At that moment, Owen and the others were gathered behind the curly-haired technician, whose monitor displayed a different view—the underside of the passenger jet. The onboard system was scanning for the hatch. A flashing green frame kept pulsing on the screen, indicating that the correct hatch had yet to be located.
"Slower, slower…"
The technician watched the screen closely, carefully guiding the pilot.
Owen was filled with anxiety, his throat dry from tension, clutching Monica's hand tightly. The pilot was maneuvering the Flying Fish right beneath the passenger plane; one wrong move at this speed, and the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Careful… move left 0.5 meters…"
The technician instructed softly. The pilot complied precisely. Watching all this, Owen could barely breathe. He wasn't afraid of death or danger, but this lack of control was harder to bear than running through a hail of bullets.
The aircraft shifted slightly. Suddenly, there was a "beep" from the screen. The flashing green frame solidified—the hatch on the passenger jet's belly had been correctly identified.
This guy's an ace pilot, Owen muttered to himself. Who else could precisely shift a plane by 0.5 meters? He'd never heard of such precision.
"Begin docking!"
The technician pressed a button and stared at the screen. On the display, a rectangular hose extended from the Flying Fish's roof. Segment by segment, it rose until it sealed over the passenger plane's hatch, perfectly flush.
"Start pressurizing…"
The technician shouted again. He had already explained the basic process to the strike team, so Owen had a good idea of what was happening.
They all watched as a progress bar climbed steadily on the screen. When it reached full, a "beep" sounded and the indicator light beside the hatch turned from red to green.
"We're good."
The technician hit a button above, and a retractable door slid open, revealing a tunnel that directly connected to the aircraft above. Owen didn't need to be told—that tunnel was clearly the inside of the hose.
"IQ, GO~~~"
Ghost gave a low command. Monica immediately began climbing up the ladder inside the hose. She was responsible for opening the hatch and disabling the pressure alarm system.
Inside the tunnel, the temperature dropped drastically. At 13,000 meters altitude, it was freezing outside. The Flying Fish had automatic temperature regulation, but the tunnel had none. Without proper gear, they'd have been frozen stiff.
Monica quickly reached the top of the tunnel. Frost covered the hatch from prolonged exposure to the cold. She wiped it away to reveal the handle.
She twisted the handle, and the lower hatch of the passenger plane opened with a hiss, revealing the internal compartment.
Then, with the agility of a cat, Monica vaulted up into the cargo hold of the jet. She bit down on a circuit breaker, pulled it from her gear, and carefully attached it to the hatch's alarm sensor.
In the cockpit above, the pilot and co-pilot looked on in confusion as the signal light for the cargo hold began flashing. One of the terrorists behind them noticed it as well.
"What's that? What are you doing?"
"No, no, that's not us—maybe a short circuit," the co-pilot tried to explain.
Thud! A rifle butt struck him in the stomach.
"Tell me, what is that?!"
"It's the seal alarm for the cargo hold," the captain quickly stepped in to explain. "It's probably just a short. If the hold had actually lost pressure, the whole plane would've depressurized. We'd already be dead."
The terrorist hesitated, unsure whether to believe them. At that moment, the flashing light stopped—just like a circuit glitch.
Back underneath the plane, Can Opener and Trigger had just picked up gear bags, ready to move up, when the plane suddenly jolted violently.
"What the hell's happening?" Ghost barked.
The pilot didn't answer. He was too busy clenching the controls, doing everything he could to keep the aircraft steady through the turbulence.
The technician quickly explained, "Turbulence—don't move! The tunnel might break. Wait for the pilot's command…"
Can Opener and Trigger froze. Owen's nerves were frayed—Monica was still up there…
Inside the jet, George Walker watched the terrorists pacing up and down the aisle and could only shake his head in disbelief. Jennifer beside him wore a bitter expression.
They were truly unlucky.
They'd saved up several days of vacation, planning a quiet trip to New York. But they got caught in the chaos of the Wall Street shooting. George had narrowly escaped being killed—not by gunfire, but by CTU's meddling.
New York was no longer an option. He'd just wanted to take Jennifer somewhere quiet.
Athens had been perfect. The trip went well, they had fun, their relationship deepened—and now this. George was so frustrated he nearly tore his hair out. Why was he always this unlucky?
Back outside, turbulence continued to batter the aircraft. Owen could see sweat beading on the pilot's forehead—it was clearly getting harder to maintain control. Ghost's team had stopped moving forward. But Owen's eyes remained locked on the pilot and the pressure light.
The light was still green, meaning the internal pressure was stable. But cold gusts were occasionally visible within the tunnel—likely where the seal was failing.
"Brrr-brrr-brrr~~~"
A piercing alarm sounded. Owen saw the pressure bar on the screen beginning to drop steadily.
"Damn it, we've got a leak. We need to shut the connection!"
The technician cursed, reaching for the controls—but before he could act, a figure suddenly dashed into the tunnel.
Owen couldn't leave Monica alone up there. He knew he could die going in—but he still went.
With two long strides, he entered the tunnel and rapidly climbed into the jet. Behind him, Heartbeat followed without hesitation.
The technician was stunned—he couldn't believe what he'd just seen. To him, they were walking into a deathtrap. But this wasn't the time to argue. He quickly tried closing the hatch—but the button failed to respond.
"Shit~~~~"
He was panicking now. If the hatch didn't close and the tunnel was torn apart by turbulence, both planes would lose pressure. Everyone would die.
"Pass it up!"
Ghost suddenly roared, handing a gear bag into the tunnel. Heartbeat reached up and grabbed it.
"Everyone transfer to the passenger jet!"
Ghost made the call instantly, darting into the tunnel himself. Trigger and Can Opener followed right behind.
Owen grabbed Ghost's arm and yanked him up into the jet, followed by Can Opener, then Trigger.
But when it came to Trigger, something went wrong.
Something on his gear got snagged. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't pull himself up. He was stuck in the middle of the tunnel.
The pressure in the tunnel was rapidly dropping. The whole structure could collapse any second. If that happened, both aircraft would be torn apart.
Trigger looked up at Owen, then down at the technician below—already wearing a parachute—and made a gut-wrenching decision.
He wouldn't get his teammates killed.
Owen was still frantically shouting, trying to pull him up. But Trigger suddenly twisted away from Owen's grip—and with his own hands, slammed the hatch shut.
The moment it closed, the tunnel tore apart.
Trigger was sucked into the air, vanishing into the sky. Below, the Flying Fish rolled violently as it plummeted from the sky.
------------------
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Fairy Tail: Igneel's Eldest Son (Chapter 256)
I Am Thalos, Odin's Older Brother (Chapter 336)
Reborn in America's Anti-Terror Unit (Chapter 542)
Solomon in Marvel (Chapter 924)
Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet (Chapter 1284)
Surgical Fruit in the American Comics Universe (Chapter 1289)
American Detective: From TV Rookie to Seasoned Cop (Chapter 1316)
American TV Writer (Chapter 1402)
I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld! (Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 660)
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