Someone lifted off David’s mask. He looked up at Tom and two others, sitting in the spacious cabin of a Gulfstream G-V. It was huge — and almost empty. There must have been ten luxurious seats, including the cream leather couch that David found himself lying on. Tom wore a wrinkled suit and a tired face. There was another man who had on black tactical gear and was about the size of an NFL linebacker. The third person was a short, round woman who looked to be in her early forties. She had fading highlights in her hair and a very odd smile on her face considering the situation. It was a sheepish look, like she was hoping that David wasn’t going to be mad at her.
David coughed and sucked in deep lungfuls of air. He was still tied up, lying sideways on the couch that ran along the plane’s cabin wall. The two men sat across the narrow aisle, facing him. The woman sat one seat aft of them, watching.
“What the hell is this, Tom?” David asked, looking back and forth between them.
As he spoke, he heard the engines roar. They were all pushed backward as the aircraft took off and rotated upwards into the night sky. They were airborne. This was all happening too fast.
David was still on the couch, and the big guy was holding him as the aircraft angled up into the sky, making sure that David didn’t slide down and fall off. Tom leaned over and yelled above the noise of the engines. “I’m sorry, Dave! This was the best way to do this! We had to make you disappear! Hey, promise me you aren’t going to do anything stupid like start throwing fists, and we’ll untie you and I’ll explain everything. Can you promise me that? Like I said, we are not going to hurt you. We’re on the same team.”
David was confused, but nodded vigorously.
Tom turned to the big guy next to him and motioned towards David. The man flicked open a pocketknife and hunched over David’s body. With one hand he held down his limbs, pressing a good portion of his easily 230-pound frame into David so he couldn’t move. A few quick slices cut open the zip ties, and then the man stepped back, watching to see David’s reaction.
Even if he had wanted to, David could barely move. He rubbed his sore wrists where the zip ties had left deep red marks on his skin. His legs were tingling and sore. He lay on the couch, propping himself up by his elbows. His ears popped as the aircraft gained altitude, and his body lurched in the turns. David repositioned himself to sit upright. The loud noise from the jet’s takeoff had subsided, and the four of them sat staring each other down in the large cabin.
Tom said, “Are you alright?”
David nodded. He kept his guard up. He didn’t know what to do or say. He still wasn’t sure if his life was in danger. David didn’t know Tom too well, but he knew his reputation. Jerk was the single most-used description. He was supposed to be one of those guys who thought he was smarter than everyone else in the room, regardless of his expertise on the subject at hand. The result was that he tended to treat people like they were idiots. In an organization full of smart people, he was not loved. David had worked with him a handful of times, and each time Tom had used that condescending tone, like the engineers and analysts were wasting his time. But David never had any reason to fear or distrust him. Until today.
Tom said, “You hungry? Thirsty?”
“I have to go to the bathroom.”
Tom snorted. “Sure. It’s down in the back. I’ll explain everything when you get back. Go.”
David got up, rubbing his sore joints and limbs. He hobbled past the woman to the back of the plane, with Tom’s assistant in tow.
“Leave the door open,” said the henchman.
David didn’t acknowledge him. The command pissed him off. Apparently they weren’t totally on the same team. But he still wasn’t sure what was going on, and didn’t want to risk any sort of physical punishment for a disobeyed order. He urinated and washed his hands, then splashed some water on his face. He headed back to sit in the seat across from Tom. His body sank into the plush leather chair.
Tom was on the white phone connected to the seat. He had a grim look.
The woman held out her hand and said, “Hi, I’m Brooke Walters.” She gave him a polite smile.
David didn’t know what to say. He held out a limp hand and looked at her like she was a madwoman.
“David Manning,” he said.
Tom spoke over them on the phone. He said, “So it’s confirmed? He’s gone? Okay. Understood. Yes, we’re airborne. Walters and one from In-Q-Tel. No. We had to go with someone else. Manning. Yes, I’ll explain later. Yes. That’s everyone on the list. Yes. Yes. Okay. I’ll talk to you then.” He hung up the phone and looked over at David, letting out a deep sigh.
David closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself. He then looked directly at Tom and asked, “Tom, what just happened?”
Tom tilted his head and stared back at him. David could smell stale tobacco on his breath. There was an opened pack of Marlboro reds on the table.
Tom said, “We kidnapped you. Sorry about that. It had to be done.”
The woman seemed to shrink into her seat.
David said, “I realize that. Why? What reason could you possibly have?”
Tom stared up at him, his face shifting into a tired frown. He glanced at the big guy and said, “Can you give us a minute?”
The henchman nodded, went to the back of the plane, and sat down. Tom waited until he was out of earshot before speaking. He took out a paper folder and read through some of the papers.
“Says here you’re an Annapolis guy. Just like your dad. And your brother and sister went there too. Wow. I see they were big athletes while they were there. And you did… sailing. Ladies must have gone crazy when you told ’em that, huh? Still, that’s quite the Naval Academy legacy, huh?”
David found it surprising that Tom had worked in the same office for the past couple of years and knew nothing about him. It fit with his reputation of being completely self-involved.
“What is that you’re reading from?”
“Your file.”
“My file?”
“So your dad was an Admiral”
“Is an Admiral. Could you please tell me what this is all about?”
Tom raised his eyebrows and said, “And your brother was a SEAL… and now he works for… oh, I hadn’t seen this yet. He works for us?”
David replied, “No, he does not work for In-Q-Tel.”
The woman laughed. Tom looked up from the file and smiled.
Tom said, “In-Q-Tel. Right. Dave, let’s get a few things straight. I am not employed by In-Q-Tel. Not really. It is a more of a part-time deal for me. My real employer is the same organization that indirectly pays the bills at In-Q-Tel. The Central Intelligence Agency. I specialize in counter-espionage.”
David frowned. “What are you talking about?”
Tom ignored him and said, “This situation all started a few weeks ago. We have uncovered some very disturbing bits of information. I’d heard rumors of course, but until you hear it from a reliable source, you tend to discount those as conspiracy theories. Rumors like that… just seem too crazy to believe.”
Tom was lost in thought for a moment and then looked David directly in the eye. “A penetration of that scope… and at those high levels. It’s unthinkable.” He sighed. “But it looks like it’s happened. And the same source that tipped us off on that told us something much worse.” He looked down at the file again. “Now, we’ve got a long flight ahead of us. I promise I’ll answer your questions. But I only recently found out I’d be taking you on this little vacation, so humor me for a few minutes while I peruse your biography.”