A rough bump woke Jerry from what was almost a peaceful slumber. The quick jolt forced him back to reality, where he sat on an airplane. Details were fuzzy for Jerry, as they often are after waking up, but he quickly recalled he was on a flight to Los Angeles. The next thing to pop into Jerry’s mind was that all too familiar urge straight from Mother Nature herself. He realized that he would have to make the trip into that dreadful confined space that airlines believe is a restroom, and the thought made Jerry cringe. Never the less, he began walking down the rows of people towards the silver door in between first and coach class. As he entered the bathroom, a business card slipped from his pocket. Bending down to pick it up, he read his own credentials

Jerry Combs
Managing Attorney
Combs & Paradee
Manhattan, NY

All those accomplishments and he still had to do his business in this irksome metal rectangle. At that moment, something else caught his eye, a red light within the air vent on the bathroom floor. This discovery was accompanied by a suddenly audible beeping noise, barely loud enough to hear. Panic started to creep into Jerry’s mind, but he remained calm and pulled off the vent cover for a closer look. This further inspection did nothing to quell his growing fear. Before his eyes was an apparatus that featured a cellphone attached to a mechanism containing a vial of liquid, all of which was held together by a copious amount of wires. Jerry’s breath caught in his throat. He had seen enough crime shows to know that this was a deadly bomb, and his life was now in danger. Trying to keep his composure, Jerry left the bathroom and stumbled towards the nearest flight attendant. Reading her nametag, he addressed her in a worried tone:
“Excuse me, Sarah? I need to speak with you right now.”
“Just a moment sir, I’ll be right with you.” replied Sarah, a woman in her mid-thirties.
Pulling her aside, he emphasized, “This can’t wait.”
“Sir I must ask you to w---“
“I found a bomb in the first class bathroom.” Jerry whispered
“What?” Replied the attendant, suddenly very serious. “Are you sure?”
Jerry went on to describe the details of the device he found, and the attendant eventually suggested that they bring the matter to the captain. During their exchange, Jerry took note of a suspicious man who appeared overly attentive towards their conversations. The man’s eyes seemed to flit between Jerry and the flight attendant as their conversation continued.  Before he could act on this observation, the flight attendant told him that the captain was coming to meet them. The captain, Charles Jones, silently listened as Jerry and the attendant told him of the situation.
After a few moments of quiet, Captain Jones spoke,
“The most important thing we can do is prevent panic, if there really is a bomb, we need to keep it quiet until we know what we are up against.”
“I believe I could help with that.” proclaimed an unknown voice. Jerry recognized that the voice belonged to the suspicious passenger he had seen earlier
“My name is Geoffrey Osborn, I am a technician at a CDC lab in Los Angeles,” the squirrely man continued, “I was transporting a vial containing a new mutagen that could be dangerous to humans.”
Geoffrey went on to explain that it was his job to discreetly transport the mutagen from New York back to his lab in LA. The mission was supposed to be secret, and only Geoffrey and his boss knew about it at all. Geoffrey revealed that the vial was hidden in his carry-on suitcase.
“And how does this pertain to the current situation?” questioned the captain.
“The vial is missing, and I believe it could be the one used in the device that was found in the bathroom.”
“How dangerous is this mutagen?” the captain asked tentatively
“Unknown, but we don’t want to find out,” replied the technician, “However, since it can only be spread through the air, if we can block off all the exits of the vent containing the bomb, we may be able to prevent exposure.”
The captain turned to address all three of them “Then it’s settled, we need to work throughout the plane sealing it off, and we need to do it quietly. We don’t want to spook the passengers or, worse, the man in control of the bomb.”
The captain made an announcement that all passengers should shut off their air vents to avoid smell from a sewage leak, and that people would be checking the condition of the air vents. They also realized that they must completely seal off the bathroom that contained the bomb.
“One of us is going to have to go in there.” Jerry remarked unhappily. “The bomb can’t be moved so we have to close it in the vent.”
“I can’t do it, I’m not trained to deal with bombs!” the technician exclaimed nervously
“Oh grow a backbone,” The flight attendant said condescendingly, “You got us into all this!”
“Enough!” The captain said sternly. “I’ll do it.”
The three waited outside the bathroom in quiet but palpable tension while the captain worked inside. After five excruciatingly long minutes, the captain exited the lavatory.
“All clear, but we aren’t done yet.” He said.
Shortly after, the foursome began moving throughout the plane discreetly blocking the vents in whatever way possible. Most passengers were tired enough that they didn’t ask many questions or provide any resistance. In fact, all the passengers remained docile except for one. When Jerry approached him, he asked:
“Why are you people closing the vents?”
“There was just a minor problem with the sewage system, nothing to worry about” Jerry answered calmly.
“Say, aren’t you a passenger on this plane?” the passenger asked accusingly.
“Yes, but I am actually an air marshal. It’s my job to pose as a passenger,” Jerry said, improvising.
“Hmm, very well.” The passenger replied.
Jerry left the man, but took note of his seat number, 22B. Soon after, the group reconvened. They figured that there was only one part of the plane left open, the final part of the economy section. As they began to head toward that section, an audible bang was heard in the direction of the first class bathroom.
Quickly realizing that it must have been the bomb, the group began to scramble. Jerry, the technician and the flight attendant hurried towards the back of the plane while the captain demanded over the intercom for everyone in the last section of economy to evacuate immediately. When the group arrived at the section, they noticed that it was evacuated. The area must be quarantined to avoid the rest of the plane being exposed. The group come to the realization that whoever went in to seal off the section would likely be exposed to the virus, and thus could not leave that area.
“I’ll do it.” said the technician
“What?” responded Jerry “You’ll die!”
“You were right, this whole mess is my fault,” the technician declared in a breaking voice “and if I can fix even a small part of it, I have to do it”
Before anyone could say another word, the technician dashed into the section as Jerry and the flight attendant were forced to retreat towards the front of the plane. The captain arrived, telling them happily that the plane was sealed. Upon noticing the absence of the technician, he realized what had happened, and removed his hat out of respect.

Two hours later, the flight landed in Los Angeles international airport. It was received by a full CDC outfit who brought all the passengers into quarantine, to be safe. The CDC officials commended Jerry, Sarah, and Captain Jones on their bravery and quick action, and apologized for the loss of Mr. Osborn. As he sat in the quarantine tent, Jerry went and took a look at the manifest, checking to see who the CDC had safely collected. There were only two names left unaccounted for, the first was Geoffrey Osborn, and the second was one John Smith, the occupant of seat 22B.
After all the area had been cleared, CDC officers in hazmat suits boarded the plane. They took note of remnants of the bomb, and worked their way towards the back of the plane. As they approached the last section of economy class, they heard a sound that froze them in their shoes. A loud, rapid banging on the closed door of the section started as they drew close. It was punctuated by brief, inhuman growls and unexplainable noises. The CDC officer grabbed his radio with a trembling hand and called for heavy backup, as cracks began to appear on the door.