The Poseidon Project, page 20
The Goose had an enormous hole in the ceiling of the fuselage. Sunlight streamed into the cabin, which, along with the wind blowing in through the breach, gave the cabin a surreal appearance. The cabin door was flopped open, buffeted by the rushing air outside. The Goose was a wreck, and he had to figure out how to get it on the ground without killing everybody on board. Lukas held on to the divider curtain in the galley, eyes closed. Molly was still desperately cradling an injured or dead Patrick. John sat behind them. Tory, Linda, and Betty were buckled into their seats. Everyone had a look of disbelief, resignation, or pure exhaustion from all they had just experienced.
Where was Zarak?
Where was Malik?
Donna called out to him, “What happened, sir?”
Taylor stared in disbelief. “Lost part of the ceiling, and the cabin walls are filled with bullet holes. Looks like the cabin door was breached. We need to slow down!” Taylor climbed back into the pilot’s seat and radioed Dubai air control. They no longer needed oxygen, so he left off his mask.
“Mayday, Dubai tower. This is N-4136A. We have lost cabin integrity, and we request immediate assistance to the closest airfield. Mayday! This is an emergency. I repeat, this is an emergency!”
“Confirmed, 4136A, do you have casualties?”
“There appear to be some casualties, but most passengers appear to be unharmed physically,” Taylor responded. Mentally is another story, he thought. “Hijackers appear to be neutralized.”
“I’m dropping landing gear. That’ll help slow us down, sir,” Donna informed him, to which he confirmed with a thumbs up.
Suddenly, Taylor saw a military jet to their port side. For a second, he thought they’d been pursued by more Iranians, but on closer look, it was an F-16. The emblem on the fuselage was a ring of olive branches surrounding a circle of green, black, and red.
“It’s the Emirati Air Force!”
Donna yelled, “I’ve got his buddy on starboard,” Another F-16 hovered about fifty yards away.
“We have sent requested escorts,” the voice from Dubai air control informed them.
Taylor looked ahead. They were on a direct line to the towering Burj Khalifa and the rest of downtown Dubai. “Shit!” Taylor called out to Donna. “Escort my ass. They think we may be the hijackers headed for their buildings.”
Donna yelled into the radio, “Requesting a new course, away from populated areas.”
Dubai tower responded, “Confirmed. Sending you new coordinates now.”
“Good thinking, Donna.” Taylor smiled. “I don’t need to be shot down today.”
Taylor plugged in the coordinates to their new destination. Their altitude was now four thousand feet. “N-4136 Alpha, escorts reporting you are missing a winglet on port side. Also, starboard landing gear is down but does not appear to be locked. Repeat, starboard landing gear does not appear to be locked.”
“The Iranians probably hit the landing gear. Can you maintain control? I’m gonna tell everyone what’s going on.”
“Roger,” Donna stated calmly, “but, sir, our controls state the starboard landing gear is locked.”
Taylor surveyed the surroundings below them. “This is gonna be a rough landing. They’re diverting us away from Dubai International,” Taylor said grimly.
Once out of his seat, Taylor unlocked the security deadbolts that protected the cockpit and opened the door. The first thing he felt was the cold air. He walked toward Lukas and rubbed his head. “You okay, babe?” Lukas nodded. Taylor went to check on Tory, who sat on the floor of the plane along with Betty and Linda. “What happened to Malik and Zarak?”
Linda used her thumb to point at Betty. “I shot him. His nephew got sucked out, then Malik opened the door by mistake and fell. Sorry about the holes in your plane.”
Taylor knelt by Tory, her face stained by tears. “I’m sorry about Diego.”
Tory looked at her dad. “Fuck him. He had it coming.” She sniffled.
Taylor addressed the group. “We’ve requested immediate emergency landing, and we’re being escorted in by the Emirati Air Force. I need you all to be prepared for a crash landing and emergency evacuation once we are stopped.”
“What about Patrick? Can we put him somewhere he will be safe?” Molly asked.
Lukas looked up at Taylor. “Can we belt him into the crew bed?”
Patrick was either dead or very close to death. His coloring had become even more ashen. Lukas and Taylor carried him to the back and strapped him into the bed. “I’m gonna stay with him back here,” Lukas told Taylor. “He saved my mom. He took the bullets for her.”
