Chapter 5 - The Unraveling of a Criminal
The woman froze mid-lunge, her hands hovering awkwardly over Maya like broken claws. Her mouth opened and closed soundlessly, like a fish pulled out of water.
"Agent Vance, Federal Air Marshal," the older man stated calmly, stepping into the aisle beside Maya and gently placing a hand on my daughter's shoulder to shield her. He looked down at the classified hard drive still held steady in Maya’s hand. "Good catch, young lady. Excellent situational awareness."
Maya nodded politely, looking up at the federal agent with all the composure of a seasoned professional. "Thank you, sir. I saw it slip out of the side pocket of her tote bag when she was shoving her shoes under the seat during boarding. The label caught my eye because my uncle works in cybersecurity and has similar warning stickers on his work equipment."
Agent Vance offered Maya an approving smile before turning his icy gaze back to the woman in Seat 11A.
"And you," Agent Vance said softly, stepping closer so that his towering frame blocked any possibility of escape or movement. "Eleanor Vance? Or should I use your corporate alias? Let's save us both a lot of time. You're carrying restricted government property that was reported missing from a defense contractor facility in Chicago three hours ago—the exact same city we just departed from."
The woman—Eleanor—slumped back against her seat. The veneer of arrogant entitlement was completely gone, replaced by a shivering, pathetic wreck of a human being.
"I—I didn't mean... I was just carrying it for a colleague," she stammered, her voice shaking violently. "It's a mistake—"
"A mistake is forgetting your boarding pass," Agent Vance interrupted coldly, snapping a pair of heavy steel handcuffs onto her wrists with a crisp, metallic click that echoed loudly through the silent cabin. "Stealing classified defense data and attempting to board a domestic flight with it is a federal felony. Flight attendants, please notify the flight deck to request priority landing clearance and immediate law enforcement meet us at the gate in Orlando."
The flight attendant, still frozen near the beverage cart, nodded frantically and picked up the cabin phone with trembling hands.
May you like
Behind me, the businessman who had been typing on his laptop earlier cleared his throat awkwardly. "Uh... for the record, I'm a software engineer, and if she needs any technical verification of that drive's contents while we wait, I'm more than happy to help."
A few nervous, disbelieving laughs rippled through the cabin, breaking the heavy tension like thin ice.
