Blue Skies

by Ali Vali

  “The last thing I need is to get caught up in some kind of witch hunt.” Mike turned around and waved Hattie over. “Hattie, aside from you, who else did Erika talk to while she was down here?”

  “Only a couple of the guys, but after she started delivering meals down here, we hit it off. Is there a problem?”

  “Did you by chance take her for a spin in one of the jets?” Berkley asked, and Devin moved closer.

  “I don’t think I could’ve gotten away with that, Commander,” Hattie said with a laugh. “Mike and the pilots don’t like it when anyone takes the planes off the ship without permission.”

  “I’m talking about sitting her in one and showing her all the fancy buttons.” Berkley put her hand on her shoulder and forced herself to smile. “Did you do that?”

  “She was interested, and as long as she didn’t actually touch anything I didn’t see anything wrong with that.” Hattie sounded less relaxed.

  “Okay, so you’re telling me that you were the one who spent the most time with Erika, and befriended her?”

  “Yeah, she was always nice—despite what happened.”

  “About her job you mean?”

  “Yeah,” Hattie said and Berkley glanced at Devin over Hattie’s shoulder to keep him in place. “It was a demotion she didn’t feel that she deserved, but she tried to make the best of it.”

  “Hattie, I need you to come with us and answer a few more questions.” Berkley moved her hand until it was wrapped around Hattie’s bicep.

  “I told you all you wanted to know.” Hattie tried to break Berkley’s hold. “She didn’t touch anything.”

  “I believe you,” Berkley responded and let her go, but Devin’s men moved in. “You can come on your own or not. That choice is up to you, but you are coming.”

  The MPs stepped closer, but Hattie put her hands up and followed Berkley quietly. The room Aidan had been using as an interrogation room was empty, and one of the guards went in with Hattie while Devin called for Aidan outside with Berkley.

  “What’s your plan?” Devin asked Berkley after he was finished on the phone.

  “She said she showed Erika the cockpit but she didn’t touch anything. That I believe is true, but Erika didn’t need to touch anything. She had someone do it for her, and it turns out to be a nice kid from Kansas who didn’t realize she was being played.”

  “You think Hattie sent the message that Mr. Teague got?”

  “If you let me I’ll try and find out for you, but I don’t want to step on your toes.”

  “Knock yourself out,” Devin said and casually saluted when Aidan arrived.

  “Just for my benefit, do I need to do anything?” Aidan said after Berkley told her what she was thinking and asked to speak to Hattie.

  “Follow my lead and agree with everything I say,” Berkley said and winked at Aidan before opening the door. “Hattie, I realize how devoted you are to the service, but we have a problem.”

  “I told you, Erika complained, but in my opinion it was to be expected.”

  “She does have the right to bitch and really that isn’t against policy, but when she asked you to send a message for her, that crossed the line.” Berkley knocked on the table to keep her quiet when Hattie took a deep breath and opened her mouth. “I’m not asking you if you sent it, I’m telling you I know you did it. The reason you’re here is for you to explain to me why you did it so that Captain Sullivan can decide what charges to bring you up on, if that’s necessary.”

  “You’re already in deep, Hattie, so don’t add lying to the trouble you’re in,” Aidan said going along with Berkley.

  “She told me it was a favor for a friend,” Hattie said in a rush, “and the reason it had to be sent is because Captain Sullivan needed help.” When she finished there were tears in her eyes.

  “Hattie, I want you to go back to work and for now don’t worry about this, but don’t share what you said with anyone. Do you think you can do that?”

  “You’re going to throw me out for this, aren’t you?” Hattie asked Aidan.

  “I don’t want to, but you have to understand that when Erika asked, the correct course of action should’ve been to go to your superior. Right now what we need is for you to go back to work and keep your mouth shut.” Aidan was stern but finished by patting Hattie on the hand. “I’ll have Devin walk you back and tell Mike there’s nothing wrong.”

  Alone again, Aidan turned to Berkley and laughed. “Devin and I ran around here trying to find who did that, and you get it done in five minutes. Maybe they should’ve given you this commission.”

  “Honey, you had a few things on your mind, starting with being upset about what you thought had happened to me. It was luck on my part that I figured it out so quick. Now it’s up to you to see if Erika was involved with Blazer or if it was something she did to get back at you after she played delivery girl with his meals.” Berkley took Aidan’s hand in hers briefly. “Not that it matters much now, since we’ll all probably be detained once we get back, but I want you to have as much information as possible once we dock.”

  “Do you think she’d be that vindictive?”

  “Are you kidding me, cute stuff? If you’d rebuffed me I’d take down everyone in sight.” Berkley kissed her forehead.

  “Get some rest and I’ll bring Erika in and beat her with a wet noodle and see what she has to say.”

  “Don’t be long.” Berkley kissed her again and helped Aidan out of her chair.

  “I’ll need to find out if she had any contact with Blazer, then I need to finish up with Alan.” Aidan pressed her hand to Berkley’s chest over her heart and smiled. “If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m thrilled that you’re back.”

