He put his bag under his seat and sat down . His friend Harold sat beside him . They watched the other passengers coming on to the plane . Harold looked at his watch . Harold smiled . ' Yes , I will . Have you seen this , sir ? ' he opened his bag and took out two small toy planes . ' These are for my sons . I always bring something back for them . ' ' Look . There you are , ' he said . He pointed to a picture . In the middle of the picture stood Carl himself - a short , thin man with grey hair , wearing a suit . Behind him , on the left , was Harold - a tall , strong young man , like a sportsman . Both men were smiling . ' That 's you and me , outside the embassy , ' said Carl . ' We 're in the news again . You can show it to your sons . You 're a famous man , Harold ! ' Harold laughed . ' You 're the famous man , sir , not me , ' he said . ' I 'm just a police officer , a bodyguard . It 's my job to take care of you . That 's a photo of you , not me . ' ' Perhaps . But your children will think that you 're a famous man , I 'm sure . Here , take it , and show it to them . ' ' OK . Thanks . ' Harold smiled , and put the newspaper in his coat pocket . ' I think I 'll have a cup of coffee , too . ' He called for the air hostess , but she didn 't come . Harold looked surprised . Carl looked up and saw the young air hostess . She was sitting in a seat at the front of the plane with two young men . They looked worried and nervous . Suddenly , one of the young men picked up a bag and walked into the pilot 's cabin ! The other man and the air hostess followed him . ' I don 't know . It 's very strange , ' said Harold . ' I don 't like it at all . ' He began to get out of his seat , but then stopped and sat down again . For one or two minutes nothing happened . None of the other passengers moved or spoke . They had seen the young men , too . It became very quiet in the plane . ' Ladies and gentlemen , this is the Captain speaking . Please do not be afraid . There is a change of plan . We have to land at another airport before we finish our flight . There 's no danger . We will land in fifteen minutes . Please stay in your seats and keep calm . Thank you . ' Then the stewardess came out of the cabin . She looked very different now because she had a machine gun in her hand . She stood at the front of the plane and watched the passengers carefully . One of the passengers called to the stewardess . ' Hello , Mommy . You 're late . You said you 'd be home by ten o ' clock . I wanted to talk to you about my homework , remember ? ' ' ' Hello Sarah , I had a very busy day . Anyway , I 'm home now . I did remember about your homework . What 's the problem ? ' ' Don 't worry , Sarah . Maybe you aren 't smart enough to understand the book , ' said Helen . ' Bring the book into the kitchen and I 'll look at it while you make me a cup of coffee with a little whiskey . ' They sat in the kitchen and talked for nearly half an hour . Then Helen looked at her watch . ' OK , Sarah , that 's enough for now . It 's almost midnight , and I must be up at six tomorrow . I 'm going to bed . Goodnight . ' hope it is serious . If it isn 't , somebody is going to be in big trouble … yes … All right … Send the car in fifteen minutes , then . And bring me some coffee ! Goodbye . ' Carl looked out of the plane window . It was very dark and rainy . It was a small airport with only one or two other planes . But there were three police cars near the airport building . ' No thanks , ' Carl looked at the hijackers . The young air hostess was still standing at the front of the plane with her machine gun . One of the young men , also with a machine gun , was standing at the back of the plane . The other hijacker was in the captain 's cabin . All the passengers sat very quietly in their seats . ' Ladies and gentlemen , listen to me . This is the People 's Liberation Army . This plane is ours now , and you are our prisoners . We do not want to hurt you , but as you can see , we have our guns and we know how to shoot . So please , sit quietly in your seats and do what we say . We will be here for one or two hours . The government of this country has two of our brothers in a prison near this airport . We are asking the government to bring our two brothers to this plane . When our brothers are free , you will be free . We think this will take one or two hours , but not very long . As you know , the Prime Minister of this country is only a woman . She will do what we say . So do not worry . Just sit very still and wait a little while . The film tonight will be The Muppet Movie . Goodnight . ' Harold agreed . ' Oh that . Yes , we certainly are in trouble . The government won 't set those two men free . They tried to put a bomb on a plane last year , didn 't they , sir ? They 're in prison for thirty