The Reaper's Design

Prologue
That day millions of unrelated women looked at their watches, wall clocks and mobile phones. Not only were they unrelated, but they dotted different parts of a colourful world, totally oblivious that they shared something unique with each other. As some reached into their dressing table drawers, others searched their hand bags and purses. Sitting at the back of limousines, driving cars, waiting for buses, others preferred to walk to work. Time had summoned some through memory and others through man made reminders. What ruled their clocks ticked evolution from day to day. Most of the women were not sick, not yet...

The large chopping blades of the matte black Sikorsky S-76C helicopter thundered as it sounded away in slow motion. Its ascent wrestled against the strong cross wind and heavy rain as it made its way back to its owner. A medium-sized commercial utility helicopter, powered by a couple of Turbomeca Ariel 1S1 turbo shaft engines with a power of 539 KW. Pilots like Siobhan, as she stared up at it, knew because of its almost $13 million price tag; it was made for fewer and more exclusive owners. Owners with a higher purpose, as she now knew. Owners she would not have met otherwise. Not even as a commercial pilot. The Sikorsky's anxious lights flickered and grew dimmer and dimmer as it disappeared into the heavy low dark clouds. Siobhan mentally mimicked the pilots' motions and controls as if she herself steered the loud beast away from the normally quiet seaside town and aimed it into the storm.