Flight Plan: Deconstruction Book Three (A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller) Read online

  “I’ll be right back,” I whispered.

  I slowly made my way to Garner and stopped a few feet from him. He nodded his head toward the plane and I followed him onboard. As I crossed the last step and disappeared into the cabin he whirled around like a mad man.

  “What the hell were you thinking? What was that back there?”

  “Sir? What did you want me to do, let them shoot the plane?”

  “We have soldiers, we have men with guns here whose only job is to shoot and get shot.

  You’re not in the military anymore, you’re not a field agent anymore, you’re the damn deputy director of the DIA. I want you to let other people do their job!”

  “Jesus Tim! I’m not some washed up desk jockey. I can handle myself.”

  “MJ, I told you before, your position is crucial!”

  “I’m sure you can do it…I’m not the only one on that list.”

  “No…no you’re not. But you’re on the list. I’m not, that was the point. We needed safeguards. If you die, we all die.”

  “Stop being so fucking dramatic. Sarah, Secretary Morris, hell even Bruce can fill my role.”

  He sighed and lowered his head into his hands. His jaw tightened and he sat down into one of the chairs.

  “Tim? Secretary?”

  “They’re dead MJ. All of them are dead. The process requires at least three and there’s only four of you left, there were only four of you left. We lost coms with the sister site hours ago.”

  I covered my mouth and leaned against the seat back. Sarah and I had come up together. From our early years in military intelligence, through the ranks of the Defense Intelligence Agency. She was like a sister to me and while we hadn’t spoken in a while, she was never far from my thoughts.

  “Michael and Mason?” I asked.

  Tim frowned then shook his head from side to side. I felt like I’d just been smacked in the face with a battering ram. It took me a moment to catch my breath and the wave of nausea to pass.

  Sarah was a single mom. Michael and Mason were her twin boys, one year younger than Grayson. They all played together when we were both in town and were nearly inseparable. I couldn’t believe all of them were gone.

  “Jesus,” I mumbled. “It wasn’t supposed to be anything like this.”

  “It wasn’t even supposed to be happening now,” Tim added. “But here we are.”

  “What are we doing about the pilot?”

  “Co-pilot is still alive and one of the guys from central flew in Vietnam. Best we got.”

  “Sir?” Craig called from the door. “All the men have pulled back, fueling is at seventy-five percent. It’s now or never.”

  Garner cleared his throat and stood up. “Now it is.”

  The dead had been moved into the hangar and covered with tarp. It wasn’t the fitting farewell they deserved, but it was the best we could do under the circumstances. Judging from the quiet rattling of the ground, it wouldn’t be long before the entire base was buried anyway.

  “You all buckled in?” I asked Grayson as I pulled against his waist strap.

  He nodded and took a deep breath. I buckled my own seat then grabbed Toby’s hand and kissed his cheek.

  “Ouch!” he groaned.

  “Oh…sorry,” I said and loosened my grip.

  I hadn’t noticed that I’d squeezed all the blood from his hand and smashed his fingers into a tiny bundle. The rumbling, groan of jet engines was enough to send me into a heart-stopping panic. Toby simply smiled at me as he shook his arm then placed my hand into his and covered it.

  “I know, I know,” he whispered.

  We started to roll down the runway and I looked out of the window. The recent gunfight had left the base decimated, but none of that mattered anymore. Soon it would all be swept away or swallowed by the Earth. It was hard to fathom that this was the last time I’d be seeing any of this.

  As we sped up and started to pull into the air, I leaned my head back and took a deep breath. My stomach dropped and a gurgling sensation threatened to wake up any remnants of food that were still lying dormant.

  I closed my eyes and dug my fingers into the armrest as the plane banked to the left. I felt Toby grab my arm and I smiled, trying to put on a face of confidence.

  “We’re good. We made it,” Toby said as he patted my shoulder.

  Opening my eyes, I looked back to the window as we soared past the base. Hundreds of people stormed onto the runway like ants in a crushed mound, but it was too late. We were gone and their friends were dead.

