November 24, 1971

"Mr. Cooper," said the woman behind the desk, "that'll be twenty dollars for a ticket on Northwest Orient Flight 305 from Portland, Oregon to Seattle, Washington." The young woman smiled at Jack while taking the bill. "Have a happy Thanksgiving."

"You as well," Jack said politely, palming the ticket the woman offered. The airport was crowded with last minute passengers desperate to make it home for the holiday. Jack got to the gate in time to see their plane pull up on the tarmac. The flight from Portland to Seattle was twenty–eight minutes. Little did the other travelers know it was going to be longer.       

Jack watched as a blonde flight attendant exited the aft staircase of the plane and walked up the stairs of the airport. She opened the door and a gust of cool air brought the others to attention, making several shiver as the wind promised a storm.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if you would please follow me we can begin boarding." The flight attendant ushered them through the door and down onto the tarmac. The line of waiting passengers was short, just as Jack and Sayuri hoped it would be. The fewer the people, the fewer potential problems and an easier getaway, in theory at least. 

   Even with all the planning they'd put into the heist there was always a chance everything would go wrong. Jack couldn't control what others' reactions would be should the plan of a quiet takeover go south. The bomb was fake but none of them would know that. People could rise to the occasion when gripped with fear and stay calm while others would be crippled by it and find themselves unable to move. Those reactions Jack could handle. But Jack knew there was no way to handle a group that got brave, not for a single unarmed individual, even though there wasn't a large number of passengers it was more than enough to form a mob, and that reaction would end in jail or death.

Neither of which Jack wanted. Too much was riding on this. Not only Jack's future, which wouldn't be pleasant if spent behind bars, but Jack's two children and Sayuri's futures would be ruined as well. Kristen and Nick didn't know about the heist, obviously. Jack feed them the story that Sayuri had been hired for a few days on a horror movie shooting in a remote location, as and Sayuri's assistant, Jack had to go as well. The kids had been sent to their grandparents for the weekend. Jack's parents had also not been told the real story so if this went bad, the family would learn of it from the news. Almost from the beginning of the planning for the heist, Jack made Sayuri promise she would claim ignorance of the entire affair if it failed. Sayuri had been a constant presence in the life of the twins, nearly that of a third parent. If the heist went bad, Jack wanted the kids to still have a parental figure.

      But if they pulled this off, Jack would have to explain the sudden reversal of bad fortune, though that speech hadn't been written yet out of fear for jinxing the operation. There were any number of explanations that would be plausible enough for them to buy. Perhaps it would be that the bank had changed their mind and the loan they denied earlier went through. Or a long lost relative had died and left them a fortune. What did it matter where the money came from? Jack might say. The bank was about to foreclose on us, and since I unexpectedly found myself a single parent with debts run up by my former spouse, debts which I had no prior knowledge of, were coming out of the woodwork and we were in real trouble but now everything will be fine. Aunt Sayuri and I can open the special effects shop we've always wanted and hopefully work on movies making monsters, sets, and maybe even the occasional Halloween costume for a rich client. Isn't that great?

Jack walked up the aft staircase, keenly aware the plan necessitated jumping from it later tonight, hopefully heavy laden with money. Jack found seat 18E and set the suitcase on the empty seat beside it. As the others found their places, Jack's eye wandered to the window. Jack turned slightly this way and that to make sure the facial prosthetics were holding up. They were. Sayuri and Jack knew their stuff but the anxiety that something would go wrong had lead to checking them frequently. The disguise was a critical part of the plan, the most critical, if they were going to get away with this. The colored contacts, which changed Jack's eyes from a soft blue to a dark brown, were still a shock no matter how often Jack looked. Sayuri was a genius. Jack could never have made these. As innovative as the contacts were they weren't perfect. They could only be worn a few hours or they'd start to sting and cause swelling and watering of the eyes. And they also slightly hindered Jack's sight, which wasn't a good condition to skydive in.

Jack took a deep breath as the plane left the ground. In what seemed no time at all, the flight attendant, a young dark haired woman, made her way down the aisle taking drink orders.       

"Can I get you anything, sir?" She asked Jack.

"I'll have a bourbon and soda, please."

She nodded and went to fill the order. While she was gone, Jack reached into one of the briefcase pockets and grabbed the note written long beforehand.

