The crowd were becoming agitated and started pushing on to the field, where the players were now mixing it, with clashes between Jews, Christians and Muslims. It didn’t take long for the violence to escalate. Knives and firearms were produced and blood started to flow.
By the time the emergency services arrived the field was littered with dead and dying men women and children. The first medical team to arrive were appalled at the scene before them. One said “How could this have happened? These people have lived and worked together for many years.” “There’s so many of them we will have to bury them in a common grave.” replied another “I hope this will be a lesson to the rest of the country.”
“Some people never learn” said a voice. But none of those present had spoken.
Kfir continued “Surely it is not possible that there are several competing Gods in the Universe? Any idiot should be able to see that one God would be quite adequate. Don’t you agree Hazarie?”
The pilot was quiet for a moment. “It is a new concept for me. I must agree. But it doesn’t change my present beliefs. I am too close to meeting Allah to question his methods.”
Chava then spoke up. “My story is a little different. I became an orphan in Cambodia when Pol Pot was in power. My parents were schoolteachers and they never returned from the work camp they were sent to. Fortunately I was taken in by an orphanage funded by overseas aid groups and individuals and without their support I may not have survived. Through generous scholarships I was able to complete my schooling with a good record and became a well qualified lawyer. For a time I was employed by the United Nations assisting refugees. Cambodia’s problems resulted from the unfettered power given to their leaders and, now that the “killing field” days have ended Cambodia has become a much better place. I can see that there is much more to be done before other trouble spots can hope to settle so many differences. The world continues to struggle with the refugee crisis and it will help immensely if all forms of conflict can be eliminated, or at least reduced.
The trio settle back into their seats with their own thoughts. The cockpit is quiet, apart from the hum of the engines, and there is a new sense of acceptance as they travel towards the most remote region of the southern ocean.
DEFENCE MINISTRY TEHRAN
The Minister has remained at his desk receiving frequent updates on the Malaysian Airlines flight. The news is not good. The aircraft seems to have disappeared without trace and search and rescue operations are concentrating their efforts in the South China Sea. There has been no sign of any wreckage and no contact from the hijackers. He has managed to put the Ayatollah off until now but now realizes that the plane must have crashed or landed somewhere well away from Iran. His well laid plans have failed. The phone rings. It is the Ayatollah again. This time the Ayatollah is screaming into the phone and the Minister has to hold the receiver away from his ear. “This the end.” he thinks “and the end of my career. I’ll be lucky to escape with my life. I’ll lose everything I have worked for and my family will suffer as well. He becomes more agitated as his blood pressure rises. “Can I get out of Iran completely? Must get my driver and go. Can’t stop for anything.”
As he reaches across to buzz for his driver he feels a sudden pain rip through his chest and then ……………….. Nothing.
MOSSAD HQ TEL AVIV
Mordechai has remained awake and active all night. He is unaware that the sun is up and it is a beautiful clear day in Tel Aviv. Over the past few hours his time has been taken up monitoring a constant stream of messages. Only a few messages had come in earlier in the night and it at first seemed that the operation was progressing well. It was unlikely that there would be any communication from the aircraft until his agents had full control and were well on their way to the planned landing in Tel Aviv. The expected arrival time had long since passed.
The latest reports from Malaysia indicated that there had been no sighting of the plane or any wreckage. “My agents are completely trustworthy and should not have failed with the takeover. There are other forces at work somewhere.” Mordechai thinks carefully back through the earlier planning stages. Who else knew about the detailed plans? There was a growing suspicion. Just a hint from a conversation. “The cunning old devil” he thought “I think he has outfoxed me again.”
ABOARD MH370
Of the four occupants in the cockpit only three are wide awake and alert. The aircraft is now well south of the Tropic of Capricorn. The West coast of Australia is close to three thousand kilometres to the East and South America is a good distance to the West. Zaharie has been closely watching the control panel and running some quick estimates through his mind. He now speaks. “Our fuel levels are now becoming depleted and it is time to commence our descent. It seems that Australia is a little outside our range. I wouldn’t have minded visiting some friends in Perth.” The nose of the aircraft dips almost imperceptibly.