Taylor nodded as Lukas buckled himself into the aft seat and then kissed him lightly. “This is gonna be a rough landing. Promise me you’ll be safe.”
“I promise, Captain,” Lukas replied, trying to cloak his sheer terror behind a stoic face.
The Goose shook violently, and Taylor rushed back to the cockpit. Donna fought the controls as the plane was buffeted by desert winds and turbulence.
“She feels like she’s gonna shake apart, sir!” she shouted to Taylor.
“I think she’ll hold until we get onto the ground,” Taylor responded.
They were now about thirty miles from Dubai city center and well beyond both of the international airports. The Emirati F-16 pilots saluted Taylor and Donna, giving them a thumbs up for good luck. They flew ahead of them and were soon out of sight.
“We’re on our own, sir,” Donna said to Taylor.
“God knows where they’re landing us. They know it’s gonna be messy,” Taylor responded.
“Proceed to desert runway 35 northwest. Follow arrows for direction. We have police, fire, and ambulance there on standby. Runway has been foamed,” Dubai air control instructed. “Handing you over to local air control. Good luck, 4136 Alpha.”
They approached the airport, if you’d call it that. Five partially inflated hot air balloons stood on a tarmac. A large crowd of spectators, clearly visible from their altitude of fifteen hundred feet, stood by with a morbid interest. “What kind of airport is that?” Donna asked.
“It’s a damned skydiving and balloon tourist center. I wouldn’t exactly call it an airport, but let’s not give the plane spotters a show, okay?”
“Roger,” Donna responded. She could see the emergency vehicles and the narrow runway, glistening white with foam.
Taylor called the airport tower on his radio. “N-4136 Alpha ready for final approach.”
“This is the SDD Tower. Confirming final approach.”
Donna asked, “Have you heard of SDD airport code, sir?”
Taylor shook his head and pointed to the logo painted on the tarmac. Sky Diving Dubai, it read. “Donna, you don’t need to keep calling me sir.”
“Sorry, sir, it keeps me in professional mode to prevent me from shitting my pants.”
Taylor nodded. “Okay, understood.”
They looped the Goose in one more small circle and lined up with the runway. “I hope the landing doesn’t break her apart,” Taylor said to Donna as they descended rapidly. “Let’s get her safely on the ground.”
They lowered the jet and struggled to minimize the impact on the runway. Donna and Taylor exhaled as the wheels lightly kissed the tarmac, and Taylor prayed the rear landing gear held as he deployed the wing flaps and reverse thrusters to reduce their already too high speed and prevent the Goose from careening out of control. Taylor trimmed the tail elevators to stabilize the Goose, which he balanced as best he could on only two locked landing gear. Taylor and Donna expertly slowed the aircraft to a manageable speed and relaxed their grips. “Look like she’s holding…” Taylor shouted optimistically.
Suddenly, the starboard landing gear collapsed, and the rear of the plane dropped, hitting the runway and sending off a flurry of sparks that were smothered by the fire-retardant foam. The jet plowed through the foam. The landing gear brakes were useless at this point, so their prime goal was to keep the plane from shattering apart or flipping over, which would likely cause a fatal explosion.
Donna and Taylor struggled to maintain control, blind and disoriented by the foam that covered the plane. Within a few hundred more feet, the Goose vibrated loudly, and Taylor felt something major dislodge from the plane. “We lost part of the starboard wing, sir!” Donna yelled, looking behind her, the broken wing fragment disappearing into the foam. Jet fuel poured out of the broken wing. Taylor had to act fast. The next thing to likely break apart was the fuselage, weakened by the bullets and the gaping hole on the top of the plane.
“Hang on!” He violently jerked the controls, sending the Goose into a spin. The second and third landing gear sheared off and tumbled erratically into the foamy chaos. But the jet finally came to a stop and sat sideways across the small runway on its belly. Smelling jet fuel, Taylor quickly jumped out of his seat and entered the cabin. No visible injuries had been caused by the crash landing, and Taylor manually released the cabin door and stairs.
“Okay, everybody out. Leave everything behind, please. We need to get out of this plane immediately,” Taylor emphasized. Jet fuel spat out of the broken wing. He remembered from his Air Force training that fire was the main cause of fatalities in a crash, not the impact. The Goose still had enough fuel on board to cause a major explosion and fire. That would prove to be disastrous. He had to get people out of the plane fast.
