Chapter 6 - THE WHISTLEBLOWER
“Shut down auxiliary power.”
David’s hand shot toward the display.
The captain did not move.
“Captain.”
“I heard you.”
“Then shut it down.”
The first officer reached for a switch.
A chime sounded from the center console.
The raw temperature dropped from 119 to 82 in one second.
David stared at it.
Then it jumped back to 120.
The captain pulled his hand away from the controls.
“That sensor is unstable.”
“No,” David said. “The data path is.”
He pointed at the line.
“A bad sensor drifts. It doesn’t teleport forty degrees and recover cleanly.”
The first officer opened another diagnostic page.
Three timestamps appeared beside the temperature feed.
Two were current.
One was six seconds old.
David’s pulse kicked.
“Your primary display is caching values.”
The captain looked at him.
“English.”
“Something is feeding you old safe numbers while the live channel runs hot.”
A knock hit the cockpit frame.
Mercer stood there.
“We’re done with this.”
The captain’s head snapped around.
“Excuse me?”
“This aircraft has passed dispatch checks. We have a slot. We have passengers. Corporate wants us moving.”
David laughed once.
“Corporate.”
Mercer ignored him.
“Captain, close the aircraft and continue normal operations.”
The captain stared at the temperature display.
“I’m not moving until maintenance signs off.”
“They already did.”
“Then get the technician back here.”
Mercer’s jaw tightened.
“Luis Ortega is not assigned to this aircraft.”
David stepped out of the cockpit.
“No. He just crawled under Seat 2A, hid an encrypted drive, got injured in a service corridor, and warned me not to let this plane leave.”
Mercer’s eyes flicked toward Catherine.
“You told him Luis’s name?”
Catherine’s face hardened.
“I recognized him.”
Mercer looked at her like she had become a problem that needed removing.
David saw it.
So did Malik from the first row.
His son’s fingers closed around the armrest.
A phone buzzed in David’s pocket.
Lena had sent a message from the terminal.
HOSPITAL CONFIRMED LUIS IS CONSCIOUS. FEDERAL AVIATION SECURITY EN ROUTE. CORPORATE COUNSEL TRYING TO BLOCK ACCESS.
David typed back.
KEEP HIM ALIVE. KEEP THEM OUT.
He looked at Mercer.
“You filed theft charges against Luis.”
“Corporate security did.”
“Who gave them the stolen-data description?”
Mercer said nothing.
David stepped closer.
“You knew there was data before we opened the panel.”
“No.”
“You knew the drive mattered before you saw the label.”
“No.”
“You knew Luis had taken something.”
Mercer’s eyes moved toward the cabin door.
David followed the glance.
Two more corporate security officers had arrived.
Not airport police.
Mesa employees.
One carried a document envelope.
The taller one spoke first.
“Mr. Johnson, legal has issued a preservation demand. The device recovered from company property must be surrendered immediately.”
David did not move.
“Federal investigators are on their way.”
“This is a corporate matter.”
“A hot avionics bay on a passenger jet is not a corporate matter.”
The officer’s hand shifted toward David’s jacket.
Malik stood up.
“Don’t touch my dad.”
Every adult looked at him.
David held out one hand without turning.
“Malik, stay behind the seat.”
Malik did.
But he did not sit.
The captain stepped out of the cockpit.
“No one is taking anything off this plane until aviation security gets here.”
Mercer’s phone rang.
He looked at the screen and walked into the galley.
“Vance,” Catherine whispered.
David looked at her.
“How do you know?”
“Grant only walks away from people for one person.”
“Who?”
“Elliot Vance. COO.”
Mercer’s voice dropped, but the galley was too close.
“We found it.”
David went still.
Mercer turned his back.
“No. Johnson has it.”
A pause.
Then Mercer looked over his shoulder and saw David watching.
He ended the call.
Too late.
David’s phone buzzed again.
Lena.
LUIS ASKING FOR YOU. DOCTOR GIVES TWO MINUTES BEFORE SEDATION.
David looked at the captain.
“Do not move this aircraft.”
“You have my word.”
Mercer stepped back into the aisle.
“That is not your decision alone.”
The captain’s face changed.
“It is exactly my decision.”
David grabbed Malik’s backpack.
“Come on.”
They crossed the bridge at a run.
Lena had arranged a secure video call from the hospital.
Luis appeared on her phone screen, bruising spreading along one cheek, oxygen line beneath his nose.
David took the phone.
“Luis.”
Luis’s eyelids fluttered.
“You found it.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t open it on Mesa network.”
“I didn’t.”
A weak breath escaped him.
“Good.”
“Who hurt you?”
Luis looked toward someone offscreen.
“Security.”
“Mesa security?”
Luis nodded once.
“Why?”
“Because I copied the logs.”
“What logs?”
Luis swallowed.
“Faults. Heat spikes. resets. Diversions.”
David crouched beside the phone as if that could bring him closer.
“How many aircraft?”
“Seven.”
“Flight 227?”
Luis closed his eyes.
“Worst one.”
Malik stood beside David, silent.
Luis continued.
“Your company sent warnings.”
David’s head snapped up.
“What warnings?”
“Johnson Aerotech engineering. Months ago.”
“That would have come to me.”
Luis shook his head.
“Didn’t.”
“Who stopped them?”
Luis coughed.
The nurse reached toward the phone.
“One more minute.”
David leaned closer.
“Luis, who buried the warnings?”
Luis’s lips moved.
No sound came out.
“What?”
Luis tried again.
“Vance had help.”
“From Mesa?”
Luis’s eyes opened fully.
“No.”
David stopped breathing.
“From where?”
Luis looked straight into the camera.
“Your side.”
The nurse took the phone.
May you like
The screen went black.
