With her other hand, she lifted the tray table into place.
“There. Compliant.”
Clare stared at the phone.
“You are still recording.”
“I am still documenting.”
“You were instructed to stop.”
“And I was threatened with police for recording. That is part of what I’m documenting.”
Clare’s face went red.
For a moment, it looked as if she might reach for the phone.
Lena moved first.
“Do not touch her phone.”
Clare froze.
The warning was quiet, but it had force.
Clare looked around and realized at least three other passengers had their phones out now.
She stepped back, but her voice remained sharp.
“You people are making a routine service issue into something ugly.”
Samuel Reed looked at her.
“No, ma’am. You did that when you took the cup.”
Clare walked away before she could answer.
Maya pressed her shoulders into the seat and tried to slow her breathing.
Her body felt wrong now.
Not collapsing.
Not yet.
But unstable.
The glucose tablet had helped for a few minutes.
The stress was burning through it faster than she liked.
She had one hand around her phone and the other pressed lightly against her thigh to hide the tremor.
Lena noticed anyway.
“Do you have a meter?”
Maya nodded toward her bag beneath the seat.
“Front pocket.”
“May I?”
Maya hesitated only a second, then nodded.
Lena unbuckled, reached forward carefully, and pulled the small case from Maya’s bag.
Clare saw her from the galley.
“Ma’am, sit down. We are taxiing.”
“I’m checking a passenger with a medical condition.”
“You are not authorized to provide medical care.”
Lena looked up.
“Then authorize safe food.”
Ethan Cole stepped out from the forward galley before Clare could respond.
He had a printed report in one hand.
Now Maya saw her name at the top.
“Miss Ortiz,” Ethan said. “Return to your seat.”
Lena stayed low beside Maya.
“I will as soon as I make sure she is not about to crash.”
Ethan’s voice dropped.
“You are creating a second compliance issue.”
Lena opened the case.
“Write that down too.”
Maya almost told Lena not to risk herself, but the words did not come.
Her mouth felt dry.
She looked out the window and saw the wing lights blinking in the dark.
Lena checked Maya with practiced speed.
Seconds passed.
The small meter displayed the result.
Lena’s expression changed.
“What is it?” Maya asked.
“Low enough that this should not be ignored.”
Clare stood in the aisle.
“She has been talking nonstop for twenty minutes. She’s fine.”
Lena turned the meter so her camera could see it without announcing the number to the entire cabin.
“She is not fine. She needs carbohydrates, protein, and safe food. Not peanuts. Not seafood. Not a voucher.”
Ethan looked toward Maya.
“Miss Williams, do you want us to request medical removal before takeoff?”
Maya knew exactly what he was doing.