The Persuasion

by Iris Johansen

  Her grasp tightened on his arm. “How?”

  “Lies, trickery, and your old friend at which you proved so adept in that hangar, distraction.” He was already banking the plane as he started to lower the altitude. “Most particularly distraction. In short, we’re going to do what I promised Joe and stall…”

  * * *

  St. Giles

  “The house is right ahead,” Caleb told Jane. “I’ll make contact with Luca when I’m ten minutes away from the property. Be ready.”

  Jane was peering into the half darkness out the window. “It’s still not entirely light. Will you be able to see well enough to land?”

  “Maybe. Probably.” He was gazing down at the fields below. “But I don’t promise I won’t run over a few black sheep or fine Scottish cattle.”

  “Not funny.”

  “I can only try.” He smiled. “I’ll promise you if I get low enough to see there’s a threat, I’ll avert and go in another direction. It’s good that it’s still not that light yet, because we don’t want Luca’s goons to be able to see exactly what we’re doing. Blurring is good, Jane.”

  “If you don’t run over sheep or cows. Then blurring would be—”

  “It’s time,” Caleb interrupted, his hands on the controls in front of him. “Let’s have a little atmospheric noise to start off…” He sharply pulled back on the throttle. The engine started to sputter and cough noisily.

  He pressed the button on his phone that he’d just pre-dialed. Luca answered immediately. “You’re making good time. How close are you, Caleb?”

  “What do you mean how close am I, you son of a bitch?” Caleb asked harshly. “You put me in this Cessna that you rigged to fall out of the damn sky and thought I wouldn’t suspect you’d done it?” He pulled back on the throttle and jiggled it, once again forcing the engine to cough and sputter. “Listen to that. What did you do? Sugar in my fuel line?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Luca’s voice was suddenly frantic. “I didn’t do anything to that plane, you idiot. Why would I? I want you down here so that I can get my hands on my treasure. How close are you to the landing strip?”

  “Not close enough.” The plane shuddered as it began to lose altitude. Jane instinctively grabbed the strap of her seat belt and shot Caleb a nervous glance. Did he really know what the hell he was doing?

  Caleb lowered his window a few inches, flooding the cockpit with cold air and the sound of the sputtering, gasping engine. “I’m at least ten minutes away. I’ll have to crash-land.” He jiggled the throttle back, bringing the engine to the verge of a complete stall. He cursed viciously. “But don’t think I’m going to let you kill us and waltz away with MacDuff’s treasure after all I’ve gone through to get it. Buckle up, Jane.”

  “This is all your fault, Caleb.” Jane’s voice was trembling. “We’re going to die, aren’t we?” It was a performance, but the fear was very real.

  “Not before I show Luca he can’t cheat me of those Judas coins and then try to kill me.” He lowered his voice menacingly. “I’m a very experienced pilot, Luca, and I’ve gotten out of worse spots than this. We’re going to live, and you’re going to have to beg me on your knees for your share of the treasure in the back of this plane. Do you hear—”

  The Cessna shuddered, and its engine abruptly stalled.

  Suddenly there was no sputter, no roar. Just the sound of the icy wind whistling through the cockpit.

  Jane’s breath left her. “Caleb…?”

  He pushed the yoke and the nose lowered. Then the plane drifted to the left, then slowly circled into a corkscrew spin toward the ground!

  Jane was gasping, her heart beating crazily as the spins grew faster, tighter.

  The ground rushed toward them as pens, maps, and every loose object flew around the cockpit.

  “What the hell is going on up there?” It was Luca’s voice, almost a screech of sound. Other excited chatter on his end of the line. He’d obviously spotted them.

  They hurtled ever faster toward the ground.

  “Are you trying to kill us?” Jane asked.

  He shook his head. “That’s not the plan.” Caleb punched the starter, and the engine roared to life.

  But still the plane spun toward the ground!

  “Pull up!” Jane yelled.

  “Not yet. We need more speed.”

  “More speed?”

