Well, of course. She would stave off Armageddon while wearing designer heels. “Will do, baby.”
He jogged back, determined to find that bag. Even if they dumped it in the ocean, if it was close enough, he could dive and find it.
Toward the back, he discovered that Lan had made a little mountain of crap on the floor. He’d pulled out wires, blankets, a small tool kit. Yes. He’d filled a backpack with extra water bottles and found enough odds and ends to build a desalinization port if they ran out of water.
The wire they could fashion into hooks and weapons. The sea would provide protein if they had the tools to get it. He knew enough about plants and herbs to know what to eat and what to avoid. They had the tools. They just needed the chance to survive.
He walked through the curtain and toward the back. Lan had decimated the food station. He’d taken everything except the ceramic mugs. Mistake. Ceramic made great knives. They all had a few, but it never hurt to bring more. And he’d left a pot. They would need that. The heavy plastic of the useless life raft would mean nothing if they didn’t have a damn container. Potable water would be their first goal. The bottled stuff wouldn’t last.
Lan walked through, carrying the luggage. He had all of their cases, including Alea’s Louis Vuitton bag. “I shoved some extra blankets and pillows into those.”
“Good. Did you find the flare guns?”
Lan nodded. “I wrapped them in plastic. They should be safe from the water.”
The plane dipped, now at a steeper angle, nearly sending him careening forward. Closer to the ocean. The phantom of the Indianapolis played through his head. He couldn’t let his men die. God, he couldn’t let Alea die.
“No matches,” Lan said, bracing himself against the wall.
The plane lurched again, the sensation causing Dane’s stomach to roll. Faster and faster, they were going down.
“Suit up,” Dane barked.
If Coop set them down flat, keeping the nose up, they would float for a brief time. They could get the door open and get to land.
Dane could feel the force of the descent pulling them down, threatening to tear the plane apart. The whole aircraft shuddered. But Coop managed to bring the nose up again as he and Lan gathered all the stuff and shoved them into whatever packs and suitcases they could find.
“Get ready,” Dane shouted.
He grabbed the nearest backpack. All military guys carried them, big, weighty duffels with arm holes. He tossed one to Lan. “I’m going to try to pry the door open. When the water’s two feet below, we start tossing out whatever we can’t carry. It should float and if it doesn’t, well, we know how to dive.”
“Damn straight, brother, but we shouldn’t have to. I found some rope. I was able to tie most of the luggage together. I’ll haul it in.” Lan’s previous nerves had morphed into pure, grade-A special ops arrogance.
That was exactly what they needed because they didn’t have anything left except for the stubborn belief that nothing and no one could take them down.
Dane stood at the door, braced himself, and threw it open. He stared down into the blue void below and prayed their stubborn arrogance was enough.
* * * *
Alea felt her stomach roll, but forced the bile back down. She’d never particularly loved flying, even when she’d learned how to do it. She’d taken the lessons for the same reason she did everything; it had been expected of her. Her cousins had learned, so she had, too, even when her hands had shaken. Even when everything in her body had screamed at her to stay on the ground. She’d conquered her fear and learned to fly.
Now she was going to learn how to crash.
Cooper’s concentration was absolute. After the first couple of minutes, he’d settled in and was now nothing but cocky confidence. “Brace yourself, baby. We’re going to hit the water hard.”
She settled into the seat beside him and strapped herself down. On the horizon, she saw a tiny piece of land, yet another green jewel in a sea of blue. They would land as close to that little patch as possible.
Her hands shook. Nerves. Stress. God, she’d been given some kind of drug. She hated drugs. She’d fought so hard to get off them. She wanted to shove her fingers down her throat just to purge the rest out of her system. Now wasn’t the time. Everything was still a little hazy, but she could remember plastering herself all over Dane. But she’d deal with that humiliation later.
Dumb slut. No one wants you. When the money runs out, we’ll just kill you and no one will miss you. You’re worthless.
God, she hated those voices, but they were always in her head, just waiting for the perfect time to start replaying and take her down. When she heard them, she just went to bed with her iPod on and her ear buds firmly in place. And she tried to forget. She couldn’t do that now. She had to stay in the present.