Everett moved off and down the stairs and saw his friends as they explained what they could to Captain Lienanov. Jenks was at one of the fold-down desks that were arranged for the relief crews to file reports during flight. He had headphones on, listening to his engineering notes. He nodded his head at Sarah, Ryan, Anya, and Lienanov, then moved aft and down another short flight of steps and saw the men he was looking for.
He saw the two teams of commandos as they rested against the vibrating skin of the giant aircraft. He shook his head as he noticed that the SEAL and Delta teams were still separated by their disrespect for each other’s abilities. He became angry but held it in check as he grabbed hold of a safety strap and leaned in to the two operational leaders of the two teams. Both officers were new as the first two had never made it out alive after the attack on the Space Center.
“I want these men broken up into mixed teams.”
The naval lieutenant and the army captain looked up. Both had questioning looks on their faces as Everett leaned in.
“Sir?” The SEAL turned and offered the same questioning look to the Army Ranger picked to replace the Delta team leader. The Ranger just sat there with his training schedule locked in his hands.
“Look, I know the engine noise in here is loud enough to drown out a locomotive, but if I have to say things to you gentlemen twice I’ll throw your asses right off this aircraft. Do you understand what I’m saying now?”
The Army Ranger braved getting thrown off the Galaxy. “I hear you, sir, but don’t follow.”
“Yeah, you’re Army, all right,” he said. The Navy SEAL tried to hold back the small snicker that escaped his mouth. Everett just leaned closer to the SEAL and glared. “I know the SEALs have changed since my days in Team Five, and the navy has had to make hard choices about who they accept these days for the duty, but don’t advertise the fact that you’re a dumb fuck that doesn’t know shit, all right, Lieutenant Shit-for-brains?”
Not even the Army Ranger was tempted to laugh at the dressing down of his counterpart.
“Now, take your rosters and mix these men up evenly between ingress and assault. I want the new team rosters before we land at McMurdo. Is that clear, or do you want me to stand here and explain why an admiral always gets his way?”
Both young officers remained silent for the longest three seconds of their lives.
“Yes, sir,” both said simultaneously.
“I’ll meet the men in fifteen minutes to explain why their part of this mission will be either their moment of triumph or the biggest cluster-fuck since Operation Eagle Claw in Iran. It all depends on how they work together. Am I clear?” The famous 1980 foul-up in the Iranian desert had occurred when differing and mixed commands brought the rescue operation to free the embassy hostages to an abrupt and disastrous conclusion.
“Yes—”
“I said, am I clear?” he shouted, getting the attention of the two teams lining the bulkheads of the Galaxy.
“Yes, sir!” the two officers said as they jumped to their feet, colliding with each other as they did.
Carl let go of the strap and then started to say something else, but was interrupted by a familiar voice from behind.
“Admiral, can I have a minute?”
Carl turned, ready to continue his tirade against whoever had the balls to interrupt him. His eyes took in Jason Ryan as he removed his cold-weather parka and then held the cold, blue, angry eyes of his friend.
Carl turned and gave the two men a look. They were still standing at attention even with the heavy rocking motion of the transport.
“Gentlemen, rosters before we land, and tell the men I’ll speak to them in fifteen.” Everett turned and followed Ryan back toward the front of the Galaxy.
Ryan stopped near a pile of strapped-down gear and turned to face Carl. “Admiral—”
“Look, don’t do that.” Everett too removed his cold-weather jacket and then tossed it on the cargo netting holding some of the assault gear in place on their pallet.
“Do what?” Ryan asked, knowing full well the meaning of Carl’s statement because he had felt the exact same way after being promoted to full commander a month earlier.
“Address me by that rank.”
“Okay, then I won’t call you that, but they will,” he said, pointing toward the two frightened officers he had just left.
Everett lowered his head and then turned and looked at the two men as they looked lost and at a loss on where to start with the extraordinary orders they had just received. He turned back and took in the small, dark-haired naval aviator.
“They don’t know you as Carl, or Captain, or as a friend from a closed Group. Those men know you as Admiral Everett and will never know anything else. They have come to terms with the fact that someone far over their heads thinks of you as someone who can pull off whatever way they have designed to get you”—he again nodded back at the men—“and them killed. But maybe, just maybe those people who saw fit to promote you actually knew what they were doing, Admiral, just like they knew what they were doing when they placed Jack into the same situation. They have seen you two work together and know that they have a fighting chance to succeed with you two in the positions you now hold. Those men deserve Admiral Everett, and not the SEAL you still think you are. Because to tell you the truth, they are that good and will die proving it.”
Everett eyed his friend for the longest time and then shook his head. “Just when in the hell did you become so deep thinking?”
“I guess being separated from Will has made me look smarter. I’m still the same ruggedly handsome naval aviator I was a few days ago.”
“Well, thanks anyway.” He started to turn away and return to the men he was to train, but stopped and held onto some loading straps to face Ryan. “And I guess those same powers that be saw something in you also, Commander Ryan.”
“Nah, they were just mesmerized by my rugged good looks too.”
