Stormhaven Rising (Atlas and the Winds Book 1) (17 page)

“Yeah, Victor. Show time?” The Secretary of Defense asked without preamble.

“Yes sir, the Russians have just launched two MiG-LF 2600’s toward Hammerthrow One. Do you want us to escort them home?"

“I’ll get online with State and see if they’ve gotten the Russians to the table yet,” Reynolds said. “But put the wing on alert at Warren. JIC."

“Yes, sir. We can hold them on stand-by and still intercept over US territory for about twenty-five minutes,” General Marquez said.

“Good. I’ll get back to you before then."

Marquez flipped back to the in-house system and passed the word to put the 152nd TAV wing on stand-by.

He sat back in his chair, knowing that within minutes, the concealed hangar doors at Warren AFB would be rolling open, and the pilots would be sitting in the seats of their F-28 Starhawks drumming their fingers on the engine ignition controls in boredom.

But that was the nature of the military. Hurry up and wait.

***

Outside Stormhaven:

The road headed over the ridge and through a gate in a fence that looked like any of the other range fences that crossed this ranchland. This time though, they’d entered the private property of Stormhaven. Even before the sign told them to slow down, they’d eased to a crawl.

Shapiro was fighting to override his guts, even after the
motivational ass chewing
he’d endured from Secretary Anderson. They were two days behind where they should have been and Dr. Cavanaugh was still at large. Secretary Anderson was having none of his excuses.
It didn’t matter if God himself was protecting her, she was a risk and the longer she was outside their control, the bigger that risk became.

This morning had already turned into a tough week, so DeMarko’s desire to make small talk added fuel to the ugly fire burning in the pit of Shapiro’s stomach.

“Let me ask you something boss,” DeMarko said. “Why have they got you so spooked? I read your notes and the background files again, and I understand that they’ve got some pretty impressive engineering credentials, but they shouldn’t be—"

The engine on the SUV died, putting an unexpected end to his thought.

“Abrams. We’ve got car trouble,” Shapiro said, tapping the stud on his earpiece to activate the comlink. “Stand by.”

He tried the ignition. Nothing. Not even a click. He looked at DeMarko, the concern evident on his face. “Abrams? We need some assistance here. Do you copy?”

“Watkins. Schimmel. Anybody?” DeMarko scanned their surroundings, shaking his head. “I think we’re off the air.”

“No kidding.” Shapiro opened his door and stepped into the wind, trying to see everywhere at once. “Let’s hoof it back. I think we’re a bit exposed out here.”

DeMarko jumped out, pulling his sidearm and chambering a round. Pointing it at the ground he flipped the safety off.

“Put it away,” Shapiro hissed.

“But sir, we’re in a hostile situation here and—“ DeMarko started to protest.

“Agent DeMarko, please put your pistol away. You’re in no danger,” said a voice in his ear

“Who are you?” he asked, keying the toggle to transmit.

“My name is Tomas Stevens. We’d like to invite you to talk, but since you seem a little preoccupied with your weapon, it might be a good idea for you to relax,” the voice in his ear said.

He looked at Shapiro who shook his head. “What’s wrong?”

“You don’t hear the transmission?” DeMarko asked.

“No.” He looked concerned but a faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Is it Schimmel?"

“No, sir.” He jerked his head in the direction of Stormhaven and said, “They’ve compromised the com."

“No surprise there,” Shapiro said.

“Yes Agent DeMarko, we’ve patched into your communications. We’d just like to talk,” Tom said.

“Shit. I didn’t even key-in that time.” The agent slid close to the side of the truck and hunkered down.

“Give it up. They’ve got us,” Shapiro said.

“If you’ll leave your weapons on the seat of the truck, we’d like to invite you in,” Tom said, transmitting to both agents.

“We’d prefer to keep them,” Shapiro answered.

There was a short pause before Tom said, “You’ll only be allowed access to the visitor areas of the community."

“We’re just here to arrest Danielle Cavanaugh,” Shapiro said. “We shouldn’t be needing the grand tour.”

Tom laughed. “We’ll see. Please pull into the parking garage. Someone will meet you there.”

“But our vehicle’s dead,” DeMarko said.

“It’ll work now,” Tom said.

“Thank you. I’m sure AAA would really love to make a call out here,” Shapiro said, shaking his head.

“Welcome to Stormhaven."

***

Beijing:

General Jiang sat in the middle of the long side of the polished onyx table, waiting for Zhuxi Li Jaibao to finish reading over his report. The other seven members of the Standing Committee had completed their perusal of his presentation and were politely sitting as the elderly Chairman struggled with some of the technical aspects of the paper.

Zhuxi Li, was the only member of the Politburo Committee who did not hold a degree in science or engineering. It had long been a tradition that the members of the Committee were educated in engineering or science, and it was unfortunate that Zhuxi lacked some of the technical expertise to see the finer points of Jiang’s plan.

After an eternity he closed the document and cleared his throat. “Your work and dedication to the Party has always been beyond question, General Jiang.” He spoke with great care, considering each of his words. “Why is it that you feel you are proposing something that is in the best interest of the PRC?”

“Thank you for your kind words, Zhuxi Li,” the General said. “I understand that a great deal of my assessment is based on the behavior of the United States Administration, and therefore may be subject to a degree of interpretation. However, when we confirmed the discovery of an asteroid precisely where the satellite photos of the observatory at Kitt Peak had implied it would be, I think there remains little room for doubt.”

“Your conclusion is not what I am questioning,” Li said. “I asked why doing something about this is in our best interests.” He opened the proposal and looked at the diagrams again. “I see nothing here that says where this asteroid will impact the Earth. For all we know it will come down in the middle of America”

“That is possible,” the General acknowledged. “However, the size of this object is sufficient that it would be of catastrophic consequence to the entire planet, regardless of the location of the impact.”

