“What changed?” he asked, pulling her back into his arms.
“You,” she said. “When I met you, my instincts… I just knew we could put our heads together and figure this out. I read your file. I know what you did in the water.”
“That mission was classified.”
“Ouster showed it to me.” She leaned forward. “There’s something about you that I trust. It’s familiar, and I connect to it. Bennett, I know the sabotage is coming from inside the Lester Facility. It’s the only possibility. Don’t bench me as a partner because I have a medical issue that’s being handled. I’m more than my diagnosis. Please…trust me.”
He gave her one swift nod. “I do. Where do you want to start?”
“Let’s see who had the opportunity and go from there.” She smiled at him. “Hey, it couldn’t hurt that I read murder mysteries. I’m hooked on Joanne Fluke, Agatha Christie, and Charlaine Harris’s books right now.”
He chuckled. “Murder? No kidding. So I, uh, should be gentle with your heart and brutal with your brain, is that what you’re telling me? Or you’ll take me out?”
“Yep! And if this is your attempt to cajole me and take the stress out of the situation, it’s working.” She laughed, trying to evade him.
He wasn’t going to let her get away that easily. He had no intention of traipsing all over the countryside naked, chasing her because their discussion had escalated to something that could have been redirected or avoided.
She stopped squirming. “I’m a tough cookie when you back me into a corner.”
“I believe it,” he said. “Let me take another bite and find out more.”
“Bennett!” Her eyes were lit with passion and fire, and if they could generate heat, he would have been seared alive. Nothing was going to get him out of this conversation now.
His voice was quiet, but steely. “What makes you think I’d make myself vulnerable to you, if I didn’t demand the same? I didn’t get as many details on you as you have on me.”
That comment took the playfulness out of her. “Fair point. I just…want the regulations to be different. I want to go to space, reach into the heavens and soar, to finally know what it’s like up there.”
“Why? What are you looking for? It’s got to be something other than this mission.” His curiosity was getting the better of him, but once the question was out, he couldn’t take it back.
“I promised my mother when I was a little girl that I would reach the stars. She was an astrophysicist as well as a geologist. She discovered a planet and once toured all over the world talking about it.” She leaned her head against him. “Sounds pretty silly, since she’s gone. How would she know?”
He stroked her back. “Because you know. Listen, you might not be going into space, but something you created is. That fulfills your promise, don’t you think? A part of you is going.”
She looked up at him. “I like that. It’s a good way to think about it. Thanks.” Her lips brushed against his.
“Wait. A part…” Bennett grabbed her shoulders tightly. “I got it! The chip. You made a new type of smart chip, and that’s what the shuttle is using too, so that it can have multifunctionality and problem-solving capability—in other words, it learns.”
“Yes,” she said, smiling. “This is the reason the military is involved. We need to protect the Intel, and we keep finding programming issues where we never had them before.”
His arms dropped to his side. “Damn, that’s important tech. Are the hacks into this system software related, or is it the chip’s hardware?”
“I’m not sure. Both, I think. The minute we fix one, the other has issues.” She threw her hands up. “I had everything working before we brought in the military and the foreign members of the project.” She shook her head. “The problem is coming from inside the Lester Facility, and it’s up to you and Melo to get the chip issue solved, find the bad guys, and get the shuttle into orbit before the communications array fails.”
“That’s a tall order.”
The sound of birds chirping died away.
From a distance, they heard the rumble of an old pickup truck. Bennett knew that sound. Spying through the bushes, he saw Melo in his giant old pickup chugging toward them. Bennett hastily donned his clothes, tossing Kimberly hers. She tossed him his sweater.
Brushing the leaves and pine needles from their hair and clothes, they hustled out of the bushes before Melo accidently drove right by them. The man could get preoccupied at times, especially when he was thinking about his bride.
The truck screeched to a halt, sending a cloud of dirt and dust into the air. Kimberly coughed. Bennett shook his head and waved it away.
“Well, hello there,” said Melo as he waved out the window. He had a shit-eating grin on his face as he pushed open the passenger door with his foot. He pointed his finger at Bennett as if he were holding a gun and pulled the trigger.
Thank God Kimberly was behind Bennett and didn’t see it. He didn’t want Melo’s antics to embarrass her.
He held his hand out to Kimberly. She took it, and he helped her into the center of the large front seat and buckled her seat belt into place before throwing her pack into the truck bed and crawling into the cab.
Bennett sighed heavily as he shut the door and secured his own seat belt. Well, here was another incident he’d never live down. Melo was racking up the points, but Bennett was sinking swiftly into no-man’s-land, and that was stuff you didn’t do on an Op. It dragged you deeper and deeper into the muck of no return.
Chapter 4
The ride back to the Lester Facility was uneventful.
Kimberly assembled a group to rescue the CarP II and then settled in to review her messages.
Bennett headed back to his room. He said it was to talk with Sally and attempt to figure out a new plan of attack, but his ulterior motive was to view the video of the crash tests for the shuttle. His instincts told him there were some clues hidden there.
Melo had some tests to take for his chance to race into space. He waved to Bennett as he left. What a joker!
