Chapter 33 second quarter

There was a knock on the cockpit door; the purser came in with a manifest.He and his flight attendants had already done a head count. "Four hundred and five passengers, captain." The number of people matches.Fallon signed the loading manifest and handed it back to Palfrey.The purser then walked down the stairs to the last open door and handed the list to the British Airways ground crew.Outside the mammoth craft, the last of the ground crew are finishing their work.The luggage compartment door has been closed, the fuel hose has been removed, and the vehicle has returned to a safe location.This behemoth is about to launch four huge Rolls-Royce engines and start taxiing.

In first class Mr Seymour had taken off his elegant silk suit and hung it in the front wardrobe.He still wears a silk tie, but the knot has been undone.A glass of champagne was bubbling at his elbow, and the purser had brought him the latest Financial Times and Daily Telegraph.Mr. Palfrey, the purser, is groveling and likes what he sees as "high quality people".Even serving Hollywood stars dressed like homeless women was enough for him. Fallon oversaw the pre-launch checks on the flight deck.He was able to see the tow vehicle ahead and below.Tractors are small, but vital.Without the tractor, Quick Bird One Zero would not be able to move because it was now facing the terminal building and could not turn around without external assistance.

Faron obtained permission to start the engine from the ground control room at Bangkok Airport.Four Rolls-Royce 524 engines started running as the tractor began to push the 747-400 backwards.The Faron does not require ground assistance to start the engines, relying on the auxiliary power unit to do so. At Fallon's command, the co-pilot reached for the overhead panel and pulled the switch for engine number four, while his other hand operated the fuel control switch for that engine.Then, he repeated these actions three more times, starting the No. 4, No. 3, No. 2 and No. 1 engines successively.At the same time, the automatic fuel control system slowly boosts the engine to "idle".

The tractor was now moving Quick Bird One Zero at a ninety-degree angle, keeping its nose on the taxiway so that the plane's jet wouldn't overturn something behind it.After the tow was complete, the tug driver reported to the cockpit via his headset communication system that the vehicle's towbar was still inserted next to the aircraft's nose wheel.He asked the aircraft to brake. He was right to do so.To disengage from the aircraft, he had to get off the tractor, go to the Jumbo's nose wheel, and pull the tow bar out of its socket.Had the plane not braked, he would have been crushed to pieces by the nose wheels.Faron applied the brakes and notified the driver.Fifty feet below him on the ground, the tractor pulled away from the aircraft and the driver routinely raised a flag taken from the towbar receptacle.Faron gave him a thankful wave, and the tractor drove away.The ground control center agreed that the aircraft began to taxi and handed it over to the control tower for dispatch management.

The Higgins family finally sat down in row 34.They are lucky.Seat G is empty, so the entire row of four seats goes to them.John Higgins was seated in Block D on one side aisle; his wife was seated in Block G near the other aisle.Julie sat between them, coaxing Phuket incessantly, assuring her that she would have a peaceful night in comfort. Quick Bird One Zero slid along the taxiway to the take-off point, its massive fuselage guided entirely by the nose wheel and steered by the tiller under Farron's left hand.Captain Fallon has maintained communication with the tower.Upon reaching the end of the main runway, he requested takeoff and was immediately cleared.This means that he can take off directly from the taxi without stopping.

The jumbo jet turned into the runway and aligned its nose to the centerline.The captain at the top of the runway pushed the throttle lever forward, and then pressed the takeoff acceleration switch with his finger.The power of the four engines was automatically increased to the preset value. Passengers could feel the rumble growing louder as the Jumbo jet accelerated.Neither they nor the crew on the flight deck could hear the howling of the four jet engines outside, but they could feel the power of the engines.The lights of the terminal building flickered in the distance.As soon as the control button is pressed, the nosewheel leaves the asphalt runway.Passengers in first class heard the first metallic thud under their feet, but it was the stretching of the oil shock absorbers after the weight had disappeared.Ten seconds later, the main landing gear came up and the plane was airborne.

After the plane left the ground, according to Faron's instructions, the co-pilot pressed the switch to retract the entire landing gear; there was another dull metallic sound, and then all the noise and vibration stopped.The airliner climbed at 1,300 feet per minute to 1,500 feet, then slowed down.During the acceleration, Faron ordered the co-pilot to retract the flaps in order, from twenty degrees to ten degrees, five degrees, one degree, and zero degrees. At this time, all the parts of the aircraft returned to their positions. In the 34th row of seat D, John Higgins finally let go of his grip on the armrest of the seat.He's not used to flying and hates taking off even more, but he tries not to show it in front of his family.He glanced at the corridor and saw that the hippie was diagonally opposite, only four rows away from him, seat C in row 30.The long aisle stretches forward until the transverse bulkhead that separates the economy class from the business class.There is a full kitchen and four restrooms.He could see four or five stewardesses already walking up and down, getting ready for a late dinner.His last meal had been a quick meal at the hotel six hours ago, and he was hungry now.He turned to help Julie fiddle with the inflight entertainment system and find Cartoon Network.

