Chapter 16 Chapter Fifteen Noelle and Catherine

Larry Douglas had nothing to worry about if it wasn't for Noelle's interference.He has climbed to where he wants to be, doing the work he wants to do.Now, his job, the people he meets and his master all make him happy.On the surface, his life also gave him great satisfaction.When he wasn't flying, he was mostly with Catherine; but, because Larry's job was not fixed, Catherine often didn't know where he was.For Larry, there were plenty of opportunities to get out and about as he wanted.He often attended various parties with Earl Papus or co-pilot Paul Mitaxas, many of which turned into unrestrained drinking and drinking.Young Greek women are passionate.He found a new friend, Helena, who was a flight attendant who worked for Demiris.She and Larry shared a room in the hotel when they flew out of Athens and stayed outside.Helena is a pretty, slender, dark-eyed girl.Yes, by any measure, Larry Douglas was sure he had a pretty good life.

The problem was that there was Demiris's blond mangy mistress. Exactly why Noelle Page despised Larry so much, Larry had no idea himself.In any case, what she had done had endangered his way of life.Larry tried his best to keep his demeanor polite, poised and friendly, but Noelle Paige got the better of him every time and got him into a mess.Larry understood that he could go to Demiris and sue.But if the choice was finally between him and Noelle, he had no illusions about how it would turn out. Twice, he had arranged for Paul Mitaxas to fly the plane for Noelle, but each time Demiris' secretary called to tell him that Mr. Demiris wanted him to fly the plane himself. give her.

※※※ One morning in late November, Larry got a call.The phone call told him to fly Noelle Page to Amsterdam that afternoon. Larry asked the airport about the weather conditions, and called back to say that the weather in Amsterdam was bad, and the fog was constantly hitting the urban area, and the visibility was expected to be zero in the afternoon.Larry called Demiris' secretary again and said that it was impossible to fly to Amsterdam that day.The female secretary asked him to hang up the phone first, and she went to ask for instructions and call him back later.Fifteen minutes later, the female secretary said on the phone that Miss Paige boarded the plane at the airport at two o'clock in the afternoon.

Larry checked the weather at the airport again, hoping for a change, but the weather report remained the same. "My God!" cried Paul Mitaxas, "she must have some damned urgent business to get to Amsterdam." Larry felt that the heart of the matter was not Amsterdam but a contest of wills between the two of them.It didn't matter to him whether Noelle Page crashed into a cliff or escaped a disaster. The worst thing Larry felt was risking his life for this stupid whore.He called Demiris a few times to talk it over again, but Demiris was in a meeting or couldn't find him.Larry slammed the phone down, annoyed.He now has no choice but to go to the airport and perhaps persuade his passengers to cancel the flight.

He arrived at the airport at one-thirty, and by three o'clock, Noelle Page hadn't arrived. "Perhaps she has changed her mind," Mitaxas said. But Larry didn't think so.With the movement of the hands on the clock face, his anger grew stronger and stronger.Finally he understood that it was her intention to keep him waiting endlessly.She wanted to make him wait impatiently, so impatient that he lost his job. While Larry was speaking to the airport director in the exit hall, the familiar gray Rollers sedan of Demiris drove up, and Noelle Page got out.Larry ran out to meet her.

"I'm afraid there's something wrong with this flight, Miss Paige," said Larry in a low voice. "Amsterdam's airport is in a thick fog." Noelle glanced over at Larry (as if he didn't exist), and said to Paul Mitaxas, "There's an automatic landing on the plane, isn't it?" "Yes, there are." Mitaxus said uncomfortably. "I'm very surprised," she replied, "that the pilot employed by Mr. Demiris turned out to be a coward. I'd like to have a word with him." Noelle turned and walked toward the plane. Mitaxus looked after her and said, "My God! I don't know what's wrong with her. She never was. I feel sorry for you, Larry."

Larry watched Noelle walk across the empty field at the airport, her blond hair blowing in the wind.Never in his life had he hated anyone so much as now. Mitaxus looked at him. "Shall we go?" he asked. "go." The co-pilot sighed meaningfully and followed Larry slowly towards the plane.When they boarded the plane, Noelle Page was already sitting in the cabin, leafing through a fashion magazine at her leisure.Larry stared at her for a while, so angry that he dared not speak for fear of causing disaster.He walked into the cockpit without saying a word, and began to do various checks before the flight.