years . ' ' Ssh ! ' Harold put his hand on the older man 's arm and stopped talking . Carl looked up and saw the young air hostess staring at them . Her machine gun was pointing at them , too . He stopped talking and looked out of the window . After a few minutes she stopped watching them . ' Give me the passport , sir . ' Harold whispered very quietly . Very slowly and carefully , Carl took it out of this pocket and gave it to him . There was still some coffee in Carl 's cup . Very carefully , Harold put the passport on his tray and poured the coffee onto it . When passport was very wet , he tore it slowly into little pieces . He was a strong young man and because the passport was wet , it did not make a sound . Then , one by one , he put the pieces of wet paper into his mouth and ate them . ' Do you want some ketchup with that ? ' asked Carl . ' You 'll see , ' whispered Harold . ' But when they ask questions , let me answer , sir . OK ? Don 't say anything . Just keep your big , fat mouth shut . Do you understand ? ' The black car stopped outside the airport building and a police officer opened the door . Helen Sandberg got out and went quickly inside . Upstairs , in the control room , the Chief of Airport Police , Inspector Holm , was waiting with a soldier . Helen 's secretary , Michael , was there , too . ' Good evening , Colonel . ' Helen shook hands with the soldier and looked at him . He was a thin , tough - looking man , about forty years old , with a brown face . His hand was hard and strong . ' I hope you know your job , ' she thought . ' I may need you . ' She looked out of the window . There was a large plane on the tarmac about two hundred meters away . All its lights were on . ' Is that the plane ? ' she asked . ' I see . There are a lot of Americans and British , then , ' said Helen quietly . ' That means trouble . Americans are always a lot of trouble . They complain about everything . And British people are horrible , too . ' Helen smiled at him quickly . He was a good secretary ; he usually knew what she was thinking . Both the American Ambassador and the British Ambassador were difficult people . She turned back to Inspector Holm . ' We don 't know how many hijackers there are , Prime Minister . But they have guns , we know that . They say they are from the People 's Liberation Army . And they want three things . ' Inspector Holm paused and looked down at her . He was a very tall man and he looked very important in his uniform . Helen didn 't like him much . ' I think so . Something like that . ' The man paused . ' Second , they say we must refuel the plane because they want to fly to another country . Third , they say we must put this in all our newspapers . It says they are fighting for freedom for their people . They are freedom fighters . They want to liberate their people . Oh , they want one more thing . They want two pizzas from Telepizza with mushrooms and ham and they don 't want to pay . They said our country must pay for the pizzas . " ' OK , ' said the Prime Minister , ' but they must pay for the drinks . We are a poor country . ' Her secretary gave her a sheet of paper . Helen put in on the table . She did not read it . ' And what about the passengers ? ' she asked . ' When will the hijackers set them free ? ' ' There 's one other thing , Prime Minister , ' Colonel Carter spoke for the first time . His voice was almost gentle . ' They say we must bring the prisoners to the airport in two hours . If not , they will kill a passenger . They said this one hour ago . ' raining and a strong wind was blowing . She turned around . ' Thank you , gentlemen . I will have to talk to them . But first I need a few minutes . Colonel Carter , Inspector , please go to the other room . Tell the hijackers I will talk to them in five minutes . Michael , stay here . ' ' Yes , madam . ' Inspector Holm looked unhappy , but he went out , slowly , with the Colonel . Michael sat quietly , looking at her . He knew what she was thinking . She picked up the list of names and looked at it carefully . ' Oh , my God ! ' Her husband 's name was near the beginning . She dropped the list , sat down at the table , and ran her hands through the hair . For a long time she said nothing . Then she looked up . There were a lot of cars now and a lot of lights in the building . Inside the plane it was hot and quiet . There was nothing to do but watch The Muppet Movie . The movie was very funny and he soon forgot all about the hijackers . He remembered other times when he had been on a plane at night with his wife and daughter . That was fun because they were excited and going on holiday . His daughter had always asked lots questions on the plane . Now no one said anything at all . Carl sat and thought , and felt his face becoming wet with sweat . ' What ? ' He