Solstice

by David Hewson

  'Is that important?' Mo asked, watching the brief flicker of the film before the floatcam was blown to pieces.

  'I don't know,' he muttered. 'Or rather, yes. But I don't understand how.'

  CHAPTER 52

  Through the Night

  Nellis Air Force Base, 0923 UTC

  'Hi. Jeff Green.'

  The FBI agent stuck out his hand and grinned. In the bright, artificial light of the Nellis pad he looked small and insignificant. No more than twenty-five, Helen thought. Short cropped hair, a friendly, open face.

  'Green,' Barnside said, and took his hand. The contrast between the two men could hardly have been greater: Barn-side big, older, darker. And Green just starting out, bright-eyed and optimistic. Larry Wolfit, by Helen's side, just coughed. This wasn't some nice, cool detached wildlife project in the Rockies. He really didn't like getting this close to the action.

  'Mr Wolfit, one of our science guys,' Barnside explained. 'A touch shy. Most of them are. But not all. You're here to look after us?'

  Green laughed. 'No, sir. You're capable of doing that for yourselves. But they said I should stick with you all the same. Like the man said, it's important you stay out of their way when they're going in. They're playing with some neat stuff out there.' He took a small metal canister out of his night combat suit. 'These flash grenades, for example. They make our job a lot easier. But you get one of those in the face without goggles on and you'll know it.'

  'That's understood,' Helen said. 'The key thing for us is to get in as quickly as possible once you've secured the area.'

  'Agreed. There's five of you in all?'

  'Yes. The other two are already on their way with their gear. I heard what Collins said about clearing the farm first. I still want them in place as close to the dome as possible so we can get in there when it's free.'

  'Sure. And you three guys?'

  'I'm just going to amble on up front with the support people,' Barnside said. 'I could spend my whole life watching other people work. I guess the science people hang around talking formulas or something. That right?'

  Helen did her best to smile graciously. 'We can wait our turn. Can we go now?'

  'In our slot,' Green said. 'The other four machines go ahead of us. In formation. We make up a lone rear. That's the way it is, not my decision. We get down a minute or so after they land. They got half a mile to walk before they can enter. We can just follow along slow. We all got maps?'

  They stared at the charts in their hands. Green was starting to take on the manner of a tour guide. 'Good. If you look at our landing position, you can see there's a track leads sideways from the site. That takes you to the foot of the ridge. Mr Barnside, you'll be able to follow in the footsteps of our guys who go ahead. I suggest we wait at the ridge itself. If you want fast access to the dome, once we can allow that, I suggest the rest of your people start to make their way there pronto. If everything goes according to plan, we'll be inside that place in a matter of minutes.'

  'Understood,' Helen said.

  'You mind me asking something?' Green really did look young when he came up with the questions.

  'Fire away.'

  'Just five of you? Is that enough?'

  'Five or fifty,' she answered, 'it wouldn't make much difference. All we're trying to do is connect that system up to the network and check if it's still working. Most ten-year-old kids with a PC could do that, if you want the honest reply.

  We hook it up, and then someone else works out how to control it.'

  'Which,' Barnside interjected, 'is why I don't understand your need to be there, Helen. If this is admin, you'd have more resources back here.'

  'We've been through that. The conversation's over.'

  He shrugged and looked at Wolfit. 'Have it your way. I think Larry here would be happy to stay put. That right?'

  Wolfit gave a humourless grin in the half-light.

  'You guys going to kiss and make up or something?' Green asked.

  'No need, Green,' Barnside said. 'We're professionals. We get on with it.'

  She watched the activity on the airfield. Farther up the pad the turbines were getting loud, making the kind of noise that preceded takeoff. She looked up at the cockpit of their own machine and saw the co-pilot of their own helicopter staring back at her. The opaque night-vision mask he wore made him look like some giant insect. He stuck out a thumb, motioned to the inside of the craft. A crewman was waiting at the door, holding out a hand. Struggling up the little ladder, with his help, they climbed in, and when everyone was seated he slid shut the door. She was amazed. The sound of the outside world disappeared. The aircraft's interior was clean and shiny, with what looked like a telecom rig in the corner.

