Black Box Cassette 4: YYZ to ATL

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## Black Box Cassette 4: YYZ to ATL

### Air Date

25/12/18

> *"But how can you know if someone loves you if they can't tell you they do, or show you they do?"*
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This cassette is the recording of the Pilot's flight between Toronto and Atlanta in the early 1980s, done by the automatic black box recording system.

The Pilot asks Hester Wells (currently under the alias April Callis) whether she enjoyed the incredibly smooth takeoff. They go on to wonder aloud whether pilots are the only ones who notice and appreciate that kind of thing.

It had been a difficult week since their previous flight, to Toronto, possibly even more so than the time preceding it spent fleeing Chicago. The Pilot expresses to Hester that they hope she didn't divulge her past to them just because she felt she owed them an explanation. They hope she doesn't regret telling them about Oleta and why she was being chased across the country by men in suits.

The Pilot asks Hester what she'll do if Oleta is not there when she gets to Aotearoa. They ask how she can know that Oleta loves her if she's never had the opportunity to say or show it. They relate a story of when they were a teenager and wrote a poorly-received love letter to a friend at school. The reason they wrote it down was not because they were shy or bad at expressing themselves, as they said, it was so that the girl wouldn't be able to cut them off before they had finished, and they wouldn't have to see her disappointed face. Keisa talked to them later about the "creepy" unsigned note, and they gradually stopped talking altogether.

They apologise for telling the story, as it would probably just make Hester paranoid. They thank her for trusting them with the story, and says that they really do think Oleta will be there. At four o clock, they will land in Atlanta, and the Pilot says that there's a cargo ship going to Sydney from Valparaíso that their friend can get her on. In order to get on it, the Pilot will help Hester get to Santiago with the help of some "light fraud" and a friend who was willing to switch around some flight records for them. The Pilot volunteers ("selfishly") to help get Hester all the way to Valparaíso by catching a bus or hitchhiking.

The Pilot assures Hester that their arm, which was grazed by a bullet in a car chase in Toronto, is fine. They admit that they're a little proud to be able to say they've been shot, and compliments Hester on her driving, which was excellent under pressure.

They say they'll be sad to say goodbye to Hester, as she's made for very interesting company. She inspired them with her very brave actions and her commitment to changing her life for the better. They have never been that kind of person, although they wished they had been, for their wife and child. Their part in Hester's journey is almost over, and then she'll be on a ship for a few weeks, inching ever closer to Oleta.

As they come in to land, they muse about how sometimes you just have to accept the limitations of what you're capable of. They feel like Hester is probably going to tell them they're wrong about that. They consider that maybe they could find Sam.