"Nance, John J. - The Last Hostage" - читать интересную книгу автора (Nance John J)

shaken her hand on boarding and greeted her with perfect formality.
She'd had to suppress a giggle.

David! David Gates, like the musician. She smiled to herself. The real
David Gates was closer to her generation. Probably even a grandfather by
now. This right-seater was just a kid. She leaned into the tiny cockpit
and gestured to the empty captain's seat.

"David, who's our captain today, and is he planning on joining us
sometime before takeoff, or is he going to meet us in Phoenix?"

The young copilot looked around with a startled, defensive expression,

and she held out her hand in a stop gesture.

"I'm kidding! I've got a weird sense of humor. You'll get used to it."
"I'm sure he's on his way," Gates said with obvious caution. "I saw him
in operations."

"Oh, good. I was worried he might be stuck in traffic, or something
worse."

She patted his shoulder, cautioning herself not to act too motherly.

She refused to think of herself as motherly. "I'm not panicked.

I'm well aware we've still got twenty or thirty seconds before we're
late and our airline goes bankrupt as a direct result."

There was a tentative smile from the right-seater.

She tossed her hair again and leaned in farther. "So, who is the supreme
commander today?"

"Captain Wolfe."

She paused involuntarily. "Ken Wolfe?" "Yes ... you know Ken?" he asked.

She nodded,

her eyes focused outside the copilot's window. "We've flown together
many times. How about you?"

Gates nodded.

"Several times." He watched her carefully, but added no more.

Annette looked at him and straightened up with a thin smile. "Well, if
Ken slips in without my seeing him, tell him I'll be up shortly, and
tell him we've got a legal celebrity aboard today in first class. In the