Impact (Fuzed Trilogy Book 1)

by David E Stevens

  “Sir, what do you know about comets?”

  Meadows frowned. “Probably what everyone knows, they’re big snowballs that run around our solar system now and then, putting on pretty displays.”

  “The team I work with believes they’ve identified a comet that might be a threat to the earth in a couple years.”

  Meadows frowned, unconsciously clicking his pen. “Wow. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see what you’re thinking. You believe that something we worked on for missile defense might be used on a comet?”

  Josh nodded.

  “How likely is this threat?”

  “Unfortunately, we believe it’s probable.”

  “How much damage could it do if it hits us?”

  “If it’s as big as Shoemaker-Levy, about five kilometers across, it would be catastrophic.”

  Meadows stopped clicking his pen. He leaned back, staring through his desk. “Josh, I loved flying fighters. The ‘knights of the air’ image is overly romantic, but the parallel’s real.” He looked up. “I was a history major. Just as the knight’s armor, skill and chivalry fell to the new technology of the crossbow, so fighter pilots are bowing to the deadly efficiency of UCAVs.” He paused. “We’re looking at the last generation of fighter pilots. Soon, there’ll be no warriors engaging in one-on-one combat in the sky.” He paused again. Then, frowning, added, “Logan worked with me on the UCAV programs. It’s important work,” he sighed, “but making deadlier, robotic weapons....” He smiled. “Who wouldn’t want to work on a project like this? Use cutting-edge technology to save humanity.”

  Josh just said, “Couldn’t agree more.”

  “Besides, I’ve always been a closet ‘Trekkie.’” He paused. “But why is the program classified?”

  “Good question.” Josh tried to come up with a reason. “Uh, part of it hinges on the use of the advanced strategic defense work. A lot of it is still very sensitive. Part of it is fear of public reaction.”

  Meadows frowned. “OK. Well, I’ll need to share this with some of our mad scientists. Can you read them into the program?”

  Josh nodded. “Better yet, we’d like you to take over as the on-site program manager. Then you can take care of the ‘read-in’ paperwork through your organization’s existing system. That’ll prevent delays and keep control at your level.” Josh held his breath.

  Meadows raised his eyebrows. “OK, I get it. You basically want me to run this thing.”

  Josh smiled. “Yes sir. You’ve been handpicked from the very highest level.” It was true; Josh had flown jets to 50,000 feet.

  Meadows nodded. “It’s a lot of responsibility.”

  Josh read his body language. He knew he had him!

  Meadows finally grinned. “I’d be honored.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  Tapping his pen against his chin and staring past Josh, Meadows said, “First we need technical leads in astrophysics, engineering and logistics.” He paused, looking back at Josh. “This is real? I mean we’re talking catastrophic damage and many lives at stake, right?”

  Josh said, “I swear, this is as real as it gets, and it could potentially be millions of lives.”

  Meadows nodded. “Then we need the first string, the best and brightest. I know many of the players, and I’ll research the rest. Be prepared; some of these folks have healthy egos.”

  With a half-smile, Josh said, “That’s why we picked you to lead them.”

  Meadows’ booming laugh filled the small room as he shook his head. “OK, we’ll get them read-in and together for a meeting. How about three weeks from now? By the way, what’s the program’s name?”

  Josh named it on the spot. “Resurrect. Any chance you can get them together sooner?”

  “Yeah, I see the need for speed. Let me see what I can do.”

  Josh headed back to the airport for his flight to Washington. For the first time since his return, he had hope. He felt like he’d been carrying millions of lives on his back. Now, at least, he could share the burden with two people. On the other hand, he was frustrated. Even though he’d been careful with his meager funds, he barely had enough to stay in D.C. overnight. He’d have to return to Kansas City and either earn more or beg it from Elizabeth. He knew it was just his ego, but he hated asking for money.

  While sitting at the gate waiting for his flight, he put on his Bluetooth headset. “Jesse, you there?”

