The real life of an American police officer: Winning over others with virtue

Chapter 175 Confirming the Threat
“How am I supposed to transfer you money? I don’t have that much money.” Bill typed expressionlessly and observed again.

All that was needed was for a passenger to make a hand gesture, but unfortunately, none were found.

"You're incredibly resourceful, have a drink and think it over carefully."

Payment confirmation is required within fifteen minutes, or someone will die, and we'll have to start all over again.

Upon seeing this message, Bill glanced silently into the cabin, then raised his wrist, adjusted his watch, and started timing fifteen minutes.

Although it is suspicious and nothing has happened yet, it does not prevent him from keeping track of the time, and keeping track of the time will allow him to make some judgments about the situation.

After adjusting his watch, Bill looked at the information on his phone and went straight to the cockpit to see the captain without any hesitation.

For him, any threat to the plane must result in an immediate landing, regardless of whether it has been confirmed yet.

He immediately found Nancy, a flight attendant he knew and who knew his identity and whom he could trust.

"I want to see the captain."

Nancy's expression changed as she looked at Bill's grave face: "What happened?"

Bill shook his head and didn't say anything.

Nancy took a deep breath and instantly understood what she meant: "Okay, come with me."

Not long after, led by Nancy, Bill met Captain Coo and First Officer Ivan in the cockpit.

-

“What happened, Bill?” Keo asked.

Bill handed him the phone: "Take a look first."

Keo glanced at Bill's solemn expression, took the book and started reading, then his face changed.

Nancy, who was present, also began to show a hint of nervousness on her face. This was the first time she had experienced something like this.

"How can we confirm whether this is a real threat or a prank?" Captain Ke asked.

Bill gave him a disappointing answer: "There's no way to verify it. I need to cross-check the entire passenger list, and we only have ten minutes."

Keo let out a soft breath and looked at his deputy, Ivan, saying, "Ask the Transportation Security Administration how long the cross-inspection will take."

Ivan nodded, a hint of tension on his face, and began to put on his headphones and operate the device.

A moment later, he gave everyone present an answer: "Captain, they said that a complete cross-check would take at least twenty minutes, which is the fastest they could estimate."

The atmosphere began to tense, and Keo looked at Bill:

"We can change course if that person is serious."

Bill asked in a deep voice, "Where is the nearest airport?"

“We are currently flying in central Pennsylvania,” Keo said.

"So it takes about 30 minutes to fly to Pittsburgh International Airport. Of course, this is the preferred option. If the situation is really urgent, we have other options, but none as good as this."

Captain Keo paused, looked at Bill again, and confirmed once more:

"It's your decision, Bill. Will we be in trouble?"

Bill understood. The most perplexing part was that the authenticity of the threat had not yet been confirmed—whether it was a prank or real.

He glanced at his watch, confirmed that there were still 12 minutes and 3 seconds left, and then looked up at the monitor above.

"Can the surveillance footage be replayed?"

Captain Ke said, "It's all recorded directly in the black box."

The meaning was clear, and Bill continued, "But I can view all the live monitoring from the service bay, right?"

Captain Ke Ao nodded and said, "Of course."

Bill continued, "Reply to the Transportation Authority and ask if they can track down the account. I also need a list of all passengers; I want to see if I can find the person who sent the message."

Captain Ke Ao said, "OK! Anything else?"

“In eleven minutes, I need you to shut down the network system so he can’t confirm whether we’ve actually transferred the money.” Captain Ke Ao nodded.

Upon seeing this, Bill immediately turned around and looked at the flight attendant Nancy, saying, "Nancy, come with me."

Nancy nodded, exchanged a glance with the captain, and then followed behind Bill.

The two arrived at the empty service cabin, where Nancy led the way by pulling down one of the panels, revealing a monitoring screen with eight small windows.

"Business class has two cameras, and economy class has six."

Bill pursed his lips. There were a total of eight monitoring screens; two people simply couldn't observe everything in real time.

"We need to get more people to keep an eye on things."

Nancy nodded and said, "I'll go and call the other flight attendant over."

“Wait, how well do you know the crew?” Bill stopped Nancy.

Nancy said, "Not very familiar."

Upon hearing this, Bill shook his head, looked at the monitor screen, his gaze lingering on one of the young men who still had his eyes closed, and pointed at him:

"Get this man over here for me. Tell him Bill wants you to come over."

Nancy asked in surprise, "You believe him? A stranger? That's not a good idea, is it?"

Bill said, "He was sitting right next to me when I received the text message, and I knew what he had done."
So on this plane, the only people I can trust are you, him, the captain, and the first officer.

Nancy pursed her lips: "Okay, I'll go call them."

Bill nodded, watched Nancy walk away, and then looked at the monitor screen.

-

"Excuse me, sir."

Upon hearing the sound, Eric immediately opened his eyes and looked in the direction of the sound.

He realized it was the flight attendant who had smiled politely at him earlier.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Eric asked, but he already sensed something was amiss.

The flight attendant's expression was a bit off; her pupils trembled slightly, her blinking frequency increased dramatically, her swallowing movements were abnormal, and even her smile was quite stiff.

"Uh, can you come with me for a second?" Nancy felt herself being scrutinized for a moment, and her voice became tense.

"Bill wants you to come over."

Upon hearing this, Eric felt an increasingly strong sense of foreboding, and he nodded.

"Damn it, could something really have happened?"

Seeing this, Nancy led the way.

Eric glanced silently at the calm cabin, then got up and followed.

I finally met Bill in the service cabin.

Upon seeing him, Eric knew something was seriously wrong. Looking at Bill's grave expression, he asked helplessly, "So? Who are you?"

Bill glanced at Nancy, who had already drawn the curtains, and took his badge out of his pocket.

"I am an air marshal."

Eric wasn't surprised, as he had already guessed Bill's identity. He asked, "Can you tell me what happened?"

As he spoke, Eric glanced at the surveillance screen that appeared to be recording in real time.

Damn it, he's really unlucky; it seems like he gets into trouble wherever he goes!
"It's a long story, I'll tell you later, we don't have time now."

Bill shook his head, reached under a small board and took out two ballpoint pens, giving one to Nancy who was walking over and handing the other to Eric.

"I need your help, Eric!"

(End of this chapter)