The elevator stopped and the four passengers exited into another hallway. A four-seater golf cart was waiting and they all climbed in, with Nathan driving, Billy in the passenger seat, and Xander and Tiffany in the back.
“Thirty-nine of your pilots survived, and you might be happy to learn that one of your team was among them, Charlie Fox. He was surfing at the time of the attack.”
“And David Lane?”
“I’m afraid not. He was home at the time.”
“He has a wife and daughter.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You seem pretty-well informed, Nathan,” Tiffany said. “What exactly is your association with the RDC?”
Nathan smiled and glanced over at Billy. “Oh, I have no affiliation with the RDC. It’s just that since the attack I’ve been drafted into providing advice regarding our drone response and countermeasures. Some general at the Pentagon is the actual supreme commander of drone operations now, but he’s apparently smart enough to know when experts are needed. I’ve been given tactical command over our recovery and response.”
“And what about the drone attacks?” Xander asked. “Are they continuing?”
“Unabated, I’m afraid, although a pattern has appeared.”
“What kind of pattern?” Billy asked.
“A possible motive for the attacks.”
Billy looked over his shoulder at Xander in the seat behind Nathan. “I thought revenge was the motive?” Billy said.
“It’s a little more complicated than that, although we understand the link between Jonas Lemon and the RDC. That’s something we’re pursuing, along with Abdul-Shahid Almasi and his own reasons for hating the United States.”
“So what is the motive?” Tiffany prodded.
“Economic upheaval.”
“That goes without saying, dude,” Billy said.
“Even so, there’ve been an extraordinary number of attacks on malls and online delivery outlets. Someone is doing their best to make sure the U.S. economy screeches to a halt. But the question we need answered is who benefits from a collapsing U.S. economy?”
“With how interdependent the world’s economies are these days, it doesn’t appear anyone could benefit,” Tiffany offered.
“What about the terrorist groups and their sponsors?” Xander asked.
It was Tiffany who answered. “Countries like Iran and Syria sell an awful lot of oil to first-world countries, including the U.S. If we go under, there would be such a glut of oil on the market that their economies would also collapse. And other countries are debtor nations, dependent on our ability to repay our loans or make good on bond interest payments. That’s why it doesn’t make sense for there to be any attacks against America. Without us, the whole planet goes under.”
“And yet the terror organizations, under the sponsorship and protection of these legitimate nations, are hitting us left and right. That seems to go against the argument you just made,” Xander countered.
“Most people don’t actually believe America can be defeated, especially not through terrorist activity. The sponsor nations believe this, too, so they use these organizations to advance a political agenda, while at the same time enjoying the benefits of a prosperous United States. Something has changed, however, if the terrorists are being allowed to continue. It’s common knowledge that Bin Laden was terrified when he saw the towers come down on 9/11. That was so far beyond what he’d been expecting, and a world united against Al Qaeda was something he wasn’t prepared for. The first few years after 9/11 were the worst for international terrorism, up until everyone saw that America was going to come out just fine after the attack. That’s also when politics took over and once again began to dictate U.S. military operations.”
“So you’re saying the terrorists involved in these attacks are not under the control of their traditional masters, that someone else is pulling their strings?”
The golf cart had stopped in front of a large, double swinging-door, but no one was getting out, not until this line of conversation was concluded.
Tiffany had been thinking aloud throughout most of her dissertation, carrying events to their logical conclusion. “I guess I am,” she said at last. “Even though Almasi and Lemon may have planned the attack on the RDC, that operation was limited in scope. It’s what’s happening now that doesn’t make sense.” She looked at Nathan No-Last-Name and saw him smiling, a slight squint in his eyes.
“It would have to be another entity that is more-or-less isolated from the world economy, yet still powerful enough to fill the void left by a weakened America.” Her eyes grew wide as she saw Nathan give her a nod.
“Russia!”
“Excellent, Ms. Collins,” said Nathan. “That’s our belief as well. In recent years, following the tragic events in the Ukraine and other Baltic states, Putin and his successor, Marko, have been hoarding oil and other natural resources. They’ve also increased their gold supplies and linked the value of the ruble to the commodity. In sort, they’ve created an almost independent economy apart from the rest of the world. By destroying the U.S. economy, they not only take us out of the game, but also China, Japan, and most of Europe. The only financial superpower left standing would be Russia, ready with assistance to whomever comes knocking.”
“At a very high price,” Tiffany added.
“The highest.”
“Isn’t that an act of war?” Billy asked. “The Russians may not have soldiers on the ground, but they’re the puppet-masters for those controlling the drones.”
“And what would you have us do, Billy?” Nathan asked. “The links to what’s happening are tenuous at best. We have no hard evidence. And with the ripple effect the attacks are having, it’s only a matter of days before we reach critical mass. The dominoes will fall as stock markets crash, loans default, and panic sets in. This will be Greece fifteen years ago all over again, only a thousand times worse.”
“That’s if the attacks continue and the people don’t regain confidence in the country again,” Xander said. “I hope that’s why you’ve brought us here, Nathan, to show us that DARPA has found the solution to our drone problem.”
Nathan slid out of the driver’s seat. “Why don’t we go take a look? As I said earlier, we’re getting close.”
“Close would imply you need more time,” Xander pointed out. “And that is something we don’t have.”
“That’s it?” Disappointment was evident in Billy’s voice. “And then you’d have to have scramblers set up within, what, five miles or so of an attack?”
Nathan seemed to be genuinely hurt by Billy’s reaction. “I said it wasn’t perfect, but it’s a start.”
Xander picked up the small plug-in module known as a killbox. “Over ninety percent of attack drones have these attached to their flight controllers. If they can be neutralized, that does put us ahead of the game.”
“I realize that, but if what you’re saying is true, we don’t have time to deploy scramblers all across the country in time to save Christmas.”
Xander turned to the scientist. “How far along are you on this technology?”
Nathan nodded, sending a scowl in Billy’s direction. “This isn’t something we just started working on a couple of days ago. This has been an ongoing project for several years, ever since the killboxes first showed up. Fortunately, there’s only three facilities that make the little bastards, so we’re not dealing with a lot of component variety.”
“So take out the factories,” Tiffany offered. “I’m sure no one is going to squawk much considering what’s happening now.”