One Last Mission

John Walker was always the kind of man who checked all the boxes when it came to ensuring his and his team’s safety. Being a senior agent in the CIA for the last two decades, he was skilled at hiding his identity in the crevices of normal, everyday life. Whenever a mission would call for an extra attention to detail, he would be on call. Luckily, ever since his recent retirement, he didn’t have to remain hidden, and it felt good to be able to blend with civilians once again.

He looked out at the sun bordering the edge of the horizon from his airplane window seat, his body starting to wake up. After three decades of constant, arduous missions all over the world, the one thing he regrets is how he missed out on creating the sort of relationship with his son that he wanted. For that reason, his wife recommended he take a vacation somewhere far away from Washington, if only to unplug for a week. He knew she was right, albeit was ashamed to admit it. Since his son’s birthday was coming up in a few days, he decided he had nothing to lose and all to gain from this trip.

He peeked out at the rest of the passengers on the jam-packed flight, making sure not to draw any attention to himself. Most were still asleep, hunched over or reclined back into their seats, their bodies contorting into all sorts of positions. All seemed to be normal, except the seat next to him was empty. Josh must have gone to the bathroom. He’ll be back in a bit.

The touch screen attached to the seat in front of him indicated the Airbus A380 was currently flying over French airspace and almost two hours away from its destination: Rome.

Rome was not his first choice, but he knew his son was fascinated with Italian food, culture and the exquisite artwork the nation boasted. Throughout the years, Josh prodded his dad about the specifics of his job and what a ‘day in the life’ looked like for him, but Walker always evaded his questions, knowing his son didn’t yet fully grasp how serious an oath of confidentiality was in his profession. The last thing he would have wanted was for his son to join his line of work despite all the privileges and thrills it came with, because he knew the level of responsibility he would have had to take would have been too much for him to bear. The biggest success of Walker’s career was his ability to be the lead officer of Operations for Project Azorian, a six-year effort that paid off when the CIA succeeded in secretly capturing a Soviet submarine containing nuclear missiles from the Pacific Ocean. It was a great success for the U.S. during the Cold War and one which Walker is very proud of.

All things considered, his son settled for practicing towards becoming a successful chef specializing in creating fusion sauces from scratch, a much safer option which Walker had absolutely no issues with.

As the flight attendants started wheeling out refreshments in their clattering carts, jolting many awake in the process, Walker realized his son was taking much longer than expected in the restroom.

He stood up from his seat, making his way to the two lavatories at the back near the emergency door, and stopped in his tracks when he noticed both compartments were vacant.

His body immediately tensed. Something didn’t feel right.The words he had heard long ago from a close agent echoed in his mind, as it always did in times of uncertainty. No expectations, no disappointments.

He turned back and inched slowly towards his seat, scanning the room for immediate signs of danger. Some passengers were on their phones, others partaking in small talk with their neighbors. Nothing here.

He walked towards the flight attendant in his lane, who smiled timidly and pulled the cart back so he could pass.

“My apologies,” he responded. He passed the upcoming lavatories which were also vacant and walked ahead to the front of the plane.

He stopped once he entered the first class cabin, feeling goosebumps all over his body at the sight ahead of him.

There was nobody in the first class cabin.

It was the middle of August, and the flight was fully packed in Economy and Business class. Something was going on, and he had a feeling he wasn’t going to like what it was.

He was stopped by a flight attendant once he got to the section of the plane in front of the cockpit door. He showed her his general police officer badge with the name ‘John Melrose’ plastered on it, a disguise for his true identity which the CIA allowed him to still use to not compromise his cover. “I assure you I am only looking for a family member.”

She stood firmly in place, and he didn’t make any attempts to reach for the cockpit door, wanting to gain her trust. Walker prided himself on the tactics he used and developed throughout his career to persuade criminals to rat themselves out. His tactics worked in pretty much every interaction he needed it to. You have to gain their trust before making any fancy requests, he once told a class of new recruits. Make them believe you are on their side and they will gladly unravel themselves before you.

“I cannot seem to find my eighteen year old son,” he lowered his shoulders and took a step back, his eyes plastered with concern. “I checked all of the bathrooms and he is nowhere to be found.”

“I understand, sir. What is your son’s name?”

“Joshua Melrose,” he stated, watching her look through the list of passengers on her tablet. Her name tag read, “Sandra”.

“If I may ask, Sandra, do you have kids?”

“Y-Yes. Yes, I do. Two,” she smiled slightly, her eyes not leaving the tablet.

“Great. So you do know what it’s like to worry sick for them if you have even an ounce of doubt about their safety.” She looked up and was about to respond but he interjected, placing a hand on her shoulder, “Listen to me carefully, please. I have reason to believe my son and all the 500 passengers on this plane are in grave danger. The first class cabin is completely empty, and the only area I have not searched for my son is here. If you want further proof, the names of the two pilots handling this plane are Richard W. Salt and Christopher Banks.”

The flight attendant’s eyebrows furrowed, expressing fear and concern simultaneously.

