Chapter 8: The Flight That Was Never on the Schedule
The engines began to roar.
Rebecca stared through the cockpit windshield as the old aircraft came alive beneath them.
For a few seconds, she couldn't understand what was happening.
The jet had been buried beneath Sterling's underground facility for decades.
It had no scheduled flight.
No pilot.
No authorization.
No reason to move.
Yet the instruments were lighting up one by one.
Navigation.
Hydraulics.
Fuel.
Power.
Everything.
“Who's flying this thing?”” Rebecca demanded.
Michael looked at the controls.
“Nobody.””
“That isn't possible.””
“I know.””
He reached toward the main panel.
The switches were already set.
The systems were operating autonomously.
Rebecca stared at the runway displayed on the navigation screen.
“There's no runway down here.””
Michael's face hardened.
“Look.””
The hangar floor began to move.
A massive section of concrete separated down the center.
Below them, mechanical platforms lifted the aircraft.
Rebecca grabbed the edge of the seat.
“You built a runway under the building?””
Michael shook his head.
“Thomas did.””
The aircraft rose.
Steel doors opened above them.
Cold night air rushed through the hangar.
For the first time, Rebecca saw the sky.
Dallas stretched beyond the hidden structure.
City lights glittered in the distance.
The aircraft continued rising.
Then the engines screamed.
Michael grabbed the controls.
“They're taking us up.””
Rebecca looked at him.
“Who?””
“I don't know.””
“You're the one who told me to get on this plane.””
“I didn't expect it to start itself.””
The aircraft accelerated.
Rebecca was pushed into her seat.
The underground hangar disappeared beneath them.
Within seconds, they were above the city.
No runway.
No clearance.
No pilot.
Just an old private jet climbing into the night.
Rebecca stared at the controls.
A route had already been entered.
Dallas to Geneva.
Exactly as Thomas's letter had indicated.
She looked at Michael.
“You knew this was going to happen.””
“No.””
“You're lying.””
“Rebecca, listen to me.””
He pointed toward the black drive in her hand.
“That drive is controlling the aircraft.””
She looked down.
“What?””
“It contains the navigation authorization.””
“How?””
“I don't know.””
Michael turned toward the instruments.
“But whoever designed this system wanted one thing.””
“What?””
“For you to reach Geneva.””
Rebecca's mind raced.
“Why?””
Michael didn't answer.
Suddenly the cockpit door shook.
Henry was trying to get inside.
Michael moved toward it.
“Can he break through?””
“Yes.””
“How long?””
“Not long.””
Rebecca stood.
“What do we do?””
Michael looked at her.
“We land somewhere before he gets control.””
“Where?””
He checked the map.
“There's an abandoned airfield in Oklahoma.””
Rebecca shook her head.
“We need to go to Geneva.””
“We won't make it if Henry takes the controls.””
A loud impact shook the cockpit door.
Michael stepped back.
Rebecca saw a small compartment beneath the console.
Inside was a firearm.
She grabbed it.
Michael looked surprised.
“You know how to use that?””
“No.””
“Then don't point it at yourself.””
Another impact.
The door frame bent.
Rebecca's heart pounded.
Michael pulled a panel from the wall.
“There's a service hatch.””
“What?””
“Thomas designed this aircraft with a second cockpit access point.””
Rebecca followed him.
Before they could open it, the cockpit door burst inward.
Henry stepped through.
He held a gun.
His face was calm.
Almost amused.
Michael raised his weapon.
Henry smiled.
“Put it down.””
Michael didn't.
Henry looked at Rebecca.
“Give me the drive.””
Rebecca tightened her grip.
“No.””
Henry's expression changed.
“Rebecca.””
“You killed my father.””
“No.””
“You lied about my family.””
“No.””
“You tried to kill us tonight.””
“No.””
Michael laughed.
Henry looked at him.
“You're still alive.””
“Disappointed?””
“A little.””
Henry took another step.
Michael fired.
The shot struck the wall.
Henry ducked.
Rebecca dropped to the floor.
Another shot.
The aircraft shook.
Warning lights flashed.
