Maya froze.
“You know me.”
“Better than you think.”
He slammed his heel down on her foot and pulled free.
Then he raised his wrist.
The blue light turned red.
From the cockpit came a new warning tone.
Adrian’s smile vanished.
“Get your captain away from the controls.”
“What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
Another alarm.
This one deeper.
Continuous.
Adrian looked almost annoyed.
“That isn’t me.”
Maya stared at him.
“What?”
His eyes shifted toward the ceiling, listening.
Then toward the windows.
The F-16 appeared again through the storm.
Adrian whispered one word.
“Ethan.”
Back in the cockpit, everything was deteriorating.
Altitude data flickered.
Navigation screens reset repeatedly.
The first officer had switched to manual reference.
Captain Reeves looked at Adrian, who now stood near the cockpit entrance with Maya gripping his arm.
“You brought him here?”
“He claims the new system failure isn’t his.”
Reeves stared.