She grabbed the intercom phone near her in a hurry and advised the pilot of a possible hijacking attempt possibly being in motion.

The person that responded was none other than his son. The flight attendant gasped and handed the intercom phone to Walker, her hands shaking.

“Hello?” Walker called out, unsure what to expect.

“So, you finally caught up to me now, didn’t you… Dad?” Josh snickered, venom dripping from his words.

Walker’s stomach dropped.

“Son, what are you doing in there?” He spoke calmly and slowly, not knowing his son’s intentions. What has he done?

“I am getting my revenge against you and my whore of a mother. All these years you neglected me, you didn’t wonder what could have happened. I found my true family now.”

“Son, please let me into the cockpit and we can try to talk about this.”

He heard his son laugh for a brief moment, his tone menacing; Walker never heard him laugh like that before. “I’m not a child anymore, and you’ve still been treating me like one all these years which I really do not appreciate.”

“You’re right son. You’re right,” he concurred, and when his son went silent, he continued, “I have made many mistakes throughout my life, the biggest being not being a good enough father to you. I will carry that with me throughout the rest of my days, but I want you to know, son, that I do love you and I always will.”

“Don’t lie to me!” Josh’s fingers turned white as he dug the knife against the pilot’s neck in the cockpit, “You never knew who I was to love me for who I am.”

“But I do know who you are, son, “ Walker tried to keep his voice steady, his heart breaking in half at his son’s words, “You are better than this. You are an intelligent, young man with so much to live for. I have never known a more accomplished young man than you,” he claimed with pride, tears streaming down his cheeks, “I was always proud of you and I always tried my best to contact you even when I was busy with work. Every day I was out on that field, I would be thinking of nothing and no one else but you.”

There was a long pause.

“W-Well, it wasn’t enough…” Josh retorted back, his voice quivering. Walker could hear the fear and regret in his son’s voice. There is no going back from this. “You were never there! So I found someone who was…” he snapped back, “I found someone who was. I built my own network of friends who stood by me through everything, unlike you.”

Walker took a deep breath, “I’m so sorry if I never told you enough, Josh. I love you, son. I love you.” He looked up towards the camera overlooking the cockpit door and put his hand on his heart like he used to do when his son was just four years old, and his son would do it back.

Another long pause ensued, before sobs were heard on the other line.

“D-Dad? Dad, are you there?”

“Yes son, I’m here,” Walker clenched the phone so tightly, he almost broke it.

“They told me I’d be a hero, D-Dad. A-And that God would reward me greatly for my sacrifices,” Josh’s lips lifted to a pained grin, his eyes brimming with tears, tears he wished his father could see from outside the cockpit door. “ISIS. A man came up to me one day and told me he was building a community for young men who wanted to strengthen their spirituality and build a brotherhood and—” he gasped for breath, his sobs overtaking him. “He said I’d be rewarded by God for framing my own father a-as a CIA agent turned criminal, for crashing a five-hundred passenger plane into the Colosseum.”

Walker tried to hide his disbelief. “Rewarded by God?”

He should have never shared information about his profession to his son or his wife. He never expected something like this to happen, not in his wildest dreams. He couldn’t let his attachment and love for his son cloud his vision now. He had to focus. His son was brainwashed into being a criminal by a terrorist organization that preyed on lonely, confused young men. What have I done? I have failed in my duties as a father.

“I don’t know what I’m doing, Dad. There’s no going back from this now, is there? And I don’t want to spend my life in prison. I-I’m only eighteen,” Josh panicked.

“No, son. You will not spend your life in prison. I promise you, that will not happen. Please open the cockpit door and I will come and help you,” Walker’s heart was shattering into a million pieces as he lied to his son. He gestured to the flight attendant to leave and nodded to assure her he could handle what was about to take place. She left in a hurry, running towards the business class cabin.

The cockpit door flew open and a flight attendant that Walker saw earlier on this trip fell out, her neck dripping with blood. Dead. His son stood there, tears streaming down his cheeks, his white polo shirt drenched in blood, with a pocket knife on the terrified Captain pilot’s neck. The co-pilot was hunched over in his seat, blood staining his back through his uniform. Dead, also. What have you done, Josh?

“Hand me the knife, Josh. Slowly now.”

Josh hesitated, his eyes twinkling with fear and sadness at the same time, before handing the knife over to his dad and allowing the pilot to jump away.

Walker embraced his son close to him and with tears clouding his vision, he said to him, “I love you, son. And I always will,” before squeezing a pressure point in his son’s neck, causing him to faint.

He looked up towards the pilot who was eyeing him with sympathy. “I will make sure he takes full responsibility for this once we land. Please land at the nearest airport so we can evacuate everyone safely.”

The pilot nodded back, saying they would be landing in Rome as scheduled, and he would be alerting the authorities right away.

Walker looked down at his son, who was fast asleep in his hands. “I’m sorry, son,” he kissed him on his forehead.

“I’m so sorry.”