turned suddenly . One of the hijackers , a young man in a black shirt , was just behind them . He had a bag in his hand and he was taking everyone 's passports and putting them in it . ' I don 't smell anything , ' Harold said quickly , then he added , ' This man has no passport . I am a police officer and he is my prisoner . I am taking him to prison in my country . ' Carl stood up and the young man searched his pockets , but he found nothing . He told Carl to sit down , then he opened Harold 's passport and looked inside . ' Police pig . ' he said . Harold said nothing . The hijacker was about the same age as him , but not as big . The young hijacker laughed again and moved on to the next seat . ' Thank you , Harold , ' Carl whispered , when the man was at the front of the plane . ' That was very brave . But I won 't let you die for me , you know . ' One of the men was standing in the door of the captain 's cabin . He was talking to the other two . He was a strong man , with a black beard . He looked angry and waved his arms . Carl listened carefully . He could hear one or two words , but not many . All the hijackers were angry now . They looked at a passport and then started to walk down the aisle , pointing their guns at the passengers . Harold sat very still in his seat . Suddenly the big hijacker pulled a passenger out of his seat . The passenger was a short fat man in a grey suit . He shouted angrily in a voice that sounded American , but the hijacker hit him and then pushed him to the front of the plane with his machine gun . ' Don 't move ! ' he shouted . ' Stay in your seats and don 't look back ! ' Then the big , bearded hijacker went back into the captain 's cabin . ' Passengers ! Listen to me ! You know we are here to set our brothers free . I have spoken to the Prime Minister of this country . I told her she must bring our brothers here by two o ' clock . That is plenty of time because the prison is only ten kilometers from here . She says she needs more time , but we know she is lying . We have no time . The passenger at the front of the plane is a fat American spy who lives in our country . All Americans who live in our country are spies . If our brothers are not here at two o ' clock , he will die . If you try to help him , you will die , too . ' The American passenger started crying just like a little baby . ' Oh please don 't kill me , please . I 'm too young to die . I 'm only 63 years old . Why don 't you kill an English passenger . No one likes English people . ' ' Jesus , what a baby . Just die like a man and shut up , ' Carl said quietly . He looked at his watch . The time was 1 : 50 a . m . He looked out of the window across the rainy tarmac to the airport building . In one of those rooms was the Prime Minister . What would she do ? What could she do ? What should she do ? ' Come on , honey , ' he said softly . ' Start thinking . Think fast , honey . And think hard ! ' Colonel Carter sat behind her . They could all see the plane , two hundred meters away , and they could all hear the voice of the hijacker on the radio . It was loud , excited . ' Our brothers have done nothing wrong . They are innocent ! They are fighters for the freedom of our people ! We need them with us on this plane , now ! ' Helen kept her voice low and calm . ' Look , I understand what you say . But those men are criminals ; they 're in prison . I can 't bring them here . And remember . The passengers on the plane are innocent people too , with families and children . Please set them free . We will not hurt you . We … ' ' Then watch . There is an American spy behind it . And remember , we have many American spies , and many important business people on this plane . In half an hour I will ask you again about my brothers . ' She did not want to look , but she had to . She had decided not to free the prisoners , so now she had to see what happened to the passengers . She picked up the binoculars and stared at the front door of the plane . The door opened slowly . There were no steps outside the door , so it was four meters above the ground . Standing in the door was a short fat man , his hands above his head . His face was white and he looked very frightened . Then he jumped . But as he jumped , a girl came to the door and shot him . Some bullets hit him in the air and more bullets hit him as he lay on the ground . One of his arms moved a little and blood ran out of the side of his arms onto tarmac . The girl continued shooting him for ten , maybe fifteen seconds . Then someone pulled her back into the plane and closed the door . For a long time everyone was silent . Then Colonel Carter spoke . ' Inspector , why didn 't your men shoot ? That girl was in the doorway for nearly fifteen seconds ! Why isn 't she dead ? ' ' Prime Minister , let my men deal with