The CEO felt cold.
“Yours.”
He nodded.
The Senior Flight Attendant backed one step away.
The CEO noticed.
Interesting.
The Operations Executive continued:
“I didn’t access it.”
“Then who used your credentials?”
“I don’t know.”
“That answer is unacceptable.”
“I know.”
The CEO looked at the Captain.
“Why is he onboard?”
The Captain answered.
“He arrived ten minutes before boarding.”
“Said corporate security authorized a jumpseat review.”
“Did you verify?”
“Yes.”
The Captain’s anger deepened.
“The authorization checked out.”
The CEO looked toward the Operations Executive.
“Did you create it?”
“No.”
“Your credentials again?”
“Yes.”
The CEO stared.
Somebody had not simply discovered her travel.
They had used a senior executive account to place a corporate officer on her aircraft.
Then left a threat.
The wording mattered.
DO NOT LET CROSS REACH BOSTON.
Not kill.
Not harm.
Not stop the flight.
Stop her reaching Boston.
Why?
The CEO looked toward the window.
Boston was not just the destination.
At 3:30 that afternoon, she was scheduled to attend a closed board meeting.
Not ordinary.
Unannounced.
The board was voting on something only eight people knew.
A confidential acquisition.
Atlantic Crown Aviation Group was preparing to purchase a struggling regional competitor.
If approved, the transaction would create the third-largest premium route network in the country.
Billions.
Thousands of jobs.
Airport slots.
Debt.
Share price.
And enemies.
The CEO looked back.
“Who knows about the Boston meeting?”
The Operations Executive answered:
“Board.”
“Legal.”
“Finance.”
“You.”
“Yes.”
The CEO looked toward the Senior Flight Attendant.
She was pale.
But not confused enough.
The CEO asked:
“Do you know what meeting I’m attending?”
The attendant recoiled.
“No.”
The CEO watched her face.
The woman was frightened.
That did not prove knowledge.
Fear was not guilt.
The CEO knew better than most executives how easily suspicion became certainty.
She refused to make the same mistake that had just been made against her.
The Captain said:
“We should deplane you.”
The CEO looked at him.
“Why?”
“Until security clears this.”
“If I leave, what happens to 417?”
“Departure delay.”
“How long?”
“Unknown.”
The CEO checked her watch.
Already twenty-one minutes late.
Passengers had connections.
Crew duty limits.
Boston arrival slot.
But none of that outweighed safety.