Page 17 of Too Much In Common
The officers walked the wailing woman and her yapping dog from the plane. The first flight attendant gathered the woman’s pet carrier and purse while Chaz checked the overhead bin. Tian produced a container of cleansing wipes, and Chaz gave the seats a quick cleaning.
“On behalf of Legacy Air, our sincerest apologies.” She addressed the first-class cabin before returning to the cockpit.
Candace sat in the window seat as Chris put her bag in the overhead bin. The captain made the standard announcement to the flight crew to prepare the plane for departure.
“That was a novel experience,” said Candace as Chris buckled his seat belt.
“Yes, it was.” His phone vibrated. The Hastings security app. Chris checked it quickly since they were still on the ground.
Dana: What happened? And good call on getting them to close the curtain. I don’t think anyone recognized MsO.
Chris: Funny story about a woman and a dog. I’ll explain later.
The flight attendant reminded everyone to put their devices in airplane mode. Chris switched over to the airplane Wi-Fi.
Candace offered Chris a stick of gum. “I can’t do take-offs without some.”
“Thanks.”
“So how do you know the pilot?”
“What makes you think I know her?” This was the problem with being on first names with the principal.
“You said her name, and your observing-everything face cracked for a moment. She seemed surprised to see you, too.”
“She moved into the building last weekend.”
“Anything to do with your late-night need for a stuffed bear?” Candace smiled like the proverbial spider to the fly. She knew he was trapped, and she would eventually pull the story out of him. Maybe he should have opted to have Dana fly first class.
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Captain Cook completedhis announcements to the passengers. Now that they had reached cruising altitude, the plane followed its programmed path westward. Tian checked the instrument panel as the captain turned many of the plane’s functions over to autopilot.
The captain flipped the last switch and relaxed in his seat. “And here I thought we were going to have an uneventful flight. It started out with having to kick a dog off. Not what I was expecting today. I hope it is our quota for odd.”
“Why did you send me back instead of having the cabin steward take care of things? She had things under control.”
“Are you questioning my methods?”
“No. I’m trying to understand. Most pilots I’ve worked with trust their crew enough to let them handle the situation.”
“It isn’t a matter of trust. I was more concerned about the ticket holder to seat 3B. He checked a gun in his luggage through to Seattle. And since he is flying with a person of note, I assumed he was personal security. I don’t trust bodyguards to act rationally. I assumed that a show of authority would keep him in his place.”
Tian stared out of the window at the blanket of clouds. From here, they looked as warm and inviting as a down comforter, yet she knew viewed from below they were ominous in their threat to bring another winter storm to the upper Midwest. “I see your reasoning. However, this bodyguard looked more amused than anything.”
“Still, I’ve seen too many paid thugs go overboard when it wasn’t necessary.”
“Then why didn’t you go?”
“One, to leave a back-up plan; and two, you’ve got a prettier face.”
Unsure of where to catalog that piece of conversation, Tian let it drop. “So, how did you earn your pilot’s license?”
Captain Cook laughed. “You’re either terrible at changing the subject or super curious.”
“Probably terrible at changing the subject. I’ve already heard that you are a former Air Force.”
“What else have you heard?”
