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

several uncomfortable seconds before he smiled a sort of determined,
jaw-setting smile, and motioned toward the back with his thumb.

"I feel better now, David. Better than I've felt in years." "Good.

I was getting worried."

"Sometimes," Ken began, "God gives us strange and wonderful
opportunities, don't you think?"

The voice of the Denver Center controller cut into David's thoughts.

"AirBridge Ninety, Denver Center, good morning. Turn right now to a
heading of two-six-zero, climb to and maintain flight level
three-three-zero."

Instinctively, David's finger caressed the transmit button in case the
captain failed to reply. Most AirBridge copilots were used to Wolfe not
responding to radio calls, even though the captain was supposed to be
talking to the controllers whenever it was the copilot's turn to fly.
Throughout his yearlong tenure at AirBridge, Ken was often moody, often
distracted,

some days saying almost nothing, other days talking nonstop. He was
courteous enough, but the unpredictability of his moods had become an
uncomfortable legend, and flying with him meant extra stress.

But today,

Ken's voice replied instantly. "Okay, Denver, a heading of two-six-zero
and up to three-three-zero for AirBridge Ninety."

David engaged the autopilot and checked the settings on the auto-flight
panel. They were moving at two hundred fifty knots now, almost five
miles per minute, beginning the familiar trek over Durango, Colorado,
and Four Corners to Phoenix.

David glanced over at the captain, wondering again about Ken's state of
mind.

He knew the captain had been hired as the new airline expanded, and he
knew Ken came from Connecticut. Other than that, Captain Wolfe's
background was a blank.

David realized the captain was looking back at him with what appeared to
be a relaxed smile.

"You wondering why we're carrying a full load of fuel this morning?" he
asked.