  Sensing the link was live, he said, “The meeting went well. I think we have someone capable of leading this thing.” He paused. “Hearing about the missing man formation made me finally accept I’m really dead to everyone I know.” He sighed. “It sent a chill down my spine like someone was walking over my grave.” He stopped abruptly. “Oh my God ... that might actually be possible.”

  He shook his head to clear the image and took a deep breath. “I’m trying to save the world with a fake ID and a shoestring budget. If you’re not willing to help directly, why can’t you at least give me straight answers to my questions? Like who are you and who do you represent?”

  It wouldn’t help.

  “Why, because I’m too dumb to understand?” He looked up and saw the man sitting across from him looking at him oddly. Bluetooth aside, he realized his side of the conversation sounded bizarre. He got up, and went for a walk.

  Your nature prevents you from accepting direct answers.

  “What do you mean?”

  You question everything. For you to accept anything, you have to reason it out for yourself.

  Josh smiled. “Mom always called me ‘Doubting Thomas,’ but I don’t have a closed mind. I’m willing to accept anything, as long as it’s supportable with evidence and logic.” He paused. “Even the possibility that you might be from ... elsewhere or elsewhen?”

  Silence.

  He sighed. “Look, we’re gonna have to pull off an engineering miracle and I’m not even sure it’s physically possible. Would you at least be willing to discuss some basic physics?”

  What’s your understanding of physics?

  “See? There you go again!”

  We have to start from what you know.

  He frowned and then thought for a moment, “OK, I believe we’ve figured out most of the laws the universe operates under. We’re getting close to a theory that will tie all the forces into one master equation. We have a lot to learn, but we have the basics figured out and mostly need to fill in the details.”

  What holds the universe together?

  “Gravity.”

  What is the source of gravity?

  “Matter, like stars, planets, dust and gas.”

  Is that all?

  “Uh, no. There’s also Dark Matter.”

  What is Dark Matter?

  “Well, apparently, there isn’t enough visible matter to create the gravity that holds galaxies together. They’ve calculated that we only see about 20 percent of the matter in the universe. Therefore, there has to be another 80 percent that’s invisible. We call it Dark Matter.”

  What is Dark Matter made of?

  “There are several theories ... but we’re not exactly sure yet.”

  How does Dark Matter affect the universe?

  “It creates a powerful gravitational pull that should slow the universe’s expansion.” He paused. “But we discovered the universe isn’t just expanding, somehow the expansion appears to be accelerating.”

  What causes that?

  “Dark Energy.”

  What is Dark Energy?

  “We’re not exactly sure.”

  Silence.

  “OK, they’re probably called Dark Matter and Dark Energy because we’re in the dark about them.” He understood why Jesse walked him through this. “I admit parts of our science are not intuitive or fully understood.”

  Silence.

  Josh laughed. “All right, all right! I get it. I claimed we just needed to fill in the details. Minor ones, like we don’t know what 80 percent of the universe is made of, and the universe is being
blown apart by something more powerful than gravity, and we’re not sure what it is.” He paused. “Guess our understanding of the universe kinda sucks.” He sighed. “Can you help illuminate my ignorance a little?”

  That’s enough for now.

  “That’s just great! I now know less than I did before I asked.”

  Taking his Bluetooth off, he realized he had other issues that were more pressing. He was an illegal alien, masquerading as a U.S. military officer ... on his way to CIA Headquarters.

  17

  INTEL

  Josh drove his microscopic rental car from Dulles International to Langley, Virginia. As he approached CIA Headquarters, he saw an SR-71 Blackbird perched on a pedestal. The sleek black reconnaissance jet had long since been retired, but was still, officially, the world’s fastest.

  He suddenly felt apprehensive. For some reason, the jet began to look sinister, like the raven of Edgar Allen Poe’s dark poem. His fear wasn’t logical. The CIA dealt with external, not internal threats.

