Chapter 22 - The Helicopter Forced DownMark and Ethan collided near the open door.
The sabotage module bounced against the threshold.
Ethan grabbed it first.
Mark caught his jacket and pulled him backward.
The module flew from Ethan’s hand.
Mark reached.
His fingers closed around it inches before the wind could take it.
Ethan struck him across the face.
Mark fell against the cockpit seat, still holding the device.
The helicopter warning alarm intensified.
Fuel pressure was falling again.
Mark secured the module beneath his harness.
Then he activated the aircraft’s emergency landing protocol.
The nearest safe landing area was a flat section of coastal highway north of Big Sur.
The Coast Guard helicopter had already transmitted coordinates to law enforcement.
Mark turned toward shore.
Ethan grabbed the door frame.
“You are not landing.”
“We have no choice.”
“There is always a choice.”
Ethan lunged toward the fuel controls.
Mark locked the cockpit partition.
A clear reinforced barrier slid between them.
Ethan slammed both hands against it.
“Open this!”
Mark ignored him.
The helicopter descended toward the highway.
Vehicles below were being stopped by emergency crews.
Police cruisers formed a barrier across both directions.
Ethan saw them.
His face twisted with panic.
He searched the cabin.
The open side door remained his only exit.
Below, trees and cliffs rushed past.
Ethan moved toward the doorway as though considering another jump.
Mark watched him through the reflection.
“Do not do it.”
Ethan looked down at the rocky coastline.
For the first time, he understood what he had forced Ava to see.
Open air.
Certain death.
No control.
He stepped backward.
The helicopter touched down hard on the closed highway.
Its skids bounced once.
Police surrounded the aircraft.
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Ethan remained inside, staring through the open door as every escape route disappeared.
👉 Ethan had reached the ground alive—but the device hidden beneath the pilot’s harness could prove the crash was planned too.