BLAIR HOUSE
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Giles Camden listened to his new designee for the directorship of Central Intelligence, Daniel Peachtree, as he explained his run-in with Virginia Pollock at Walter Reed.
“And she still refuses to give us that damn asset of theirs?” the president asked, fuming over this woman’s refusal to fear his office.
“Not only that, she practically dared us to come after him,” he lied.
“Well, we have the men in the area and I have warned the director of the FBI that he had better come up with an exact location of this complex and raid the damn thing and get me that alien son of a bitch. How these people could be so gullible as to believe the same kind of beings that eat people is beyond me.”
Camden’s chief of staff cleared her throat to get the two men’s attention. With a wary eye toward Daniel Peachtree she stood and handed the president a report in order that the subject be changed from that mysterious base hidden in the desert of Nevada, to a more real threat to his power.
“Sir, General Caulfield sent this message through the auspices of the National Security Agency and routed through the communications hub at Fort Huachuca.”
The president read the message and then angrily tossed it into the trash next to his desk.
“What this treasonous action amounts to is a general military coup. I have to bring the military’s refusal to follow a presidential directive straight to the American people. This is unprecedented.” He fumed and then stood and paced his office. “I want Caulfield brought up on charges, along with the people responsible at NSA for forwarding this message. I also want the Air Force Chief of Staff’s resignation on my desk immediately!”
The female chief of staff looked petrified at the orders. “Sir, if we bring all of this out into the open more than it already is, the faith in this office is going to tumble even further than it has to this point. The press is asking a lot of questions as far as the resignations of the former president’s staff and the firing of so many military advisors.”
&nbs
p; “What in the hell do you mean, even further than it already has?” he demanded.
“Mr. President,” she started, facing the man directly. “Our friends in the news outlets have seen a trend and they don’t particularly like it. Even though the American people had disagreed with the spending on military preparedness, they now know the reasons why, and are starting to wonder why so many of the cabinet and military personnel are quitting over your new Home Shores First policy.”
“That is exactly why I have to tell the people about the refusal of the men around me to do as they are instructed to do to protect them.” He waved his arms maniacally. “When they find out that we have designed a defensive plan developed by one of those alien bastards, they will see why that plan cannot, should not be trusted.”
“Sir, announcing a possible coup by your military, a scenario that has not once been uttered in the history of the presidency, will not bode well with the current emergency happening. It will only further confuse the issues you are trying to make clear to the American people,” Peachtree said. He finally got the first warning signs that Camden had lost control of the situation.
“This also came in,” the chief of staff said as she handed the president another message from the Pentagon. Peachtree shot the woman a look as if she had just thrown a can full of gasoline onto an already out of control fire. “It seems the 7th Fleet has turned around to conduct rescue operations in and around the South China Sea. The situation is confused at the moment, but the communiqué looks as if it was forwarded through the offices of the NSA. I have looked into the matter and haven’t found any smoking guns thus far, but I am still checking.”
Camden sat there stunned at the information.
“Also the Air Force is still slow in implementing your order to cease all cooperation with this Operation Overlord. They claim bad communications due to alien activity coupled with bad weather. I’ve checked through the Pentagon and the area of concern is clear skies and no communication interruption.”
“It is a coup,” Camden mumbled as he looked at Peachtree.
“Mr. President, allow whatever it is to happen. We’ll fight this in our own time with the Constitution in our corner. But for right now you need to explain to the citizens why you are wholeheartedly against this plan of action.”
“To do that I need that asset that’s hidden away from my CIA and the rest of my people. I need that Matchstick, or whatever its name really is!”
“With the threat I made at Walter Reed to that Pollock woman, we may see some progress in that area very soon. In the meanwhile, there is a bit of good news.”
“Oh, please tell me,” Camden said with sarcasm lacing his voice.
“It seems the message sent to the Overlord command structure has warned of an imminent Gray attack on their hidden facilities. We may have little to worry about in that regard very soon. Then you can claim that you were right in not backing the former holder of this office in his plan for defensive cooperation. Also, not all of your military is refusing your orders. The task force consisting of the George Washington and John C. Stennis Battle Groups have turned away from their ordered route toward the Antarctic. They will not be there if called upon for support. It seems the admiral in command was not a friend of Admiral Fuqua, nor, dare I say, General Caulfield.”
“So you recommend that we do nothing for now, just play the ‘little boy being picked on’ by the military bullies in power?”
“Exactly.”
Camden thought about this as he returned to his chair and sat. He paused as he looked at his Chief of Staff, who nodded her agreement.
“All right, I’ll wait to cry wolf at the door, but I need that alien and I want to know what it knows. I am a firm believer that the former president has been lied to; even he couldn’t be that big of a fool.”
Peachtree turned to the president’s chief of staff. “Would you excuse us for a moment, please,” he said with a smile.
She looked frustrated as she never trusted the man standing before her boss, but moved to the door and left regardless.
“I didn’t mention this before, but that Dr. Pollock knows a little too much about the murder of Lynn Simpson Collins, and has threatened us with that knowledge.”