  We climbed into the air, higher and higher until clouds became the ground. The plane leveled out and I breathed a shallow sigh of relief.

  “I can’t believe this is happening,” Toby suddenly groaned. “I mean this is really happening.”

  We’d been through so much that day, I didn’t have the words to console him. All I could do was nod and lay my head on his shoulder. I was exhausted and I didn’t want to think about our grim future. I didn’t want to think about where we were going or how we were getting there. I just wanted to sleep.

  The plane settled and we finally found a stretch of calm air. I glanced out of the window a few more times then leaned my head against Toby’s shoulder and closed my eyes. That was all it took and a few moments later I was asleep.

  CHAPTER 16

  FALLEN STARS

  I awoke to the sound of alarms and a feeling of panic in the air, surging like electricity. The plane was shaking and rattling around as the lights flickered on and off. A terrible fear gripped me and I felt immobilized.

  “It’s okay,” Toby whispered and grabbed my hand. “There’s a storm.”

  A bolt of lightning flashed and I felt my heart skip a beat. It was happening again, but this time there would be no river landing, there would be no survivors. We were all going to die in a fiery blaze.

  “Storm up ahead and some pretty bad turbulence. We’re gonna be looking for a place to set down,” one of the pilots called out over the intercom.

  I felt my chest tighten and clenched my fists. Breathing slowly, I looked out of the window at the dark sky. The sun had gone down and the lightning illuminated thick, drops of gray as we cut through the clouds.

  “How long have you been up?” I asked Toby.

  “The whole time. It’s been quiet until now. Storm came out of nowhere.”

  “Grayson?”

  “Sleeping like his mom,” Toby said with a smile. “I don’t think he’d wake up if we crashed.”

  Frowning, I looked away.

  “Sorry,” Toby mumbled. “Bad example.”

  I sighed then looked around the cabin until I found Garner and Bill. They were seated in one of the lounge areas with worried looks drenched across their faces.

  Swallowing, I unfastened my seatbelt and stood up. Using the seat back, I steadied myself and took a deep breath.

  “What are you doing?” Toby asked.

  “I need to find out what’s going on.”

  I pushed into the aisle and balanced awkwardly as the plane dipped again and pitched to the side. We were descending quickly and I fought off the thought that we were about to crash.

  Like a pinball machine, I bounced from seat to seat until I fell into a chair beside Bill. He raised his eyebrow then straightened up in his chair.

  “MJ?” Garner said.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  “You see it. I think you know more than most about what’s going on. Trying to get on the ground before it gets worse.”

  I sighed and rubbed my face. “Where are we?”

  “Over Chicago. Gonna try and touch down at O’Hare.”

  “And then what?”

  Garner looked at Bill and laughed.

  “What’s so funny?” I snapped.

  Garner smirked and took sip from his coffee mug. The plane jumped and he spilled a bit down his shirt. The smell of liquor wafted into the air. “Oops,” he said then they both laughed again. “Oh, MJ it’s nothing…i
t’s just. You’ve always been the and then what person. Other agencies turned to you to think outside of the box.”

  I smiled and shook my head from side to side. “You two are fucking drunk!”

  “So, what if we are,” Bill retorted. “It’s about time we loosen up. If this storm takes us down, I don’t want to die sober.”

  Garner nodded. “And enough of this Secretary Garner shit. My name is Tim.”

  I gawked, unsure if I was angry or amused. Here we were barreling toward the ground in a refitted cargo jet and the highest-ranking officials on the plane were trashed. I guess it made sense, everything was out of our control.

  “It’s gonna be a rough landing,” the pilot suddenly announced. “Everyone brace for impact!”

  I jumped up and raced back to my seat. I’d barely got the buckle across my lap when the plane did a nose dive and I shot forward, slamming into the back of the seat in front of me. Toby grabbed me and pulled me back.

  “Thanks,” I groaned as I clicked the seatbelt together.

  “Dad! Dad what’s going on?” Grayson shouted as he finally awoke.

