Long story.
His mother:
YOU ALWAYS SAY THAT BEFORE TROUBLE.
He almost laughed.
He put phone away.
The aircraft climbed over Lake Michigan.
Coffee stain drying cold against his jeans.
For the first twenty minutes, nobody approached him except for service.
Meredith sent another flight attendant instead.
A young Black woman named Nia Owens.
She placed water on his tray.
“Mr. Brooks.”
“Adrian.”
She hesitated.
“Okay.”
Then turned to leave.
“Nia.”
She stopped.
“You were here during boarding.”
“Yes.”
“What did you think?”
Her eyes flicked toward galley.
Adrian noticed.
“Not what happened.”
he clarified.
“The policy.”
She lowered her voice.
“We hate it.”
“Who is we?”
“A lot of crew.”
“Why haven't I heard that?”
She gave him a look.
Not disrespectful.
Almost tired.
“Because complaints go through management.”
Adrian absorbed that.
“Sit.”
She looked toward aisle.
“I can't.”
“Later.”
She nodded.
During cruise, Thomas came out.
He crouched beside Adrian.
“May I?”
Adrian gestured toward empty edge of console.
Thomas leaned.
“Meredith asked to speak with union representative after landing.”
“Good.”
“You're not angry?”
“I'm angry.”
“You sound calm.”
“That’s different.”
Thomas nodded.
“Do you want statement from me?”
“Yes.”
“About today?”
“About ER-9.”
Thomas’s expression hardened.
“I want to give one.”
“Good.”
Then:
“Did you know VIP seat changes were happening?”
“Not like this.”
“Anything adjacent?”
Thomas thought.
“We've had more last-minute manifest changes.”
“How many?”
“I don't know.”
“Enough to notice?”
“Yes.”
“Did captains complain?”
“Mostly about weight-and-balance revisions coming late.”
Adrian's eyes sharpened.
“Weight and balance.”
“Yes.”
“Same reason they gave Calvin.”
Thomas understood.
“Jesus.”
“Maybe operational reasons are being used to disguise upgrades.”
Thomas leaned back.
“That would mean dispatch records.”
“Exactly.”
“Those are auditable.”
“Exactly.”
Thomas’s jaw tightened.
“Whoever created this wasn't thinking long term.”
“Or assumed nobody would audit across departments.”
Thomas nodded slowly.
“Different.”
“Very.”
He stood.
“Anything else?”
“Who is your union safety liaison?”
“Rebecca Stone.”
“Tell her preserve any complaints related to unexplained seat movement.”
“I will.”
Thomas started to leave.