this problem . They have killed a man now and they 'll kill another one in half an hour . We must attack that plane ! We are commandos ; we know how to do it . ' Helen was still watching the dead body of the man on the tarmac . She thought a hand moved for a moment ; but no , he must be dead by now . There was a pool of blood on the tarmac now around his head . He could not possibly be alive . For a moment she did not hear the voices around her . In half an hour … immediately . Meet me in ten minutes with your plan . But I warn you , it must be a good one . I don 't want any more dead passengers . And one more thing , Colonel . Cancel their pizzas . ' ' For thirty years . Colonel . I know . But they are only two men , and there are over a hundred innocent people on that plane . My job is to save their lives , and I need time to do it . ' The Inspector stood up very tall and straight in his uniform . ' Prime Minister , I strongly advise you not to do this . You don 't understand … ' Helen interrupted him , her voice ice - cold and angry . ' I understand very well , Inspector . And I thank you for your advice . But I think I must make the decisions , and you have to obey my orders . You now have only twenty - four minutes . Bring those prisoners here , please . ' She groaned , and sat down suddenly . ' Do I want to ? Of course I don 't ! But I must talk to them because that man was an American . Send them in . They can have five minutes with me , that 's all . ' When the terrorist - stewardess came back into the cabin she was shaking . Her hands were shaking and she was crying and smoke was coming out of her gun . One of the passengers , another fat American , stood up and shouted at her . She turned and pointed the gun at him and fired . The man sat down in his seat and the bullets went above the seats , all along the plane , and out through the roof . After ten seconds the girl stopped firing and shouted . ' You shut up ! You shut up and sit down or I 'll kill you all ! I am a soldier of the People 's Liberation Army and I 'll kill you , all of you ! ' but she was crying , too , and the young man in the black shirt put his arm around her and held her . She leaned against him , crying , and he whispered something in her ear . It was then that Harold moved . He got out of his seat , bent low , and ran very fast along the aisle towards the front of the plane . The young man and the girl did not see him coming and he caught them both around their legs and knocked them onto the floor . Harold fell on top of them and he tried to take one of the guns , but girl pulled his hair and the young man held his arms . Then the bearded man came out of the Captain 's cabin and hit Harold hard on the head with his gun . Harold fell on the floor and lay still . The bearded man pointed his gun at the passengers and shouted very loudly , ' SIT STILL ! . ' None of the passengers had moved except Carl , and he was too slow . He stood very still in the middle of the aisle five meters away from the bearded man 's gun . The other two hijackers were still on the floor , and Carl saw the Captain move in the cabin behind the bearded man . But the young man in the black shirt saw him too , and stood up and pointed his gun at the Captain . Both Carl and the Captain were too late . ' I 'm getting old , ' Carl thought . ' When I was young , I could move as fast as Harold , but not now . ' Carl sat down in his seat , very slowly . The bearded man watched him all the time . He pushed Harold with his foot . The girl pulled Harold to the door . She found some handcuffs in his pocket and handcuffed him to the door . Then she searched his other pockets . In one of his pockets she found a newspaper . She looked at it and saw the photo of Harold and Carl . She stood up slowly and showed it to the bearded man . He looked at the photo , and then he looked at Carl carefully and for a long time . Very slowly a smile appeared on the faces of the two hijackers and they began to laugh . Helen Sandberg stood up to welcome the American and British Ambassadors . The two men were very different . The American ambassador was a tall man with a loud voice which Helen didn 't like very much . He often wore open - necked shirts like people in a disco , and he had a very hairy chest . She disliked that , too . The British Ambassador , a tall thin Scotsman from Edinburgh , was always quiet , polite and well - dressed , but she did not always believe what he said . Once - a year ago - he had lied to her and she could never forget that . ' I hope so too , ma ' am . There are twenty - eight US passengers on that plane and my Government wants them all alive , ' said the American ambassador . ' So the U . S . Government is going to help you , ma ' am . We have fifty U . S . Marines at the U . S . Embassy , and they