Fatal Justice

by John Etzil

  “Yeah, that would have been fun.” Kevin felt guilty about his enticement and tried to be nonchalant. “But don’t worry, I have a feeling I’ll be passing through these parts again soon.”

  “How long are you staying in Hawaii?”

  “Seven days.”

  “Wow, nice.” She smiled at him and leaned over the counter to get closer to him, her face just inches from his. “Hey, I’m on break in about twenty. Can I buy you a Coke before you leave on your little holiday vacay? Your flight’s not leaving for a while.”

  “Uhm, not tonight. I, uh, have some work to do before we board,” he lied, and stepped back slightly to create some distance between them. He was on the verge of caving in and needed some space. “But I’ll take a rain check.” He followed up his rejection with a thousand-watt smile.

  She leaned in closer. Some of her hair brushed against his face and feathered his nose as he inhaled. He closed his eyes and savored the moment. He thought of Margie. Guilt came, he inhaled, and the guilt disappeared. God, she smelled so good.

  “You know,” she whispered in his ear, her breath warm and perfect, “we can go to the pilots’ lounge. I’ll show you my tattoos.”

  Tattoos were a common thread between them, and they discussed them often. “All of them?” he replied, his nonexistent impulse control once again rearing its ugly head and sabotaging his potential relationship with a member of the opposite sex. What was he doing?

  “Every. Single. One.” She punctuated each word, and Kevin felt his composure wavering.

  Thinking of Margie, he sputtered, “Oh, man. I’d love to, but it’s just not a good time. Sorry.” And with a meek shoulder shrug, he waited and looked at her with a sheepish smile.

  With a deep sigh, she looked down at the papers in front of her and finished her work. It was clear to Kevin that she wasn’t used to being rejected by the opposite sex and that she didn’t take it well. After a few seconds, she regained her happy demeanor and smiled at him as she handed him back his buddy pass with his seat assignment. “Have a great flight, sir.”

  “Thanks.” He took his buddy pass, grabbed his bag, and rolled it away. He fought the urge to look at his seat assignment to see if she’d stuck him in the ass of the airliner, next to the bathroom.

  After finding a seat far enough away from Tess so that he could focus on his work, he broke out his laptop. Since FAA regs mandated that airline pilots could only fly one hundred hours per month, they didn’t really work that much. Most wound up flying eighty-five to ninety hours per month. That left them with plenty of free time for a pilot’s two favorite pastimes—getting drunk, and chasing women. Plural.

  Kevin had decided early in his career that it was in his best long-term financial interest to have just one wife rather than supporting a handful of women who would eventually collect alimony from him. So to keep himself busy, and out of trouble, he’d opened an Internet store that sold pilots’ supplies: sunglasses, watches, and other miscellaneous items that pilots found appealing. That had worked out well up until a few months ago—the one wife part, anyway.

  He attempted to check his sales numbers for the day, but he couldn’t focus on the spreadsheet. He was distracted by the encounter with Tess, and his mind drifted to his younger days. Days of opportunity.

  But not now. There was too much going on in his life, and the last thing he needed was another emotional attachment. And make no mistake about it, intimacy with Tess would create an attachment that would make his personal situation look like World War III as opposed to a minor skirmish in the field.

  Just the same, if she kept it up, he didn’t know how much longer he’d be able to resist her.

  Airliner Down Chapter 3

  Two hours and forty-five minutes before the event

  Kevin was so excited about his trip to Hawaii that he forgot to check and see who his pilots were. He usually reviewed the flight crew lineup a few days ahead of time, and if he liked the guys, he’d sit up front in the cockpit and ride jump seat with them instead of sitting with the flying public in coach. Although uncomfortable, the little fold-down seat behind the captain’s seat was tolerable for a thin person like Kevin.

