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off.
    ‘Ms Manning likes efficiency,’ the
blazered man told her.
    The Cessna taxied very briefly,
and then took off in what seemed a nearly vertical climb that had Irene
swallowing hard. A look out of the window showed her the vast spread of New York visibly diminishing beneath her,
with the tall buildings of Manhattan already assuming Lilliputian proportions and the Hudson River a streak of blue.
    After a few minutes the intercom
hummed and a calm voice sounded. ‘We are now flying at 7,620 metres and heading in a westerly direction. There is a gentle
headwind but not enough to impede our speed or progress. We are approaching our
cruising speed of 400 knots, or about 465 miles an hour, so sit back and enjoy the flight, Miss
Armstrong. The steward will attend to any requests,’
    There was fresh orange juice and a
light meal of newly baked bread and cheese, followed by strong coffee, but
Irene’s repeated demands for further information from the blazered man were met
only with a polite smile.
    ‘I am only the steward, Miss
Armstrong. I do what I am told.’
    ‘Well, let me speak with the pilot
then.’
    The steward shook his head
regretfully. ‘I am truly sorry, Miss Armstrong, but Ms Manning’s safety
protocols are very strict. The cockpit is fully secured and separate from us.
We cannot approach the pilot when we are airborne.’
    America seemed to crawl below them as the
Cessna powered westward and Irene drank a never-ending succession of cups of
coffee. She forced herself to sit quietly, either staring at the clouds that
wafted below them or perusing the magazines that had been provided.
    Leafing through the in-house
magazine for the Manning Corporation, Irene refreshed herself with the sheer
scale of the company. She read how Ms Manning had pushed herself through
college and had begun in electronics in a very small scale. By sheer hard work
and brilliance, she had steered her own company to be one of the main players
in America , and then had branched out into
other fields. Now the Manning Corporation was involved in real estate and
hospitality, clothing and drink, transport and pharmaceuticals, as well as the
original electronics.
    Irene shook her head. The
corporation was so vast it was astonishing that one woman could keep her finger
on everything. Ms Manning truly was an impressive woman.
    After the first couple of hours
Irene had given up attempting to judge where they were and tried to sleep, but
her active mind forced her awake, to think about the forthcoming interview. It
was early afternoon before the Cessna touched down, and the steward was smiling
as he approached.
    ‘We have reached our destination,
Miss Armstrong. On behalf of Ms Manning, I would like to thank you for your
patience and hope that you have had a pleasant flight.’
    Irene stretched her legs and
straightened her back as she stepped outside. However luxurious the cabin had
been, the headroom had been less than generous to a woman of her height. She
looked around, shivering in a wind that hissed straight from the Arctic . The aerodrome seemed to consist
of a single long strip of tarmac beside a building of compact concrete, from
whose squat tower rose a mass of complex communications equipment. A bleak,
green-and-grey plain stretched to low hills that struggled above the distant
horizon. ‘Where are we?’
    ‘Our destination,’ the steward
repeated. ‘Within the continental United States , but I am afraid that I am not at liberty to divulge any
more than that.’
    ‘Why the hell not?’ Irene
demanded, but the steward merely smiled and ushered her toward another vehicle.
The Ford Expedition King Ranch waited with its engine throbbing and the
expected Manning logo shining on its doors.
    ‘The driver will take you further.
It may be a bit wild out here, Miss Armstrong, but Ms Manning will ensure that
you can rough it in comfort.’
    Irene sighed, hoping that whatever
Ms Manning wanted, it had better be worth all this trouble. She