Chapter 6 - The Unlisted Intercept
The medevac helicopter shuddered violently as a jetstream from the intercepting aircraft buffeted its hull, forcing the pilot to jerk the cyclic control violently to the left. Red warning lights began to blink erratically on the cockpit dashboard, casting a frantic crimson hue across the sterile medical equipment inside the cabin.
Clara bolted upright on the gurney, ignoring the searing pain of her labor contractions as she grabbed the edge of the aluminum frame. “What was that? Are we under attack?”
“Hold on!” the pilot roared over the screaming intercom, fighting the heavy turbulence. “Somehow, an unregistered twin-engine corporate jet just breached our federal flight corridor. They’re matching our speed and vector, locking their transponder directly onto our frequency!”
Attorney Vance scrambled across the narrow aisle, grabbing the satellite comms phone and punching in the secure frequency for the Federal Aviation Administration intercept desk. “This is Attorney Vance, Special Federal Counsel. We are carrying a protected federal witness under direct magistrate orders! Identify that aircraft immediately!”
A cold, synthesized voice instantly overrode the cabin's internal comms channel, bypassing encryption protocols with terrifying ease. “*Attention federal transport. This is Sterling Global Automated Defense Systems. You are carrying corporate proprietary property. Divert to sector four immediately, or your flight clearance will be permanently revoked.*”
Clara’s breath hitched in her throat. “They still have control of the automated grid... Marcus didn't need to be at a computer to lock us out.”
“It’s an automated override ghost-script,” Vance muttered, his face turning pale as he frantically typed a counter-command into his secure legal tablet. “They embedded a backdoor in the city’s municipal aviation network months ago. If they force us to land at their private airstrip, the marshals on the ground won’t be able to reach us in time.”
The medevac pilot slammed his hand down on the emergency transponder switch. “I’m switching to analog backup channels! Hang on, this is going to get very rough!”
The helicopter dove sharply downward, plunging into a dense bank of heavy coastal fog to break the visual lock of the chasing jet. Inside the blinding white mist, Clara gasped as a massive, sharp contraction gripped her lower abdomen, her water breaking with a sudden rush that soaked the sterile sheets beneath her.
May you like
The paramedic’s eyes widened in sheer terror as he checked her dilation. “She’s fully dilated! We can’t wait for the hospital, we have to deliver right here, right now—while we’re dodging an illegal corporate intercept!”
---