  “Everything is alright,” Toby replied. “We’re just landing.”

  Grayson looked around the plane and gazed out of the window. He stared back at Toby then took a deep breath. “Why are we going so fast?”

  “We’ve gotta get the plane down Grayson. There’s a storm, a bad storm and we can’t be in the air,” I replied.

  Lightning flashed again and I could see the ground below. The city was dark except for a few small lights that might have been cars. It looked dead and deserted, like we were flying into a ghost town.

  The jet engines groaned as the pilot lifted the nose and we started to slow. My seat rattled violently, sending vibrations through my arms all the way down to my feet. I grabbed Grayson and Toby’s hands and mumbled a prayer under my breath.

  Terrible noises filled the air. The sound of wind being torn apart as we shredded the sky like an angry dragon. A low grumbling whoosh droned louder and louder until it was the only sound I knew. The pressure squeezed my head like two massive hands nearly bringing me to tears.

  “I love you guys,” I blurted out in an uncontrollable sob. “Toby, I’m sorry, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you everything sooner. I love you so much.”

  “I love you too,” he said reassuringly.

  I closed my eyes and envisioned the runway as it rose from the earth to greet us. I imagined slamming into the ground and bursting into flames. Fiery chunks of metal scraping down the tarmac like crumbs. I saw our death and I was helpless to stop it.

  Swallowing, I clenched my jaw. The plane whined and shook then with a loud thud we hit the ground and bounced. My head snapped back into the seat like someone had kicked me in the chest. A rumble sounded as the pilot applied the brakes and I lurched forward before being snagged by the restraints.

  I swallowed gulps of air then buried my face into my hands. My tears of panic turned to tears of happiness as I groaned in relief. We were back on the ground and I was still alive. For a few minutes at least, everything was okay.

  “Stay seated,” the pilot announced. “I’m gonna taxi us to the apron and see if anyone is home.”

  The plane turned and we slowly rolled down the runway. Outside I gazed at the abandoned airport and wondered where everyone had gone. A few planes were parked out front of hangars, but nowhere near the amount an airport of that size would normally have. And while the rest of the city looked like a black swatch of fabric, the airport was shining brightly in the darkness. The runway lights were on, the terminal was lit up, even the sign over the rental car entrance flashed with an ominous intensity.

  We’d landed in a ghost town. There wasn’t a sign of life anywhere. Only carts and unattended luggage trains littered the runway. Now the rain punished them as howling gusts pushed them across the tarmac.

  The fate of the city was a mystery, a puzzle that might never be solved. But what I did know was that the world was waging war against mankind. A war that we were losing.

  There wasn’t much talking while the pilot maneuvered us toward the apron. Mostly everyone was just happy to be alive and still winding down from our last dance with death. But as the sound of thunder increased and the rain turned to bits of shrapnel-like ice, we knew that mother nature wasn’t done with us.

  The winds outside groaned in loud, screeching squalls as they pushed against the plane. I could feel the pilot turn, then the wind shoved us in the other direction, making navigation a nightmare. It took longer than it should’ve but eventually we made it to the apron and the plane stopped.

  Sweating, Jack, the pilot, stepped out into the cabin. He looked exhausted, but content. His thick, gray hair was ruffled and flat and his tanned, leathery skin dripped puddles of stress on the floor.

  I couldn’t imagine the amount of anxiety that had been swirling around in the cockpit. They’d faced death eye to eye and come out alive. They’d looked at the ground as it sped toward us, stared down the lightning bolts as they threatened to blast us out of the sky. Our battle had been won up there.

  “Sir,” Jack started and turned to Tim. “There’s no way we get back in the air until this storm passes. And there’s another thing.” He paused and looked around at the two dozen or so occupants as they stared back at him.

  “Well spit it out Jack, there’s no point in keeping secrets anymore,” Tim barked.

  Jack scratched his head then stepped to the side as Abraham, the CIA pilot pushed past him. He was a tall, dark-skinned man with a bald head. Age had made him slower and weaker, but you could tell there was a hidden power underneath his fierce stare.

