The man was much like us, empty-handed, with his hands shoved in his pockets, his eyes darting left and right, as if scrutinizing everyone in the boarding line.
His gaze made me a little uneasy; he had a shifty look about him, the kind that suggested thievery. The early morning flight was mostly filled with businessmen going to Myanmar for bargains. With this flight being targeted, I wondered how many people would suffer.
My companion and I, however, were unconcerned. We hadn't even brought a handbag, let alone any valuables. Our pockets were cleaner than our faces.
The plane was quite full. We were seated towards the back, with the seats ahead of us almost completely occupied.
I noticed the man was in the middle section. He was quiet upon boarding, leaning back in his seat as if sleeping.
Perhaps I was overthinking it. Maybe that was just his manner, staring at people without making eye contact, which gave off an uncomfortable feeling.
Most passengers, groggy from waking up, rushed to the airport for the early flight, so sleeping upon boarding was normal.
Many people continued to sleep after getting on the plane.
Then the plane began to taxi, accelerate, and take off. Many passengers pulled down the window shades, and the cabin lights were dimmed. More people began to rest their eyes.
Brother Leopard also closed his eyes, preparing to sleep.
Flying was boring, and sleeping was an effective way to pass the time.
I wanted to sleep too, but I was still suspicious of that man. I felt it wouldn't be right if he didn't cause some sort of commotion.
Yet, the entire cabin was quiet. The flight attendants had returned to their seats, and the plane flew smoothly. Most people on board had drifted off to sleep.
I fought to keep my eyelids from drooping, staring intently at the man in the rows ahead.
At that moment, from the right side of the row in front of me, a person stood up with a black combination lock briefcase, walked over to the man, placed it beside him, and then casually left.
These two had walked separately. If they knew each other, why weren't they together? And why pretend not to know each other?
They were definitely accomplices. What were they up to?
It didn't seem like a robbery. If I had only seen the first man, I might have thought he was planning to rob someone on the plane. But now, seeing him handed a suitcase, it didn't seem like it. Unless the suitcase contained weapons, but who would dare carry a suitcase openly filled with weapons? That was impossible.
Then what were they doing with the suitcase?
The man seemed to ignore the person beside him and didn't even look at the suitcase.
After about five or six more minutes, he stood up, picked up the suitcase from his side, walked forward two rows, skillfully opened the overhead compartment, took out a suitcase similar to the one he was holding, quickly placed the one he had in his hand back in its place, and then carried the retrieved suitcase to his feet.
I finally understood. This was a switch! When the owner of the suitcase opened the compartment, seeing their suitcase still there, they wouldn't be overly suspicious. By the time they realized something was amiss, the perpetrator would be long gone.
He quickly sat down, feigning sleep as if nothing had happened.
Then, the second person, who had acted casually, returned and took away the combination lock briefcase from beside the seat. Everything returned to calm.
I stood up, walked over, patted the man on the shoulder, and said, "My suitcase, what are you doing with it?"
He was startled and a little flustered, saying, "My suitcase has always been with me, how did it become yours?"
I said, "Your suitcase? Can you tell me what's inside your suitcase? Can you tell me?"
The man replied, "Why should I tell you? I'll accuse you of blackmail, believe it or not."
I said, "Alright then, I'll blackmail you. You can call the police. If you don't, I will!"
He was clearly a bit timid but still retorted defiantly, "Who are you? What right do you have to meddle in my affairs?"
I said, "I have the right to stop a crime. Let me tell you, I'm going to handle this matter today!"
At this point, a female flight attendant walked over. Seeing me standing in the aisle, she politely asked, "Sir, is there anything I can help you with?"
I said, "Please ask for a security officer to come over. I need his assistance!"
Upon hearing me ask for a security officer, the man shot up, grabbed me, and said, "Do you want to die?"
I sneered, "Whether I want to die or not is not for you to say. Take your dirty hand off me, don't make me do anything!"
He held onto my clothes, clearly intending to teach me a lesson.
I threw a left hook to his chin. He winced in pain and immediately let go. I said, "You refused the polite offer, so now you're facing the consequences. Do you want another one?"
He rolled his eyes, likely realizing the force of my punch, and said nothing further. Just then, the female flight attendant returned with a young man in uniform and asked me, "Sir, is there anything I can help you with?"
I said, "This gentleman might have picked up the wrong suitcase. I need you to make an announcement to confirm, so passengers don't suffer any losses."
The security officer asked, "Are you sure someone picked up the wrong suitcase?"
I replied, "Yes, I personally saw someone take the wrong suitcase from the overhead compartment. It's this one right in front of you. I can confirm this suitcase doesn't belong to the person seated here. If I'm wrong, I'll take full responsibility."
The security officer asked, "Sir, please, can you tell me what items are inside your suitcase?"
The man became noticeably flustered, clutching the combination lock briefcase and saying nothing.
Our argument had attracted the attention of people in the front few rows, and some were curiously looking over.
One person walked over, looking puzzled, and carefully examined the combination lock briefcase.
The security officer said, "Unrelated passengers, please return to your seats. This gentleman states that someone has taken the wrong suitcase. Passengers with combination lock briefcases, please check your belongings. If there are any discrepancies, contact me."
The same person who had come over earlier opened the overhead compartment, glanced at the suitcases inside, and let out a sigh of relief, intending to close it.
I asked, "Did you see what was inside it?"
He paused for a moment, looked again, and then pulled it out.
He hesitated before opening it. Inside were a few books, with nothing else.
He said nervously, "This isn't my suitcase. My suitcase had fifty thousand cash. This suitcase has nothing!"
I said to the security officer, "Could you please open it and see if there's this much money inside!"
The security officer took the suitcase and, in front of everyone, tipped it onto the floor. Several bundles of cash rolled out. The security officer picked them up and counted them. Exactly fifty thousand, no more, no less.
The security officer asked, "How do you explain this?"
The man lowered his head, not daring to speak. The security officer took out a rope from his pocket and quickly bound the man.
I walked to the front and pulled up his accomplice, who was feigning sleep. "Stop pretending. Get up," I said.
The man stared at me blankly, his face a picture of innocence.
I said, "You're quite the actor, aren't you? Should I tell you which hand you used to grab the suitcase?"