Chapter 8: Thirty Thousand Feet

Chaos erupted throughout the cabin.

Passengers screamed.

Oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling.

The aircraft lurched violently to the left.

A woman near the rear began crying.

Someone shouted for help.

Another passenger started praying.

For a brief moment, pure panic consumed everyone onboard.

Everyone except Adrian.

He remained frighteningly calm.

'Lena.'

'What?'

'Look at me.'

I forced myself to focus on him.

'Breathe.'

'Someone murdered the pilot!'

'I know.'

'The plane is crashing!'

'Not yet.'

His confidence annoyed me.

It also kept me from completely losing my mind.

The injured co-pilot collapsed into a nearby seat.

Blood soaked his uniform.

'The cockpit...' he gasped.

'There are two men inside.'

'Armed.'

'They killed Captain Reeves.'

Detective Harris immediately moved forward.

'How many passengers are on board?'

'Twenty-two.'

'Any security personnel?'

'Two.'

'Where are they?'

'Dead.'

The cabin fell silent.

That answer changed everything.

This wasn't a hijacking.

It was an execution.

A carefully planned one.

'The Collector,' Adrian muttered.

'Definitely,' Harris agreed.

'He doesn't want us reaching the island.'

'Or he wants us dead before we do.'

The aircraft suddenly dropped again.

Several passengers screamed.

My stomach felt like it remained somewhere above us.

'Please tell me someone here knows how to fly a plane.'

Nobody answered.

That wasn't encouraging.

Adrian looked toward the cockpit.

'We need control of the aircraft.'

'You have a plan?' I asked.

'Not a good one.'

'That's becoming a theme.'

Ignoring me, he turned toward Harris.

'Can you create a distraction?'

'Probably.'

'Good.'

'What exactly are you planning?'

'Something stupid.'

'Excellent.'

Neither man seemed concerned by how ridiculous this conversation sounded.

Before I could protest, Adrian crouched beside me.

'Stay here.'

'Absolutely not.'

'Lena.'

'No.'

'This isn't negotiable.'

'Neither is dying.'

For a moment, our eyes locked.

Then something unexpected happened.

Adrian smiled.

A real smile.

Small.

Brief.

But real.

'You're impossible.'

'And you're reckless.'

'Fair.'

Then he stood.

Seconds later, the plan began.

Detective Harris moved toward the center of the cabin.

'Everyone stay calm!'

The statement accomplished absolutely nothing.

Still, it got attention.

Meanwhile, Adrian slipped quietly toward the cockpit.

The teddy bear remained tucked under one arm.

At this point, I was convinced it had become part of his body.

The cockpit door suddenly opened.

One of the hijackers stepped out.

A rifle hung from his shoulder.

'Sit down!' he shouted.

'Anyone moves and people die.'

Passengers immediately obeyed.

The hijacker scanned the cabin.

Then his eyes landed on Adrian.

'You.'

Wrong choice.

Adrian moved first.

Everything happened too fast.

A punch.

A struggle.

The rifle hitting the floor.

A scream.

Detective Harris tackled the man from the side.

The entire cabin erupted again.

The second hijacker emerged from the cockpit.

Gun raised.

'Get down!'

A shot rang out.

Glass shattered.

People ducked.

I couldn't breathe.

Adrian slammed into the second man before he could fire again.

The two crashed into a row of seats.

The gun slid across the floor.

Directly toward me.

For a second I stared at it.

Then reality caught up.

I grabbed it.

The hijacker noticed immediately.

'Drop it!'

'No!'

'Lena!' Adrian shouted.

Too late.

The hijacker charged.

Instinct took over.

I pulled the trigger.

The gunshot echoed through the cabin.

Silence followed.

The man collapsed.

Not dead.

His shoulder.

But definitely not continuing the fight.

I stared at the weapon in horror.

'Oh my God.'

'You okay?' Adrian asked.

'I shot someone.'

'Technically, yes.'

'That's your response?'

'I'm proud of you.'

I blinked.

'You're proud of me?'

'Remind me never to make you angry.'

For some reason, that nearly made me laugh.

The remaining hijacker was quickly restrained.

The immediate danger ended.

Unfortunately, a much larger problem remained.

The aircraft was still flying itself.

'Who's controlling the plane?' I asked.

Everyone looked toward the cockpit.

Then toward the unconscious hijackers.

Then toward each other.

Nobody answered.

That was when the co-pilot spoke.

'I can land it.'

Relief flooded the cabin.

'Wonderful,' I said.

'There's one problem.'

Of course there was.

'What now?'

'We're losing fuel.'

The room went silent.

'How much?' Adrian asked.

'Enough to reach the nearest island.'

'Not enough to reach New York.'

'Not enough to reach Miami.'

'Not enough for mistakes.'

Perfect.

Just perfect.

An hour later, the aircraft descended toward a small Caribbean island.

Not the Collector's island.

A neighboring one.

The emergency landing was rough.

Very rough.

But we survived.

As the wheels finally stopped, applause broke out across the cabin.

Some people cried.

Others laughed.

I simply sat there breathing.

Alive.

Miraculously alive.

Outside, tropical rain poured from dark clouds.

Palm trees swayed violently.

The island looked isolated.

Remote.

Dangerous.

Exactly the sort of place villains used in movies.

Detective Harris joined us near the exit.

'Good news.'

'Please tell me there actually is good news.'

'We know where Marcus is.'

'And?'

'He's already on the Collector's island.'

My stomach tightened.

'Then we're behind.'

'Not by much.'

Adrian looked toward the ocean.

Several miles away, through the storm, a faint shape appeared.

An island.

Private.

Hidden.

Waiting.

'That's it,' Harris said.

'The Collector's island.'

Lightning flashed across the horizon.

For one brief second, I saw the silhouette of a massive mansion standing on the cliffs.

Dark.

Elegant.

Sinister.

Then the darkness returned.

Adrian's expression hardened.

'This ends tonight.'

'You keep saying that.'

'This time I mean it.'

I looked at the island again.

Somewhere out there was Marcus Monroe.

Somewhere out there was the man who ordered Celeste's murder.

And somewhere out there was the Collector himself.

The mastermind behind everything.

The man who had spent years hiding in the shadows.

The man who had killed for secrets.

The man who was about to learn that some secrets refuse to stay buried.