Still staring at the horizon, she slipped her hand back into his, and gave him a small smile as she nodded at the phone in his hand. It had been softly playing music in the background. As he listened, he realized the song was Stand By Me.
Watching her out of the corner of his eye, he saw a beautiful combination of dark exotic eyes, olive skin and blonde hair. He glanced down at their hands. His skin was a shade darker. Most would identify him as multiracial, but they often did a double take when they saw his eyes. The flecks of color embedded in gray were strange, but Elizabeth had told him his eyes were what first attracted her. That was good enough for him.
She asked, “How close will it get?”
Looking back at the horizon, he said, “It’ll enter the atmosphere over the Caribbean and cross South America coming within about 40 miles of the surface.”
“No, I mean how close will it get to us?”
He pulled his eyes from the horizon and gave her a half-smile. “Did you bring your sunglasses?”
She just looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
“Sorry. It’ll cross the coastline about 10 miles north of us, moving 200 times faster than the speed of sound.” He smiled. “We have ringside seats.”
“Is it safe?”
He shrugged. “As long as it doesn’t break up when it hits the atmosphere.”
“And if it does?”
Josh stopped smiling and looked back at the horizon. “We’ll be the lucky ones. We won’t drown, asphyxiate, freeze or starve to death.”
“Let me guess ... because we’ll be incinerated?”
With a slight nod, he said, “Along with everyone in North and South America.”
Looking back at the horizon, she said, “Kind of a buzz kill on the ringside seats.”
Text “Fuzed” to 46786 and we’ll keep you informed of imminent threat activity and the release of the upcoming movie and game. Do it by May 2017 and you’ll be automatically entered into a drawing to have a future character named after you, an invite to the set during filming and a Kindle Fire. Or click www.Fuzed.org/get-involved and register with your email.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This book wouldn’t have been possible without the help of so many. My wife, Lilli, was the ultimate encourager and subject matter expert. Terry Burns, one of the top-ranked Literary Agents in the U.S., was a patient teacher. Editors, Normandie Fischer, Teri Burns and Frankie Sutton were exceptional and taught me what I should have learned in English class. Ryan Deken was great at asking “Why this?” and Garrett Johnson provided video magic. A special thanks to Fred Miller and Rick Eldridge for their belief, wisdom and guidance.
The accuracy of this story hinges on the expertise of many, from astrophysicists to physicians, astronauts to admirals. A huge thanks to my subject matter experts who gave generously of their time: Vince Battistone, Chris Boblit, CAPT Ken Bowersox, Winston Broad, Naomi Chuckwuk, Reed DeVries, Nikko Dutton, VADM Joe Dyer, Susan Dyer, Jim Eisenbeck, Tommy Harper, Amy Hunter, Jay Jost, Kristi Kyle, Dave Lavery, Dr. Ed Lu, Neil Mammen, John Marshall, Jerry and Cherry Meadows, Dr. Adrian Melott, Dr. Jeff Moore, Dr. Bill Napier, CDR Jim Roberts, Brett Sappington, Dan Smith, Scott Straub, Jerry Steel, Dale Stevens and Dr. Joe Veverka. A few remain unnamed due to the sensitive and dangerous work they do every day.
I also want to thank friends and reviewers who helped me build a better story. They include: Joe and Linda Baggett, Stan Boyd, Jackie Bray, Albert Comulada, Victoria Comulada, Mike Craddock, Lori Davidson, Dr. Lou Deken, Carol Deken, Lori Derr, Julie Eisenbeck, Lester and Margaret Eisenbeck, Susan Femino, Ken and Lisa Farnham, Rob Gryger, Lesia Harper, Laura Stevens-Hawkins, Kathy Heard, Tim Hendricks, Chandler Johnson, Christian Johnson, Judy Johnson, Kevin Johnson, Rob King, Leslee Kitchings, Tracy Kuhar, Mike Lee, Sheila Mannion, Nancy Mayhew, Col Steve McQueen, Gene Mixson, Molly Mueller, Mary Ann Moore, Catherine Murray, Richard Mustakos, Ellen and Patrick O’Neil, Dr. Mike Pasternack, Lee Person, Cletus Pew, Betsy Smith, Ray Stone and Bart Waggoner.
AUTHOR
Dave Stevens was a Navy Commander and nuclear-weapons-trained fighter pilot. He served as the Strike Operations Officer for the Persian Gulf during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. With a Top Secret clearance, he led classified defense programs, test-piloted new F-18 fighters and earned an aviation patent. He has been to over 30 countries, 10 miles above the earth, 600 feet below the Atlantic and survived hundreds of his own carrier landings. Dave holds engineering degrees from Cornell and the University of Michigan with graduate work in astrophysics and human factors. He uses an extensive network of subject matter experts — from astronauts and astrophysicists to intelligence operatives and Special Forces — to entertain and educate.
Copyright © 2015 by David E. Stevens
Revised edition 2017
Fuzed™ is trademarked for books, movies and video games.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without permission in writing, except for quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information regarding permission, contact [email protected].
Cambridge Free Press
ISBN 978 0 69240 222 1 Print
ISBN 978 0 85721 341 9 Kindle
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
F/A-18 jet from U.S. Navy photo used in cover illustration. Use of released U.S. Navy imagery does not constitute product or organizational endorsement by the U.S. Navy.
Contents
REVIEWS
DEDICATION
I RE-ENTRY
1 THE END
2 BEGIN
3 FLIGHT
4 DEPART
5 RE-ENTRY
6 IDENTIFY
7 PSYCH
8 SCHIZOPHRENIA
9 FUZE
10 ELIZABETH
11 MISSION
12 ASSAULT
13 PROBE
II CONSPIRACY
14 CHALLENGE
15 CONSPIRACY
16 CAPTAIN
17 INTEL
18 SECURITY
19 TEAM
20 FUNDING
21 PLAN
22 BILLIONAIRE
23 REUNION
24 DAUGHTER
25 LOGISTICS
26 ANTARCTICA
27 MOUNT HOWE
28 FREEFALL
29 MEDIC
III PENETRATION
30 BIG BANG
31 RECOVERY
32 MIRROR
33 CIA
34 CHRISTMAS
35 PENETRATION
36 DOUBT
37 COMET
38 IDENTIFY
39 RENDEZVOUS
IV IMPACT
40 CAPTURE
41 INTERROGATE
42 FALKLANDS
43 THEFT
44 ESCAPE
45 INTERCEPT
46 METEOROID
47 EJECT
48 MOLE
49 BLASTER
50 SEALS
51 CHECKMATE
52 DEFLECT
53 IMPACT
54 DÉJÀ VU
55 PROPOSAL
EPILOGUE
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Preview Book 2: IMAGINE
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
AUTHOR
Copyright
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Impact (Fuzed Trilogy Book 1) Page 37