Panic Button (5 page)

Gwen was sprucing up her hair when the engine noise interrupted her thoughts once more, growing from a whine to a roar.
Deep
breaths
. It’ll be okay,
she thought.
Please Lord above, let it be okay...

 

Jo and Max peered behind the curtain separating the cabin from the cockpit entrance. A small crew prep area lay between them and the cockpit door. It was dark inside, save for a red LED light set into the solid, shiny door. Jo looked at a wall-mounted numerical keypad next to the door.

“Very high-tech,” Max said, pressing his fingers against the door and peering into the red light. “All very mysterious isn’t it? Not even a flight attendant.”

“Yeah, you’d think they’d have a representative on board.”

Max glanced back at the cabin. “Well, we’ve got the cartoon Alligator for company I suppose - cool.”

He mimicked the creature’s waggling jaw with his hand. They laughed together, bathed in the intimate glow of the red light.

Jo caught a guilty flicker in Max’s eyes as he smiled at her.
Easy tiger.
The thought was intended for herself as much as it was for him.
Remember he’s too young.
Yeah, much too young for an old single mum like you.
On the cusp of thirty she was far from old of course, but thinking of herself this way kept Jo out of trouble - usually.

 

From the way he was looking at her, Max clearly didn’t think she was an old maid. His face flushed a little and a question started to form on his lips, when the Alligator’s voice piped up again in the main cabin.

 

thought Jo.

 

“Please take to your seats, return them to the forward position and fasten your seat belts.”

Dave grinned at Jo, his eyes filled with boyish excitement, as she sat in her allocated seat opposite him. Max kicked back, clicking his seatbelt as Gwen returned from the bathroom, looking pale.

“You okay?”

Gwen nodded, a little subdued. She sat down and fumbled with her safety belt. Max leaned over to help her tighten it. Gwen blushed and stuttered her thanks like a
lovestruck
teenager. Jo watched Gwen surreptitiously, and rolled her eyes.

“This is it,” the Alligator proclaimed, “Get ready for the trip of your lives.”

“
Fucken
’ A!” Dave exclaimed, in a not-too-convincing American accent, leaning toward Jo to get her attention.

Jo smiled at him politely. She’d noticed how much of a shine he’d taken to her already and didn’t want to give him the wrong impression. After all, his slightly flirty
demeanour
was at odds with his online profile - all kisses and cuddles with his beautiful blonde fiancée. Jo figured it must be the drink that was making him ‘fresh’.

, Jo thought
. That ought to do the trick.

 

The screens flickered off and the jet began to roll forward, taxiing along the runway. The lights dimmed as the jet engines dipped, then roared into life. The whole cabin trembled, fittings creaking slightly as the plane thundered along the runway. The jet’s nose lifted skyward and they were airborne. The Challenger’s landing gear retracted with a distant
clunk
and
Deppart
Airlines Flight D-665 soared gracefully into the evening sky.

Jo watched the city shrink to the size of a model village as they climbed into the clouds. Soon, the view out of the window became a swirl of cloud
vapour
. Climbing further still, the plane began to level out, engines reverting to a constant, low hum.

At the sound of the start-up chime, the computer screens flickered back to life with the jovial green face of the Alligator.

“Please refer to the onboard safety information cards provided in your seat pockets, which include all our emergency protocols for this
Deppart
Airlines charter flight.”

At this, Gwen took a little laminated card from her seat pocket. Her eyes darted over the diagrams of emergency exits and the passenger crash position. She quickly put the card back where it came from.

“There is no smoking allowed anywhere aboard this Challenger 604 private jet,” Alligator continued, “You are advised to keep your seatbelts fastened in case of unexpected turbulence.”

Dave clutched his belly. He looked at Jo in mock seriousness.

“I’m experiencing a bit of turbulence already, to be honest...”

He made a trumpeting sound with his lips. The others all groaned at his joke.

Jo frowned,
realising
that Dave reminded her of Sophie’s father. Like Dave, he’d been the life and soul of the party when they’d met. She’d loved being out with Sophie’s dad in social situations. But as their relationship had progressed, she’d come to know a darker, uglier side to him. The joker her friends adored was a sham, a mask behind which he could hide a selfish, egotistical streak. Dawn had cottoned onto it, but Jo had been blinded by her love for the man’s public persona. If only she’d listened to her mother, or had spotted it sooner herself. But then she wouldn’t change having had Sophie for the world. It wasn’t Sophie’s fault her dad had turned out to be such a complete loser.

The Alligator’s announcements went on. “In the event of loss of cabin pressure, oxygen masks will be deployed...”

