I nodded in agreement.
“Please, everybody get back in your seats and try to remain calm,” the captain pleaded through the loudspeaker, desperately trying to regain some sort of control
I could appreciate this was probably procedure, but we were past listening after what we had just seen. The plane was filled with noise and confusion, as passengers frantically checked their windows and positioned themselves away from the emergency door, which was still open.
“This is going downhill rapidly,” I said to Jack, “let’s make a break for it.”
Bernie had been listening to our conversation. He stood, pointed dramatically in our direction and shouted, “These two are military, these two, sitting right here.”
Jack grabbed Bernie’s shoulder and threw him down into a seat before whispering through gritted teeth, “Shut the fuck up.”
Unfortunately, Bernie’s shouting had attracted everyone’s attention, including the captain who now approached our seats.
“Are you an Air Marshal?” The captain said to Jack.
“No, I’m just here for a short break,” Jack protested, his face reddening. It felt like the whole plane was focusing on our seats.
“Captain, we need to get off this plane,” I said. “I suggest we form a small break-out team so we can scout the area. Jack and I will volunteer.”
We both wanted to get clear of the plane, and now we had a potential opening. There was no way of knowing where the safest place to be was, but no matter what was going on, a full plane was a large juicy target.
The captain looked dubious, “Official procedure is for everyone to stay on the plane.”
“Do you really have an official procedure for what we have just seen?”
My reply left the captain speechless. He opened and closed his mouth, but no words came out.
“We’ve done site clearance in the army. We know what we’re doing. If there’s any help out there, we’ll find it,” Jack said.
Our assertiveness had won the captain over and he gave us a resigned nod.
“Can Linda and I come with you? I know my way around the airport, and four people are better than two if we come across any more danger,” Bernie said.
“That doesn’t sound like a good idea, Bernie. Four of us can draw a lot more attention,” Jack replied.
“Come on, guys,” Bernie protested, “I set this up for you, and four will be better than two. I know the airport layout, and Linda used to work here.”
I looked at Linda. She was younger than Bernie, and quite glamorous, with wavy brown hair and expensively labelled, smart clothing. Bernie’s suggestion made sense, having local knowledge would be a bonus for us.
“Okay, you can come with us,” I said, “but no more passengers. Four is more than enough.”
Bernie looked relieved and smiled.
“Can my husband and I come with you as well? We don’t want to stay on here any longer, not after watching what just happened.” A middle-aged lady seated in front of us asked.
Jack and I both looked at each other. Thankfully, Bernie stepped in.
“No, sorry. We’ll go in a small group so there will be less chance of being spotted. But I promise, we will bring you whatever help we can find.”
“Please,”she begged.
“No. I am sorry, but it just isn’t possible.”
The truth was that it was doubtful if anyone even knew what was possible. Nevertheless, we had decided to go for it, so it would be by our rules.
Bernie stood up on his seat and announced our intentions to all of the passengers. He sold us as the breakout party who would find assistance and ensure that nobody was forgotten. Jack and I grabbed the small backpacks that we brought on as hand luggage, shoved in a flashlight, two bottles of water, and a disposable lighter that were provided by other passengers.
As we finished packing the items we thought might be of use, a man in a light brown blazer walked down the aisle towards us. He stopped short and stood in the junction between the two sections of the plane.
“Right, guys, fill me in on what’s happening.”
“Who are you?” Jack growled.
“I’m Morgan. We’ve had a meeting in business class, and I’m going with you.”
“No, you’re not coming with us,” I replied. “We’ve already organised a team.”
“We’re not letting you go out there and get us all killed. We’ve got business leaders in our section. What you need is proper strategy and strong negotiation skills. That is why it’s sensible I lead the group.”
“Sorry, but the answer is no,” I replied. “I doubt the security official who murdered the steward, then blew his own brains out would have been swayed by a flashy Power Point presentation.”
Morgan’s eyes narrowed and his top lip curled into a snarl.
“Are you going to allow this?” He barked at the captain.
“I’m sorry, but it’s their call, sir.” He then turned back to us and said, “I’ll go and see if I can find you anything useful from the cockpit.”
“Somebody is going to get sued for this. Unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable,” Morgan shouted before storming back towards the front of the plane.
I asked all the passengers to check through the windows for signs of movement. If we could make it to the airport fence without being stopped, go under or over it, and then head around to the short stay car park near the front of the terminal, it would be a good start.
The plan was simple. We figured that once outside the airport itself, we’d be able to make contact with Homeland Security, who was sure to be in the vicinity. Since everything looked deserted around the airport, we assumed the area must have been sealed off.
Bernie, Linda, Jack, and I, walked to the cockpit to brief the captain and co-pilot.
After giving them an outline, I said, “Okay, you know what we’re doing. If we’re not back when it’s starting to get dark, then chances are we may not be coming at all. You might have to try something yourself, but either way, it’s probably best you wait until morning.”
Although concerned with our plan, they seemed resigned to going along with it. The captain had a couple of questions.
“I’m going to seal up all the doors so we will need a sign that it’s you, okay?”
“I’ll turn the flashlight on three times.”
“We’ll keep a lookout. Do you have everything you need? I think—”
“Do we have any weapons?” Bernie interrupted. Turning to Jack, he asked, “Can you use a gun, right?”
Jack nodded, “Yes, I can. So can Harry. When we jump down the slide, I’ll grab the pistol off the security guard. Hopefully, there will still be a few rounds in the magazine. Have we got any others?”
Jack and I had joined the army after leaving school and served six years each, but we’d had technical trades and were not combat troops. I knew how to use firearms, but I didn’t want to raise any kind of expectation, although some training was better than no training.
“There’s a flare gun, if that will be of any use,” the captain replied.
“What? So we can advertise our location to the terrorists,” Bernie scoffed.
Linda disapprovingly pinched his arm.
This was not the time for sarcasm, and we didn’t know what was happening or how useful a flare gun could actually be.
“Bernie, did that man look like an average terrorist? He was dressed like part of the airport staff,” I snapped.
“He might have been undercover,” he replied, looking slightly embarrassed.
Why would a terrorist use a uniform to fool us and then kill himself?
“I’ll take the gun, Captain. You never know, do you? We can always let a flare off in the direction of the plane if we get into a safe area, but can’t return to you. Stay where you are if you see it,” I said.
I was impressed with how confident I sounded. The co-pilot handed me the flare gun with six cartridges attached. It had a simple mechanism, so I didn’t require instructions.