"Here you are, sir," she smiled brightly and held out the drink.

"Thank you." Jack took the drink and held out the scrap of paper to her. She smiled and went to put the paper in her pocket, no doubt thinking it was a phone number. "Miss, you'd better look at the note. I have a bomb."

The young women fought to keep her expression calm as she read the note and took the seat beside Jack as it directed.

"May I see the bomb?" she asked with a slight tremble in her voice.

Jack opened the briefcase long enough for her to glimpse eight red cylinders in two rows of four, clearly dynamite. A wire was attached to the cylinders and one large cylindrical battery. Another cylindrical battery sat opposite those though it had nothing attached. Jack took up the second wire which was hidden from her view.   

"All I have to do is touch the end of this wire to the top of the second battery and the bomb will detonate," Jack told her. 

"What is it you want?" Her voice was stronger now, which was impressive. Jack saw a brief struggle play out in her eyes as she fought fear and fell back on her training. Guilt rose up in Jack upon seeing the girl's fear.

"Two hundred thousand dollars in negotiable American currency, four parachutes and a fuel truck standing by in Seattle to refuel us before we leave."   

"I'll inform the pilots," she stood on steady legs and walked toward the cockpit. A few minutes later she returned saying all Jack's wishes had been relayed to Seattle. Jack nodded in dismissal.

She and the other flight attendants began asking passengers to move forward to unoccupied seats. Some grumbled but did as directed but none appeared suspicious.

The small overhead chime that proceeded an announcement sounded throughout the cabin. "Attention ladies and gentlemen, this is the Captain speaking. We have a technical issue that will keep us from landing promptly in Seattle. It's not a cause for alarm, but until the issue is resolved we will be entering a holding pattern above Puget Sound. We will inform you when the situation changes. We apologize for the inconvenience and hope this will not spoil your Thanksgiving. Thank you."

The light inside the plane was irritating to Jack's eyes because of the contacts but it wasn't time to take them out just yet. Jack put on sunglasses which dulled the sensation and provided some relief, temporary though it would be. The dark haired flight attendant went back into the cockpit and the blonde one came to sit by Jack.

"Can I get anything else for you, sir?"

"Another bourbon and soda, please." She went to fill the order and Jack lit a cigarette. The first of many until this was over. 

"Here you are," the flight attendant said.

"Thanks. Would you like a cigarette?"  

"No thank you, sir. I don't smoke."

"It's a nasty habit. I wish I never started," which was true though Jack would never admit it to Sayuri. "Looks like Tacoma down there."

"It is. Have you spent time there?"

"In another life," Jack said cryptically. "McChord Air Force Base is only a twenty minute drive from Tacoma." Jack's father had been stationed there during his stint in the military. Jack had fond memories of this place but it wasn't much comfort at the moment. "What's your name?"

"Tina."

"Why'd you get into flying?" Jack asked and lit another cigarette.  

"For the travel."

Jack nodded but didn't say anything.

"Forgive me for asking," Tina cleared her thirst, "but do you have a grudge with Northwest Orient?"

"I don't have a grudge with your airline, miss. I just have a grudge." The green eyes and light brown hair Jack had fallen for and married popped to the forefront of Jack's mind. That was the grudge that started this. Spousal abandonment had taken a toll on Jack's financial situation and emotions.

Jack had never seen it coming. One day they were all happy. The next, Jack came home after picking the kids up from soccer practice to a note pinned on the front door. All the excuses of working later on new projects and work retreats were confessed for what they were. If Jack had known how bad things were, and that the love they'd once shared no longer was mutual, Jack would have asked for a divorce. It would have hurt undoubtedly. Though it would have been a lot easier to explain to the kids rather than the tearful breakdown of an explanation that they'd been dumped for some sleazy redhead with a bad dye job.

      Two hours later Tina came back after a short visit to the cockpit. Everything had been gathered and it was all waiting if they were clear to land.

"Yes. Tell the pilot to land on an isolated, brightly lit section of the apron. I want you to close all the window shades. I don't want the police snipers that'll be waiting for us to have a clear shot. Once we land no one may come onto the plane. Tina, I want you to bring me the money and parachutes. You won't be able to carry it all at once so there'll be multiple trips. Once I have everything the passengers may leave. The other two flight attendants may also leave. You will sit by me again and we will leave for Mexico."