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Directive One: Michelle Reagan, #2
Directive One: Michelle Reagan, #2
Directive One: Michelle Reagan, #2
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Directive One: Michelle Reagan, #2

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The unthinkable happens in the skies over Florida, when someone hijacks the CIA Director's flight as he returns from his daughter's wedding.

  • WINNER: Pinnacle Book Achievement Award, Winter 2020 -- Best Spy Thriller
  • FINALIST: Eric Hoffer - First Horizon Award - 2020
  • HONORABLE MENTION: Readers' Favorite Book Awards 2020 - Fiction-Thriller-Espionage

Michelle Reagan—code name Eden—and an elite team of US Navy SEALs are sent halfway around the world to rescue him. Their high-risk mission to rescue the director and his wife becomes a full-scale assault on a heavily fortified military base. If rescue becomes impossible, Eden will have to carry out the CIA's best-kept secret: Directive One.

K.C. Finn of Readers' Favorite Book Reviews says in a 5-star review: "Author Scott Shinberg presents an excellent addition to the action and military genres along the lines of those who enjoy Tom Clancy, Robert Ludlum, and Andy McNab, but with a distinct twist in the central figure of a powerful and capable heroine. Michelle Reagan is a powerhouse of a woman who still retains a truly feminine narrative quality, without pandering to any particular trope of the genre. With this core strength, the novel takes shape in both the plot and the atmosphere around her. The elite soldiers and operatives of the team are well-drawn characters with realistic behavior and dialogue, which adds to the heart-in-mouth feel of the action, as though we are rooting for real people when we read about them. When this is coupled with the tense descriptive power of the action scenes, it results in a well-paced thriller not to be missed. Overall, 'Directive One' is a highly recommended read for thriller and spy novel fans everywhere."

EVOLVED PUBLISHING PRESENTS a non-stop thrill ride with action galore, insights into covert action tradecraft, and descriptions of exotic locales around the globe so detailed you can smell them. 'Directive One' is perfect for fans of Tom Clancy, Robert Ludlum, Dean Koontz, Brad Meltzer, and Len Deighton. [DRM-Free]

 

LanguageEnglish
Release dateNov 18, 2019
ISBN9781622536665
Directive One: Michelle Reagan, #2
Author

Scott Shinberg

Scott Shinberg has served in leadership positions across the US Government and industry for over twenty-five years. He has worked in and with the US Air Force, the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and most “Three-Letter Agencies.” While in government service, he served as an Air Force Intelligence Operations Officer and a Special Agent with the FBI. He lives in Virginia with his wife and sons.

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    Directive One - Scott Shinberg

    SPECIAL NOTICE

    All statements of fact, opinion, or analysis expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official positions or views of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) or any other U.S. Government agency. Nothing in the contents should be construed as asserting or implying U.S. Government authentication of information or CIA endorsement of the author’s views. This material has been reviewed by the CIA to prevent the disclosure of classified information. This does not constitute an official release of CIA information.

    Copyright

    www.EvolvedPub.com

    Subscribe to the Evolved Publishing Newsletter

    ~~~

    DIRECTIVE ONE

    Michelle Reagan – Book 2

    Copyright © 2019 Scott Shinberg

    ~~~

    ISBN (EPUB Version): 1622536665

    ISBN-13 (EPUB Version): 978-1-62253-666-5

    ~~~

    Editor: Whitney Smyth

    Cover Artist: Briana Hertzog

    Interior Designer: Lane Diamond

    ~~~

    PUBLISHER’S NOTE:

    At the end of this novel of approximately 77,383 words, you will find two Special Sneak Previews: 1) FLY BY NIGHT, the author’s third novel from the Michelle Reagan series, and; 2) FORGIVE ME, ALEX by Lane Diamond, a psychological suspense thriller we think you’ll enjoy. We provide these as a FREE extra service, and you should in no way consider it a part of the price you paid for this book. We hope you will both appreciate and enjoy the opportunity. Thank you.

    ~~~

    eBook License Notes:

    You may not use, reproduce or transmit in any manner, any part of this book without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations used in critical articles and reviews, or in accordance with federal Fair Use laws. All rights are reserved.

    This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only; it may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, please return to your eBook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

    ~~~

    Disclaimer:

    This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, or the author has used them fictitiously.

