Death Minus Zero

by Don Pendleton

  McCarter leaned back in his seat. “Let’s get the cards on the table, here. I told Colonel Corrigan we are here to help. Not pointing fingers and labeling people. I can understand your reluctance to pull us all the way in—this mess has caught everyone on the hoof. So let’s start from scratch. We each tell what we know and try to get a grip on it.”

  Corrigan said, “Agent Valens may have been a little slow in telling all, but in her defense I have to say that she has a restrictive brief on certain matters. One of those being able to reveal information about Jui Kai. Understand, gentlemen, Kai is operating within China. An extremely difficult assignment and one we have, so far, kept under wraps. It is difficult for her to send us information, and the little we have has simply let us in on the fact that the Chinese have been looking at Zero again.”

  “The fact that they made the move to kidnap Saul,” Valens interjected, “was not expected at this stage. From what we had learned, the Chinese were simply looking at developing their own platform. This sudden advancement even caught Jui Kai off guard. It’s a big step, from a committee having weekly meetings, to putting into action an actual body snatch in broad daylight on American soil. Kai is sending us anything she can learn about the incident.”

  “All right,” McCarter said. “Let’s go back to the kidnapping. Any thoughts on that from your point of view?”

  “This is an Air Force base,” Corrigan said. “We have no more than a few civilian attendees, highly skilled personnel from the people who supply our computing equipment. They have been vetted and re-vetted. Approved by Washington. We’re also pretty far away from any civilian enclaves.” He hesitated. “I hope you’re not suggesting any military involvement in Kaplan’s disappearance.”

  “Colonel, sir, with all due respect,” Hawkins said, “we have to look at all options. After all, someone did manage to shut down the tracking unit on the car. And Kaplan’s implant signal went down, too.”

  Corrigan didn’t like the suggestion, but he was not blinkered so much he couldn’t acknowledge the possibility.

  “As of now, I can’t give you an answer. We are looking into it.”

  Sergeant Ryker appeared carrying a loaded tray. He placed it on Corrigan’s desk before he retreated.

  “Help yourselves, people,” Corrigan said.

  They all helped themselves to coffee; McCarter his chilled bottle of Classic Coke.

  The Phoenix Force leader glanced across at Valens. “Where have we got to?”

  “Early for much to have happened,” she told him honestly. “I’ve checked with Joshua Riba. He hasn’t heard anything but he’s volunteered to help. He’s closer, so he’s going to check out Kaplan’s lodge in Wyoming. I don’t hold out much hope, but it’s worth a look.”

  “Riba? Agent Valens, who is this Riba? Just how many more friends do you have up your sleeve?” Corrigan raised the mug of coffee he was holding and took a long swallow. “I just said this base was secret. The way things are going, I’m not so certain about that any longer.”

  “If it hadn’t been for Riba’s involvement at the beginning,” McCarter said, “Doug Buchanan wouldn’t be alive today.”

  “This is all very interesting,” Corrigan said. “But how is it going to help us find Kaplan?”

  “It might simply prove a blank. We just need to look at all angles, even if only to scratch them off the list,” Encizo explained.

  “Did you find anything at the abduction site?” McCarter said.

  “No,” Larry Brandon said. “Apart from a few tire tracks.”

  “My people are checking those,” Valens said. “If we get lucky they might be able to identify them, but I’m not holding my breath.”

  McCarter drained his Coke and pushed to his feet.

  “Do we get a guided tour, Colonel?” he said. “Give us some background on what this is all about. At least a chance to say hello to Major Buchanan?”

  Corrigan sighed as he stood. “I suppose you do need to understand the background. And your clearance does cover Zero.”

  He led them from his office and through the complex to the Zero Command Center.

  The center was a generous room full of electronics that none of them could fully understand. Over the banks of equipment the main wall was lined with large-screen monitors.

