The Libra Affair

by Daco

  Farrokh dipped outside his window and strained to see into the distance while Jordan leaned in toward the windshield.

  Jordan called to him, “My impression is ten to fifteen vehicles, maybe twenty. Half of them transporting men.”

  “I count three flatbeds each with two tanks.” A moment later, he said, “Add a transport carrier with Jeeps.”

  Jordan banged the steering wheel. “This means one thing.”

  Farrokh dipped back inside the car. “War games.”

  “Has to be,” she agreed.

  They were nearing Gombazli. They both knew that the convoy would turn there and head north into the desert toward military outposts, which would place them entirely too close to Libra. The missile silo housing the Libra was buried beneath the sand at the edge of the Iranian and Turkmenistan border. It was easy to reach. A fifteen-minute drive down a dirt road beyond a small farming community led directly to the site. Now the obstacle wasn’t that the silo sat in a restricted area, but that it would be crawling with soldiers.

  Jordan opened her phone and dialed Sonya again. “We’ve got a blue alert. I need intelligence and fast.”

  “Location?” Sonya asked.

  “Gombazli, north, desert.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “See what you can find out about military movement. We’ve got a large convoy heading north toward Libra.”

  “I’ll see what I can do,” Sonya said. “And another thing, the doctor’s going to release your boy in the morning.”

  “Good. Bring him to me. I’m going to need him first thing. See if you can get him on the road right away and bring a laptop so he can log into NASA.”

  “With this new development, I don’t know about going through with this.” Sonya’s voice was firm.

  But Jordan knew better. “We keep going unless I get word.”

  “Have you heard from Snake?” Sonya asked.

  “No.”

  Jordan knew Sonya had had enough; nevertheless, she held her ground. “Just see what you can find out.” She ended the call.

  Jordan drove along at a snail’s pace to give the convoy in front of them a wide berth to make their turn at Gombazli. Ten minutes after passing Gombazli, the Sarakhs Airport was in sight. Beyond that was the small border town of Sarakhs — a town once known in ancient times for its libraries and schools of architecture that were pillaged, robbed, and plundered by ancient Chinese Mongols. Ironically, that was exactly what the Chinese had in mind again.

  Isbel was still sleeping when Farrokh spoke the obvious. “I think you’re going to need me to get the job done.”

  “I think you’re right,” Jordan replied.

  Jordan’s phone rang. “It’s Sonya.”

  When the call concluded, Jordan laid it out square. “War games.”

  “How extensive?” Farrokh asked.

  “Land and sea.”

  “This is big.”

  “We can’t afford to be seen.” She glanced at him in the rearview mirror.

  He nodded.

  A short moment of silence passed between them.

  Then Farrokh said what they both were thinking. “None of this will be easy.”

  Chapter 26

  “This way,” Farrokh said, pointing to the turn for the storage facility. He had chosen the place because it was located at the far edge of town and also because it was self-operated with no one there to check them in. “It’s around the back, fourth unit down.”

  Jordan stopped the car in front of the unit.

  Farrokh hopped out of the vehicle, opened the combination lock, and then lifted the garage door to the unit before returning to her driver’s side window.

  “Let me move the Jeep up a few more feet so you can get the Samand inside,” he told her.

  Once the cars were situated inside the unit, Jordan exited the car, leaving Isbel asleep inside of it. “We don’t have much room,” she said as she stretched.

  “Enough,” he said.

  “Let’s let the car cool before we close the door.”

  The squeal of brakes sounded nearby. An engine rumbled as it slowed.

  “Farrokh!” Jordan shouted to him. “Close it down.”

  Another vehicle was turning into the facility. And it wasn’t just any vehicle; it sounded like a heavy-duty truck.

  “Hurry.” She raced to him.

  “I’ve got it,” and with one solid tug, he yanked the door down to the concrete slab.

  With no light on just yet, it went pitch-dark.

  “What did you see? Anything?” she asked as she placed her hands on the door and moved toward his voice.

  “Nothing. Let me listen.”

  They both listened to the grinding and jerking sounds of the approaching vehicle. There was no question; this was not a civilian vehicle.

  “What do we have?” Jordan asked him.

  “Transport.”

  The truck came to a stop. It was close by the sound of it. Someone opened a door and jumped to the ground. The door on the next unit over lifted.

  “Where are you?” Farrokh whispered.

  “North corner.”

  He walked slowly toward her. “Let’s open the car door for some light. They won’t be able to see anything inside of here. Not with it daylight.”

  “Right,” she agreed.

  Jordan made her way around to the car and opened the door. The sudden appearance of light woke Isbel.

  “Jordan,” the girl said.

  “We have to be quiet, we’ve got company next door.”

  “Who?” Isbel asked.

  “We don’t know. Just stay here.”

  Jordan returned to Farrokh.

  A couple more vehicles were pulling into the complex.

  Farrokh held up three fingers to mark the count.

  “Baba,” Isbel called quietly from the car.

