Davis nodded.

There was no one to argue the point and no time to, and that clarity was its own small mercy.

She unstrapped the first officer with care, and together with the flight attendant they moved him back and settled him where the doctor could stay with him, and Maya slid into the right seat and drew the harness across her shoulders and felt the straps settle into place with a familiarity that was almost grief.

She had never flown a commercial airliner.