“At least not until we’re satisfied that you’re not a threat to our mission,” said Ray.
“Fine,” said Dana. “First question. Who do you work for?”
“Nobody,” John said. “We work for ourselves.”
“Who built this ship?” asked Levi.
“We built it ourselves.”
“Oh, come on. Who funded the construction?”
“We did.”
“Now I know you’re putting me on. This isn’t going to work if all you’re going to offer us are lies.”
“If you don’t like our answers we can escort you ashore.”
Dana put up her hand. “Okay, okay. What is your mission?”
“We don’t know.”
Ari started to laugh, and caught herself.
“What’s so funny?” asked Levi.
“I’m sorry,” said Ari, “but we’re honestly not being assholes on purpose. The truth is that we don’t know our mission. We only know that there is a mission.”
The other woman spoke for the first time.
“I’m Christie,” she said. “I have a couple of questions.”
Levi nodded. “Shoot. Not literally, I mean.”
“You said that you received a signal from this ship on Friday night.”
“Yes.”
“And again periodically over the next few days?”
“Uh huh.”
“And it was an intermittent signal, not a constant transmission?”
“That’s right,” said Dana. “It was non-repeating. Only a few seconds long.”
"What sort of equipment were you using?"
"Our main system in Pennsylvania is a cold-war era interferometer array donated by the government. Nothing particularly high-tech."
Christie addressed the crew. “Okay, then. All we have to do is ask Seth where the signal is coming from, and get him to shut it up. The CIA doesn’t know anything other than the missing Portland, then, even if these two are working for them they’ll never find us. As far as I’m concerned we risk very little by telling them more about what’s going on.”
“I agree,” said Ray.
“I don’t know,” said Ari.
John was staring off out of the viewscreen. After a couple of seconds he spoke.
“Seth seems to be telling me that the signal they’re referring to is a by-product of a certain kind of matter to energy transfer. He can’t prevent the signal, but he can create a Doppler wave to cancel it out.”
“Who’s Seth?” asked Dana.
John stepped forward. “Allow me. My name is John Scherer. My friends and I intercepted signals from space while fooling around with my HAM radio. We were able to translate those signals. They contained blueprints for building this ship. Over the past several years we’ve been building this ship, which as you now know is called the Reckless Faith. We have only a specific set of coordinates to set off for, and we don’t know anything about who sent the blueprints or why. We have to assume that it is another civilization and their attempt at first contact with the human race.”
Dana looked dubious. “So, are you all rich? This must have cost millions of dollars.”
“We have our ways,” said Ari.
John continued. “I’ve been ripping off the casinos down in Connecticut. Well, not ripping them off really, I’m exceptionally good at counting cards. Ari here has been doing some insider trading on the stock market. Over time we’ve managed to get the funds we need. We’ve been assembling the Faith in a remote part of northern New Hampshire. Friday was the first day we got her in the air.”
“What’s going on in Chelsea?” Levi asked.
“We had to borrow some technology from the US Navy. I guess the CIA is a little pissed about that.”
“I’d say so. So let me get this straight. You’re building this ship to head out into space, and you were planning on leaving without telling nary a soul about it?”
“Pretty much, yeah.”
“Isn’t that incredibly selfish?”
“I’d think that you’d be able to understand our motivation quite easily, considering your line of work. Imagine if you had received the plans. Would you be so cavalier about handing them over to NASA? They’d give you a slap on the back and that would be the end of it. You’d be lucky if they let you attend the launch.”
“I suppose,” said Dana.
“Keeping it a secret was the only way that we could ensure our own participation. Which, by the way, is also the only way you two will be allowed to participate.”
“Whoa, wait a minute,” said Ari. “You’re inviting them?”
“Let’s see if they have anything to contribute first,” said Ray.
“What kind of technical skills do you have?” asked Christie.
“What sort of technical skills do you need?” Dana asked incredulously. “You seem to have things under control already.”
“We could use computer programming skills,” said Ari. “I’m not looking forward to writing the code for this entire ship by myself.”
“Sorry,” said Levi.
“Nothing worth mentioning,” said Dana.
“What about engineering skills?” John queried.
“Zip,” said Levi.
“Zilch,” said Dana.
“Tactical knowledge?” asked Ray.
“There, I might be able to help you,” said Levi. “I was an officer in the United States Army, infantry. I served during Gulf War One.”
“Okay, so Mister Marks knows his stuff.”
John frowned. “That’s good, but our priorities lie in the technical aspects of getting this ship space-worthy.”
“We’re both good at what you’d think we’d be good at working at ASTRA,” Dana said, “collecting and analyzing radio transmissions.”
“Maybe they could help me figure out how to interpret Seth’s code,” said Ari.
“Could be,” said John.
“Now by saying ‘participate,’” began Dana, “do you mean help you finish the ship, or go with you into space?”
“That’s up to you.”
Dana frowned, and said, “I don’t know if I’m ready to make that kind of decision.”
