The Maltese Incident

by Russell Moran

  “Harry, I’ve heard all about your wonderful wife and partner. I would be remiss if I didn’t honor her as well. Here’s what I’m going to do. At the same time I award you your second Navy Cross, I will award Meghan her first. From everything I’ve heard, she deserves it. Oh, and another thing. I’m promoting you to the rank of rear admiral, effective immediately. I’ve already cleared it with the Navy brass. They can be pains in the ass, but I got nothing but enthusiasm for the idea of promoting you. I’m not requiring it, but I hope you will decide to stay in the Navy. We need people like you.”

  When I hung up the phone, Meg wrapped her arms around me.

  “Do I have to call you Admiral Harry from now on?”

  “You can still call me Harry, but now that I’m an admiral, please don’t call me Dickbrain.”

  Chapter Forty-Two

  “Buster, it’s Mike. You won’t believe this but there’s a high-level meeting going on in a conference room at my mosque. Three guys are here, including a technical honcho named Mahmood Khan. A lot of what they’re saying is scientific stuff that I don’t understand, but they’re talking in detail about using a satellite to create a Sacred Portal.”

  “Mike, can you record what they’re saying?”

  “Buster, do you think I’m stupid? I’ve recorded every word in two recordings. Here’s one spot that I marked. Listen to this:”

  “The infidels cannot escape the Sacred Portal. First, we will send them to another time, then we will kill them.”

  “That’s it Mike, a threat of death. It’s enough evidence to arrest them. I’ll be there in 20 minutes with my FBI friends.”

  “Better hurry up, Buster. I think their conversation is winding down.”

  “Do whatever you need to do to slow them down, Mike. I’m at Federal Plaza, not far from your mosque in Brooklyn. We should be there shortly.”

  “Good afternoon, gentlemen,” Mike said to the three men in Arabic. “It’s always a pleasure to see someone new at my mosque. And who, may I ask, is this gentleman?” Mike said, gesturing toward Mahmood Khan.

  “He is Mohmar Alsavi, Imam Bushariff,” one of the men said, making up a fictitious name for Khan.

  “It is my pleasure to meet you, Imam. We were just about to leave.” Khan said.

  “Please, gentlemen, be my guests for lunch. I will order food brought here to the conference room,” Mike said as he felt for the gun under his robe.

  “No, thank you for your hospitality, Imam, but we must leave.”

  “Stay put,” Mike shouted in English as he chambered a round and pointed his Glock at them.

  “Imam, you have three guests,” his assistant said over the intercom.

  Buster, along with three FBI agents rushed into the room with their guns drawn. They handcuffed each of the men. Four more FBI agents came into the room to escort the men to a waiting government van.

  ***

  Two days later, Buster and Imam Mike spoke on a secure phone.

  “Thanks to you, Mike, I’m sure we got them all. They gave up the name of the CEO at the American company that launches civilian satellites and we’ve got him in custody too. Our scientific people questioned them non-stop about how they managed to pull off the Sacred Portal. We now know the secrets.”

  “I’m amazed that they spoke so openly. They didn’t ask to see a lawyer?”

  “I can be very persuasive when I need to, Mike. Come to my office later at six. We’re going to have a little celebration. After Captain Harry Fenton’s rescue mission of the Ocean Magic, and because of your actions, I’m happy to announce that The Sacred Portal conspiracy is officially dead.”

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Lieutenant Joseph Sprague banked his EA-18G Growler warplane to the left as he prepared to land on his ship, the USS Gerald R. Ford. The Ford had recently been commissioned, and it will be more than two years before it’s deployed overseas. It’s the first aircraft carrier in the new Ford class of ships destined to replace the aging Nimitz class carriers. The Ford’s home port is the huge Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia.

  The USS Gerald R. Ford is a large ship, over 1,100 feet in length with a beam of 134 feet. She displaces over 100,000 tons and carries a complement of 4,660 people. Her range, with her two nuclear reactors, is virtually unlimited. She can cruise for 20 to 25 years, her time at sea limited only by the needs of the crew and routine maintenance.

