“Sit down.”
Then the cabin lights flickered.
My instincts sharpened.
A second later, every digital device in the compartment went black.
Phones.
Tablets.
Navigation displays.
Even the encrypted mission unit.
Reed stared at his dead screen.
“That’s not an avionics fault.”
“No,” I said.
“It isn’t.”
Emergency lights illuminated.
The aircraft continued banking.
Cole looked toward me.
“What do you need?”
“Everyone stay seated.”
Briggs reached inside his jacket.
I saw the motion instantly.
“Hands visible.”
He froze.
Slowly, he pulled out an identification wallet.
“Backup credentials.”
“Put it away.”
He did.
The aircraft leveled.
Then everything restarted.
Screens flashed.
Navigation systems returned.
The cockpit warning stopped.
Reed stared at the communications console.
“Chief.”
I looked over.
A single message had appeared on the isolated network.
That was impossible.
The system had no external connection.
Reed turned the screen toward me.
Four words.
CHECK COLE’S LEFT POCKET.
Every eye moved toward him.
Cole looked stunned.
“What?”
“Don’t move,” I said.
His face hardened.
“Chief, I don’t know what that means.”
“Hands where I can see them.”
He slowly raised them.
Pike stood.
I nodded toward him.
“Search the pocket.”
Pike approached carefully.
Cole stayed completely still.