    Books by Scott Shinberg

    MICHELLE REAGAN

    Book 1: Confessions of Eden

    Book 2: Directive One

    Book 3: Fly by Night [Coming 2020]

    ~~~

    www.ScottShinberg.com

    What Others Are Saying About CONFESSIONS OF EDEN:

    ~~~

    "Confessions of Eden by Scott Shinberg is by far the best espionage thriller I have read this year: rich in action, danger, and unexpected turns... Shinberg is a talented author who can make you feel like you are in the middle of a CIA office with undercover agents. He catches the reader’s attention with the very first sentence and holds it right to the end. I look forward to reading the next Michelle Reagan novel."

    ~ Literary Titan (5 STARS)

    ~~~

    "Scott Shinberg makes readers feel what it is like to be a covert operative and to work on dangerous missions. What makes the narrative so spellbinding is the internal conflict within the protagonist, the fear of ultimately losing her humanity. There are tight spots in the plot, narrow escapes, and also disturbing moments of intense action that have strong consequences on the characters. Both the key and the minor characters are so well crafted that they keep the reader riveted. Confessions of Eden is well written, with intense action and an interesting sense of balance when it comes to the plot points and style. The dialogues are measured and revealing and the author uses these to develop other elements of the narrative—humor, conflict, character, and plot. For fans of crime and espionage, Confessions of Eden comes across as a tour de force in entertainment."

    ~ Readers’ Favorite Book Reviews, Romuald Dzemo (5 STARS)

    ~~~

    "This novel is purpose-driven; it is written for those who enjoy action, but the strength of the characters is one of the irresistible elements of this well-crafted thriller. Scott Shinberg creates a compelling protagonist in Eden and infuses her with humanity and realism. It is interesting to follow the psychological conflict she experiences, for while she has a very difficult career, she is deeply human with a strong sense of justice and the concept of right and wrong. It is this element of humanity that adds strength to the realism permeating the narrative and it makes the story even more interesting. Confessions of Eden is told in a powerful voice, featuring streams of consciousness that plunge readers into the protagonist’s turmoil. Fast-paced and filled with action, it is one of those books you feel compelled to read nonstop."

    ~ Readers’ Favorite Book Reviews, Christian Sia (5 STARS)

    ~~~

    "The fast-paced beginning highlighted by the first person narrative voice of Confession of Eden (A Michelle Reagan Novel) by Scott Shinberg throws the reader right into the action, the first mission of this secret undercover CIA agent. ... Despite dedicating some pages to the first mission of the woman to explain in details the struggle of the first kill (a fascinating description that made me wonder if Scott Shinberg, as an Air Force Intelligence Operations Officer and a former FBI operative, ever killed someone and if he felt that way... yes, I’m dying to know), and my personal struggles with the first person narrative voice, I enjoyed Confession of Eden from the first page to the last. The approach to the story from a woman’s point of view, although not always correct in my opinion, is interesting and the author gets to the point about how most women feel in every working field except for their home kitchen. Definitely an interesting read."

    ~ Readers’ Favorite Book Reviews, Keyla Damaer (4 STARS)

    BONUS CONTENT

    We’re pleased to offer you not one, but two Special Sneak Previews at the end of this book.

    ~~~

    In the first preview, you’ll enjoy the First Chapter of Scott Shinberg’s FLY BY NIGHT, the third book in this Michelle Reagan series of espionage thrillers.

    ~~~

    YOU’LL FIND LINKS TO YOUR FAVORITE RETAILER HERE:

    The MICHELLE REAGAN Series at Evolved Publishing

    In the second preview, you’ll enjoy the first three chapters of Lane Diamond’s FORGIVE ME, ALEX, the award-winning first book in the Tony Hooper series of psychological thrillers.

    ~~~

    ~~~

    The Kindle Book Review says: "Lane Diamond has succeeded in bringing to the surface the dark and horrifying mind of a psychotic serial killer, while at the same time bringing forth the desperate need for humanity and justice for the victims and their families."

    ~~~

    OR GRAB THE FULL EBOOK TODAY!