Levi nodded. “I agree. That’s a pretty heavy choice to have to make.”
“You don’t have to make it now,” said Ray. “If you want to help out for now, that’s okay with us. If not, we’ll have to ask you to leave. If you leave now you can be sure you’ll never see us again.”
“I’m in,” said Dana.
“Me, too,” said Levi.
John cocked his head. “Okay. You can stay. There’s just one problem.”
“What’s that?”
“I’m all out of beds.”
__________
The sun was making an appearance above the horizon, and Kyrie Devonai was still awake. The demands of his investigation were many, and questions still outnumbered answers by a large margin.
The divers in the Mystic River had discovered more fragile metal pieces, but nothing that accounted for the mass of the Portland, not even close. Yet, the pieces that they did find were definitely from the Portland. Something had scooped the ship out of the water and left only small bits of the hull behind. Devonai had seen some pretty unbelievable things in his relatively short life, but this was the strangest.
Devonai leaned back in his chair. He was in his boss’ office, located on Park Street in Boston, working on his boss’ computer, and drinking out of his boss’ blue CIA coffee mug. If Hill were there, she might have objected, not to the use of her office (which also contained a conference area), but to the intimacy of Devonai’s body to her personal items. He was looking over the file that his subordinates had produced on Levi Marks and Dana Andrews. He’d had the file for three hours now, and had familiarized himself with it. It didn’t reveal much, other than the fact that the two researchers were telling the truth at the pier.
The past three hours had been spent trying to track Marks and Andrews down. Devonai had ev
erything he needed, names, social security numbers, driver’s licenses, and bank account numbers, except for one. The credit card company used by Marks was taking its sweet time reporting back on usage logs. Since Andrews didn’t seem to maintain a credit card, their only hope of tracking them down was Marks’ credit card trail. Devonai could have also used Marks’ cell phone as a way to track him, but the cell phone was billed through the credit account so they didn’t yet know the number.
If they didn’t hear back from the credit card company soon, Devonai knew he would have to send agents to Marks’ and Andrews’ residences down in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in hope that they would eventually appear there. Devonai was used to working with his own local team, and he would have preferred to keep any of the other CIA field offices out of it. With such a serious and bizarre event, however, the involvement of the entire organization seemed imminent.
Trying to determine the reasons for the involvement of ASTRA was just one of Devonai’s many problems. Not the least of these was that Devonai’s team, Omega, was out of practice for this kind of investigation. They were originally created to protect against threats against US government research, but had been employed by the CIA for the last couple of years to chase down various terrorist groups. Devonai, Richter, and other team members had just come back from several months in Afghanistan, and most of them had barely finished a much-needed vacation when the Portland disappeared.
Devonai had come a long way from his meager beginnings as a cop with the Boston Police Department, and it was a time like this that he wondered if he would have been better off staying there. Of course, his direction in life was more complicated than any choices he made in the matter. That was the one thing about the missing ship that didn’t surprise him; his involvement in it. That figured.
Richter walked into the office. He seemed to be dealing with the lack of sleep much more easily than Devonai.
“What’s up, Richter?”
“I got the metallurgy results from the lab,” replied Richter.
“What did Brockway come up with?”
“Delana had to call in a pinch hitter on this one. Doctor Bogenbroom from MIT did most of the work.”
“Three cheers for Doctor Bogenbroom. What were the results?”
“The metal that was taken from the river was carbon steel, consistent with the type used to construct the Portland. However, the steel was only five percent the density that it should have been. It was turned into Swiss cheese, or if you will, Styrofoam. If the entire ship lost structural integrity like this then it could have spontaneously disintegrated under its own weight. The rest of the ship may be on the bottom of the river, too. Only as silt, not metal.”
“So technically, the Portland isn’t missing at all?”
“Apparently not.”
Devonai shook his head. “What could have caused something like this?”
“According to the fine doctor, there’s no plausible explanation. No man-made or natural force is capable of that kind of structural destabilization.”
“Maybe we’re dealing with some kind of new weapon. Something like this could be just as devastating as a direct-force weapon like a nuclear device. It sounds like sort of an ‘anti-neutron’ bomb. It destroys metal, plastic, and glass, but leaves living organisms alive.”
“We don’t know what kind of effect it might have had on a living organism, since there wasn’t anybody on board at the time. At least, I hope to God there wasn’t.”
“If, by the way, another country has been developing this weapon, and the CIA didn’t know about, not the slightest inkling, we’re all going to get pink slips from John Q. Public.”
“Have you considered the other possibility?”
Devonai looked at Richter ruefully. “What other possibility?”
“Think about it. There were ASTRA researchers there. They said they were tracking a signal that originated from space.”
“Yeah, so what? I’m already considering the possibility that a weapon like this could be satellite based.”
“Yeah, but what about something from beyond Earth?”
Devonai rolled his eyes. “Come on Richter, after everything that we’ve been through, all the technological advances that we’ve witnessed, and the good and evil that it can cause, how can you even entertain the thought of the involvement of extra-terrestrials?”