  Entering the lobby, he walked across the granite CIA seal seen in so many movies. After checking in with the receptionist, he looked over at the wall of stars. Years ago, Carl had shared with him that each star represented an exceptionally heroic CIA operative killed in the line of duty. There were well over a hundred stars carved into the marble wall. Half remained nameless because their mission, to this day, was too secret to divulge. He had a new appreciation for their unrecognized sacrifice.

  Carl was punctual and met him with a visitor’s pass. Once again, he felt strange meeting an old friend who didn’t recognize him. He introduced himself and said, “Thank you for seeing me on short notice.”

  Carl said, “You’ve got my curiosity.”

  As Josh followed him to his office, he realized they were about the same height, weight and hair color. Outwardly, Carl was a relaxed personality who always carried a slight but perpetual smile, as if constantly amused by the world.

  Arriving at his office, Carl said, “Have a seat. So, you knew Andy well?”

  “Yes, we spent a lot of time together working on black programs.” He also knew Carl well. Carl was very intelligent and a walking encyclopedia of information on international politics, history, and of course, bad guys and their weapons of choice. He was also conservative, skeptical and a tiny bit paranoid, in other words, the perfect intelligence officer. Josh believed that as their program expanded, he would need Carl’s knowledge and insight.

  As Josh sat down across from him, he casually scanned the room. Carl had a very neat office and desk. There were no papers sitting on the desktop and his computer screen was blank. As he looked at the only picture on the desk, he suddenly realized he was looking at his wife. It was Kelly, wearing a wedding gown. Wait! This was a wedding picture of Kelly and ... and Carl. His breath caught in his throat as he felt a moment of panic.

  Carl noticed his reaction and asked, “Are you all right?”

  “Sorry.” He lied. “Think I must have caught a bug; it’s making me a little lightheaded.” He regained his composure and clamped a lid on his emotions. He had a job to do, but he had to know the situation or he wouldn’t be able to concentrate. He ventured, “Isn’t that Kelly?”

  “Yes. You didn’t know?”

  Josh looked at him blankly.

  “Kelly and I were married five months ago.”

  He felt sick to his stomach, but all he could do was nod his head. Josh knew the unwritten code. When someone died in the line of duty, the squadron family gathered to help. Although never an expectation or obligation, it wasn’t uncommon for a fellow officer to marry the widow of a fallen comrade. Intellectually, he understood. Emotionally, he was horrified. “Torn” didn’t begin to cover it!

  Carl continued, “I saw Kelly at the funeral and then again at the medal ceremony.”

  Josh realized this was why he couldn’t find Kelly online. The wife of a CIA agent had to keep a lower profile. Trying to focus on something else, Josh asked, “The medal ceremony?”

  “You weren’t able to attend the ceremony or the funeral?”

  Josh said, “Couldn’t make it there physically but was there in spirit.” He suddenly realized it was the other way around. Apparently, he was there physically…. He would have laughed at the irony if it weren’t for Carl and Kelly, but at least the dark humor helped him refocus.

  “They gave him the Navy Flying Cross posthumously. As I’m sure you heard, he was trying to land his burning jet at an airport surrounded by neighborhoods. Only one small area wasn’t developed; they were building a new shopping center there. He dropped the jet right into the middle of it.” He paused.

  Josh was surprised. Carl, the hard-boiled analyst, was actually struggling to hold back his emotions.

  Switching back to his normal self, Carl continued, “The people who live in the surrounding neighborhoods got the shopping center named after him.”

  Glad to find a diversion, Josh laughed and said, “He always said he wanted to have a business of his own. He would’ve found that very funny.”

  “No doubt.” Carl smiled. “Then about seven months ago, Kelly and I were thrown together at a squadron reunion. We started dating shortly after. We’ve always been good friends. I think Andy would have approved.”

  Josh swallowed hard. His intellectual side was able to squeeze out, “Yes ... he would have wanted her to be happy.”

