meet them, fancied she heard the shriek of ripping metal, the blast of an explosion. Pain.

Idiot, stop that right now!

She heard a faint groan and stared hard at Joe. Had he made that noise? Was his colour improving? Surely he looked a little pinker?

He groaned again and coughed.

‘Joe’s alive!’ she screamed.

Liam was too busy focusing on instructions from the radio to reply.

‘He’s coming round,’ shouted Alice.

‘Can he talk?’ Liam called back to her.

Alice gave the poor man a shake. ‘Hey, Joe, wake up. We need you!’

‘Ask him if the plane has fixed or retractable landing gear,’ yelled Liam.

‘Joe,’ Alice shouted. ‘What kind of landing gear does this plane have?’

There was no reply. Joe’s face was pale again and beaded with sweat.

‘Please, Joe,’ urged Alice. ‘Tell me about the landing gear.’

‘Fixed,’ he whispered.

‘Fixed,’ she called back to Liam.

‘Fixed,’ Liam shouted into the radio. ‘Hallelujah! We’ve got wheels!’

His excitement was contagious. Suddenly it seemed possible that somehow Liam was going to land this plane. They were going to be all right. Alice felt a surge of courage. She was going to have faith. Now. Even when poor Joe rolled onto his side and groaned wretchedly, she remained calm.

She found a hand towel and a bottle of water in her backpack and washed his face. His eyes flickered open.

‘Sorry about this. Think it must be bad indigestion.’ And then he tried to sit up. ‘I’m all right now. I’ll take over.’ But he’d no sooner spoken than his face turned as white as paper and he sank backwards again.

‘If you try to fly and keep blacking out we won’t make it, Joe. The best way you can help is by lying still and staying conscious. That way, Liam can ask you questions.’

Eyes closed, he nodded.

She dampened the towel again and mopped the beads of perspiration on his brow, and as she worked she watched Liam in her periphery.

From her point of view he looked perfectly cool and collected, but she knew that was impossible. He’d never flown a plane before. He would be fighting fear every second.

‘I can see the landing strip now,’ he was telling his instructor on the radio and he sounded remarkably calm. ‘Yes, I’m pulling back on the throttle, reducing power. Yes.’

Joe grabbed Alice’s elbow. ‘Tell him he mustn’t let the nose drop more than six inches below the horizon.’

She relayed the message at the top of her voice.

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