Fratricide

How to Lose Friends & Influence People

I look the hijacker in the eye. I'm not afraid. I've got the gun. He walks over to me and slams the butt of his rifle into my face.

"Look down! Don't you understand me? Don't look at me. If you look at me, I will shoot you. Do you understand?"
I look down at the handcuffs on my hands, the pain of the rifle butt throbbing in my cheek.
I know I can get the gun out of my pocket and shoot him with the handcuffs on, that's not my main problem. The hijacker in front of the cockpit is my main problem. There is no way to make it down the aisle without him getting off a few rounds from his gun.

It will take me at least 15 seconds to get close enough to shoot him and by that time he could have killed half the people in the plane. I wonder if the risk is worth it. If I can kill him and the one with the rifle then the others will be trapped inside the cockpit and I'll be able to take then out easily, like shooting fish in a barrel, so to speak.

Damn, now I wish I hadn't looked up at him. He knows my face. If I ask to go to the toilet now he'll be suspicious.

I lean over and whisper to Leanne, "Ask him if you can go to the toilet."
"Why?" she asks. "I don't need to go to the toilet".
"It doesn't matter." I say. "I have a plan and I need you to ask him if you can go to the toilet"
"I'm scared. I can't. I'll start crying and he'll get angry with me". She was starting to piss me off.
"I'll do it", the voice came from in front of me. It was the young blonde woman who had lost her boarding pass in the x-ray machine.

"Thanks", I said. "Try to get him to come with you. I need him follow you to the back of the plane. Do you understand?"
"Yes", she whispered." When do you want me to do it?"
Thank God for this woman, she could be the one that ends up saving us all. I stared over to Leanne with a look of disgust. Tears were welling up in her eyes. Didn't she realize that we were all going to die anyway? We could die in a flaming wreck when this plane slammed into a building or we could die heroes. Deep down I'd always known that she couldn't be relied upon. She always gave off an air of confidence but I'd always known she would fall apart if it ever got to something like this.

"Now, call him over now". I was ready for this. It was now or never.
"Excuse me." She put her hand into the air. "I need to go to the toilet." She was brilliant, even I believed her. The quivering lip was an added touch not even I could manage.

The hijacker stopped and turned around, annoyed.
"You need to go to the toilet?" he said sarcastically, talking as he walked.
"Yes, I really need to go. Otherwise I'll just have to do it here in my seat".
The hijacker reached into his jacket and took out a small pistol from his inside pocket. He pointed it at her blonde head and pulled the trigger.

Bang!
"Look everyone, now the bitch doesn't need to go to the toilet anymore", he sneered as he turned away.
"Does anyone else need to go to the toilet? Just put your hand in the air and I'll come over and help you".
Muffled screams and crying were coming from all over the plane. I turned towards Leanne to see her screaming quietly into the pillow in front of her face.

  To be continued...over lunch?