His elbow hit the throttle, and his lower back slammed onto a large red switch labeled “AUX EMERGENCY”. A siren blared through the seaplane like a foghorn gone wild. All five pirates flinched.
One of them screamed something, panicking as the plane began to roll slightly. Another lost his balance and fell against the open crate. One of the smaller boxes tipped and crashed to the floor, spilling delicate contents—silver cases, electronics, pieces of hardware now clattering and bouncing across the cabin.