The Sky's The Limit (WLW)

6

"Ladies and gentlemen, we're going to be experiencing some turbulence in the next few minutes so the seatbelt signs will be switched on." Tanner spoke into the intercom, addressing her passengers. "Please remain seated until they are switched off again, after which, the stewardesses will be more than happy to assist you once again."

"Just our luck we fly straight into a storm on your first flight to Brazil." DeMarcus quipped, adjusting some of the settings on the control panel to better brave the weather.

"Murphy's law, my friend." Tanner replied, placing both hands on the wheel. "What can happen will happen."

"Sure you don't want me to take over?" DeMarcus teased with a raised eyebrow.

"And have you bring us all down in a fiery blaze?" Tanner jested. "No chance."

Just then, the cockpit door opened and Emily popped her head in.

"Can I get you two anything?" She tried not to look too long at Tanner. The night they spent dancing in Rome was a little too close for comfort when it threatened to awaken something inside them both. "Some coffee or a bottled water?"

"I'll take a coffee." DeMarcus replied. "But probably best to put a lid on the cup just in case it gets pretty bumpy."

Emily smiled at him with a nod.

"Anything for you, Captain?"

Tanner glanced over her shoulder at the head stewardess for a moment. She also didn't want to share any lingering looks with Emily. There was a tension between them that was beginning to feel rather agonising.

"Nothing for me, thanks Emily." Tanner also put on a courteous smile for her colleague, trying not to make the moment any longer or more uncomfortable than it needed to be.

God, she hated feeling this way. She was beginning to wish they had never gone to that stupid party in Rome.

"Okay, I'll be right back with your coffee, DeMarcus." And with that, Emily left the cockpit. Tanner was beginning to notice how the click of the cockpit door stirred a hopeful feeling within her. A feeling of anticipation that Emily would be the one opening it. That she would get to see that beautiful face with those kind but passionate eyes once more.

"You heard Mac Harding's gonna be partnering with Boeing in the next couple of weeks?" DeMarcus changed the subject. He was getting tired of seeing his best friend pining like a jailed poet. "Apparently the contract's already been signed."

"I'm not sure I agree with a law firm partnering with a plane production company." Tanner stated as the darkness of the storm clouds was broken with a flash of white light, soon followed by the first stutter of the plane, causing any loose objects in the cockpit to clink and rattle. "What does a pack of money-hungry, starched-collared lawyers know about the complex engineering and coding that goes into building a plane?"

"My thoughts exactly." DeMarcus agreed. "You ever have a feeling like something's 'off' about a particular thing or circumstance but you can't put your finger on what it is?"

"I think we all do from time to time."

"Well that's the feeling I have about Mac Harding." DeMarcus stated. "Something's not quite right."

"I agree." Tanner responded, checking the navigation and slightly adjusting the plane's altitude in hopes of avoiding the worst of the storm.

"You have the same feeling.?" DeMarcus asked.

"The exact same feeling." The Captain nodded. "Besides, Charles Harding looks like a fucking Nazi."

DeMarcus snorted at his best friend's comment.