“You know, Devonai, there is stuff that is classified above even us. I’m surprised that you haven’t considered the involvement of ETs in Earth’s recent history. Compared to what we do know, little gray men from beyond our planet is hardly a giant leap.”
“Oh, I’ve considered it, Richter. I just tend not to waste my time on trivial matters.”
“It seems to me that perhaps it is time to start, Major.”
Devonai stared blankly out at the Massachusetts State House. More than ever he wanted to slip into his bed, wrap his arm around his sweetheart Mara, and pass out.
The sound of a fax machine snapped him back to life. Richter collected the paper and announced the message.
“They got a hit on Marks’ credit card. It was last used at a motel in Woburn. He’s checked in until zero nine hundred this morning.”
“No rest for the weary, then. Let’s get our hides to Woburn.”
18.
The sound of John’s bedroom door slamming open woke him out of a fitful, dreamless sleep. Ari stood in the doorway. She would have looked ferociously angry if John could have seen anything.
“This better be good,” John said, rubbing his eyes.
“Levi is gone,” Ari said through gritted teeth.
“What the hell?”
John threw off his blankets and groped for his bathrobe. He’d forgotten he was only wearing his underwear and Ari grinned at him. She grabbed the bathrobe off of the floor and handed it to him.
“What about Dana?” John groaned.
“She’s still here. She’s not going anywhere now.”
John caught a quick glance at the clock as Ari dragged him downstairs. It was quarter after seven, a scant five hours after he’d gone to sleep. He felt Seth poke at his mind and he refused to let him in. Seth’s yen for John’s brain was becoming quite tiresome.
Gathered around the kitchen counter were Ray, Christie, and Dana. John noticed a lack of weaponry compared to their previous conversations, and figured that Dana didn’t need any extra incentive to stick around this time. John tried to catch his balance.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“Marks took off at some point last night,” Ray said. “I noticed his truck was missing a few minutes ago.”
“It’s not like him,” said Dana.
“You mean it’s not like him to take off and leave you with a bunch of strangers?” asked Ari.
“Yes, that’s what I mean. I don’t know where he could have gone. It’s possible he just went out to get breakfast.”
“Yeah, but without telling anybody?” said Ray. “I think we should assume the worst.”
“What do you mean?” asked Christie.
“He’s gone to the authorities.”
“He wouldn’t do that without consulting me first,” said Dana.
“Are you sure?” John asked.
“Fairly completely sure.”
“That’s not very reassuring,” said John, crossing his arms. “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. I’ll consult with Seth and see if I can figure out what’s causing the transmission signal. Then we’ll clean this place up and leave no trace of the project. We’ll relocate to Ray’s place so that the CIA can’t track us.”
Ray shook his head. “I don’t have a private yard. Where are we going to board the ship without being seen?”
“Oh, shit, that’s right. Well, we can’t go to the cabin. Marks already has the coordinates.”
“No, he doesn’t,” said Dana. “I do. He only knows that the signal originated in Orford somewhere.”
“Can’t he get that information from your ASTRA
office, though?” asked Christie.
“Damn it, that’s right. Hold on, I have to make a phone call.”
Dana withdrew her cell phone and dialed. Page’s creaky voice came through on the other end.
“Dana? What’s going on?”
“Page, has Levi checked in within the last five hours?”
“No, why?”
“I need you to dump all the files related to signal three one five. Delete everything, all the recordings, coordinates, and locations.”
“What? Why? What the hell is going on up there?”
“It’s too difficult to explain right now. It has something to do with the military and an experimental satellite. If they find out that we’ve been listening there’s no telling what they might do. They might shut us down, or worse.”
“Crap. All right, I’ll destroy the files.”
“And one more thing. Don’t tell Levi anything. He can’t be trusted any more.”
“Excuse me? Why the heck not?”
“He just can’t. If he calls looking for information you can tell him I authorized the deletion. I do have the authority, you know.”
“All right, fine. But this is all on your head, Andrews. I’m not taking the fall for this if something happens.”
“Okay, blame me, I don’t care. Just see to it.”
Dana hung up.
“That was a masterful bit of deception,” began John, “but they still know about Orford. If they search the entire town they will find the cabin.”
Dana nodded. “I thought it would be a good idea to dump the info anyway.”
“It certainly gives you bonus points in your favor,” said Ray. “I think we should relocate to the cabin. It buys us several hours, anyway. We need to bug out of here immediately. We can think about a more permanent solution once we’re on our way.”
“Okay. Everybody grab your gear. Be on the Faith and ready to go as soon as possible. If Levi went to the CIA, they could be here any minute.”
Dana dialed her phone again, and nodded.
“Okay,” said Christie.
“I call downstairs bathroom,” said Ari.
“We don’t have enough time for everybody to take a shower,” said John. “If you insist, Ari, fine. I need one too. The rest of you will have to make do for now.”
Reckless Faith Page 17