  “It’s the only way to regain control.” He pushed the throttle forward, sending them even faster toward the ground. “Just a few more seconds…”

  She didn’t know how many seconds there were until they hit the ground. “Now, Caleb!” She turned in her seat, trying to orient herself as the cold air whipped over her face.

  Caleb pulled the yoke and the plane’s nose lifted. A second later, they finally turned out of the spin.

  Luca’s voice crackled over the phone. “What the hell happened? Caleb?”

  Caleb cut the connection and nodded toward a flat patch of land ahead. “That should do.”

  They landed in a field several miles distant from St. Giles House. The wheels touched down and the plane bounced over rough terrain of brush, rocks, and occasional bales of hay.

  It finally came to a stop. Caleb released his seat belt and turned to her. “How are you? Not hurt?”

  She shook her head. “Other than the heart attack I suffered when you went into that spin?” She was quickly undoing her seat belt. “I hope it looked effective from Luca’s viewpoint because I never want to do it again.”

  “I did warn you.” Caleb jumped out of the cockpit and ran around to open her door. “And if it helps, I think it was everything we wanted it to be. The light was good enough for him to see us hurtling toward death and then me pulling us out and saving the day.” His gaze narrowed on the brownstone house in the distance. “And that’s a truck leaving the property and heading in this direction. Which means we’ve got to get the hell out of here.” He was back inside the plane and pulling one of the chests out of the interior and throwing it a few feet away from the plane. Then he tossed his jacket soaked in oil onto the other chest, still occupying the rear. He threw a match after it and it immediately exploded into flames. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Jane still standing there. “What are you doing? It’s going to blow any minute. Start running for those foothills.”

  “When you do.”

  He muttered a curse and was out of the plane and grabbing her hand. “Run!” He pulled the Judas coins out of the box he’d first removed from the plane, then tossed a match onto the chest and watched it flame up. Then he was running, pulling her, heading for the foothills in the distance.

  She glanced behind them to see the Cessna totally engulfed in flames. It was a miracle the fuel tank hadn’t blown yet.

  And then it did!

  KABOOM.

  * * *

  Joe jammed on his brakes as he saw the explosion light the dawn sky. “There it is,” he told Eve. “Caleb said to watch for a fire that would distract everyone from the house and let us go after Tomas.” His lips tightened grimly. “I’d say that’s one hell of a fire.”

  “But where are Jane and Caleb?” Eve said hoarsely. “It’s all very well to lure everyone from that house, but we both know who they’re going after.”

  “Then we’ll just have to go get them,” Joe said as he raised his binoculars to his eyes. “There are at least nine men in the back of that truck that’s headed for the wreckage of the plane. Caleb definitely got their attention.”

  “Tomas is alone there.” Michael’s eyes were fastened on the house. “He’s scared, Dad. We have to go get him.”

  “We will,” Eve said suddenly. She opened the car door and jumped out. “I’ll take Tovarth with me and go get Tomas. You go and make sure Jane lives through this, Joe.”

  “No, Eve.”

  “Don’t tell me no. All her life Jane has never been certain she comes first with us. I’m not letting her think she’s taking second place this
time.” She turned to Michael. “Tomas is alone in there? You’re sure?”

  “I’m sure.” He suddenly flung his door open and was pushing Lisa aside to jump out on the road. “He’s by himself. I’ll take you to him. Lisa, you go get Tovarth.” He streaked across the grass toward the front door. “It’s okay, Mom. We just have to get him out of there.”

  “Michael!” But he’d already disappeared into the house. Eve whirled on Joe. “Well, he always said we had to trust him,” she said unsteadily. “Now we don’t have a choice.” She was running toward the house. She gestured to Lisa standing beside Tovarth, who was getting out of one of the police vans. “Come with me. Both of you. I need you!”

  She didn’t wait for an answer. The next moment she was inside the house.

  * * *

  “Get that fire out!” Luca shouted as he jumped out of the cab of the truck. He was cursing helplessly as he gazed at the burning plane. He knew that it was useless to try to save anything within that cacophony of flame. All he could do was hope that Caleb and Jane were burning a slow, painful death inside that plane with his treasure. All his dreams, all his plans, and they’d ruined it for him.

