Chapter 7 - The Plane That Should Not Exist
The aircraft on the satellite image could not be Nathan’s plane.
The official record stated that the transport had disappeared more than a thousand miles from the coast. Search teams had found fragments of equipment and a damaged emergency flotation container bearing the aircraft’s identification number.
Yet the plane at the abandoned airfield had the same fuselage markings, the same tail number, and the same modified antenna array.
“A duplicate,” Evelyn said.
Cole shook his head.
“Military tail numbers are difficult to duplicate without triggering alerts.”
“Then the wreckage was false,” Clara said.
No one answered.
She placed her hand against her stomach as the baby shifted.
“Could Nathan have landed there?”
“The aircraft in the image arrived six hours ago,” Cole said. “We don’t know where it came from.”
“Is anyone inside?”
“Thermal imaging shows at least four people near the hangar.”
Vanessa stared at the satellite photograph.
“Julian is meeting them.”
“Most likely,” Cole said.
Clara began putting on her coat.
“No.”
Cole stepped between her and the door.
“I wasn’t asking permission.”
“You are seven months pregnant, and the airfield may be controlled by people involved in multiple deaths.”
“My husband’s aircraft is there.”
“An aircraft with the same identification is there.”
“That difference matters only to you.”
“It matters to Nathan too. He left instructions that I protect you.”
“He also left instructions for me to take control of Meridian. I cannot do that without knowing what is happening.”
Cole looked angry, but his anger was mixed with something else.
Fear.
“Nathan used to do this,” he said. “He would decide the risk was his alone to take. Then everyone around him had to live with the consequences.”
Clara met his eyes.
“I have been living with the consequences of everyone else’s decisions since he disappeared.”
Evelyn interrupted before Cole could respond.
“We don’t need to enter the airfield. There is an observation station three miles north. It was used for weather monitoring before the base closed.”
Cole considered it.
“Safe distance. No direct contact.”
Clara nodded.
Vanessa picked up her coat.
Cole looked at her.
“You are staying here.”
“My husband is at the airfield.”
“That is exactly why you are staying.”
Vanessa almost argued, then stopped.
“Bring him back alive.”
Clara studied her sister.
“Why?”
“So he can tell me the truth before he goes to prison.”
The observation station stood on a low hill overlooking the coast. Through high-powered cameras, Clara could see the abandoned hangars and cracked runway.
The duplicate transport aircraft rested near Hangar Three.
A black Meridian jet landed shortly after sunset.
Julian exited first.
Victor Sloane followed.
A third man stepped down behind them.
He wore a dark government coat and a silver crown pin.
Clara leaned closer to the monitor.
“Who is he?”
Cole adjusted the image.
“I’ve seen him before.”
“Where?”
“At the defense oversight office. His name is Deputy Director Warren Vale.”
“Was he part of Watchtower?”
“He was the person who suspended it.”
The men entered the hangar.
Evelyn intercepted a limited-range audio transmission from the airfield’s internal network. Most of it was encrypted, but fragments became audible.
“…Mercer succession…”
“…board vote Friday…”
“…remove her authority…”
Then Julian’s voice.
“She does not understand the architecture. Even if she becomes CEO, she cannot access the Crown channels.”
Victor answered.
“She has both drives.”
“Then Richard failed.”
Warren Vale spoke next.
“Richard was never expected to succeed. His purpose was to keep her inside the house until the medical petition was approved.”
Clara turned toward Cole.
“What medical petition?”
Evelyn began searching court databases.
Within minutes, she found a sealed application filed by Richard Hale. It claimed Clara was experiencing a severe grief-related psychiatric crisis and was incapable of managing her estate.
The application requested that Richard be appointed her temporary financial guardian.
The hearing was scheduled for Friday morning.
Two hours before Meridian’s board meeting.
“He planned to take legal control of my shares,” Clara said.
“If the judge approved the petition, Richard could vote on your behalf,” Evelyn replied.
Cole’s attention remained on the audio feed.
Inside the hangar, Victor said, “What about the aircraft?”
Vale answered.
“It leaves tonight.”
“With the remaining archive?”
“And the witness.”
Clara moved toward the monitor.
“What witness?”
The hangar doors opened.
Two men led a hooded prisoner toward the duplicate transport plane.
The prisoner walked with a limp.
Even from three miles away, Clara recognized the way he held his left shoulder slightly lower than the right.
Nathan had carried that injury since a helicopter landing in Afghanistan.
“No,” she whispered.
Cole froze.
The prisoner stumbled.
One of the guards pulled the hood from his head.
The image blurred briefly as the camera refocused.
Clara saw dark hair, a scar near the eyebrow, and a face thinner than the one she remembered.
Nathan.
Alive.
She reached toward the screen.
Before she could speak his name, gunfire erupted somewhere beyond the camera’s range.
May you like
The observation station lost power.
Every monitor went black.