  Corrigan nodded to the technician on duty and the man tapped in the coordinates that alerted Zero of an incoming call. The large plasma screen directly in front of Corrigan came online and he found himself facing Doug Buchanan.

  “Colonel,” Buchanan said.

  The image was a head-to-waist shot of the major. He had his biocouch in a sitting position. Behind him Phoenix Force could see the circular layout of the Zero operations facility: scan monitors and control consoles and an occasional flashing panel. The overall impression was of controlled efficiency.

  “Any further intel?” Corrigan said.

  Buchanan’s head moved in a negative response. “Nothing, sir. We’ve had probes working since the initial report. We can’t find anything.”

  We.

  Not I.

  Not me.

  We.

  The collective term for the partnership between man and machine.

  From the day Zero had come online and Buchanan had made his first report from the platform, he had used the epithet “we” when referring to Zero. His assimilation into the system through the bioimplants keeping him alive had worked with far greater success than anyone, Saul Kaplan included, had expected. Doug Buchanan’s melding with the implants designed to keep his cancer at bay and offer the major a chance to continue as a viable Air Force member had proved out. With Zero online, the orbiting platform had become a vital part of America’s defense system, and Kaplan’s cherished dream had become a reality.

  “Our scans will continue.”

  The voice coming through the speakers was Zero’s. The modulated tones, with a slight mechanical edge, emanated from the platform’s integrated synthesizer system.

  Saul Kaplan had developed and installed the system just under six months ago. It was one way to get a manual response from Zero when there was a need for communication and also served as a direct link for Buchanan, enabling him to have verbal interaction with Zero’s responses. There had been another, less obvious reason for the interaction—being able to converse with Zero gave Buchanan a companion to talk to. Kaplan had seen that as an important function for Buchanan’s solitary existence. He had programmed Zero with a wide range of interactive knowledge that included a number of languages and as much encyclopedic data he could put in. The process was ongoing, allowing Zero to self-improve and to develop a coherent personality. It made for interesting social intercourse for Buchanan and the Zero team.

  Kaplan had seen this interaction as a necessary advance on the Zero program. It had needed to happen if the platform was to extend its existence beyond the present. Kaplan was looking to the future. Science did not stand still. It would stagnate if it did, and Saul Kaplan refused to allow that to occur.

  “Major, we have visitors with us,” Corrigan said. “The team assisting in the investigation.”

  A second plasma screen showed Phoenix Force and Claire Valens.

  “These people are from the same group Cooper is with,” Valens said.

  “Cooper pulled me out of a hole way back. Hell of a guy.”

  “You said it,” McCarter agreed.

  Buchanan said, “I hope you’re having more luck than we are at the moment.”

  “Information is still skinny on the ground,” McCarter told him. “We know Kaplan is missing. We have a feeling the Chinese are involved...but that’s about all, Major Buchanan.”

  “It’s Doug. Let’s drop the rank, huh? Colonel, no offence, sir.”

  Corrigan managed a faint grimace that might have been labeled a smil
e.

  “My fancy bag of tricks isn’t working its magic today,” Buchanan said. “I had Saul on track from the time he left home, but his signal cut out at around the time he was snatched.”

  “You think the kidnappers knew about his implant?” Encizo asked. “Disabled it?”

  “A possibility,” Buchanan allowed. “It was our main chance to keep him online. Of course there might have been a malfunction. I’m still trying to reengage his signal.”

  “The implant may come online again,” Zero said. “Unless it has been removed and destroyed.”

  “Always looks on the bright side. We’re initiating a wider scan,” Buchanan said. “Using all our surveillance.”

  He tapped keys and his biocouch began to traverse the interior on the monorail that circled the equipment banks. An alternate-view screen showed his progression around the facility. View ports set around the platform allowed him to see the exterior behind the curved instrument consoles. Buchanan could make a complete three-sixty run around the cupola, allowing freedom of access to each and every function. There were duplicate control panels around the circular access, so he was never far from a control point. The same applied to the plasma screens he used for communication and exterior viewing. The whole of Zero’s working area had been designed by Kaplan to cater to someone who was restricted to the biocouch.

