Sojourners of the Sky (8 page)

Lars’s comment about his wife’s suspicions gave him pause. He had no idea that she ever suspected a thing. He thought he’d been discreet. But this was not the time to think about it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Lars. Now hit the road and don’t bug me again, or you’ll die much sooner than I planned.”

“Come on, Sonny, me and you are neighbors…and friends,” said Lars, the tension audible in his voice.

Sonny grabbed the young engineer’s collar and slammed him against the wall. The force was so great a loud thump could be heard throughout much of the cabin, even though the engines, operating at full power, were sending loud pulses of noise in all directions.

“Now you listen and listen good, Mister. I’m not going to say this again. Leave me the hell alone or I will kill you before we land. Do you understand? You say another word and you won’t be walking off this airplane. So start moving away from me before I lose my temper!” exclaimed Sonny, as he snapped Lars’s head against the wall before letting him go.

There was no question in Lars’s mind: Sonny was going to kill him. He nodded his head at Sonny and began to walk toward the front of the airplane. After a few steps, he turned and uttered softly, “I control the systems on this airplane. Don’t forget that. If you’re going to kill me anyway, I won’t have much to lose.”

Sonny looked at Lars with only a slight hint of concern. Had he not been so preoccupied with more pressing plans, he may have been willing to stop and negotiate further. But after only a very brief pause, he turned and continued toward the lav, concluding that Lars and his worthless apologies would have to wait. In his mind, the situation with Lars was final and nothing would alter his plans.

Lars knew that he had to come up with something. And by the time he reached the forward galley, Lars could see no other way around it: He was going to have to kill Sonny before they landed. He decided that the best way to start was to put the fear of God into him first.
Sonny may have won the battle
, he thought,
but this war is far from over
.

Once he scared the hell out of him, Lars planned to somehow finish him off. Of course, just exactly how he was going to accomplish that would require some more thought.

*

Captain Pratt awoke from his nap, but before assuming his rightful place, he first planned to take a bathroom break. As he opened the cockpit door to exit, he turned to the two pilots up front and asked, “How goes it?”

John turned and said, “All’s normal, captain.” While he spoke, he could hear Asa calling Gander to tell them that they were level at seventeen thousand feet.

It took a few tries, but eventually Asa got through. Struggling to hear the controller’s words, a hot flash went through the young copilot’s body. He’d screwed up!

John saw the color run from Asa’s face. “What’s the matter?” he asked as he turned up the volume to his earphones and the cockpit speaker.

“Clipper forty-two, say again your altitude? You are only cleared to sixteen thousand feet,” stated the Gander controller through the nearly continuous static.

John immediately reduced the power on the engines and disconnected the autopilot. As smoothly as possible, John initiated a fast descent to sixteen thousand feet. He looked at Asa and said, “Tell him you misspoke, and that we are level at sixteen.”

In spite of the static, Charles heard Gander’s transmission. His crew had violated their clearance. His bathroom break would have to wait.

*

Sonny scanned the aft cabin before gently knocking on the door. When he heard his prey on the other side of the door whimpering softly, he took it as a sign to enter. Once inside, he noticed Marie was standing as far back in the tiny room as possible.

“What’s the matter, honey?” he asked as he closed and locked the door behind him.

Marie didn’t answer. Instead, she broke down in tears.

“Look, Marie, this will only take a few minutes of your time and then it will all be over. Now be a good girl and lift your skirt,” he said.

“I can’t. I just can’t!” cried Marie.

“Oh sure you can,” said Sonny, with only a slight hint of the irritation he was already beginning to feel. He reached down and pulled the frightened young lady’s skirt up so hard, he nearly tore it from her body. “Now you listen,” he said. “Me and you are gonna do this. You can make it easy or hard, it’s up to you.”

Marie couldn’t move. She began to cry uncontrollably. “Please, I’ll give you anything,” she pleaded.

“Just shut the hell up!” exclaimed Sonny, as he grabbed her by the throat and pushed her against the wall. “This is what you’re gonna give me,” he added, while loosening his belt with his left hand.

