‘Why?’
Kaja kept screaming this one phrase into her victim’s face. The question kept combining, again and again, with the panicked shouts, the wailing, the bawling, the crying and the agitated discussions that had broken out everywhere after her announcement.
‘WHY?’
Once Mats freed himself and exited the Sky Suite, Kaja’s screaming had shown him the way. Down the steps, to the lobby. He found four people there.
Kaja stood before the entrance door to the first class area, holding a pistol directed at a person squatting on the floor, right under the window in the door. The person was partially blocked by Kaja and cowering so much that Mats couldn’t tell from his spot halfway down the stairs whom Kaja was threatening.
To the right of Kaja stood Valentino, his expression earnest, pinched. He held the curtain to the lounge closed, presumably so no passengers could push through from the rear areas of the plane whether from curiosity or to play the hero.
Mats could tell Valentino was trying to tamp down the same fear that everyone else on board must have been feeling, and he wasn’t succeeding very well.
‘Why did you do that?’ Kaja screamed at the person on the floor. She hadn’t noticed Mats at all even though she kept checking that the nearby men weren’t going to jump her from behind. Though none would’ve seriously attempted to, not in this situation, not even the sky marshal who’d been trained for this. Kaja must have taken the weapon from him.
Trautmann sat on the circular sofa in the middle of the lobby, his face looking – like it had melted?
He had high-degree burns. His skin was fiery red where it wasn’t forming hideous white blisters, as if worked over with the coarsest sandpaper.
Or with coffee.
Mats took another step down and on the floor spotted the glass serving pitcher used in business class.
Kaja throwing the freshly brewed, scalding hot liquid in the sky marshal’s face explained how she could’ve overpowered the man, who was at least fifty kilograms heavier, and taken his gun. Which in turn wouldn’t have exactly gone unnoticed by the passengers, further explaining why Kaja had made the announcement.
‘Water,’ Trautmann whispered and held his hands to his scalded face. His eyes had obviously been impaired as well. The sky marshal didn’t seem able to see anything or anyone.
Mats returned to watching Kaja, who screamed at the victim kneeling at her feet: ‘We’ve known each other ever since I can remember. You know my secrets, you know everything about me. I thought I could trust you, but it was all just a lie?’
Kaja kicked at the person. The nicotine in her blood still wasn’t showing symptoms, which was normal. It could take a half hour for seizures to set in. Mats dared proceed another step down.
‘You manipulated me. You manipulated all of us.’
‘No,’ heard Mats. The female voice was familiar. It belonged to the person curled up on the floor. As if trying to cover something up with her arms and upper body so she could protect it.
‘All of you clear out!’ Kaja screamed, pivoting rapidly in a circle, aiming the sky marshal’s gun. In the process she spotted Mats, and she nodded at him briefly as if she had expected him to free himself somehow.
Those present started moving at once. Valentino, the half-blind Trautmann, and Mats too tried to disappear beyond the curtain. But Kaja held Mats back.
‘Not you. You stay here and watch.’
At that moment the baby, which the woman on the floor was trying to protect, began to whimper.