  He had to concentrate on why he was here. He decided to tell a story that would let Carl know that he had ‘known’ his former self, and it would take his mind off Kelly. “Logan told me about the time you two were on the USS Enterprise. He said you were in port in Hawaii. You got back to the ship, feeling no pain, just as the sun was coming up. Minutes after you hit the rack, they woke both of you. I think he said the squadron officers were scheduled to qualify with pistols at the base range early that morning?”

  Carl started laughing. “I totally forgot about that. Skipper thought we were just hung over. The rest of the pilots knew we were still drunk. They were laughing their butts off. We couldn’t have passed a Breathalyzer, and they put semi-automatic pistols in our hands. The funny part was—”

  Josh finished, “You both qualified ‘Expert.’”

  Carl, still laughing, added, “And the skipper only qualified as a Marksman. He was pissed!”

  Knowing Carl was task-oriented, as soon as the laughing died down, Josh moved on. “Carl, the reason I’m here is that we’re working on a critical black program of unprecedented scale. We need your expertise, and I trust you based on Logan’s recommendation. He would have contacted you.”

  “What type of program?”

  “Well, as you know, we have to read you into it first. I’ll level with you; we haven’t talked to your chain of command.” He knew, by nature, Carl would question everything. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have been such an exceptional agent.

  Carl frowned.

  “Carl, this program has nothing to do with terrorists, foreign troop movements or weapons of mass destruction. I won’t be asking for any classified information.”

  “Then why do you need me?”

  “Because, according to Logan, you’re one of the most brilliant analysts he knew, with an exceptional understanding of global politics and international law.”

  Relaxing a little, Carl smiled. “International law was my major, and I do work in that area, but there are others with more knowledge and experience.”

  “Maybe, but not that Logan trusted with something this important.” He played his ace card. “Captain Meadows is in charge of the program.”

  Carl’s eyes lit up. “The skipper, huh? Well, I don’t see any downside unless this is going to absorb a lot of time, but I’ll have to clear it with my boss.”

  Josh said, “That’s fine, and no, it shouldn’t take much time.”

  There was a pause. Josh pushed on, “Would it be possible to ask while I’m here?”

  “Guess this is kind of urgent?”

  “You�
��ll understand when you see what we’re working on.”

  Carl picked up the phone and punched a button. “Bob, got a second? ... Have a Navy officer in my office, Commander Josh Fuze. He’s a friend of a friend. Wants to read me into a black program to get our agency’s perspective on something. Is that all right? ... No, he said it’s just to ask some questions.” There was a long pause. Carl rolled his eyes as he said, “Yes sir, I know if we put any time on it, we’ll need a charge number.”

  Josh smiled back. Some things never changed.

  Carl hung up. “All right.”

  Josh gave him the paperwork to sign and explained what they were doing.

  Half an hour later, Carl’s eyes were wide, and he said, “This is big. I’m surprised our agency isn’t already involved.”

  Josh shrugged. “They probably are at the top, but you know the compartmentalization stuff. Sometimes, those of us in the trenches need to work directly with each other to get things done.”

  Carl nodded. “True.” He paused. “I’m fascinated but a bit skeptical since you can’t give me the source.”

  “I don’t blame you, but be honest, how many times has your agency told us in the military that you couldn’t release the source?”

  “Touché.”

  “Carl, I’d share it if I could, but you know those lie detector tests.” Josh knew from his friend that lie detectors were often a part of their job, understood but resented.

  “So what help do you need from me?”

  “As our program expands, we’ll need your insight into how to work with other agencies and countries, not to mention personnel clearance and international site issues.”

  Carl nodded. “Fair enough. I’m excited about participating. The only thing that bothers me is the unidentified source. I understand you can’t release it, but it just sounds too much like ... frozen aliens. God knows we’ve taken enough hits from the public for that. Some people still think we shot Kennedy.”

  Josh laughed. “Glad to hear you didn’t.” Quickly continuing, he added, “Carl, think about it, if our source is wrong, it won’t take long to find out. It would be great if we discover there’s no imminent threat. In that case, we spend several hundred million sooner than we absolutely had to, but we’re ready for a future contingency. On the other hand, if the source is right....”