Nick was going to Monrovia in the hopes of landing a job there with an engineering firm. But unlike most companies, he had to get himself there and pay for everything.
Since it was his own money, he decided to fly coach class to save money. The seats were smaller than in first class, and the food was usually worse too, but none of that was important. Nick needed the job more than anything else.
He booked his ticket through a travel agent, and they mailed it to him. On the day of the departure, he took a taxi to the airport, presented his ticket, received a boarding pass and then went through the metal detectors. They called his flight, and he boarded.
After 15 minutes or so, they taxied out onto the runway and the plane took off. Once the plane reached a steady rate of ascent, the flight attendants began going through the aisles taking drink orders. Nick had one and ordered another. He started to flirt with the woman sitting next to him. She was turned off by Nick, but he didn’t seem to notice.
At that very moment, people started screaming. Apparently, a man had brought some plastic explosive on board and said he was going to set the bomb off if his demands weren’t met. It was fairly simple, he didn’t have any political motives, he just wanted money, 2 million dollars worth.
After he made his demands, and the Captain passed them on to the ground control, the hijacker returned to the main cabin to try to calm the passengers down.
One drunk passenger seemed to think that he and the hijacker were old military buddies. Twice the hijacker pushed him away and the second time, the drunk remained on the ground. Then the hijacker turned his back on the drunk, and that was his undoing. The drunk seized him from behind, and disarmed him. That drunk was part of elite force of undercover agents who flew for airlines to thwart attempted hijackings.
After all this excitement, Nick finally arrived in Monrovia, but didn’t have any success with getting the job. They said he was under qualified.