*

“John, what is the meaning of this?!” screamed Captain Pratt with fury in his voice. He slammed the cockpit door before storming forward.

“Sir,” responded Asa, “I’m really sorry, but there’s a bunch of static on HF tonight.”

“Asa, mind your place; I’m addressing the acting captain. John, when you sit in my seat you are the captain. You are expected to adhere to the finest principles of airmanship and to follow company procedures to the letter. If you had been monitoring the frequency and confirmed the clearance yourself, none of this would have happened,” said Charles in a very stern tone.

John could see that his captain’s lips were quivering as he spoke. “You are correct, captain. The responsibility is mine and mine alone. Please accept my apologies for the oversight. It will not happen again.”

“I should hope not!” thundered Charles.

“I doubt anything will come of it, captain, since we never admitted to doing anything wrong. Asa told them we were level at sixteen, and I didn’t see any other airplanes around,” said John.

“The airplane you have to worry about, John, is the one that you do not see. For your sake, I sincerely hope that this was the last lapse of leadership that I will ever again be forced to witness. I trust you have learned your lesson. For the time being, I will see to it that this incident remains off the record, but my patience has limits. I will not tolerate any more of this incompetence,” stated Charles, clearly disgusted with his senior copilot.

“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir,” said John, before turning around to resume monitoring the annoying, static-filled airwaves.

“I’m truly sorry, John,” sighed Asa.

“Asa, it’s my fault, not yours. Don’t think of it again,” said John. “All I ask is that you learn from your mistake. We are both supposed to confirm all clearances and I dropped the ball. The static gives me a headache, but that’s no excuse.”

Charles overheard his copilots’ conversation. His acting captain had made a grievous error, one that could have easily cost them their lives. Charles disliked being firm with his men, but strongly believed that his crew must always be held to task. All Pan Am pilots were aware that the company had policies and procedures in place and that it was up to everyone to abide by them. To do otherwise opened the door to many hazards, up to and including death for everyone on board.

Captain Pratt turned to exit the cockpit just as Lars was entering.

“Hello, captain,” said Lars. “Sleep well?”

Having held a position of high regard for many years, Charles paused to reclaim his professionalism. He wisely brushed his anger aside prior to responding to his underling. “Why yes, I did,” he said. “Thank you for asking. I think a light snack and a cup of coffee will certainly hit the spot right about now.”

“Keen. That’s good to hear, captain,” said Lars.

Other than a smile, Charles did not respond. Some of the words the younger crew members occasionally used in conversation confounded him. He wondered what his junior engineer meant by ‘keen,’ but decided to leave his question unasked before quietly slipping out the door.

Lars slapped G.R. on the shoulder and said, “You look tired. I’ll watch the ship from here.”

“That Dell clamp on number four is still acting up, but it should be OK. At last check, our fuel burn matched the flight plan. And, according to Mr. Vito, we are right on schedule. The number one alternate fuel tank is running a little lower than the others so you might want to keep an eye on it. Also, the fuel temps are starting to drop. You might have to throw some fuel heat on, especially if the pilots climb any higher,” said G.R.

“Thanks, G.R., I’ve got it,” said Lars.

G.R. removed his shoes, climbed into the upper bunk and pulled the curtain around him, knowing he’d be snoring within a matter of minutes.

Lars checked his panel to make sure everything was set properly. Satisfied with what he saw, he moved forward to check the other instruments and controls. Then, after loitering a bit longer than normal, he enacted the initial part of his plan.

Lars reached up to the center pedestal and pretended to adjust one of the throttles. Next, the junior engineer abruptly shifted his body to the left, making it appear as though he’d inadvertently lost his footing. Then in one swift move, he “accidently” activated the electrical switch controlling the number four propeller. Lars’s action instantly forced the spinning propeller blades on engine number four to transition into low pitch, the equivalent of shifting into low gear in a car that’s traveling at fifty miles per hour.

All of a sudden the number four engine RPM went through the roof, causing the airplane to swerve violently to the right! The autopilot tried to compensate, but the intense yaw caused by the flattened-out propeller blades forced it to abruptly disconnect. There was no audible alert to the crew that they were expected to take over for the failed electronic helper, but the sudden, unexpected swaying and warbling sound caused by the out of sync propeller was warning enough.