Camden couldn’t believe what it was he was hearing. The same nightmare he had faced before taking office was still rearing its ugly head—the one thing that would not only get him thrown from office, but also would send him to prison. He remained quiet.
“I have informed the Black Team in Arizona that they are free to get their hands on this alien asset any way that they can.”
“And?” Camden asked expectantly.
“And to immediately eliminate the only bread crumb in the trail leading back to us.”
The president knew he shouldn’t have listened to Peachtree in the first place when it was suggested they use Hiram Vickers to find the asset. But he had, and there was no sense barking about it now.
“It’s about time. Kill that stupid bastard. It seems everything has gone wrong for us since he mindlessly murdered that girl and brought her brother closer to finding out who Vickers really worked for.”
“That is already in the works, and we have the men that will not only do that, but get the asset as well. You’ll get the truth of what’s happening from the mouth of that little alien very soon.”
Camden nodded and could only mumble the words of possibly the only thing that could save his presidency: “The Matchstick Man.”
CAMP ALAMO
ANTARCTICA
Jack and his new staff gathered inside of his office that he was assigned. The new men, Major Sebastian Krell and Lieutenant Van Tram, had been assigned to coordinate getting men and equipment outside for training purposes, a topic that had been both men’s main gripe since meeting up with Collins. Meanwhile, Will Mendenhall was standing over the desk, feeding the general sheet after sheet of paper with the assigned troops under his command, while Henri was assigned to liaise with the troops of the 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions and the German 23rd Panzer Division. Henri’s fluency in all languages guaranteed confusion but Jack had no choice. Farbeaux knew battle tactics as well as himself. He had handed Collins the status of his command. The general had over seven thousand combat troops and their equipment, sixty-five Leopard II main battle tanks, and two hundred armored personnel carriers of both Bradley Fighting Vehicles and the German-made Fuchs 2 wheeled personnel carrier.
Henri had reported that he was concerned about the wheeled vehicle of the German Panzer division and the way it would handle in the ice and snow when called upon to run interference for the Leopard IIs.
“Colonel, I suggest you bypass the nomenclature of the book specs and go directly to the soldiers that operate the system. They’ll tell you straight if they believe the Fuchs can do the job or not. If they can’t, get them off the line. But I suspect they will.”
“I will do that,” Henri said as he passed another report and design specs toward Collins, who picked it up and looked at it. “These are the design specs for the new tracks for the Panzers and the Bradleys. You see why the planners are so nervous about the maneuvers you have requested. The deep-seated spikes can really tear up the ice and could be a possible trail for anything with eyes to follow straight back to the facility.”
Jack examined the new design and saw that instead of the normal padded tread of the American-made Bradleys and the M1 Abrams, these were heavily spiked. Those steel anchors designed for traction purposes would find purchase in this environment by digging in deeply.
“Damn, I hate to say it, but Sir Bennett and his people have a point. Damn, is there any chance of getting the Panzers’ and Bradleys’ old padded tracks on?”
“Again, military planning,” Farbeaux said with a smirk. “They weren’t sent along with the replacement parts or equipment.”
Collins rubbed his eyes and then looked at Mendenhall. The captain shook his head.
“Do you think we’ll even have the time
to get a training and maneuvering field test in after the warning from General Caulfield?”
“It would have been nice just to find out if the damn Panzers could even move out there.”
Van Tram and Sebastian Krell joined them at the desk. “The SAS colonel has requested extra security for something they call Poseidon’s Nest,” Major Krell said as he handed Jack the communication. “He says at least four hundred men from either the 82nd or 101st would be adequate.”
“Oh, is that right? And what am I supposed to do when those commanders scream bloody murder because I’m taking away from their already short-staffed divisions?” Jack looked at Krell, not expecting him to answer.
“The men he would take are very important to both divisions, sir. He wants the fast-reaction force that is to plug any gap in the lines if and when the Grays get close to this Poseidon’s Nest, whatever that is.”
“Thank you, Major.” Jack stood and walked to the wall map of Camp Alamo and the design of its interior. As he looked he saw a large blank spot that wasn’t filled in with detail. He jabbed at the section that lay ten miles distant and was connected by only one ice tunnel. “Major, I suspect your Poseidon’s Nest is right there, as everything else is in use and explained.”
Krell stepped forward and examined the spot Jack was pointing at. “Yes, sir, I agree.”
“That’s about enough of the compartmentalized and need-to-know bullshit. Will, get me Sir Bennett on the line. I need a meeting with him and our mysterious Admirals Kinkaid and Huffington within the hour. Say I insist for security reasons.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Henri, you feel like getting out of here for a while?” Collins asked while staring at the blank spot on the map.
Farbeaux laid the multitude of paperwork down and then looked at the general.
“Why do I get the honor of getting out of all of this wonderful paperwork?” the Frenchman asked.
Collins turned and faced him. “Because if they don’t show us what in the hell they’re protecting, I need you to get us inside there. And if the SAS is protecting that site, I need all the sneaky-bastard stuff I can get to bypass the most dangerous security in the world. After all, it was the Special Air Service that trained us both, as I recall. And besides, all they can do is shoot us.”
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