Fortified with a quick shower and a larger-than-normal black coffee, Bennett sat in front of the computer console inside his space, a.k.a. Kimberly’s spare room. Utilizing Sally’s brain was probably the smartest way to go for now, and this was the most private place in the Lester Facility.
“Sally, bring up the reports on the crash-test history of the Warren Shuttle.”
“Affirmative,” responded the computer.
The screen filled with the following:
Testing Results from 2013 January–2014 December for Warren Shuttle
1. Rolling Test, Bolling Air Force Base, to assess taxiing capability and stopping power without crew aboard/unmanned automated test run by computer. Five tests performed on various terrains and in inclement weather. Passed.
2. Crash Test at Langley Landing and Impact Research Facility near Norfolk, Virginia. Tests are conducted without crew/unmanned. See video results. Passed.
3. Test Flights, Keesler Air Force Base, from 2013 June 1–2013 August 15 to gauge lift and land with ten tests in total: Flap Test, Systems Active Test, Lift Test, Control Test, Orbit Test, Glide Capability, Systems Failure Test, Fuel Failure Test, Free Flight Tests, and Landing Test. Crew #1. Passed.
4. Five Free Flight Tests performed at Edwards Air Force Base, Mojave Desert, California, on concrete runway and/or dry lake-bed runway from 2013 September 1–2013 October 30. Passed. See video. For Crew #1 and Crew #2 files and for maximum speeds and duration of flight time, click the access link: Free Flight File Logs.
Using the mouse, Bennett clicked on the highlighted file link and a screen opened: File Access Denied. “Sally, who locked this file?”
“Kess,” the computer reported. “Kimberly has been unable to open this file. She has hard copies of the report in the safe to th
e left of the last computer panel. Since she has granted you full access, I’ve opened it for you.”
“Thanks, Sally. Before I review it, who were the pilots for the ten test flights and the five free flights? That’s number three and number four.”
“Searching…”
Names rolled across the screen:
Crew #1
Kess, Joseph—Pilot
Pelsin, Yuri—Pilot
Crew #2
Walker, Turner—Pilot
Biggs, Max—Pilot
“Can you locate Walker and Biggs for me?” Bennett had a sinking feeling in his gut as he asked the question.
“Unable.” Sally stuttered and then spoke very slowly, as though it was fighting through a wall of commands.
Bennett hunched over the screen. “Why?”
“Deceased on 2013 November 20. Deaths occurred in an automobile accident en route to Lester Facility.”
“Sally, how many people associated with this project have died or been hospitalized?” Bennett knew he didn’t want the answers to these questions, but he had to know what he was getting into here.
“Six are deceased and eight have been hospitalized and have left the program. It is within acceptable parameters for a newly designed craft.”
“Did Kimberly tell you this?” He didn’t want to suspect her. There was a possibility she was involved in some kind of cover-up. Fooling around with her didn’t take her off his list of suspects, did it?
“Kess set the ‘acceptable’ parameters. Kimberly has attempted to investigate and alter them several times without success.”
A wave of relief swept through him. He liked the sexy doc a lot. Thinking of Kimberly made him feel protective…of her and this project. But Kess… He was another story.
“How long has Kess been a part of this project?”
“Un-un-un-unable to…”
“Sally, let me reframe the question. What role does Kess perform in the shuttle project?” His lips pursed as he examined the screen, waiting for an answer.
The screen went blank.
“Sally?”
A happy yellow emoticon filled the screen. The computer voice came from his pocket.
He pulled out his phone. A digital face, presumably Sally’s, looked solemnly at him. “You’ve triggered a safety protocol that Dr. Kimberly Warren has placed in effect for the following information. Please confirm your identity.”
Speaking slowly, Bennett gave his full name: “Captain Bennett Sheraton.”
“Voice and visual identification are confirmed. Accessing information…”
Video Playing…
Kimberly’s eyes sparkle with mirth. She smiles as she shuffles papers, and then her face becomes more serious, her eyes darkened.
“Dr. Warren’s log 145. A man named Kess has joined the group as Project Director. Hired by the government to track spending, he’s also become an additional benefactor as well as being a pilot. I don’t like him. He’s pompous and sexist. In meetings, he undermines me with the structural engineers, the men and women I handpicked for this amazing opportunity. And, he shows up in the strangest places. I found him in my room last night. I swear, if he makes a move, I’m kneeing him in the nuts!”
Speaking with her hands and her voice, Kimberly is clearly upset.
“Dr. Warren’s log 249. Why are my instincts screaming about Kess? There’s something seriously shady about him, and I can’t put my finger on it. I’ve tried to get him out of this group, but he keeps finding new ways to become important. I’m going to avoid him as much as I can and concentrate on the good stuff.
“Big day coming up—the shuttle is being put together. I’m like a giddy kid in a candy store. Finally, the shuttle I dreamed up is being made.”
Kimberly is wearing a hat, and her hair sticks out. There are dark shadows on her face and darker circles under her eyes.
