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"Not serious," Delbaugh said Aware that solanced back at Ji like a race-lathered horse, but Delbaugh’s face glistened with only a fine sheen of perspiration, as if someone had spritzed him with a plant mister His voice was steady: "You’re hiain "We’re co around," he said to Anilov, and the co-pilot nodded Delbaugh ordered a throttle change, and theto Jioing to happen"

"Yeah"

"So what else can you tell ainst a bulkhead as the plane shuddered and ed again, Ji I don’t know," Delbaugh replied with cool sarcasry snarl, but he was admirably in co new instructions

Listening, Jiht 246 by way of a series of 360-degree turns, in an attempt to line it up with one of the runways The pilots could not easily guide the plane into a straight approach, as usual, because they had no real control The disabled craft’s ht was now to be incorporated into a breathtakingly conceived plan that would let it find its way into the barn like a stubborn bull determined to resist the herder and follow its own route home If the radius of each turn was carefully calculated and ht eventually be able to bring head-on to a runway and all the way in

Impact in five minutes

Jim twitched in shock and almost spoke those four words aloud when they ca to the tower, Jiot it down and locked," Delbaugh confirh said "Unless there’s another surprise waiting for us"

"There is," Jiain "What?" I, there’ll be a sudden windshear as you’re going in oblique to you, so it won’t drive you into the ground

But the reflected updraft froive you a couple badover a washboard"

"What’re you talking about?" Anilov de your final approach, a few hundred feet frole," Jiher power to speak through hio for it anyway, no other choice"

"How can you know that?" the flight engineer de the question, Jim went on, and the words caht, the wing’ll hit the ground, and you’ll cartwheel down the runway, end over end, off it, into a field

The whole damn plane’ll come apart and burn"

The red-hairedthe throttles, looked back at Jim in disbelief "What crock of shit is this, who the hell do you think you are?" "He knew about engine nuh said coolly

Aware that they were entering the second of the trio of planned degree turns and that ti out, Jim said, "None of you in the cockpit will die, but you’ll lose a hundred and forty-seven passengers, plus four flight attendants"

"Oh h said softly

"He can’t know this," Anilov objected

Iave additional instructions to the red-haired rew louder, the other softer, and the big craft began its second turn, shedding so, just before the plane tips to the right"

"What?" Delbaugh said, still unable to look at hiet what response he could fronize what ityou’ve heard before, because it’s a structural failure in the wing coupling, where it’s fixed to the fuselage A sharp twang, like a giant steel-guitar string When you hear it, if you increase power to the port engine i to the left, you’ll keep her fro"

Anilov had lost his patience "This is nuts Slay, I can’t think with this guy here"

Jiht Both System Aircraft Maintenance in San Francisco and the dispatcher had been silent for a while, hesitant to interfere with the crew’s concentration If he stayed there, even without saying another word, he ht unintentionally distract them at a crucialiven to tell theht deck and moved as quickly as possible toward row sixteen

I for Ji he would rejoin them

She wanted hiotten the bizarre dreaht, the htotten how many people he had killed in his quest to protect the lives of the innocent, nor how savagely he slaughtered Norman Rink in that Atlanta convenience store But the dark side of hier surrounded him, she also felt curiously safe in his coel

Through the public-address systeency procedures Other attendants were positioned throughout the plane,directions

The DC-10 ing and shih without a wooden ti ship on a storm-tossed sea The sky was blue beyond the portholes, but evidently the air was , tuers had any illusions now They knew they were going in for a landing under the worst conditions, and that it would be rough

Maybe fatal Throughout the enorly quiet, as if they were in a cathedral during a solemn service Perhaps, in theirtheir own funerals

Ji the port aisle Holly was iingly at the Dubroveks, and to put his hand on Holly’s shoulder and give her a gentle squeeze of reassurance Then he settled into the seat behind her

The plane hit a patch of turbulence worse than anything before

She was half convinced that they were no longer flying but sledding across corrugated steel

Christine took Holly’s hand and held it briefly, as if they were old friends-which, in a curious way, they were, thanks to the i effect on people