    YOU’LL FIND LINKS TO YOUR FAVORITE RETAILER HERE:

    TONY HOOPER Series at Evolved Publishing

    Table of Contents

    Special Notice

    Copyright

    Books by Scott Shinberg

    What Others Are Saying

    BONUS CONTENT

    Table of Contents

    Dedication

    DIRECTIVE ONE

    Chapter 1

    Chapter 2

    Chapter 3

    Chapter 4

    Chapter 5

    Chapter 6

    Chapter 7

    Chapter 8

    Chapter 9

    Chapter 10

    Chapter 11

    Chapter 12

    Chapter 13

    Chapter 14

    Chapter 15

    Chapter 16

    Chapter 17

    Chapter 18

    Chapter 19

    Chapter 20

    Chapter 21

    Chapter 22

    Chapter 23

    Chapter 24

    Chapter 25

    Chapter 26

    Chapter 27

    Chapter 28

    Chapter 29

    Chapter 30

    Chapter 31

    Chapter 32

    Chapter 33

    Chapter 34

    Chapter 35

    Chapter 36

    Chapter 37

    Chapter 38

    Chapter 39

    Chapter 40

    Chapter 41

    Special Sneak Preview: FLY BY NIGHT by Scott Shinberg

    About the Author

    More from Scott Shinberg

    More from Evolved Publishing

    Special Sneak Preview: FORGIVE ME, ALEX by Lane Diamond

    Dedication

    Everything that succeeds is the result of a team committed to making it happen. That’s as true in bringing a novel to print as it is in conducting intelligence or military operations. My thanks go out to my publisher, editor, family, and friends for helping me bring Michelle Reagan back to the printed page.

    ~~~

    Thanks also to my readers, especially those who keep asking me, Is that stuff real? Well, I can neither confirm nor deny it. But in truth, the reality of the Intelligence Community’s capabilities is indeed far stranger than the fiction you’ll read in Directive One. If I wrote the truth (and somehow got it past the government censors), you wouldn’t believe me anyway.

    ~~~

    And finally, to the real Evan VanStone (you know who you are), many thanks for your friendship and wise counsel over the years. You’ve always said analysts are the engine that keeps the Intelligence Community going strong. This time, you get your just, if virtual, reward.

    Chapter 1

    Holy shit, that crazy Irish bitch was right! Wendy Green thought gleefully as the young woman in the two-toned blue uniform of a Transportation Security Agency screener waved for her to step forward out of the machine. This really is easy money!

    Wendy exited the full-body millimeter-wave X-ray scanner in the passenger screening area of Miami International Airport and turned to watch as Rhonda Williams squeezed her large frame into the device. While the post-9/11 security contrivance was tall, its front opening was clearly not built for people anywhere near the four-hundred pounds that Wendy, Rhonda, and their two traveling companions weighed.

    Wendy gathered her new Michael Kors purse from the conveyor belt and unconsciously held her breath as she watched the scanner’s sensor arm whirl in its orbit around her best friend. Hope turned to joy as the light on the scanner’s display glowed green.

    The machine didn’t find any of it on us. Amazing!

    The stoic TSA agent gave the same weary come-on-out wave to Rhonda that she had been giving airline passengers for the previous nine years.

    Watch out, Las Vegas, here we come! Rhonda said energetically to her traveling companion. Nothing sounded better to her at that moment than an all-expenses paid vacation to Sin City.

    First things first, Wendy quietly said to her friend as they slipped their feet back into their sandals. Once Monique gets through, let’s find that bathroom.

    ***

    Fluorescent lights glared off white painted cinder block walls in Miami International’s TSA Screening Operations Center. The musty basement room smelled of stale coffee and the body odors of too many late-night shifts manned by TSA officers who the agency could neither put in front of the traveling public nor fire from their union-protected jobs.

    Oh, shit. Another whale, Tom Gleason groaned to his co-worker with a combination of delight and disgust. He shook his head and pointed to the computer monitor in front of him. Look at the size of her, will you?

    What’s that, the third? Ronny Daniels asked with a sneer.

    Fourth in a row. Man, it’s not fair. Why do I get the orcas and you got that Barbie Doll earlier? Let me see the picture of her you snapped on your iPhone again. She’s smokin’ hot!

    Here you go, you Peeping Tom. Don’t get my phone sticky.

    Gleason took the cellphone from Daniels and admired the contours of the shapely woman as pictured in the full-body, graphic detail of the high-resolution body imaging scanner. Running his left thumb over the smooth screen, he imagined he could feel her curves through the glass of the cell phone. With his right hand, in a motion he made a thousand times a day, he pressed the green Clear button on the screening console, admitting Monique Daniels into the sterile area of Miami International Airport to join her friends.

