“All this is for me?”
“Yes, ma’am. Go on up, I’ll bring your bags.”
Jessica exited the vehicle and ascended the mobile staircase.
Her eyes widened as she stepped inside the commercial airliner. First-class was not a foreign concept to the physicist; her parents’ careers having afforded them the good life. But what awaited her inside the cabin was an entirely different level of luxury. Everything in the wide-bodied cabin aft of first-class seating had been gutted, the interior converted into a mini-mansion. The forward section was dominated by a plush ivory sofa mounted along the starboard side, its treble-clef-shaped curvature matched by a marble coffee table. Behind it was a concave mirrored privacy wall, the effect of which seemed to double the size of the forward compartment. Violet cushions matched the thick-pile carpeting which stood out smartly against the padded ivory walls. Moving aft led her to a dining room that seated twenty, the rectangular table anchored beneath three small chandeliers. The middle compartment concluded with a fifteen-foot flat screen TV and an assortment of recliners, sofas, and love seats that were no doubt put to good use on long flights by the jet’s owner and his entourage.
A closed set of mirrored double doors separated the middle section of the plane from the aft compartment.
Jessica knocked. Receiving no reply, she tried the handle and pushed her way inside.
“Oh my Gawd.”
The heart-shaped, king-sized bed was covered in a mink quilt, the fur reflected in the mirrored ceiling. An entertainment center included another large flat screen television. A small workout area consisted of a stationary bike, a treadmill, and a six-station gym.
Guess the owner likes to watch himself in action…
She ran her fingers across the smooth-as-silk fur blanket as she walked past the bed to inspect the bathroom. Gold faucets accentuated the black marble sink. Thick violet towels were stacked in racks by a completely enclosed glass shower as wide as six phone booths. A black porcelain toilet and bidet were harbored in a private water closet.
“Impressed?”
She turned to find General Thomas J. Cubit standing by the open double doors. He was dressed in what appeared to be a golf outfit.
“General Cubit? I didn’t know you’d be accompanying me to California.”
“Someone has to brief you on your new assignment.”
She groaned. “Seriously? I haven’t finished my work on Zeus and you’re already adding more to my agenda?”
“The new assignment is Zeus. We considering having you take over as the project’s director.”
Adrenaline coursed through Jessica’s bloodstream. “What happened to Scott Hopper?”
“Dr. Hopper had a few personal issues which forced him to vacate the position. Join me in the entertainment center; we’re about to taxi to the runway and the crew wants us buckled in… some ridiculous FAA regulation.”
She followed him out of the bedroom suite, her mind racing. As a Team Leader, her work up to this point had been confined to overseeing the guidance system of Zeus—the military’s new satellite array. As project director of an Unacknowledged Special Access Project, she would have to be brought inside the inner circle.
Mother said she was fifty-two when she took over her first USAP; I’ve got her beat by fifteen—
She shook her head as if to knock the toxic thought out of her brain. Stupid! You can’t even drop a hint about the promotion… not to your family or to Adam… not to anyone.
“Dr. Marulli?”
“Sorry… I’m coming.”
The Mojave Desert covers 54,000 square miles, extending east from Southern California into Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. Edwards Air Force Base is located in the southwestern corner of the desert not far from Lancaster, California. In addition to its airfields, the complex includes the China Lake Naval Weapons Center and the Fort Irwin Military Center, as well as the restricted air space above all three facilities.
There is another section of the complex — only this one cannot be found on any map.
The 767 jumbo jet touched down on a sand-swept tarmac surrounded by flatland. To the west, snow-capped mountains rose in the distance; to the east an unpaved access road led to a security gate — the only entrance through a ten-foot-high steel perimeter fence, the barrier topped by coils of barbed wire and outfitted with security cameras.
The only structure in the area was a 2,000-square-foot prefabricated building concealed beneath an open-ended hangar, its camouflage-painted roof large enough to accommodate the jumbo jet which taxied to a stop beneath the flat-roofed structure. A dust-covered SUV was parked outside the building, its doors advertising Mojave Environmental Services.
A garage door rolled open, releasing a man in overalls driving a motorized set of steps. Aligning the top of the stairs with the aircraft’s forward door, he honked twice.
The exit swung open, releasing one of the jumbo jet’s two VIPs.
The desert heat blasted Jessica in the face as she stepped off the 767. High overhead, the hangar roof blocked the afternoon sun — along with the cameras aboard any orbiting recon satellite. As she descended the steps she saw a tech remove her luggage from the plane’s cargo hold.
General Cubit remained on board. He would be flying on to San Francisco for a week-long holiday with his wife in Carmel. While Cubit played golf at Pebble Beach, Jessica would be occupied with an intense seven-day orientation — assuming she accepted the directorship of a USAP.
“It’s a security issue, Jessica. This particular project requires the director to have something called a Cosmic Clearance. The process normally takes several years to complete — your review, by the way, began eight months ago. Unfortunately, our need to complete critical work on Zeus, combined with Dr. Hopper’s unexpected departure, forces us to accelerate things quite a bit. As we speak, Council is voting on the issue. If you’re approved they’ll offer you the position, at which time you’ll be fully briefed on Zeus.”
“How do you expect me to blindly accept a position without knowing what the job entails?”
“Did I mention the salary?”
“It’s never been about the money, General.”
“You’ll receive a million a month to start.”
Jessica felt the blood drain from her face. “Twelve million a year?”
“Plus perks. Six weeks paid vacation, access to the best hotels in the world. You’ll be able to buy yourself a decent engagement ring.”
She flashed him a look to kill.
“Sorry, that was out of line. But make no mistake, this is a game-changer for you and Adam. The only caveat being that he can never know what you’re working on.”
“Who’s paying my salary?”
“Does it matter?”
“It does to the IRS. Somehow I suspect my accountant may need to be briefed.”
“That will all be handled for you. As for the funds, they’ll be wired directly into your account on the twelfth of every month from a non-profit cancer research foundation.”
“You mean the CIA?”
“This is black budget research, Dr. Marulli. If you want to work on the most advanced sciences known to man you have to tell a few white lies and you also need a Cosmic Clearance. Opportunities like this are rare, even for someone possessing your talents. My gut tells me you’ll be approved by Council but they’ll want your answer the moment you enter the Cube.”