“I work for Air Support Services.”
James’s eyes shifted briefly.
Patricia caught it.
“Yes. That Air Support Services.”
She lowered her voice just enough to make the threat sound personal.
“I know your station management.”
James answered:
“That does not change your seat assignment.”
Patricia’s face tightened.
Then she looked at Diana again.
“Where did you get this ticket?”
“I purchased it through the same reservation system everyone else uses.”
“With what?”
The cabin went quiet.
Diana’s expression changed.
Not dramatically.
Only enough.
“What exactly are you asking me?”
Patricia realized she had gone too far.
Instead of retreating, she doubled down.
“I’m asking whether this ticket belongs to you.”
“My name is printed on it.”
“People print fake documents.”
James said:
“Ma’am, the boarding pass has already been electronically verified.”
Patricia waved him off.
“I understand airline systems better than you do.”
That was when Maria Santos stepped out from the forward galley.
Maria had worked for Skyward for nine years and flown for another carrier for six years before that.
She had handled medical emergencies, diversions, drunken passengers, panic attacks, marriage proposals, fistfights over overhead bins, and one memorable incident involving a miniature pig traveling as an emotional-support animal under rules that had since changed.
She assessed Patricia in about three seconds.
“Good morning. I’m Maria, the lead flight attendant. What’s happening?”
Patricia turned toward her with visible relief.
“Finally.”
Maria waited.
“This woman has a suspicious boarding pass and is trying to take a first-class seat.”
Maria looked at Diana.
Then at James.
James said:
“Both passes are valid. Ms. Henderson is 1B. Ms. Washington is 1A.”
Maria nodded.
“Then there is no seat problem.”
Patricia stared at her.
“Did you not hear me?”
“I did.”
“Look at her.”
Maria’s voice cooled.
“I am.”
“Does she look like someone who belongs in first class?”
A woman in 2D inhaled sharply.
The businessman in 2A finally looked up fully.
Maria’s expression changed.
“Ms. Henderson, I need you to stop.”
Patricia laughed in disbelief.
“You’re defending this?”
“I am instructing you to stop harassing another passenger.”
“Harassing?”
“Yes.”
Patricia pulled out her phone.
“This is unbelievable.”
She opened a social media application.
Diana watched the red LIVE indicator appear.
That was the moment she knew the situation was no longer private.
Patricia angled the camera toward herself.
“You people are not going to believe what is happening on Skyward Airlines right now.”
Maria immediately said:
“Ms. Henderson, do not record other passengers without regard for their privacy, and you need to comply with crew instructions.”
Patricia kept streaming.
“I have uncovered what appears to be a ticket-fraud situation, and the crew is refusing to do anything.”
Diana looked toward Maria.
The two women understood each other.
Diana could end this.
One sentence.
She could say who she was.
Maria could confirm it.
Captain Rodriguez could come out of the cockpit.
Patricia would collapse under the weight of her mistake.
But Diana hesitated.
Not because she enjoyed what was happening.
She did not.
Her heartbeat had accelerated.
Her face felt hot.
Years of accomplishment did not make prejudice painless.
A person did not become immune simply because she had succeeded.
What held Diana still was a different thought.
If Patricia changed her behavior the moment she discovered Diana was powerful, what would that prove?
Would Patricia have learned that racism was wrong?