  “Glad to be back. Now get to work so I can have my turn at you asking me hard questions,” Berkley joked.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  The questioning took hours and ended with Erika in the cell next to Blazer’s, but from what Aidan could tell it was more of Erika doing him a favor than her being a part of whatever he was wrapped up in. So far they had been lucky with the weather and with the two North Koreans they had on board, who mostly lay in their bunks and stirred only when meals were delivered.

  Aidan had stopped to introduce herself and to take any statement they wanted to make, but both Lowe and Jin had looked at her as if they could see through her. Only Lowe had demanded in reasonably good English to be brought back, but when Aidan shook her head he had become totally unresponsive.

  After giving orders for the night watch and strict warnings to wake her if anything even slightly out of the ordinary happened, Aidan retired and found Berkley in her room asleep. “You were always one to break the rules, Cletus, but I think it’s what appealed to my goody two-shoes self when we met.” She sat on the edge of her bunk and ran her fingers lightly through Berkley’s hair. “You were it for me from that first day, and this is like a dream that you’re here.”

  “I’ll only get better with age, Captain, so get in here,” Berkley said in a raspy voice, making Aidan laugh.

  “You weren’t supposed to hear all that.” Aidan lay down with her back pressed against Berkley’s front.

  “If you want me to change my rule-breaking ways, you let me know and I’ll try my best. The rest is something that’s good to hear, so don’t be embarrassed.”

  Berkley sat up a little and kissed her good night. “Get some sleep.”

  “I guess you didn’t miss me that much.” Aidan reached back and slapped Berkley’s butt.

  “I missed you plenty, but the next time I get you naked it’s going to be somewhere with room service and thick walls. Once we’re there you’re going to lock yourself in the bathroom to get away from me, and you should consider that fair warning.”

  “Fair enough.” Aidan put her hands over Berkley’s and closed her eyes. It felt like she had just gone to sleep when a voice came over her intercom.

  “Captain,” the man said after the damn thing gave off a short, shril
l beep.

  “Yes,” Aidan said but didn’t move.

  “I wanted you to know that we were able to get through to Washington to give Blazer his call he asked for.”

  “Put an extra watch on him and have Devin send someone in and do a cavity check for any type of medication he might have on him. Tell him to check the room carefully as well.”

  “Aye, ma’am, sorry to disturb you.”

  “No, thank you for letting me know.”

  With the engines churning at full speed, they were well out of range by the time Aidan fell asleep again. She had checked the navigational maps before she’d gone to bed and it made her relax even more. The only danger they would face now would be bad weather, but even that appeared to be cooperating, with calm waters predicted all the way to San Diego.

  For once, there was no sense of foreboding with all that information in her head and Berkley’s arms around her. With every mile they put between them and Asia, the better she felt, but there was always the part of Aidan’s brain that never slept. It was the part that had made her so successful in her years of service.

  *

  Northern Virginia

  “Let me go back to my cell. There’s nothing I have to say, and I don’t care what you do to me,” Jerry Teague told Rooster and Walby Edwards, one of the best interrogators the CIA had. Drew had checked with the agency to see when Walby was returning from the Middle East and was surprised to learn he was already back. After one short phone call he was ready to help them.

  “I took a nap today, Jerry, so I’ve got as much time as it takes.” Walby sounded as if he’d really just woken up from a restful night’s sleep. “If I do get tired I’ve lined up a few of my friends to take my place since I wouldn’t want you to think we’d skimp on you.”

  “Could you be any lamer?”

  Walby laughed and cracked open a can of diet soda. He’d ordered Jerry’s food and liquids cut off the night before. “I’m making conversation, Jerry.” He took a sip and sighed as if it was the best thing he’d ever put in his mouth. “I’ve got so much time that the only thing that’ll get in our way is my retirement.”

  “What was the question again?” Jerry’s eyes followed the path of the can to Walby’s lips after he asked. It was as if all of a sudden he couldn’t make enough saliva to keep his mouth wet. He’d read all the reports of when they’d sent Walby in to question someone and had thought how weak the people had been for talking without Walby laying a hand on them.

  “Tell me about the missing slots on this list you got going here.” Walby held up the board of directors list from New Horizon.

  “You don’t want to know about the money? That’s what Drew went on and on about.”

  “I’ll talk about whatever you want, but that’s not my priority at the moment. You know, we aren’t completely inept like the media says. We’ve got some folks working on those financials you had at the office, and it’s only a matter of time before we find the cash.”

  “Ha, like hell you will. My business is set up on a code that won’t ever be cracked.”

  “That’s rather humorous,” Walby said and finished the can in one long draw. “The problem with that theory is that you trusted people like Adam Morris.”

  “He killed himself rather than break the code.”

  “He killed himself because he didn’t want to compromise his son, and because he was crazy.” Walby drew an invisible circle around his ear and laughed. He wasn’t there to be politically correct. “If you want my advice, there’s two instances you don’t put your faith in crazy people—when you have a secret business and when you have an affair. Those two instances are disastrous when you go the crazy route.”

  “You’re a riot, but it’s not going to work. Take me back to my cell.”

  “The only reason we brought you here is to help yourself out. It’s only a matter of time before people like Drew and Rooster break your precious code and whoever you think is on your side is going to fold so fast it’s going to put you in jail for life before you get used to that nice orange color.”