    ***

    Evelyn O’Doherty stood in front of the ladies’ room mirror in MIA’s Terminal D, alternating between brushing her ginger hair and pretending to apply makeup to a face that needed no such assistance. While waiting for the four horsemen—horsewomen, in this case—of her planned apocalypse, Evelyn watched with a practiced eye as the rush of self-absorbed early morning passengers came and went, oblivious to the events playing out right in front of them.

    Monique Daniels was the first of Evelyn’s ensemble to arrive at the choreographed rendezvous. An imposing figure at 410 pounds, Daniels entered the room with the easy ebullience of a naturally outgoing woman not ashamed of her morbidly obese physique. Her sister-travelers followed closely behind and drew their conversations to a close as they entered the restroom. Each was anxious to get on with their business transaction and then into her first-class seat for a five-hour flight to Vegas.

    Without a second look at the shapely redhead in the sleeveless white blouse and knee-length blue skirt, Rhonda Williams took the initiative. She entered the large handicapped stall at the end of the row and latched the door behind her.

    O’Doherty took her place in the adjacent stall and set her large purse down on the floor. The redhead gently swung the blue door shut, securing it with an audible click. She removed the false bottom from her custom-made purse and pulled four small white envelopes from the hidden compartment. She tucked the envelopes into the front of her skirt to await the consummation of the morning’s transactions. Finally, she placed an empty Victoria’s Secret shopping bag on the stall floor and slid it under the partition to Rhonda Williams.

    In the privacy of her large stall, Williams removed her green and white floral-print size 7X dress. She hung it from the hook on the back of the stall door and stood naked in the stall save for the new brown sandals she purchased the previous week with a small part of O’Doherty’s five-thousand-dollar good-faith payment. Williams loved the silky feel of her new shoes and would have enjoyed admiring them on her feet but for the bulging abdomen that made seeing them impossible.

    Williams carefully lifted her large left breast with her right hand and peeled a magazine filled with 9mm ammunition from the sticky paste that held it concealed underneath. From under her other breast, she removed a small-frame subcompact 9mm pistol and placed both in the shopping bag on the floor, careful to avoid making any incriminating metallic clinks.

    With her right hand, Williams stretched across her body to lift the roll of belly fat on her left side and hiked the gelatinous mass up the few inches that it would go, resting it on her left forearm. She reached into the cavity created by her overlapping folds of cellulite and skin and carefully extracted several lengths of yellow Primaline detonating cord plastic explosive that O’Doherty had placed there earlier that morning when the five women gathered to put their plan into action. Adding the plastic explosive to the bag on the floor, Williams grinned, glad that this would all be over soon, and thinking about how she was going to rock the casino’s world playing Roulette in Vegas with a sky-high stack of green $25 chips. She would finally have money to live like she knew she deserved. From under another fold, Williams removed the metal cylinder it contained. She carefully placed the pistol silencer into the pink-and-white striped Victoria’s Secret shopping bag. A wide smile spread across her face as she slipped her dress back over her head.

    O’Doherty watched Rhonda Williams’s plump hand push the iconic pink-stripped shopping bag under the divider between their stalls. Silently inventorying the contents, the Irishwoman confirmed everything that was supposed to be present was indeed in the bag.

    With a hint of a grin forming on the corners of her lips, O’Doherty reflected silently on the success she ascribed to their many practice sessions at Williams’s apartment. Practice makes perfect, she thought, or at least it keeps amateurs from screwing it all up.

    O’Doherty kept her end of the bargain by handing one envelope containing a key to Williams under the stall partition and briefly wondered what Williams would do with the twenty-five-thousand dollars waiting for her in a safe deposit box in the MGM Grand casino cashier’s cage.

    One after another, the three remaining women cycled through the handicapped stall, each in turn sliding her bagful of artfully concealed bounty under the divider. The women exchanged two pistols, another silencer, magazines of ammunition, plastique, detonators, and an explosive initiator for a prized key and the conclusion of a clandestine business arrangement a month in the making.

    Chapter 2

    Evelyn O’Doherty looked up from her seat in the boarding area to glance at the list of departures on the large electronic display across the aisle. AllSouth Airlines Flight 482 was on time for its regular Sunday morning flight from Miami to Washington’s Reagan National Airport—the same route it had been making every day for the past two years.