  “Not now,” he hushed her.

  Then Jordan said, “We’ve got to get a read on who is out there and what they’re up to. I have a hunch it’s supplies, but let’s get a look to be sure.”

  “Right,” he agreed. “Do you have a mirror?”

  “Yeah. It’s in the trunk. Let me get it.”

  At the car, Isbel spoke to Jordan, “I need — ”

  Jordan shushed the girl. “We have to be quiet; we don’t know who’s out there. It could be dangerous. If you’ll give me minute, I’ll be back.”

  Jordan took the angled spy mirror to Farrokh. They crouched down together at the edge of the door to have a look.

  He inserted the device under the lip of the door. A few moments later, he reported back, saying, “Not good.”

  “Soldiers?”

  “Yeah. Four, five … six on foot.”

  “What are they doing?” she asked.

  “Loading supplies, equipment.”

  “Like?”

  “Looks like crates with weapons. All sorts.”

  “Let me have a look.” They traded places. “I don’t see anyone carrying ammo,” she reported. “Just weapons.” A moment later, she said, “I get a count of six men, too.”

  “Can you get a read as to whether that includes the drivers? If it doesn’t,” he paused, “add three more for a count of nine.”

  “They backed in, I can’t see the front of the trucks.”

  “We have to assume nine.”

  “Agreed.” And a moment later, she said, “It looks like the first three storage units are open. I’m guessing that’s all they’ve got.”

  “What’s your read on the situation?”

  She knew he’d already come to the same conclusion, but nevertheless answered him. “They’ve got to be part of the desert activity.”

 
; “That’s what I am thinking.”

  “One of us will have to stay posted,” she said as she pulled the mirror back in and propped herself up on an elbow.

  “I’ve got it,” he said.

  “I’ll check on Isbel and give Sonya a call. Let me know if anything strange develops. We need to be ready to go in, just in case.”

  “Right,” he agreed.

  She rose to her feet and headed toward the Samand.

  At the rear of their unit, a workbench with a few tools, supplies, and a couple of folding chairs were ready to be set up. It’d be tough, but they could make it even if they had to spend the rest of the day and night without opening the door.

  Back at the car, Jordan spoke to Isbel. “Looks like we’ve got to stay put in here.”

  “My leg hurts,” Isbel said. “And it’s hot.”

  “I know. I’ll get you something for the pain in a minute. I’ve got to make a quick call first.”

  Jordan dialed Sonya’s number. When she answered, Jordan told her, “We’re here, but we’ve got company next door. Looks like the military has been using a couple of the storage units to house weapons and equipment.”

  “Why am I not surprised?” Sonya said.

  “What did you find out about the games?”

  “It looks like exercises will begin in the morning and continue throughout the week. We don’t have a schedule of events. We’re still working on that.”

  “The Chinese must have known about this,” Jordan said.

  “They must have.”

  “Maybe they had a hand in planning it.”

  “It makes sense. Pads the action.”

  “So why not tell us upfront?”

  “Piecemeal, Jordan. That’s all the Chinese NSB ever gives anyone.”

  “Our intelligence should have picked this up well before now.”

  “Deal with it.” Sonya paused. “And you should know that as soon as I deliver your boy to you, I’m gone.” Sonya didn’t mince her words.

  Jordan couldn’t argue with her, the woman had definitely done her part. So she said, “No problem. What about the launch? Have you heard anything about the schedule for the experiments?”

  “Snake still doesn’t answer,” Sonya told her. “My guess is that they haven’t finalized the schedule.”

  “Maybe. But we can’t wait around any longer to find out. Ben’s going to have to make contact with someone at NASA now.” Jordan exhaled hard as she ran a hand through her hair.

  “Who do you suggest he call, David Dunn?” Sonya’s tone was snide.

  “Not exactly. Let’s get him to call his coworker. Her name is Kara Murphy. Can you handle that on your end?”

  “Yes.”

  Their conversation was over, but Jordan stopped her before she could hang up. “How’s Ben?”

  “Just as you might assume.”

  “Let me talk to him,” she said next. “Maybe I can smooth his feathers.”

  “I wouldn’t count on it.”

  “Hey,” Jordan said when Ben came on the line. “You doing okay?”

  “About as good as can be expected,” he returned in a dry, uninterested voice. “What can I do for you, Jordan?”

  When she heard the bitterness in his voice, she knew there was nothing she could do to change his mood so she got straight to the point. “I need you to do something. It can’t wait.”

  “I seem to have all the time in the world,” he said curtly.

  “Ben,” Jordan said his name as though making love to him, “when this is over, I promise — ”

  “I don’t need your promises anymore, Jordan.”

  “Ben.”

  “We’re through with all that. What is it you need?”

  His words burned. She deserved it, but what bothered her more was not knowing whether he really meant what he’d just said.

  “I need you to call Kara Murphy and see if she can find out exactly when your experiment is scheduled to be released.”

  “No problem.” And he handed the phone back to Sonya, saying nothing more.

