فصل ۱۲

Chapter 12

Carl felt his broken tooth with his tongue. The door of the Captain’s cabin was open and he could see the bearded hijacker sitting inside. He had a long nose and dark hair and his eyes looked green from the light of the instruments in the dark cabin. He held his gun near his mouth and touched it gently with his lips as he waited.

Carl had heard half of the conversation. Eight of the ten minutes had gone. Now that he could do nothing he felt afraid. He could feel his hand in the handcuffs shaking. Harald felt it too and held Carl’s hand with his own.

‘Don’t worry, Mr Sandberg,’ Harald whispered. ‘We’ll get out of here.’

‘Perhaps,’ Carl answered. ‘And perhaps not. But I don’t want these murderers to go free.’

‘Ssh!’ Harald whispered. Carl looked up and saw the girl watching them. Then, suddenly, the bearded man shouted, ‘They’re coming! Look! Get ready!’ The girl went into the Captain’s cabin. Harald and Carl stood up and looked through a window. They saw three men pushing some steps across the tarmac. The men put the steps outside the plane door and then went back again. Then two more men came out of the building. They were wearing bright yellow coats because of the rain. One man walked towards the plane.

‘Come away from the door! Quick!’ The girl unlocked the handcuffs and pushed Harald and Carl back to their seats. Then she started to open the door.

‘Wait! Turn the lights out and stand back from the door!’ said the bearded man. ‘They will try to shoot us in the light room from the door.’ The door opened and the man in the yellow coat came into the plane. He was thin, with very short hair. The girl shut the door, the lights came on, and the man shut his eyes in the bright light. The girl and the bearded man put their arms around him, laughing.

‘Free! You are free now, brother! And the other one, is he safe? Come into the cabin, let’s talk!’

Carl and Harald watched sadly. ‘So now she will give them what they want, because of me,’ said Carl quietly. ‘We will be safe, but they will go free to bomb another plane, because of me.’ He held his head in his hands.

‘Wait, Mr Sandberg,’ said Harald. ‘Your wife isn’t stupid, you know. This game has not ended yet. Sit still, and be ready.’ The other passengers sat quietly, waiting to be free.