I spoke back into the satellite phone receiver. “Miller, what do we do about the air? We need to clear the cockpit.”

“Do not use the ventilation override switch,” Miller warned immediately.

“If you toggle the secondary fans, you will open the cross-flow valves to the passenger cabin.”

“The toxin is trapped in the cockpit’s closed loop right now,” he explained.

“If those valves open, the gas will flood the entire aircraft.”

I looked at the overhead panel, where a row of toggle switches sat just above Malachi’s head.

One of them was labeled *CABIN AIR ISOLATION*.

It was currently set to *AUTO*.

“Miller, the warning light is flashing red,” I said. “The computer is trying to balance the cabin pressure.”

“The system might do it automatically if the sensors detect a pressure differential,” Miller said.

“You need to pull the circuit breaker for the cross-flow valve right now.”

“Where is it?” I asked, my heart hammering against my ribs.

“Behind the captain’s seat, panel P6-1,” Miller said. “Row C, column four.”

I squeezed past Dr. Thorne and looked at the massive wall of black circuit breakers behind the captain’s seat.