“Dr. Warren’s log 277. The crash tests have been frustrating. The hull is in good shape, but the inside structure keeps crumbling. Kess keeps telling me to abort the tests. I won’t. I need them so I can break through these issues. But if those test dummies had been actual people… I couldn’t live with myself if something dire happened.”
With a tear-streaked face, Kimberly is holding a tissue as she speaks in a shaky voice. Her back is bowed as she hunches in front of her recorder.
“Dr. Warren’s log 280. It’s been six weeks since my last log. My assistants, Keisha Kahn and Jerome Xia, were lost in a plane crash. They were flying a Cessna 172 when it disappeared in the mountains of Colorado. I insisted that monies from our project be used to mount search and rescue. Nothing was found.”
Kimberly is pale, no color in her face. Her hair is tied tightly in a bun, and her back is ramrod straight. Her voice is low, with a sense of finality and resignation.
“Dr. Warren’s log 399. We lost two pilots today. They were killed on impact, driving to the Lester Facility. Fell asleep at the wheel and went over the side of the road into a deep ravine. I don’t believe it. These men were professionals. I can’t help feeling Kess had something to do with this. He didn’t want Walker and Biggs on this program. They were Air Force officers with over forty years of flight experience combined. I trusted them. I…I almost kissed Biggs. I wanted to… I don’t meet many awesome guys, and I know I’m not his type, yet Biggs found ways to spend time with me. Not that I let it go any further. Why didn’t I? It’s too late now. How can I guard my heart—I mean my shuttle program—if there’s a saboteur? What do I do now?”
“Pause.” Bennett swallowed. The pieces were coming together. That was the reason Kimberly had decided to leap at love, or at the very least, sex. She’d regretted not getting together with Biggs years ago. So she wasn’t having sex as a means to distract from the project; rather, she was letting off steam, or maybe he was just a placeholder for another man. Bennett would have to ponder which of these ideas had merit.
As for Kess, the man was definitely bad news. But there was a difference between being a leech and a murderer. Or was there? Either way, he wanted the man gone too. There had to be a way to get Kess to show his hand. Bennett made a mental note to that effect.
He wanted to finish this task before anyone came back and gave his attention to the logs. “Play.”
The animation in Kimberly’s expression and voice is intriguing.
“Dr. Warren’s log 472. I set a trap today…for Kess. The man must be spying on me. It’s like he knew it was coming, and he turned the situation back onto me, tried to squeeze me out of the project. I talked my way through it, but everyone’s different with me. I’ve lost control of my entire group.”
Kimberly is winding a rubber band around her index finger as she speaks.
“Dr. Warren’s log 590. Thank God for Ouster. He moved us from the east coast to the west and hooked me up with the Lester Facility. Hubbard is the overseer of the entire place, and he’s unseated Kess from his dictatorship. I’m starting to get control back. It all begins with Sally being my eyes and ears in this place. I can see light at the end of this tunnel.”
Holding her head in her hands, Kimberly is clearly weeping. She hiccups as she speaks.
“Dr. Warren’s log 620. We lost two SEALs today. There are six people who have died on this project. Is it worth it? No! I can’t believe I’m here worrying about a damn shuttle when these amazing men…have…”
Kimberly is pacing in front of the camera. She cannot keep still.
“Dr. Warren’s log 621. It’s been a week since the death of our latest pilots. I hardly feel that this project can work anymore. The computer system stopped working completely today. Kess had his engineers take over, and they worked on Sally for ten hours. The world is a dark, dark place, and I don’t know if I can keep going, especially with the loss of life.”
Kimberly is leaning on her hands as she stares
into the recorder.
“Dr. Warren’s log 622. I met with Ouster, and he’s sending two more SEALs. I didn’t want him to do that. I cannot bear anything more happening. I read their bios. I’m already in awe of the one named Sheraton, but I can’t risk him—rather, I can’t risk getting involved with him. I’ll do what Ouster asks and give them full access to everything, but if something happens, I’m leaving this project for good. Damn! Kess is knocking on my door again!”
“Pause video logs.” His thumb traced the outline of her face on the screen. She was a beautiful woman. He wondered if she’d ever think that about herself. His gut wrenched as he considered how Kess had been pushing her around for the past few years.
He shook off the emotion. Checking the time, he recalled that Melo and Kimberly would be back soon. There were still a few more things he needed to know, so he could move forward. “Sally, please send a message to Kess requesting maximum speeds and test-flight times for the five flight tests. If possible, please cross-reference any information he gives you with any and all data that will either support or refute his results. This is for my eyes only.”
“Affirmative. All info will be sent directly to your mobile device YEO. Anything else?”
“Run the videos of the crash tests.”
The screen on his phone went blank, and then Langley Landing and Impact Research Facility near Norfolk, Virginia, Crash Test of Warren Space Shuttle scrolled across in big letters. The shuttle was at the top of a large structure, supported by a giant crane. Cables swung it down to the ground, slamming it into the concrete. A few days later, there was footage of the individuals in the control tower. Kess stared at Kimberly as the test commenced for the second time. When then third test occurred about two weeks later, she had moved away from Kess and was standing next to the cameraman. The look she threw Kess was not friendly.
The Soul of a SEAL Page 7