Within minutes, paramedics were boarding the Goose to assist the evacuation. Lukas pointed them back to the crew quarters to retrieve Patrick. Firemen rained more foam and water on the broken aircraft.
Linda, Betty, and Molly were the first off the plane, followed by John and then Tory. The second set of paramedics came with a stretcher for Taylor, his uniform tattered and splotched with dried blood. Taylor refused to leave the plane before everyone else was off. “I don’t need a damned stretcher,” he whispered to Lukas.
Another two paramedics carried out Patrick. His face was uncovered, his eyes half-open. Lukas saw Patrick blink once, which meant he was still alive, even if it was barely.
Lukas followed them to the exit. He turned and hugged Donna and Taylor. “Thanks for getting us here in one piece. I’m sorry about the Goose.”
“You’re a hell of a pilot, Donna,” Taylor complimented her.
“You’re a hell of a captain, sir. Thank you for getting us here, even after being shot up. Imagine what you could do with two good arms.”
Taylor looked at his shoulder. “I think adrenaline was the ultimate painkiller.”
The group walked through the foam and toward a group of 4x4 sport vehicles waiting for them. “A dune buggy ride seems kind of boring after a flight like that,” Lukas said.
“Beggars can’t be choosers.” Taylor stopped and surveyed the wreckage of the Goose. He could see she was beyond repair and would most likely be retired and salvaged for scrap and spare parts. Despite being shot up in the sky and a crash landing, the Goose got everyone back on the ground. He turned to Lukas. “She was one hell of an aircraft, built like a tank and elegant as a dancer. I know she’s just a machine, but she also felt like part of the family.
Lukas grabbed his hand and leaned on his shoulder. “She took us on quite an adventure,” he said softly to Taylor.
“Yep, and she’s where I met you.” He kissed Lukas on the forehead.
Molly and John walked slowly, both exhausted, sore, and bewildered by the last few days. A man approached them. He was wearing a suit despite the desert temperature, which felt well over one hundred degrees. The man extended his hand to John. “Mr. Halloran, I’m Detective Abadi from the Dubai metropolitan police. I’ve been in charge of your case, and I’m so glad to meet you in person. We are looking for Mr. Bawadi but can’t find him onboard. He’s an international terrorist and is wanted in several countries.”
John shook his head at the irony. “Check the Persian Gulf, about five miles offshore.”
He changed the subject. “This is my wife, Molly.”
Molly shook Detective Abadi’s hand. “Molly Halloran. Pleased to meet you,” was all she could muster.
The detective looked out over the wreckage on the runway. “I’m sorry about your plane. Will you be needing another one?”
She had to think for a minute. “We have a seriously injured passenger we need to get better first. Then, we’ll think about how we get home.”
“Very well,” Detective Abadi responded. “I will have my assistant book your party into the San Rafael resort on Palm Jumeirah. I believe you will find it restful. I figured Mr. Halloran would prefer that hotel over The Excelsior, considering his last experience there.”
Molly and John nodded in appreciation as they walked toward the dune buggies. John looked at his wife and kissed her cheek. “Thanks for coming to rescue me!”
Molly smiled. “It was a team effort.”
As they approached the buggy, John opened the canvas door to let Molly in. She thanked him, and John jumped over to the other side. He put his hand on her knee. “How did it feel being back in the international assassin saddle?”
Molly thought. “It was fun, well kind of, now that it’s over. I think Lukas can take it from here.”
“Don’t sell yourself short, honey. You’ve got a lot more adventures in you.” John replied.
The dune buggy bounced on their way to the SDD parking lot. Molly put her hand on John’s shoulder. “Honey, if you ever go kayaking again, you’re on your own.”
Chapter 30
Molly sat in the lobby of the Emirates Hospital Jumeirah. She and Lukas waited for news on Taylor’s surgery to remove the bullet from his body and stitch up the open wound on his side. “Taylor’s going to be okay, Lukas. We’re in a great hospital with the best doctors.”
Lukas nodded. “I know, Mom. Thanks. Any news on Patrick?”
Suddenly, a little girl carrying a bouquet of balloons entered the lobby, followed by who Molly assumed was the girl’s mother. The little girl was dressed up in a fancy dress and hummed a tune Molly couldn’t identify. Her mother spoke to the receptionist. Molly heard English with a British accent. Patrick had mentioned them when they were driving around Al Quoz looking for Lukas and John.
