The flight attendants moved a Black woman from first class to the last row—then fell silent as she opened her wallet and said, “I am Dr. Simone Carter, FAA administrator.” But her title wasn’t what terrified the airline CEO most. It was the interview file she’d been called in to about thirty seconds earlier.

She took a notebook out of her briefcase.

“Go ahead.”

“We found discrepancies based on the routes.”

“What does it matter?”

“Potentially very.”

His professional brain replaced everything else.

The seat.

Humiliation.

Flight attendants.

All of that has disappeared.

Secretary Harlan continued.

“Aircraft serving what Meridian categorizes as Tier 1 corporate routes have received component replacements at significantly lower threshold intervals.”

“And other routes?”

“The repairs have been postponed closer to the maximum permitted service limits.”

“This can still be achieved depending on the component schedules.”

« I know. »

His voice hardened.

“The problem is that the internal categorization does not appear to be based solely on aircraft cycles or operational conditions.”

Simone’s pen stopped.

“What is it based on?”

“Transient value.”

She looked at the back of the seat in front of her.

“Define passenger value.”

“That’s what we need you to discover.”

Derek walked to the back to check the seat belts.