“I’m sorry.”
“What’s in that seltzer?”
She meant it as a joke, clearly, but Turk felt embarrassed.
“I didn’t think you were coming,” he said.
“My family’s going to be there. And I thought I would take a look at what’s new. Supposedly the Russian PAK-FA will be there. It might be good to take a look.”
“At 1980s technology, sure,” sneered Turk.
“I wouldn’t underestimate what the Russians and Indians can do if they work closely together,” said Breanna. “Anyway, if we can get together before the show, I’d like to get your thoughts on the plane’s potential and where we can go from here.”
“Is Zen going to be there?” Turk asked.
“Yes.”
“You know, I’d love to, uh, go like to dinner or something with you guys. If I could, um, you know, kinda hangout.”
“Sure.” Breanna rose. She hadn’t touched her beer, Turk noticed.
“The Defense secretary has arranged for me to talk to some of the NATO representatives in the morning on the future of manned flight,” she added. “There’ll be a panel discussion afterward. I thought you’d be a good person to sit on it.”
“Me?”
“You don’t think you’re qualified?”
“Well, yeah.”
“A sudden lack of confidence. That’s refreshing.” Breanna smirked. “You want some advice, Captain?”
“Sure.”
“Fancy Italian motorcycles can definitely be a turn on, but talking about how close you can get your knee to the ground going around a curve — not so much.”
39
The Wolf assault team went through the entire sequence twice more, starting with the mock attack inside the steel building and ending with the SUVs. Danny got the impression that they were still at the walk-through stage; they stopped midway through the second time, rearranging how the teams ran to the cottages where the helos were kept.
The SUVs were interesting. They looked like full-sized trucks, but two people could pick them up with ease. Were the trucks extremely lightweight, like the helicopters? Or were the men ridiculously strong?
The exercise concluded at two in the morning. After the choppers were returned to the cottages, the farm looked exactly as it had before sunset.
“You figure they’re going to sleep?” asked Flash.
“Debrief the session first,” said Danny. “While it’s still fresh. Then sleep.”
“Beers, then sleep,” said Flash. “How long — an hour?”
Danny stared at the screen. He wanted to strike during the dark, minimizing the possibility that his attack force would be seen on the way in. Should he hit the force during the exercise or afterward?
Afterward was his preference. Not only would they be tired, but he could pump gas into the building first, increasing the odds of getting them without a fight. His orders called for him to “use nonlethal means of apprehension” if at all possible.
Danny had wide discretion on that. No one was going to complain if everyone in the house ended up dead, especially now that they’d seen their rehearsal.
And if Stoner was there?
They watched the group gather in one of the rooms on the first floor, going back over the exercise as Danny had predicted. A half hour later all but two were in rooms upstairs, apparently sleeping.
Danny wanted to get Stoner out alive, if he was there.
“You keep looking at the images, like you might recognize him,” said Flash.
“Yeah.”
“I thought you thought it was bull.”
“I do. Mostly.”
Flash nodded.
“Tomorrow, we wait an hour after they pack it in, when they’re sleeping like now,” said Danny, as if Flash had asked him what the plan was. “Pump the house full of the gas, hit them quick. First sign of resistance, we flatten them.”
“No argument from me,” said Flash.
40
Getting around without the use of your legs was never exactly fun, but being disabled and flying a commercial airline flight could be a special trial. Most of the major carriers had special wheelchairs designed to fit down narrow plane aisles; the chairs could then be folded away in the cabin storage areas. But that still left you beholden to the stewardess when you had to use the john.
The bathrooms were their own special hell, though at least Zen wasn’t claustrophobic. He also had the money to fly first class, and was a U.S. senator.
Having a cute kid and a good-looking coed in tow didn’t hurt either.
“Senator Stockard, nice to have you aboard,” said the steward, who met him in the jetway to the plane. “And is this lovely lady Teri Stockard?”
“Yes, I am,” said Teri.
“Excited about flying?” asked the attendant.
“I like to fly,” she told him. “My mom lets me take the controls.”
Zen smiled. Breanna occasionally rented a twin-engine Cessna.
“You’re Caroline,” said the steward to Zen’s niece.
Caroline nodded. She tended to be a little shy around strangers. Zen thought she had no reason to be — she was smart and attractive, not unlike her aunt Breanna.
“Major Stockard.” The pilot practically jumped out from behind the door, hand out, looking to shake. “You don’t remember me, I’ll bet, but I was driving MC–17s back when you were with Dreamland. We were on a deployment with Whiplash. Great to have you aboard, sir.”
“Long time ago,” said Zen, who didn’t remember the pilot. He’d left Dreamland as a lieutenant colonel, so the rank narrowed down the time frame a bit, just not enough to help. “How have you been?”
“Great, great. How’s the political life treating you?”
“Can’t complain. I have a lot of bosses. Meet one of them.” He held his hand out to his daughter. “Teri, this our captain.”
“Pleased to meet you.” The pilot bent down and shook her hand, then looked at Caroline. “This can’t be your wife.”
Caroline blushed.
“My niece Caroline,” said Zen.
Two of the other flight attendants came out and helped Zen and the girls get squared away. The rest of the passengers flooded in, most looking a bit harried and anxious to get going.
Cockpit door closed, the aircraft pushed back from the gate, then slowly began trundling toward the runway.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I’m glad to have you aboard with us this evening for our flight to Prague,” said the pilot, introducing himself and the crew. “Bob and Lisa will be reviewing some of our emergency procedures with the help of a short video in just a second. Before we get to that, though, I wanted to let you know that we’re flying today with a former member of the U.S. military who has been decorated for bravery under fire more times than most of us breathe. He’s now a member of the U.S. Senate. I knew him as Major Zen Stockard; you might just call him Senator. I’d like to salute him and thank him for his service to our country.”
The passengers broke into spontaneous applause.
Zen glanced down at his daughter. His eyes were starting to swell with tears.
“Something wrong, Daddy?” asked Teri.
“Nothing wrong, baby. Now make sure your seat belt’s tight, right? Pilot can’t take off without it good and snug.”
41
Nuri’s suspicions about the minister proved to be correct — within a few minutes of the CIA officer’s visit, the NSA intercepted two calls from the minister to people who lived in the northeastern corner of the country. The phone calls were short and to the point: the minister said he was taking a vacation for a few days, and they should, too.