RESEAT ACCEPTED
He stood.
“Priya.”
She looked up.
“Yes?”
“Was that recorded as voluntary?”
Priya’s eyes flicked toward Robert.
He stepped closer.
“That code is internal.”
Ethan looked at him.
“I did not consent.”
“You stood up.”
“After you threatened security.”
Robert exhaled.
“We are trying to solve your problem.”
“No.”
“You’re trying to make the record support what you already did.”
Robert’s voice sharpened.
“You have no authority to direct our internal systems.”
Footsteps came from the terminal.
Fast.
Three people.
The first was Marcus Bennett.
Regional executive director for the West Coast.
Fifty-four.
Twenty-seven years in airline operations.
Marcus had started as a ramp supervisor.
He knew Ethan well.
Not socially.
Professionally.
They had spent dozens of hours in board safety reviews.
Marcus had heard that Flight 217 was delayed by a customer issue.
He expected to find a loud passenger.
Then he saw Ethan.
Marcus stopped.
The operations supervisor behind him nearly walked into his shoulder.
For a second, Marcus simply stared.
Ethan in a worn coat.
Emma beside him.
Robert between them and the gate.
Marcus’s stomach dropped.
“Chairman Walker?”
Robert turned.
Priya froze.
Emma looked at her father.
One operations supervisor whispered:
“Oh.”
Marcus walked forward.
“What happened?”
Ethan looked at him.
“Good morning, Marcus.”
Marcus’s eyes moved to Emma.
“Emma.”
“Hi.”
Her voice was quiet.
Marcus looked toward the aircraft.
Then Robert.
“Why is Chairman Walker standing in the jet bridge?”
Robert’s face went pale.
“I…”
Ethan raised one hand.
“No titles yet.”
Marcus stopped.
Ethan pointed toward Priya’s device.
“Can you preserve every version of this booking record?”
Marcus looked at the screen.
“Yes.”
“Immediately?”
“Yes.”
“Do it.”
Robert stepped forward.
“Mr. Bennett, this is a seating misunderstanding.”
Ethan looked at him.
“Five minutes ago, you said I had no authority to discuss your system.”
Robert swallowed.
Ethan continued.
“You were correct about one thing.”
“I’m still the passenger.”
“That’s how we’re going to review this.”
Marcus nodded.
He called operations control.
“Freeze Flight 217 passenger record.”
“Preserve all seat transactions from boarding open.”
“Do not release aircraft.”
Robert stared.
“You’re holding the flight?”
Marcus covered the phone.
“Yes.”
“For a seat dispute?”
Ethan answered.
“For an unverified customer record that says I voluntarily accepted something I refused.”
Robert’s jaw tightened.
“We can correct that.”
“After departure?”
“No.”
“You had the opportunity before changing it.”
Marcus finished the call.
Then asked:
“Do we have onboard scan integrity?”
Priya answered carefully.
“All passengers were scanned correctly at boarding.”
“The issue is seat reassignment and consent coding.”
Marcus looked relieved in one sense.
Concerned in another.
This was not an identity-security collapse.
But it was still serious.
A customer’s record had been altered improperly.