  'Why's it so quiet?' she asked the crewman.

  'This is an unusual ship. Command module. It means we have to rig it out with noise-cancelling stuff, make sure we can carry out normal voice conversations in the air. That way you people can communicate without going through us, or having to wear cans.'

  She pulled out her pocket communicator, looked at the blank screen. 'You think this thing works in here?'

  The man shook his head. 'No idea, lady. But if you want to make a video call, you can get through using the fixed comm centre over there. Just key in your ID and it will route your calls straight through.'

  Somewhere ahead of them the noise level was rising. She peered through the small, high windows and saw one of the Sea Knights climb into the sky, a giant black form, rising on what looked like a single feathery wing.

  'What's the light going to be like?' she asked Green.

  'Poor, probably,' Green replied. 'Don't let what you experienced on the field down there fool you. The sky is absolutely clear but we have almost no moon. As soon as we're airborne, the lights go out in the cabin. It takes an hour for the human eye to acclimatize to darkness, so we won't be getting out in perfect condition. But it will be a lot better than going from full light to full dark.'

  'You brought some goggles?' Barnside asked.

  'Yeah. Probability is you won't need them.'

  He started to throw around pairs of simple, tinted goggles to each of them. 'This isn't night-vision stuff,' Barnside said gruffly.

  'No, sir. We're not going to be needing that. By the time we're going anywhere serious, the Cobras will be behind us lighting up that place like a football stadium. These are just for the flash grenades. If, by any chance, they're still in use when we get close to the house then we put these on. You need to be within twenty feet or so for the effect to be bad, so this is just in case.'

  'Yeah,' Barnside barked. The noise level was rising inside the machine. They were close to takeoff. 'I'd really like some night goggles.'

  'Like I said,' Green said, taking a small service flashlight out of his pocket. 'We don't need them. There's a clear division of duties here, sir. I hope you can go along with that.'

  'Sure.' And Barnside gave a sour grin at Larry Wolfit, who looked ready to throw up. Barnside's big head lurched backward and forward on his shoulders as the machine began to move. With a soft, rising roar, the helicopter rose into the night sky. Seated opposite the silent Wolfit, Helen watched the lights of Nellis recede beneath them. Off to the south was the city, a bizarre tangle of fire and artificial illumination. She didn't want to think what the night would be like there: no certainty, no order. Vegas wasn't a place to be alone just then.

  The machine levelled out and they felt it tilt gently forward as it moved into a horizontal cruise. The interior lights dimmed. Larry Wolfit, visible from the faint illumination of the emergency exit sign, stared back at her looking drained. S&T was supposed to be available for operational duties, it was written right there in the contract. But that happened so rarely. To be ploughing through the impenetrable night sky, heading for a rendezvous none of them could predict, wasn't really why you joined the club.

  She sat next to Green, strapped into the bench seat, while Barnside, in the corner, stared mindlessly out the windo
w, not saying a word. And she tried to clear her mind, tried to focus on the hours to come, to make sure every angle was covered. Then she dreamed. It was impossible not to dream, moving through the black velvet night in the belly of this giant machine, like some silent insect whirring toward its prey.

  She was ready to nod off — so little sleep these last few days — when Barnside, his voice rising several decibels in volume, said, 'Hey, I think you got a call.'

  She had, out of habit, rerouted her videophone onto the onboard comm screen by her seat as soon as she climbed in. Now it was flashing with an incoming signal. Green passed her the remote control, she pointed it at the screen, and Lieberman's face appeared, bright and animated in the gloomy, enclosed interior of the cabin.

  'Good morning. Where the hell are you?'

  'That's classified. You look… perky.'

  'Yeah. I was wondering… how's it going there?'

  'What?' she said, and wished this conversation could be more private. Everyone could hear it in this small, enclosed interior of the helicopter.

  'Just asking.'

  'Michael,' she said testily, 'we are in the middle of an operation. I really don't have time for small talk.'

