Code Black Read Online Free Page A

sidearm.
    A cold rush of air enveloped her and she turned and saw an airline pilot, luggage in tow, hurrying through the door to escape the harsh elements outside. His leather jacket was covered with snow. He still had his head down against the wind as he strode purposefully into the terminal. Lauren searched for the emblem affixed to his cap. She saw the gold braid on the bill that identified him as a captain. It took her a moment, but she finally recognized the distinctive logo of Wayfarer Airlines.
    “Captain,” Lauren said. “I need to speak with you.”
    “I beg your pardon.” The pilot stopped, glanced at her and the agent and then stepped aside as he prepared to move around her.
    “I need you to listen to me!” Lauren said with as much force as she dared. She realized she must sound like a madwoman.
    “Miss, I’m going to have to ask you to keep your voice down.” The female agent was growing even more agitated. She motioned for Security to hurry.
    The policeman’s fast approach would give her only a few more seconds. She read the pilot’s name from the security badge hanging from his neck. His name was David Tucker.
    “Captain Tucker. One of your airplanes might have crashed,” Lauren said quietly. “I need your help.”
    “Who are you?” Tucker eyed her warily. “What do you know about a crash?”
    “I was talking to my fiancé, who is on a flight from Washington D.C.” Lauren leveled a dead-serious glare at Tucker; she had to convince him that what she was telling him was true. “He said there was another airplane, and that they were going to hit. He’s a professional pilot and I trust what he was telling me.”
    “Officer,” the agent gushed the moment the policeman was within earshot. “This woman came up to me and told me that we might have a problem with one of our airplanes.”
    “Let me explain,” Lauren said. “I was talking to a passenger on flight—.”
    “Did you tell her there’s a problem with a plane?” the cop interrupted.
    “Yes,” Lauren said. The policeman stood there, looking her up and down, as if trying to gauge how much of a threat she might be. She exhaled heavily. This situation was going nowhere fast. “I have reason to believe one of Wayfarer’s planes is in trouble. I’m just trying to find out what’s happened.”
    “I want everyone to calm down,” the cop said. “I need to see your I.D.”
    “I’d be happy to,” Lauren said. She opened her purse under the watchful eye of the cop and produced her Defense Intelligence Agency badge. She flipped it open. Though now technically only a consultant, she was still one of the DIA’s top meteorological analysts.
    The cop examined her credentials and carefully compared the pictures. He stepped away and spoke softly into the microphone strapped to the shoulder of his vest.
    “What’s the passenger’s name?” Tucker asked.
    “Donovan Nash,” Lauren replied, relieved that perhaps she was going to be taken seriously. “He boarded a flight in Dulles to come here.”
    Tucker nodded at the agent to go check it out. She hurried across the terminal to the main Wayfarer ticket counter and began typing at a vacant station.
    “Here you are Dr. McKenna.” The cop held out her I.D. badge. “Now, will you please explain to me exactly what’s going on here?”
    As calmly as she could, Lauren recounted the conversation she’d had with Donovan. Just as she was finishing, the agent came running back toward them and handed a computer printout to Captain Tucker.
    “I’m telling you the truth,” Lauren said as she waited for Tucker to find Donovan’s name on the manifest.
    “He’s listed,” Tucker said as he looked up from the sheet.
    “Dr. McKenna.” The cop held up a finger for everyone to wait while he listened to a transmission through his earpiece. He acknowledged, and then continued. “We just ran a check. It confirmed you’re DIA. As far as I’m concerned you don’t pose a threat to security.