Carl nodded. “You’re right, there’s really no down side.” He smiled. “Unless you’re from the Government Accounting Office.”
They shook hands, but as he was about to leave, Carl asked, “By the way, who’s handling your program’s security?”
Josh was caught off guard. He’d never thought about protecting his program. He’d been more concerned about others protecting their programs from him. He replied weakly, “We don’t have anyone assigned.”
Carl looked at him skeptically. “You don’t have experience in the Intelligence and Counterintelligence community, do you?”
He said honestly, “Carl, I got an aerospace engineering degree with a minor in astrophysics, and I’ve been an operational military officer most of my career. This intel stuff’s all new to me, and the people I work for are more of the ... big picture types. That’s one of the reasons I came to you.”
Carl relaxed and said, “I figured.” Smiling, he added, “We gotta fix that, and I think I have the perfect guy. He’s a friend and former CIA operative, arguably the best in the business at protecting high-value programs and people. He’s retiring, but I may be able to talk him into one last job.”
“Retiring?”
Carl shook his head. “Not because of age. He’s in his forties and,” he gave a low whistle, “he’s a walking weapon.” Frowning, he added, “He was involved in an operation that, through no fault of his, went bad. I think he’s just ready to move on. I’ll fill you in on the details, if he’s available. He’s not cheap, but I imagine your program has plenty of funding.”
Josh nodded, a little nervously. “Yeah, if he’s available, bring him to next week’s team meeting in St. Louis.”
Leaving the CIA headquarters building, he tried not to think about Kelly, but the picture on Carl’s desk kept reappearing. As he drove past the black SR-71 jet on the pedestal, Edgar Allen Poe’s poem, The Raven, came back to haunt him. Lost love mocked by the evil bird’s repetitive “nevermore” repeated in his head.
He blindly followed his phone’s GPS to the airport hotel. After checking in and changing clothes, he went for a run. He ran and then ran more. Trying to outrun his thoughts, he ran faster and harder. Oblivious to his surroundings or the time, he ran an Olympic pace.
Reaching total exhaustion, Kelly’s face finally faded. He stopped running and looked around, tired and confused. It was getting dark. He must have run for a couple hours and had no idea where he was. He wandered aimlessly until he looked up and saw an airliner on approach. He headed in that direction. Somehow, he found the hotel, stumbled to his room and fell in bed. As his head hit the pillow, he was out.
Because of the nature of his job, Carl shared almost nothing about his work with Kelly, to her great frustration. Since Josh knew Logan and recognized Kelly in the picture, he thought it would be safe to mention him, and he had to admit, he was curious.
“Kelly, I met someone today you probably know. He used to work with Andy in St. Louis.”
“Who?”
“Josh Fuze.”
Kelly frowned, shaking her head. “Doesn’t ring a bell.”
“Are you sure? He seemed to know Andy very well.”
“I’m pretty sure, but if I met him, I might recognize him.”
18
SECURITY
Josh slept for eight hours; the longest he’d ever slept in his new body. He woke just in time to catch his flight back to Kansas.
Elizabeth picked him up at the airport. As she drove him back to the condo, he shared the results of his meetings with Meadows and Casey.
Elizabeth said, “That’s fantastic! Who else do you need on your team?”
“Meadows will take care of the scientists and engineers, and Carl Casey’s got the international angle and security covered. I think that’s it for now.”
Elizabeth asked, “What about the public?”
Josh frowned. “The public?”
“Josh, this won’t stay secret forever. How are you going to prevent global panic?”
Looking at each other, they simultaneously said, “Lopez!”
Josh pulled out his phone, recalled her telephone number with his photographic memory and texted her.
Elizabeth said, “By the way, I got you a credit card and transferred some funds into your account.”
He was about to object, but stopped, knowing it would be nothing more than male ego noises. He just looked at her, shaking his head. “Thank you, Elizabeth, I really appreciate this and will repay it with interest.”
She just smiled and said softly, “With interest.”
He watched her out of the corner of his eye. Elizabeth was everything good about humanity: honest, trusting, positive and confident, beautiful inside and out. She and those like her were enough reason to want to save the human race.
Josh met Lopez the next day for lunch. It turned out they shared a love of Italian food and met at a small local restaurant she liked. As before, she dressed impeccably in a business suit.
“I was surprised to get your call. You look good, and I heard you aren’t working at the hospital any more. I assume you have your memory back?”
“Yes.” He paused. “Dr. Lopez, I can’t tell you everything, but I can tell you that I used to be a military officer. I was recruited into a special program, and in the process, became a man without an identity.” Everything he said was true, if ambiguous.
She nodded. “Sheri, remember? Well, that would explain it better than alien abduction.” With a mock frown, she added, “But alien abduction would have made a better book. So how did you end up in a coma?”
“You wouldn’t believe it if I told you. Suffice it to say, it was an unintended but direct consequence of what happened to me. I really was in a state of shock when I arrived and did have to reestablish my identity.” Also true, but stated in a way that was open to interpretation.
“You showed signs of emotional trauma.” She paused. “But I still don’t understand your lack of scars or identifying marks.”