  Lieberman looked worried, uncomfortable, and it was so obvious even on the lousy picture of the video screen. 'No, it's just…'

  She waited and it didn't come. 'Just what?'

  'I just want you to know we're not sitting on our butts. We're still working on some ideas too.'

  'Good ideas?' she asked, interested.

  'Maybe. And anyway, you won't need them. You got Charley in your sights, right?'

  She nodded. 'It looks like it. And for the record, Michael, I never imagined you were sitting on your butts. Not for one moment.' He seemed worried, and momentarily tongue-tied too. 'Now can we go back to work?'

  'Sure. But if you do need some extra help, come calling. I might just have something extra in my bag of tricks. Nothing to trouble you with now, and I don't think you'll need it. You just get on with the job and I'm sure it will all be just fine.'

  'We'll be in touch when we have news. These portable communicators ought to work on the ground. It's night here. She can't throw any of the storm at us.'

  'Maybe she can throw other stuff.'

  'Yes. We've thought of that. This is quite an operation. Maybe one day I get to break the rules and tell you all about it.'

  The pale, bearded face nodded. 'That would be nice. Helen?'

  She was looking at her watch. An annoying habit, one she hoped to lose. 'We need to keep this short, Michael.'

  'I know. All I wanted to say was… be real careful out there. Charley just loves surprises.'

  "Thanks for your advice.'

  He winced. 'Oh right. There goes the ageing hippie academic telling Miss CIA what to do. Sorry.'

  'No. I appreciate it. I apologize if it sounded like I didn't.'

  'Right. I'm going back to my algorithms now. We'll talk on the other side of this thing.'

  The screen went dead, and as it did the note of the helicopter's engine changed, dwindled down several tones.

  'Some guy, huh?' Barnside grunted. 'What the hell was all that about?'

  'He's just nervous, wanting to do something. Touching, in a way.'

  'I guess so. But he's got an idea about something. He's soft on you too. You get that?'

  She shook her head and groaned. 'You know, sometimes, Barnside, you start to remind me of the bad uncle I never had. The one who always embarrasses you at birthday parties.'

  He roared out a laugh. 'Hey. I like that!' And even she couldn't stifle a stupid grin. Then the aircraft lurched. She held on to the passenger rail to steady herself and looked at Larry Wolfit. He was really close to throwing up.

  Green pointed out the window. 'We're going in. You can see the first four ships on the ground already.'

  'So,' Barnside said, 'I just go ahead of you people and follow the route marked on the chart?'

  'Yeah, sir. There's a bluff right beneath the dome. You can wait there until they give you the all-clear to go into the farm. You ought to get a good view of the fireworks, provided they're not over by then. And we just work our way behind you, a little more leisurely, I think. I don't want to bump into those guys in the middle of the night. You should remember that too.'

  The helicopter was hovering now, descending slowly to the desert floor. It came to earth with a jolt. Green had been right. Outside it was pitch-black. From where they'd put the Sea Knight down, it was impossible to see even a single other aircraft, though the stench of Avgas that came through the door when the crewman threw it open suggested they couldn't be far away.

  'Ride ends here, folks,' the crewman said jovially. 'We all booked you on return tickets, so you take care.'

  Then they were out in the night air, and Helen felt her breath disappear inside her. In the desert it was cold, a dull, sluggish cold that could sap her energy. And there was a smell too: of dry vegetation, something distantly rank in the air.

  Barnside walked off into the darkness. The rest of the S&T crew headed toward the dome, a single grunted 'Bye' as they disappeared into the night. Green switched on his flashlight, though they didn't need it yet; the downward-pointing landing lights of the helicopter saw to that.

  'A half a mile?' Wolfit asked.

  Green nodded. 'All nice and straight and level. There's some rock cover between us and the farmhouse we can use to screen us. That dictated the landing site.'

  'How are you feeling, Larry?' Helen asked. He seemed happier to be out of the helicopter.

  'I'll be okay,' he said with a weak grin. 'I just hate those damn things.'

