Cork sneered at him but didn’t respond. “Nothing is certain until we’re in the air,” she said, turning back to the police officer. Now, it was Stefano’s turn to look nervous, joining in with George. It was evident that the cop was beginning to regret his decision to help. “But don’t worry your cheeks,” Cork continued, “I’m damn confident I can do this.”
Her reassurance didn’t help the two men’s mood. Zahra knew her friend well and was also confident in her abilities to get them safely off the ground.
“Let’s go,” Zahra said, picking up her stuff and heading for the Cessna. “We have no time to waste.”
George, begrudgingly, followed his daughter over to the plane. As she tossed her bag in the door, George laid his hand on her back.
“This is crazy, Zahra.”
She nodded. “I know, but we don’t have a choice. Baahir is running out of time.”
“You don’t know that?”
She sighed and turned. Her eyes looked tired, and her shoulders were rolled inward. Zahra wasn’t the beaming light of poise she typically was.
“Look, Dad, people like Khaliq Ayad are only going to keep valuable assets around for so long. Once Baahir does whatever he’s been forced to do, there will be no reason to keep him around. He’ll become nothing more than a loose end.” She looked up at the clear blue sky. “One that will need to be cut free.”
“She’s right, Mr. Kane,” Cork added. “I’ve personally dealt with people like this Khaliq guy, and it rarely ever turns out well for those in your son’s position. We really do need to get moving. We also still have a few stops along the way.” She patted the plane’s hull. “My bird is reliable…ish, and I know I can get us there in one piece, but—”
“But it won’t matter if we’re still standing here talking about it next week.”
Zahra waved her goodbyes and thanks to Vincenzo and Stefano and climbed inside.
Cork shrugged. “That wasn’t exactly what I was going to say, but sure, whatever…”
The Kanes buckled in. Cork secured the door and then squeezed into the cockpit, swiftly going over things. She flicked switches and tapped on seemingly random gauges. Her fingertip struck one of the instruments, and it instantly came to life. Zahra cringed when she saw it was the altimeter. She may have exaggerated the condition of the
The front and back props came to life, startling George. His fingers tightened around his armrests, and he nervously looked out the windshield and swallowed. Cork pulled them away from the fork and down the left-hand side of the road a bit before increasing their speed. Zahra watched as people stepped outside to gawk at the plane using their rural street as a runway.
“What are they doing?” George asked.
“They’re here for the entertainment!” Cork called back. “I doubt they’ve ever seen anything like this before!”
Zahra was going to add a snarky comment but was too zoned-in on what she and Cork had said about Baahir’s situation. They were both right. Once her brother’s usefulness wore out, he’d die.
Cork applied consistent pressure on the thrust lever, pushing it, and the aircraft forward. The lightweight plane quickly got up to takeoff speed. Cork didn’t waste any time. She eased the nose of the Cessna up, and they rapidly began their ascension into the cool Mediterranean sky.
“So,” George asked, “where to?”
Zahra looked to Cork for a reply.
“Based on mileage, I’d say somewhere in Greece would work best…but I have a feeling Zahra is about to try and convince me to head straight for Port Said.” She peered into her rearview mirror. “Am I right?”
“Um, well,” Zahra stammered, “you did agree that getting to Baahir ASAP was a matter of life and death.”
Cork sighed. “Yeah, I did.” She growled. “Me and my big mouth.”
Ifza quickly shut the door behind her. She was due to meet with her brother as soon as she was done checking on Grant. He was just across the hall from the surgical suite, preparing the sacred canopic jar for transition. It’s what the Book of the Dead called the process of the hellstone changing to its life-taking form. It transitioned from the harmless to the harmful.
The Ayad siblings had grown up with this exact possibility in mind, though, if Ifza was being honest, she never thought she’d see the day that it would happen. So many others in their bloodline had failed before them. Why were they to be the ones to succeed? What made her and her brother so special? No one had been more devout to the cause than their grandfather.
His beliefs were unshakeable, and above all else, were at the forefront of everything he did. Ifza wasn’t too far behind. She wanted the plague to come about as much as anyone. Her desire to see it came from her need to cleanse the planet of the weak and unworthy.
The Ayads were worthy.
