Disastrous September – A Novel on 9/11 Terrorist Attacks Part-15

0
1
Front Cover Disastrous September

In memory of the 2981 victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, among them three Albanians

[Disastrous September, by the Albanian-American author, Skifter Këlliçi, takes place on two different days: May 10 and September 11, 2001. The novel tells the story of a well-known CNN reporter named Steve Ferguson, engaged to Jacqueline Cramer, a flight attendant based at Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts. In addition, the novel explores the lives of four Albanians. Besim Istrefi, Rrok Camaj, and Marko Muzaka worked as window washers in the Twin Towers. Sokol Kama, a journalist and writer, works in security at Logan International Airport. On September 11, 2001 just a few days before Steve and Jacqueline’s wedding, two planes, bound for Los Angeles, depart from Boston. Terrorists hijack them and crash them into the Twin Towers in New York. The author, who worked at Logan International Airport during the attacks, offers a gripping account of the tragedy and shows how it could have been avoided.]

By SKIFTER KELLICI

[Translated from the Albanian by Carrie Hooper]

Convinced she would faint, one of the flight attendants leaned against the drink cart. When Rashid heard the clanging bottles, he smirked and shouted, “Don’t move! Everybody sit at the end of the plane! Faster! I don’t want to hear a word! I repeat, if you don’t move, I won’t hurt you. If you do, I’ll kill you. I repeat, we’re going back to Logan Airport.”

The passengers didn’t know their flight was diverted, and they were flying to their death. It was to the terrorists’ advantage to keep them quiet. The passengers seemed calm.

Jay Clement was in his office on the second floor of Terminal B when he heard Muhammad making threats on American Airlines Flight 11. He immediately contacted the FBI.

“This is Floyd Lampard, chief of the FBI Airport Department. How may I help you?”

Jay relayed what he had heard.

“I’ll be there as soon as possible,” said Floyd. “In the meantime, try to stay in contact with the terrorists and find out what they want. Then, alert all airport checkpoints.”

Jay tried to contact the airplane again but failed. A myriad of thoughts raced through his mind. How did the terrorists pass through security? How did they take over the airplane? What weapons did they have? How did they sneak them on board? How could this have happened?

Jay reached the checkpoint Sokol supervised, put his belongings on the conveyor belt, and fumed, “Around 8 this morning, several terrorists passed through this checkpoint with weapons, we don’t know what kind, and hijacked American Airlines Flight 11! They say they are flying back to Boston! We don’t know what they’re up to this is awful! How could they have passed through security?!”

Jay’s words stunned everyone. Sokol thought of his coworkers, held hostage by the terrorists whom he tried to remember. He had inspected their pocket knives and followed his supervisor’s order to allow them to pass through security.

6a184c119a664b13b4c24e731d60d5fc_landscape_12“You allowed them to pass the checkpoint, knowing they had weapons!” Jay shouted at Sokol. “Maybe not you directly, but why didn’t you see the weapons on the screen? Now we are witnessing the catastrophic result: the hijacking of a plane with a hundred passengers and crew.”

Sokol was speechless.

“You even stated in a letter that pocket knives, no matter the size, should not be allowed on board, and passengers should take off their shoes when they go through security. But you let these terrorists through.  Who was on duty between 7:30 and 8:00 AM?”

“Me,” Fatie managed to say. She looked pale and anxious. “But I swear I never saw anyone with a pocketknife.”

“We’ll confirm that,” said Jay.

At that moment, Floyd Lempard, along with FBI agents and police officers from the K-9 unit, searched terminal B while they awaited the return of American Airlines Flight 11.

Muhammad sat at the controls while Abdul and Satem made sure no one panicked. Abdul still held Greta hostage. Satem held a perfume bottle and a lighter.

“The next time I use this lighter, I won’t just burn your eyes,” he said. “I’ll blow up this plane.”

Addressing the passengers, he said, “Please, watch what you do, and don’t talk to each other. We’ll land in Boston in no time.”

“Amanda, calm down,” said George. “We’re on our way to Boston and should arrive there soon.”