    Around her, the assortment of travelers—families returning from vacation, smiling college graduates sporting University of Miami t-shirts and mortarboard hats, and a medley of business executives—waited to board the 8:32 a.m. flight to Virginia. Some fidgeted in their seats while others meandered around the concourse, stretching their legs for the last time before boarding the plane for its scheduled two-hour flight.

    O’Doherty slowly scanned the boarding area. Two uniformed police officers far off to her left seemed more interested in their cups of coffee than watching passengers. Not unexpectedly, she saw no sign of the man who was the reason for her flight this morning.

    At the gate agent’s instruction, O’Doherty lined up with her fellow first-class passengers to board the AllSouth flight. She followed the passengers in front of her down the jet bridge and into the first-class cabin of the aging McDonnell Douglas MD-90 aircraft. Gently, she placed her all-important carry-on bag in the empty overhead storage compartment and gracefully settled into her well-padded, leather clad, front-row aisle seat next to a gray-haired man who sat down in the window seat to her right.

    Passengers filtered in slowly at first. Soon, the line thickened into a steady stream that alternatingly surged and stopped as passengers jostled their bags into overhead bins and slumped roughly into under-padded seats.

    As the flow slowed to a trickle, O’Doherty looked down the aisle of the half-full jet. In coach, the bumping and shifting of too-large people into too-narrow seats continued. In first class, the four rows of the small cabin were almost full. Only the seats in the first two rows across the aisle from her remained vacant, although she knew that would not be the case for long.

    The clamor of bags being stowed and metallic clicks of seat belts being secured across laps became fewer and quieter. The flight crew in the cockpit, oblivious to the maneuvering of their passengers, continued their pre-flight preparations.

    O’Doherty watched with great interest as a gate agent entered through the aircraft’s open doorway and handed the manifest and final paperwork to the captain for his review and signature. While the AllSouth agent awaited the captain’s permission to close the aircraft’s main door, she mouthed to the flight attendant working in the forward galley: They’re coming.

    Two twentyish men with hair so short it was practically razor stubble entered the aircraft, flanking an older couple. O’Doherty didn’t need to examine the watchful eyes of the pair of handsome young men clad in dark slacks, open-collared dress shirts, sports jackets, and lace-up black dress shoes to divine what their job was. Their radio earpieces made it clear to even casual onlookers what role each served on board—bodyguard.

    As the guards settled into their second-row seats, the older couple they escorted took their assigned seats in the aircraft’s first row. Across the aisle, a chill ran down O’Doherty’s bare arms. She focused her attention on the in-flight magazine, consciously ignoring the newcomers as completely as she seemingly could—with mixed results.

    The older woman in the aisle seat across from Evelyn had an attractive face, her wrinkles well-hidden by an artful application of makeup. Her brown hair draped across the shoulder of her white button-down sweater. Her husband, sitting against the window, had not aged nearly as well as his wife. The tufts of graying hair on the sides of his head failed to compensate nearly enough for the horseshoe of bald scalp above. His suit jacket sported a white and blue pin on its left lapel.  O’Doherty didn’t have to look at the pin’s famous blue-and-white logo—she already knew what it represented.

    ***

    The passengers of Flight 482 enjoyed a smooth climb-out, silently praising the gods of air travel for the lack of stomach-turning turbulence. The cries of the smallest children faded as Miami receded in the distance and the cabin air pressure equalized inside their inner ears. Passengers and crew quickly settled into the universally accepted custom of modern air travel—ignoring the existence of one’s fellow fliers to the maximum extent possible.

    After the flight attendant cleared the breakfast service, O’Doherty flipped through several channels of the entertainment system. She skipped past the cartoons and satellite news broadcasts in quick succession and stopped on the in-flight map. The white icon superimposed upon the colorful map showed Flight 482 approaching Jacksonville. The flickering of the screen’s occasional updates served as the only visible indication of the airliner’s five-hundred miles per hour pace.

    O’Doherty rose and retrieved her purse from the overhead compartment. She placed her sweater on her empty seat and a stick of chewing gum into her mouth before heading for the lavatory adjacent to the cockpit. Her progress to the restroom was closely monitored by those that could most easily see her, particularly the men seated in first class. Their rapt attention to her form-fitting skirt and pale, taut, athletic legs ensured that no detail of the seven steps she took was overlooked.

