Chapter 5 - The Mark on His Name

“Identity fraud?” David repeated. “He's eleven.”

Nora explained that the note had appeared in the passenger service record at 6:14 a.m., nearly two hours before Malik arrived at the gate. It had not come from law enforcement, an identity verification service, or a safety officer. It had been typed manually.

“Can we prove who entered it?” David asked.

“We can preserve the event logs and request a formal internal audit.”

Harold emerged from the operations office. “Mr. Johnson, I'm sure we can resolve this privately.”

“Privately is where somebody put a false warning on my child.”

Harold lowered his voice. “Our lawyers should speak.”

“Good. Ask them to preserve every message connected to Flight 227.”

David called Johnson Aerotech's general counsel, Marissa Chen. He did not ask her to threaten Mesa Airlines or cancel a contract. He asked her to protect the evidence and find out whether a false security flag had been used to justify moving Malik.

“Document everything,” Marissa said. “Don't make accusations we can't prove.”

Meanwhile, aboard Flight 227, Malik sat beside Ben, who had offered to keep an eye on him with the captain's approval. A new attendant brought water and apologized for the disruption.

Malik turned the bottle in his hands. “Do you think I looked suspicious?”

Ben frowned. “No.”

“Then why would someone write that?”

“Sometimes people invent reasons after they decide what they want.”

Malik looked through the window at the airport shrinking beneath the wing. He had never considered that a lie could be entered into a computer before it was spoken out loud.

Back on the ground, Marissa called David with unsettling news. Johnson Aerotech had been reviewing a new aviation sensor contract, and Mesa's procurement team had recently rejected a competitor tied to the Vance family investment fund.

“Elliot's family company?” David asked.

“Indirectly. And Harold Pike was on the review committee.”

David stopped walking.

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“Send me the documents.”

Marissa hesitated. “There's one more thing. Somebody accessed our confidential bid summary last night.”