Airplanes departing from Bangkok airport are generally headed north.Fallon turned the climbing plane slightly to port and looked down.It's a clear night.Behind them was the Gulf of Thailand, where Bangkok lay, and across the country, the Andaman Sea.Between the two bodies of water is Thailand. The moonlight reflects the endless rice fields, and the whole country seems to be made of water. "Quick Bird" 10 climbed to an altitude of 31,000 feet and began to level off. The airliner will follow one of the routes to London, passing through Calcutta, Delhi, Kabul, Tehran, Eastern Turkey, the Balkans and Germany above.He stretched after turning Quickbird 10 into autopilot mode, and a stewardess on the upper deck brought coffee just in time.

At 30C, the hippie looks at the dinner menu that has been delivered.His appetite is small, and what he really wants to enjoy is cigarettes.The flight was thirteen hours, plus another hour of waiting in Heathrow baggage claim for his huge canvas duffel before slipping outside to light a cigarette. "Beef," he said to the smiling stewardess standing nearby.His accent sounded American, but his passport said he was from Canada and his name was Donovan. In a rather secluded office in London's West End, a phone rang.The man behind the desk glanced at his watch.At five thirty, it was already dark.

"Hello." "Boss, British Airways Flight 010 has left Bangkok." "thanks." He hangs up.William "Bill" Butler didn't like long conversations on the phone.He didn't really like talking at all.People knew his personality, and they knew he was a good leader and a man to be trifled with.Unbeknownst to all his subordinates, he once had a daughter whom he loved dearly, the pride of his life, but she died of a heroin overdose after she entered college.Bill Butler didn't like heroin, much less the people who smuggled it in.For what he does, he's the antidote to drugs.His department waged a never-ending war on drugs on behalf of British customs.The division was simply known as the "Hit Squad," and Bill Butler was more committed to the fight against drugs than anyone else.

