“Captain, I examined your first officer. I don’t believe this is a normal medical collapse.”
Andrew turned.
“What do you mean?”
“His symptoms are consistent with chemical poisoning.”
Silence filled the cockpit.
Laura immediately looked toward the center console.
Something was missing.
“Where is his coffee thermos?”
The flight attendant looked around.
“It was here.”
Laura’s stomach tightened.
The broken flight-control system.
An incapacitated first officer.
And now evidence disappearing from the cockpit.
Those were no longer random coincidences.
“Lock the cockpit door,” Laura said.
Andrew looked at her.
“You think someone did this intentionally?”
“I think somebody wanted your first officer unable to fly.”
The aircraft began descending toward an emergency airport in northern Spain.
Then another warning appeared.
Hydraulic pressure controlling the right landing gear began dropping.
Almost immediately afterward, the cockpit keypad sounded.
Someone outside was attempting to gain access.
Andrew checked the camera.
“It’s Richard Sterling.”
