Every warning light looked like Derek Lawson smiling from a boardroom chair he had not earned. Fix it," Victoria said again, softer this time. Caleb twisted under the belly of the plane. "You need to understand something, Miss Hayes. If I rush, this people die.
If I slow down, you miss your deal. Those are the only honest options. " She hated him for saying it because he was right. Her phone buzzed and Dererick's name appeared. She ignored it. It buzzed again.
Then Mara's tablet chimed with an emergency board notification. Mara looked up terrified. Victoria Derek has called a temporary governance meeting for 3:00. He says your failure to depart proves operational incapacity. Victoria's jaw tightened.
He doesn't get to decide that. The bylaws might let him if you aren't in Seattle by 8. Caleb slid out from beneath the plane, holding a tiny black device between two fingers. It was smaller than a matchbook. Slick, expensive, and completely foreign to the surrounding hardware.
This doesn't belong here. Victoria leaned closer. What is it? A signal bridge. Cheap enough to deny, smart enough to kill.
Caleb's eyes locked on Victoria's. Who knew your flight plan? My executive office, my flight crew, senior operations and security. Then your problem isn't in this hangar. Caleb said, "Your problem is sitting behind a desk. " The words hit harder than the alarm.
Victoria thought of Derek's calm voice, his perfect suits, his patient warnings that she was too aggressive, too emotional, too much her father's daughter. She had never liked him, but she had trusted his usefulness. That suddenly felt dangerous. Her phone buzzed again. This time, she answered.
Dererick's face filled the screen. Silver-haired, composed, warm in the way snakes might be warm under a heat lamp. Victoria, thank God. The board is concerned. I'm concerned.
How kind of you. Derek's eyes flicked past her shoulder to Caleb, who stood with the black device. For half a second, something cracked in Dererick's expression. "Who is that? " Derek asked. "The man keeping your plan from working? " Caleb said before Victoria could speak.
The hangar went silent. Derek smiled too slowly. I don't know what game this mechanic is playing, but I would be careful. Caleb Walker is not someone you want near an aircraft. Victoria turned her head.
Caleb's face had gone still. You know him? She asked. Derek sighed, performing regret. Everyone in aviation safety knows his name.