“He is correct,” Wen Rongji said, showing signs of impatience in his expression. “If this asteroid is not stopped, we can expect that life on Earth may become impossible.”

“Which still leaves me with my original question,” Li said. “What is the value of this endeavor to the PRC?”

“America is often the victim of political infighting,” Jiang said. “It is possible that they will not be able to stop this event because of indecision. If this were to happen, then we are the only other country capable of mounting such a mission.”

Li closed the folder in front of him and leaned back in his seat. “If we were to be the ones to successfully defend the Earth, it would be an opportunity for us to increase our influence, while also diminishing that of the United States."

“Interesting point,” the General smiled. It was wise to let Zhuxi feel like he was discovering the idea for himself. “The cost to achieve this mission is relatively small when you consider the potential gain in prestige to our people.”

“This defense you propose is based on an unproven technology,” Wen pointed out, opening his copy of the document. “Your Forced Reaction Development Experiment does appear to be sound at a theoretical level, but do you expect that it will yield sufficient force to destroy the asteroid?”

“Yes, I do.” The General pulled out a stack of papers from a portfolio he had under his chair. “Once fueled, the version of the device we launched to the Amundsen facility this morning will be able to generate 100 gigatons of explosive force."

There was a gasp from the PLA General sitting to the far right of the table. He shook his head in disbelief. General Jiang smiled and slid the stack of papers across the table. “As you can see from these calculations, General Hu,” he said, “If we are given the resources, the final stage of development can be completed in eighteen months and would culminate in a warhead with a capability in excess of 1,000 gigatons.”

“A weapon of that magnitude is beyond comprehension,” Hu said, taking the papers in his hands almost reverently. “What would anyone need with a weapon of that much power?”

“This asteroid does embody such a need, does it not?” Wen Rongji asked.

“This can be accomplished in the time we have?” Zhuxi Li asked.

“I cannot tell you with certainty as we do not have sufficient information to project the path of the asteroid. We need several weeks to determine its trajectory with any degree of accuracy,” General Jiang said. “We can, however, assume that the US Government feels they have adequate time to accomplish whatever it is that they are attempting.”

“Why are you proposing that this weapon be fabricated at our Lunar facilities?” Hu asked, not looking up from the weapon specifications in front of him.

“Because our leading Helium-cycle scientists are already at the Amundsen Crater Laboratory,” the General said. “More importantly, were there to be a catastrophic failure during development, the size of the explosion could be almost as devastating to the planet as the asteroid itself."

***

Stormhaven:

“Actually we’re here to arrest Dr. Cavanaugh.” Shapiro and DeMarko stood beside the door like granite caricatures of government agents.

“Gentlemen, please sit and we can discuss this.” Colton reclined in a high-back chair across a conference table from the men. “Like we’ve been saying, we’re not enemies."

“That is yet to be seen,” Shapiro replied, still not moving.

“Then you need to understand that there’s no way you’re going to achieve your objective,” Tom said. He stood and walked toward the agents, holding out a file folder. “Until you understand our position, no one’s going to make any progress.” Both men tensed, and DeMarko’s arm twitched visibly as he fought the urge to pull his pistol.

“Hear us out, gentlemen. If you don’t, then this meeting is over,” Colton said. “And before you try to play the Secret Service Muscle Card, let me explain that it’d be pointless.”

“Maybe we should sit,” DeMarko said, glancing at Shapiro.

“I’d prefer to keep this casual if possible,” Cole said, flashing a smile. “If you’ll listen to what we have to say, you’ll see we can help you achieve your larger objectives."

Turning to keep Tom in front of him, Shapiro took a seat. “Fine, Mr. Taylor, but you need to understand that I’m not authorized to negotiate, even if I were so inclined."

“Which you’re not,” Cole said.

“Exactly. So there’s no real purpose to this discussion. Why are we wasting time then?” Doug set his hands flat on the surface of the table as Tom settled into a place next to Cole.

“Suppose we give you a reason to negotiate?” Tom said, sliding the folder across the table but not quite letting go of it. “It’s truly in your interest to make a few concessions."

“Why should we talk? When we can simply arrest you for obstructing justice?” DeMarko turned to look at Tom.

“Are you a man of legal, or moral, propriety?” Tom asked.

“That’s not relevant, Mr. Stevens,” the agent said.

“Ah, but it is,” Tom said. “What I’m asking is whether the letter of the law supersedes its spirit. By its letter, you should have us in cuffs already and be goose-stepping us out the door.”

“An interesting image,” Shapiro said, smiling.

“Indeed, but if that were to happen, you’d be sacrificing the larger point of your mission,” Cole said, picking up the discussion as if it had been his all along. “The spirit of what you’re here to do is not to make an arrest. It’s to do what is right for the country’s interests."

“Of course,” DeMarko said. “That’s the only reason we’re talking.”

“Wouldn’t it be more important for America to keep its little secret all in the family?” Cole asked.

“I anticipated that you might be positioning yourself to threaten disclosure. We’re already ahead of you there, Mr. Taylor,” Jake said.

“Yes, we know about the surveillance truck on the perimeter of our land. Quite an impressive piece of technology.” Cole stared at Shapiro without blinking. “Why don’t you call them and tell them to jam our uplink? Oh yeah, I forgot. Your com is still out of service.”

Tom looked at the table and shook his head, “Cole, quit being a dick and let them use the phone."

Cole slid a small videophone across the table to DeMarko and said, “Go ahead and call Agent Schimmel. The number’s already programmed, just hit send.”