  He stiffened. He’d caught sight of a burning chest that must have been thrown out of the plane by the explosion. It was on fire but not to the extent of the rest of the plane. “Get over there,” he shouted at the men, pointing at the chest. “Everyone. Put that fire out!”

  “There’s no water,” Alberto said. “We can’t do—”

  Fools. He wasn’t going to lose this chest, too. There was no telling what treasures might still be in it. “Use shovels or your shirts or rifle butts. Anything. I want that fire out!”

  He watched frantically as they pounded and worked until they finally got the burning flames under control. Then he pushed Alberto aside to look down in the chest as they tore aside the lid and blackened first layer. “How bad is it? How much damage did the fire—”

  “No damage.” Alberto looked down at his burnt hands in rage and disgust. “There’s nothing in this chest but books and a few shiny necklaces draped over them. It was a trick. Seth Caleb made a fool of you.”

  Luca was looking at the interior of the chest, stunned. “Shut up,” he said fiercely. “It’s not true. It couldn’t be true.” But why couldn’t it have happened when that asshole, Caleb, had been the unknown element from the very beginning. Luca had planned and worked for his destiny to emerge intact and as glorious as he’d dreamed it was going to be. He couldn’t believe Jane and Caleb had ruined everything for him.

  “It’s true,” Alberto said contemptuously. “The plane never crashed. They just wanted to keep us busy. They’re still out there in those hills somewhere.”

  “Then we’ll go after them.”

  “Not me.” Alberto jumped into the cab of the truck. “I’m done with your promises. I’ll do what I want to do.” He stomped on the accelerator and took off across the field toward the house.

  Luca stared after him, outraged. Everything was falling to pieces around him. He whirled to Pietro, who was staring very uncertainly after Alberto. “Don’t pay any attention to that traitor. I’ll pay double for you to bring Seth Caleb and Jane MacGuire to me.” He looked around the field and then to the foothills in the distance. He had to believe in his destiny that might still be waiting for him in those hills. “No, I’ll pay triple.”

  * * *

  “You shouldn’t be here, Ms. Duncan,” Tovarth said when he followed Eve into the foyer of the house. “Neither should I. I should be with your husband, hunting down Luca and his men. I have to do my duty.”

  “Tell that to my son.” Eve was striding through the hall. “And that little boy Luca tried to crucify. I’m sure they’d love to hear about your duty. But right now I need your help to get Tomas out of this house. He’s only eight and he’ll have to be carefully moved. After he’s away from this place and safely in your van outside, I’ll be glad to let you chase Joe down and round up everyone else.”

  “I meant no offense,” Tovarth said quietly. “It’s just that I’m concerned since this has not gone down as we’d expected.”

  “Things rarely do with Caleb.” She called out, “Michael!”

  “Here.” Michael was standing at the door ahead. “I just wanted Tomas to see me and know that we were here for him.”

  “Well, he did see you,” Eve said. “And you know you shouldn’t be in here. I told you that you should stay in the car.”

  He nodded. “But you knew I had to be here with Tomas. He needed me.”

  That was just what she’d told Tovarth, she thought wearily. “We’ll talk about it later. Right now we have to get Tomas out of this place. They haven’t hurt him since they brought him here?”

  He shook his head. “He’s only scared right now. But I told him that he was safe.”

  Inspector Tovarth nodded. “Then let’s get the lad out of here. Do you suppose you could run interference for me since I’m a stranger to him?”

  “I’ll try. He doesn’t like men. His father hurt him.” He led him toward the bedroom door. “I’ll tell him you’re a policeman. That might help. Though I don’t—” He abruptly stopped as he reached the doorway. He inhaled sharply.