can be here in one hour from now . ' The Scotsman smiled . ' Excuse me , Ambassador , but perhaps one hour from now will be too late . One man is already dead . But perhaps you don 't know this . Prime Minister , but this week six SAS ( Special Air Service ) soldiers are visiting the British Embassy , and they 're waiting outside in my car now . These men know a lot about hijacks ; much more than the US Marines or , probably , your own soldiers , Prime Minister . They know exactly what to do . So … ' ' Are , too . ' ' Gentlemen ! For the love of God , please shut up . Are you six years old ? , ' Helen 's clear , hard voice stopped them . ' There 's no time to argue . Firstly , I didn 't know about SAS soldiers in the British Embassy , and I am very surprised about it . Very surprised indeed , Ambassador . Secondly , I do not think it is a good idea to attack a plane with a hundred and seven passengers on it . I want these people to live , not die . So I thank you for your ideas , but remember that this small country is ours , not yours . We will manage this problem in our own way , with our own people , thank you very much . Now you must excuse me . I am busy . ' At the door , the Scotsman turned back . ' Prime Minister , I know you want to save lives , ' he said . ' I understand that . But these hijackers must not go free . My Government does not want that . No Government in the world wants that . ' and watched him . His face was very serious . He wrote on a piece of paper and then put the phone down . For a moment , he did not look at her . For a long moment she stared at Michael , but she did not speak . A picture of the American passenger appeared in her head . She saw him jumping out of the door and the girl shooting him , shooting him for ten , maybe fifteen seconds . She put her hands flat on the table and stood up . ' Yes . Yes , Michael . Tell him to wait two minutes , that 's all . ' She walked to the window and stared out at the plane . She pressed her forehead against the cool glass and for two minutes she did not move . Then she turned round and smiled at Michael . In the plane , Carl and Harold sat on the floor by the door . They were handcuffed together with Harold 's handcuffs . The girl hijacker stood watching them with her gun . The bearded man in the Captain 's cabin and the young man in the black shirt were watching the other passengers . She laughed . ' That is your wife 's problem , not mine , ' she said . ' If our brothers come , he will get a doctor . If they don 't come , he won 't need one . ' She pointed her gun at Harold 's head and laughed again . She wasn 't at all nervous now . Carl felt angry . He was angry with the hijackers and he was angry with himself because he had not moved fast enough to help Harold . It was good to be angry ; when he was angry he did not feel so afraid . ' You look like a child . You probably like Justin Beiber . Am I right ? ' Carl said . ' You 're only two years older than my daughter . Why are you doing this ? ' ' I don 't think you understand what you 're doing , ' Carl said . ' None of the people in this plane has hurt you . We are all innocent . That man you killed , he wasn 't a spy , he was just an American businessman . You 've never seen any of us before . Why do you want to kill us ? ' The girl looked worried and angry . She pointed the gun straight at Carl 's head . ' I don 't want to kill you , ' she said . ' I want your government - your wife - to set our brothers free . ' Yes , I know , ' said Carl , carefully . He watched the gun and the girl 's face , but he was not really afraid because he was still angry . He argued with the girl as though he was arguing with his daughter . ' But remember what your brothers did . They tried to put a bomb on a plane . They wanted to kill innocent people like us . Why ? ' ' You are not innocent ! ' said the girl . ' No one is innocent ! People like you , and your wife , and that American - you have money and power and you take it from my people , from us ! Do you know how I lived when I was a child ? Ten people in one room , with no bath , no water , nothing ! My parents had no jobs , no passports , no country , nothing ! I didn 't have an iPhone . It was terrible . Can you imagine living without an iPhone ? We didn 't have a Burger King . We lived in a town with ten thousand others . But ten kilometers away there were rich people like you , with big beautiful houses , fine cars , fine clothes - and they were all innocent people , like you ! I tell you no one is innocent . ' She was shouting now , and nearly crying - there were tears in her eyes . Carl and Harold watched the gun carefully . ' Poor girl , ' Carl thought . ' Poor little terrorist . ' ' Stop it , little flower , ' he said . ' Don 't talk to them . That 's not your job . ' Then he