Page 102 of Possess Me

“What?”

“Secure Bella for me. Would you? And you might want to put your seatbelt on.”

“Why?” he grilled.

“Because we’re taking a detour to Cuba whether they agree or not.” The closest airport was the Santiago de Cuba International Airport. Landing in a hostile country wasn’t what I’d had on the day’s dance card and making it before sliding into the deep blue ocean was still a crapshoot, but there was no other choice.

“Fuck. Fuck!” Vissarian jerked up from the seat, immediately grabbing his phone.

“Mayday. Mayday.Este es el vuelo N65oG2 con una señal de socorro. Solicitamos permiso para aterrizar en el Aeropuerto Internacional de Santiago de Cuba.”

This is flight N65oG2 with a mayday. Requesting permission to land at Santiago de Cuba International Airport.

When the goddamn coms grew silent, I was more than pissed. “Do you fucking hear me?”

“Who is speaking, please?”

Finally, someone who knew English. At least he’d heard my fucking level of frustration. “This is Captain Fallon Zimmerman. We are in a crisis. I’ve lost one engine and am about ready tolose the second. This is not a watercraft. I repeat, this is not a watercraft.”

The bastards took their sweet time. I knew they required permission from their damn government, but at this rate, I could swim to shore faster. Silence wasn’t golden at this point. I continued to look at the instrumentation regarding the engine.

I was going to lose her at any minute.

“Negative. You do not have permission. Please set a course for Miami International Airport.”

The man’s voice grated the fuck out of my nerves.

“What the fuck is their problem?” Vissarian popped his head back into the cockpit. “Give me that.”

“Oh, no, you don’t. Sit your ass down. I’ll handle this. I am the pilot.” I threw him a look and I’d be damned if he didn’t do what I asked.

Or what I’d commanded.

Just like he did with me.

“Listen to me, whoever you are. I have Vissarian Dmitriyev onboard this plane. If you don’t know who he is, look him up, but you better be damn quick about it because I am flying to that goddamn airport. Shoot me down if you need to, but the blood will be on your hands.”

You bet I was pissed.

When I tossed my headset, Vissarian chuckled from beside me. “Don’t let me get on your bad side.”

“This isn’t anything to joke about.”

As if to prove we were in dire straits, the second engine went completely.

“What the fuck?” Vissarian leaned forward.

“Keep your seatbelt on and lock your tray stand in place. We’ll soon be experiencing a bumpy ride.”

“Are you fucking gliding in?”

One last look in his direction before I had to concentrate. “Yes, I am.”

“Oh, fuck me.”

I grabbed the headset, repeating the flight number and the mayday signal. Then I threw in the last words that I’d waste time saying. “Please provide coordinates for a landing location and have other planes diverted from our airspace. Both engines are gone. I’m currently at an altitude of fifteen thousand feet and gliding down fast. At this point, I have control of the joystick, but could lose that at any moment. We’ve been sabotaged. Please advise.”

And the waiting game continued as I paid attention to every gauge, every movement.