November 24, 1971

    "Alright Mr. Cooper. That'll be twenty dollars for a ticket on Northwest Orient Flight 305 from Portland, Oregon to Seattle, Washington." The young woman smiled at me as I handed over the bill. "Have a happy Thanksgiving."

    "You as well," I said politely. I walked through the airport, found my gate and sat with the other passengers. From the window I saw the Boeing 727 I would soon be hijacking sitting on the runway. The flight from Portland to Seattle was twenty–eight minutes. Little did my fellow travelers know it was going to be longer.

    I watched as a blonde flight attendant exited down the aft staircase of the plane and walked up the stairs to the airport. She opened the door and a gust of somewhat cool air brought the others to attention.

    "Ladies and gentlemen if you would please follow me we are clear to begin boarding." The flight attendant ushered us through the door and down onto the tarmac. The line of waiting passengers as another attendant checked our tickets before boarding was short; just as I wanted it. The fewer people on this flight the fewer problems I had to potentially face.

Sayuri and I had done our research and planned very detail. What I couldn't control would be others' reactions should this plan go south. The bomb was a fake but none of them knew that. Sometimes people rise to the occasion when gripped with fear and stay calm while others are crippled by it and can't move. Those reactions I could handle. What I doubted my ability to handle was a group that got brave and restrained me while taking a closer look at the bomb. If that should happen we would land and I would be jailed.

    That must not happen. Too much was riding on this. Not only my future, which I absolutely didn't want to spend behind bars, but my two children and Sayuri's futures would be ruined as well. Kristen and Nick didn't know about this, obviously. Even if I pulled this off I doubted I'd ever tell them. I'd say the bank had changed their mind and the loan they denied me went through. A long lost relative had died and left me a fortune. What did it matter where the money came from? I would say. The bank was about to foreclose on us and since I unexpectedly found myself a single parent with debts run up by my former spouse, debts which I had no prior knowledge of, were coming out of the woodwork and we were in real trouble but now everything will be fine. Aunt Sayuri and I can now open the special effects shop we'd always wanted and hopefully work on movies making monsters and sets, and maybe even the occasional Halloween costume for a rich client. Isn't that great?

    Anything but the truth which I couldn't trust to those teenagers though I loved them dearly.

    I walked up the aft staircase keenly aware that I would be jumping from it later tonight, hopefully heavy laden with money. I found my seat 18E and set the suitcase on the empty seat beside me. As the others found their places I let my eye wander to the window. I turned my head slightly this way and that making sure the facial prosthetics were holding up. They were. Sayuri and I knew our stuff but the anxiety that something would go wrong had me checking my face any time I could. I was getting used to the colored contacts which changed my eyes from a soft blue to a dark brown. Sayuri was a genius. I could never have made them and even though I wouldn't be able to wear them all night it didn't matter. A few hours and I could take the slightly stinging annoyances out.

    Soon enough we were rolling down the runway and lifting into the air. I took a deep breath and smiled at the other flight attendant, a young dark haired woman, slowly making her way down the aisle taking drink orders.

    "Can I get you anything, sir?"

    "I'll have a bourbon and soda, please." She nodded and went to fill my order. While she was gone I reached into my jacket pocket and grabbed the note I'd written beforehand.

    "Here you are, sir."

    "Thank you." I took my drink and held out the scrap of paper to her. She smiled and went to put the paper in her pocket, no doubt thinking it was my phone number. "Miss, you'd better look at the note. I have a bomb."

    Her face remained expressionless as she read the note and then took the seat beside me as I directed in it.

    "May I see the bomb?" she asked me.

    I opened my briefcase long enough for her to glimpse eight red cylinders in two rows of four, clearly dynamite. A wire was attached to the cylinders and one large cylindrical battery. Another cylindrical battery sat opposite those though it had nothing attached. I took up the other wire hidden from her view.

    "All I have to do is touch the end of this wire to the top of the second battery and the bomb will detonate," I told her.

    "What is it you want?" Her voice was strong which impressed me. I saw a brief struggle play out in her eyes as she fought fear and fell back on her training. Guilt rose up in me as I saw her fear, but I reminded myself why I was doing this and that guilt seemed less important.

    "Two hundred thousand dollars in negotiable American currency, four parachutes and a fuel truck standing by in Seattle to refuel us before we leave; also food for the flight crew."

    "I'll go inform the pilots." A few minutes later she returned saying that all my wishes had been relayed to Seattle. I nodded and thanked her.

    She and the other flight attendants began asking passengers to move forward to unoccupied seats. Some grumbled but did as they directed though none appeared suspicious.

    "Attention ladies and gentlemen, this is the Captain speaking. We have a technical issue that will keep us from landing promptly in Seattle. It's not a cause for alarm , but until the issue is resolved we will be entering a holding pattern above Puget Sound. We will inform you when the situation changes. We apologize for the inconvenience and hope this will not spoil your Thanksgiving. Thank you."

    The light from inside the plane was irritating to my eyes with the contacts in but since I couldn't take them out just yet I put on my sunglasses. The dark haired flight attendant went back into the cockpit and the blonde one came to sit by me.

    "Can I get anything for you, sir?"

    "Another bourbon and soda, please." She went to fill the order and I lit a cigarette. I'd probably need a lot of them while we were up here.

    "Here you are."

    "Thanks. Would you like a cigarette?"

    "No thank you, sir. I don't smoke."

    "It's a nasty habit. I wish I never started. Looks like Tacoma down there."

    "It is. Have you spent time there?"

    "In another life," I said cryptically. "McChord Air Force Base is only a twenty minute drive from Tacoma." My father had been stationed there during his stint in the military. I had fond memories of this place though I couldn't share them with my current company. "What's your name?"

    "Tina Mucklow."

    "Why'd you get into flying?" I asked as I lit another cigarette.

    "For the travel."

    I nodded but didn't say anything.

    "Forgive me for asking but do you have a grudge with Northwest Orient?"

    "I don't have a grudge with your airline, miss. I just have a grudge." The green eyes and light brown hair I'd fallen for and married popped into my mind. That was the grudge I held. Spousal abandonment had taken a toll on my financial situation and emotions. Eventually I suspected I could forgive that given time. What I absolutely would not forgive was the emotional toll the abandonment had on my children.

    I'd never seen it coming. One day we were all happy. The next I came home after picking the kids up from soccer practice to a note pinned on the front door. I should have seen the excuses of working later on new projects for what they were. If I'd of known how bad things were and that I was no longer the love I'd once been I would have asked for a divorce. It would have hurt undoubtedly. Though it would have been a lot easier to explain to my kids rather than my tearful breakdown explanation that'd we been dumped for some sleazy redhead with a bad dye job.

    "You ever dream about being the pilot instead of a flight attendant?"

✈️

    Two hours later Tina came back after a short visit to the cockpit. Everything I wanted had been gathered, and if I would like, we were clear to land.

    "Yes. Tell the pilot to land on an isolated, brightly lit section of the apron. I want you to close all the window shades. I don't want the police snipers that'll be waiting for us to have a clear shot. Once we land no one may come on the plane. Tina, I want you to bring me the money and parachutes. You won't be able to carry it all at once so there'll be multiple trips. Once I have everything the passengers may leave. The other two flight attendants may also leave. You will sit by me again and we will leave for Mexico."