The Sky's the Limit

"Congratulations Carson!"

Confetti was everywhere. It was all over the floor, the table and some even got in my hair.

"You did it son!" My dad said proudly.

My first flight. The positive words echoed in my mind as I prepared for take-off.

"This is your captain speaking, Captain Carson. The weather is predicted to be mild for take-off, flight and landing in Japan. Please stay seated and seat belts on until the light goes off signaling we are at our cruising altitude. Let's go!"

I have flown this flight a few times for practice on my flight simulator. I wanted to get a feel for it and know what to expect so to speak.

Take-off went perfect. We just reached our cruising altitude so I turned the seat-belt light off.

"You are now free to move about the cabin." I announced.

Now the flight attendants can walk around and take any drink or food orders.

"Would you like a beverage or snack dear?" the attendant asked.

"Yes. May I have a rum and Coke and a cheese tray?" A woman said.

"I'll take a hot tea and peanuts please." said someone else.

Absolutely!" She said as she turned to go back toward the cockpit.

"Sir, I will grab that pillow for you too hun." Celine had been a flight attendant for 6 years. She could take and fill multiple orders with her eyes closed and one hand tied behind her back. She was the veteran attendant of the flight. She had been the one to train the other 4 working with her today.

"Good job girls!" Celine said when she got to the kitchenette. She gave everyone a high five and a smile.

The flight was off to a great start. You could feel it in the air...

"Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! I gotta pee pee!" A little voice said in the middle of the plane.

Sophie and her mom Kait were on their way back to Japan from visiting friends in the US. Sophie is the daughter of American woman (Kait) living in Japan teaching the children English as a second language. Her father is a Japanese engineer. As a result, Sophie is bi-lingual.

"Ok honey, lets go potty." Kait said.

They unhooked their seat belts and slid into the aisle heading toward the bathroom at the rear of the plane. As they were walking, Sophie dropped her teddy bear.

"Uh-Oh!" Sophie said.

Kait saw the bear fall, so she was already bending down to pick it up. Before she could get it, the young man in the seat near the bear had grabbed it and handed it to Sophie.

"You dropped something cutie pie." the young man said with a big smile that showed his white teeth.

Sophie grabbed the bear and ran toward the back of the plane giggling. "Thank you Mr.!" she shouted as she ran off.

She didn't stop to look at the man, but Kait did.

"Jin?" She said softly. " What are you doing here? We left you in Japan." She continued.

Jin Min is a 32 year old engineer and part time architect. He is of Japanese descent. He was born and raised in Japan. He is the only child of his parents. He had to be successful because to fail would bring dishonor to his family and the Min name.

"Wait for mommy!" Kait yelled after Sophie.

Sophie continues running and giggling with delight.

"Be careful dear, we don't want you to trip and fall down". A flight attendant said.

"Where is that child's mother?" She said to herself as she scanned the plane. She spotted a woman standing in the aisle talking to a seated passenger. She figured that must be the mom.

Bobby Jo had been a flight attendant for just 3 weeks. This is her fourth flight total, but her first long distance flight. Celine had taught her the ropes and looked out for her as much as she could.

Bobby Jo started walking toward Sophie's mom. She stopped short when she saw the young man get out of his seat and get on one knee.

"Oh my goodness!" Bobby Jo said as she clutched her pearl necklace. She knew exactly what was happening. Gasps, camera flashes and applause erupted and quickly filled the cabin.

"What in the world is going on back there?" Captain Carson asked his co-pilot.

"Beats me." he said.

Captain Carson sucked his teeth. He engaged the auto pilot and headed out of the cockpit. He stepped out of the door and it slammed behind him. He paused for a second, because it sounded like the door locked.

"That's odd." He thought. He didn't think too much on it though because his co-pilot is still in the cockpit and he can open the door if it did lock for whatever reason.

All of a sudden, Sophie trips Bobby Jo and she falls to the ground. Jin quickly stands up and pulls out a gun. Kait also pulls out a hand gun and a grenade. Sophie stands over Bobby Jo with a taser.

"You better not move! I been DYING to break this bad boy in." She said, turning the stun gun on.

"Everyone stay seated and remain calm. We do not want to have to hurt anyone." Jin said. He then turned to Kait and told her to go up front to check on the cockpit.

"I love you baby." Kait said as she kissed Jin on the lips and walked away.

Kait and Jin are activists, extreme activists. They had been following the American news and grew tired of watching the American government treat it's citizens so poorly. They grew tired of watching poor people become poorer and fade away. They grew tired of the overt racism. You see, Kait is bi-racial. Her mother is of Hispanic descent and her father is black. Kait has it hard growing up bi-racial in America. She felt like she didn't fit in anywhere. She left America as soon as she could. Her parents still live in America. This has bothered her since she left. She wants better for her family like she wanted better for herself.

When she moved to Japan, she met Jin. She started sharing things with him. He fell in love with her, so her cause became his cause.

Sophie is not a toddler. She is actually 13 years old. She was born with a rare form of dwarfism that keeps her very small.

It was supposed to be top secret, but Jin used his connections to gather intel. His source told him that the US Secretary of Defense has an agent carrying a briefcase with classified information inside is aboard this flight. The government thought it clever to hide in plain sight. This tactic worked once before, so they decided to try it again.

Kait reached the cockpit. She tapped on the door. The co-pilot opened the door a crack.

"It's me." Kait whispered.

Kareem is Kait's cousin on her father's side. As an African American man, he knows first hand about the conditions in America.

"You good?" Kareem asked. "Everything going according to plan?"

"Yup. How about on your end? Did radio in yet?"

"About to right now." Kareem said as he grabbed the communicator from its base.

"This is Captain Kareem, the co-pilot of flight 0402 headed to Japan to air traffic control, over."

"Go ahead Captain, over" dispatch responded.

"The plane appears to be being taken over by foreign nationals. I believe their motives are political, over."

Kait and Jin planned for everything, or so they thought. They naively believed that the United States government would allow top secret documents unprotected. What Jin's source didn't know is that the briefcase on flight 0204 is an empty decoy. It was suspected that there was a leak in the department, so a plan was made to flush the person out. Captain Carson and the flight attendants are civilians. All the passengers are undercover agents. While Jin was facing the front of the plane checking on Kait, two agents jumped on him and took his gun. Before Kait could react, Captain Carson kicked the cockpit door closed and grabbed Kait from behind. While they may have initially meant well by fighting for eqaulity and such, this is not the way to go about it.....

*to be continued*