“All I can tell you is that my physical condition is a byproduct of what I was working on. I can’t say more because of its highly classified nature.” He added, “You may be able to draw your own conclusions.” He had no idea what conclusions she would draw. Pressing on, he said, “Sheri, I was very impressed with you at the hospital and have since read all your books. You’re the best in your field. I’d love to have you join our team.”
Looking surprised, she said, “Your team? I don’t understand.”
“We’re working on a project of global importance and need an expert in mass psychology. I believe you are that person. I know you already hold a government clearance, and I’d like to read you into a Top Secret program.” In fact, he didn’t know if she had a clearance, but it was a reasonable assumption based on her work.
She shook her head. “I gotta tell you; this isn’t at all how I thought this meeting would go. I was expecting to pick up an interesting new patient or,” she raised her eyebrows with a smile, “at least get asked out on a date.” Still smiling, she nodded. “But, yes, I would like to know more.”
Josh nodded. “By the way, you understand that you cannot share this with anyone else in the government unless they’ve been read into this program?”
“You mean my Homeland Security contact?”
This confirmed they commissioned her to examine him at the hospital. “Yes, he hasn’t been read-in.”
She said, “No problem.” She read the paperwork and signed it quickly.
Having finished lunch, he looked around and said, “Can we go for a walk?”
As they walked, he ran through the explanation. Lopez got progressively more excited. Finally, she said, “Wow! A catastrophic comet. I see why you need an expert in mass psychology.” She stopped and turned toward him. “Is this for real?”
Josh cocked his head to one side. “Well, another explanation might be schizophrenia accompanied by delusions of grandeur, but a leading psychiatrist diagnosed me
as sane.”
She laughed out-loud, shaking her head.
He smiled. “Don’t worry; it’ll be easy to confirm that I have a team, or at least a bunch of fellow lunatics. Can you meet us in St. Louis in four days?”
“I wouldn’t miss it.”
Josh flew to St. Louis one day before their first team meeting. They were off to a good start, but that’s all it was. They had no plan and no funding.
He found a cheap, third-floor, studio apartment near the airport. Elizabeth transferred another few thousand into his checking account without him asking. Between deposits, rent, food and transportation, it was going fast, but he had no choice. He had to be there.
The next day — 10 days after their first meeting — Meadows pulled his key experts together.
Josh arrived early. He told Meadows he wanted to stay in the background during the meetings.
Meadows said, “Yeah, I get it. You pass the buck to me and sit back and watch.”
Josh smiled. “Absolutely.” More seriously, he added, “I have neither the credibility nor experience to lead this type of team.”
Meadows looked at him carefully. “You’ve been in combat?”
Josh nodded honestly.
Meadows continued, “And you’re probably a good leader, but you’re right. Although you can be young and lead senior people, it takes time to earn their respect.”
Josh nodded. “And time is something we don’t have.” As he finished, Carl arrived, knocking on Meadows’ open door.
Grinning, Meadows yanked him in and slapped him on the back.
Carl introduced the man he had brought with him. “This is Tim Smith. He’s one of the best in the world at security. We were extremely fortunate to get him.”
Smith was medium height, medium build, brown hair, brown eyes and regular features. He was remarkable in his un-remarkableness, which was probably an advantage in his line of work. Although, Josh wasn’t exactly sure what “his line of work” was.
Meadows said, “Tim, it’s great to have you on the team.”
With no emotion, Smith asked, “Are you really trying to keep a comet from hitting the earth?”
“Absolutely.” He paused. “Tim, forgive me for my ignorance, but what exactly do you do?”
“You protect the earth. I protect you and your team.”
Meadows nodded but maintained a slight frown. “Protect us from what? I mean who’d be opposed to deflecting a comet?”
Carl said, “Tim’s like an insurance policy. You hope you never need him, but if you do, and don’t have him, it’s too late. Whenever you’re dealing with high stakes, you attract attention and not always the right kind.”
Meadows looked at Josh.
Josh shrugged.
Meadows said, “OK, what do you need from us?”
“I need the names of everyone involved in the program and permission to talk to them. I will respect their time, but need access. I’d also like to attend your major meetings.”
Meadows nodded. “How should we introduce you?”
“Personnel Safety and Security is appropriate.”
Smiling, Meadows said, “You know, if you think about it, you may be on the biggest protection project ever.”
Smith nodded but didn’t smile. “I’d also like your key people to create an authentication phrase that can be used if there’s any doubt about the authenticity of an order or directive.”
Meadows said, “I hate remembering passwords.”
Smith shook his head. “It can be a phrase or even the punch line of a joke. It would only be used once and only in an emergency. It’s not to be shared with anyone but your team leaders.”
Carl looked mischievously at Meadows. “Josh said Logan told him the story about us qualifying on the pistol range.”
Meadows started laughing. “Yeah, that was a high point in your career. I’m surprised you can even remember it. We were lucky you didn’t shoot yourself or one of us.”
Carl pressed on. “Let’s see, my authentication password could be Expert. Yours could be — what was your pistol qualification again — oh yeah, Marksman.”
With a slight smile, Meadows rolled his eyes. “Whatever.” Then turned back to a very serious Smith. “Sorry, Tim. Promise we’ll come up with real authentication passwords. Anything else?”