  Buchanan never felt restricted. He had come to accept the couch as part of himself now. He was dependent on the couch to keep his bodily function controlled and fed through the implant system, and early, but brief, concerns had been wiped away when Buchanan realized his body was responding to the medical stimulants and banishing the pain and discomfort he had been plagued with as his cancer grew. It could have been said Buchanan’s life had been encapsulated within Zero to the degree he was severely denied any kind of normal life. Buchanan saw it from his personal view—Kaplan’s creation had freed him from the debilitating illness and had gifted him something newer. Better. A unique perspective on life and a chance to be of service to the Air Force and humanity, which meant a great deal to Doug Buchanan.

  “We have a good view from here,” Buchanan said. He paused the biocouch and pointed to the image beyond the port. It was a full view of Earth, the blues and greens evident; continents could be clearly distinguished. It was an impressive display. Buchanan held the image for a while. His face on the monitor showed the expression in his eyes: a recall of what life had been when he had stood on his own two legs and had been able to walk the real world.

  “Doug, listen to me,” Valens said, breaking the moment. She could understand his reluctance to move on. Doug Buchanan could view the scene from his lofty perch, but he would never be able to set foot on home ground ever again. “We won’t give up on Saul. My word.”

  “I know,” Buchanan said. His gaze remained on the earthly vista and Valens picked up on his mood. “We’ll talk again later,” he said quietly, tapping his console and closing the connection.

  “He sometimes has a melancholy fallback,” Corrigan said. “When he does, we’ve found it best to let him phase it out. Have to say I can’t blame him under the circumstances.”

  “Must be difficult for him to see a view like that,” Manning said.

  It was obvious to Valens the man had also seen the look on Buchanan’s face. “I know how I’d feel,” she said.

  “Man, I don’t know if I could take it,” James admitted. “That’s one brave guy.”

  “Major Buchanan is an exceptional officer,” Corrigan said.

  “He’s more than that,” Hawkins said. “Talk about above and beyond...”

  Manning asked, “He ever get relieved? I know he can’t get up and walk away but...”

  “There’s a time when he needs treatment through his biocouch,” Corrigan said. “We have a link where someone here in Zero Command can assume remote control for the time he needs to stand down. Not the same, because we don’t have the integration Buchanan has with Zero. Since Doug was assimilated he’s developed an affinity with the platform. With Zero. That’s something that can’t be manufactured. No one standing in down here can match how he operates.”

  “What about a second string?” McCarter queried. “Someone else who could be based on Zero...if something happened to Buchanan.”

  “That’s something Kaplan has been working on over the past months,” the colonel said. “He’s aware more than most that Major—Doug—is mortal. The bioimplants are working at keeping the cancer at bay, but if the worst-case scenario happens there would be a need for a replacement. That is being initiated right now. Still a way off. Finding a match for Doug is proving difficult. Sorry if I sound cold-blooded. It always comes out that way no matter how it’s phrased.”

  “We know what you mean, Colonel,” Valens said. “Since Zero came online we’ve become a close family. There’s no other way to put it. Our lives are so intertwined now. There’s more than a working relationship that exists.”

  “A good combination,” Corrigan said.

  “And part of that is lost now that Kaplan’s been kidnapped,” Valens said. “We have to get him back. No question about it.”

  “Saul Kaplan is the life-force behind Zero. He’s constantly adding to and fine-tuning things,” Corrigan said. “The man never stops. Just when you think he’s added all he can, he comes up with a new theory. A fresh attachment. If I come across as sounding selfish, I still have to say we’ll be taking a step back if we lose him.”

  “Then we had better make sure we don’t,” McCarter said. “It’s not going to be easy, but we’ll find him.”

