Flight To Pandemonium Read online

  “Yea, that’s a real worry of mine right now.”

  Outside, Pappy eased into the conversation while the Captain lit a cigarette. “Get hold of your wife, yet?”

  “Not since day before yesterday. Phones are down in Seattle.” The Captain squinted his eyes, took a long drag on the cigarette, and watched his plume of smoke disappear on the wind.

  “Oh, oh… that’s a bad. Doesn’t she talk to you nearly every day?”

  “Every day. She’s a worrier.”

  “Hear anything about home?”

  “Quarantine will be expanded tonight to include the whole region.”

  “Have you seen the local paper?”

  “What do they know that we don’t?” the Captain asked a little sharply.

  “That bug has arrived right here in Nome.”

  A long silence followed while Pappy let the news settle in, and then continued, “Not five blocks from here. Coupla’ Navy pilots in the hospital, so sick they couldn’t continue flying. You know… our never-say-die, young warriors.”

  The Captain remained silent, so Pappy let his words have a full measure, until he heard, “You’re a real bundle of joy.” His eyes darted furtively away and back several times, a sure sign of stress.

  “Tom,” Pappy paused while the Captain took another long drag. “Now’s the time to take the initiative or we’re going to end our flying career the same way our Navy brothers will… and never see our families again. There’s a company Otter in the hangar and I’m having it prepped to fly as we speak.”

  “Sounds to me like you’ve already ended your career,” replied the Captain.

  “Maybe not. I think I have a plausible way out that’ll convince the badges.”

  More silence. They both stared across the vacant tarmac. Both were tall lanky men, but there the similarity ended. The Captain had completed his military service as an Air Force Thunderbird pilot and maintained his habit of strictly predictable behavior. He was flying his last year of service as a commercial airline pilot before facing mandatory retirement. He was proud of his unblemished record.

  Pappy was a younger man with early silver hair which he allowed to remain stylishly unkempt, marking him as a ladies’ man which the Captain didn’t respect. Pappy, aware of the man’s disapproving assessment, seldom spoke about anything personal.

  “I don’t hear any protest, so I’ll go on risking our long time association. You remember those hospital workers who were so anxious to get to Anchorage this morning?”

  When the Captain didn’t reply, Pappy glanced to see if he was listening. “We bring them here and file a plan to ferry them away for humanitarian duty. The badges will buy it if we do it officially with all the right paper.”

  “How’re you going pull that off all by yourself?”

  Pappy was encouraged that the Captain asked a question. “I can’t. There are others working with me, but we’ll need more to make it official. No one knows how much time we have left, but by noon tomorrow will likely be too late.”

  More silence.

  “Hey, we’ll be helping these people. You’ve heard the news. They‘re desperate for nurses everywhere. Who would argue with us?” He turned to face the Captain. “It’ll work! I know it will.”

  For the first time, the Captain faced Pappy directly and said, “It wouldn’t take an hour for security to figure it out. You’d all be arrested in Anchorage.” But the Captain was considering the plan, thought Pappy.

  “Anchorage is the last place we should be going. We’d just be dropping into the infested swamp.”

  “Where then?” Now I’ve got him curious, Pappy thought.

  “Alaska’s a big place. I know one of the best.”

  “If you’ve already got this thing rolling, why do you need me?”

  “I’ll never get clearance by myself. I need you to talk to that sky marshal and fly. You’re the captain and he knows you’re a straight shooter. Hey… you’ve been a good father and I know you’re worried about your family. They need you safe, so join us. You’ll be reunited eventually, but if we get stranded here, we’ll both die.”

  The Captain looked away. “Eventually isn’t much help to my family.”

  “But never is never. By morning, Nome will be shut down and probably under quarantine, and we won’t ever leave. Besides…if we don’t, someone else will grab that Otter, probably the mechanic himself. There’ll be other willing pilots. Tom… the time is now or never; take the chance.”

  The Captain stood in his meticulously pressed uniform staring silently far away. Pappy noticed that his cigarette had burned down to the filter, forgotten. If the Captain didn’t agree, Pappy had no doubt that the man would simply inform authorities. He would never leave and might even die in jail.

  The ICE air marshal walked toward the two pilots with an unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth. Approaching them was the marshal charged with enforcing air security and customs regulations in Nome.

  Pappy faced the pudgy middle aged man in his rumpled federal uniform. “Well, what brought the change of heart with the smoking police?”

  “I swiped one of yours because I needed to calm my nerves… I just got the word, but I should tell you boys. National emergency goes into effect at midnight east coast. That means eight here, and no flight can depart from anywhere after six. Everything is grounded indefinitely after that. Nobody flies!” His gesture with the unlit cigarette took in the whole airfield.

  The news was a thunderbolt out of the blue. The cop just passed word to the last people on the airfield who should have heard it and who now understood the outside deadline to borrow the company’s forgotten Otter.

  Pappy said, “Well, that is news, indeed!” He lit the air marshal’s trembling cigarette. Pappy returned to the terminal building looking for people he trusted.

