Bolino arrived at the terminus and glided off the t-bar elevator to the closest handhold overlooking the vast interior of Storm Killer. He quickly scanned the empty space between the terminus and the surface of the station’s interior. He suddenly froze as if indecisive.
Sands thought, He must’ve spotted Kim making her way to his position, because he seems to be startled.
Bolino abruptly turned to the exit shaft, and then stopped when he saw Adam blocking his path.
“Sands! What the hell are you doing here?” Bolino said in surprise. Even as he was speaking he was slowly moving his hand toward the plainly visible gun stuffed in his belt.
Adam responded, “Don’t go for the gun, Brad. You can’t get away with it. Not another murder. The security team is right behind you waiting to arrest you for Rafael’s killing.”
Bolino couldn’t see if Adam was armed. At least his hands were empty. No apparent weapon. Maybe I can take him out.
Adam sensed what Brad was thinking and added, “Don’t even think about it. Kim Danby is right behind you and will not hesitate to shoot if you don’t surrender. So just toss the gun over to me.”
Bolino was torn about what to do. If Danby was behind him, he was dead. If she wasn’t, Sand was doing a masterful job of bluffing. His hand rested on the butt of Hoch’s gun.
Maybe he could bargain for his freedom, Bolino reasoned. Maybe Sand doesn’t know about the missile and the imminent destruction of his creation.
“Kim, if you are back there, don’t move or Adam dies.” Bolino challenged as he drew the gun from his belt.
Damn, he isn’t buying it! At least, not buying it enough to disarm. I wish Kim really were here! Adam’s thoughts whirled through his mind. Time seemed to be dragging slowly second to second. She should be arriving soon. Can I keep Bolino busy until then?
Bolino began speaking, “Adam, look, I don’t want to hurt you. In fact, I want to save you. There is a nuclear-armed missile being launched at us. We have to evacuate, now! You and I can save our hides. We can still make it to the waiting shuttle. They won’t begin backing away to a safe distance for a while yet. But we have to go right now! So, come on, buddy, let’s you and I haul ass out of here! Okay?”
“I know all about the missile. In fact, my man, you are using the wrong tense on your verb. It has already been launched,” Adam replied. He could see the look of astonishment on Bolino’s face. “What? Didn’t any of your fellow plotters tell you? Well, I guess you’re considered expendable, too. Just like the rest of us, uh, ‘buddy’?”
Bolino was dumbstruck, his eyes widening into saucers, “They launched already? We got to get out of here, now!”
Adam could only stand and shake his head. “No, we aren’t going anywhere.”
The voice of Greg Ballard spoke from behind Adam, “I’m afraid we are going somewhere, Adam.”
Adam felt a pressure in his back as Greg said, “Come on, Brad, I’ve got Adam covered. Here’s a roll of duct tape, tape up his hands and feet. Then let’s get out of here!”
73
Dulles Airport
Dr. Rosen, now traveling as Paul Eastman, had checked into Continental, passed through security using his forged passport, and was sitting in the terminal awaiting to board to the 50-seat Embraer RJ145 jet. It would fly him to Houston where he would connect to a Boeing 757 for the flight to Lima.
Once in Lima, he would exit the airport and spend the night at the Hotel Manhattan adjacent to the airport, as Paul Eastman. Then re-enter the airport and fly to London the next morning at 6 AM as Paul Alan Ackerman. While at the hotel, he would dye his hair and put in the tinted contacts to match his Ackerman image and description on the forged German passport.
In London, he would connect to Qatar Airways at 9:30 at night for his flight to Riyadh.
Paul Alan Ackerman, a retired stockbroker from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, would arrive to begin his new life.
As Dr. Rosen, who had done a great many favors over the years for the Saudi royal family in their attempts at gathering military intelligence on new United States armaments, it had been a relatively simple matter to obtain a residence permit for Mr. Ackerman. That relationship plus a guarantee of fifty million dollars upon arrival to the King’s cousin, who runs the Saudi immigration office, had swung the deal for the permit.
Dr. Rosen had carefully and thoroughly planned his escape. He may be tracked, but it would prove very difficult for the trackers.
His flight was called and boarding went quickly. He stowed his attaché case and his small duffel bag in the overhead and buckled himself in. The plane had a one-seat configuration on the left side of the cabin and a two-seat configuration on the right side. He had chosen a single seat in the third row when he booked the flight. He would at least be left alone and unobserved for this part of the trip.
A very unattractive female flight attendant gave the standard airline safety briefing. Most passengers were businessmen who had heard the same safety spiel at least twice a week. They completely ignored the woman and kept their heads buried in their business journals, travel ledgers, and skin magazines.
The plane pushed back from the gate, fired up the twin turbines, and taxied into a short queue of planes awaiting takeoff. After what seemed an eternity to Dr. Rosen, the plane was cleared onto the active runway, spun up the engines, and took off.
He smiled as he reclined his seat, closed his eyes, and considered his future life with one hundred and fifty million dollars to spend.