  Then he whirled toward Eve, his face pale. “Mom, you know I told you that there was no one here but Tomas? It was true. But it’s not true now.” His eyes were big with fear as they went to the front door. “There’s someone else here…”

  * * *

  Foothills of Ben Nevis

  “Run!” Caleb was pushing Jane up the steep incline as he glanced over his shoulder at Luca’s men scattered in the foothills behind them. “Once I get you past the tree line, I’ll be able to leave you and circle behind those bastards.”

  “And then what?” Jane asked fiercely, trying to catch her breath. “You’re going to go after all of them? Pick them off one by one? Don’t be ridiculous. You saw how many men Luca managed to send after us once that plane exploded. I hate to call it to your attention but you’re not a miracle man. No, you stay with me until Joe and Tovarth’s men come riding over that hill and can give us a little help. Otherwise, I’ll follow you wherever you go.”

  “That’s not going to happen,” he said coldly, his expression tight. “I won’t have you interfering. I know what I’m doing, Jane.”

  “So do I, and I don’t like it. So choose stay or go. Either way we’ll be together.”

  He drew a deep breath, and then his expression changed, softened. “I’ve noticed that that appears to be the case no matter how I fight it. I’ll have to decide which way is best for us.” He smiled. “Though I don’t like you scoffing at the idea that I might be a miracle man. My wicked forebears would be most insulted when they went to such a lot of trouble to convince everyone that they were.”

  “Stay or go?”

  He didn’t answer the question. “And I wasn’t going to pick them all off. Just one or two so that I could get at Luca. That’s all I’d have to do. Take down the top dog and the others would have no reason to fight. Since they weren’t on the helicopter coming from Tower House, most of them were probably paid goons, not his regular cult followers. Remove the money and they’ll disappear.” He paused. “Since I’m not going to attempt miracles, couldn’t you be more reasonable?”

  “No.” She was gazing down at the foothills. “But I do feel more comfortable about you doing it. You’re the hunter, so I imagine you’ve been watching, planning, making sure that you’re ready even while you were pushing me up this damn hill.” Her gaze shifted to his face. “Do you know where Luca is located down there?”

  “At the moment he’s near that creek on the other side of the plateau halfway up the hill. He’s not leading the charge because there’s no way he’s a warrior; he prefers to let his men run any risk. I guess he thinks getting killed might seriously interfere with his destiny.” He glanced to the right, considering. “I’d probably take out the man in the blue windbreaker first, then wait until th
e man in jeans and a hoodie moved into the trees to get rid of him.” He shifted his gaze back to her. “So easy and then I could move in and take out Luca. Wait here,” he coaxed. “It would be much safer for Joe and the Scotland Yard team not to have to deal with him.”

  “I can see that. I just don’t like the way it might come about.” She turned back and said, “Therefore we’ll change that part of the scenario. Staying is no longer a choice. I’ll go with you and let you stash me near those rocks where you set up to go after Luca. I’ll remain there until you’ve removed him. I promise I won’t get in your way, but I do want you to give me the gun that you take from that first goon you’re planning on taking down so that I can use it if needed. I didn’t like it that Davron took mine away from me in that hangar.”

  “Neither did I.” He was frowning. “But I like you doing this even less…”

  “I’ve never been helpless, Caleb. I can defend myself. But being without a weapon makes me feel as if I am. And hiding out up here in the trees while I worry about Luca trying to kill you would be even worse.” She started back down the trail and then turned to look at him. “You managed to spot most of Luca’s men down there. Did you see Joe or Tovarth anywhere in sight?”

  “Not yet. But Joe’s much sharper than Luca or anyone else on his payroll. There’s a good chance I might not have been able to see him. He has to be out there somewhere, Jane.”

  She knew that, and it was really a good thing if Luca’s men hadn’t been able to spot Joe.

  But there was one more question she had to ask. “Alberto,” she said. “Did you see Alberto down there with Luca?”

  Caleb didn’t answer at once. “No.” He muttered a curse as he saw her expression. “But I did see him in the back of the truck leaving the St. Giles House when we were running away from that burning plane. So Luca didn’t leave him behind. Joe would have had his chance to get Tomas out of there.”