Smith looked at Carl, and Carl said, “That’s right; we’ll need an account to charge his services to. You can transfer the funds to a CIA account, and we’ll disburse them to Tim.”
Meadows pointed at Josh. “Talk to my accountant.”
Josh nodded nervously. “Uh, I don’t have that information with me right now, but I’ll get that to you ... soon.”
19
TEAM
They entered the Boeing Phantom Works conference room. A large oval table comfortably sat 12 with another dozen chairs around the perimeter. It only strayed from a conventional meeting room in that it had no windows and was soundproof and shielded from electronic signals.
Lopez was already there, and Josh introduced her to Meadows.
They made a stark physical contrast with Lopez’s small hand disappearing into Meadows’ bear paw, but they had the same outgoing personalities.
Meadows said, “Dr. Lopez, I’ve read your books! It’s an honor to have you on the team.”
“Call me Sheri. Captain Meadows, I understand you were the first Commanding Officer of the USS Ford.”
Meadows smiled. “Just call me Joe.”
With their mutual admiration society, Josh could see they were going to get along well.
Meadows then introduced Josh and Lopez to the lead scientists and engineers. The senior scientist was NASA astrophysicist Dr. Victoria Chandra. Since astronomy was one of his passions, Josh knew who she was. Before joining NASA, she had done post-graduate work under Professor Joe Veverka, Chairman of Cornell Astrophysics. When Josh was an undergraduate, he heard her speak as a guest lecturer. Not only was she brilliant, she had one of the best records for getting unmanned missions to the outer planets successfully. He couldn’t imagine anyone more qualified. He even remembered, as a sophomore, thinking she was pretty hot looking. She might not fit Hollywood’s definition of beauty, but he’d always been attracted to strong, intelligent women. Now in her fifties, she remained striking, with long, jet-black hair, fine features and dark intelligent eyes. Almost six feet tall, she was also quite the contrast to the engineer standing next to her.
Dr. Steve Katori, head of Boeing’s Missile Defense Division, looked like the stereotypical image of a Japanese scientist. About 60, short and slight of build, he had thick, bushy, white hair and wore black horn-rimmed glasses. Also renowned in his field, his reputation was that of a no-nonsense engineer who had led many programs, from stealth fighters to tactical lasers.
Katori then introduced them to an engineer from Northrop Grumman. The big aerospace contractors often worked together on large projects. Dr. Garrett Cho had been the lead engineer on the Air Force’s next-generation Airborne Laser. Mounted in a jumbo jet, the megawatt laser could take out ballistic missiles in flight. Cho, in his mid-thirties, wore a Hawaiian shirt and looked like a cross between a sumo wrestler and California surfer. With unruly blond highlighted hair, he had a strong handshake and grin to match.
Meadows started the meeting. “Thank you for coming on such short notice. I’d like to remind everyone that this is a highly classified program. We want open discourse, but only among the participants and in controlled areas. This isn’t a formal meeting, so don’t be bashful. We need everyone’s ideas. Let’s kick it off by understanding the threat. Our Chief Scientist, Dr. Victoria Chandra, will explain.”
Chandra stood up. “Our job is to find a way to prevent a small comet from striking the earth. Comets, of course, are the worst-case scenario. They come with higher kinetic energy and detection latency than asteroids.”
Meadows held up a hand. “Whoa, Dr. Chandra, can you please use simple pilot terms?”
She smiled. “S
orry, let’s start with what a comet is. We often think of them as dirty snowballs composed of rock and ice. While that’s usually correct, we can define them more accurately by where they come from rather than what they’re made of. Unlike asteroids, most comets live in a region outside the orbit of Neptune where Dwarf Planets like Pluto and Eris are found.”
Meadows nodded. “We hear a lot about asteroids. Aren’t comets fairly rare?”
“Actually, it’s quite the opposite.” If you collected all the asteroids, their combined mass would be less than two percent of the earth’s, but if you rounded up all cometary matter, it would be enough to make 40 earths.”
Cho said, “Holy cow!”
Chandra raised her eyebrows at Cho but then smiled. “In fact, dwarf planets are made mostly of ice like comets and have unstable orbits. Many comets may be the result of these little planetoids swinging too close to the sun. The heat and tidal force from a close pass breaks them up into a cloud of debris — a shotgun blast of comets. Many of us believe this explains earth’s periodic mass extinctions.” Seeing some blank looks, she added, “Everyone in here has already seen cometary debris. Almost all meteor showers occur when the earth passes through old comet trails.” Looking more serious, she added, “Unfortunately, because comets are so much further out than asteroids, they’re impossible to detect until they’re inbound.”
Meadows said, “You’d think they’d be easy to spot with those tails.”
“The tails are caused by gas boiling off the ice from the sun’s heat, but that only happens when they get close to the sun.”
Meadows frowned. “But we have Spaceguard and other programs to locate these things, don’t we?”
“Asteroids, yes. Comets ... no. Unless a comet has made a loop around the sun, we really have no way to detect it. By the time we see a tail, the comet could be months from impact.”
Impact (Fuzed Trilogy Book 1) Page 11