Last Flight Out
JENNIFER VAUGHN
Edited by Nikki Andrews
Published by SciArt Media www.SciArtMedia.com
Copyright 2011 Jennifer Vaughn,
All rights reserved.
Published in eBook format by SciArt Media
Converted by http://www.eBookIt.com
ISBN-13: 978-0-9833-3691-4
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
Last Flight Out Copyright © 2011 by Jennifer Vaughn.
Front cover photo by Shawn Dixon, Copyright © 2011 by Shawn
Dixon. Used with permission
Back cover Copyright © 2011 by SciArt Media. Back cover photo by Diane Sage, Sage Studios Photography. Copyright © 2011 by Diane Sage Studios Photography. Used with permission.
All stories, content, and text are wholly the work of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of SciArt Media.
All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
1st Edition, first printed March 2011.
No portion of this book may be reproduced, distributed or adopted into other works of any kind without the express written consent of the copyright holder(s).
This book is dedicated to my family. Beginning with a Mom and Dad who have blessed me with more love and support than one girl could ever ask for.
I love you from the bottom of my heart.
To my husband, Brad, who picks up any slack I leave behind. I could do none of this without you.
And most of all, to my children, Brody and Darby. Your mom loves you more than all the words inside this book.
Thank you for making me complete.
Foreword
I was a fan of Jennifer Vaughn before I came to Channel Nine. I first saw her on the air a dozen years ago. At that time I was hosting a show on New Hampshire Public Television.
Over the years I had seen dozens of television reporters come and go. Jen was someone special. She wrote clear news stories that had punch. She had a good voice. She understood the camera. In short, she was a natural.
And she was good looking.
When Jen told me that she had written a novel, it came as no surprise. With her competence I knew her book would be readable and fun.
Which, I am delighted to say, it is.
And her novel is not just a read, it’s a romp; a fascinating, funny, scary, romantic, touching romp with all the characters larger than life.
Jen’s story slams us back and forth all over the world; from England to Iraq to the White House to New York, Los Angeles, and Florida.
It all comes together on an airplane ride as good as a rollercoaster.
What fun!
Fasten your seat belt, you are in for a hell of a ride.
Fritz Wetherbee
Acworth, NH
January 2011
Acknowledgements
This is new for me. Writing for television news is one thing; writing a book is quite another. I have asked so many questions along the way I very likely annoyed a good many of you, but in any case, your overall gracious acceptance of my persistence has meant the world to me. I offer my sincere and heartfelt thanks to Jeff Bartlett and Alisha McDevitt at WMUR-TV. You both, along with my entire television family, have had nothing but support for my new venture. To Josh Judge, for helping me land with someone who would get my very first book out into the world. To Maryann Mroczka, your enthusiasm has touched me so deeply. To Kirk Enstrom and Doug Perry, who entertained all my technology questions that always began with, “But would it be plausible if…”
To every journalist who has traveled to the places I have yet to get to myself, and chronicled what you saw and whom you met. I could not have created the characters in this book without your stories, your pictures, and your insight. Anna Badhken, and Molly Hennessy-Fiske, your exceptional work made me feel like I was right there with you. A very special thanks to all my early readers, who let me know if I had any right doing something like this. I am humbled by your support, and so grateful for your honesty, especially Andrea Craig Alley. You are a grammatical goddess. To James Maynard, and Nikki Andrews, my thanks for holding my hand down a path that I’ve never walked before. To Shawn Dixon, your talent is grand. Your cover was everything I wanted it to be, and more. To Erica Auciello Murphy, and Scott Spradling, your guidance and suggestions are so greatly appreciated.
Finally, to every pink warrior who has permanent space inside my heart. You have displayed more courage, grace, and bravery than anyone should be asked to. Beginning with my aunt, Melodie Figueiredo, I have seen this disease take too many of you away. I write this in your honor, and in your memories, because you fought the good fight. May we, one day soon, carry your precious spirits across the finish line with a cure.
A portion of sales from each copy of Last Flight Out will be donated to the Elliot Breast Health Center in Manchester, New Hampshire, and to BreastCancerStories.org.
Jennifer Vaughn
February, 2011
Prologue
They say the best stories are the ones you live to tell. As I sit here with every muscle in my body tensed tighter than a circus high wire, I am not sure which way that will go. We are at 37,000 feet and heading somewhere. There is silence in the cabin, save for moments when you can actually hear passengers trying to gulp down the fear that sits lodged in their throats like a boulder. Everybody has been allowed to keep his or her cell phone except me. The pilot said they would not work anyway. Sure enough, try as they might no one has been able to get a signal.
How is that happening?
He took both of my phones, which is not a good sign. How did he know about that phone? No one is supposed to know about that phone. The most powerful people in the world are going to be exceedingly pissed off at me. If I survive this, my mother will kill me.
He
