Deep Down Under

Chapter 7

The two of them reached their seats. "You want the window seat?"

The girl nodded her head. After they had put on their seatbelts, Sagan dozed off.

He didn't know how long he was asleep. The sound of screams made him jolt upright. "What the hell?!" he blurted out. He whirled towards his right.

The seat was empty.

Sagan began to panic. He wasn't the only one who was panicking. He unbuckled himself and jumped out of his seat. People in the crowd in front of were dropping dead like flies. In the centre, stood a masked figure holding a huge knife and with a bomb strapped to his chest in his hand. "Annie!" screamed Sagan in vain as tried to search for his lost niece.

He spun around and made his way towards the other end. "First class" he whispered. To his momentarily relief, he spotted Annie in tears. He increased his pace with every passing second, "Annie!"

Without a warning the Boeing made a rapid descent. Sagan elevated and rammed into the roof of the aircraft. The panicked passengers in first class rose into the air. He lost sight of his niece.

"No!" he screamed.

The Boeing continued to descend. The air around him got significantly warmer. Flames erupted in the back of the aircraft. His head spun faster. His mind couldn't process anything that was going on.

Then the world became pitch black.

Giggs opened one of his eyes. The flight was completely stable but fear was still written on his face. He gazed upon the clouds.

"Is everything alright?" asked Mohammed. Giggs knocked on the window. "We're 15,000 feet in the air and six inches of metal with a layer of leather to separate us from certain death." He scooted away from the window while he said those words.

"I think I'll leave you alone."

Giggs nodded, "thanks." He said as he waived a sudden a sigh of relief.

* * *

Pâquis Police Station, Geneva, 8:46 pm

Jerome gripped the iron bars of the jail cell he was in. I'm innocent. He had lost the cool which he usually kept but not in situations like this.

Not like this.

He clenched his teeth and kicked the bars of the jail cell. "For the last time, I'm innocent!" The warden shot up and approached Jerome.

"For the last time, shut up!"

He slumped down, looking hopeless. He turned towards Lucia in the corner. She looked distraught, she had lost too much and this was just making it worse.

"We're not arrested just detained" said Jerome in an attempt to cheer his colleague up.

Lucia slowly turned her dull head towards him. Not working. Her hair was a mess as if she was here for days even though it had only been an hour.

"Just another thirty minutes and they'll be here" announced the warden simultaneously glancing at his watch.

Jerome pursed his lips, "and who's they?"

The warden gave him a long stare before answering, "Interpol."

The back of Jerome's head hit the wall as he recoiled. "I am so dead" he sighed. Lucia's dull expression became active, "Interpol" and hit her head against the wall as well.

This is turning out to be the worst day of my life.

* * *

Oswald Heights, Washington DC, 8:50 pm (2:50 am Local time)

Gabriel lay in his bed, wide awake. He isn't a terrorist. He's been kidnapped. All he could think about was the mysterious e-mail. He didn't want to keep the secret all to himself, the world had to know. Questions were the only thing on his mind. Who were they? Why would they want to stage a terrorist attack? What were their intentions? And most importantly...What do they want the professor for?

Gabriel jumped out of bed and made his way to the living room of the flat. He grabbed his telephone and dialled a number. This situation was way too severe; he couldn't keep it to himself.

The phone kept ringing, to him felt like minutes even though it was only twenty seconds. He was getting restless. Come on! Come on!

The ringing halted, "You better have a damn good reason for calling me this late Gabe." The speaker had a feminine tone but was bold and capable of commanding.

"I sure do Mavis" said Gabriel. "You're gonna flip when you hear this." Mavis didn't seem too convinced.

"Alright, speak up" she demanded.

Gabriel let out a shallow breath, "Professor Ben isn't a terrorist and I have proof, plus there're some things stumping me as well."

"What?!" Mavis was just as surprised when Gabriel got to know. "I'm gonna send you an e-mail in a sec, just log on" said Gabriel and cut the line.

Without any delay, he logged onto his e-mail account. He copied the file and e-mailed it to his classmate. Minutes later his Samsung pinged, it was a WhatsApp message from her.

That was creepy... Did you call the cops?

Gabriel immediately replied.

Only you and I know about this.

I'm stumped...Who were those people? They didn't seem Middle East to me. Some of them were German.

He immediately made up his mind, he was going to call the police and that was it.

* * *