Razing Beijing: A Thriller by Sidney Elston III

suggested.
    “It’s obvious the electrical system malfunction preceded
every other failure. We heard that from Sandy on the aircraft, and confirmed it
in the IDR at Mojave. Otherwise the speed traces and so forth would have run
all the way to engine burst. The traces cut out before anything significant really
happens.”
    “You have the black boxes, don’t you?”
    “They’re pretty outdated, which is not unusual for an old
experimental bird. We sent ’em to Fairchild to make sure we didn’t do anything
to jeopardize whatever data they did contain. I’m told the flight data recorder
captured the entire event. Unfortunately, the lapse in the electrical system
blanked out all the data being collected for the prototype engine.”
    Cole seemed to be absorbing the information.
    “There’s something else I’d like to say.” Stuart leaned
forward. “It’s my opinion that the possible presence of an electrical malfunction
makes moot the decisions leading up to the crash, none of which considered any
such malfunction.”
    Their eyes met briefly before Cole looked away and said,
“There’s no need for you to adopt an unpopular position, or to otherwise martyr
yourself, on account of me.”
    Stuart shrugged. “I’m not inclined to martyr anyone,
especially myself. Neither do I recognize any need to ingratiate myself to you.
I’m only calling it the way I see it.”
    “Noted. Thank you. Do we have any idea how much more time
you’re going to need?”
    Stuart thought for a moment. “I’d rather answer you
tomorrow afternoon, if that’s okay. We’re reviewing a plan that I believe is
closer to the mark than anything so far.”
    “Tomorrow’s fine,” Cole said quietly. “I don’t need to
remind you of the effect this is having. Everything’s been pushed way out. The
problem isn’t just your propfan program. The economy is killing airline growth
projections and profits, such as they are. We haven’t had a single new order
since last quarter—that’s a record.
    “Which brings me to the least palatable reason I invited
you here. Last Wednesday night the board approved a reduction-in-force. I’d
like you to have your managers begin compiling their lists. Human resources is
preparing the guidelines to be used. Now, I know what you’re going to say, that
when your program picks back up there’s going to be a lot of work to be done. I
don’t know what to tell you. If our earnings aren’t there then we’ve no means
of paying them anyhow. I know the propfan is important to our future. Unfortunately,
the propfan isn’t generating revenue.”

11
    ONE OF EMILY CHANG’S few extravagances, a chocolate-point Himalayan who answered to the name of
King-Pu, stopped purring and jumped from her lap at the sound of a knock at the
door of her apartment. The wall of the neighboring apartment had been pulsating
for hours with the rumble of music, and it was a wonder she could hear much of
anything else.
    In fact the knock at the door was Debi, her next-door neighbor
and friend with whom Emily liked to share her morning jog. The flight attendant
was young and pretty, one of many living in the complex whose assignment at
their airline’s Midwest hub seemed to be frequently rotated. She politely
declined Debi’s invitation to join her, citing a deadline of work she was
attending to on her computer.
    Her hand still pressing the door shut, Emily felt a sense
of regret. She could recall some of the parties she had attended with her
friend, Sandy Cole... Thinking of Sandy was to be reminded of the spinelessness
that had led to her death. Had she not fulfilled her professional
responsibility by having convinced her boss of the risk to the flight test? It
seemed that Stuart had failed rather spectacularly in his. And to think
there once was much I admired in the man...
    Emily slid the deadbolt into place and turned from the
door.
    Her two-room efficiency in the working-class neighborhood
of suburban Cleveland was comparable to