  He found Linda, the company ticket agent, and Martha, a flight attendant, and told them of the impending grounding and the arrival of the bat flu at the hospital.

  “Oh my God, Pappy! Then we’re all going to die right here in Nome,” said Linda with her blond eyebrows lifted in shock.

  “Why are you telling me all this?” asked Martha. “We know each other too well, Pappy. What are you up to?”

  “I’m going to get us outta here, Martha. But I can’t take many along, so you have to keep quiet. We’re going to offer those nurses at the Nugget a special flight. They were already on their way to Anchorage, so a flight shouldn’t be much of a stretch. I’ve got a job for both of you, and then you board with us.”

  “Fly to Anchorage?” asked Martha. “Have you been listening to operations? It’s worse there! I’d rather take my chances here.”

  “You know me better than that. We’re looking for somewhere remote… outside the quarantines.”

  “To your little fantasy honey hideaway?”

  “If I can get to Talkeetna and my floatplane.”

  “We can’t get there by the deadline,” Martha said quietly.

  “What will it matter?” Pappy replied. “We’re going to disappear.”

  “Then what about the nurses?”

  “We’ll drop them off in Talkeetna at the Catholic Mission where they’ll be better off anyway.”

  “Better watch out for that air marshal. He’s frightened, so he’s trouble.”

  “That’s why the special flight. You with me?”

  “You devil!” said Martha. “You might pull this off. Beats hell out of dying. Sure… what have I got to lose? You’re living up to your reputation, Pappy.”

  “Linda?”

  “Not Anchorage for sure?”

  “Never!”

  “Then God help us, yes!”

  Richard, the flight operations supervisor, was the most critical conspirator for he alone knew Nome’s o
fficial departure routine. He already knew of the impending national grounding and readily agreed to participate.

  As the country’s closest commercial airport to Russia and the Far East, Homeland Security posted an Immigration and Customs Enforcement marshal in Nome but not as an air warden. He was assigned to the ground only, the American equivalent of a posting to Siberia. Consequently, the air marshal was bitter, and delighted in using his authority to make life difficult. Pappy knew the man would likely question his scheme.

  They needed a flight plan filed for Anchorage or Talkeetna scheduled to depart before the deadline. Richard was to arrange clearance, coordinate ground operations, and prepare the expected documents. Richard would inform security of the timing with as little notice as possible. If all else failed, he was to assert higher authority had arranged the charter flight of nurses specifically to beat the deadline.

  He was also expected to invent a credible reason for joining the flight himself. He should board last, since boarding earlier as a ground supervisor would be suspicious. The Otter could seat only nineteen passengers. If word got out, there would be a riot among airport employees, or even worse, a public stampede.

  Ted’s mention of Saigon caused Pappy to reconsider the risk posed at the terminal. If he knew of the deadline, then others would soon know. A large taxiing airplane in full view of stranded, desperate passengers was the weakness of his plan. Lacking an army of armed guards, he would rely on security and the air marshal, his unknowing co-conspirators.

  With nothing to do in the lounge but wait and watch, Mac used the time to record events in his journal. The baggage handler, a burly man in airline uniform, approached the security guard. Mac listened.

  “Hey, Tlingit, how ya doin’,” said the guard. “Thought you’d gone home.”

  “I’m not the only one hangin’ loose.” He jerked his head toward the airfield. “Know anything about that Otter they’re fueling over there?”

  “Nope. But it doesn’t matter to me. I’m outta here in about twenty, so I’m not askin’ any questions that might keep me here.”

  “Hear anything on your radio?”

  “Nada. Been no traffic for hours.”

  “Well, something’s goin’ on. They’re prepping that plane and keepin’ it quiet.” Nodding toward Mac, he asked, “Who’s the dude listening in on us?”

  “Just here waiting for a flight. He’s cool.”

  “Waiting for a flight? You sure they’re all cancelled?”

  “Hey, what do I know? They just pay me to stand here… but not much longer.”

  “Yea, well… something’s goin’ on. Hear about those pilots in the hospital?”

  “That’s why I’m not staying any longer than I have to.”

  The two men stood silently watching the distant Otter being fueled as three men tended the airplane. Mac rose to watch himself. He was sure they said ‘prepping the plane’ and that appeared to be so. Mac decided he would get on that airplane however possible.

  The guard turned to Mac and said, “Something is going on over there, so I’m finished here. You’re on your own. Good luck.”

  Tlingit turned away from the window and asked Mac, “Anyone talk to you ‘bout a departing flight?”

  “No. I’ve been waiting here just for that chance.” Mac seized the moment. What worked with the clerk might work with Tlingit. “My bag is out on the ramp ready for loading. Would you help me retrieve it if I made it worth your while?”

  “It’ll cost ya, but now ain’t the time,” replied Tlingit, scowling. “Wait here for now.”

  The land-side door opened admitting a small crowd of noisy, pushy people. Mac’s anxiety increased.

  When the hospital workers were discharged from the shuttle in front of the terminal, Pappy was shocked. Inside, he said to Linda, “This is a surprise; this wasn’t the plan, remember? We were to keep quiet and meet the marshal on the bus on airside.”