Molly approached the woman. “Dr. Aziz?”
The woman looked confused for a second. “Hello, I’m Evelyn, may I help you?”
“Patrick’s wife?”
Evelyn nodded.
“Hello, I’m Molly Halloran.”
“Patrick’s CEO, of course! He told me so much about you!” Molly dreaded whatever Patrick told his wife about her. “And this is Bella, our daughter. Say hello, Bella.”
“Hello. Are you somebody’s grandmum?” Bella asked her.
Molly chuckled. “Yes. I have four grandchildren; the oldest one is about your age.” She turned to Evelyn. “I’m sorry, do you not go by Dr. Aziz?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m still a bit jet-lagged. I actually go by Dr. Randolph, using my maiden name, but please call me Evelyn.”
Molly’s eyes welled with tears. The exhaustion of the last several days, combined with the human toll, weighed on her. Seeing Patrick’s wife and daughter reminded her of how poorly she had treated and misjudged Patrick. “Your husband saved my life. Twice, actually. I’m so sorry for what happened to him. Have you heard how he’s doing?”
Evelyn cleared her throat. “He was shot multiple times, as you know. He went into septic shock due to an infection, but I think he’s out of danger now. The question is whether he will be able to walk. He’s still experiencing paralysis. Thank you for bringing him to this hospital. It’s Dubai’s best. They’ll fix him up.”
Molly realized she was keeping Evelyn from visiting her husband. “I’m sorry, I’m holding you up.”
Evelyn smiled. “I’m glad to have met the legendary Molly Halloran. Patrick thinks the world of you. He even referred to you as—” She paused while Molly thought of the worst things Patrick deservedly could call her. “—a badass. It’s such an American term, but I love it.”
Molly smiled as Lukas walked back from the cafeteria. “This is my son, Lukas. Lukas, this is Evelyn, Patrick’s wife, and Bella, his daughter.”
“I’m honored to meet you both.” He addressed Bella, “Your dad is a superhero.”
Bella smiled. “I want to be a superhero when I grow up.”
Lukas replied, “Your father can give you lessons, and so can your mother, so make sure you listen and learn from them. He’ll be so excited to see you!”
Bella skipped toward the elevators. Evelyn said, “Please come up and visit him. Room 304.”
****
An hour later, a nurse came to tell them Taylor was out of surgery and was in Room 302, right next door to Patrick. They went upstairs and found Taylor’s room. He was still asleep. “Mom, I’m gonna wait here until he wakes up.”
“Okay, I’ll pop over to say hello to Patrick and then meet your dad for dinner at the hotel. Join us if you’d like.”
Lukas smiled and nodded.
Within an hour, Taylor woke up. He was groggy, with his shoulder heavily bandaged.
“Hello, sleeping beauty.” Lukas combed Taylor’s hair with his fingers in an attempt to show affection and make his hair presentable.
Taylor smiled, his eyes still half closed. “Hey, baby. How are you?”
Lukas had stayed on the edge of Taylor’s bed and just stared at him as he slept. Here was a man who was strong, brave, considerate, confident, and incredibly sexy. Lukas had seen Taylor in extremely difficult situations, and he always came through. He was a good dad and just a good person overall. Lukas felt he’d met his soul mate, but he’d never tell Taylor that, at least not yet. I could love this man, he thought, even though he was pretty sure he was already starting to. He would wait awhile until he ventured into using the L word again so quickly.
Taylor reached for Lukas’ hand. Despite where they were, Lukas interlaced his fingers through Taylor’s. Taylor smiled. “So what do we do for our second date?”
Epilogue
Lukas and Taylor gazed at the stunning view of the Santa Catalina mountains as they sat together on the back terrace. So much had changed since they first met two years earlier. The start of their relationship was not typical—the two of them were thrown together in a series of events that challenged them individually and as a new couple. They did have a second date at the Delaware Room, and a third date at a pizza joint. After a couple of months, they moved in together. Lukas and Taylor watched Netflix, made popcorn, folded clothes, argued occasionally, and all the other normal things couples do together. Their physical attraction and closeness only grew, and Lukas stopped thinking about the pain he’d experienced with Drew and other men who just didn’t work out. Taylor and their new life together was all that mattered.