But Amanda almost screamed with fright when she saw Patrick and Chris’s bodies.

“I am old but strong,” said the doctor. “If only we could attack the terrorists! True, there are only three of them, but we don’t know how to fly the plane. Besides, they will kill Greta if we make a move. Anyway, they said we’re going back to Boston.”

Read: WAR – A Bouquet of Poems from an Albanian Poet

“Let’s hold on a little longer,” said Amanda. “Who knows how long we will be stranded here? God only knows what these terrorists want. What if no one can agree on a deal? Will they take us to another airport or blow up the plane?”

“Hey, old woman, do you want to die?” asked Satem.

The passengers immediately fell silent.

Jacqueline remembered Abdul’s response to Sokol’s question about his knife. He had said perhaps he could kill a chicken with it, but certainly not a person. When Abdul boarded the plane, Jacqueline had thought she recognized him and had asked him if he was the passenger with the knife. He had just looked at her without saying a word. How could she have been so naiv? Sokol had been right not to trust Abdul who had just killed Chris and Patrick with that very knife, taken control of the plane, and held Jacqueline’s and Emma’s lives in his hands. He could kill them any time. Jacqueline wanted to scream but kept quiet. She leaned against a seat, took out her phone, and dialed Steve’s number. She was afraid someone might catch her, but then she saw almost all the passengers texting their loved ones.

“My name is Frank, and I am a screenwriter. I had planned to go to Los Angeles next week, but the producer convinced me to go earlier because he is busy next week. We needed to discuss some issues as soon as possible.”

“My name is Robert, and I am a mechanical engineer in Boston. I was going to my friend’s 40th birthday party. How could we have known the guys talking about the Islamic terrorists were the terrorists themselves? Let’s hope everything ends well.”

Frank tried to comfort Robert.

“What if we attacked them,” he said. “There are only two of them.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” said Robert, “but one of them is holding that poor woman hostage.”

“You’re right,” said Frank. “But if we attacked them, only two people would die.”

“Let’s leave it to fate,” said Robert. “We are going back to Boston.”  (Continues)

Click here for Part-1Part-2Part-3Part-4Part-5Part-6Part-7Part-8Part-9Part-10Part-11Part-12Part-13, Part-14

______________

About the Author

Skifter Kellici -Albanian-American writerSkifter Këllici was born in Tirana, Albania and received a diploma in history and literature from the University of Tirana. He worked as a journalist, scholar, and sportscaster on radio and television. He is the author of several novels and nonfiction books, including the children’s books, “Memories of the Old Neighborhood” and “In the Footsteps” as well as the historical novels, “Assassination in Paris”, “The Murderer with the White Hands”, and “September Disaster.” He wrote the screenplay for “In the Footsteps” which won a special prize at the International Children’s Film Festival in Giffoni, Italy in 1979. He has lived in Boston, Massachusetts since 1999.

About the Translator

Carrie Hooper was born and raised in Elmira, New York. She has been blind since birth. She received a B.A. in vocal performance from Mansfield University, Mansfield, Pennsylvania.  She went on to receive an M.A. in German and an M.A. in vocal performance from the State University of New York at Buffalo.  After completing her studies, she spent a year at the Royal University College of Music in Stockholm, Sweden as a Fulbright scholar. Carrie currently lives in Elmira, New York. She taught German, Italian, and Romanian at Elmira College.  She has a passion for foreign languages and in addition to the languages mentioned above, she is also proficient in Swedish, Spanish, and Albanian.  Music also plays an important role in Carrie’s life.  She teaches voice and piano lessons, gives vocal concerts, plays the piano and organ at a church, and sings in a community chorus. Carrie not only loves music and languages, but also enjoys poetry.  She has published three books: “Piktura në fjalë” (“Word Paintings”), a bilingual collection of poetry (Albanian-English), “My Life in My Words”, and “Away from Home.”  She has also translated texts from Albanian and Romanian to English.

[The book ‘Disastrous September is being reproduced in episodes with the consent of the author]

Read – New Book: Interview with the Spectrum of Literature, Art and Journalism

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here