Michael grabbed Rebecca.
“Down!””
Henry fired again.
The bullet shattered the navigation panel.
Sparks exploded.
The aircraft suddenly tilted.
Rebecca screamed.
Michael pulled her toward the side wall.
“We're losing autopilot!””
Henry reached toward the controls.
“Move!””
Michael tackled him.
The two men crashed against the seats.
Rebecca scrambled toward the main panel.
The navigation route was flickering.
Dallas.
Geneva.
Dallas.
Geneva.
Then a third destination appeared.
Rebecca stared.
A small island.
She had seen those coordinates before.
In the hidden archive.
She touched the screen.
A name appeared.
*VALENTIA ISLAND.*
Michael saw it.
“What is that?””
“I don't know.””
Henry stopped fighting for a second.
His face changed.
“You shouldn't see that.””
Rebecca looked at him.
“Why?””
Henry stared at the coordinates.
“Because that isn't Geneva.””
Michael pushed Henry away.
“Then where does it go?””
Henry didn't answer.
Rebecca looked at him.
“Tell me.””
Henry's voice became quiet.
“That's where they buried the archive.””
The aircraft suddenly stabilized.
The autopilot had reengaged.
Everyone froze.
Rebecca looked at the route.
Geneva disappeared.
Valentia Island remained.
Michael stared at the screen.
“Your father never intended to send us to Geneva.””
Rebecca shook her head.
“No.””
She looked at Henry.
“He wanted us to go there.””
Henry smiled.
For the first time that night, Rebecca saw something resembling fear in his eyes.
“You have no idea what you're opening.””
“Then explain.””
“You can't.””
“Why?””
“Because once the archive is opened, people will die.””
Michael looked at him.
“People are already dead.””
Henry stared at him.
“You don't understand the scale.””
Michael stepped closer.
“Then tell us.””
Henry looked at Rebecca.
“Your father didn't collect those files to expose criminals.””
Rebecca frowned.
“What?””
“He collected them to control them.””
Silence.
Michael shook his head.
“That's not true.””
“It is.””
Henry looked at Rebecca.
“Thomas believed he could hold the world hostage.””
“He was trying to protect people.””
“He was trying to become more powerful than the people he feared.””
Rebecca looked at the black drive.
“What is on it?””
Henry's expression darkened.
“Names.””
“Just names?””
“No.””
“What?””
“Proof.””
“Of what?””
“Everything.””
Henry walked toward the windshield.
“Wars.””
“Elections.””
“Assassinations.””
“Financial collapses.””
“Disappearances.””
“Political deals.””
Rebecca stared at him.
“You're saying Black Meridian influenced all of that?””
Henry nodded.
“For decades.””
“Who was behind it?””
Henry looked at her.
“You're asking the wrong question again.””
Rebecca clenched her jaw.
“Then what is the right question?””
“Who benefited?””
Nobody answered.
Henry smiled bitterly.
“That's what Thomas discovered.””
Michael pointed his gun at him.
“And you benefited.””
Henry shook his head.
“I inherited it.””
Rebecca stared.
“Inherited what?””
“The network.””
Her stomach turned.
“You were Black Meridian.””
Henry corrected her.
“I was its caretaker.””
Michael scoffed.
“You're a murderer.””
Henry didn't react.
“I've done terrible things.””
Rebecca stared at him.
“But you didn't kill Thomas.””
Henry slowly turned.
“No.””
“Then who did?””
Henry's silence lasted too long.
Rebecca stepped forward.
“Who?””
Finally he said,
“Richard.””
Michael's face changed.
“What?””
Henry looked directly at Rebecca.
“Richard Hayes killed Thomas Ellis.””
Rebecca stopped breathing.
“No.””
“He shot him.””
“No.””
“Three times.””
Michael shook his head.
“Richard was working with Thomas.””
“He was pretending.””
Rebecca remembered Richard's calm face.
The letters.
The archive.
His warnings.
His insistence that he was protecting Thomas.
“Why would he kill him?””
Henry looked at the cockpit floor.
“Because Thomas discovered Richard had been selling information from the archive.””
Michael's expression hardened.
