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.

He looked towards Simone.

“I saw what happened.”

“Half the plane too.”

“I recorded part of it.”

Simone studied it.

« For what ? »

“Because it looked fake.”

He held out his hand.

“Mateo Ruiz. Documentary student at Georgetown.”

“Keep the original images.”

Her eyebrows rose.

“It seemed very official.”

Simone smiled faintly.

« Habit. »

Before he could ask for more, the cabin doors closed.

Simone looked towards the front of the plane.

Thirty-seven rows away, the man in the grey suit was now sitting in his original seat.

A glass of sparkling wine had already been placed in his hand.

PART 2 — WHY SIMONE FLYED ALONE

If the Meridian crew had checked Simone Carter’s name before deciding she didn’t fit their first-class cabin, the whole morning would have unfolded differently.

Dr. Simone Carter was not going to Atlanta for a vacation.

She was travelling to chair one of the most important aviation safety meetings of her career.