    When she finished what she needed to do in the restroom, O’Doherty exited the tiny room and stepped out into the aisleway. She gripped her large purse tightly.

    O’Doherty glanced at the flight attendant in the forward galley sorting the first-class passengers’ used breakfast dishes and trays. Further back, the windbreaker-clad fortyish man in the third-row aisle seat shifted his gaze too slowly. O’Doherty knew he was looking at her with more than a casual interest. His watchful eyes spoke of more than just a man admiring her long auburn hair.

    At her seat, she stood with her slim body angled to block the other passengers’ views of her purse as she placed it on her seat. She removed the newspaper from her bag and looked closely at her seatmate. His thick gray hair still held hints of its once-dark color running along the sides.

    O’Doherty placed the carefully folded newspaper on the armrest between the two seats. She watched the flicker of recognition register in the man’s eyes as he saw the barrel of a pistol’s suppressor jutting out from the ragged edge.

    From her purse, the agile redhead withdrew the other silenced pistol. She spun smoothly on her right heel and fired a single shot from point-blank range into the head of the bodyguard sitting in the aisle seat of the second row. The soft thwoop of the shot was quickly followed by a muted ting-thunk as the brass casing of the subsonic hollow-point bullet ricocheted off the plastic bulkhead. The 9mm bullet splattered blood across the headrest of the dead man’s seat and onto the middle-school-aged girl sitting against the window in the third row.

    The bodyguard in the window seat scrambled to draw his weapon from the shoulder holster beneath his jacket. O’Doherty shifted her aim from the dead guard to the one racing to save his life and squeezed her pistol’s trigger for the second time that morning. Neither man ever had a chance.

    The blood-splashed ‘tween girl in the third row howled a high-pitched wail. Her cries were joined by the rising screams of surprise and shock from other passengers in the first-class cabin, all of which combined to muffle the already suppressed thwoop of O’Doherty’s second shot that ended the second bodyguard’s life.

    The metallic click of a seat belt buckle unlatching caught O’Doherty’s ear through the din of frightened passengers.

    O’Doherty spun a quarter turn and looked to her left. She aimed at the third-row passenger in the windbreaker as he grappled feverishly with his seatbelt, plunging his right hand inside his jacket under his left arm. O’Doherty squeezed the trigger of her pistol, sending her third bullet of the morning into the upper abdomen of the plain-clothed TSA air marshal.

    Wracked with pain from the rending of muscle and organs the subsonic 9mm hollow-point bullet caused to his left lung, the air marshal let out a slow, deep grunt of torment and slumped back in his seat, holding himself in agony. With another quick shot—this one to his head—O’Doherty put an expedited end to the lawman’s short bout of suffering.

    O’Doherty quickly stepped aft, past the curtain separating the two cabins of the aircraft. She aimed carefully down the long aisle at the flight attendant running for the rear galley—and more importantly the intercom to the cockpit that it contained. She centered the small rectangle of the pistol’s front sight into the notch of the rear sights, steadied her two-handed grip on her weapon, and squeezed the trigger at a deliberate pace. The 9mm slug flew forty-two feet until it penetrated the lower back of the woman dressed in AllSouth Airlines’s blue-and-yellow summer uniform. The flight attendant crumpled to the floor, paralyzed by the searing pain.

    With no immediate need to kill the now-disabled flight attendant, O’Doherty returned to the fore galley. The flight attendant who had so recently served her a fruit plate and cheese-omelet breakfast with a smile, now stood holding the intercom handset in her left hand. The ashen-faced cabin crewmember’s right index finger stabbed the control box wildly, repeatedly missing the button that would call the cockpit.

    Adrenaline and the stress of the moment accentuated O’Doherty’s Irish brogue more than she would have liked. If you hadn’t gone for the phone, I might have been more lenient with you, dear.

    Please, I.... the flight attendant muttered defensively. Her sallow face shook uncontrollably.

    O’Doherty pulled the trigger of her pistol, firing into the chest of the flight attendant. A mixture of the gunshot’s thwoop and the high-pitched scream of the AllSouth employee’s anguished cry reverberated through the small space of the galley. The slow-motion buckling of the fifty-something

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