Clipped Wings

This is a work of fiction inspired by real events.

SUMMARY:  Behind the polished smiles and impeccable uniforms of Glide Airlines lies a toxic culture where cruelty and unchecked arrogance can turn deadly.  Flight attendant Cheyenne has a confrontation with an abusive coworker who enjoys making others miserable.

Fellow crew member Phillip has his own run-ins with the same vindictive flight attendant whose bullying has become legendary among the crews.

Eventually, the flight attendant’s cruelty takes a terrifying turn when Kat, an exhausted young mother, boards a transatlantic flight with her fussy toddler. 

 ***

Cheyenne was exhausted.  It had been one of those godawful trips that happened once in a while.  On the jumpseat for landing, she leaned over and whispered to Marlowe, “I can’t wait to get home.  I’m going to take a long, hot shower, have a good, stiff drink, straddle Jonathan and tell him to do me until I’m weak in the knees.”   Marlowe laughed out loud.

“Cheyenne, you have a one-track mind, and the track is always tuned to S E X.”

"Yes, but what a lovely track it is," Cheyenne sighed, smiling.

The man sitting in front of the jumpseat laughed and said, “Jonathan is a lucky man.”

 

When Cheyenne arrived at the gate for her commuter flight home to Charleston, her heart sank because it appeared full.  But the gate agent assured her that she’d get a seat on the airplane.   Once on board, she realized there was no place to put her bag.  She asked the flight attendant if she could put it in the flight deck.  This was a professional courtesy extended to commuting crew members.  She could tell the flight attendant was new because she appeared taken aback.

 

Looking up, Cheyenne saw flight attendant Dylan Ryan Rockingham approaching.  Oh, God, not this bitchy little pine nut, she thought.  This is all I need.  Dylan stepped in and took over the conversation.  “No, you cannot put your bag in the flight deck.  If there’s no place to put it in the cabin, you can deplane and catch the next flight to Charleston.”

“Are you the lead flight attendant on this flight?” Cheyenne asked him.

“I said, you cannot put your bag in the flight deck.  Now, if that’s a problem for you, girlfriend, I can call security and have you thrown off the flight.  Now scat!”

Phillip couldn’t wait to get to Rome.  With a three-day layover, the trip promised to be fun.  He was glad he’d invited Mallory to come along with him on a pass.  There were no seats in first class for her, but he was sure she’d get one in business.   Business class was in the upper deck on the 747's.  And he thought it was even nicer up there than in first class.   That asshole, Dylan Rockingham, had outbid him, so he wasn’t able to work in business class, but he assured Mallory that he’d come up from coach to check on her during the flight.

 

After the first meal and beverage service, Phillip went up to visit with Mallory.  Finding her asleep, he left.  An hour or so later, he walked up again to see if she was awake, and they talked for a few minutes before he returned to work in coach class.  When he walked up again a couple of hours later, Dylan was waiting at the top of the stairs for him.

 

“You need to stay out of business class.  You’re disturbing the other passengers seated up here.  If your little girlfriend can’t make it through the flight without you checking on her every five minutes, you need to reseat her in coach.  You hear me, big fella?”

“Rockingham, why do you always have to be a dick?”

“Stay out of business class, or I’ll report you to management and have your passes suspended for interfering with me during the course of my duties.  Now get back to your post in the low-rent district.”

"You know what, Dylan, go fuck yourself."

How I wish Jackson would find another job!  Thought Kat.  She was drained and felt utterly defeated.  Flying back and forth between Boston and Madrid with a one-year-old toddler was getting old.  She and Jack had been arguing about this since before Madison was born.  Glide Airlines transferred him around the system at a moment’s notice for months at a time.  But Jackson insisted that he would never find a mechanic’s job that paid as well as a unionized airline mechanic's position.

 

Settling into their seats on the huge Airbus 380, Kat dreaded the long flight ahead.  Maddie had been fussy ever since waking up that morning.  Giving her daughter her favorite doll and pieces of soft, dried fruit to snack on, she pulled her close and cuddled her.  “Quiet now, honey,” she cajoled.

 

It was three hours into the flight, and Maddie had been crying for two.  Everyone around her was giving Kat the side-eye.  Frazzled, worn out, and sick of apologizing for the disturbance, she'd tried everything, and nothing worked.  So, when flight attendant Dylan Ryan Rockingham approached, she was relieved.  Help had arrived!

 

“I’m sorry, but your daughter is disturbing everyone on the flight!  Can’t you keep her quiet?”

“I-I, I’m sorry.” Kat stammered.

“Well, I have something that will quiet her down.   Does she like apple juice?” Dylan snapped.

“Yes, thank you.  I’ll try anything at this point.”

Snatching the child’s bottle from Kat’s hand, Dylan strutted off down the aisle.

 

After sucking on the bottle for only a couple of minutes, Maddie fell asleep and slept through the landing at Logan.  And Kat fell into an exhausted sleep herself.  On waking and finding Maddie still asleep, something pulled at the edges of her consciousness.

 

At home, Maddie was still asleep.  Kat changed her and put her in her crib, but the feeling that something was off kept nagging at her.  She picked up Maddie’s bottle that the flight attendant had filled with apple juice and looked at it.   Most of the juice was still in it because Maddie had immediately fallen asleep after sucking on it for only a minute or so.  The juice was foamy, with blue and white specks floating in it.  Kat's blood ran cold.  She tasted the juice.  It was bitter.

 

At the lab, the technician told her the juice contained Xanax and advised her to contact law enforcement.

***

"Oh, for Christ's sake!  It's my day off.  What's so important that it can't wait until my next day on duty?   I have things to do!" Dylan snapped at the Glide Airlines receptionist who called him at home.  But the young woman hung up on him mid-sentence.  

"Cunt!" He roared.  "You black bitch!  You think you didn't get your 40 acres and a mule, when I'm through with you, you'll be lucky if you end up with a 40-ounce and a pack of Kools!"  His little dog, who was used to this tone of voice, scurried away to safety.

Almost before he entered the office, the supervisor said, “Dylan, you are hereby terminated, effective immediately."  Holding out his hand, the manager said, "Give me your badge.  Security will escort you from the premises.  And Dylan, you've been put on our no-fly list.  If you ever set foot on a Glide airplane again, you will be arrested."   The blood drained from Dylan’s face, and he fell back into the chair behind him.   He opened his mouth to protest, but found he couldn’t speak.

 

In 2003, Dylan Ryan Rockingham pleaded guilty to federal charges that included child endangerment, assault, and distribution of a controlled substance on an aircraft.   The child endangerment charge carried fines of up to $1,000 and up to 2.5 years in a house of correction.  The assault count carried a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.  The drug-related charge carried a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.  

The End

© 2019 Jade Love