74
Rose Briefs The President
The President had Mt. Wilson Observatory on the squawk box in the center of the conference table. He sat waiting for them to announce they had seen the demolition of Storm Killer by the Russian missile.
His Chief of Staff noticed Rocky, the Secret Service agent, waving to get his attention from the hallway. “Excuse me, Mr. President, but I’m being beckoned by Rocky. He apparently wants to pass on something to us.”
He started walking to the door when the President responded, “Have him come in. I want to hear what he has to say. There is something rotten in Denmark and I want to know what it is.”
Hardy waved for Rocky to enter.
He entered and stood looking at the President. Rocky, looking somewhat sheepish, announced, “Sir, I think it would be wise for you to speak with Ms. Magruder.”
“Why,” the President inquired.
“Well, sir, it appears that she was on her way to brief you on a situation aboard that Storm Killer station. Something about the crew not evacuating the station. You really should…. ”
The President cut him off, “What? The crew is still onboard? Get her ass in here, now!”
Rocky hurriedly exited the room.
Hardy looked at the President with questioning gaze and the President said, “I thought they were all off the station. How the hell can I destroy the thing with crew still aboard? Christ, this situation just gets worse and worse.” He rested his head in his hands and rubbed his forehead with his fingers.
Rocky arrived supporting Rose by her arm. She was almost out on her feet. She looked at the closest chair and the President waved her to sit down.
“Okay, Rose, what the hell is this all about?” the President demanded.
“Sir, the crew never got off the station. They are still there. They’ll die if the missile continues. You’ve got to abort it.”
“How, Rose? I thought you personally contacted Adam Sand and told him to evacuate,” the President said.
“I did, sir. But Dr. Rosen hit me over the head and called Adam back and told him the launch had been postponed.”
“My god, are you sure? Dr. Rosen did that?” Hardy asked incredulously.
“Yes. When I came to, my phone was ringing. It was Adam. He told me what Dr. Rosen had done. I tried to get to this room, but I was so woozy I fell and blacked out again. Dr. Rosen saw me trying to get here and must have seen me pass out again. He was sitting right where you are,” she said, poi
nting to where Hardy sat.
Hardy saw that she was right. From that seat, there was a perfect, unobstructed view of the hall. He nodded in agreement.
Hardy looked at the President, “You have to abort. You can’t have the crew’s blood on your hands. The voters would demand your head on a platter.”
The President shook his head. “What choice do I have? If we don’t destroy the damned thing, there will be a reign of destruction all over the Earth. I have to weigh the lives of the crew against the lives of possibly millions down here.”
Hardy had been reading the weather updates on Hurricane Edna when Rose was brought in. He countered, “Sir, Storm Killer may be our only chance of lowering the amount of destruction coming with Edna. If they can get control back, we can apply it to the purpose it was built for. We can attempt to weaken Edna back to a manageable storm. Not this monster we now have!”
The President was at a crossroads. He had wanted this job, and now he had it. No one else could make this decision. He felt boxed in with nowhere to turn. Like a cornered animal, he could just lash out, or he could try to rationally deal with the problem. Which would it be? He thought as he stared at the tabletop.
He eventually raised his head and announced, “I’ve reached a decision.”
75
The Hares And The Hounds
Kim reached the height of the hub terminus. She was approaching as fast as she could. She had seen Bolino reach the terminus and get off the elevator. She had seen him looking down at her from the hub terminus. She saw him suddenly turn as if surprised by someone behind him.
He’s armed and dangerous. I’d better slip around to the opposite elevator and work my around from above, Kim planned on the spur of the moment.
She slowly flew her PPU to the furthest elevator, tied the unit off. She balanced on a narrow ledge outside of the terminus structure and poked her head around the elevator shaft opening. Nothing. No one was in the terminus area. Bolino must have entered the shaft to the reception room.
She pushed herself away from the elevator and grabbed the top rung of the ladder. She stopped her forward motion and slowly peeked her head up to see down the shaft.
Kim saw Adam Sand hog-tied with duct tape floating in mid-air. Brad had his back to Kim as he put on his EVA suit.
Kim was still on a euphoric high from the shot of cocaine she given herself on the way to the hub. She felt invincible! Kim didn’t hesitate; she drew her weapon and launched herself down the shaft. Pulling her body down the shaft, she used the handholds found at locations corresponding to each of the four quadrants of the elevator terminuses.
She used her feet to grapple the last set of handholds. She stopped with her head and shoulders inside the reception room and the rest of her body remaining inside the shaft.
She took aim at Bolino’s back and triumphantly yelled at him to freeze, when a heavy weight descended from above and slammed into her, knocking the breath out of her.
She was startled by the assault and lost her grip on her gun. She saw it slowly floating end over end back down the access shaft. She was weaponless with two adversaries! Why had she let the drug-induced feeling of invincibility overrule her police training? Why had she come charging in like some pistol-toting cowboy, instead of the consummate professional she truly was? And, what was she going to do to overcome two desperate men?
76
Lieutenant James
The lieutenant was stunned by the discovery that Dr. Rosen, the apparent mastermind of the plot to destroy Storm Killer, had phoned Kim.
