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CHAPTER 51

Cedar Creek, Nevada Thursday, August 1, 2024

SLOAN COULD HAVE BEEN IN A DREAM, AND ACTUALLY CONSIDERED that she was, as she held Nora’s hand while they ran through the field to a waiting helicopter silhouetted by the still-glowing horizon, its rotors spinning and thud-thud-thudding vibrations through her chest. Ellis followed close behind and when she climbed onboard, she saw Tilly and Reid Margolis strapped into their seats.

“Welcome!” Reid yelled over the pounding of the helicopter blades. “I know we haven’t known each other long, but I don’t allow anyone to treat members of my family so rudely. That includes the almighty American media.”

The copilot assisted Sloan and Nora into the belly of the helicopter and helped them strap into their seats.

“Here you go, ma’am.” The young man handed Sloan a pair of noise-canceling earphones. “It’s about a two-hour flight, you’ll need these.”

Sloan tried to smile as she took the headphones and snapped them over her ears. The thudding of the rotors immediately dulled. She looked at Nora, who squeezed Sloan’s hand and smiled. How this woman had become such a close friend in only a matter of days, Sloan could not explain. But she was damn happy for the friendship.

Ellis took the seat across from them while the copilot secured the door before climbing back into his seat in the cockpit. Through the headphones Sloan heard the pilot’s voice.

“Okay folks. Settle in for a two-hour flight. Weather is clear and skies are calm. Should be uneventful.”

Sloan looked out the window as the helicopter lifted off, the grass of the prairie flattening with the downward push from the rotors. Momentum pulled her back into her seat as the helicopter accelerated, heading northwest toward Oregon.