by Danny and T5
"We are now preparing to land. Please take a seat and buckle your seatbelts...," came the voice of James Hoffman, the plane's pilot, over the intercom, "...and nobody jump out of the goddamn plane again!"
"We're going to stand up. We're going to move to a seat. We're going to sit down and buckle up. And you're going to tell us everything," Danny Hearn said to his prisoner, very slowly and calmly.
As he was about to protest, the captured pilot -- identified as one Wesley Tucker by the contents of his wallet -- felt the sting of a tiger's claw being pushed, ever so slightly, into his Adam's apple.
"If you make things difficult on me... then my hand may slip. And the contents of your body's circulatory system may end up spilled all over the floor. Nobody wants that. If we mess up the plane, we don't get our deposit back."
Wesley silently did as Danny told him. He sat down next to Danny and buckled up. Danny watched as the man squirmed, nervous sweat beading on his forehead.
He's obviously nervous, Danny thought. And why wouldn't he be? His life is in danger. At least, he thinks it is. I don't feel good about this. I don't feel good about threatening someone's life, holding a claw to their jugular. But I guess this line of work isn't always glamorous. Isn't always fun. Isn't always what we want it to be.
Danny reached into his pants and pulled out a manila folder. He didn't say a word but just put the folder on his lap. Wesley saw the folder, and a look of panic crossed his face.
"Guess what I grabbed from that plane you were flying. Aside from you, I mean," Danny said softly. No one but Wesley heard him.
"You put it in your pants?" Wesley asked.
"Hey, I was in a hurry. And I didn't have my jacket on. Or a T-shirt, for that matter. The wings, you see."
"I was wondering why you were topless."
Danny opened the folder, every so softly, ever so calmly. He was trying very hard to not get emotional about this.
The folder was full of photos and sheets of paper that looked like printed e-mails. The photos were of Danny and his team, especially of Danny.
Photos of them in action. Photos of them just walking down the street. Lots and lots of photos.
"Mind explaining all this?" Danny asked as the plane began to land.
Wesley sighed. "We've known about you guys for a long time, and... I was sent to keep an eye on you here. Nothing more, I promise. Look... I can cut you a deal. Please don't hurt me, and I'll tell them you slipped away in a storm or something. My plane isn't equipped to handle extreme weather, so that could work," he said, looking at the others nervously.
Danny looked at them. "What do you say? Should we?"