someone else do it. But we're running short on time."
"Seriously though, shouldn't we have a real pilot for a mission like this?"
"I am a real pilot."
"You know what I mean. I mean a full time pilot."
"Just relax. We'll be on the other side of the planet and back on solid ground before you know it. If you need anything just use this phone on the wall here."
Daniel finished adjusting the straps on my safety harness and then he disappeared into the cockpit. A few seconds later the engines roared to life, sending a deep shudder through the cabin.
I began to feel like I was on a roller coaster. I felt like we were at that moment just before the big dip. A few more seconds passed and the jet began to accelerate for takeoff. I was pushed back into my seat. My stomach dropped as the jet pointed its nose towards the dark heavens and took off.
And then we were on our way; flying off into the night for the other side of the world at sixteen times the speed of sound. It was fast. Too fast. But there was no turning back now.
"This is what I want," I whispered to myself as I gripped the armrests of my seat. "This is what I need to do."
Chapter 5
Once the jet stopped climbing and leveled out, it didn’t even feel like we were going that fast. It was a smooth ride with barely any turbulence.
I remember the first time I flew to Australia with my mother. It was the first time I’d been on a plane, it was the first time I'd been overseas. I was so anxious and excited and scared that I couldn’t sleep. It was an overnight flight, fourteen hours in total. And I didn’t sleep at all, not one wink.
I think I was just as nervous this time around as I was then. Maybe for different reasons but I was still a wreck. Unfortunately, this particular jet didn’t have any entertainment facilities to distract me. No TV, no music. But I guess it was travelling at Mach sixteen or whatever so that was pretty cool.
Since it was just me and Daniel and Daniel was in the cockpit supposedly flying this thing, I had the whole cabin area to myself. It looked like there were about twelve other seats. It felt weird being on a jet alone. I felt like some sort of billionaire with their own private jet or a rock star on a world tour. I guess whoever was paying for this trip or mission had deep, deep pockets.
After about twenty minutes the phone next to me rang. It was Daniel inviting me into to the cockpit.
I unclipped myself and walked up to the cockpit door and knocked. It slid open.
Daniel was sitting in front of the controls.
"You sure I’m allowed up here?" I asked.
"Yeah. As long as you don’t pull a gun on me or try and take over the plane and start making terrorist threats."
The control panel looked like something out of a science fiction movie.
"So, this is a pretty cool jet." I said.
"Yeah, it’s completely state of the art," he said, boasting like a proud father talking about his new born baby. "It’s the latest generation high speed jet. It’s mainly used for stealth bombing missions, or for deploying small reconnaissance teams anywhere in the world in as minimal time as possible."
"Like right now for example?" I asked.
"Yeah. It was first used in combat in 2001 after the attack on the World Trade Centre. Special Forces troops were sent into Afghanistan immediately after the attack. My father led the team."
"Your father served in Afghanistan?"
"Yeah. He wasn’t stationed there or anything. But he would lead small teams on reconnaissance missions. Sometimes he would be behind enemy lines for weeks at a time. All his missions were classified. Black Ops is what they call it. Basically means, if they went missing, if they got hurt, if they were captured or killed, our government would deny they ever existed. They would deny they knew anything about them."
"Sounds dangerous."
"Yeah. Funny thing was whenever he returned home he used to tell me all about these top secret missions. He wasn’t
"Seriously though, shouldn't we have a real pilot for a mission like this?"
"I am a real pilot."
"You know what I mean. I mean a full time pilot."
"Just relax. We'll be on the other side of the planet and back on solid ground before you know it. If you need anything just use this phone on the wall here."
Daniel finished adjusting the straps on my safety harness and then he disappeared into the cockpit. A few seconds later the engines roared to life, sending a deep shudder through the cabin.
I began to feel like I was on a roller coaster. I felt like we were at that moment just before the big dip. A few more seconds passed and the jet began to accelerate for takeoff. I was pushed back into my seat. My stomach dropped as the jet pointed its nose towards the dark heavens and took off.
And then we were on our way; flying off into the night for the other side of the world at sixteen times the speed of sound. It was fast. Too fast. But there was no turning back now.
"This is what I want," I whispered to myself as I gripped the armrests of my seat. "This is what I need to do."
Chapter 5
Once the jet stopped climbing and leveled out, it didn’t even feel like we were going that fast. It was a smooth ride with barely any turbulence.
I remember the first time I flew to Australia with my mother. It was the first time I’d been on a plane, it was the first time I'd been overseas. I was so anxious and excited and scared that I couldn’t sleep. It was an overnight flight, fourteen hours in total. And I didn’t sleep at all, not one wink.
I think I was just as nervous this time around as I was then. Maybe for different reasons but I was still a wreck. Unfortunately, this particular jet didn’t have any entertainment facilities to distract me. No TV, no music. But I guess it was travelling at Mach sixteen or whatever so that was pretty cool.
Since it was just me and Daniel and Daniel was in the cockpit supposedly flying this thing, I had the whole cabin area to myself. It looked like there were about twelve other seats. It felt weird being on a jet alone. I felt like some sort of billionaire with their own private jet or a rock star on a world tour. I guess whoever was paying for this trip or mission had deep, deep pockets.
After about twenty minutes the phone next to me rang. It was Daniel inviting me into to the cockpit.
I unclipped myself and walked up to the cockpit door and knocked. It slid open.
Daniel was sitting in front of the controls.
"You sure I’m allowed up here?" I asked.
"Yeah. As long as you don’t pull a gun on me or try and take over the plane and start making terrorist threats."
The control panel looked like something out of a science fiction movie.
"So, this is a pretty cool jet." I said.
"Yeah, it’s completely state of the art," he said, boasting like a proud father talking about his new born baby. "It’s the latest generation high speed jet. It’s mainly used for stealth bombing missions, or for deploying small reconnaissance teams anywhere in the world in as minimal time as possible."
"Like right now for example?" I asked.
"Yeah. It was first used in combat in 2001 after the attack on the World Trade Centre. Special Forces troops were sent into Afghanistan immediately after the attack. My father led the team."
"Your father served in Afghanistan?"
"Yeah. He wasn’t stationed there or anything. But he would lead small teams on reconnaissance missions. Sometimes he would be behind enemy lines for weeks at a time. All his missions were classified. Black Ops is what they call it. Basically means, if they went missing, if they got hurt, if they were captured or killed, our government would deny they ever existed. They would deny they knew anything about them."
"Sounds dangerous."
"Yeah. Funny thing was whenever he returned home he used to tell me all about these top secret missions. He wasn’t
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