Payload capacity.
Every vehicle has one.
A relative set point of maximum weight they can safely carry.
Of course, this included passengers, cargo, and any other items inside said vehicles.
Still, it is frequently advised to stick to specified payload limits for any respective vehicle.
Not that people listen anyway…
Nevertheless, in the case of aircrafts, payload limits are strictly adhered to without compromises.
Afterall, asides from overexceeding the specified payload capacity, a couple other factors tend to affect these specified limits.
Weather conditions, altitude, fuel load… to name a few.
All these, unfortunately, may end up tipping a fairly right payload capacity off the Richter scale and right into varying degrees of turbulence.
Explains why airport staffs and their automated machines could be such bloodhounds about specified luggage weights and their contents.
However, when a Phase Cube— a technological marvel capable of shifting and increasing matter on command— developed by a global terrorist organization became a remote assassination tool to bury their enemies without a single trace of evidence, the EMF was called to action.
This was why…
"Agent Watts. We've got a problem." a feminine voice rang in Sam's wireless ear comms as he leaped over the airstrip fence with the aid of magnetic, electrically-insulating gloves.
"Phase Cube?" the elite agent inquired in a placid yet professional manner.
"Yeah. Flight 309 out of Heathrow, cargo bay two. Tech signature matches what we recovered in Cairo last fall. This one's active… and unstable." the lady-in-the-chair responded.
"But listen— passenger manifest confirms the Prime Minister's onboard." Glitch's hazel irises remained calm, albeit her voice was laced with a sense of urgency.
She, alongside fellow elite hackers of the EMF were in a dimly lit tech ops room in a restricted, underground structure of the airstrip, the lady herself hunching over a multi-monitor rig.
Sam's resolute gaze on the other hand, swept over the vast airstrip, his eyes landing on one of the baggage cart a couple meters away as he listened.
"If the cube shifts mid-air, best-case scenario: turbulence. Worst case? 100% casualty." Glitch pulled up a 3D rendering of the plane, zooming into a blinking cube tucked inside its cargo hold.
Then she leaned closer to the monitor, her voice now lower and colder;
"Whoever planted this knew the Prime Minister would be on board. This isn't just sabotage, it's a statement. You need to intercept before wheels-up."
In sync, Sam whom had been listening, composedly fiddled with his high-tech watch, a map surfacing on it instantaneously.
A blinking red dot popped up with a countdown: T-minus 6 minutes.
"Coordinates locked." Sam, ever a man of few words, replied coolly as he requested of Glitch;
"Think you can jam the tower's ground feed for five minutes?"
"On it." the top-class hacker got right down to business, fingers lightning fast on the keyboard as she added practically a few seconds later;
"Done."
Adrenaline pumping, the agent had simultaneously bolted for the cart!
Vaulting in and slamming the throttle forward, the cart lurched into motion, its tiny wheels squealing as it barreled awkwardly yet determinedly across the tarmac!
Hair flaying wildly in the rushing breeze, the cart zoomed at full-speed across the runway!
Narrowly dodging a fuel truck, veering past crates and scattered cones, Sam pressed hard on the horns as he blitzed past, drawing confused shouts from ground crew.
"Two minutes till activation." Glitch's urgent yet calm voice rang through his comms.
Up ahead, the plane thrummed as it was getting ready to be cleared for takeoff whilst steadily moving towards the runway.
Luckily, Sam was nearby, laterally next to the plane on ground level.
And so, with hard slam on the brakes, he leaped off the cart, hanged onto the crank of the access door with his magnetic gloves, yanked it open whilst hanging, swung forward and rolled right in with a heavy thud!
"Fifty seconds."
Not a moment wasted as he heard the countdown from Glitch, Sam bolted towards the cargo hold!
Thankfully, the cube was already pulsing with a dangerous glow, practically priming itself to increase in size by quintuple its weight a couple minutes from now.
This made it easy for the agent to locate.
"Ten seconds!"
Fiddling with the cube with a calm disposition despite the heightened tension, the agent declared through the comms a couple seconds later;
"Deactivated."
A ripple of relief cascaded across the elite hackers in the underground room, the tense atmosphere dissipating in an instant and replaced by a sense of accomplishment.
"Good job, Agent Watts." Glitch congratulated over the comms as the agent in question, sagged his back against the wall whilst letting out a breath of relief.
Suddenly, across the rows of monitors showing infrared scans, surveillance feeds, and encrypted comms in the tech ops room, a green indicator pinged.
Sighting it with a flick of her irises, Glitch typed at a blistering speed on her keyboard with furrowed brows.
This drew the attention of her fellow colleagues whose sense of relief flipped back to heavy tension.
A swift second later, the lady-in-the-chair tapped her comm link with a panicked tone, her eyes narrowed behind her spectacles as sweat beaded on her forehead;
"Sam! Secondary signal just spiked! Cargo plane, two runways over. Cube just activated!"
