David said, “Well they can now control more satellites in a shorter time.”
Brooke shook her head and said, “No. That’s not enough of a leap for me. My point is, they could have done the same things through different means. What am I missing here?”
Most of the classroom looked at Lena but she didn’t say anything back. Instead, the answer came from Henry.
He said to Lena, “Ohhhh. I see what’s going on here.”
Everyone stared, waiting for him to continue.
Henry said, “There is a countdown. Isn’t there?”
Eyes shot back to Lena. She nodded.
David then said. “That was it, wasn’t it? That’s how you knew that they are really going to attack. That’s what this new intelligence was that your dead agent uncovered.”
“Part of it. Yes.” she said.
Some of them put it together and some didn’t. Someone whistled. A few swore. Up until now, David still had a skepticism built up inside of him. He hadn’t truly believed that China was going to attack the United States. Sure, there may have been intelligence that they were thinking about it. But in David’s heart, he believed that somehow this was all going to go away. Cooler heads would prevail. The Red Cell would just become some crazy what-if scenario planning session. David had harbored these thoughts since Tom had first told him about the project. But the evidence was now falling into place. The reasons for secrecy. The signs of war. Suddenly this all became very real.
He gazed outside, thinking about the implications of a war of this scale. He could see tropical thunderheads on the horizon, each with a white mist streaming down to the distant ocean. Storms approaching. Fitting.
Someone said, “What’s the countdown matter for?”
David sighed and said. “It means that they’re going to follow through. The satellite-killer is a first-strike weapon. And the countdown means they’ve already pulled the trigger. It’s true that they probably have missiles that could do this. They’ve had them for years, actually. But if there is a countdown, then that means that they have a plan in motion. And everything that we’re doing here matters a whole lot more.”
“Well, when does the countdown stop?” Henry asked.
Everyone in the room locked their eyes on Lena. She looked as if she wasn’t sure whether she should answer.
Finally, she said, “To be honest, we don’t know.”
David woke up to the green-glowing beep of his watch alarm. He had collapsed on his bed at 5:30 p.m., intending on just to shut his eyes for thirty minutes. But the fatigue of his jet lag and the all-day sessions had drained him. While just about everyone else had filed into the cafeteria as soon as the afternoon team meetings ended, David took a nap. It was now 7:15 p.m. and David would have to hightail it to make it to dinner before they closed.
He threw on a tee shirt, khaki shorts, and a pair of reebok sneakers, and then rushed over to the cafeteria. He walked into the meal hall to the clatter of metal dishware being cleaned in the back. Bill was the lone diner. David walked through the buffet line, scooping heaping piles of mashed potatoes, green beans, and what looked like a pot roast onto his plate. He grabbed a few bottles of water and a banana and walked over to the table where the other man sat.
“Mind if I join you?” David asked.
“Sure, sure.” Bill was in mid chew. He took a gulp from his cup and said, “Helluva day, huh?”
Bill ran his hair through his thick, fluorescent white hair. He dressed in a collared shirt that was tucked in to a pair of light blue jeans. Black sneakers completed the outfit. David thought that he looked like he could have been a grandpa.
“Where are you from again, Bill?” David asked.
“West Texas. But I’ve lived in Nevada for the past few years. And honestly, before that I was Air Force so I’ve lived all over. Yourself?”
“Virginia. Right outside D.C. I’m a Navy BRAT myself.”
“I’ve been there. Nice area. Lousy traffic.”
David nodded as he finished a bite of the overcooked roast. “Yup.”
A few moments passed. Small talk didn’t seem to be either man’s forte.
Finally Bill spoke, “This all just makes you re-evaluate your life, you know?”
David spoke through chews. “Yeah. The end of the world will do that.”
“I’m not saying I regret anything. My wife always says to our kids that regrets ain’t worth fussing over. Because there’s better things ahead than behind.”
“Sounds like a smart lady. Wonder how she ended up with you?”
“Hah. Yeah.” Bill looked sad at her mention.
David said, “I hope my family is alright. My dad, sister, and brother are all active duty Navy. I would imagine their jobs just got a lot more dangerous.”
Bill raised his eyebrows and took a drink. “I’m sure they’ll be okay. With any luck, we’ll come out of this all right. I remember the Bay of Pigs when I was a little kid. It seemed like the world was about to end then, too. We used to practice getting under our desks at school in case the Russians nuked us. Imagine that. And that all blew over. Hopefully this will too.” While his words were meant to comfort, he didn’t sound like he believed them.
“My mother passed a year ago. Heart failure.” David didn’t know why he said it. It just came out.
“I’m so sorry,” said Bill.
“Thanks. It hit us pretty hard. So after my mother died, my father, sister, and brother were all home together for a short while. It was the first time I’d seen Chase in two years. Crazy. He was always deploying with the SEALS.”
“He was a SEAL? Impressive.”
“Oh yes. Everyone’s always impressed with Chase. So he came home, took a month off from his work, and we got to hang out a bunch. Now, I’ve never been the athlete that my brother or sister were. But the day after Chase flew in for the funeral, he asked me to go on a run with him. He goes on these super-long runs. We drove down to D.C. and ran around the Theodore Roosevelt Island and finished on the Washington & Old Dominion Trail. Very scenic. Very long run. I hadn’t run more than two miles since I graduated Annapolis. My mother used to love taking long walks around that area. She always said that her kids got her athletic genes. Heart disease. Unbelievable. It’s a cruel, ironic world if you ask me. Anyway, my brother insists that I go with him on this run. We go for five miles around that lake and I swear that something changed inside me. It was therapeutic. It sounds funny, but that run was like a way to say goodbye to my mother. Maybe she was with us? Well, I’ve been running almost every day since. I actually did my first triathlon two months ago and I’m training for another. I got a taste of a runner’s high that day and I keep going back for more.”
“That’s sounds like a healthy hobby. What’s the problem?”
“You talked about all this China stuff making you re-evaluate your life. My mom’s death did it for me. Part of my conclusion was that I needed to reconnect with my family more. I missed my brother and sister. I have been doing pretty well keeping up with them through email more. I have even flown down to Jacksonville to hang out with my sister. My dad is almost impossible to get time with. He might as well be the President the way the Navy treats him. Still, with all of this talk of war, I’m just worried. I don’t want to lose any of them… ” David’s voice trailed off.