  Jerry laughed and rubbed his index finger over a small scar on his forearm. “People like Drew and Rooster aren’t true patriots, and you aren’t what I thought, either. The sad thing is, all three of you don’t know what a true American really is because you work for someone like Peter Khalid.” He stood as much as he could with the restraints that were holding him to the chair and shouted, “The last time a travesty like this happened in our country, true heroes fought to take it back.”

  “Uh-huh.” Walby yawned. “That sounds like Adam Morris wasn’t the only crazy upholding the code.”

  “Fuck you,” Jerry said and grunted when one of the guards pushed him back in the chair. “We were given a gift by our founding fathers, and the people pissed all over that by putting someone with so little honor in the highest office in the land. Because of that they’ve lost the right to be a part of fixing what’s broken with this country.”

  “Sounds like you’re planning a revolution, Jerry. Is that what’s on your mind, and the reason you’ve got such a fat bank account?” Rooster asked.

  “Take me back to my cell and do with me what you will, but I’m not going to break. I’m not afraid of what you can dish out because I know before too long I’ll be a free man and a hero to the country I love.”

  “It was nice talking to you, Jerry, and I’ll be back later.” Walby stood. “I hope you have a good time with some of the people I’m training for that retirement I’m looking forward to. That means you’re going to be here for a while, and I wouldn’t waste my breath asking to be returned to my cell.”

  Drew sat in the room next to the interview room and was staring at the monitors when Rooster and Walby walked in. “How long before you start to get anything useful?” he asked Walby.

  “Might be tomorrow, but you never know. Since this constitutes a national security threat, we’re clear to use a lot of measures we don’t usually consider. I’ll let you know as we move along.”

  They were all watching the screen as Jerry turned to the side and tried his best to ignore the next group of people Walby had sent in. “And nothing new on all that load of paper?” Drew asked Rooster.

  “I left you my report this morning while you were dealing with the Jefferson. The interrogation teams are ready for the two Koreans the Jefferson fished out of the water. All we need is the go-ahead from you and they’ll be on their way. Any luck with Rodney?”

  “It’s like he’s got a switch in his head that he can turn off and on at will. He bitched for an hour after we brought him in, and then nothing.”

  “Does he know you’re ripping his house to shreds to find something?” Walby said.

  “I could have told him his wife was giving it all up, and I still wouldn’t have gotten a reaction out of him.” Drew turned away from the screen and swore under his breath. He hated being in the dark, especially when it came to players like Rodney and Jerry. They represented to him the worst kind of person who was entrusted with a little power. They tried their best to trample the Constitution to change the world to fit what they wanted.

  “You want me to talk to him?” Walby said.

  “I want you to take turns talking to both of them. You weren’t just pissing in the wind in there when you said we have people working on this money and where it’s coming from.”

  “Where are you taking Nam Chil and the pilot we scooped out of the water?” Walby asked.

  “I’m having a jet meet them while they’re still out of the seven-mile limit and having them transported to Gitmo. Once they arrive I’ll have you sent back,” Drew told Walby. “Think you can break the breaker?”

  “I might have to ask him for some pointers before I ask him anything else. What I don’t know is if the crew of the Jefferson realizes who exactly they have on board.”

  “I didn’t mention it. I put him on suicide watch since all we have around us are patriots who love their countries to death,” Drew said
. “I’m on my way to meet with the forensic accountants I’ve got on this. Let me know if you find out anything.”

  “Compared to us, those are the people they should be scared shitless of,” Walby said.

  *

  USS Jefferson

  “All’s clear, ma’am,” one of Aidan’s commanders on the bridge said when she stepped in as the sun was starting to rise. She’d parted ways with Berkley as she headed to the infirmary to visit Junior.

  They were a couple of days away from docking, and she figured they’d be in port for a minimum of three weeks while adjustments were made and their supplies were restocked. Once that was done, their next stop would most probably be to join the fleet stationed off Iraq as backup operation.

  “Thank you.” She scanned the reports on the engine performance and nodded her approval. “I’m going to take a walk through the lower decks and talk to the engine room and plane storage areas to get their status reports. Call me if you need anything.”

  “Will do, ma’am,” the man said and saluted.

  The alarm went off when Aidan’s hand landed on the main door to the engine room. “Bogeys coming in from twelve o’clock. They aren’t responding to any call to identify themselves,” the bridge commander said. “From what we can see they’re armed to the teeth.”

  “What the hell?” Aidan said as she sprinted to the bridge. The only place someone could launch an attack from was either Canada or Mexico, and if that happened it meant the world had gone mad—why would it be coming from their own soil? “Repeat, bogeys at twelve o’clock,” he repeated the whole message again.

  As Aidan reached the deck below the bridge she heard the first of the planes leave the deck and her chest tightened that she hadn’t had a chance to see Berkley before she left. And if she knew Berkley, she was one of the first off the carrier.

  “Who in the hell is this?” she asked as she picked up her glasses and pointed them to the east.

  “It’s strange, ma’am. The planes are painted black like the ones we used on this mission and they aren’t responding to any call to identify themselves.”