“Selling it to whom?””
Henry smiled sadly.
“Everyone.””
Rebecca stared.
“Richard wasn't trying to protect the archive.””
“No.””
“He was selling the secrets.””
“Yes.””
Rebecca's voice shook.
“And Margaret?””
Henry nodded.
“She found out.””
“That's why she came tonight.””
“Yes.””
Rebecca looked down at the drive.
“Then why did she pretend to be someone else?””
“Because the real Margaret was dead.””
Rebecca looked at him.
“What?””
Henry's expression changed.
“Your father wasn't the only one who disappeared.””
Rebecca suddenly understood.
The woman downstairs.
The woman wearing Margaret's face.
That wasn't Margaret.
It was Caroline.
But where was the real Margaret?
“Who killed Margaret?”” Rebecca asked.
Henry didn't answer.
Michael did.
“Richard.””
Rebecca looked at him.
Michael's expression was grim.
“I found the file.””
“Where?””
“In Michael Turner’s original investigation.””
Rebecca stared.
“You were investigating yourself.””
“I was investigating Sterling.””
“Then why did you disappear?””
“Because Richard found me.””
Rebecca looked at Henry.
“You knew.””
Henry nodded.
“I helped Michael escape.””
Michael glanced at him.
“Not exactly.””
Henry ignored him.
“I was trying to stop Richard.””
Rebecca looked at the flight route.
The island grew closer on the map.
“Why didn't you just expose him?””
Henry laughed quietly.
“Because he had something I didn't.””
“What?””
“Access.””
“To the archive?””
“To your family.””
Rebecca felt cold.
“What does that mean?””
“Richard has been controlling the Ellis and Sterling families for decades.””
Michael said nothing.
Henry continued.
“He manipulated Thomas.””
“Manipulated Margaret.””
“Manipulated David.””
“Manipulated your mother.””
Rebecca whispered,
“My mother?””
“She discovered the truth.””
“And Richard?””
“He threatened you.””
Rebecca closed her eyes.
She remembered her mother crying at night.
She remembered letters she had never been allowed to read.
A locked drawer.
A phone call that always ended with the same words.
I love you.
I'm sorry.
Rebecca opened her eyes.
“He threatened me.””
Henry nodded.
“And your mother believed the only way to save you was to disappear.””
Rebecca's eyes filled with tears.
“She chose to leave me.””
“She chose to keep you alive.””
Rebecca looked away.
The cockpit grew quiet.
Then an alarm sounded.
Michael looked at the instruments.
“We're approaching the island.””
Henry's face hardened.
“Too soon.””
Rebecca looked at the screen.
“What is that?””
A second aircraft appeared on the radar.
Then a third.
Then five more.
Michael's eyes widened.
“They followed us.””
Henry moved toward the controls.
“Turn off the transmitter.””
“Why?””
“They'll track the aircraft.””
Michael shook his head.
“The system won't let me.””
Henry looked at Rebecca.
“Only she can shut it down.””
Rebecca stared at him.
“How?””
“Your fingerprint.””
She placed her hand on the scanner.
The aircraft responded immediately.
A hidden panel opened.
Inside was a small biometric console.
Henry pointed.
“Enter the sequence.””
Rebecca looked at him.
“What sequence?””
“Your birthday.””
She entered it.
Wrong.
The panel flashed red.
Henry shook his head.
“Thomas never used your real birthday.””
Rebecca frowned.
“What?””
“You were born one week earlier.””
Rebecca stared.
Her mother had always told her she was born on March 17.
“What was my real birthday?””
Henry looked at her.
“March 10.””
Rebecca entered it.
The system unlocked.
A hidden message appeared.
*WELCOME, REBECCA.*
Then:
*ONLY ONE MEMORY REMAINS.*
Rebecca stared.
“What memory?””
A video began playing.
A hospital room.
A young woman.
Her mother.
Rebecca watched herself as a baby.
Then another crib.
A second baby.
Caroline.
Her mother was crying.
A young Thomas stood beside her.
He looked terrified.
A doctor said something.
The audio was unclear.