  • • •

  “Ben,” Kara cried when she heard his voice. “Where are you?”

  “Still hanging out overseas. There’s a lot to see.”

  “So,” she drew out the word, “what’s going on?”

  “You wouldn’t happen to know when my experiment is scheduled to be released, would you?”

  “I guess you heard about the delay?”

  “Yeah.”

  “To tell you the truth, I haven’t looked at the line-up just yet.”

  “I hate to be such a bother, but is there any way you could find out for me?”

  “I kind of took the afternoon off. I’m sure everything is fine.”

  Ben feigned a sigh of disappointment. “Not that it matters,” he said, “but it’s eating me alive. I just can’t relax about it. I can’t sleep.”

  “Dude, I’m kind of like busy now,” she said suggestively.

  “Oh, right, you’re like out with someone?”

  “You got it.”

  “Anyone I know?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Jason Powers?” Ben guessed.

  “Mm-hm.”

  “That young fella down in Dunn’s office?”

  “That’s the one.”

  Sonya poked Ben’s arm to move him along.

  Ben returned a dirty look.

  “Okay, so I hate to rain on your party,” he said, “but I’m dying over here, chewing my nails like you girls say. If I don’t hear something soon, I’m going to — ”

  “Stop already,” Kara said. “It’s not like you to beg. I’ll see what I can do.”

  “Thanks, Kara. I owe you one.”

  “I’ll call you as soon as I know something. What number should I call? This one registered private, so your number didn’t come through on caller ID.”

  “Oh, right. Let me check.” Ben turned to Sonya, held the phone to his chest, and asked, “What number should she call?”

  Sonya said, “Tell her you’ll call her back.”

  Ben lifted the phone. “Listen Kara, there’s not a good number to reach me at. I’ll have to call you back. How long do you need?”

  “At least forty-five minutes; no, you better make it an hour.”

  “Thanks, Kara, you’re the greatest.”

  An hour later, Ben reconnected with Kara. “So, what’d you find out?” he asked as soon as she answered.

  “It looks like it flies Tuesday, 6:00 A.M., my time. So you can stop sweating it, everything is okay.” Kara sounded delighted with herself; perhaps it was the young man standing at her side.

  But as soon as Ben heard the timeframe, he realized with this schedule there would be no time to log onto the NASA system to rework his computer program with Jordan. Thinking on his feet, he exclaimed disappointedly, “Ah, jeez.”

  “What?” Kara sounded confused.

  “My experiment’s going to crash.”

  “What do you mean it’ll crash?”

  “There won’t be enough time for the program to reset and perform a simulation test run,” he lied, hoping she’d buy it.

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, it’ll all be garbage. What dumb luck.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  Ben elaborated. “The box won’t open if the simulation test run doesn’t take place first. It’s a safety precaution. I guess it means nothing will happen when it launches in space.”

  “There’s got to be something we can do to prevent this from happening. David Dunn has already left D.C. He’s somewhere down at the Cape schmoozing with big wigs.”

  “Just dumb luck,” Ben repeated. “The only way
I can see salvaging the experiment is if we can somehow bump the release to a later slot. But if no one is around, I guess it’s just too late.”

  “You’ve been waiting three years for this puppy to fly. It’s too important to just throw in the towel so hang on, let me talk to my friend here.”

  When she returned to the line, she said, “Okay. Call me back in thirty, Jason’s going to contact Payload Operations and see what we can do.”

  “Kara, that’s great. You guys really think you can do something?”

  “No promises.”

  “And Kara,” he said. “There is one more thing.”

  “I’ll just get out my wand.” She chuckled.

  “You don’t mind, do you?”

  “No, no. I’m just yanking your chain. What is it?”

  “See if it’s possible to bump it a day to Wednesday.”

  He knew that’d give him enough time to be discharged from the hospital and make it to Jordan, which would give them the night to log onto NASA and reprogram the experiment. It’d also give him enough time to figure out what exactly was going on with Jordan and his experiment.

  “You don’t ask for much,” Kara joked.

  “Since you’re going to the trouble,” he said sweetly.

  “And you don’t even know the half of it.”

  “You can have all my vacation time if it makes you feel any better.”

  “I might just take you up on it, dude.”

  Thirty minutes later, Kara had managed to arrange everything as if Ben had ordered a pepperoni pizza for delivery.

  • • •

  Back with Farrokh, who was still monitoring outside events, Jordan gave him the news. “Six A.M. Wednesday, our time. That means we’re stuck in here until then.”

  Farrokh looked up at Jordan. “I’m worried about Isbel.”

  “She’ll be okay. She has her medicine.”

  He contorted his face. “She needs to be seen by a doctor soon.”

  Jordan patted his shoulder. “She’s just tired.”

  Outside, they heard three engines turn over.

  “They must be leaving,” he said.

  “Let’s just hope they have everything they need.”

  But then, someone outside tried to lift the door to the unit.

  Jordan and Farrokh reached for their weapons.