hit Carl in the face . ' Keep your mouth shut ! ' he said . ' Think about your wife instead . Do you see the time ? I think she has forgotten you ! ' Carl groaned and held his mouth with his hand . There was blood in his mouth and one of his teeth was broken . Then he looked at his watch . It was 2 : 23 . Seven minutes left ; then the half hour was over . Helen Sandberg decided she liked Colonel Carter . He spoke clearly , he explained his ideas carefully , and he listened to what she said . He did not try to be difficult because she was a woman . Best of all , they had made a plan together . A good plan , she thought ; it could really work . Perhaps . She looked at her watch : 2 : 23 . ' Right , Colonel , get your men ready . I 'll send the first prisoner down to you when they arrive . Are they here yet ? ' ' They 're trying , Prime Minister . ' Michael spoke into the telephone . Colonel Carter left the room and Helen walked up and down slowly , watching the clock . 2 : 24 . 2 : 25 . 2 : 26 . ' Ten minutes ! What 's he driving - a police car or a bicycle ? ' Helen banged her fist on the table . ' We 've got four minutes left . OK . I want to talk to the hijackers . Get them on the radio . ' Helen spoke clearly , slowly , and loudly . She filled her voice with all the anger she had in her body . ' Listen , you murderer . I need just ten minutes to get your brothers to this airport . Then I will send them to the plane . But if you kill my husband , or anyone else , then I promise you that your brothers will die , on the tarmac in front of that plane . Is that what you want ? Or will you wait ten minutes ? ' The voice on the radio laughed . ' Because you are a woman , do you think all men are stupid , like your husband ? Send me our brothers , then refuel the plane , and then I will send you the passengers . ' The voice laughed again . ' Do you think you are buying cheap fish from a child in the market ? Send us one brother , then , and we will send you one hundred passengers . Refuel the plane and send us the other brother , and we will send you the other passengers . But the pilot and your husband must come with us to another country . We will set them free later . ' Helen looked at Colonel Carter . There was the beginning of a smile on her face . She could see that he agreed with her . She waited for a moment longer , to worry the hijacker . Carl felt his broken tooth with his tongue . The door of the Captain 's cabin was open and he could see the bearded hijacker sitting inside . He had a long nose and dark hair and his eyes looked green from the light of the instruments in the dark cabin . He held his gun near his mouth and touched it gently with his lips as he waited . Carl had heard half of the conversation . Eight of the ten minutes had gone . Now that he could do nothing he felt afraid . He could feel his hand in the handcuffs shaking . Harold felt it , too , and held Carl 's hand with his own . ' Ssh , ' Harold whispered . Carl looked up and saw the girl watching them . Then , suddenly , the bearded man shouted , ' They 're coming ! Look ! Get ready ! ' The girl went into the Captain 's cabin . Harold and Carl stood up and looked through a window . They saw three men pushing some steps across the tarmac . The men put the steps outside the plane door and then went back again . Then two more men came out of the building . They were wearing bright yellow coats because of the rain . One man walked towards the plane . ' Come away from the door ! Quick ! ' The girl unlocked the handcuffs and pushed Harold and Carl back to their seats . Then she started to open the door . ' Wait ! Turn the lights out and stand back from the door ! ' said the bearded man . ' They will try to shoot us in the light in front of the door . ' The door opened and the man in the yellow coat came into the plane . He was thin , with very short hair . The girl shut the door , the lights came on , and the man shut his eyes in the bright light . The girl and the bearded man put their arms around him , laughing . Carl and Harold watched sadly . ' So now she will give them what they want , because of me , ' said Carl quietly . ' We will be safe , but they will go free to bomb another plane , because of me . ' He held his head in his hands . ' Wait , Mr . Sandberg , ' said Harold . ' Your wife isn 't stupid , you know . This game has not ended yet . Sit still , and be ready . ' Helen Sandberg stood by the control room window , staring at the plane . ' Come on , ' she said . ' Why is that door shut ? Where are the passengers ? ' The Colonel laughed . ' Well , madam , you can see it 's raining , can 't you ? We didn 't want our poor prisoner to get wet , so we gave him a nice yellow raincoat , you see . But it was an expensive raincoat , because one of its buttons is a small transmitter . So now we can hear everything they say and we know where they are on the plane ! ' Helen looked through the window . The door of the plane was open and people were coming down the steps one after another . Some of them started to run towards the airport building , and few knelt down on the wet tarmac . ' Praying , perhaps ? ' said Michael . ' To thank God that they 're alive ? Or maybe one of them dropped something and they are looking for it on the tarmac . ' Helen turned and saw that the Colonel was putting on white clothes on top of his army uniform . He put several grenades in the coat pocket , and a machine gun into a long pocket inside the coat . He smiled at her . ' I must help my men refuel the plane . ' The lights in the plane went out again . There were only eleven of them let now : Carl Sandberg and Harold , four crew , and five Americans . They sat together in the middle of the plane . The girl and the young man in the black shirt watched them . Through the window , Carl saw the fuel tanker drive towards the plane . It stopped , and five men in white clothes got out . The pilot went to the front of the plane to work the controls , and the men starred to refuel the plane . The he saw another man in a yellow raincoat come out of the airport building . The bearded hijacker started to talk very excitedly . ' Is it him ? Yes , it is ! Our leader ! My brother and sister , we have done it ! Now , I must welcome him at the door . You , brother , watch the pilot in the cabin , and sister , watch the passengers . ' Carl Sandberg watched the man in the yellow coat walk nearer . He could only see one man at the back of the plane , refueling it . He thought the others were under the plane somewhere , but he did not know where . Harold put his hand on Carl 's arm . Carl looked at him . Harold did not speak , but he was looking at the girl , very carefully . As the door opened , and the man with the yellow coat came in , the girl turned to look . The man 's arm went up and he threw the grenade through the open door . There was a very loud BANG at the front of the plane , and a flash of white light that burned Carl 's eyes . Almost immediately there was an even louder BANG BANG and two more flashes of white light . Carl could not move . The noise was so loud and the light so bright that he sat still as a stone . He saw the girl hijacker and the bearded man standing quiet still too , with their guns in their hands and their mouths open . Then a man in white ran through the door with a gun in his hand . He shot the girl and the bearded man before they could move . The hijacker in the black shirt came out of the Captain 's cabin behind the man in white came through the door and shot him too . The two prisoners , in their yellow raincoats , tried to get the door , but the men in white knocked them to the floor and handcuffed their behind their backs . Carl looked down . The girl was lying on the floor of the aisle beside him . He thought he saw her hand move towards her machine gun , but then one of the soldiers in white ran down the aisle and shot her again in the head . Then a big heavy suitcase fell on top of her from the compartment above the seats . Another soldier pulled her away by her legs and her long hair left blood along the floor . Helen Sandberg heard the bangs too , and when she saw the white light , she thought the plane was burning . For about half a minute there was nothing but loud bangs and white flashes , and then there was nothing . There were no lights at all in the plane and no sounds either . He was a big man but he was afraid of her . She walked straight past him and down the steps . In the departure lounge there was a crowd of passengers waiting to get on other planes , and also a lot of doctors , police , and newspaper journalists . She walked straight past them all and out onto the tarmac . It was dark and cold and the wind blew rain into her face . When she was about fifty metres away from the building she heard some people behind her , but she did not stop . The door of the plane opened and a man in white came out . He had a gun in his hand and he came backwards down the steps . After him came two men in yellow raincoats with their hands behind their backs , and then two other men in white with guns . ' Not now , ' she said . ' It 's not dangerous anymore . ' She walked on through the rain without stopping , and the young police officers walked beside her . They were afraid to touch her and they did not know what to do . Some journalists ran after them . Carl saw her coming , a small strong figure walking through the rain , with a crowd of police and photographers around her . ' Harold , my friend , ' he said . ' I think we 're in the news again . You 're going to have another photo to show your little son on his birthday . '