Sounds of buttons being clicked, levers being pulled, echoed inside the cockpit. This was accompanied by the lights from the bulbs that each signalled different meanings.
Currently, Sophie's hands were quickly maneuvering the control panel of the plane. It looked as if her hands were forming a mirage as she performed her actions with speed and precision.
"Ugh… if only that fucking war didn't happen. Then it wouldn't be this fucking hard to fly a fucking plane…" She sighed with emotion.
The war that happened a couple of years ago became the cause of countless disasters to happen in the world. The chemicals from various weapons that many countries used had an adverse effect on nature.
Since the war, the natural disasters have become more and more severe. It was as if mother nature was taking her revenge against the humans that had caused her destruction.
This was also the reason why travelling by air became harder. Due to the chemicals and other factors from the weapons that were used in the war, the troposphere became even more turbulent.
Even the layers of the stratosphere became turbulent, making it impossible for the past jet aircraft in the past to fly in it, much less an ordinary commercial aircraft.
Every body of water including rain, also gained some percentage of acidity in them, making it harder not only for the civilians, but also for the government.
Thus, the various countries had no choice but to bring out some of their hidden technologies in order to adapt to sudden changes in nature.
This decision brought about massive changes in the whole world. Eco-friendly energy, vehicles and other technologies became mainstream, making it so that the destruction of nature did not continue any further.
The airplane that Sophie was currently piloting was one of the results of humanity's attempt to make safe air travel possible again.
'Boeing X-69'
'Although it isn't a high-end aircraft, it also isn't a low end one. It's just right for commercial use.' Sophie thought of the information on the manual she was given.
Because of the sudden interference of those suspicious people from the government, the original pilot wasn't able to make it.
After a few minutes of clicking here and there, she spoke to her earpiece, "We're ready for take off."
Buzz! Buzz!!
Sophie heard some static before she heard a voice from the other side.
[Cleared to cross runway one-seven. Line up and prepare to take off immediately.]
Hearing the noise in the background, Sophie couldn't help but be worried, "How about you guys!? Are you going to be okay?!"
[Sophie, stop hesitating! They won't kill us, so stop worrying and take off immediately!!]
The tone of the person on the other side became informal and hurried.
Sophie gritted her teeth and said, "I better see you guys at the base!
After that, she drove the airplane to a runway with the number 17 on it.
Then, she turned to the mic on her side and announced, [Attention to all the passengers. Please fasten your seatbelts and secure all baggage underneath your seat or in the overhead compartments. The plane is about to take off.]
***
A few minutes before Sophie's announcement, Ren was silently sitting beside the window, seemingly in deep thought.
'How could they respond so fast? Even though I knew that they would discover that we left the hospital sooner or later, I expected them to only discover it at least a few days later.'
'Killing the president should have given us more time since they would be focused on finding the perpetrators. Also, the president had many enemies, so the investigation should have taken more time. So how could they have possibly responded so fast to our plans?'
'Is it possible that there are hidden mics and cameras in the president's office? Or is it possible that someone was hiding and heard us?'
'Highly unlikely. I've checked it all. So how…'
'How…'
'How…?'
'How!?'
Frustration was written all over Ren's face as he kept thinking of all the possible reasons behind the government's movement.
Rina, who had just left after talking to Sophie, noticed her husband. She looked at him for a while and observed his expressions.
His expression while being focused was something that had always fascinated her. However, his expression at this moment worried her instead.
Because she knew that this expression of his meant that he had come into a dead end.
Feeling the soft touch on his hands, Ren looked up and saw his wife who was holding his hand.
He smiled and said, "I'm sorry. I just…"
Rina shook her head and reassured him with a playful smile, "No need to explain. We've always been like this, right? You're the brains and I'm the sexy one with brawns."
Ren chuckled at his wife's antics. He looked at her gratefully.
Seeing that she had helped her husband in some way, Rina cheerfully hugged him and asked, "So, what's making the great Clairvoyant Tactician wrinkle his brows in distress~?"
Ow!
After flicking Rina on her forehead, Ren said, "I just don't know how the government was able to respond this fast. It was as if they knew of our plan from the start. Or at least they knew of our motives."
"Besides, they should have been busy in finding the murderers of the president after they found out about his death. I really don't know…"
Seeing that he was about to go out of control again, Rina looked around to make sure that their children weren't around before giving her husband a big juicy kiss.
Ren chuckled and patted his wife's head before calmly analyzing.
"If they were able to respond this fast. Then either the mastermind behind the president had some supernatural means of surveillance…"
As Ren said the latter part of his analysis, a frown appeared on his face.
"...or the president is still alive."