  Sprague, having earned his wings five years earlier, loves to fly, especially his newest jet, the EA-18G Growler. The plane is a specialized version of the F/A-18 Super Hornet. Despite his affection for flying, there is one maneuver he dreads, although he’ll never admit it—landing on a carrier deck. Although the Ford is a gigantic ship, to a pilot coming in for a landing it looks like a toy in the ocean.

  One of the pilot’s most critical jobs is to “call the ball,” indicating to the landing crew on the ship’s flight deck that he has a visually accurate view of the “meatball.” The ball, or meatball, is an orange orb of light emitted from the optical landing system on the carrier’s flight deck. A green horizontal row of lights (known as the datum) indicates proper glide slope. If the ball is below the datum, the aircraft is low, and if it’s above the datum, the aircraft is high. When the ball is in proper view, the pilot says, “Roger Ball.”

  As his plane approached the Ford, Sprague called out “Roger Ball, Roger Ball, Roger Ball…Holy Shit!”

  As the Ford bathed in the afternoon sun, a dark cloud enveloped it. Sprague had the ball in clear view, but then it was gone—gone, along with the ship. Instinctively he circled the spot of ocean where he last saw the Ford. After a couple of minutes, the dark cloud disappeared, and the sunshine resumed, but the ship wasn’t there, only a smooth ocean. Because his flight was the last scheduled to land, Sprague couldn’t communicate with other aircraft. He was alone.

  He turned his plane toward shore and looked at his fuel indicator. He calculated that Naval Station Norfolk was 75 miles from his position, and that he had enough fuel to make it. His mind a complete jumble, he couldn’t remember his call sign code, nor that of the Naval Base.

  “Alpha Bravo, Alpha Bravo, this is Charlie Sierra,” or some shit like that, he thought. Then he decided to go for simple English.

  “Naval Station Norfolk, Naval Station Norfolk, this is Lieutenant Sprague in flight 209 from the USS Gerald R. Ford, come in please.”

  “Read you, lieutenant. We can’t communicate with the Ford. Do you have any idea what happened?”

  “The fucking ship disappeared on me as I was about to land,” Sprague shouted. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

  “Hey, Joe, this is Commander Jim Luce. You’re up for promotion to lieutenant commander in a couple of months. Watch your language.”

  “Commander Jim, I repeat, the fucking ship disappeared,” Sprague said. “I don’t give a shit about my language. The Ford is simply not there.”

  “You’re cleared for landing, Joe. Calm down first.”

  ***

  Meg and I were in second floor conference room at 26 Federal Plaza, down the hall from in Sarah Watson’s New York office. We had completed another session of debriefing the Ocean Magic mission. Buster from the CIA and a couple of FBI agents were there with us, waiting for Sarah Watson. As Sarah had requested, Meg and I wore our Navy uniforms, mine sporting my new admiral’s stripes. We were about to lift a few rounds to celebrate the good news. Sarah and Meg had struck up a friendship in the past few days. I think she befriended Meg because she likes to hang around people with brains and a sense of humor. The spooks were still interested in talking to us about our adventure, even though the wormhole problem was dead and gone. They wanted to know all about how a group of a thousand people could carve out a working town in a prehistoric forest.

  “Hey, guys, Director Watson is on the line,” The receptionist said.

  Buster walked over to the speaker and pressed the button.

  “We’re all here. Go ahead, Sarah.”

  “I
just got a call from the White House, folks. Turn on the TV. We lost a carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, off the coast of Virginia—not the Azores, not New Jersey—Virginia. The ship was just commissioned a few days ago. A pilot who was about to land reported that the ship simply disappeared from sight and from radar. He also described a strange darkness that suddenly enshrouded the ship for a couple of minutes. Sound familiar?”

  Not a word was said in the conference room. Not even from me. Or Meg. Or Buster.

  “Hey, Buster,” Watson said, “I just got an email in Arabic. I’ll forward it to you. Please translate it for us.”

  Buster turned on his phone, and then clicked on the message he just got from Sarah Watson.

