Chapter 61 Grozny, 43° 18′ 45″ N, 45° 41′ 55″ E Grozny Airport

The wheels of the wide-body aircraft squeaked as they landed on the runway at Grozny Airport. Andalas and Akiko led teams of volunteers on standby near the front and back door. Meanwhile, Phil and Hasan immediately opened the compartment door that led to the fuselage. Cecilia stood by with Captain Shinji and First mate Yoshido in the row of the main cabin near the cockpit door.

Andalas looked through the window. On the taxi way at the end of the runway, four SUVs were lined up waiting. The two vehicles carrying the boarding stairs were also there. Dozens of people dressed in black and holding assault rifles seemed to be getting ready. Andalas signaled everyone to be alert.

No one onboard suspected that the control tower had also been hijacked. All airport security had been disabled by OWC. The Organization mobilized dozens of its members to control Grozny Airport. At least they had time and plenty of hostages to hold off the Russians if they ever intervened.

What Andalas hoped for the Russian troops to respond to this hijacking with swift action would not happen soon. OWC was deliberately showing off so that the world would start paying attention.

Instead of stopping at the end of the runway, the plane circled to make it easier to take off again. The plane's engines were still on. Just as Andalas suspected, OWC prepared a plan C in case the raid failed. Andalas hoped Phil and Hasan would do their tasks effectively.

A shocking thought flashed through Andalas's mind. He hurriedly ran to the front cabin of the plane. Stupid! Why didn't I think about that before?

Once he reached the main cabin, Andalas grabbed the handheld cabin microphone.

"Phil, Hasan! Hold on. Don't sabotage the plane yet!"

After hearing an okay from Phil, Andalas whispered to the passenger who was also the pilot of the plane.

"Can the cockpit door be opened from the electronic panel on the fuselage?"

The man thought for a moment then widened his eyes. "Can do! But I don't know how." Andalas nodded gratefully, grabbed the microphone again and spoke to Phil downstairs.

"Phil, can you open the cockpit door from where you are right now?" There was a long pause. Phil and Hasan might be discussing their strategies. Then a relieving answer was heard.

"Yup! We can turn off the circuit from here.

Do we turn it off now?"

Andalas answered quickly while signaling for Akiko to come closer. From the window, a convoy of vehicles carrying boarding stairs was moving closer and closer.

"Do it now!"

A three-beep sound was heard loudly from the direction of the cockpit door. Without hesitation, Andalas and Akiko rushed into the cockpit. Akiko was seen holding her Kaiken tightly.

The entry of the two people surprised the hijacker pilot who was communicating with the raid troops on the ground. He grabbed the gun lying in front of him and fired.

Andalas threw his body forward. The gun barked followed by a groan from the hijacker pilot who immediately slid down. Akiko's kaiken stabbed deep into his neck.

Akiko pulled out her kaiken and examined the pilot who had not died but was seriously injured. Akiko shouted in Japanese.

Hearing the screams, Captain Shinji and First mate Yoshido rushed into the cockpit and lifted the hijack pilot's body and carried him away from the cockpit.

Andalas in a slightly weak voice asked the two pilots who were waiting in the cabin to get in immediately.

"Quick! Fly this plane! Now!"

There was the sound of gunfire coming from outside. Russian Special Forces began to rush in from several directions.

The two passengers hurriedly sat in the cockpit seats and pushed the gas lever without doing the usual checking mechanism first. The plane moved at a high speed. Ready to take off again. The other pilot had done the sequence take off process without saying much. The situation was very tense. The invading forces could be shooting at them now. But the OWC troops below were too busy defending themselves against the Russian Troops' attack as the plane roared off the runway.

After all they must have thought it was the initiative of the hijacker pilots executing the next plan to avoid losing valuable hostages.

The plane made a sharp turn over the airport to pick up speed. Neither of the two pilots communicated with the control tower at all. That could wait. When they were no longer within the firing range of the assault troops.

After things calmed down a bit, Cecilia spoke on the microphone to all passengers.

"Dear passengers. We have taken control of the plane. The hijackers have been neutralized. We are now flying to a safe destination."

All passengers were clapping and hugging each other.

The horrific hijacking ended in a thrill. None of the passengers were injured. Except for the two flight attendants who suffered collision injuries because they didn't have time to buckle up when the plane took off in a hurry earlier.

Akiko breathed a sigh of relief. This drama ended quickly with no casualties. She turned to Andalas to thank him for his swift and heroic action.

Andalas smiled briefly then fell on the plane floor. Fresh blood was flowing from his front shirt. One of the hijacker's bullets lodged in his chest.

Akiko screamed.