Naomi made a note on her tablet. She had worked with Kerr for six months and had never been comfortable with his habit of turning cabin questions into matters of rank. Still, she did not have the information necessary to override him. She knew only that an alert without a description had become an arrest without a charge. The distance between those two facts bothered her more with every minute that passed.
In the rear cabin, Brand examined Miles's government-issue-looking travel phone with open skepticism. He had taken it during the detention but had not managed to access anything beyond the emergency call screen. When Miles requested a call, Brand laughed. "Calling a lawyer? Go ahead. Better yet, put it on speaker so we can hear what kind of story you tell."
Miles considered the officer's tone, then the device in his hand. "I need you to loosen one restraint enough for me to operate the phone without damaging it. You can keep the speaker on. I have no intention of hiding what I say."
Brand hesitated because the request sounded less frightened than he expected. He loosened one restraint under the eyes of several watching passengers and handed the phone over. Miles entered a number he had used more often in his professional life than he had expected when he first joined the agency. The connection took a moment, then a calm voice answered from the FAA's national operations desk.
"FAA Washington Operations Center. Go ahead."
Brand smirked. "The FAA? He's calling the FAA, folks. This should be good."
"Hello," Miles said. "I'd like to file a serious in-flight safety concern. Crestline Flight 2286, en route to Phoenix. Member file Sierra Four Two. Initiate the Section Twelve verification procedure."
His voice was steady, although it cost him something to make it so. The terms were part of an internal contingency protocol, not a magic phrase that grounded aircraft on command; the duty officer still had to authenticate the caller and evaluate the reported facts.
The voice changed from casual to precise. "Sierra Four Two, Section Twelve. Understood, sir. Stand by while we confirm your identity and location. Can you state the nature of the concern without compromising cabin safety?"
"A federal security advisory reached this flight without a suspect description. The cabin crew designated a passenger based on his appearance and restrained him. Meanwhile, I observed possible interference with the life-vest stowage beneath seat twenty-one C. The passenger there was handling the under-seat area while attention was directed elsewhere. I cannot verify what is inside. I request immediate coordination with the appropriate onboard and ground security authorities."
Brand shook his head toward Trent, who had walked back to observe the call. "Hear that? He thinks he's running an investigation from the floor."
"Sir," the operations officer said, "we have located your authenticated credentials. Stay on this call if possible. A security coordinator is taking over."
Trent gave an exaggerated shiver. "Very scary. I'm shaking, my friend."
Miles kept his eyes on the screen. "There is a passenger in twenty-one C. A courteous gentleman. He appeared to be adjusting his shoe when I fell nearby."