  Buster read the message.

  “Stay where you are, infidels. Don’t move. Your next step may take you through a Sacred Portal.”

  Characters – The Maltese Incident

  Abdul, Raman – Imposter and spy, aka Jason Thomas

  Akhbar, Gamal – aka Buster, CIA Agent

  Burton, Dereck – Captain of the Ocean Magic

  Ciano, Dennis – Master at Arms on the Melody of the Seas

  Atkins, George – See Akhbar, Gamal

  Avila, Alfonso – Portuguese boatyard owner

  Bellino, Wally – Construction expert

  Borg, Randolph – CEO, Malta Investment Company

  Buster – Aka Gamal Akhbar – CIA Agent

  Carlini, William – Director, CIA

  Donaldson, George – Electrical engineer

  Fenton, Harry – Captain of the Maltese

  Feigenbaum, Max - Paleontologist

  Fletcher, Mike – Maritime investigator

  Flowers, Bob - Chief Science Advisor for Malta Investment Company

  Flynn, Rebecca – Chief Judge of Malta Town

  Johnson, Meghan – VP of Operations for Malta Investment Company

  Kahn, Abdul – Inventor and terrorist

  Langdon, James – Captain, USS Forrest Sherman

  MacCallum, Martha – TV anchor and reporter

  Maslow, Dominic – Head of shore party from the Maltese.

  McAteer, James – Executive Officer, USS Davidson

  Moradi, Ali – Terrorist operative.

  Muhammed, Amir – Terrorist operative.

  Murphy, Frank – Securities analyst and dinosaur expert

  Morgan, Joseph – Philanthropist to radical Islamist causes.

  Orlando, William – Head of legislative committee of Malta Town

  Ragnarssen, Lars – Captain of the Melody of the Seas

  Simmons, Bob – First Officer on the Melody of the Seas

  Thomas, Jason - Spy

  Truesdale, Jamal – Chief of Police of Malta Town

  Valente, James – First Officer on the Maltese

  The Books of Russ Moran

  All books are available on Amazon.com, and also as ebooks on The Kindle or a Kindle app on your smartphone or iPad.

  The Gray Ship – Book One of The Time Magnet Series

  http://amzn.to/16GPumH

  “This provocative, intensely powerful novel is a must-read for sci-fi fans and Civil War aficionados, though mainstream fiction readers will find it heart-rending and inspiring as well. A rare read that’s not only wildly entertaining, but also profoundly moving.” — Kirkus Reviews

  The Thanksgiving Gang – Book Two of The Time Magnet Series http://amzn.to/1NzBs7N

  "I had never read a book before written in an efficient, minimalistic prose. Instead of writing what most readers want to read, he gives voice to life-like characters, with their flaws and prejudices. They are not infallible superheroes. It’s always nice to find a new voice in fiction and to enjoy creativity at its best.” — C. Ludewig. “Breakneck pacing and virtually nonstop action” – Kirkus Reviews

  A Time of Fear – Book Three of The Time Magnet Series

  http://amzn.to/1zdjaG9

  “His story is fascinating, and adds even more depth to this already cavernously deep novel. Amazingly unique, chilling and well written, Moran weaves a future that is both desperate and hopeful. Blending modern fears with science fiction results in a tale that will keep you reading long into the night.” Five stars!” —Heather

  The Skies of Time – Book Four of The Time Magnet Series

  http://amzn.to/1CCC3jg

  In The Skies of Time, you will recognize the two main characters, Ashley Patterson, now an admiral, and her husband, Jack Thurber. They met and fell in love in The Gray Ship, and now they’re in for the adventure of their lives in The Skies of Time. Ashley and Jack have been such prominent characters in all four books of The Time Magnet Series that I feel like they’re old friends. You will also recognize some of the other characters. But if I told you who they are, it would ruin the fun.

  “I’m big fan of this series and this one may be the best. I hope there is another book to this series since it keeps getting better. There are a few questions I have about certain events that makes the next one even more suspenseful. These are great books to binge read one after the other.” — Time Travel Fan

  The Shadows of Terror – Book One of the Patterns Series

  http://amzn.to/1IDQzJS

  A novel that explodes off the front page of your newspaper.

