Chapter 7 - The Unraveling
Arrington’s throat tightened again. His confident demeanor completely shattered. “My flight record is clean. I’ve logged over twelve thousand hours without a single incident.”
“Your flight record is technically clean,” Maya agreed, flipping a page in her folder. “Because your previous chief pilot covered for you. But three months ago, during a international run from London Heathrow to JFK, you logged a mandatory crew rest period of four hours. However, gate telemetry and internal comms show you were actually out of the cockpit for nearly six hours, leaving a junior first officer alone at the controls during severe Atlantic turbulence while you slept off an unauthorized alcohol consumption during your layover.”
The entire board gasped. Several members turned to look at Arrington with utter disgust.
“That… that is a complete misrepresentation of events!” Arrington yelled, his face turning red.
“It is fully documented by the cockpit voice recorder backup and crew sign-in logs,” Legal Counsel Sarah Jenkins interjected. “Which were subpoenaed and quietly archived during an internal FAA inquiry that was quietly swept under the rug by the former administration.”
Maya leaned forward, her voice deadly serious.
“You preach absolute adherence to regulations when it gives you the power to humiliate a Black woman in seat 2A,” Maya said, her tone sharp as broken glass. “But when it comes to your own conduct—when actual safety, legal regulations, and human lives are on the line—you treat the rules as optional guidelines.”
Brenda Vance backed away slightly, distancing herself physically from Arrington as if his downfall might catch her in the blast radius.
“And Ms. Vance,” Maya continued, shifting her eyes to the terrified flight attendant. “In your last three performance reviews, your supervisors noted a recurring pattern of verbal escalation with passengers, specifically young women and minority travelers. You received two written warnings regarding unprofessional behavior. Yet, you remained on premium international routes because your uncle happens to be the Regional Operations Director for the Midwest hub.”
Brenda burst into tears, covering her face with her hands. “Please… please, Ms. Washington! I’ve worked for this airline for eight years! I have a family! It was a mistake, I swear! I was stressed, the flight was delayed, I made a bad call—”
“You didn’t make a bad call, Ms. Vance,” Maya said firmly. “You made a choice. You chose to target a passenger because you assumed she had no voice, no power, and no recourse. You counted on the system taking your side simply because of who you were and who she was.”
May you like
Maya closed her manila folder with a decisive, heavy thud that sounded like a gavel falling in a courtroom.
“The old system at Global Skyways is officially dead,” Maya announced to the room. “Now, let’s talk about your future.”