  “Not enough fuel Tim,” Abraham growled in a rough, drill sergeant voice.

  “What? That can’t be right,” Tim retorted angrily.

  Jack huffed and covered his face. He wasn’t the type to take charge or own responsibility. I guessed that while Jack was busy giving us updates over the intercom, it was Abraham that had brought the place down safely.

  “We had enough fuel,” Abraham started and cut his eyes at Jack. “Keeping this bird in the sky and fighting through that wind took a lot though. We’ve been battling a head wind since we left Baltimore.”

  “So, what now? This is it? We’re done?”

  Abraham laughed. “You navy boys have always been quitters. We’re right on the needle, might make it, might not. I say when this storm dies we see if we can find a working fuel truck.”

  Tim smiled. “Solid plan Abe.”

  “What if we can’t get back in the air?” Toby whispered to me.

  “Then we drive like hell. We’ve gotta get there Toby. No matter what happens, me, you and Grayson have to make it!”

  His eyes met mine and I knew he understood the urgency. We were running for our lives and every minute we spent in the same place was a minute closer to death. This wasn’t about a job anymore, this was about keeping my family alive and I’d do anything for that.

  The storm outside was starting to pick up. Every thunderous, boom shook the plane and made Grayson scoot a little bit closer to his father. He’d been mostly quiet and I knew he was starting to figure things out. I was afraid how he was going to react to the truth.

  People had begun to walk around and gather into small clicks. Different agencies huddled amongst themselves discussing what they thought was the best plan of action. It was like a high school cafeteria full of assumptions and bad answers.

  The plane was split into sections with seating toward the front and a command center behind it. A small staff manned screens that displayed weather and launch windows as well as any inbound objects. Our communications link had been damaged and now the entire systems was nearly useless.

  “Why are we staying in a metal tube with a storm outside?” Toby asked.

  “I think it’s safe in here.”

  “It would be safer in there,” he replied and pointed toward the terminal.

  As if to make his point a bolt of
lightning flickered madly, followed by a series of ear-splitting booms. I jumped in my seat then grinned.

  “Maybe I’ll pass on the suggestion.”

  I stood up and walked back to Tim and Bill’s seat. They were huddled together discussing something serious and seemed bothered by my presence.

  “Um, sorry to interrupt. Should we maybe head inside?”

  “Why?” Bill snapped. “When this passes we are leaving.”

  More thunder rumbled and shook the plane. The hail and rain sounded like machine gunfire against the windows.

  I cleared my throat. “Sir, I just think it’s safer inside and we can be ready to get fuel trucks once the storm passes.”

  Tim stood up and looked around the plane. People were talking in hushed voices with nervous faces. No one wanted to say it, but we all were scared.

  “Abraham!” Tim shouted.

  “Sir,” he responded as he charged down the aisle.

  “We’re getting off. Gonna ride the storm out inside.”

  “Okay, gonna need to send a man out to get the boarding ladder. We can get into the terminal from the maintenance entrance.”

  Tim nodded. “Craig! I need someone outside.”

  Craig was sitting behind them. I supposed he’d been there all along, but I hadn’t noticed. He looked like he may have been sleeping the entire flight.

  “I’ll…. I’ll take care of it,” he yawned. “What do you need?”

  Abraham turned to him. “Need you to drive one of the boarding ladders to the door. There shouldn’t be any keys just a switch where the ignition would be.”

  Craig nodded and grabbed a bag from the seat next to him. After rummaging inside for a few minutes, he pulled out a bundle of nylon rope.

  “You ready?” Abraham asked.

  “I guess.”

  Abraham opened the door near the cockpit as Craig anchored the rope around the base of a seat and pulled on his gloves. With the rope clenched in his hands he inched backwards to the opening and nodded his head.

  There was a sudden gust of wind and the plane tilted slightly. Craig was off balance and as he fell backward from the plane he grabbed for the rope, but found only empty air. With a feeble yelp, he spiraled backwards and hit the ground below with a bone-crushing clump.