  He boarded the plane and looked into the cockpit, where he saw the first officer, Tom Burns, sitting in the right seat. He was chatting with a fellow in a dark suit that was standing behind the captain’s seat. He didn’t recognize the visitor, but Kevin had flown with Tom many times and thought of him as a good pilot. Equally important, Tom was a good cockpit mate. Sometimes the younger guys that had just gotten promoted to the bigger airliners were a little nervous or hesitant in their actions or decision making, oftentimes deferring to the more experienced captain. Kevin tolerated that, figuring that it was all part of their learning and getting comfortable with the big aircraft, but he could never tolerate a bad cockpit mate. He had compiled a mental list, a personal “No Fly With Me” list, of guys who never shut up, ranted about politics or bad exes, or were all-around miserable beings who made five hours next to them in the cockpit intolerable. Tom wasn’t on that list.

  The left seat, where the captain sat, was occupied by Captain Roy Peterson, a thirty-five-year veteran of the airlines. Roy turned in his seat and, with the agility of a man half his age, extricated himself from his chair. “Excuse me, gentlemen,” he said as he made his way out of the cockpit.

  “Bathroom already? No more coffee for you, old man,” said Tom.

  “You got that right,” Roy said. “The caffeine might interfere with my midflight nap. Can’t let that happen.”

  Tom sighed, closed his eyes, and smacked his forehead in pretend anguish at his peer’s old joke. “Need new material, Captain.”

  Roy stepped out of the cockpit, his always present smile lighting up his face, and recognized Kevin right away. “Hey, young man,” he said. “Nice to see you.” He held out his hand and Kevin took it—his shake was strong and firm, like a man twenty years younger than his real age.

  “Hi, Captain,” Kevin said. “We going to have a smooth flight tonight? I need to catch up on some sleep.”

  “What, you’re flying and you haven’t checked the en route weather forecast?” the captain ribbed. “Seems like they’ll hire anybody to drive these aluminum tubes these days.”

  “Ha, no, I’ve been a little preoccupied,” said Kevin. Yeah, with Margie.

  Roy paused, and a seriousness crept into his look, “Can I talk with you a second?” He waved Kevin away from the other passengers and over to a quiet spot in the galley.

  “Sure.”

  “This might not be any of my business, but I heard about you and Patty, and I just wanted to tell you that I’m sorry.”

  “Thanks, I appreciate that.”

  “Don’t feel bad if you need to take some time off. Clear your head and all.”

  “Yeah, I was thinking about that…but you know how it is. Work is good for the soul. Keeps your mind off your troubles.”

  “True, just as long as your troubles don’t interfere with your work. But I trust that you’ll know if that happens. If you ever need anything, just let me know.”

  “Thanks, I will.”

  “So how long are you staying in Hawaii?” The smile came back and Roy put his hand on Kevin’s shoulder.

  “Seven days.”

  “Nice. Bringing in the New Year in Hawaii is a real treat. Elizabeth and I did that a few years ago. It was a great time. The Hawaiian people are just so friendly.”

  “Yeah, I’m really looking forward to it.”

  “Most of our crew will be laying over for three days at the Hilton. If you want to hang with us, we have some sightseeing planned for later in the day tomorrow, followed up with dinner and drinks at this awesome restaurant that I discovered a few months ago. You’re welcome to join us.”

  “Thanks, Cap. I’m good, though. Just going to relax and hang poolside for a few days.”

  “Roger that. If you change your mind, the offer is always open.”

  “Oka
y, thanks again.” Kevin shook his hand and made his way back to the seat that Tess had assigned him. At the ass end of the aircraft.

  Right next to the bathroom.

  He appreciated Roy’s gesture and he was going to miss him when he left. He hoped he’d get one more flight tour with Roy before he retired, but he kept getting shut out on his bids. The monthly bid schedule for pilot routes favored the guys with the most seniority, and most of the pilots with higher seniority than Kevin also wanted to fly with Roy one more time before he retired. Kevin had no way of knowing it, but he would never fly with Roy again.

  He sat down in his aisle seat, loosely fastened his seat belt, and thought of Margie. Seven days of uninterrupted quality time spent with his soul mate. Margie’s uplifting energy was the perfect remedy to his marital woes.

  His daydreaming was interrupted by his vibrating phone. He took it out and saw a text message from Margie.

