Billy laughed and waved a hand around at his oversize living room. “Hell, all of this was provided at government expense, so in that case, lead on, Mr. Adam Cain.”
Two hours later they were aboard a military Learjet, crossing over the Grand Canyon and heading east at over six hundred miles per hour. The plush executive aircraft offered wide, leather seats that folded out into full-length beds, and it wasn’t long before all three of the passengers were sound asleep.
Chapter 18
It was already ten in the morning East Coast time on December thirteenth when the jet arrived at Andrews Air Force Base, in the southeastern part of Washington D.C. Surprisingly refreshed by their four-hour naps, the trio boarded another gray military van for the short ride into the city.
Although the back of the van was windowless, Xander was able to see through the front windshield that they were skirting along the length of the Washington Mall and passing the buildings that made up the Smithsonian Institution. He had spent three years in the D.C. area working for DARPA, before moving to the RDC and the dry desert of southern Nevada. The resurrected memories of his time here brought a chuckle to his lips.
He was in his early twenties at the time, handsome and well-paid, which gave him access to all the prurient pleasures the nation’s capital had to offer. He’d shared an apartment in Georgetown with another of the DARPA studs, and the two men made it a habit of tearing up the city nearly every Friday night until early Monday morning, spending money and breaking hearts like there was no tomorrow. By the time the duo broke up, they had become minor legends within the Districts’ under-thirty social crowd.
He chuckled again, thinking how David Charlton had ended up falling in love with a waitress from Applebee’s, and as of five years ago lived in Manassas with Janis and their four children. He’d left DARPA and now managed a Best Buy not far from his modest suburban home.
Xander’s nostalgic reverie was broken when the van hit a dip, entering a dark, underground parking garage. He couldn’t see well through the front window anymore, but it seemed that the van spent an inordinate amount of time driving deeper into the structure than was necessary. When the vehicle finally did come to a stop, the rear doors were opened from outside and two Navy MPs stepped aside to let them exit.
Xander had no idea where they were, since this part of D.C. was home to countless government entities, some which most Americans didn’t even know existed. In light of the crisis taking place across the country, this building could house any one of a dozen national security agencies. What this no-name organization wanted from the three of them was anyone’s guess.
They were photographed and then immediately handed temporary ID badges that hung around their necks on silver chains, before being shuffled into a guarded elevator for a ride to an unmarked floor. While in the elevator, Xander couldn’t tell whether they were going up or down.
When the door slid open, more guards greeted them, along with an expressionless man in a gray suit and glasses. “Welcome, Mr. Jenkins,” he said, extending a hand to Billy. Then the suit turned to Xander and Tiffany. “And you, too, Mr. Moore and Ms. Collins.” The slighted pair exchanged hurt looks, feeling like afterthoughts to the man in the gray suit. “If you will follow me, I have some papers for you to sign before we can go any further.”
“Papers?” Tiffany inquired.
“Non-disclosure affidavits, Privacy Act and national security disclosures — you know, the usual.”
“Usual for some people…” Tiffany pointed out. “Just where are we?”
The man stopped and turned to the reporter, locking a laser-like glare on her blue eyes. “I have been authorized to inform you — all of you — that if you do not wish to continue you are free to leave right now. You will be escorted out of the building and moved to a hotel until a return flight to California can be arranged.”
Billy squeezed Tiffany’s arm. “Relax, sweetheart. I have a pretty good idea where we are. This is just their S.O.P.”
The man continued to stare at Tiffany, waiting for her reaction. When she didn’t move towards the elevator, the man turned on his heel and led them down a short hallway to a large, wood-paneled conference room.
The next ten minutes were spent signing forms without letterheads, and when it was done, no copies were provided. Then, as if on cue, the door opened and an older, balding man in a short-sleeve, button-down shirt strode in.
“Welcome, all of you… to DARPA.”
“Why all the secrecy, Nathan?” Billy asked as he shook the man’s hand. “DARPA isn’t exactly unknown, and I can look up your current projects roster online.”
“Those are the projects we want you to know about, Billy. They’re the ones we hope our adversaries will try and emulate, just so they’ll throw millions, even billions of dollars, at high-cost, low-yield projects. What we do here are the projects we don’t want anyone to know about.”
“Nathan” turned to Tiffany. “Ms. Collins, I understand you feel a responsibility to your profession to reveal all, but I assure you, that by doing so you will cause the deaths of hundreds, if not thousands of innocent people. Some things need to be kept secret, and that’s not out of some sinister purpose to do evil. It’s to keep others from either learning what we know, or building effective defenses against our advances. I hope you understand.”
“After the past few days I’ve had, it’s my sincere hope that you have some answers to all the crap that’s been happening. Having gotten a glimpse behind the curtain, I’m feeling pretty damn hopeless and discouraged right about now.”
The man Billy called Nathan shook his head. “I can’t say we have all the answers, but we’re getting close.” Nathan turned to Xander and shook his hand. “I was with DARPA when you worked here, Mr. Moore, yet we never crossed paths. I am, however, very familiar with your work, both here and at the RDC. Welcome.”
“I should have known,” Xander said with a smile. “But I must admit, I’m relieved. I have more confidence in DARPA running things than I do the military.”
“Oh, we’re not running things, Mr. Moore. As a matter of fact, I don’t think anyone is at this time. We’re still trying to gather our wits about us and devise a plan. Now, if you’ll come with me, I’d like to take all of you for a little tour, at least of the departments pertinent to your areas of expertise.”
As they entered the outer hallway and a second elevator, Nathan turned to Xander. “I’m terribly sorry for what happened to the RDC. I’m sure you lost quite a few friends in the attack.”
“I appreciate that, Nathan, but even after the flight out here I’m still pretty much in the dark about the full extent of the damage.”
“Your people are back in control — you probably knew they would be since the lifespan of a UAV is so limited. Yet, as you may also suspect, the damage to your capabilities is extensive. Some command and control is being switched to the old stations at Nellis and Creech, although they’re going to require weeks of upgrading just to get basic communications going again with your remaining bunkers. Tindall Air Force Base in Florida has assumed some other control, as well as the NSA and the CIA.”
“The NSA?” Tiffany asked. “What do they have to do with drone operations?”
“Nothing, really, Ms. Collins, it’s just that they have some of the most-advanced communication equipment on the planet. What’s needed at this time is a way to access the RDC’s surviving drones and deploy them in defensive roles.”
“What about pilots?” Xander asked. “Did very many survive? I was under the impression it was a near total wipeout.”