“Who?”
Claire hesitated.
“I shouldn't say.”
Daniel didn't pressure her.
“Then don't.”
Claire looked relieved.
But after a moment, she whispered,
“Vice President Richard Cole.”
Elena immediately looked up.
Richard Cole was Northstar's senior vice president of flight operations.
He had been with the company for twenty-three years.
And he was one of the people who had strongly opposed Daniel's appointment as CEO two years earlier.
Daniel knew exactly what that meant.
“Claire,” he said, “one more question.”
“Yes?”
“Did Captain Parker know who I was?”
“I don't think so.”
“Are you sure?”
Claire nodded.
“He called you ‘some arrogant passenger.’”
Daniel smiled.
“Then this may be more useful than I expected.”
Claire frowned.
“What do you mean?”
Daniel looked at the aircraft.
“Sometimes the best way to discover how an organization really works is to become someone nobody thinks matters.”
Claire stared at him.
“You did this intentionally?”
“No.”
Daniel picked up his folder.
“But now that it happened, I'm going to learn from it.”
Elena closed her tablet.
“Should I arrange another flight?”
Daniel thought for a moment.
“Yes.”
“To Chicago?”
“Yes.”
“First class?”
Daniel shook his head.
“Economy.”
Elena smiled.
“You're serious.”
“Very.”
He stood.
“And don't tell anyone who I am.”
Claire looked surprised.
“Why?”
Daniel answered simply.
“Because I want to see how they treat an ordinary passenger.”
A Different Seat
Two hours later, Daniel Mercer sat in seat 27B.
No black folder.
No executive assistant.
No first-class champagne.
Just a gray jacket, a paperback book, and a standard economy boarding pass.
Nobody recognized him.
That was exactly what he wanted.
The flight attendant smiled as she passed.
“Sir, are you comfortable?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Let me know if you need anything.”
Daniel nodded.
The passenger beside him was a young man named Marcus.
He was twenty-six and traveling home to attend his father's surgery.
They began talking.
Not about business.
Not about Northstar.
Just life.
Marcus told Daniel about his father's heart condition.
Daniel listened.
Then he told Marcus about his own father.
A factory worker who had died when Daniel was twenty-two.
“My father used to say something strange,” Daniel said.
“What?”
“Never measure a person by the chair they're sitting in.”
Marcus smiled.
“That sounds like good advice.”
“It was.”
Halfway through the flight, a flight attendant accidentally spilled coffee on Daniel's sleeve.
“Oh my God, I'm so sorry.”
Daniel stood.
“It's fine.”
“No, sir. I can get you a towel.”
“Really, it's fine.”
She looked embarrassed.
“I'll bring you something.”
Daniel smiled.
“Thank you.”
She walked away.
Marcus looked at him.
“You're unusually calm.”
Daniel laughed.
“Coffee washes out.”
“Most people would be furious.”
“Being angry won't clean the jacket.”
Marcus laughed.
Across the aisle, an older woman watched them.
She had been quiet for most of the flight.
Eventually she leaned over.
“You're right.”
Daniel turned.
“About what?”
“People get angry because they think anger gives them power.”
Daniel smiled.
“Sometimes it does.”
“Not for long.”
The woman smiled.
Her name was Evelyn.
She was seventy-one.
She had worked as a school librarian for forty years.
Daniel found himself enjoying the conversation.
For the first time that day, he forgot about Captain Parker.
Then his phone vibrated.
A message from Elena.
Found something. Call me.
Daniel stepped toward the galley.
He called.
“What did you find?”
“Captain Parker's removal decision wasn't random.”
Daniel's expression changed.
“Explain.”
“Elena paused.
“Someone sent a complaint to Parker about you before boarding.”
“Who?”
“We don't know.”
“Find out.”
“I already did.”
Daniel waited.
“It came from an internal Northstar account.”
His voice became quieter.
“Whose?”
“Richard Cole's office.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
So there it was.
The first thread.
“Was there anything else?”
“Yes.”
Elena hesitated.
“The message told Parker that you were ‘an unauthorized executive passenger attempting to interfere with flight operations.’”
Daniel's eyebrows rose.
“Unauthorized?”
“You were booked normally.”
“I know.”
“So do they.”
Daniel stared through the small window in the galley.
“Someone wanted Parker to confront me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I don't know yet.”
Daniel thought.
“Keep digging.”
“Daniel, there's more.”
“What?”
“The account that sent the message was accessed using Cole's credentials.”
Daniel was silent.
Then he said,
“Don't accuse him.”
“Why?”
“Because if Cole did it, he expects us to find the login.”
“So?”
“So it may not have been Cole.”
Elena understood immediately.
“Someone could be framing him.”
“Exactly.”
Daniel returned to his seat.
Marcus looked at him.
“Everything okay?”
Daniel smiled.
“Just work.”
“Big company?”
“Something like that.”
Marcus laughed.
“Must be nice.”
Daniel looked around the economy cabin.
People were sleeping.
Children were watching movies.