Then Thomas turned toward the camera.
His face was broken with grief.
Rebecca leaned closer.
The recording suddenly became clear.
Thomas said,
“One daughter will be Rebecca.””
He looked at the second baby.
“And the other must disappear.””
Rebecca covered her mouth.
The video continued.
Margaret stood beside Thomas.
She was younger.
Beautiful.
Afraid.
Then a man entered the room.
Richard Hayes.
He looked at the babies.
Then at Thomas.
Thomas said,
“No.””
Richard replied,
“You don't get to choose anymore.””
The video ended.
Rebecca stared at the black screen.
Her whole life had been decided before she could speak.
Before she could remember.
Before she could choose.
Caroline whispered,
“I was the daughter they sacrificed.””
Rebecca turned toward her.
“And I was the daughter they protected.””
Caroline nodded.
“For a while.””
Henry looked at the approaching radar targets.
“We have maybe ten minutes.””
Rebecca wiped her face.
“Until what?””
“They intercept us.””
Michael looked at her.
“What do we do?””
Rebecca stared at the coordinates.
The island was almost beneath them.
Then she looked at the black drive.
“We land.””
Henry shook his head.
“That's exactly what they want.””
Rebecca looked at him.
“And what do you suggest?””
“Turn around.””
“To where?””
“Anywhere.””
“No.””
Rebecca's voice was calm now.
For the first time that night, she didn't feel confused.
She felt certain.
“My father left this for me.””
She held up the drive.
“My mother died protecting me.””
She looked at Caroline.
“My sister was sacrificed.””
She looked at Michael.
“You spent months trying to expose the truth.””
Then she looked at Henry.
“And you've spent twenty years running from it.””
Henry didn't respond.
Rebecca turned toward the controls.
“We're landing.””
Michael nodded.
Henry stared at her.
“You don't know what's waiting down there.””
Rebecca looked at him.
“No.””
She glanced at the approaching aircraft on the radar.
“But I know what's waiting if we keep running.””
The jet descended.
The island appeared through the clouds.
Rocky cliffs.
Dark water.
No lights.
No airport.
No buildings.
Nothing.
Michael frowned.
“There isn't a runway.””
Rebecca looked at the coordinates.
“Then where are we landing?””
The system answered for her.
A section of the island's cliffside began opening.
A hidden runway emerged from beneath the rock.
Michael stared.
“That's impossible.””
Rebecca almost smiled.
“Not anymore.””
The aircraft descended toward the hidden entrance.
Behind them, the other aircraft were closing in.
Henry looked through the windshield.
“They found us.””
“How long?””
“Two minutes.””
Rebecca held the controls.
The hidden runway stretched ahead.
Then a voice came through the cockpit speakers.
Richard.
“Rebecca.””
She froze.
His voice was calm.
Almost gentle.
“You should have listened to me.””
Rebecca stared at the radio.
“What do you want?””
“To save you.””
“You killed my father.””
“No.””
“You killed Margaret.””
“No.””
“You destroyed my family.””
A pause.
Then Richard said,
“You still don't understand.””
Rebecca's jaw tightened.
“Then explain.””
Richard's voice became colder.
“The archive isn't what you think it is.””
Rebecca looked at Henry.
“Then what is it?””
Silence.
Richard finally answered.
“It's a list of people who are still alive.””
Rebecca stared.
“What?””
“The people who disappeared.””
Michael's eyes widened.
“The people everyone believes are dead.””
Richard continued.
“Thomas.””
“Margaret.””
“Your mother.””
“Jonathan.””
“Evelyn.””
“Everyone.””
Rebecca felt her blood run cold.
“You're saying they're alive?””
Richard laughed softly.
“No.””
The aircraft descended into the hidden runway.
Richard's voice became almost a whisper.
“I'm saying some of them are.””
The line went dead.
Rebecca stared ahead.
At the end of the runway stood a single figure.
A woman.
Waiting.
As the aircraft touched down, Rebecca saw her face through the windshield.
Her mother.
Older.
Alive.
May you like
And standing beside her was Thomas Ellis.
Rebecca forgot how to breathe.