  “Pappy, we didn’t get away quietly. That damned clerk from the Nugget was outside pressing right behind me every minute. He escorted the two nuns to the bus and tried to get on himself. If he and that marshal talk together, there will be trouble.”

  “Then you did right. Did the clerk follow you in here?”

  Looking around, she said, “Not that I can see, but since I confronted him, he’ll know we’re onto him.”

  Pushy, jabbering people spilling into the silent lobby caught the attention of the security screener in the next room. He entered the lounge. “What the hell’s goin’ on here?” he asked Linda. “All flights are canceled.”

  “This is a charter flight of nurses.”

  “Where’s this coming from. I’m supposed to know ahead of time.”

  “Look… they just tell me where to show up.” She gave him an earnest nobody-tells-me-anything smile. “You know that.”

  In a huff, he turned on his heels to leave.

  “Hey, where are you going? We need you here to clear them.”

  “Well, you can bet I’ll be back straightaway.”

  As soon as he was out of earshot, Linda dialed Richard’s extension.

  Inside operations, the Captain was in a whispered conversation with the air marshal and Richard when the security screener arrived from the gate. In a huffy voice the man interrupted, “They’re lining up boarders out there for some flight we don’t even know about.”

  “Yea we do, but I‘m handling it,” replied the marshal angrily. “So go do your job, goddammit!” The screener paused momentarily as if to object, but left, rebuffed and red faced.

  Dressed in his airline uniform, Pappy decided that his moment was at hand, and joined the group. “Hello, Cap. Got anything else for me or are we all squared away?”

  The Captain turned to the marshal, “Well, are we?”

  “For now, I guess, but I should have known long ago,” said the marshal.

  “You got your paper,” said Richard. “Did you think we were going to broadcast it around town? Just look outside. See what’s happening out there already?” A small crowd was pressing against the glass, peering inside.

  “I’m supposed to verify this flight. That crowd doesn’t change a thing.” Pappy suspected the marshal’s anger was an act, covering something more than official duty.

  “We’ve tried calling, remember? There was no answer and who can blame them. You’ve been listening to the radio. Things are worse in Seattle.”

  “Well, I’m supposed to get confirmation… and not from you.”

  “We’re due to board in just a few minutes and you must know what we’re up against,” replied the Captain. “Richard has given you all the forms you’ve asked for. It’s now or never… and if not, I insist that you put that in writing. You’ll take the heat, not I. This is one flight that’s going to leave on time and before the deadline.”

  “Alright, but give me the manifest and I’ll meet you on the line.”

  “The manifest! What the hell for? What’s this got to do with immigration or customs anyway? This is a domestic flight!”

  “I’m going to inspect that airplane! Don’t worry why.” he said with bureaucratic triumph.

  “We’ll bring the Otter near the terminal at the very last moment,” the Captain growled, gesturing toward the gathering crowd, “and you can see perfectly well why.”

  “Yea and given what’s goin’ on, I don’t want to see any more surprises,” the air marshal shot back. “And while we’re at it, I don’t see why those nurses can’t stay right here in town. God knows we’re going to need ‘em.”

  “That was decided way above our pay grade. If you know something we don’t, out with it,” said Pappy.

  The marshal glared at Pappy suspiciously. “Well, I just keep gettin’ the feeling I’m being flimflammed.”

  “I thought we�
�d already settled that. You reneging?”

  The marshal glowered, but said nothing.

  Pappy spoke condescendingly, “If that’s your answer, we’re going to bring the Otter over, so I’m warning you officially. If you delay us, there’ll likely be a stampede for the aircraft, so you’d better have damn good reason to futz around.”

  “Futz around, huh. Whether you like it or not, I’m going to have my look.”

  “Well, turn around and look outside instead,” said the Captain. “There’s where the trouble will come, just as soon as my airplane arrives. Someone is likely to get hurt! We need you to hold back that crowd. Security is gone for good. That’s where you belong, sir! And not in my airplane… unless you really intend to be an unauthorized boarder yourself!” The Captain turned on his heel and left. Pappy thought his performance was sterling.

  In the lounge, Pappy was surprised to find Tlingit helping the security screener load baggage through the machine. Thankfully, the man worked rapidly, maybe an arrangement of Richard’s, he thought. The screener remained surly and uncooperative.

  Pappy said quietly to Martha, “We’re going to pull up in a few minutes, so be ready. Pudge is suspicious. Once outside, move fast and stay cool.”

  She placed her hand gently on Pappy’s shoulder to face him around, “Have you looked out front recently?” The touch brought back a flood of memories of the attractive woman despite the tense situation. Martha possessed classic form of the tanned buxom flight attendant. They had been lovers for more than a year despite their difference in age and culture. She was a petite Lebanese woman who displayed the dark stunning beauty of her ancestry.

  Through the glass, they could see a gathering of people surrounding a man making animated gestures vehemently exhorting the crowd. The hotel desk clerk was up to his best. “Wouldn’t you know he’d be trouble,” said Pappy.

  “I think he’s getting them worked up,” said Martha. “And the crowd is growing.”