Sam jumped to his feet, head whipping to the access door!
Yet, he already knew fully well that his hands were tied behind his back now that he was on this flight.
"Glitch, I can't mak—"
"Glitch, patch me through to tower. Tell 'em to clear the runway. I'm going in." a new voice suddenly intercepted their comms.
Before Sam, or even Glitch herself could respond, the distant purr of an engine roared into focus!
A sleek, black Porsche 911 Turbo S, barreled out of a hangar, tires screeching as it drifted hard onto the open tarmac!
Sunlight glinting off its body, Alex, with sunglasses on, one hand on the wheel, the other drumming along to the upbeat rhythm of an energetic rap song, gently bopped his head as his vehicle burned rubber!
"Agent Hunt?!" Glitch let out a shocked remark.
"Can you do it?" Alex inquired instead, his vehicle streaking past a group of the ground crew who cursed at him in confused anger.
"Y-Yeah. On it!" she assumed her professional composure in an instant as Sam calmly spoke into the comms.
"What about the Berlin job?"
"Things got… complicated. I'll explain later." Alex succinctly replied as he put the pedal to the medal!
"You're clear!" Glitch's voice broke into the conversation as she simultaneously asked, her voice slightly guarded as she watched his car blitzing across the airstrip and straight for the moving cargo plane;
"What are you doing?"
The vibing agent on the other hand, evidently ignored that question as he weaved between support vehicles and crates like he was dancing a dangerous rhythm game with his vehicle!
"Agent Hunt?!" Glitch's voice noticeably became wary.
This was especially because of how fast the Porsche was gaining speed like an unrestrained bullet.
Yet, Alex remained silent as he kept bopping his head to the rap song, his hair violently ruffling in the wind!
At the same time, the cargo plane in question, had its front wheels begin to lift off, its nose slowly tilting upwards.
"Alex?!!" the elite hacker worriedly bellowed this time!
Sam however, seemingly understanding Alex's thought process sighed and spoke into the comms while pinching the ridge of his nose;
"You only get one shot. Make it count."
Not even bothering to give his partner an answer, the edges of Alex's lips curled into a slight smirk as he kicked the vehicle into full gear!
With pinpoint accuracy and just the perfect timing, Alex yanked his wheel hard and slammed the rear end of the Porsche, right into the plane's front landing gear with precision!
Metals screeched!
Rubbers burst!
The landing gear collapsed under the impact of the dangerous swerving collision of the Porsche, sending the nose of the plane crashing right back down with a heavy boom!
Inside the cockpit, pilots yelled in shock as they fought for control!
The massive hauler skidded slowly… finally lurching to a stop a couple seconds later.
The hum of the Phase Cube, as Glitch monitored through her monitor, powered down since the plane was grounded.
As the dust settled, the driver's side door opened and Alex stepped out casually.
Adjusting his sleek-black blazer, his sunglasses still on and the music still faintly playing from the now-wrecked Porsche, he finally responded to Glitch with a roguish smile;
"Sorry about that. Needed the cardio."
"Sure." Sam remarked dryly over the comms as he let out another sigh of relief.
"Hey. You had your fun. Jealous?" Alex teased with a relaxed smile as he pocketed his sunglasses.
Then his demeanor turned serious.
"How's the cube?" he asked, the cameras panning out for a long shot as he strolled towards the grounded plane.
Ignoring the fact that he practically replied to her worried exclaims with such nonchalance, the lady-in-the-chair replied with a resigned sigh of relief;
"Powered down. Good job, Agent Hunt."
-
If not for the fact that the auditorium was filled to the brim with civilized people, the way fans of the much awaited [Epoch Two] would've screamed above their lungs would've have been nothing short of a chaotic cacophony.
It was practically just the opening scene and yet, they already knew they were in for a great time.
Was it the newly wedded, adrenaline junkies Kevin and Sasha whom were being all giddy in their seats like teens…
…or the group of tight-knit bros Todd, Will, Casey and Reggie whom would've never expected that they'd get to watch the sequel to one of their favorite action movies of all time together again despite now being in college?
Honestly, it was obvious that the audience was loving it… especially when actual set scenes of Bruce and Kyle doing all the stunts at an actual airport last year had been leaked prior to the movie's release.
At the very least, they'd at least used a prop plane built from the ground up for Kyle's scene to avoid any fatal incidents on set.
In any case, munching on her popcorn with an excited smile, Amy (Princess Peach), couldn't help but quiet squeal in her mind at her favorite actor's return as Alex Hunt and her sister's role as Glitch.
'That said, it does kinda suck that we couldn't come see the movie together.' she mused to herself.
But then again, when she remembered just how busy Lily was with her very first tour, she simply shrugged it off and focused on the movie.