“So, how long ‘til New York?” Jo asked, ridding herself of her troubled memories.

“Six hours,” Max said, “Even quicker on the way back with the air stream.”

Jo smiled at Max’s endearing attention to detail.

 

“There will now be a short break before the in-flight entertainment begins,” the Alligator concluded before fading out from their screens once again.

The plane tilted slightly, adjusting course. Jo couldn’t help but notice Gwen tightening her grip on the arm rests of her seat, knuckles bone white.

“He’s a bit of a character isn’t he? Any of you been to New York before then?” asked Jo, making conversation.

Gwen looked at her, obviously trying to regain her composure. “Not me, this is my first time flying.”

“Really? You seem to be taking it quite well.” Jo tried to sound sincere, but in truth the girl looked terrified.

With a bored sigh, Dave unclipped his seatbelt and stood up, stretching his legs.

“What are you doing? I thought he told us to stay in our seats?” Gwen asked.

Dave made a dumb show, pretending he was being thrown around the cabin by turbulence. He wobbled and fell against the hull, grabbing hold of his seat back for support. Gwen looked even more nervous than she did during take off. Dave stopped still, quitting his act, and grinned at her.

“The look on your face!” He chuckled.

Max cracked up too, and soon they were all laughing along, Gwen included. Much as Dave’s clown-like
demeanour
might begin to grate after a six-hour flight, he clearly knew how to break the ice in social situations. He grabbed a bottle of champagne from the ice bucket on the bar, placing the little white cotton napkin over his forearm, proffering the bottle to Gwen like a seasoned waiter.

“Nice bottle of the 1985 for the lady?”

Dave’s faux-posh waiter voice was certainly better than his American one. He turned to Max, pointing the champagne bottle at him from his crotch, making a phallus of it.

“And for the gentleman too? Fancy some of this? Eh? Eh?”

He laughed - a dirty great lascivious guffaw. Max swatted the thrusting cork away, laughing along. Max’s eyes met Jo’s again. He looked more than a little embarrassed.

“All right, all right, only pulling your leg,” Dave said, sensing Max’s reticence to play along. “Shall I open it though, yeah?”

The others all nodded and Dave popped the cork loudly, froth spilling everywhere. They cheered him on as he sloshed fizzing champagne into four glasses, then handed them out. Jo hesitated,
then
took the overflowing flute glass from him, making a mental note to live a little while she had the opportunity.

she thought.

 

The jet soared above the cloud layer. Sunset rays shone through the windows, bathing the cabin in warm crimson light, the same hue as blood oranges. The winners sat facing one another
savouring
their drinks. The open bottle of fine champagne stood on the table in front of Dave.

Jo felt warm, and a little giddy from the alcohol. She pictured Sophie, playing with her Nan in the living room at home, wondering if she’d get her to bed on time. There was no chance of that. Jo chuckled to herself.

 

The chime sounded again and the monitor screens flickered to life. The Alligator animation appeared, his rich baritone voice making the speakers tremble.

“Are we ready to play?”

The winners raised their glasses triumphantly, cheering. As the alcohol flowed, so too did the party spirit. The screen display changed and a ‘Terms and Conditions’ button appeared.

“Tap on screen to read the Terms and Conditions,” the Alligator instructed.

Without even looking at the Terms, Dave tapped the ‘Accept’ button repeatedly.

“We all accept the Terms and Conditions!” he said, speaking for all of them.

He looked at their amused faces.

“What? No-one reads that crap do they? Load of legal bollocks and disclaimers... Well, do they?”

He looked to Max for support. Max shrugged in agreement.

“You have not read the Terms and Conditions - do you wish to continue anyway?”

The dry officiousness of the Alligator’s voice was rather comical, especially after the champagne. Gwen laughed as Max tapped the ‘Accept’ button, then she followed suit.

“Please note, the rules stipulate that in order to claim a prize, the game must be played out to the very end. Any participant that breaks the flow of the game may face consequences...”

The word pierced Jo’s inebriated bubble.

“What sort of consequences?” she asked.

Dave shot her a look -
lighten up
. “Come on, let’s get on with it yeah?”

All expectant eyes on her now, Jo’s finger hovered over the button. She hated peer pressure. Jo tapped the ‘Accept’ button and the screens went black before displaying a cool, cobalt blue graphic, which read:

‘ROUND 1: GETTING TO KNOW YOU’.

“Because you all love online quizzes, you will each be asked a few simple questions based upon your all2gethr profiles,” Alligator continued in the amiable tone of a game show host, “Dave?”