them. A hot thermos of coffee waited in the car. He hoped the FDR, the
flight data recorder–known popularly as the “black box,”
although it was actually blazing orange–would live up to its reputation
of indestructibility. An updated version had just been installed in the
plane and the 121 parameters measured by the FDR would tell them one
hell of a lot about what had happened to doom Flight 3223. On the L500
the FDR and the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) were located in the
overhead hull between the aft galleys. An L500 had never experienced a
hull loss before; this crash would certainly test the flight data
recorder’s invulnerability.
Too bad human beings weren’t invulnerable.
As he climbed a small rise in the earth, George Kaplan froze. In the
rapidly failing light a tall image stood a bare five feet from him.
Sunglasses hid a pair of slate-gray eyes; the six-foot-three-inch frame
supported naturally bulky shoulders; meaty arms and a thickening
waistline, and featured a pair of telephone-pole-sized legs; an aging
middle linebacker was the description that would probably jump to mind.
The man’s hands were in his pants pockets, the unmistakable silver
shield pinned to the belt.
Kaplan squinted in the gathering dusk. “Lee?”
FBI Special Agent Lee Sawyer stepped forward.
“Hello, George.”
The men shook hands.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
Sawyer looked around at the crash site and then back at Kaplan.
His angular face carried expressive, full lips. Sawyer had thinning
black hair heavily laced with silver. His long forehead and slender
nose that veered slightly to the right, a relic from a past case,
combined with his impressive size to give him a very intense and
commanding presence. “When an American plane is downed over American
soil by what looks to be sabotage, the FBI gets a little excited,
George.” The FBI agent looked at Kaplan pointedly.
“Sabotage?” Kaplan said warily.
Sawyer looked over the expanse of the disaster again. “I checked the
meteorological reports. Nothing up there that would have caused this.
And the aircraft was almost brand-new.”
“That doesn’t mean it was sabotage, Lee. It’s too early to tell. You
know that. Hell, even though the odds are probably a billion to one, we
could be looking at the in-flight deployment of a reverse thruster that
could’ve knocked the plane right out of the sky.”
“There’s a part of the aircraft I’m particularly interested in, George.
I’d like you to take a very close look at it.”
Kaplan snorted. “Well, that crater’s going to take some time for us to
dig out. And when we do, you’ll be able to hold most of the pieces in
your hand.”
Sawyer’s response almost made Kaplan’s knees buckle.
“This part isn’t in the crater. And it’s fairly large: the starboard
wing and engine. We found it about thirty minutes ago.”
Kaplan stood stock-still for a full minute as his wide eyes took in
Sawyer’s expressionless features. Then Sawyer hustled him toward the
agent’s vehicle.
Sawyer’s rented Buick sped away as the last flames from Flight 3223 were
extinguished. The darkness would soon be gathering around a
thirty-foot-deep pit that represented a crude monument to the abrupt
termination of 181 lives.
CHAPTER TEN
The Gulfstream jet streaked through the sky. The luxurious cabin
resembled an upscale hotel lounge complete with wood paneling, brown
leather captain’s chairs and a well-stocked bar, bartender and all.
Sidney Archer was curled up in one of the oversized chairs, eyes firmly
closed. A cold compress curved over her forehead. When she finally
opened her eyes and removed the compress, she looked as though she were
sedated, so heavy were her eyelids, so sluggish her movements. In fact,
she had neither taken medication nor availed herself of the bar’s
inventory. Her mind had shut down: Today her husband had died in a
plane crash.
She looked around the cabin. It had been Quentin Rowe’s suggestion that
she take Triton’s corporate jet home with him. At the last minute, and
adding to Sidney’s pain, Gamble had accompanied them. He was now in his
private cabin in the rear of the aircraft. She hoped to God he would
remain there for the duration. She looked up to see Richard Lucas,