His mind was ablaze with conflicting thoughts and emotions. One thing was clear, she would have to be detained until this could all be sorted out.
He paced back and forth trying to decide what to do. He slammed his fist into his open hand, grabbed his PPU, made his way outside, and took off in pursuit of the culprits. If Kim were in on it, he would detain her, if she was innocent, she might need help to deal with two perps.
He turned off the limits control on the PPU and took of at full speed toward the hub evacuation point.
He would get to the bottom of this and do it fast. The look on his face was grim as he accelerated toward the hub.
77
Decision
The President looked between Rose and Hardy. They could tell by his body language and the grimace on his face how much pressure he was under at the moment.
Rose held her breath. She had pled her case to abort the missile strike. She had done all she could. She had covered the moral implications of the missile strike. The knowing killing of the innocent crew was unacceptable.
Hardy had sided with her. He had explained to the President the political ramifications of adding more murders to those that had already happened.
The President spoke, “This office took responsibility for command and coordination of the Storm Killer project when this crisis started. This office failed miserably at notifying the crew to evacuate. Granted, all of the failures were due to successful plots to ensure the destruction of Storm Killer. Why that plot existed is still an open question. But we know Dr. Rosen lied several times, countermanded the evacuation order, physically assaulted Rose, and has now vanished.”
He looked at Rocky. “The FBI and Secret Service will find out what Rosen is all about.” Rocky nodded in reply.
He continued, “Based on all of this, the plotters both here and apparently on Storm Killer want it destroyed. So doing what they want doesn’t seem to make a great deal of sense. Therefore, I am going to order the missile strike aborted.”
Rose let out the air she had been holding in her lungs for what seemed a lifetime. “Thank God, sir. That’s the right decision!”
The President keyed the phone line connected to his Russian counterpart. “Vladimir? Are you there?”
“Yes, Mr. President, I am here,” the Russian replied.
The President spoke, “I must order the missile strike be aborted. Certain information has come to light that changes everything. Please issue the abort order.”
“Are you sure, Mr. President? If we do this thing, we would not have time to launch another strike before your station goes completely rogue.” The Russian president responded.
“Yes, dear friend, I know that. But it must be aborted. So, please, destroy your missile.”
“As you wish. Before I issue that order, I wish to make sure our agreement for certain concessions is not voided by your request to abort.” The Russian wanted his prizes.
“Yes, we will honor our agreement just as if the missile had detonated and destroyed the station.” The President’s face had a small, tired smile playing on its features.
“Very well, I will issue the abort at once. And I think this concludes our involvement in your situation. Yes?” Vladimir asked.
“Yes, thank you. Goodbye.”
“Goodbye and good luck,” the Russian ended.
The President turned to Rose and said, “Rose, there’s three things I need you to do.”
He reached for the top piece of paper on the pile next to his hand. “I want you to tear up this letter of resignation. I do believe that Dr. Rosen will more than suffice as the scapegoat for this whole thing. And why would I want to fire someone as competent as you are?” He handed her the letter. She smiled at him.
“The second thing I want you to do is contact Adam Sand and tell him about the missile abort, and get an update on where they stand on getting control back. Tell him to go through Hardy for any further communications. And then I want you to do one more thing. Allow this Marine,” The President pointed to the uniformed man at the door, “to take you to the hospital for a checkup.”
“Yes, sir!”
“All right, everyone, this crisis is far from over, so let’s all get to work!” the President ordered.
78
The Capture
Lt. James glided into the elevator terminus at the hub. He saw Kim’s PPU tied to the side of the terminus and he observed another PPU floating nearby.
Who did that belong to?
Drawing his gun, he cautiously entered the terminus. He could hear voices coming from the reception room just beyond the access shaft. He moved to the last rung of the ladder leading to the access shaft, stuck his head over the edge so he could see and hear down the shaft, and listened. He could hear at least two men and woman arguing. The arguing was almost drowned out by a personal communicator ringing.
He heard Bolino’s voice, “Greg, let’s just shoot her and go! That missile will be here soon!”
The other male voice was Greg Ballard’s, “No! Hell, I never wanted anyone dead. This whole thing has gotten way out of hand. Get the duct tape. We’ll just tie her up and let the missile do the dirty work.”
He heard Kim’s voice, “You guys aren’t going to get away with this. We’re on to you. There’s plenty of evidence against you.”
Greg responded, “Yeah, there’s plenty of evidence but it’s almost all here on the station. So when the station’s destroyed, so will the evidence, and so will you.”
Bolino said, “Here’s the tape, I’ll hold the gun on her while you tape her. You can check Sand’s tape too while you’re at it.”
The lieutenant inhaled a breath and muttered, “Sand was in there, too, and was taped up? I guess I had best act.”
He heard sounds of what seemed to be a struggle and shouts from Bolino and Ballard.
“Get her!” Smack!
“Watch out!” Thud.
And then there was a scream of anguish and Greg’s voice ordering, “Kim, stop! Back up into the corner! Do it, or I’ll shoot you.”
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