  “Agent Valens.” McCarter turned to her. “How about you run us out to take a look at the site?” He had sensed the slight tension in Corrigan’s presence and decided it might be easier on them all if they got Valens off base, even if it was only for a little while.

  “Any problem, Colonel?” Valens said.

  Corrigan shook his head. “If you think it might help.”

  “We have nothing to lose,” James pointed out. “And we need to start somewhere.”

  “We’ll do it this way,” McCarter advised. “Constantine and Rankin, you stay here and liaise with Brandon. Go through anything you can see. That okay with you, Agent Valens?”

  “Fine. Larry, you can use my office.”

  “If that’s what you want,” Brandon said.

  Valens smiled. “That’s what I want. Okay? Good. Shall we do this, gentlemen?” She led the way to the motor pool.

  * * *

  VALENS WAS DRIVING the black SUV. It was a large-edition model, with enough room to accommodate them all. McCarter was in the passenger seat beside Valens. She glanced at him.

  “Nicely handled, getting us out of there,” she said. “Thanks for that.”

  “We appear to be a pain in the arse as far as the colonel is concerned,” the Briton said lightly. “I guess he’s got enough to be worried about without a bunch of cowboys invading his range.”

  “I think he sees us as raining on his parade,” Manning said.

  Valens said, “He’s touchy because his command lost Kaplan. Can’t expect anything else.” She gave a weak smile. “I know how he’s feeling.”

  “Right now soothing his tender bloody brow isn’t my concern,” McCarter said.

  “Well, look at it from his viewpoint,” Valens said. “This whole setup is his responsibility. His top man has gone missing. He isn’t going to take that lightly. Not Colonel Corrigan.”

  “I’ll lie awake tonight thinking about that,” James said dryly.

  “What’s your gut telling you about all this, Agent Valens?” Manning asked.

  “Hey, let go of the ‘Agent’ angle. It’s Claire—or Valens, if you do feel official.”

  “So what does your gut tell you, Claire?”

  “Off the wall? My money is on
a feeling I have that the Chinese are involved. Tying it in with the information we received from Jui Kai, it’s all starting to fit.”

  “That’s pretty direct,” Manning said. “I’m guessing you don’t have any concrete proof?”

  “General Tung Shan was the man in charge of the original Zero strike. He ran the operation and when it fell apart he was dismissed. From gathered intelligence at the time, it meant he would most likely have been executed and replaced. Failure in the People’s Republic is not something to be dealt with lightly.”

  “I’m seeing something coming here,” James said.

  “Kai has sent us updated data,” Valens said.

  “How up-to-date is ‘updated’?” McCarter asked.

  “Last contact we had was a day ago. Kai has been concentrating on our identified player.”

  “Colonel Xia Chan,” McCarter said.

  Valens nodded. “Really been doing your homework.”

  “We like to keep up,” Manning replied.

  “Kai has confirmed Chan as the man promoted to engage in the task of bringing a major military prize into Chinese hands. Chan is a rising star. Real go-getter. Zero would be the project to push him up the ladder.”

  “After all this time?” McCarter said. “I can see where your line of thinking goes—”

  “The Chinese went after Zero before because they saw it as a threat, especially in the Pacific Rim,” Valens said, cutting him off. “They have allies in that theater. Removing Zero would have maintained the status quo. When we canceled their attempt, China lost face. That would have hurt. They withdrew active interest at the time, but I don’t believe for one second they forgot about Zero.”

  “Put it on the back burner,” Manning suggested. “Went into slumber mode.”

  “Exactly. The old Sleeping Dragon scenario,” Valens said. “Something China is very good at. Patience in all things. The long game. Gathering data. Waiting for the next opportunity.”

  “You make them sound a little paranoid,” James said.

  “Read up on it,” Valens said. “The debate is still going on but there’s a consensus that wars could be waged from space in the not-too-distant future. If that’s so, the nation with the technology is going to be able to call the shots.”