idea what we might trigger.’
‘But at least we would know if there really is a hijacker and a genuine threat,’ Dennis said.
They heard another voice in the background. Erik. Alex felt his heartbeat increase. Without realising what he was doing he leaned forward on his chair, as if trying to hear better. They waited
as Karim and Erik spoke to one another. It wasn’t possible to hear what they were saying, but Alex could tell from his son’s tone of voice that he was wound up. Erik had always been
quick to flare up, to sound agitated, but this time Alex had to admit that he had every reason to behave that way.
Eventually, Karim came back on the line.
‘I am the captain of this plane. And I am not going to make any attempt at an emergency landing, particularly in view of the fact that I can’t dump the fuel, which we are all agreed
is out of the question.’
Eden chose her words with care.
‘We totally respect the fact that you alone are in command,’ she said. ‘But how are you intending to resolve this situation?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean exactly what I say. If you don’t intend to attempt an emergency landing, what’s your plan?’
‘What’s
my
plan? It’s not my fucking responsibility to sort this out!’
For the first time, Karim sounded really angry.
‘It’s
your
responsibility, either by finding the idiots who are behind this, or by co-operating with the hijackers and doing exactly as they say. My only task is to keep the
plane in the air until it’s all over.’
Then he ended the call.
Eden looked at Dennis and Alex.
‘Shit,’ Dennis said.
‘Although he does have a point,’ Alex said.
The others stared at him as if he had gone mad.
‘There are three ways of resolving this,’ Alex said. ‘Number one, we manage to land the plane and get everyone off without the hijackers noticing. Number two, both governments
meet the demands of the hijackers. Or number three, we find the perpetrators behind the hijacking. And that might be the only achievable solution.’
‘And an emergency landing isn’t the obvious option?’
‘To us, yes. But evidently not to Karim Sassi.’
‘Can we force him to co-operate?’ Dennis said.
‘I’ve no idea,’ Eden replied. ‘We’ll have to call SAS and check. It seems strange if we don’t have clear jurisdiction over an individual pilot.’
Dennis got to his feet.
‘I’ll go and find out.’
When he had closed the door behind him, Alex turned to Eden.
‘If Karim says no, then I’m afraid we’ll have to accept it.’
‘Me too.’
‘So what’s the alternative?’
‘Would it help if you spoke to him? Does he know you? Does he know you’re Erik’s father?’
Alex shook his head; he couldn’t imagine it would be any easier for him to get through to Karim.
‘It wouldn’t make any difference,’ he said.
Eden linked her hands behind her head and stared into space.
‘If we don’t neutralise the threat by landing the plane, then we either have to meet the hijackers’ demands or identify the perpetrators before the fuel runs out, as you said.
And to be frank, there isn’t a cat in hell’s chance of either the Swedish or American governments giving in.’
It was an accurate assessment, so Alex raised no objections.
‘In that case, we have to find whoever kicked off this entire circus,’ he said.
They sat in silence for a while.
‘There is one consolation,’ Eden said.
Alex raised an eyebrow. ‘Is there?’
‘I really don’t believe there’s a bomb on board that plane.’
After almost thirty years with the police, Alex had learned that a case could take the most unexpected turns. He ran his fingers over the pink scar tissue on his hands. He had made mistakes on
more than one occasion, and had once burned his hands badly as a result.
‘I’m not quite so convinced,’ he said. ‘We have to be prepared for any eventuality, particularly as we don’t even understand everything about the message
‘But at least we would know if there really is a hijacker and a genuine threat,’ Dennis said.
They heard another voice in the background. Erik. Alex felt his heartbeat increase. Without realising what he was doing he leaned forward on his chair, as if trying to hear better. They waited
as Karim and Erik spoke to one another. It wasn’t possible to hear what they were saying, but Alex could tell from his son’s tone of voice that he was wound up. Erik had always been
quick to flare up, to sound agitated, but this time Alex had to admit that he had every reason to behave that way.
Eventually, Karim came back on the line.
‘I am the captain of this plane. And I am not going to make any attempt at an emergency landing, particularly in view of the fact that I can’t dump the fuel, which we are all agreed
is out of the question.’
Eden chose her words with care.
‘We totally respect the fact that you alone are in command,’ she said. ‘But how are you intending to resolve this situation?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean exactly what I say. If you don’t intend to attempt an emergency landing, what’s your plan?’
‘What’s
my
plan? It’s not my fucking responsibility to sort this out!’
For the first time, Karim sounded really angry.
‘It’s
your
responsibility, either by finding the idiots who are behind this, or by co-operating with the hijackers and doing exactly as they say. My only task is to keep the
plane in the air until it’s all over.’
Then he ended the call.
Eden looked at Dennis and Alex.
‘Shit,’ Dennis said.
‘Although he does have a point,’ Alex said.
The others stared at him as if he had gone mad.
‘There are three ways of resolving this,’ Alex said. ‘Number one, we manage to land the plane and get everyone off without the hijackers noticing. Number two, both governments
meet the demands of the hijackers. Or number three, we find the perpetrators behind the hijacking. And that might be the only achievable solution.’
‘And an emergency landing isn’t the obvious option?’
‘To us, yes. But evidently not to Karim Sassi.’
‘Can we force him to co-operate?’ Dennis said.
‘I’ve no idea,’ Eden replied. ‘We’ll have to call SAS and check. It seems strange if we don’t have clear jurisdiction over an individual pilot.’
Dennis got to his feet.
‘I’ll go and find out.’
When he had closed the door behind him, Alex turned to Eden.
‘If Karim says no, then I’m afraid we’ll have to accept it.’
‘Me too.’
‘So what’s the alternative?’
‘Would it help if you spoke to him? Does he know you? Does he know you’re Erik’s father?’
Alex shook his head; he couldn’t imagine it would be any easier for him to get through to Karim.
‘It wouldn’t make any difference,’ he said.
Eden linked her hands behind her head and stared into space.
‘If we don’t neutralise the threat by landing the plane, then we either have to meet the hijackers’ demands or identify the perpetrators before the fuel runs out, as you said.
And to be frank, there isn’t a cat in hell’s chance of either the Swedish or American governments giving in.’
It was an accurate assessment, so Alex raised no objections.
‘In that case, we have to find whoever kicked off this entire circus,’ he said.
They sat in silence for a while.
‘There is one consolation,’ Eden said.
Alex raised an eyebrow. ‘Is there?’
‘I really don’t believe there’s a bomb on board that plane.’
After almost thirty years with the police, Alex had learned that a case could take the most unexpected turns. He ran his fingers over the pink scar tissue on his hands. He had made mistakes on
more than one occasion, and had once burned his hands badly as a result.
‘I’m not quite so convinced,’ he said. ‘We have to be prepared for any eventuality, particularly as we don’t even understand everything about the message
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