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There was, however, a jetliner out there, and it was beginning to move. The tail was clearly visible now in the distance, gaining speed in what had to be a takeoff roll.
     
    And that tail was attached to AirBridge 90.
     
    First Officer David Gates stood in complete shock as his aircraft lifted off without him, the gear retracting on schedule, the 737 gently banking toward the west as it gained altitude.
     
    And for a moment--for just a moment--he seriously entertained the ludicrous thought that perhaps the captain had simply forgotten that his first officer wasn't aboard.
     
    Aboard AirBridge Flight 90. 10:44 A.M.
     
    The call from the rear galley was a welcome interruption, and AnAnette pressed the intercom handset to her ear just as two chimes sounded, indicating they were climbing through ten thousand feet.
     
    "Annette? You there?" Kevin was asking. "I'm here. What's up?"
     
    "Bev and I are worried about one of our groups. The one in the front part of coach."
     
    Annette rubbed her eyes as she tried to remember the people.
     
    "Which group, Kevin? I recall we have a high school band aboard."
     
    "Yeah. The band is sitting in rows thirteen through twenty, but there's another group from row eight on back, about twenty-two people.
     
    We need to pay special attention to them. I got a chance to talk to them briefly after we landed, but with this sudden departure they're probably freaking out by now."
     
    "Why? Why would they be freaking out?"
     
    There was a low laugh on the other end. "Because it's a graduation flight, Annette."
     
    "Another high school group?"
     
    "Nope. A fear-of-flying clinic."
     
    She closed her eyes and shook her head. "wonderful."
     
    Annette replaced the handset and got to her feet, surveying the first class cabin. A striking young woman in the seats across the aisle from Rudy Bostich looked up at the same moment and smiled as Annette moved toward her, kneeling alongside her seat, calculating the considerable expense of the woman's elegant red suit and dangerously short miniskirt.
     
    "Can I get anything for you before I start the service?" Annette asked.
     
    The woman smiled again. "No, I'm fine. Just some coffee when it's convenient." She inclined her head slightly toward the coach cabin.
     
    "I, ah, heard the boor back there bitching about everything. I'm aware you're under more than a little inordinate stress."
     
    Annette rolled her eyes and smiled. "Comes with the job."
     
    "I was just wondering if this happens very often?"
     
    "You mean..." Annette indicated the coach section with a flick of her eyes.
     
    "No, I meant the, what did the captain call it, precautionary landing?
     
    Engine shutdown?"
     
    "Oh." Annette shook her head vigorously. "First time for me, and I've been with this airline for three years, since the day it started flying, and with TWA for twenty years before that."
     
    The woman nodded, her eyes drifting away toward the forward entry door.
     
    Annette stood, but felt an immediate tug on her right sleeve.
     
    "Ah, excuse me," the woman began again. "May I ask you another dumb question?"
     
    "Actually, there are no dumb questions," Annette responded. "Ask away."
     
    "Are there other entrances to the cockpit?" She inclined her head toward the cockpit door a few feet away.
     
    "Other entrances?"
     
    "Yes. Hollywood always shows pilots climbing up through hatches in the floor, and I was just wondering."
     
    "Nope. Only that door."
     
    "Okay. Thanks."
     
    Annette took a step toward the galley, then turned back and knelt beside the woman again.
     
    "Why do you ask?"
     
    The woman tossed her head as if dismissing her own curiosity, and motioned toward the cockpit door with a chuckle. "I guess I wasn't paying attention. When we were on the ground, I saw one of the pilots leave, but I missed it when he came back. I just wondered if he came in another door."
     
    Annette smiled at her, covering a feeling of sudden confusion. Seat 24 1C had a perfect