John’s initial reaction was a loud gasp. He then pushed the left rudder pedal to help stabilize the aircraft, but unfortunately he shoved it too far forward. The aircraft reversed itself and swung to the left, forcing John to relax his pressure on the pedal. A moment later, the aircraft began yawing uncontrollably to the left and right, a phenomenon that is often referred to as a Dutch roll. John tried desperately to get the airplane stabilized, but it seemed his every input only made things worse.

With its equilibrium lost, the heavy airplane began to shake; while, at the same time, the number four engine commenced emitting an ear-splitting screech. John scanned the gauges, but everything was a blur. He knew he had to get ahead of the situation…and fast!

*

Sonny was forced to loosen his grip on Marie’s neck in order to get himself into position. His pants were on the floor around his ankles, and as he reached over to pull Marie’s under garments down, the airplane suddenly swerved sideways. The unexpected movement caused Sonny to lose his balance. On his way down, Sonny’s thoughts instantly turned to Lars. He wondered what the kid was up to. At that moment, he vowed to kill Lars as slowly as possible. He wanted to force him to beg for mercy. But the fornicator would receive no mercy because the young engineer had simply gone too far.

Sonny tried to break his fall with his hands, but the room was much too small. He hit the floor hard. Sonny’s head instantly became lodged against the wall, while the rest of him ended up wedged against the door and the base of the toilet. Though unhurt, his body lay twisted on the floor like a pretzel.

Marie grabbed the fork she had placed on the vanity, ready to do whatever it took.

*

Mark Small dropped his glass to the floor in a panic. “I knew this thing was falling apart,” he said in a barely audible tone. Then retreating back inside himself, he gripped the seat in front of him.
Uh, it would, uh, be best if I replaced all the gaskets. Yes, go ahead and buy an entire gasket kit…

*

As he was exiting the forward lav, the intense swaying of the aircraft caused Captain Pratt to lose his footing. He tried to protect himself, but his head slammed into the wall before he could get his hands up. He stumbled while trying to stand erect, but again lost his balance. He fell to the floor, only vaguely aware that there was an engine problem. A second before he passed-out, he told himself to fight it; that he was needed up front. But it was too late. Feeling as though he’d been struck by a brick, Charles lay motionless, unable to move.

In a matter of moments, pandemonium broke out in the cabin as everyone simultaneously arrived at the same conclusion: The end was near. That assumption prompted men and women alike to cry out in fear.

Kelly quickly moved to the front of the cabin and yelled, “Everyone remain seated! If you’re up, grab on to something and hold tight! We’ll be out of this turbulence in a minute.”

When the melee began, Sue Gruber was standing next to Mark Small’s seat. Without a word, she knelt in the aisle and held his hand, providing them both with a feeling of comfort.

*

Bracing herself against the wall of the aft lav with Sonny at her feet, Marie seized the moment. She quickly moved forward and placed her right foot on Sonny’s neck. She then grabbed the faucet with her left hand and pushed her right hand hard against the wall. Next, Marie placed her left foot against the aft wall to give her leverage and then forced all one hundred and five pounds of her weight onto Sonny’s neck.

The floor of the tiny lav was so small there was nowhere for Sonny to go. His one arm was behind his back on the floor and the other was jammed against the door. In pain and unable to breathe, Sonny tried desperately to pull his arms free so he could get his hands around Marie’s ankle, but he simply didn’t have the room to move. He then attempted to move his legs so he could kick at her, but his attempt failed. Sonny was powerless, unable to budge an inch. He looked up, hoping for sympathy, but found none.

Marie stood over her tormentor pushing and pushing, while he lay motionless on the floor struggling for air. “How dare you try and take advantage of me on my honeymoon!” she spat out with unrestrained fury in her voice. “I did what I had to in order to get by. I’m not that girl anymore, and I won’t allow you or anyone else to ruin the life I’ve found!”

Above all the noise created outside the lav by the engines, Marie could hear Sonny gurgling. She pressed harder.