Chapter 27

They climbed out of Dubai and headed out over the Persian Gulf before circling the city. Despite the tension and uncertainty Lukas felt, the grandeur of the Burj Khalifa towering over the forest of skyscrapers beneath it grabbed his attention. Dubai’s skyline reminded Lukas of shards of glass protruding from an impossibly flat desert. He sat back in his seat, confused, exhausted, and daydreamed of being tucked against Taylor’s body in a comfortable bed far away from here. So much had happened in the last forty-eight hours—leaving Tucson, learning about his mom’s past adventures, getting to know this beautiful man named Taylor, rescuing his father, and blowing up a potential doomsday machine. Now they were again held captive, essentially hijacked in Taylor’s own plane and with no idea where they were going or why.

As the plane leveled off, Lukas noticed Taylor exit the cockpit and rush toward the rear of the plane. He knew he was going to check on Tory, and he held out his hand to touch him as he walked by. Their hands met, and Taylor dropped to his knees at eye level with Lukas.

“I feel so stupid,” Taylor said. “We fell into a couple of traps.”

“We are safe, and we are together…all of us. That’s what matters,” Lukas replied. “Even if we don’t know where we’re going. Let’s focus on getting Tory awake and then kicking these guys’ asses.”

Taylor kissed Lukas on the forehead and walked over to the crew rest area. Tory lay on her side, her eyes open and staring at the wall of the fuselage. Taylor sat on the bed next to her and rubbed her arm. Tory was still coming out of the sedative, and her eyes told a story of bewilderment and betrayal. She broke into tears when she saw her father.

“Honey, it’s gonna be all right,” Taylor whispered, his chest tightened seeing her in such pain.

“Dad, are you okay?” She stared at Taylor’s bloodstained shirt. “My God, what happened to you?” Her dad looked tired, his normally calm face etched by the pain coming from his recent wounds, both physical and mental.

“I’m okay, so don’t worry. I got shot twice trying to rescue Lukas’ father, and well, Lukas, too. It’s been a busy night. How are you feeling?”

Tory tried to stifle her crying, but she let it all out with her father there. “I feel so stupid, Dad. I really thought he was the one. I’m sorry I got you into this mess.”

“Baby, you didn’t get any of us into this mess. You were the first person there to help us because that’s just you. You’ve always been that way…worried about other people before yourself.”

“Diego, or whoever he is, I just thought…” She started to cry again but quickly composed herself. “We had so much in common. He’s funny and warm…I just can’t understand why and how.”

“How? What do you mean?” Taylor asked.

“It’s too random, and there are too many coincidences. He just happened to meet me, the daughter of a pilot who was going to fly a bunch of people to Dubai to find a kidnapped guy, then he pairs up with the kidnapper and hijacks a plane to Afghanistan.”

Taylor’s eyes widened. “We’re going to Afghanistan? Where exactly?”

“OAH airport code. I think it’s an air force base close to the Iran border.”

Taylor’s mind spun. Why would they need to go to Afghanistan? He pulled out his smartphone to track their flight. He had entered the Goose’s tail number into an app prior to take off. Luckily, the Wi-Fi was working, so he pulled up the image of the plane. “We’ve just crossed into Iran. If they don’t try and shoot us down, then we know they’ve pre-arranged to allow us into their airspace.”

Tory was silent for a moment. “Dad, I’m scared. I don’t know what they want with us.”

“I don’t either. But we’re together, so we’ll figure it out.”

“Dad? I really like Lukas. You glow when you’re around him. I’ve never seen that side of you.”

Taylor nodded. “I really like him, too. Tory, you’ve done nothing wrong, and I don’t think you should stay back here by yourself.”

“I’m embarrassed.”

“Well, you shouldn’t be. Diego’s the one who lied, and he’s the one who hijacked the damn plane. I didn’t sense anything about him either, so you’re not the only one he’s fooled.”

Tory sat herself upright as she dried her tears. “Okay, Dad. I’ll be right behind you.”

Taylor and Tory approached the main seating area, and Molly jumped out of her chair and gave Tory a big hug, followed by Donna, Linda, and Betty. Tory intuitively figured out the older man was John but had no idea who the other man was because she had been drugged by Diego. Malik approached her and formally introduced himself as Malik Bawadi. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Tory.” Malik went to shake her hand, but Tory clasped her hands behind her back to avoid any pleasantries Malik offered. “You’re just in time. I was getting everyone together to have a conversation.”

Just then, Diego walked out of the cockpit to get a glass of water. His eyes locked with Tory’s, and she resisted the urge to punch him, and from the looks on the faces of Molly, Donna, Linda, and Lukas, she wasn’t the only one. Instead, she stared back at him with utter contempt.

Malik addressed the group. “Ladies and gentlemen, I apologize for the change of plans. We are headed to Afghanistan to hand over the Poseidon machine. Unfortunately, Demeter was not as fortunate this time, so we will need to build a new one. We land in approximately ninety minutes.”

“Why Afghanistan?” Lukas asked.

“One of my major investors wants to see the unit work, so I bring it to him.”

“Then what?” John asked.

“You leave. Return home, whatever, I don’t care. But I want to have a very special person stay behind with me and Zarak.”

“Who is Zarak?” Linda asked.

Malik pointed to Diego. “I forgot you don’t know my nephew’s real name. But I guess, now you do.”