  Margie: Room is awesome

  Kevin: not flying to HNL for the room

  Margie: Me neither. Taking a bath.

  Kevin: alone?

  Margie: Ass

  Kevin: hot crew on board this flight

  Margie: Bring 1 with u

  Kevin: ur a perfect girlfriend!

  Margie: Make sure he’s young AND fit

  Kevin: uhm…meant SHE crew!!!

  Margie: Oh! How silly of me. Just kidding…tee hee

  Kevin: now Im bringing 2

  Margie: Ha! Better take your Viagra!

  Kevin: we’ll c

  Margie: Might have 2 nap, wake me when u come

  Kevin: I will w/ XOXO all over

  Margie: Sleep on the flight, NO flirting! Bring energy. NO excuses!

  Kevin: kisses baby

  Margie: XOXO!!

  Kevin heard the solid thunk of the cabin door as it was closed and secured in place. A few minutes later, he felt the firm nudge as the tug connected with the nose gear of the big airliner and pushed it back from its gate. He heard the familiar soothing sound of the jet engines starting, and the aircraft started its taxi.

  One of the ladies from the cabin crew came on the intercom and began her preflight announcements to the passengers, which included the locations of the emergency exits, the reminder that your seat cushion was a flotation device, and best of all, instructions on how a seat belt worked, just in case there was a Neanderthal on board.

  Captain Roy came on the mike and, with the authority that only a seasoned airline pilot possessed, advised the flight crew to take their seats: “We’re number one for takeoff.”

  On the runway, the two engines spooled up smoothly and the familiar feeling of being pushed back in his seat as the airliner accelerated made Kevin feel at home. The tires bumped along the runway expansion strips, getting softer and softer as the wings started to rise and take on the weight of the big airliner, and then silence as the nose rose and the massive two hundred and fifty tons of machine defied the laws of physics and took flight. The landing gear was raised, completing its journey into the wheel wells with a solid thunk, and the flaps were retracted.

  The symphony of events that culminated in flight helped Kevin shake off the negativity of the past, and he plugged his headset into his iPhone and relaxed to some classical music. He closed his eyes and thought of Margie, and his mood elevated even higher. He relished the feel of her breath on his cheek, the excited way she hugged him when she saw him, the tenderness in her touch. She was perfect for him in every way.

  Except that she was married.

  Airliner Down Chapter 4

  One hour and fifty minutes before the event

  “Good evening, young man, may I offer you a beverage?” the flight attendant asked the young man that sat next to Kevin. He asked for a Coke. Kevin opened his eyes and looked up to see if he recognized her as part of a cabin crew he’d worked with. She was tall, midtwenties or so, with fair skin, blue eyes, and strawberry-blond hair tied back in a neat ponytail. Her face was symmetrical, her body lean. Her voice and features were familiar, but he didn’t recognize her. He lingered a little too long on her name tag.

  “How about you, sir? Can I get you anything?” Her voice was flat and uncaring as she smirked down at him with both hands on her hips, confirming that he had been caught red-handed admiring her physique.

  “Hi, Beverly.” Warmth rose in his neck and he started to blush. “Maker’s Mark with ice.”

  “Sure.” She handed him the miniature bottle of bourbon along with a cup of ice. No napkin. She unlocked her cart and moved it forward to serve the next row.

  Kevin closed his eyes and rested his head on the seat back to think. The way she’d handled their interaction was odd; something was off, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. It couldn’t be that she’d caught him admiring her breasts. She must get that all the time, and she should be immune to those weak male transgressions by now. He’d read in a magazine once that, while woman were reluctant to admit it, they loved when their breasts mesmerized the opposite sex. The “hello, look at me, I’m right here,” while they pointed to their eyes during conversation with a lust-stricken man who stared at their chest was really just a socially expected reaction. Deep inside, it excited women to have that control over the weaker male sex. For a woman to be walking down the sidewalk and have men trip over their own two feet as they passed by was empowering. Didn’t seem like Beverly was too excited though.

  Maybe Playboy shouldn’t be his go-to read for learning about women…

  He studied her as she served the other passengers and saw that her cold demeanor had disappeared. Her smile was genuine and her laughter, while subdued and professional, was real. What was up with her?