  'Join the club.' Green grinned.

  'That call from Lieberman?' Wolfit asked.

  'What about it?'

  'You think he's on to something?'

  'He's one smart guy. We won't need it, though.'

  'No,' Wolfit sighed, and she wished he weren't so tense, so scared by what was ahead of them.

  'What if the farm has lookouts or something?' Helen asked.

  Green shook his head. 'We'd have picked them up with the aerial scan. I guess everyone's in the house. That's nice. How it should be.'

  Wolfit coughed loudly. 'Maybe we should be moving.'

  Green nodded. 'Sure.'

  And they set off, the HRT man in the lead, flashlight casting a lone yellow beam into the night. He'd been right about their eyesight, she thought. Once they moved away from the dim presence of the helicopter, once there was nothing in the darkness except the puny beam of the flashlight, you really could see a little more. The desert made its living presence known to you. There was life there: the high-pitched rustling of insects, and farther off the long, low howl of something larger.

  'You been in the Bureau long, Green?' Wolfit seemed eager to talk. Nervous, Helen guessed. She was happy just to listen and think about what lay ahead.

  'Two years, sir.'

  They were out of sight of the helicopter now. It must have been a good four hundred yards behind. Ahead, looming larger in front of them, was the rock ridge he'd talked about, a small hogback that now stood solid black against the grey, starlit backdrop of the night sky. The team must have crossed it by now, she thought. Soon there ought to be some sign of the attack.

  'Guess this must be the biggest thing they ever gave you?' Wolfit asked gloomily.

  Green laughed. 'Nice try, sir. You know I can't talk about operations or that kind of thing.'

  'Sure.'

  Wolfit walked a little faster, left Helen behind, caught up with Green, put an arm on his shoulder. 'But we can talk in generalizations, now, can't we? This must be the biggest thing. It's the biggest I ever got, what with the President, our new President, breathing down our necks, huh?'

  'I guess so, quite something, really.'

  She caught up and touched Wolfit lightly on the shoulder. 'It's okay, Larry. We're just here to run up a network. Nothing dangerous.'

  'Sorry. Guess my mo
uth was running away with itself. And me the nature lover. I'm supposed to feel at home in this place.'

  Then he jumped as if he'd stood on a rattlesnake. The first flash had exploded on the other side of the ridge, and even partly blocked as it was by the solid mass of stone, it seemed incredibly bright, a veil of phosphorescence that put spots of colour at the back of their eyes. And no sound. The silence was strange, unsettling.

  'It begins,' Green said, and laughed. The sky became alive with the dancing lights of the flash grenades, and Helen stared at the ground, trying to keep them out of her head, fumbling in her pocket for the goggles.

  Green stopped walking. 'I think we should stay here for a minute or two. Stay in the lee of the ridge, try not to look at the sky. You see what I mean about the brightness now? And we don't even get a direct view of those things. We just stay out of sight.'

  'I see,' she said, and worked the goggles onto her head in any case. They made the night go black again. What little detail there was disappeared except for the flashes overhead, and that made you want to look at them even more. She snatched the things off after a few seconds.

  Green watched her. 'Yeah. They don't suit me either.'

  'Fucking technology,' Wolfit yelled, loud enough to make both of them jump. 'You believe the stuff they make us work with these days?'

  'It's a little late to get into that conversation, Larry,' she said, puzzled. 'I think you could pick another occasion.' And the thought came out of nowhere: Larry was really nervous.

  There was a huge ripple of light in the sky, and noise now too, maybe gunshots, maybe just the popping of more grenades. It was impossible to tell.

  'They give you Bureau guys all that stuff,' Wolfit continued. She tried not to listen; he was starting to embarrass her. 'Take those new P54S the Army is giving out. I mean, they sound real interesting.' Green's silence was palpable.

  'You going deaf or something?' Wolfit asked flatly. 'I know guns. Sometimes when I'm out in Yellowstone they call on us to go shoot some wolf that breaches the area, kills some stupid cow. You believe that?'