OFFICER
JESS
The air in the security office was stale, thick with an indifferent kind of tension that only made everything worse. Laura and I sat across from a stone–faced airport officer, his uniform too crisp, his gaze a mix of disinterest and irritation as he glanced between us and the stack of paperwork in front of him. He was chewing a pen cap like it was his lunch. I watched the sweat bead down his forehead just like it pooled around the collar of my shirt.
He flipped another page without looking up, a slow, almost mocking turn of his wrist. “I don’t know what you’re expecting here, ladies,” he said, voice cold and impatient. “We’re dealing with hundreds of flights. You’ll have to be patient.”
I grit my teeth, trying not to let my frustration show. Laura’s hand was clenched around mine, her grip tight enough to cut off the blood supply to my fingers. “We were told they’d land
safely,” I said, fighting to keep my voice steady. “But there’s been no word from them, no confirmation. We need to know where they diverted.”
The officer raised a brow, barely stifling an eye–roll as he glanced at the manager beside us, then back to his papers, scratching his pen lazily across the page as if humoring a couple of hysterical tourists. “If there was a diversion, we’d have heard by now,” he drawled, clearly disinterested. “And if not… they’re probably dealing with some minor delay. Happens all the time, especially in weather like this.”
14:02
285 Mouchers
“Minor delay?” Laura’s voice trembled with a desperate edge, her face paling as she looked at the storm footage still playing on a screen over his shoulder. “Look at what the storm did outside–this wasn’t minor. They were flying right into it!”
The officer heaved a sigh, shifting in his seat with all the energy of someone forced to listen to a tedious story for the tenth time. “Miss, every flight has a protocol. You can relax until we have more official information. The last radio from the captain said that they were diverting.”
“Relax?” I clenched my hands so tightly they were numb, barely able to keep my voice from breaking. “We’re not going to relax until you tell us where they landed. We’re asking you to check again.”
He glanced at his watch, clearly annoyed now. “Like I said, we’re busy. But…” He sighed again, picking up a list and running his finger down it with exaggerated slowness. “If it’ll get you out of here faster…”
He scanned a few pages, looking like it was the last place he wanted to be. His expression didn’t change as he turned to the final sheet, his finger tapping on it as if for emphasis, his mouth. pulling into a slight frown. After a few long seconds, he just shook his head, setting the paper down without a word.
Laura’s voice was barely a whisper. “Did you…did you see their flight number?”
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