Zenata had a last sheet, which she gave to him.
Lonsky read it. It detailed specific instructions. “Can you do this?” he asked Zenata.
“It is simply preparing our master computer for interface with another computer,” she said. “It is not very difficult. But I wonder why someone would want us to do that.”
“Any clue who bought us?”
Zenata shook her head. “This message came from a commercial satellite. It could have originated anywhere. It does have the proper authorization code word,” she added unnecessarily.
“Do what they want,” Lonsky ordered.
“Where are we headed?” Zenata asked.
“The Lesser Antilles. Saba, to be specific.”
“ Saba?”
“A small island with no harbor.”
Zenata hadn’t left yet. “And what do you think they want us to do when we get there?”
“That is a very interesting question to which I do not have a clue.”
Dalton watched the team appear on the virtual plane above the Mount of the Holy Cross. Jackson was above him, formed in her eagle avatar, Barnes to his right. Kirtley had seven men with him, lined up like a row of ghostly images behind him. Dalton noted that Kirtley’s avatar was larger and stronger looking than the man appeared in real life.
“First jump point,” Kirtley ordered.
Jackson was gone before he even finished the sentence. Dalton visualized the spot, and then he was there. Barnes appeared. Then one, two of Kirtley’s men. The rest straggled in, one by one.
“You need to appear on target at the same time,” Dalton pointed out.
“That’s why we’re practicing,” Kirtley responded shortly. “Dr. Hammond, project an image of our target.”
In the center of the group, a scaled version of a special range at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, appeared. Dalton had been there before, in the real world, when his team had gone for urban operations training. The range was an example of a village in Germany, complete with buildings, town square, sewer system, and roads. Kirtley had had the range personnel put automatic targets in, then clear the area.
“Our objective is here.” Kirtley pointed at a large building facing the small square. “It’s as close as we can come to simulating the villa.” He looked at Dalton. “Time for you to go there. I don’t think it would be quite fair if you heard our assault plans.”
“Roger that,” Dalton said. “Dr. Hammond, I want a private link that only Jackson and Barnes can hear.”
“You’ve got it,” Hammond informed him. “I’m also blocking the team’s communications from you.”
“Let’s go,” Dalton said. He jumped and was above the building Kirtley had indicated as the main objective.
“What’s the plan?” Barnes asked.
“Let’s see what’s set up first,” Dalton said. He flowed through the roof of the building and descended to the basement. There were targets set up to indicate guards and several dummies placed on the floor to simulate the prisoners. It was the best that could be done on such short notice.
“Barnes, you’ve got this building. Shoot the hostages the minute the first avatar comes in here.”
“Roger that, Sergeant Major.”
“ Jackson, I want you to be our eye in the sky. Relay what you see to us.”
“I thought we were supposed to pretend to be people,” Jackson said.
“Rules are made to be broken,” Dalton said.
“And where will you be?” Barnes asked.
In reply, Dalton simply pointed down, then he vanished from site as he jumped.
Sailors watched as the Green Berets and SEALs test-fired their weapons off the deck of the Roosevelt, spewing lines of tracers into the ocean. Satisfied their weapons worked, the men began smearing camouflage paint on their faces, loading magazines, and sharpening knives. The air crews walked around their helicopters, making sure they were ready for flight. They all knew the members of ODA 054 who had launched from this very ship, and they had been shown the photograph of Captain Scott’s body. Rescue was the primary mission, but silently accepted among all the men was the desire for revenge.
The coast of Colombia was directly ahead of the bow of the carrier, a hundred miles over the horizon.
Valika had spent the entire flight on her cell phone and laptop, coordinating what she would need. She had operated in the United States many times before for Cesar, so she had had no trouble lining up the men and equipment to do the task-in a capitalistic society, money could indeed buy anything. She had already transferred over sixteen million dollars into various accounts and upon completion of the mission would transfer another fifteen million.
The small Aura projector sat across from her, hooked to the plane’s power. At this low level it generated a large enough field for Raisor to appear, floating across from her, listening in on her conversations. She had not needed his help or contacts. The rest of the passenger compartment of the Lear jet was empty.
“Make sure they have explosives,” Raisor advised her for the third time.
“I’ve already insured we will have adequate means to get inside the complex,” Valika said. “I have a question for you, though.”
“Yes?”
“What if we are confronted with Psychic Warriors? What if not all of them are in Colombia?”
“The most critical time will be when you land,” Raisor said. “You must get inside the complex quickly-it’s the one place where the Psychic Warriors can’t operate, since it’s shielded. It’s the same way Dalton destroyed the Russian facility.”
“ Dalton?”
“One of the army people at Bright Gate,” Raisor said. “He betrayed me also. They all did.”
“You still did not answer me what we should do if we are confronted,” Valika noted.
Raisor smiled and pointed at the two cases that Valika had bought from Kraskov. “I know what you have there.”
“Will they work on Psychic Warriors?”
“I don’t know for certain,” Raisor said, “but I imagine they will have some effect. That’s if you see them first.”
“They can’t stay invisible from you, can they?”
“No.”
“Good. Then you will warn us if you see them on the virtual plane, correct?”
“Correct.”
The rest of the trip was made in silence.
The Lear touched down at a small airfield outside of Granby, in north-central Colorado. It had been chosen because one of her contacts knew that there were four Army National Guard Huey helicopters parked there-exactly what they would need.
The mercenaries she had hired had already taken over the small field, capturing the two full-time employees. As the Lear rolled to a stop, a Ford Explorer came racing out of a hangar and up to the plane. The man who stepped out was short and wiry, wearing khaki with a combat vest strapped on his chest. He carried an MP-5 submachine gun casually in his right hand.
“Good-bye, Mr. Raisor,” Valika said as she crossed the aisle and flipped off the switch for the Aura generator. Raisor’s form popped out of existence. She then unhooked the generator and went to the now open door of the plane. She hopped down the steps and met the man.
“Mr. Gregory,” Valika said, nodding in greeting.
“Ms. Valika. It’s a pleasure to do business once again.” Gregory led her toward the truck. “You do know, of course, that due to the mission to be accomplished, the location here inside my own country, and the amount you are paying, this will be the last time I will be working. My men and I will be retiring to a remote location after this.”