Five hours passed.Hundreds of boxes of heated food have been distributed and plastic plates taken away.Empty bottles of cheap, small wine bottles were also removed or stuffed into cloth pockets on the back of the seats.Behind the transverse bulkhead of the cabin, the noisy economy class passengers finally quieted down. In the electronic equipment room below the first-class cabin, two air traffic control computers receive information from three inertial reference systems, obtain data through radio signals and artificial satellites, and communicate with each other through electronic devices.They measure the plane's position and direct the autopilot to make fine adjustments to keep Quick Bird One Zero on its intended course. Below the plane lay the rugged mountainous terrain between Kabul and Kandahar.In the Panjshir mountains in the north, fanatical Taliban militants are fighting with theHigh above Afghanistan, these travelers were surrounded by dark night skies, deadly cold, engine noise, and harsh terrain and warfare. The porthole shades were all lowered, the lights dimmed, and thin blankets were handed out.Most travelers managed to get some sleep, a few watched an in-flight movie, and some tuned in to a concert. In seat 34G, Mrs. Higgins had fallen asleep, the blanket pulled up to her chin, her mouth half-open, breathing softly.The armrest between seats E and F has been pushed up, and the two seats have become one. Julie is lying there with her legs outstretched, covered with a warm blanket, holding a doll on her chest, and she has also fallen asleep. John Higgins couldn't sleep.He never fell asleep on the plane.So, tired as he was, he started thinking about their vacation in the Far East.This is a group holiday trip. Of course, if it is not with the group, it is impossible for a small employee of the insurance company to travel so far to Thailand for vacation.Even so, traveling still costs a chunk of your savings, but it's well worth it. During this period, they lived in the Pansea Hotel on Phuket Island, far away from the bustling Pattaya.He definitely didn't want his family involved in that sort of thing, so checked with the travel agency very carefully.To his surprise, both his wife and daughter agreed.They rented bicycles and toured rubber plantations and Thai villages on the island.They also stopped in the resplendent Buddhist temples and saw monks wearing cassocks and reciting scriptures. He rented diving masks, snorkels, and flippers for himself and Julie at the hotel; Mrs. Higgins did not swim in the sea, but played a few times in the pool.With the gear on, he and his daughter once swam to a clump of coral reefs just offshore.They see fish scurrying by underwater: tricolor stingray, butterflyfish, four-eyed and seven-striped damselfly. Julie was so excited that she couldn't help raising her head and shouting, lest her father hadn't seen these beautiful fish.Of course he saw it, and gestured for her to put the mouthpiece back on so she wouldn't drink the seawater.But it was too late, she coughed violently and he hurried her back to the sand. The hotel offered him scuba diving training, but he declined.He had read somewhere that there might be sharks in the water around here, and Mrs. Higgins had made a fuss about it.The family did want to experience a little thrilling activity, but not too much adventure. Julie found a doll in the shape of a little Thai girl in the hotel's shopping mall, and he bought it for her.After ten days at the Pansy Hotel in the expensive Omani resorts, Bangkok was the last three days of their holiday.They followed the team to visit the Emerald Buddha and the huge reclining Buddha in the urban area. They almost couldn't breathe when they smelled the stench from the Chao Phraya River and the exhaust pipes of cars all over the street.But it was all worth it, it was a once in a lifetime vacation. There is a small screen on the back of the chair in front of him, constantly showing the progress of the flight.He watched idly.There are endless numbers on it: the time in Bangkok, the mileage flown, the distance from the destination, the flight time, the temperature outside the plane (minus 76 degrees Celsius), the wind speed of the head wind, and so on. During the playing of the numbers, a picture flashed out, which was a map of this area, and a small white plane moved slowly towards Europe in the northwest direction.He wondered if the little plane would help him fall asleep like counting sheep.At this time, the Jumbo passenger encountered a turbulent airflow and began to bump. His sleepiness was gone, and he firmly grasped the armrest of the seat. He noticed that the hippies four rows away from him diagonally across the corridor were also awake.He saw the man glance at his watch, lift the blanket, and stand. The man looked around, seeing that no one was paying attention, and walked along the corridor towards the forward transverse bulkhead.There was a curtain hanging there, but only half drawn, so a beam of light came from the kitchen area, illuminating a rug and two doors to the washroom.The hippie went to the door, looked at both doors, but pushed neither.There were undoubtedly people in both restrooms, though Higgins hadn't seen anyone moving around.The hippie was leaning against one of the doors, waiting. Half a minute later, another guy walked up to the hippie too.Higgins became interested.This guy was very different from a hippie, he was elegantly dressed and clearly a rich man.He came from the front, business class, even first class.But why? Visible in the light of the kitchen light, he was wearing a cream suit, a silk shirt, and a tie, also silk, with a loose knot.He was dressed like he came from first class.Did he go all this way to go to the bathroom? Then they start talking: Mr. Elegant and the hippie.The conversation was soft and serious.It was mainly the guy coming up front who was talking, leaning forward, facing the hippie.The hippie nodded frequently, expressing his understanding.From the body language of the two, it can be seen that the elegant man is giving a series of instructions, and the hippie promises to do as he is told. John Higgins was one of those people who liked to observe his surroundings, and he became curious about it.If Mr. Elegant wants to take a piss, there are five or six toilets in first class.At this time in the middle of the night, it is impossible for every restroom to be occupied.No, it was they who originally agreed to meet at this time and this place.It's not like two people who happen to be waiting in line together are chatting, it's not small talk. They parted.The man in the suit disappeared from sight and went back to the cabin ahead.The hippie didn't want to go to the bathroom at all, and he returned to his seat.John Higgins was restless.He realized that he had witnessed something strange and significant, but could not guess what it was about.When the hippie looked again in the dark to see if anyone was watching, he closed his eyes and pretended to sleep. Ten minutes later, John Higgins believed he had his answer.The two men had made an appointment to meet there, a pre-planned meeting.But how did they agree?He was sure he hadn't seen any elegant businessmen in cream suits in the coach lounge.Otherwise it will be very conspicuous.Once boarded and seated, the hippie didn't move.He might have gotten a note from a flight attendant, but Higgins hadn't seen such a thing, so he couldn't prove it. If not, there is only one explanation.At this moment in the middle of the night, the meeting at the junction of the economy class and the business class was arranged in Thailand.but why?What are you talking about?Exchange progress reports?Last-minute instructions from elegant people?Are hippies the businessman's personal assistant?surely not.Dressed like that?Their looks are worlds apart.Higgins was starting to worry.Further, he began to doubt. It was eleven o'clock at night in London when the two whisperers parted.Bill Butler glanced at his wife who was sleeping beside him, sighed, and turned off the light.His alarm clock was set for 4:30 in the morning, which was plenty of time.By then, he'll be up, washed, dressed, and in his car, arriving at Heathrow at 5.15, a full hour before the plane lands.Then there are those everyday jobs. The day that just passed was very long.Isn't that the case someday?He is already very tired, but still can't sleep.His mind was spinning rapidly, thinking about the same question: What else could he do? This was a clue given by a colleague of the US Drug Enforcement Administration on the other side of the ocean, and they began to pursue it.

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