Page 113 of Final Approach
“Only because I didn’t have a chance,” she shot back.
The approval darkened, but he stilled, listened, then scowled. “We’re going down. Why are we descending?” His yell reverberated off the cabin walls and he turned slightly so he could still keep Andrew and Kristine in his line of sight, but hollered to the pilot, “What are you doing?” He glanced out the window and cursed. “We’re going the wrong way! Don’t you dare land this plane back in Lake City!”
“I’ve been ordered to do so, sir.”
“No!” He slid out of the seat and aimed his gun at the pilot. “I’d rather be dead than face prison!” He pulled the trigger just as Andrewlaunched himself at him. Greg turned the weapon back toward Andrew, but it was too late. Andrew moved in, close enough to hit the man in the Adam’s apple with the palm of his hand. Greg gagged, lost his grip on the gun, and clutched his throat.
Andrew whipped out his cuffs and handcuffed the man to the seat leg. He could stay on the floor.
“Andrew, get me loose. Now!”
Kristine’s frantic cry whipped him around. “What?”
“Never mind. Go hit the autopilot switch or we’re going to crash!”
It registered that they were going down pretty fast. He ran to the pilot, who was slumped over the controls, blood pouring from a wound in his back. “Where is it?”
“I don’t know! I’m not familiar with this—”
“Found it.” He flipped the switch and the plane slowed, then leveled out. He checked the pilot and found a pulse. The man was just unconscious. He’d hit his head on the window when the bullet slammed into him. He pulled him out of the seat and into the cabin, where he laid him on the floor. Then he treated the wound as best he could, packing it with one of the blankets in the overhead bin.
“Hang on, buddy, we’ll get you help as soon as possible.” He returned to Kristine. “You’re going to have to fly this plane.”
TWENTY-FIVE
Kristine nodded, her face white. “That’s already occurred to me, but you’re going to have to get me loose first.”
He paused. “I could shoot it off, but I don’t want to risk another bullet. There’s an axe on board somewhere. Where do I find it?”
“Cockpit. Look for the toolbox.” She moved next to her glaring father, who’d regained his breath, and started checking his pockets. He fought her with his free hand and she punched him in the temple.
He flinched back and went still, his shock evident.
She stared at him. “Move again and no one will blame me if I go find a knife and slit your throat.” She wouldn’t do that, of course, but wanted him to believe she would. He stayed still, jaw tight, bruise forming where her fist had connected. Her hand throbbed and she honestly didn’t care. Her left hand closed around his key ring. “Never mind. Found the key.”
In seconds, she was loose and had the ankle cuff around her father’s leg. No sense in taking any chances. Then she went to the cockpit and slid into the pilot’s seat. She put the headphones on and connected with the control tower. Nausea swirled once more in her empty stomach. She looked back at Andrew. “And this is why you always have two pilots on board.”
“This plane doesn’t require it.”
“I know.”
“And besides, there are two pilots. You and the wounded guy. We need to get him to a hospital as soon as possible.”
“If he would wake up, that would be a lot easier.”
“You can do this.”
Kristine pulled in a steadying breath and nodded. “Right.” Her heart pounded and she gripped the control stick. “Right. And I’ll have someone talking me down too. Okay, here we go.” The hum of the engine was steady. That was good, but the sky pressed down on her. At least the gray clouds hadn’t released their bounty. “Please, God, don’t let it rain.”
“Amen,” Andrew whispered.
She turned her attention to the mic while Andrew checked on the pilot and her suspiciously silent father.Ignore them. Andrew’s got them covered.
She wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans and returned her hands to the stick. The altimeter was spinning too fast and the horizon seemed a little bouncy, but they were still in the air. Her mind flashed to her lessons. Her instructor’s voice in her ear.“Keep your wings level. Trust yourinstruments and stay calm.”Right. Stay calm. No problem.
She spoke into the headset. “Control, this is N763Delta. Pilot has been shot and is unconscious. Two other passengers on board in addition to myself. I do have some training but am going to need help landing this craft.”
The silence that followed was an eternity, with her heart still pounding out a frantic rhythm in her ears.