Ten minutes later, Larry got clearance from the conning tower to take off.So, they boarded an air journey to Amsterdam. ※※※ The first half of the voyage was uneventful. Below, Switzerland lies quietly in a dazzling blanket of snow.When it flew over Germany, it was already dusk.Larry communicated with the forward station Amsterdam to learn about the weather conditions.The answer was that the fog was rolling in from the North Sea and getting thicker.Larry cursed bad luck.If the wind changes direction within the past few hours and the fog dissipates, the problem is solved.But now he had to make a choice, either fly to Amsterdam and risk an instrument landing, or divert to another airport.He meant to go to the back and discuss it with the passengers, but he could imagine the look of contempt on her face.

"Special flight 109, please tell us your route!" This is a radio inquiry from the control tower at Munich Airport.Larry had to make a quick decision.He still has time to land in Brussels, or Cologne, or Luxembourg. Otherwise, Amsterdam. The voice in the loudspeaker is ringing again: "Special flight 109, please tell us your route!" Larry flipped the transmit button: "Special Flight 109 to the Munich conning tower, we're flying to Amsterdam." He flicked the switch on, realizing that Mitaxas was watching him. "Jesus, maybe I should have doubled my life insurance," Mitaxas said. "Are you sure we can succeed?"

"Do you really want to know the truth?" Larry said bitterly. "I don't lie." "Crazy! I'm on a plane with two fucking lunatics!" Mitaxas lamented. For the next hour, Larry concentrated on the control of the plane, listening to the weather report without saying a word. He still hoped that the wind direction would change, but with thirty minutes to Amsterdam, the weather report was still old. Appearance: A dense fog.The airport is closed to all air traffic except for emergencies.Larry made contact with the ground control tower at Amsterdam Airport. "Special Flight 109 addressing the Amsterdam conning tower. We are approaching the airport seventy-five miles east of Cologne, estimated time of arrival at nineteen o'clock."

