KYRIE DUNPHY - THE MAN ON THE PLANE

Kyrie Dunphy enjoys writing while having no job or experience. Her favorite movie is The Avengers and it has inspired her to this day. She started out with writing fanfiction and has moved up to writing flash fiction. She is a self-proclaimed nerd. Follow her on Twitter @KyrieDunphy. 

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The Man on the Plane 
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​            It was just another flight from Portland to Seattle for Tina. She had been a flight attendant for the past five years and was getting bored with the Northwest Route. 
 
            She stood at the door, watching the passengers walk up the stairs and greeting them. She was surprised by a man wearing a dark suit, skinny tie, and sunglasses.
 
He looked very fashionable compared to the usual tourists and businessmen that normally traveled this route. Even his briefcase looked interesting.
 
            “Hi, welcome aboard! I like your bag,” she said.  
 
            “Thank you, Tina, right?” the mysterious passenger said, gazing at her nametag as she nodded.
 
            He was helping other passengers put away their bags in the overhead bins, but he held onto his briefcase.
 
          He stood out from the other thirty-five passengers. She was excited that he was on this flight and couldn’t wait to tell her friends about him.   
 
          The flight started in the same, predictable way. Tina briefed everyone on safety and saw the man from the door smiling at her. She smiled back.
 
        After they were in the air, the captain made the announcement that it was okay to move about the cabin as she set up her cart, and fixed her hair just in case. Now, it was her chance to talk to him.
 
           She was just passing out drinks when she arrived at the seat where the man from earlier sat, and was looking out the window.
 
            “Can I help you, sir?” she asked with her best smile.
 
            “Hello again, Tina. Do you have a light? I would like to smoke,” he said, smiling and removing his glasses.
 
            “Here you go, sir,” Tina said while feeling slightly awkward and handing him a box of matches.
 
            To her, he was very charming and a breath of fresh air. The Northwest Route had gotten stale and it was nice to see something different than the regular travelers.
 
       He still looked attractive even without the sunglasses. She watched him strike the match and slowly light his cigarette, the rising smoke increasing his mystique.
 
            Tina continued her service in the cabin when all of a sudden, the bell rang and it was the handsome stranger. She went over to see what he needed.  
 
         He had taken off his tie, which now was on the seat next to him, and was holding out a piece of paper.
 
            “Tina, could you please take this note to the captain?” he asked.
 
            She smiled and took the note from him, reading it.
 
            Her eyes widened: this wasn’t his number at all. He was hijacking the plane.  There was a bomb in his briefcase. He wanted two hundred thousand dollars and four parachutes by 5pm when they were scheduled to arrive in Seattle.
 
            “Of course, sir.” Tina said before walking briskly to the cockpit, her hopes and dreams being crushed and her safety now in peril.
 
            The man kept touching his bag every time she walked by. Tina wondered why, but was too distracted by his looks to notice. Now, he didn’t seem so charming, and a date wasn’t important.  All she wanted was to make it out alive.
 
            She knocked on the cockpit door.  She closed the door behind her and said, “Captain, we have a situation.”