  Terrorism has a new face, a face that’s obscured in the shadows. The radical forces of destruction have learned to make themselves invisible to the West, and preventing a terrorist attack has become almost impossible.

  A new war has begun, World War III.

  Rick Bellamy, an FBI agent who specializes in counterterrorism, is engaged in his own war, a war with no end.

  Bellamy’s wife, Ellen, a prominent architect, discovers that she’s in the middle of the greatest terror plot to date.

  To defeat the enemy, Bellamy first has to uncover the clues, to shine a light on the shadows. He has to find patterns – before it’s too late.

  “Move over James Patterson and Mary Higgins Clark. There’s a new guy in town. Russ Moran’s new book – The Shadows of Terror.” — Frank from Lynbrook

  The Scent of Revenge - Book Two in the Patterns Series.

  http://amzn.to/1UvDRmw

  The world is at war with the forces of terror. FBI Agent Rick Bellamy and his wife, Ellen, find themselves in the middle of a sinister terrorist plot.

  Someone is attacking young prominent women, inflicting a horrible disease.

  Nobody knows its origin, nobody knows how to stop it, nobody knows how to cure it.

  Rick Bellamy and a team of scientists want to go on the offense. But how?

  Will the lives of the women be changed forever? When will the attacks stop?

  “Heart pounding, can’t put down thriller that will force you to look at terrorism in different light. Life in America will never be the same.” —Cold Coffee Cafe

  Sideswiped - Book One in the Matt Blake series of legal thrillers.

  http://amzn.to/1MkxX35

  Trial lawyer Matt Blake took on a perfect case.

  It involved a sideswipe collision in which his client’s husband, an investigative reporter, was killed. The evidence of negligence was overwhelming. Eyewitnesses testified that defendant was talking on his cell phone when he hit the other car.

  But was it negligence? Was it an accident?

  Or was it murder?

  Matt uncovers evidence that the act may have been intentional. Somebody wanted the man silenced. Somebody wanted the man dead.

  .

  Somebody had a lot to hide.

  The signs started to point to the highest levels of government.

  An open-and-shut personal injury case suddenly became a vast conspiracy of terror.

  “This book hooks you in from the first line. Sideswiped draws you into the world of Matt Blake and you become emotionally attached to him and his journey. The story itself is so well-written and moves quickly there is never a dull moment.” —Sarah Elle

  “Moran demonstrates the depth of his writing talent by developing a new
genre with Sideswiped, a legal thriller. Branching out from his previous novels dealing with time travel, Moran goes in a whole new direction with Book One in the Matt Blake series. He creates a wild but totally believable story of modern day intrigue and suspense. Moran also deftly weaves into this book some of my favorite characters from his prior novels. I am looking forward to starting Book #2 - The Reformers — Frank from Lynbrook on August 16, 2016

  The Reformers - Book Two of the Matt Blake series of legal thrillers, is the sequel to Sideswiped.

  http://amzn.to/2m8uMdu

  The forces of radical Islam are on the run.

  Their leadership has been decimated, their ranks thinned, their power disappearing by the week.

  Their recruiting efforts have been cut off, the radical websites shut down, and the attraction of jihad is losing its appeal among the young.

  With targeted assassinations, military strikes, as well as the loss of oil fields and gold mines, radical Islam is fast losing power.

  But who is responsible?

  It isn’t the United States Government. It’s a new force the world has never seen before.

  Lawyer Matt Blake and his wife Diana find themselves in the middle of the most gigantic plot the world has ever seen, a conspiracy that’s only begun to grow.

  “I’ve been a fan of the author, Russell Moran, since reading Sideswiped a few months ago, so I admittedly went into this book with quite high expectations. That being said, I had no idea that “The Reformers” was going to play out in the way that it does and I can see myself giving this book a re-read in the future. In fact, I am even more impressed by the storyline of this read than the last and it has left me excited to see more.” Lucidity.