Falling: A Novel

Theo and Liu wait in their vehicle while a team checks out Carrie’s car, which is parked in a nearly vacant mini-mall parking lot. When they learn the bomb squad is still a distance away, Liu decides to approach the vehicle herself. Liu is able to get close enough to establish that the vehicle is empty but won’t allow anyone to approach the car until the bomb squad arrives. Liu calls for evacuation of assets from Washington, DC.

The head of the air traffic controllers at John Fitzgerald Airport (JFK) in New York, George Patterson, watches Jo’s speech while reflecting on the preparation his airport and several other airports in the area are making in preparation for the possibility of a plane crash. They’ve been told that the co-pilot doesn’t know about the hijacking, and they must keep their communications normal. George knows how difficult this situation is for his employees, and he admires them for keeping their composure during this difficult time. George’s most senior controller, Dusty, comes to the door and informs him that Bill Hoffman is communicating in Morse code with the Chicago center.

Bill struggles to communicate in Morse code while keeping up the conversation with Sam. As Sam pushes him to make a choice between his family and the plane, in the background, Scott asks Sam to take him and leave his mother and little sister alone. This request causes Bill to remember seeing Scott’s reaction on the day Elise was born, when Scott’s reluctance to become a big brother turned into pure joy. Bill praises Scott for his bravery but instructs him to remain with Elise. Sam again pushes Bill to make a decision, telling him it is time to throw the canister. Bill resists, but when Sam holds up the detonator for the explosive vests he and Carrie wear, Bill agrees.

Jo gathers the volunteers and explains her plan. She gives each volunteer a trash bag and explains that when the canister comes out of the cockpit, she’ll catch it and put it inside the closest trash bag. She will then take the trash bag to the bathroom and lock it inside. She instructs them to keep their oxygen masks on the entire time. As they settle to wait, Jo worries that the hijacker’s accomplice might be among her volunteers.

Jo gathers dirty glasses from the first-class cabin and goes into the galley to clean up. She looks down the length of the plane to see Big Daddy and Kellie settling the passengers, impressed with the fact that the passengers are not only complying but also helping one another through this tense situation. Big Daddy calls her and tells her they are all set, and she encourages him to take his seat and put his mask on. Jo busies herself with the last of her compliance checklist and makes sure everyone has their mask on. She puts on her own mobile oxygen tank. Big Daddy calls again and breaks down for a moment, expressing that he has no one to call for his last goodbye. Jo and Kellie reassure him.

Bill takes the canister out of his bag and prepares to throw it. He asks about the powder he was told would kill Ben and learns it is powdered sugar. He asks what would have happened if he hadn’t told the flight attendants and Ben hadn’t had a reason to reveal himself. Ben tells him they would have landed safely, and Ben would have died by suicide that night. Ben tells Bill that either way, he and Sam are prepared to die. As Ben speaks, Bill studies the video of his family and realizes they are in a moving van.

Theo and Liu receive the information that the Hoffman family is in a moving van, so Theo begins calling local moving van rental companies. On the FaceTime call, Bill watches as baby Elise becomes inconsolable. Scott tries to calm his little sister by encouraging her to smell the campfire nearby and imagine camping with their dad. When she refuses to calm, Sam takes her and sings to her, finally soothing her.

Theo hears about the campfire via Bill’s Morse code message, and he thinks of Dockweiler, a beach at the end of the runways at LAX since Bill has also mentioned his family is near the airport. Liu says she’ll research it, but Theo feels they need to go straight there because he has just received a text from Jo telling him the gas attack is about to happen. Rather than wait for permission, Theo takes a nearby SUV and rushes toward LAX.

Jo hears the hiss of the pilots putting on their oxygen masks. Jo catches the canister as Bill throws it, but someone crashes into her from behind. They wrestle on the ground, and Jo realizes it is Dave. He begins to choke her. The two businessmen come forward and try to find the canister, but fail. Finally, the tall man, Josip, pulls Dave off Jo. Jo is able to grab the canister and get it into the trash bag that one of the women, a former Marine, holds up for her. Jo takes it into the bathroom and tosses it inside, then slams the door and presses a wet towel across the bottom of the door. Jo becomes aware that all of them have been exposed to the gas and urges the volunteers to put their masks back on. Josip puts a mask on an unconscious Dave after setting him back in his seat. All of them have red irritation on their skin from the gas as well. Jo settles into her jump seat after looking toward the back of the plane and seeing that all the passengers seem okay. She tells herself the worst is over, and they will be okay.

Carrie lost control of her bladder after seeing Bill throw the canister. She asks Sam to take her to the bathroom. Sam hands Elise to Scott, takes off Carrie’s restraints, and warns her that if she does anything, he still has her children. Before they get out of the van, Carrie gives Bill a cryptic message that refers to the note she found in her childhood Bible, insinuating she plans to sacrifice herself for the children and the people on the plane. Bill becomes emotional when he realizes what she is saying, but quickly regains control of himself.