Page 100 of Possess Me

Maybe the last thing I needed was to mind fuck myself.

I checked the gauges and the flight pattern, expecting to see nothing but open waters and a clear shot to Miami.

What the hell?

After double checking that I’d laid out the flight plan correctly, I checked the gauges again. Wait a minute. Something was wrong. How had I not noticed this before? Because the flight plan was automatic once set and I should have gotten notification if there was something wrong. Changes just couldn’t be made.

We were off course by several hundred miles. Not that it couldn’t be rectified, but I couldn’t believe I’d made such a simple mistake with my calculations. Even with the trauma and the sweep of emotions, my training had never failed me. Not once.

A tickling sensation swept across the back of my neck. Not exactly my hair standing on end, but close enough. I reset the course, paying close attention that no quick changes were made that would indicate a full instrumentation malfunction.

No, everything seemed to be on track.

If so, why did my instinct tell me there was something very wrong? I continued checking every single instrument, hating the self-doubt. This was the wrong time to be worried about my skills.

A flash of red drew my attention.

Immediately, my pulse shot up.

No. Oh, no. One of the engines was failing.

I tried to figure out what was wrong, continuously checking. The engine was sluggish but working.

Until it wasn’t.

The last thing I needed to do at this point was panic.

As every last bit of training I’d had on how to handle this kind of scenario rushed into my mind, I managed to concentrate. I ran through the various exercises. I’d trained on a similar jet, which allowed me to feel more comfortable with what she was capable of.

When I manually tried to start the engine, I was able to breathe a sigh of relief.

The engine sputtered to life.

What in the hell had happened?

I glanced over my shoulder, realizing Vissarian was awake.

After leaning forward and looking out, he swiveled his head toward mine, our eyes locking. I could swear the man had a sixth sense about him. Immediately, he rose to his feet, taking long strides toward me and into the cockpit.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Why do you think anything is wrong?”

“Because I know you too well by now. What is happening?”

Sighing, I checked the engine again. It was still running smoothly. “We momentarily lost an engine.”

“Damn it. I’m no pilot, but I certainly know better than to think that an engine is going to intermittently work on a recently renovated plane.” Vissarian slipped into the other seat in the cockpit, staring at the instruments. “I knew we should have checked the plane for sabotage.”

“I thought the plane was secured.”

He laughed. “There are ways around security, Fallon. You must be aware of that given your military background.”

Of course he was correct. “We’re also off course.”

“Fuck me. How can someone manage to do that?”

“Electronic interference. It’s risky, but possible. I’ve got us back on course.” I didn’t want to add ‘for the time being’ since I had my doubts. There was no chance with the renovation recently completed that two major issues would occur randomly. “What about the people who handled the work on the plane? Trustworthy?”