I glanced out the window and noticed we were over wide-open areas. I guess I’d call it a desert, even though technically it wasn’t. Occasionally, I’d see a compound on the ground or maybe several vehicles parked together. But there wasn’t much else.

Jackson came back toward me and plopped down in the seat across from me again. He turned to me and started to speak. “You know, we’re going…”

Then an alarm started to beep throughout the whole cabin. I had never heard an alarm on a plane like that before.

The pilot became frantic.

I had to look at Jackson and finally ask, “What’s going on?”

“Ground radar is lighting us up. Some ragheads with old surface-to-air shoulder missiles think they can get an easy kill.”

Just then, the plane made a wild looping turn to the left. The pilot was good. He banked the plane so hard that I almost fell out of my seat. Then I saw the missile. It zipped past the window right next to the wing. I could hear it as it swooshed by. The pilot’s crazy maneuvers had worked. At least for now.

Jackson ignored me and started screaming at the pilot. “Get us out of here! Don’t fool around! Just haul ass—now!”

The pilot leveled the plane, but yelled over his shoulder, “They’re about to launch again.” This time the plane did the same maneuver in the opposite direction. The force of the turn threatened to drop me out of my seat again. Then I realized the position I was in and let go of my grip on the seat in front of me holding me in place.

It was like I was in zero gravity when I slipped out of the seat, but barely moved. The pilot forced the plane into another turn and I landed on top of Jackson like I had planned.

My hands were still cuffed in front of me, but my full weight had landed directly on the former Marine. It was satisfying to hear the noise that came out of him when my 230 pounds landed squarely on his stomach. It sounded like an exaggerated effect Al Pacino would make in a movie.

It was hard to twist and use my elbows effectively with the handcuffs on my wrists. That didn’t mean I didn’t try. I enjoyed throwing my right elbow into his jaw. I expected some blows back my way, but between landing on him and catching him across the jaw, Jackson was completely dazed.

The plane leveled out and I stood up. It took me a minute to get my legs under me and feel confident about walking up the aisle toward the pilot. I was going to have him turn around and land back at Bagram. I didn’t care what sort of security forces showed up when we landed.