Kfir marvels at Zarahie’s composure. “We still have some time in the air I believe Zaharie. Tell me if you wish to be relieved at the controls. “Zaharie shakes his head. “No thank you Kfir. I intend to see this right through to the end. Believe me I don’t hold any bad feelings for either of you. My life may be a little shortened but I have no regrets for myself. My deepest concern is for the families involved.
They are now in bright sunlight and they can see scattered cloud below them. The weather remains fine and there is every chance that the ocean will not be too rough for a safe landing. The aircraft is now quieter with the engines throttled back a notch or two. Any tension between the three has dissipated completely but there is little conversation.
Time passes quickly and the aircraft is now descending through the thin layer of cloud. As the sunlight again bursts through the windscreen they glide closer towards the ocean below. The few whitecaps on the surface give an indication that the sea is relatively calm. Zaharie gives a running commentary as they descend. “Down to around one thousand feet. Sufficient fuel to complete an emergency landing, no shipping in sight. Sea surface appears to be flat enough for controlled landing. Everyone secure your seat belts.”
The aircraft speed has decreased substantially and, as the glide flattens out, there is a brief roar of the engines. The underneath of the plane clips a wave and the aircraft touches down. The occupants of the cockpit are restrained by their seat belts as the aircraft rapidly loses momentum. A surge of green water cascades over the windscreen and they come to a stop, floating comfortably on the surface. The engines have stopped and there is almost complete silence broken only by the sound of waves slapping on the fuselage.
Chava was the first to break the silence. “That was an amazing performance Captain. No amount of training on a simulator could help you nail the real thing. Now we are down safely what comes next? Can you estimate how long the plane may remain afloat Captain or is there some way to hurry up the process?’
Zaharie replies “There are not too many openings in the fuselage. We only have emergency power and that won’t last long but I may be able to open the wheel bay doors slightly. I will also open the outlets in the passenger cabin to relieve any interior pressure but there is not a lot else we can do. As you can imagine I have no intention of going back into the passenger area. I would estimate that the aircraft may float for anywhere up to four to five hours.”
“Thank you Zaharie” says Kfir “That sounds to be too long a time for us to sit around. Please do whatever you can to speed up the process. The time has come for us to make a decision. Clearly we are now in a position where there is no chance of escape. We will be going down with the aircraft. Chava. Will you please attend to the co-pilot to keep him asleep as long as necessary.” Kfir reaches into a pocket and places two packages in front of himself. “On my left are sufficient pills to end our lives. They are coloured red. On my right are the blue coloured pills which will put us asleep for three to four hours. Personally I do n
ot fancy staying awake for two to three hours before I can take the blue tablets and prefer the red. At the moment it is my favourite colour. This choice will also allow another person to take double dose of the blue tablets if they wish.” He spills them out on to the centre console and selects two of the pills. The others also make their selection. The trio reach out and touch each other’s hands as they silently pray.
A lone albatross circles above the aircraft and looks down. From above the aircraft is seen to rock slightly on the surface and it is beginning to sink noticeably at the forward end. Soon there will be nothing to see on the surface.
WASHINGTON DC March 10
PRESENT
The President
Secretary of State
Director CIA
PRESIDENT. That nearly wraps up the items on the agenda. I’m not sure why the disappearance of the Malaysian passenger jet is down for discussion. Hasn’t the disappearance been solved yet?
SECRETARY. There are some very odd aspects to the case Mr. President. No wreckage has been found and it now appear that the aircraft may have changed direction and travelled past the Malaysian peninsular. From then on the whereabouts of the plane and everyone on board has become a complete mystery. Charles you may be able to fill us in on any developments.
DIRECTOR OK. We have no concrete information but believe the disappearance may be linked to our earlier discussions with Israel. Only two hours ago I had a brief discussion with the head of Mossad. Without mentioning anything specifically about the Malaysian plane he indicated that our fears regarding the Iranians and their nuclear ambitions could now be disregarded. He would not elaborate but also mentioned that they have acquired information that may assist with our future negotiations with Iran. This information is presently being assessed and he feels that he should be able to pass on more detail as time goes on. Oh! He also asked which airline I prefer to fly on. Something about security being much tighter on some airlines.
PRESIDENT Hmmm! No comment.
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