Ah yes, the ol' locked cockpit door situation. Okay, this story is one on me, kind of.
We landed someplace, can't remember where now, and after we parked I went out down the aft air-stair door, walked past the guard perimeter to a grassy area to have a cigarette. A few minutes later the guy that was co-pilot that week joined me to have a smoke as well. As we were standing there the guy playing as FE that week came out, did his en-route exterior walk around and went back up into the aircraft. Just a couple minuted later the FE came back down and hurried over to us.
"Hey Con, you got your cockpit door key on you?"
I checked all the pockets on my flight suite, no keys, "No, they must be in my jacket pocket in the cockpit." then we both look at the co-pilot.
"In my briefcase, in the cockpit."
Oops. So I look around and see the lead deputy, wave at him and he comes over, I ask him the same question, surely he will have his keys, nope, "No, they are in my briefcase that I put in the cockpit this morning when we left."
'Well hell, we're in for it now' I think. So all four of us go back into the aircraft and go to the cockpit door. I grab the door knob, like it had miraculously come unlocked, twist and turn it, no good.
I send the lead deputy to check the other back end crew members to see if any of them 'accidentally' had a cockpit door key on them or a pocket knife. Now let me tell you something about prisoners, especially the old cons, they have a sixth sense when it comes to something that is out of the ordinary. I hear this mummer coming from the back of me, I turn around and every set of eyeballs in the cabin are looking right back me, they're not friendly looking eyeballs either. Houston, we got a problem. Well I decided, time to do some of that command stuff I had been vested with.
I leaned over toward the forward cabin door and grab the PA handset, then standing in the middle of the aisle I key the hand set button. "As probably all of you have noticed, were having a bit of bother with the cockpit door," No sense lying to them, they could see what was going on, "now I know that every single one of you are innocent, it was some other guy or lady" as I nodded to the female prisoners "but, if anyone just happens to know how to B and E. Please let one of the deputies know, thank you."
Not a word, just vacant stares, then the head of a prisoner in the back pops up in the back and he yells, "Not me personally, but if you let me go, I'll go for help."
In an heart beat the whole cabin erupted in laughter. The lead deputy finally got the door open with a pocket knife and we continued the trip, but the prisoners kept chuckling all day. Months later I'd have prisoners calling to me when I would get on the aircraft, "Hey Cap, ya got your keys with you today?"