She doesn't get a chance.

Before Jinjing could give me her answer, the Chinese pilot stepped up to us and put a hand on my shoulder.

"Alison."

I froze, feeling the weight of his authority over me. I'd never felt so awkwardly alone and helpless. On this particular flight, the only American crew members were myself, a Chinese-American girl who was still a person, and the black copilot, and he hadn't come out of the cockpit yet. I was surrounded by half a dozen Asian men and women and knew in my bones that every single one of them knew I was beneath them just because we were in Asia.

He continued. "I've been instructed to take possession of our... affected crew while the company sorts this out. We may be grounded for a while. The company doesn't want to risk sending personnel somewhere they may become a minority."

I nodded, feeling numb again. It made sense. It was a good move. Protect company assets, manage liability. I looked at him. I knew him as Ken but I assumed he had a "real" name he would prefer I use. I spoke and my voice came out barely more than a whisper, my throat dry. "What's going to happen to me?"

He was shaking hands with the crew and sending them in their way, including Jinjing who looked at me apologetically before she left the plane. Her luggage rumbled along the boarding ramp, signaling her departure.

He never even noticed I'd spoken. He just said, "Come on, then. I dont want to babysit you so let's get this over with. Don't be a burden." He pounded on the door to the cockpit and it opened to reveal a rather nervous looking black man not much older than me.

I'd always thought James was deliciously handsome. He had strong features and a nice body. Big hands, I noticed. I'd always wondered if I could successfully seduce him, but never got up the nerve to try.

He saw me and took a deep breath, then stepped out of the cockpit and we both fell in behind Ken.

"You too, huh?" James said quietly as we moved into the spacious airport terminal.

It was full of Chinese people and tourists. Most of the tourists had been separated form their luggage and were penned up in one corner of the terminal. Possibly by choice for self preservation. Like a herd of sheep or something.

Some activity at a gate we passed caught my attention. Some younger Asian guys had a crying white woman draped over the top of a row of airport chairs. One was fucking her from behind while the other **** her to suck his cock.

A few Chinese women nearby were scolding the men disapprovingly, but from their demeanor it seemed they were just concerned with their indecent display in public.

Most interesting, I think, was that no one seemed to care about the girl. Not even me.

I swallowed nervously as we passed the scene. "Yup. Me too."

I tried to ignore how the woman's plight had turned me on a little.