Chapter 43 Prepare For landing
Dante's POV
Those were the last words I had expected to hear when this whole journey started. My mind went in every direction and none at once.
I scrambled to my feet as fast as I could, grabbing the edge of the cushion to steady myself as the jet swerved around wildly. The alarms blared from all corners as the jet tilted wildly to the left, then to the right.
Everything shook and papers, cups, anything with no grounds scattered everywhere. I turned to Serena quickly, she was curled around tightly with her eyes wide with horror. I screamed over to her. "Lay low and hang on tight!"
She nodded frantically, dropping flat to the floor. Nico barreled through from the other side despite the heavy turbulence. His jaw was locked hard and his hand twitching. He grabbed the table as the jet dipped forward more.
"What the hell is happening here?!" I yelled, barely hearing myself over the trouble.
"No, but I'm going to find out!" He yelled and pushed ahead. I followed, stumbling forward and grabbing seats and walls to stay up. I could hear the men from the other room cursing loudly and just before we reached the cockpit, I took one last look at Serena.
I nodded once at her even though I knew she wouldn't see, then I hit the cockpit door, slamming it open.
The pilot was practically leaning over the controls, beads of sweat rolled down his head, soaking his shirt. His hands were flying across switches and levers like a mad scientist.
We walked over to him and I stepped closer to get him to hear me. "What happened?!" I barked.
He didn't bother turning around, he was laser focused on the controls. He lifted a finger towards a screen with the jet outline on it and a big red blot pulsing on the back right engine.
"That's the jet we are in, and that red spot you see? That's a missile shot that hit us as we crossed the Peru border. To be specific, it hit the starboard engine, and it's gone," he explained.
I cursed under my breath. A missile? In Peruvian airspace?
"Are we surviving this?" I asked, more hopeful than anything. He didn't respond so I asked again. "Right?"
He shook his head. " We are less than 100 miles to the ground," he paused and pressed a few buttons before continuing. "I'm doing everything for the safest landing possible. But fingers crossed, just brace for impact."
I nodded. The message was loud and clear. I tapped his shoulder. "Do all you can," I encouraged him.
He nodded and I went back to Nico. "We're going to crash and we might not make it. Gather the men and tell them to prepare."
Nico's eyes met mine for a second, then he gave me a grim nod, no bullshit. "What do I say?"
"Tell them to keep their positions and their heads down between their knees, and arms over their necks. Ensure they keep their feet flat on the floor and bodies loose, ready for anything," I explained as we struggled forward.
"Secure all loose gear," I added as we stepped out. "And when we land, get everybody the fuck out of here."
"And you?" Nico asked.
"Don't bother about me. Just pray we hit land soft," I said flatly.
We stepped into the private lounge and Nico walked and struggled towards the main room. I could hear him barking orders. "Braccia! Teste basse! Preparatevi all'impatto!"
I rushed to Serena, found her still folded up in the corner with hands around her knees. I dropped to her side and pulled her close. "We'll be fine," I whispered into her ear, lying to her as I couldn't bring myself to tell her everything. "Just close your eyes and prepare for a hit."
She nodded shakily and buried her face in my chest. I wrapped my arms tightly around her, shielding her the best I could.
I placed us against the wall with my back to it and her in front. I placed her chin on my chest and my hands over her head.
There was a large screeching sound as the plane went steeper and the wind howled through the little gaps. The alarms cried out nonstop and the pilot's voice came through the speaker. "Brace! Brace!"
The impact was massive. I looked out through the windows ahead and saw branches breaking, the jet must have clipped trees on its way down. We jolted forward hard with the wings breaking off with painful sounds.
We bounced on the ground once, then twice before spinning from side to side. Serena screamed into my chest as my shoulder smashed the wall again, shooting pain through me but I held on.
Glass shattered from every side and smoke choked up the whole space. The jet finally skidded to a stop, tilting to its left.
For a second, there was no sound, no movement. Then the sound of people coughing gave me hope that they were survivors other than us as I could feel Serena shaking in my hands.
I opened my eyes slowly and dragged myself to my feet, helping Serena up. She coughed hard, shaking like a leaf.
"You okay?" I asked.
She nodded weakly, still coughing.
Nico banged through the cabin door suddenly. "Don?! Don?!"
"I'm still here!" I yelled back.
He sighed loudly while I guided Serena to him quickly. "Get her out before this thing blows up," I commanded.
Nico grabbed her arm. "On it," he replied.
Serena panicked as I let her go. "What about you?" She asked in my direction.
"I'll be right behind," I replied with a smile, I had some shit to grab first.
Nico nodded one last time and led her out fast. She kept glancing back at me but I turned away immediately towards the cockpit. I stumbled to it as fast as I could as I knew I had little time to go.
I found the door jammed as I got there. "Shit," I cursed as I had to force it open with my shoulder. After two heavy hits, I felt the pain burning through my right shoulder as it had already been banged during the fall.
The hinges finally gave way and inside, I found the pilot dead with a large branch poking through his head from the glass. I shook my head at the sight, he deserved better.
I pulled a few buttons quickly on the console. Dad's jet had cameras everywhere, both inside and outside. I pulled out the data chip from the black box slot, a small card that could go a long way in finding who did this.
I slipped it into my pocket, took one last glance at the pilot and stormed back to the private booth. I made my way quickly to a small cabinet at the corner where we stored some important stuff.
I kneeled over it, putting in the code and pulling out the documents. I took a quick glance, it contained private contacts, proofs, deals and many more.
I stuffed it into the briefcase with stacks of hundreds bundled neatly. Locked it and tucked it under my arm.
Then I rushed to the exit as fast as I could as the smoke grew thicker now and fire had begun sparking from the wing.
I stopped at the exit nonetheless and took one last look back. This was dad's jet, his pride. And now, in a few minutes, it would be nothing but ashes.
Serena's POV
Nico pulled me out roughly, dragging me through the wrecked hatch. I coughed nonstop as my lungs were on fire from all the smoke and dust. My legs felt wobbly and my body kept shaking.
I was still in shock. I was in a jet that crashed, and the most shocking part was that I survived. It felt unreal, like watching an episode of fast and furious.
He finally let go of me when we reached a farther spot and I dropped to my knees on the dirt, gasping for fresh air. I was still shaking as my hands trembled on the ground.
Nico turned back to the wreck, barking at two men. "Get the injured ones and move!"
I watched numbly as one guy hoisted another over his shoulder and brought him out. The other two limped out with their faces cut up and one clutching his side tightly.
Even Nico limped slightly, favoring his left leg. His sleeve was torn with a bloody cut.
He came back quickly. "Shift back, it could blow any second from now!" He ordered.
I snapped inside of me at the thought of Dante. I looked around wildly, searching the wreck and through the smoke with flames around.
"Where's Dante? Where's Dante?!" I yelled but before I could get an answer, the jet blew up.