They stepped into the dimly-lit hallway out of the rain and stood on the doormat in the ringing silence. “You ready?” Ivan asked.
“Yeah, let’s go.”
They made their way up the carpeted spiral staircase and across a lavish corridor. It was a clean and modern house, but there was an eerie feeling of tension in the air, which was irritating Ivan, making him feel tetchy. As they approached the door to Langdon’s office they heard raised voices from within – someone was making demands; someone else was trying to wriggle out of them.
“Sounds like that limo owner’s not too happy,” Ivan said. “I don’t want trouble – I just need Samira’s passport.”
“Let’s go in and hand over the coke,” Jake said. “I can take care of things if it gets too intense.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Jake drew back his shirt and flashed his gun.
“Holy shit, Jake, what did you bring that for?”
“I know what sort of person Langdon is, Ivan. He’s a killer – and he’s in trouble. He’ll lash out at whoever he can.”
Ivan sighed. “Alright, well try not to shoot anyone.”
Ivan kicked the door open and they both strolled in with the suitcase.
****
Samira had to admit Joseph looked pretty sexy flying this plane with his pilot’s headset casually slung over one ear. He was still wearing his trademark shades and leathers, and she knew most of the female population of the music-loving world would be envious of her right now. But she was more than happy with his eldest brother. The three-hour journey here had been a great opportunity to get to know him better, and one thing was for certain, he adored Eleanor.
“We’re just approaching the airfield now,” Joseph said – pausing from talking about Ellie for a moment. “Should be landing in a minute, then we can take a taxi to the ranch and hopefully save the day.”
Samira chuckled. She loved Joseph’s levity and optimism. “So you were just about to tell me how you and Ellie met.”
“Oh yeah.” His face lit up as it did whenever he spoke about his fiancée. “She was trying to get an exclusive on me. And it worked.”
“She seems really nice.”
“She’s one in a million – so supportive of my music. And I’m totally supportive of her work too, of course.” He smiled, then opened his mouth to continue singing her praises, but something on the navigation console bleeped like an ear-splitting alarm.
Joseph stared at it. “Uh oh…”
Samira’s body tensed. “What do you mean ‘uh oh’?”
The plane suddenly juddered, then swerved downwards.
“Shit!” Joseph shouted, as he struggled to stay in control.
“What’s wrong?”
“We’re falling…”
“No shit!”
The engine clunked again, and Samira realized they were falling fast.
“I thought you knew how to land this thing!” she shouted above the racket of the squealing engine.
He tried to remain calm. “There’s something wrong with the landing gear. I’m gonna make an emergency landing. That field down there should do… hold on!”
Samira could see he was working hard to stop them from crashing, but as the plane landed, it bumped along at an immense speed, hurtling past startled cows and through hay bales. Samira gripped the seat tight, praying she wasn’t about to die – but she was being shaken wildly by the impact of the wheels on the ground… They ripped through a fence and eventually slowed to a halt near the staff cottages.
Staff cottages… they were on the ranch!