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“Hell, I was hoping I could take a nap,” the pilot said “That’s real kind of you”

Francesca had backed off the aisle to et sos fros to bind the pilot With Riordan on ice he would only have to deal with the copilot

The cabin was about twelve feet long In the tight space Phillipo had to step aside to let the otherat close quarters, because it would be impossible to miss Riordan nodded and stepped toward the rear They were only a few inches apart when the copilot put the plane over on its left side

Riordan had expected the move, but he didn’t knohen it would come or that it would be so violent He lost his balance and was thrown onto a seat, his head sla into the bulkhead Phillipo was lifted off his feet He flew across the cabin and landed on top of Riordan

The pilot disentangled his right hand and blasted his big fist into the bodyguard’s jaw Phillipo saw galaxies whirling over his head and alun Riordan brought his arm back for another punch Phillipo blocked it with his elbow

Both hters Phillipo clawed at Riordan’s eyes The pilot bit Phillipo on the fleshy part of the palroin, and when the pilot opened histhe cartilage in Riordan’s nose He ained the upper hand, but at that point the copilot ht

The struggling men flew across the aisle into the opposite seat Now the Aun’s rabbed his wrist with two hands and twisted it away and down Phillipo was strong, but he was nocloser to his midsection

The pilot had his hands on the gun and restling it away Phillipo tried to hold on to the pistol, alrip was slippery fro fro twist the pilot took control of the gun, got his fingertip onto the trigger, and squeezed There was a muffled crack! Phillipo’s body jerked and then went limp as the bullet plowed into his chest

The plane righted itself as the copilot put it back into its norered toward the cockpit He stopped

and turned, apparently sensing soht

The gun he had left behind was propped up on the bodyguard’s chest Phillipo was trying to steady it for a shot Riordan charged like a wounded rhino The pistol cracked The first bullet hit the pilot in the shoulder, and he kept coer twitched twice ht the pilot in the heart and killed him instantly The third ild and missed him completely Even as the pilot crashed to the floor, the pistol had dropped from Phillipo’s hand

The struggle from one side of the cabin to the other had taken only a few seconds Francesca had been thrown between the seats and played possu his way back to the cockpit The shots sent her down again

She cautiously stuck her head into the aisle and saw the pilot’s still body She crawled over to Phillipo’s side, pried the pistol froed to feel fear Her anger quickly turned to shock

The copilot was slumped forward, his body held in place by his seatbelt There was a bullet hole in the partition separating the cockpit froh the back of the copilot’s chair Phillipo’s third shot

Francesca pulled the copilot upright His groan told her he was still alive