Читать книгу The Princess Has Amnesia! - Patricia Thayer - Страница 8

Fifty-mile-an-hour winds and driving rain had shut down the Penwyck Airport. All flights in or out had been cancelled because of the fierce storm. In the tower the air traffic controller tried desperately to contact the troubled jet that had taken off just before the closure. Perspiration beaded over his body as he frantically searched the screen for the signal.

Nothing.

“Royal Bird Two, repeat your location. Over.” He spoke clearly into the microphone, then released the button praying for a miracle that the plane would reappear in his quadrant. Again he asked for verification. “Royal Bird Two repeat your location. Over.” But outside of heavy static, there was only silence.

He swallowed back the dryness in his throat and repeated the request again, then again. There was no response from the royal family’s jet.

He buzzed for help and his supervisor appeared immediately at his station. “Royal Bird Two has disappeared from our radar,” he explained, trying to keep the trembling from his voice.

“What do you mean disappeared?” the supervisor asked, unable to hide his panic. “How can that be?”

“I’m not sure. The plane could have dropped in altitude…” They all knew the worst, but no one would speak of it. Tensions ran high in this type of job, but to lose the royal family’s plane…“The last transmission from the jet was a request to change their flight pattern, hoping to get out of the weather. I cleared them, then suddenly they were gone.”

The supervisor immediately picked up the phone and called the palace. After receiving his orders, he took the controller’s seat and he tried to make contact himself. But he couldn’t summon the missing jet either.

Not ten minutes later the tower door swung open and three men rushed in. Their black suits were meant to make them blend in with the crowd, but just by their stature and presence alone, they stood out. They wore badges that proclaimed them members of the Royal Elite Team. One of the men, Jack Harrison, approached the control module and everyone stepped back. His expression was deadly serious as he glared at the supervisor.

“We have a Priority One situation here. So we will go over everything, step by step,” he ordered, then pointed out the window at the raging storm. “Princess Anastasia is out there somewhere and we have to find her.”