The Flight Attendant

by Chris Bohjalian

Like almost everything else she did, it was crossing a line that most people wouldn’t. She did it because it thrilled her. It was just that simple. She did it because it was, like so much else that made her happy, dangerous and self-destructive and just a little bit sick.

When her father had formed the Cossacks a quarter century ago, choosing the most patriotic (translation: old-school Russian) officers he knew in the KGB, Viktor had been about her age right now.

Now the Cossacks were among the darkest arms in the FSB, the successor to the KGB. They worked often with Russian military intelligence, the GRU, as they were on this project. And, yes, they were among the most corrupt. Elena knew that. Her father had known that. And clearly the Americans knew it. The Cossacks were ruthless and they were rich.