“Then it’s safe for the time being,” Dalton noted. “Unless there’s someone on the inside of Space Command who has been corrupted by the Priory. I think we need to destroy the code to insure that HAARP is never used.”
“Unless,” Jackson said, “you really believe the Mithrans are our enemy also. In which case destroying the code destroys our best weapon against them. If we fine-tune HAARP, we might be able to target just the virtual plane.”
Barnes sat down, exhausted. “Great. We’re back to square one. We don’t have a clue who we’re really fighting.”
“We know where HAARP is located, right?” Dalton asked.
Mentor nodded. “I have the location.”
“And it’s not going anywhere anytime soon, so I would say it’s not a priority target since they can’t access MILSTAR,” Dalton continued. “But we don’t know where the Ring is or where the Aura generator is located. I’d say Dr. Souris and the Ring are our priority right now. What do you have on the Ring?” he asked Mentor.
“They’re led by a man called Cesar. The other main leaders of the drug cartels are members. Cesar’s been very hard to locate. He hasn’t been seen in public in almost ten years, which led us to speculate he is no longer in Colombia, but has relocated.”
“But one of the other drug cartel leaders might well know where that is, right?” Dalton said.
“Right,” Mentor confirmed.
Dalton looked at Hammond. “How long before you can send us over?”
“Everything’s running,” Hammond said. “As soon as you are ready.”
“All right,” Dalton said. “We’re going to Colombia. It’s time for some payback for the Special Forces team and for the people at Bright Gate.” He turned to Mentor. “What do you have on this Ring organization?”
In reply, Mentor sat down at one of the computers. “We can access the Department of Defense secure Internet via that, tapping through Space Command.” He logged on and quickly searched while the others gathered round.
“Not much,” he finally said. He brought up a picture. “That’s Hector Cesar, but as I said, no one knows where he is.” He accessed another page. “That’s Naldo, one of the inner circle. The DEA does have a location on him.”
“I have an idea,” Dalton said.
Souris was back on Saba after her initial visit to the ship and had immediately hooked into the computer, disappearing into her other world after telling Cesar it would take about six hours for the necessary modifications to be completed on the Yuri Gagarin. Cesar was supervising the movement of other equipment out of the command post and on the treacherous trip down the volcano to the airfield. He paused when Souris started and opened her eyes, returning to reality without having to be called.
“There is a problem,” she announced.
“And that is?” Cesar asked.
“The retransmitters on the MILSTAR satellites have to be unlocked with a special code.”
“Do you have the code?”
“No.”
Cesar waited but when she said nothing, he asked the inevitable question: “Where is the code stored?”
“The American Space Command in Cheyenne Mountain. It’s shielded on the virtual plane.”
“How do you know this?”
Souris smiled. “There is a spy among the Americans.”
“A spy? Who? Where?”
Souris didn’t answer, closing her eyes to retreat back into her alternate world.
Cesar walked up to her and lightly slapped her on the cheek. Her eyes flashed open. “Can you get the code?”
“There might be a way.”
Dawn was less than an hour off and the launch two hours past that. Spotlights illuminated Columbia on the launch pad, allowing the thousands of people who were gathering to watch to see it. A gantry stretched from the launch tower to the shuttle waiting for the crew to board shortly. Four bolts in the bottom of each of the solid rocket boosters secured the entire flight system to the launch platform. The astronaut with the code name Eagle Six was already on board. He had checked the payload, insuring that the satellite was secure. After NASA’s unbelievable mistakes with the various Mars probes, he left nothing to chance. Now he lay back in his launch seat, a set of
headphones relaying to him the various communications come out of launch controclass="underline"
“T minus three hours. The count has resumed. Perform T-three-hours snapshot on flight critical and payload items. Initiate LOX transfer line chilldown. Verify SRB nozzle flex bearing and SRB nozzle temperature requirements. Activate LCC monitoring software. The next planned hold is at T minus two hours. Go for flight crew final prep and briefing.”
21
Cesar was waiting once more as the Lear set down on the airstrip, the sun just over the ocean to the east. Valika was tired. Not just physically but emotionally. Gunning down unarmed scientists wasn’t what she had envisioned during her combat training years ago. Shooting a body suspended in solution didn’t add to her positive feelings. On top of that was the failure to bring anything back from Colorado because she had acted in haste.
“Where is Raisor?” Cesar asked.
“I believe he is dead. His body is at least.” Valika quickly summarized the action.
Cesar seemed satisfied. “So Psychic Warrior is no longer a potential threat, correct?”
“Yes, sir.” Valika noted the helicopters waiting on the edge of the airfield. “What is happening?”
“We’re getting ready to move.”
“Where is Souris?”
“She just returned from the ship. I’m sending her on the jet to the United States.”
“Why?”
“To get the unlock code for MILSTAR.” He quickly explained.
“How did she find this out?” Valika asked.
“She said there was a spy among the Americans. When I asked her for more about this spy, she wouldn’t say anything.”
“I don’t trust her,” Valika said.
“We need her. Especially since we don’t have Raisor.” “How long before we load the ship?” “It arrives this evening. I want everything prepared by then.”
“Do you have the code?” Boreas asked. He was seated at his desk, leaning back in his seat.
McFairn’s voice echoed out of the speaker phone as she replied. “Bright Gate was destroyed. We believe by the Ring.”
“Do you have the code?” Boreas got up and walked over to the outside window.
“No.”
“Time is running out for you.”
“I think time is running out for you,” McFairn said. “The Ring must be very confident to take the battle to the United States. I lost all my people there, including Kirtley. People here in Washington are asking questions.”
Boreas stood at the window staring out at the Wrangell Mountains, his hands clasped behind his back. “I know about Kirtley. I saw his transmission go off-line. But it’s not important since we don’t need Bright Gate anymore. What I do need is the unlock code.”
“What exactly do you have planned?” McFairn asked. “You’ve assured me that our goals would be in common, but I don’t see how getting you the unlock code for HAARP-MILSTAR is in my or my country’s interest.”
“Are you becoming patriotic now?”
“No, practical as always. What are we going to do about the Ring destroying Bright Gate?”
“The Ring won’t be a problem,” Boreas said. A vein throbbed in his temple and his hands twisted in fists behind his back.
“Why not?”
Boreas turned and stalked back to his desk. He leaned over the speakerphone. “I don’t have to explain myself to you. You’re nothing but a tool, do you understand? You’re so concerned about your country-your country? That’s been around for what? Two hundred and some years? A blink of an eye in the time my people have existed.