Ral reached the aircraft just as its wheels began lifting from the tarmac. The rear boarding stairs were still deployed, hydraulics groaning as they began their retraction sequence. He leaped with desperation born from fifteen years of surviving impossible situations, fingers catching the metal edge as his body slammed against the fuselage.
"He is on the aircraft!" Elena's voice carried through the cabin as Ral pulled himself onto the retracting stairs. "Abort takeoff!"
The plane shuddered as the pilot reversed thrust, engines screaming in protest while Ral hauled himself into the passenger cabin. He collapsed onto the floor, gasping for breath while Elena's operatives trained weapons on him with professional precision.
"That was impressively stupid," Elena observed, standing over him w
