The Airline Fired a Single Dad—Hours Later, a Jet Lost Both Engines
Chapter 9
Marcus’s protection detail moved Ava to a secure location.
She cried when he told her he couldn’t stay with her.
“Did I do something wrong?”
Marcus knelt.
“No.”
“Then why can’t I go home?”
“Because some bad people are making bad choices.”
“Are they going to hurt you?”
Marcus swallowed.
“I don’t think so.”
Ava looked into his eyes.
“You’re doing your fake smile again.”
He hugged her.
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
She whispered,
“Come back.”
Marcus closed his eyes.
“I will.”
Then he left.
The investigation found evidence that Project Silver Sky involved an insurance fraud scheme.
Aircraft would be deliberately exposed to mechanical problems, then removed from service under suspicious circumstances.
Insurance payouts followed.
But that still didn’t explain why passengers were being targeted.
Rebecca discovered the connection.
“These passengers are witnesses.”
Witnesses to corruption.
Employees who were preparing to testify.
Auditors.
Journalists.
Regulators.
Marcus wasn’t simply an employee who knew too much.
He was part of a larger cleanup operation.
The airline chairwoman, Amelia Grant, had been using Gerald Knox to remove anyone who could expose the fraud.
Flight 611 had not been the final target.
It had been a warning.
Marcus had survived.
That made him more dangerous.
The next morning, federal agents arrested Daniel Price.
He agreed to cooperate fully.
Amelia Grant disappeared.
Gerald Knox remained missing.
Marcus returned to the airport under federal escort.
He was asked to identify the maintenance equipment connected to the sabotage.
He walked through the hangar.
Stopped.
Looked at a fuel-service cart.
“This one.”
Investigators photographed it.
“Why?”
“The coupling.”
He pointed.
“This was modified.”
“Can you prove it?”
Marcus crouched.
“Not yet.”
He removed a panel.
Inside was a tiny magnetic device.
A remote valve controller.
The investigators stared.
“What does that do?”
Marcus explained.
“It can open or close the fuel contamination line remotely.”
“So someone could contaminate an aircraft after it left maintenance?”
“Yes.”
“And Flight 611?”
“Exactly.”
Rebecca looked stunned.
“That means the saboteur didn’t need to be near the plane when it failed.”
Marcus nodded.
“He could trigger it from almost anywhere.”
That explained the security footage.
Danner had installed the hardware.
Someone else could activate it.
Then Marcus noticed a serial number.
He wrote it down.
Rebecca checked the procurement database.
The device had been purchased by a subcontractor.
The subcontractor’s largest client was—
Amelia Grant.
Marcus felt his stomach drop.
“She didn’t disappear.”
Rebecca looked at him.
“She planned this.”
“How?”
“She owns a private jet.”
Rebecca understood.
“She could leave the country.”
Marcus shook his head.
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
He pointed to the project schedule.
The next planned event wasn’t tomorrow.
It was tonight.
A major international flight.
And the passenger manifest included a federal investigator who had just agreed to testify.
Marcus stared at the screen.
“What time?”
“10:40 p.m.”
He looked at Rebecca.
“We have hours.”
Then the airport’s emergency system activated.
A message appeared.
UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS DETECTED — FUEL CONTROL NETWORK.
Marcus’s face went pale.
“They’re already inside.”
He grabbed the phone.
“Ground every aircraft.”
Rebecca shouted,
“Do it!”
Alarms began sounding across the airport.
Gate agents stopped boarding.
Aircraft were held on taxiways.
And somewhere inside the terminal, someone had just gained remote access to the fuel control network.
Marcus looked at the screen.
Flight after flight appeared.
Then one aircraft status changed.
CLEARED FOR DEPARTURE.
He recognized the number.
The exact flight scheduled for 10:40.
The one carrying the witness.
Someone had overridden the grounding order.
