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.Couldn t happen.Gerald and his what? minion? henchman? whatever he was, they were going to bundle herinto a plane and she d be lost forever.This wasn t a scheduled flight on a plane belonging to an airline.Ellen knew that Gerald operated two planes, one for executives in his company and one hereserved for his own personal use.A Learjet.She knew how much it had cost, secondhand, how much itcost to operate, how much of that cost he deducted from his taxes.This was probably his plane.He could fly out whenever he wanted, without asking anyone spermission.He could fly anywhere he wanted.Bearclaw had a small airfield of its own.Gerald s pilots could land after dark and no one wouldever know she d been on the plane.If he did to her what he d done to Arlen and that Mikowski andRoddy and poor Kerry whatever that devil s voice from hell said, Kerry was dead well, Gerald ownedmore than seven thousand acres of land, much of it swamp.He could bury her where no one would ever find her.Not all the police officers and all the dogsin the world would find her.She was lost and had no cards left to play.Both front car doors opened as the men got out.Ellen squeezed her eyes shut.The only tinyadvantage she had was the fact that they couldn t know she d regained consciousness.Drugs affecteddifferent people in different ways.If she could just pretend she was still unconscious, she could& she could what?Live.Live just a few moments more.Feel her body, racked with pain though it was.Breathe, even if itwas dust and diesel fuel fumes.Think.Think of Harry and what, maybe, they might have had together.Tears seeped from her eyes, though she didn t have the use of her hands to wipe them.Harry.Would what they d found be true, lasting? Oh God.Images, dense, full of the color and theweight of truth, flashed through her mind.Harry laughing, sipping wine while she cooked.She wasn tmuch of a cook, but he loved her he d choke it down.Sitting with a half smile on his face while shesang for him.Unearthly joy on his face as he held their newborn child. Hours, days, weeks, years spent together.Loving each other, loving their family.Their childrenwould grow up together with Sam and Nicole s children in a tight and loving circle, utterly protected andsafe.So unlike her childhood and Harry s.Mike would be a doting uncle.Watching them grow up, day by day, year by year.She d record songs, maybe play a few gigs inthe San Diego area.Harry s company would expand because he and Sam and Mike were so good at whatthey did.She d keep their books because she was good at it.At the end of the working day, a happy family to come home to.Christmases, Easters, birthdays,anniversaries.All celebrated with love.The mess and fuss of kids.Fights, laughter, triumphs, the dramas of the young.They wouldn thave to keep the tight rein on themselves she d had to, because there d be solid earth beneath theirfeet.Strong, happy kids.Kids who grew up to follow their dreams.She and Harry would grow older,weaker, happier.Grandkids&It was all something that would happen to another Ellen and Harry, in an alternate universe.Inthis one, she d disappear, and he d mourn another Lost One he couldn t save.She d die, lose all that love and laughter, and for what? So Gerald could keep his empire built onlarceny and murder and greed.So he could kill with impunity.Just snuff out people s lives because itsuited him.It was monstrous.He was a monster.Thank God she d e-mailed the FBI and thank God Harry and Mike and Sam had the informationNicole had uncovered.They d make sure it got into the FBI s hands.Maybe Gerald would go down after all.The FBI was good, thorough, uncorrupted.Theywouldn t be like Gerald s tame officers back home.They d dig and dig and dig.Utter hatred for Gerald pulsed in her.Hatred for all of them for the man who d batteredHarry s little sister to death, for the man Kerry had been so afraid of, but above all, hatred for Geraldand all his men prickled through her veins like some kind of drug.She was going to die, but by God before she did, she was going to hurt Gerald, somehow.The back door opened, and the engine noises and sharp diesel fuel fumes assaulted her senses.She stayed completely still, eyes closed and unmoving.She d be deadweight.Good.Make them work atgetting her out of the car. You get her. Gerald s cold voice.She d recognize it anywhere. Yeah.I ll take her up into the plane. The second man had an odd accent.The accent everyonespoke in a Clint Eastwood film, Invictus.South African. You do that.I ll talk with the pilots.They ll be ready for takeoff.Let s get in the air. Ellen tried to will herself to be unwieldy, but the blond man was really strong.He didn t try tocarry her across his front.He pulled her up and over his shoulder in a fireman s lift, steps loud on theconcrete floor, moving swiftly up the plane s stairs, holding her legs with one arm around her knees.She felt the South African dip and they passed into the cabin.The quality of the air changedimmediately.Fresher, cleaner.The outside noise abated then disappeared when she heard a doorthump close.They were in the airplane.She was unceremoniously dumped in a leather chair.She lolled, making her whole body limp,arms dangling.Everything hurt, but she was alive.Maybe they would stay here for a while, in the airplane.Maybe they were waiting for someone.Maybe the plane needed refueling.Would there be a way for the FBI to find Gerald? Would a flight plan have been filed?When she disappeared, Harry would read her e-mail and contact the FBI immediately.As herhead slowly cleared of the drug and she was able to put two thoughts together, hope surged throughher.Harry d be pushing the FBI to find them, they d be on the lookout, canvasing all roads, trains,buses, planes.Maybe all she needed was for Gerald and this South African guy to stay in the plane while theFBI and Harry did their thing.Stay here, she ordered the plane.As if in answer, there was an incomprehensible announcement from the pilot s cabin over thespeakers and the engines fired up.A minute later, the plane started slowly moving.Ellen chanced cracking an eye open and saw that the plane was taxiing from the hangar out intothe sunlight
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