His hazel eyes were hidden behind a pair of wire-rimmed, aviator-style sunglasses, and Brittany was surprised to find him wearing a faded “NO FEAR” baseball cap.
As Brittany stared out the windshield, she realized that it was a gorgeous day for flying. The only clouds visible hugged the northern horizon. From their current altitude of thirty-one thousand feet, the sparkling waters of the Black Sea stretched in all directions, and it was as Brittany caught sight of a single ship below that the copilot finally realized they had a visitor.
Brittany accepted a pair of headphones from the navigator.
An intercom patch allowed her to hear Coach as he swiveled around and spoke into his chin-mounted microphone.
“Welcome to the flight deck. Commander.”
“I hope this isn’t a bad time for a visit,” she said.
“Not at all,” replied Coach.
“In fact, you’re the perfect person to prove my point,” said Lucky, who pushed back his right headphone and greeted Brittany with the same warm, boyish grin that was responsible for melting the heart of many a beach bunny.
“Commander Cooper, we were just having a friendly little discussion about who was the world’s most powerful person. Since you’re responsible for the football and know what’s inside, perhaps you could remind my co-workers that our Commanderin-Chief’s the only person in the world who can change our planet’s destiny with a single order.”
Before she could answer. Coach said, “Destroying the planet is not necessarily what I associate with being the world’s most powerful person. Lucky. I’m talking about the consummate mover and shaker, the guy who whispers, and the whole world listens. In my book, the President of the United States just doesn’t cut it anymore. He’s chained to his politics, with Congress always there to dilute his vision and veto his greatest dreams. That’s why my candidate is none other than the Chairman of the Federal Reserve.”
“Coach, I agree with your assessment of today’s Presidency,” added the engineer.
“But your choice of the Fed Chairman doesn’t quite fill all the requirements. Don’t forget that he’s still only a government appointee himself, who serves at the bidding of powers that be. One unpopular decision could cost him his job, especially if he starts stepping on the toes of the bankers.
Right now, I’m torn between two men, both of whom wield the type of unlimited power that influences each of our lives on a daily basis.”
A soft, electronic warning tone caused Lasky to momentarily redirect his attention to the mass of instruments gracing the engineering console. A quick glance was all that was needed for him to reach up with his gloved left hand and reset a tripped circuit breaker. The tone ceased, and, conscious that he still had his audience’s complete attention, Lasky slowly turned around and said, “My picks are Michael Eisner and Bill Gates.”
“Give me a break, Jake,” said Lucky with a laugh.
“A mouse and a geek for the world’s most powerful? Come on, now.”
Lasky was quick to the defense.
“You can laugh all you want, Lucky, but think about it. Turn on just about any computer in the world, and I guarantee that you have software compliments of Bill Gates loaded inside. Do the same with your television or radio, and during your next visit to the movies, count the percentage of programs that are produced by Disney, and you’ll be staggered. And that doesn’t even include Disney’s clothing, toy, and book lines. You might laugh, but the mouse and the geek, as you call them, are influencing almost every facet of our lives, as well as those of our children!”
“Jake, my man,” interrupted Lucky.
“Granted that Eisner and Gates are billionaires leading Fortune 500 companies, but that still doesn’t put them in the same league as the President. Commander Cooper will tell you, when they’re invited to the White House they still have to get in line with the masses, to pay homage to the man with all the real power.”
All eyes went to the female in their midst, and Brittany thoughtfully shook her head and expressed herself.
“As far as I’m concerned, none of you is even close. My vote goes to the Pope.”
“The Pope?” repeated Lucky like he hadn’t heard her properly.
Brittany nodded.
“That’s right, the old guy with the funny hat who lives in the Vatican. Because if it’s supreme power you’re concerned with, the Pope is the one with the clout to pull the strings that really count.”
Coach rubbed his square jaw and reflected.
“Interesting choice. Commander. But there’s one thing you’re forgetting.
Even the Pontiff’s at the mercy of a quarter percent drop in the prime. Do you realize how such a minor drop can influence the value of Sunday’s collection plate? With a single decision, the Chairman of the Fed could cost the Church billions.”
“But can either one of them green-light a ten-million-dollar movie that can bring in a worldwide gross of one hundred times as much, or produce a piece of software that every computer user on the planet can’t live without?” countered Jake.
Brittany could see that this argument didn’t have a chance of being resolved at this time, and she couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it all. Here they were thirty-one thousand feet over the Black Sea, flying in one of the most sophisticated aircraft in the world, and all the flight crew seemed to care about was such an off-the-wall subject matter.
“I understand that Air Force One has landed,” she said in an attempt to redirect the course of their conversation.
Coach checked his watch and grunted.
“They’ve been down on the ground for a good fifteen minutes.”
“Any of you been to Simferopol before?” she asked.
None of the flight crew had, and Brittany added, “I’ve got to admit that I didn’t even know where it was when the President initially informed us of his desire to travel to the Crimea.”
“Scuttlebutt has it that he’s down there to finalize the Global Zero Nuclear Alert Treaty with the Russians and the Ukrainians,” offered Lucky.
“Talk about power. That agreement would change our lives forever, and make a plane like Nightwatch an anachronism.”
“I wouldn’t go so far as that,” said Coach.
“Nightwatch would still have its uses in a world without a hairtrigger nuclear response posture.” He made a slight adjustment to the throttle before turning to Brittany.
“The one thing I’ve been meaning to ask you. Commander, is how you got stuck with us. Why aren’t you down there with the President?”
“It’s because of my lousy Russian,” she answered directly.
“Major Ryan is the Army MIL AIDE and because he majored in Eastern languages back at the Point, he got the main assignment, while I drew backup.”
Coach could sense that she had been disappointed by this decision, and he made certain to catch her glance before replying.
“Though I can’t give you any frequent-flier miles for this trip, or offer you fancy accommodations like on Air Force One, speaking for the crew of Nightwatch, we’re honored to have you aboard.”
Before Brittany could respond to this gracious statement, a gravelly male voice emanated from the speakers of her headphones.
“Nightwatch six-seven-six, this is Spooky Threenine. Do you copy? Over.”
Coach turned a dial on the radio selector and replied into his chin microphone.
“Roger that. Spooky Threenine. This is Nightwatch six-seven-six, reading you loud and clear. Over.”
“Nightwatch six-seven-six, be informed that Spooky Threenine is moving north to patrol sector Avalon at eighteen thousand.
Over.”
“Roger that, Spooky Threenine. Don’t hesitate to call if we can render any assistance. Out.”