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He wore a dark blue windbreaker and dark slacks The lazy, collegiate , tense, alert He looked left and right carefully, scanning the floor
Abruptly, the strobe lights went out, plunging the hangar into darkness Caseycreak beneath her feet Would Richure out where she was?
She carabbed it with her hand, e Sooner or later, she knew, the webbing would end Her foot struck a thick cord; she bent down, felt knots
Casey lay down on the webbing, gripped the edge in both hands, and rolled over the side, falling For adoard She was surrounded by blackness She did not kno far it was to the floor Six feet? Ten feet?
Running footsteps
She released the webbing, and fell
She hit the ground standing, dropped to her knees Sharp pain in her kneecap as she banged into concrete She heard Richot up and began to run toward the exit door The landing lights calare she saw Richman throw up his hands to cover his eyes She kneould be blinded for a few seconds Not long
But perhaps enough Where was the other man? She ran
She hit the wall of the hangar with a dullthe wall feeling for the door She heard running footsteps
Where? Where?
Behind her, running footsteps
Her hand touched wood, vertical runners, more wood, then the metal bar The door latch She pushed
Cool air
She was outside
Teddy turned "Hey, babe," he said, s for breath Teddy and the electrical guy ca over "What is it? What&039;s theher, solicitous She tried to catch her breath She asp, "Call Security"
"What?"
"Call Security! Souy ran to the phone Teddy stayed with her Then she remembered the QAR She had a moment of sudden panic Where was it?
She stood "Oh no," she said "I dropped it"
"Dropped what, babe?"
"That box" She turned, looking back at the hangar She&039;d have to get theo back inside, to -
"You mean the one in your hand?" Teddy said
She looked at her left hand
The QAR was there, clutched so tightly her fingers hite
GLENDALE
11:30 PM
"Co her into the bedroo&039;s fine, babe"
&039;Teddy," she said, "I don&039;t knohy "
"We&039;ll find out to "
&039;Tomorrow," Teddy said
"But as he "
She couldn&039;t finish her sentences She sat on the bed, suddenly feeling her exhaustion, overwhelmed by it
"I&039;ll stay on the couch," he said "I don&039;t want you alone tonight" He looked at her, chucked her on the chin "Don&039;t worry about a thing, babe"
He reached over, and took the QAR out of her hand She released it unwillingly "We&039;ll just put this right here," he said, setting it on the bedside table He was talking to her as to a child
&039;Teddy, it&039;s important"
"I know It&039;ll be there, when you wake up Okay?"
"Okay"
"Call if you need anything" He left, closing the door
She looked at the pillow She had to get out of her clothes, to get ready for bed Her face hurt; she didn&039;t knohat had happened to it She needed to look at her face
She picked up the QAR and stuck it behind the pillow She stared at the pillow, then lay down on it, and closed her eyes
Just for a ht
FRIDAY
GLENDALE
6:30 AM
So
Casey sat up quickly Pain streaked through her body; she gasped She felt a burning sensation in her face She touched her cheek, and winced
Sunlight poured through heronto the foot of the bed She looked down at twin arcs of grease on the bedspread She still had her shoes on She still had her clothes on
She was lying on top of the bedspread, fully dressed
Groaning, she twisted her body, swung her feet to the floor Everything hurt She looked down at the bedside table The clock said six-thirty
She reached behind the pillow, brought out the green metal box with a white stripe
The QAR
She smelled coffee
The door opened, and Teddy ca "How bad is it?"
"Everything hurts"
"I figured" He held the coffee out to her "Can you handle this?"
She nodded, took the ratefully Her shoulders hurt as she lifted it to her lips The coffee was hot and strong
"Face isn&039;t too bad," he said, looking at her critically "Mostly on the side I guess that&039;s where you hit the mesh"
She suddenly reot off the bed, groaning again
"Three aspirins," Teddy said, "and a very hot bath"
"I don&039;t have time"
"Make time Hot as you can stand"
She went into the bathroom and turned on the shower She looked in the rime There was a purple bruise that started by her ear and ran back behind her neck Her hair would cover it, she thought It wouldn&039;t show
She took another drink of coffee, reot into the shower She had bruises on her elbow, on her hip, on her knees She couldn&039;t reood
When she ca She pushed open the door
"Don&039;t answer that," Casey said
"Are you sure?"
"There&039;s no time," she said "Not today"
She went into the bedroom to dress
She had only ten hours until her intervieith Marty Reardon Between now and then, she had only one thing she wanted to do
Clear up Flight 545
NORTON/DOS
7:40 AM
Rob Wong placed the green box on the table, attached a cable, pressed a key on his console A sot power," Wong said He sat back in his chair, looked at Casey "You ready to try this?"
"I&039; said He pushed a single key on the keyboard
The red light on the QAR box began to flicker rapidly
Uneasily, Casey said, "Is that"
"It&039;s okay It&039;s downloading"
After a few seconds, the red light glowed steadily again
"Nohat?"
"It&039;s done," Wong said "Let&039;s see the data" His screen began to show colu closely "Uhlooks pretty good, Casey This could be your lucky day" He typed rapidly at the keyboard for several seconds Then he sat back
"Noe see how good it is"
On the monitor, a wire-fra solid, three-diround appeared A silver aircraft, seen horizontally in profile The landing gear down
Wong punched keys,the aircraft around so they saw it fro to the horizon, and a gray runway The ian to ed attitude, the nose raising up The landing gear folded into the wings
"You just took off," Wong said He was grinning
The aircraft was still rising Wong hit a key, and a rectangle opened on the right side of the screen A series of nu quickly "It&039;s not a DFDR, but it&039;s good enough," Wong said "All the , fuel, deltas on control surfaces - flaps, slats, ailerons, elevators, rudder Everything you need And the data&039;s stable, Casey"
The aircraft was still cli hit a button, and white clouds appeared The plane continued upward, through the clouds