A call back came over the radio almost immediately: "Amsterdam conning tower called Special Flight 109, our airports are all closed. It is recommended that you return to Cologne or divert to Brussels to land." Larry said into the handheld microphone, "Special Flight 109 speaking to the Amsterdam conning tower. No. We're requesting an emergency landing." Mitaxus turned to stare at him in amazement. Another voice came over the loudspeaker: "Special Flight 109 Listen, I'm the ground commander at Amsterdam Airport. It's all covered in thick fog, zero visibility. Again, zero visibility. What kind of emergency do you have? " "We're almost out of gas," Larry said. "Barely able to get to your place." Mitaxus turned his eyes to the fuel gauge, which showed that it was still half full of gasoline. "Damn it," he exclaimed, "enough to fly to China!" There was silence on the radio.Suddenly, the sound broke out again. "Amsterdam Control Tower speaks to Special Flight 109. You have emergency landing clearance. We will guide you to landing." "Understood." Larry flicked the switch and turned to Mitaxas. "Put the gasoline out," he ordered. Mitaxas swallowed helplessly, as if something was stuck in his throat, and said, "Pu--throw away the gasoline?" "You heard me, Paul. Just stay a while to get to the airport." "But, Larry..." "Damn it, don't argue. If we fly there with half gas in the tank, they'll revoke our license right away. By then it'll be too late." Mitaxus nodded sullenly, and reached out to the gasoline extraction handle.He started pumping oil, watching the needle on the oil gauge. In less than five minutes, they broke into the fog zone, wrapped in soft white cotton balls, and could see nothing outside, all around them were the various instruments in the dimly lit cockpit.It seems to be in a weird world, separated from time, space and everything on the earth, and there is only horror.Larry experienced a scene like this when he was employed at Pan Am, in a connecting rod trainer.However, it was just a game at that time, and there was no danger.Now it's life and death.He couldn't figure out how that bitch passenger in the cabin was feeling; wished she had a heart attack. At this moment, the voice of the ground control tower at Amsterdam Airport came out again. "Amsterdam conning tower speaks to Special Flight 109. We will follow the autoland system to guide you down. Please strictly follow our instructions. We have seen you on the radar screen. Turn west three degrees. No new instructions received Keep the current altitude. According to your current speed, you should land in eighteen minutes." The voice on the radio sounded a little nervous.Of course, that's perfectly understandable, Larry thought horribly, the slightest mistake could send the plane into the sea. Larry made an adjustment to the appearance of each part, and put all distracting thoughts out of his mind, allowing only the ghostly voice to occupy his heart, which was the only thing he depended on for survival.He steered the plane with all his concentration, as if it were a part of him, part of his heart, soul and mind.He was vaguely aware of Paul Mitaxas sitting next to him, sweating profusely.While sitting anxiously, Paul continued to read the readings on the instrument in a low voice, his voice was hoarse with tension.But if they were able to return to the surface unharmed, it would be Larry Douglas' credit.Larry had never encountered such a dense fog.This fog, like a terrible enemy, came upon him from all sides, blindfolded him, seduced him, seduced him into fatal mistakes.Now he was hurtling through the air at two hundred and fifty miles an hour, with nothing to see beyond the cockpit windshield.Pilots are most afraid of fog; when encountering fog, the first rule is: climb above the fog, or dive under the fog.However, now he is led into a desperate situation by the willfulness of that desperate bad woman, and it is useless to run in any direction.He was powerless, at the mercy of instruments that might go wrong, and men on the ground that might make mistakes. The ghostly voice from the speaker came again, with an unaccustomed, nervous timbre to Larry. "Amsterdam Control Tower speaks to Special Flight 109. You have entered the first leg of the landing pattern: lower the landing ailerons and begin the descent. Altitude reduced to two thousand feet... fifteen hundred feet... one thousand feet..." Down below, there's no sign of the airport at all.They didn't know where they were, they just felt the ground rushing up against the plane. "Speed ​​down to one hundred and twenty... put down the wheels... now six hundred feet off the ground, speed one hundred... four hundred feet off the ground..." Damn, there's no sign of the airport at all!The suffocating, fluffy cotton batting all around had thickened. Sweat glistened on Mitaxus' forehead. "Where the hell is this?" he muttered cursing. Larry stole a glance at the altimeter.The pointer slowly descended to three hundred feet.Then, three hundred feet below.The ground was coming at them at a hundred miles an hour.By this time the altimeter was reading only one hundred and fifty feet.Something must have gone awry; by this point he should be able to see the lights of the airport.Larry opened his eyes wide, carefully scanning the front of the plane.There was nothing ahead but a thick, unpredictable fog that brushed the windshield. Larry heard Mitaxas' tense, husky voice say, "We're down to sixty feet." But they still can't see anything. "Forty feet." The ground swooped toward them in the dark. "Twenty feet." It's almost over.Two seconds later, the safety factor is gone, and they're about to crash.He has to make a decision now. "I'm going to get the plane back up," Larry said.His hands gripped the manipulator tightly.As he was about to pull back, a row of arrow-shaped electric lights shone on the ground ahead, illuminating the runway below. Ten seconds later, the plane's wheels were on the ground, and it was taxiing towards the final port of Schiphol. When