  “Daaaang,” an accented voice interrupted his thoughts. “I’d love to hit that.”

  Kevin turned and saw a young man, about eighteen, sitting across the aisle from him. The guy was thin with light brown skin and short dark hair. His arms were covered in tattoos, so many that they ran together and Kevin couldn’t figure out where one ended and another started. Maybe that was the point. The only thing that he could make out was the one that read “209” in big bold numbers down the back of the guy’s forearm.

  Based on his behavior and how he was dressed, Kevin concluded that it was some kind of gang symbol. Just his luck, Tess had seated him next to a street punk who was now leaning out into the aisle in an aggressive fashion, ogling Beverly’s backside as she leaned over a few rows in front of them to hand a window-seat passenger their beverage.

  Kevin leaned away from him to avoid breathing the same air. The young male, oblivious to Kevin and everyone else around him, squirmed in his seat, squeezed his knees together, and placed his hand on the crotch of his oversized jeans and fixed himself multiple times. The dumbass was clueless about how obvious and insulting his sexual attentions were. Or he just didn’t care. Sheesh.

  Kevin grabbed his noise-canceling Bose headphones, switched it on, and placed it over his ears but didn’t turn the music on. Instead, he closed his eyes and enjoyed the solitude that the noise-canceling technology delivered. The drone of the turbine engines was barely audible, and the sounds of the excited holiday vacationers as they talked and laughed out loud were reduced to a low murmur of white noise in the background. Ahh, technology.

  After a few minutes of peace and quiet, he selected Vivaldi’s Four Seasons in iTunes and hit play. The tranquility of listening to the violin concerti while sipping his whiskey soothed his soul like nothing he’d ever experienced. It made him relax and forget about the chattering fellow passengers who would spend the next five hours seated across from him.

  Combined with the wonderfully relaxing effect of the alcohol, the music helped him forget his deeper problems. Gone were thoughts of his ex-wife Patty and how their loving relationship had been destroyed by sickness, torn to shreds by a bacterial organism that had directly turned their three-person family into two, and indirectly into one.

  Most important of all, it helped him forget about Kevin Jr.,
his dead infant son.

  Airliner Down Chapter 5

  One hour and thirty minutes before the event

  Twenty-two rows in front of Kevin, Cheryl Lamburt leaned over and snuggled her nose into the crook of her new husband’s neck. She’d always appreciated the smell of the opposite sex, but the excitement his scent created in her was off the charts. She wrapped her arms around his, squeezed, and kissed him hard on the neck before settling back into her seat.

  She thought about how fortunate she was to have finally found someone who did it for her on all levels. She’d be the first to admit that years of bad dates, bad relationships, boring double dates with friends, and awful Internet meetings at the local coffee shop had tainted her feelings toward the men in her world. It had gotten so bad that she’d decided to take a break from dating and focus on her work. Her job as an assistant professor of chemistry at Princeton University had given her a host of options for a career path, and she was determined to make the most of them.

  Until she’d met Jack Lamburt. Damn her friend for connecting them. A benign Friday-night dinner at a local Italian eatery had changed her life. As soon as she’d entered the restaurant, her eyes had been drawn to him like magnets to a steel rod. She had to work to close her mouth when she was introduced to him.

  Her friend Kathy had told her that he’d be joining them, but she’d downplayed it. “Don’t worry, it’s not a setup. He just got out of a bad breakup, and he doesn’t want to date anyone right now.” Which was fine with Cheryl. She was in no mood to be set up with another friend of a friend.

  Kathy’s husband Eric had been Jack’s roommate for two years at Notre Dame. Jack had been one year ahead of Eric, and after Jack had graduated, they’d stayed in touch and remained good friends. Eric had gone the finance route, landing a job on Wall Street soon after graduating, while Jack was a little more civic-minded. Perhaps it was because his father had done well for himself by opening up a chain of McDonald’s across the Northeastern US. He now owned thirteen of them, with no signs of slowing down, and Jacks upbringing never wanted for money.