This airline was quite interesting. When Jack and JJ boarded the plane, the captain was actually welcoming passengers along with the flight attendants at the jet bridge. Jack found the captain, who had a thick beard and looked to be in his forties or fifties, somewhat familiar, but he couldn't recall which TV show he had seen him in.
As long as he didn't look like Tom Hanks, Jack thought, it should be fine. After all, this was a transoceanic flight and shouldn't be connected to the Hudson River.
It's best to avoid thinking about ominous things when flying.
However, once they were seated in business class, the younger-looking flight attendant approached and introduced herself.
"Hello, I'm Bonnie, the purser for this flight."
"Are you Agents Tavoler and Jeanre?" Bonnie asked in a lowered voice.
"Yes, is there something wrong?"
Jack and JJ were slightly taken aback because they had reported their identities before boarding this American flight, but they didn't expect a flight attendant to approach them directly.
"I hope you will take note of the two special passengers at the back of the plane."
Bonnie straightened slightly and indicated their position with her eyes.
There was a simple partition between business and economy class, usually with a curtain drawn after takeoff to indicate the difference, but the cabin door was still open, and there were few passengers.
From their seats, they could see the entire cabin with a slight tilt of their heads.
At the very back, two black men were sitting in the last row. One wore a blue shirt and had a serious expression.
The other was bald with a big beard and looked defiant.
JJ seemed to understand what Bonnie meant and smiled. "If you're concerned, you can invite them to business class. I think the captain wouldn't mind upgrading them for free."
Bonnie nodded gratefully at JJ and quickly went to the captain, whispering in his ear.
The captain turned to look in their direction, also showing a grateful smile and nodding at them.
"What happened?" Jack was puzzled and leaned closer to JJ to ask softly.
JJ, seemingly tickled by his breath, instinctively shrank her neck to avoid it before explaining in a low voice.
"They're extraditing a criminal. They're worried about causing unnecessary trouble and want us to act as free guards."
Jack suddenly understood. By then, Bonnie had already led the two black men to business class and seated them next to them.
"Interpol Agent Karam. We will disembark in Tokyo to transfer to Toronto. Thank you for your assistance."
The black man in the blue shirt, who seemed used to being serious, managed a slight smile and thanked them in a low voice.
They introduced themselves politely, and JJ briefly inquired about the bald, bearded man.
Interpol Agent Karam was not a very talkative person, but since he owed the two FBI agents a favor—business class was much more comfortable, allowing him to stretch his legs and reduce travel risks—he provided a brief introduction to the fugitive.
The bald, bearded man's name was Louis Gasparre, involved in a murder case 15 years ago. He was recently captured in Bali.
Karam's explanation was brief, but Jack sensed it wasn't simple. In his previous life, Marvel had tried to create a Marvel universe through movies and TV shows, including a rather niche series called "Luke Cage."
If this bald, bearded man changed his beard style, he would look exactly like the super-strong, bulletproof black superhero in that series.
However, Jack had only watched a few episodes. He had no interest in black superheroes and switched to "Jessica Jones," only to abandon that series quickly as well.
He had no idea if the actor who played Luke Cage had appeared in other shows.
But seeing two familiar faces in quick succession made Jack uneasy. He started racking his brain, trying to remember where he had seen the captain before.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome aboard Pioneer Airlines Flight 119. I am your captain."
As the flight attendant closed the cabin door, the captain's voice came over the intercom.
"If you're heading to Tokyo, you're on the right flight. If not, you'll have a long morning." The captain humorously played on the terminator.
"Fortunately, I know a shortcut, so we might arrive early. Once I master the first few pages of the flight manual, we'll take off. Thank you."
It seemed that on small airline flights, captains or flight attendants enjoyed making such bad jokes. But Jack couldn't laugh at all.
He finally remembered who the captain was. He didn't recall the actor's name, but this face was always associated with a bunch of "Fallen" movies.
"White House Down," "London Has Fallen," "Angel Has Fallen," "Ice Has Fallen"—wherever this guy went, things fell. Was this going to be "Tokyo Has Fallen" or "Los Angeles Has Fallen"?
Jack couldn't remember seeing this actor play a pilot in any movie.
Noticing his pale face, JJ worriedly held his hand but then instinctively let go.
She suspected he might be acting. This wasn't their first time flying. They first met on a Gulfstream business jet, and he had been normal on their flight to Singapore. There was no reason for him to look so pale now.
Was he unwell? Thinking of this, JJ waved for the flight attendant to bring a bottle of soda water and handed it to him.
"Are you feeling unwell?"
Jack shook his head, watching the runway lights flash by as the plane began to taxi. There was nothing he could do now, so he could only hope for the best.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. This is your captain speaking. We have reached our cruising altitude of 37,000 feet. If you need anything, please let us know."
"On behalf of Pioneer Airlines, thank you for flying with us."
JJ sat by the window, but Jack could still see the scenery outside through the round window.
It was near dawn, but they could still clearly see the dense clouds in the troposphere below, occasionally illuminated by flashes of lightning.
(Note: The movie "Plane" is a 2023 release, so let's assume the protagonist hasn't seen it.)
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