Chapter 2
Chapter 2
“Amara,” he said quietly.
I nodded once.
Jennifer stared between us. “You know her?” she asked, her voice no longer confident. The man didn’t answer her immediately. Instead, he walked toward me and carefully picked up my damaged handbag from the floor.
Captain Reynolds lowered his voice. “Mr. Carter, I didn’t realize she was traveling today.” Carter looked at him and replied, “Neither did I. But I know exactly who she is.” Jennifer’s face lost some of its color.
I finally stood up and wiped the coffee from my sleeve. “There’s no need to make this bigger than it already is,” I said. Captain Reynolds looked at the cut on my lip. “Ms. Washington, she struck you and deliberately spilled coffee on you.” His tone was firm now.
Jennifer immediately interrupted. “She provoked me!” A passenger across the aisle shook her head. “No, she didn’t,” the woman said quietly. “I recorded the entire thing.” Jennifer turned toward her in disbelief.
Carter glanced at the phone in the passenger’s hand. “Then keep that recording.” Jennifer swallowed hard. For the first time, she seemed to understand that there would be witnesses, evidence, and consequences.
Captain Reynolds looked again at the letters on my identification card. “A.W.C.,” he said under his breath. Jennifer frowned. “What does that even mean?” Carter finally looked directly at her.
“It means you have no idea who you just attacked.”
The cabin fell silent again.
I reached for my identification card and slipped it back into my handbag. I wasn’t interested in humiliating Jennifer. But then Carter leaned closer and whispered something that made even me pause.
“Amara, there’s one more problem.”
I looked at him.
He glanced toward the cockpit.
“The person waiting for you after landing already knows what happened.”
Jennifer’s eyes widened.
And suddenly, she wasn’t worried about me anymore.
She was worried about who was waiting at the other end.
PART 3: For the rest of the flight, Jennifer barely spoke. She remained in her seat, staring at the floor while Captain Reynolds quietly documented everything that had happened. I sat by the window in 2A, watching the clouds pass beneath us. Carter remained nearby, but he didn’t reveal anything else about A.W.C.
When the captain finally returned, he crouched beside my seat. “Ms. Washington, I need to ask you something before we land.” I looked at him calmly. “Go ahead.” He hesitated before continuing. “Would you like the airline security team waiting at the gate, or should we handle this privately?”
“Security,” I answered.
Jennifer immediately turned around. “Security? For what?” Her voice sounded almost desperate. Captain Reynolds looked at her without changing his expression. “For an incident involving physical assault and property damage.” Jennifer opened her mouth, but no words came out.
The passenger across the aisle quietly handed her phone to the flight attendant. “I have the entire recording,” she said. “From the moment Ms. Collins approached Ms. Washington.” Jennifer’s face tightened. She had spent the entire flight believing this would become a dispute between two passengers.
Now there was evidence.
Carter leaned toward me and lowered his voice. “You should know something.” I looked at him. “What?” He glanced toward Jennifer before answering. “A.W.C. isn't a company designation. It's an authorization.”
I frowned slightly.
“It identifies people who are cleared to move through certain protected environments without their credentials being publicly discussed.” Carter paused. “Your card was never supposed to be visible to anyone.” I looked down at my handbag, suddenly understanding why Captain Reynolds had reacted so strongly.
Jennifer overheard enough to become nervous. “What are you talking about?” she asked. Carter turned toward her. “Nothing that concerns you.” That answer seemed to frighten her more than an explanation would have.
A few minutes later, the captain announced our descent into Washington. The cabin lights brightened, and passengers began securing their belongings. Jennifer looked toward the exit repeatedly, as if she were already planning how to disappear into the terminal.
But when the aircraft door finally opened, she stopped.
Three people in dark suits were waiting beyond the jet bridge.
They weren’t airline employees.
One of them held a tablet, while another spoke briefly into an earpiece. The third person looked directly at me and nodded. Jennifer stared at them, then at Carter.
“Who are they?” she whispered.
Carter gave her a quiet answer.
“They're here for Amara.”
I stepped into the jet bridge without saying anything. The three officials immediately approached, but none of them treated me like a celebrity or a VIP. They simply exchanged a few words with Carter before one woman handed me a sealed envelope.
I recognized the seal instantly.
My expression changed.
May you like
Jennifer was still standing behind me, watching.
The woman looked at her, then back at me. “Ms. Washington, do you want us to include the cabin incident in tonight's report?”