the plane came to a stop, Larry turned off the engine with numb fingers and sat motionless for a long time.Finally, he stood up slowly, and was surprised to find that his knees were shaking.He sensed a strange smell in the cockpit and looked towards Mitaxus. Mitaxus smiled wryly. "I'm sorry," he said, "I was so scared I farted." Larry nodded. "You and I are the same," he said. Larry stepped out of the cockpit and into the back cabin.The bitch sat there, nonchalantly flipping through a magazine. Larry stood looking at her, wanting to scold her, to find out what caused her to look so composed.No wonder Elle Page knew how close she was to the brink of death just a few minutes ago.However, she just sat there, very calm, very calm, and she didn't look panicked at all. "Amsterdam is here," Larry announced. ※※※ No one said a word as they drove into downtown Amsterdam.Noelle sat in the back of the Mercedes 300, and Larry sat in front with the driver.Mitaxus stayed at the airport, looking for someone to overhaul the plane.The fog was still thick, and they drove slowly.Suddenly, the fog dissipated when the car reached the downtown square. The car climbed over the Eitel Bridge over the Amstel River and stopped abruptly in front of the Amstel Hotel. After they entered the lobby, Noelle said to Larry, "You will pick me up at ten o'clock sharp tonight." After she finished speaking, she walked towards the elevator, bowed her head and waited on the hotel manager next to her, wiped her feet and took three steps back let her pass. A hotel clerk showed Larry to a small single room, on the ground floor, facing north, which looked uncomfortable.The small room was next to the kitchen, and through the wall Larry could hear the clanging of dishes and smell the various dishes wafting from the pot. Larry looked around the little room and said angrily, "I wouldn't let a dog in here." "Sorry," said the waiter apologetically, "Miss Paige asked me to give you the cheapest room." Well, thought Larry, I'm going to beat her up when I get a chance.Constantin Demiris isn't alone in the world hiring private pilots.I will quit tomorrow.I knew quite a few of his rich and powerful friends, and there were at least half a dozen of them who would be more than happy to employ me.However, he changed his mind and felt that there was a problem.If it was fired for Demiris, then the situation is not good.None of them would want to touch me if something like that happened.I'll have to hold back for a while. The bathroom was behind the dining room, and Larry opened the trunk, took out a bathrobe, and prepared to take a shower.Before he walked out of the room, he thought: fuck off, why should I take a bath for her?Let me stink like a pig. He went to the hotel bar and eagerly guzzled.On his third martini, he glanced at the clock on the bar wall.No, it's already a quarter past ten.She said, pick her up at ten o'clock exactly.In a panic, Larry dropped a few bills on the counter and headed for the elevator. ※※※ Noelle lived in a special suite on the fifth floor.Larry hurried down the long corridor, cursing himself for being stupid enough to let her play tricks like this. He kept knocking on her door, thinking of what excuses he could use to justify his lateness.Larry knocked again, but no one answered. When Larry tried to turn the knob on the door, it didn't snap shut.He entered the large, luxuriously furnished living room and stood for a moment, hesitant. He called, "Miss Paige." no answer.Ah, it turned out that this was a trap she set. She would complain and say: "I'm very sad, Constance, dear, but I warned you he's not reliable. I asked him to pick me up at ten o'clock, but he was drunk in the bar. I had to go alone." Larry heard voices in the bathroom and walked over.The bathroom door didn't close.As he walked in, Noelle Page came out of the shower.She had a Turkish towel tied around her head and was completely naked. Noelle looked up to see him standing there.An apology was already on Larry's lips, to keep her from getting angry.But before he could speak, Noelle said nonchalantly, "Hand me that towel," as if he were a maid, or a eunuch. No matter how angry and exasperated she was, Larry could bear it, but her haughty indifference made his lungs explode.He stepped forward and grabbed her.He knew very well in his heart that by doing this he set everything on fire, and all he got was the insignificant revenge of hypocritical satisfaction, but he couldn't help himself not to do this.The anger in his heart had been accumulating enough, and it was fanned by her rudeness, ridicule, unprovoked insults and contempt towards him.Today, he almost died because of her.But this was not enough, she actually treated him like this now, which made him even more angry.All of this was burning inside him as he stepped up to grab her naked body.If Noelle yelled, he'd suffocate her with a punch. Seeing the angry look on his face, she didn't dare to make a sound, and obediently let him drag him into the bedroom. Somewhere in Larry's brain, a voice was yelling at him: Stop it, apologize, say you're drunk, get out before you can save yourself.However, it was too late and there was no retreat.He threw her savagely on the bed, ready to pounce on her. At this time, he didn't even think about what kind of punishment he would receive for doing so.He had no illusions about what Demiris would do to him.He knew that the morality of the Greeks was never content with dismissal alone.He also knew that the retaliation measures taken by financial and industrial giants like Demiris would exceed the word "terrible" by a million times.Although Larry knew this, he couldn't control his actions due to resentment. To his surprise he found her arms around his neck, tight, as if unwilling to let him go, and heard her say, "Welcome back." Suddenly, a thought flashed through Larry's mind—she was crazy, or else she had mistook him for someone else. ... The situation seems to have turned around and turned a hundred and eighty degrees.Everything is fine.