Chapter-28 British Airways Johannesburg-Doha

Andalas' quick reaction saved Cecilia. The shooter was knocked off before he managed to pull the trigger.

But Andalas fell too and he was caught in the footrest on the chair. The gunman quickly stood back up and pointed his gun at Cecilia who was just stood still.

Before his finger pulled the trigger, the shooter's body stiffened for a moment then fell to his death with kaiken planted deep in his forehead. Akiko hugged Cecilia and comforted her. The sight of a dead man with a knife stuck to his head was not a pretty sight that could be easily forgotten.

Andalas acted fast. This commotion would attract the flight attendants. He pulled out the small, extraordinarily sharp knife, carefully so the wound would not bleed profusely. He put a band aid to cover it then laid the dead man on a chair and covered it with a blanket so that it looked like he was asleep. The first class seats had partitions so any passerby would not be able to immediately tell whether a passenger was sleeping or dead due to whatever cause.

Before leaving the corpse, Andalas searched his pockets to check if he had anything important on him.

Akiko took out her X-One.

Doctor Aslan, someone tried to kill Cecilia on the plane. He is dead now. Can someone take care of the body while the plane is transiting in Doha?

Of course, Akiko. Try not to attract any attentions on the plane.

Fine Doctor. Any idea who's behind this?

Not sure yet. Let Andalas take care of it.

Akiko showed her X-One screen to Cecilia who was sitting limply on the chair. She nodded. They both watched Andalas come over and whispered softly.

"When we boarded this plane, I saw several suspicious people. First the dead guy. Then three people in the business class. Then three other people in the economy cabin. I recognized the dead man as a hit man from Italy. Maybe he was sent by the Executor."

Andalas paused to watch the aisle behind them. No signs of movement. Still safe. This jumbo plane was also shaken slightly by a mild turbulence.

"The six people in the rear cabin are from different groups. It seems that each group sent at least two people, either to spy or to kill."

Akiko looked at Andalas curiously, "Three groups? Who are those people?"

"I'm just guessing. DGSE, GRU, and the other I'm not sure. It could be a friend of the dead guy or another agency from the Asian region."

"Asia? China, Japan? Are you sure? What are their interests in this matter?" Again, Akiko swarmed him with questions. She secretly amazed with Andalas's sharp eyes. Luckily I didn't stab him in the eye.

"It looks like China or Korea or even Japan. I have a hard time distinguishing them," Andalas nodded and walked away toward the back of the cabin.

Akiko and Cecilia looked at each other. The whole mess was just got more complicated. A flight attendant came and offered them a drink. Cecilia reached for the wine and downed it all at once. Akiko shook her head and smiled. Instead, she pointed her index finger toward the last compartment and spoke to the flight attendant.

"Please don't disturb the sleeping passenger. He mentioned to me that he wasn't feeling well. I'm a doctor and I've checked him. He seems to have an infectious disease. Please tell your captain and other flight attendant, okay? I've contacted the quarantine authority in Doha to pick him up during our transit."

The flight attendant had a surprised expression on her face. She then nodded.

Andalas was back.

"I'll sit behind you," he said curtly, gesturing that there might be movement from behind.

Cecilia nodded. The incident on the plane not only shocked her because they faced death again, but also made her extremely happy at the same time. There were survivors other than Fabumi.

Their life was in danger once again. The assumption mentioned by Andalas earlier was not only terrifying but also raised many questions in Cecilia's mind.

She did not understand who was Andalas called as the Executor. But she understood the connection between GRU and Ivan, and between DGSE and Marc. What about another party from Asia?

Cecilia scratched her nose. What is it that make this plague so attractive to many people?

Based on the message on X-One from Doctor Aslan, Marc was suspected of having close relations with the boss of a France pharmaceutical giant named Pierre.

Cathy managed to track down their meeting in Paris. She could monitor events in time series through satellite pictures from her device.

Cathy also managed to track down Fabumi's last location by intercepting the conversations of several important DGSE figures who were holding a closed meeting at their headquarters. The DGSE suspected that Fabumi was held by GRU in a secret location on the outskirts of Moscow.

Cecilia stopped the swirling scenario in her head as soon as she heard an announcement from the flight attendant that they were approaching Qatar and would soon be landing in Doha for transit and refueling. Cecilia subconsciously turned to the dead passenger compartment.

The plane landed smoothly at Doha International Airport. All passengers were invited to disembark. They would be boarding the connecting flight in three hours. Andalas, Cecilia and Akiko got off the plane through a special sky bridge for first-class passengers. So far everything went smoothly for the three of them.

In the waiting lounge, Andalas was talking to Akiko and Cecilia. His face was stern as he said that the next flight from Doha to London would be more dangerous.

There was a possibility that the party who wanted them dead, especially the Executor, would employ more assassins in the next flight.

After all, they were dealing with an organization with unlimited resources.

Akiko reached to her kaiken. If only she was allowed to carry a katana on board.