Van stood up from his pilot’s seat and turned to face the excited group, then started his prepared speech. “This is a compound aircraft in that it incorporates many of the propulsion features of the F-35 with the size and capacity of something about the size of an Army H-47 Chinook. Like the Chinook it can carry up to thirty troops with personal gear, or fewer when carrying more cargo. Total carrying capacity is twenty-eight thousand pounds. The engines are upgrades to the F-135 PW 100 engine. Much more power. For our purposes, it has nearly unlimited range due to improved fuel consumption, especially at altitude. As far as speed is concerned, I can say it will go supersonic, but that is all I can say.
“It has a significant stealth capability, as you probably saw and heard as we approached, and its main armament consists of two side-mounted 30mm cannons. It also has an in-flight refueling capability when necessary.
“This is a prototype so there is only one. We have designated it as the B1. It’s under development in part with Stellar and several other companies that we can’t name. It is, however, entirely our property. While it should be obvious, this is an intensely proprietary product. For you ex-military types, that means top secret. Brice or Ross will have to shoot you if you tell. I say that partly in jest, but partly not. This means no more commercial flights and delays. We can go direct to where we’re needed.”
Van expected a clamor and tons of questions. But there was only silence as the group took in what they were seeing and hearing. ThenVan introduced Harry.
“Ladies and gentlemen, many of you have heard of this man and some have actually talked with him. But, until now, nobody has met him. He has been hard at work in our Ops Center as well as our development facilities. Let me introduce you to my partner and right-hand man, Harry. That’s what he likes to be called, so we don’t use his last name… also secret.”
Harry stood from the copilot’s seat and moved forward to a mixture of hand shaking and clapping.
When all the back slapping and noise subsided, Dick directed everyone to Brice’s new briefing room. On the way, Van thought about Harry. If they found out what he really was, things would get complicated fast. Best to keep it secret for a while longer.
CHAPTER 32
Once everyone was seated in the new room, Brice opened the discussion.
“As I’ve mentioned to several people lately, I think we need to start beefing up security for the Carson Group in addition to that already provided to Van and Stellar. If there is any chance that Meier and his security goons at Red Wolf will stumble upon us, we need to be as ready as possible. Ross and Jimmy are reviewing Carson security protocols even as we speak, with an eye to covering any holes we might have. I would also prefer that Dick and Barbara have assigned security until this mess is cleared up. Van is covered well enough at present, especially since he moved to the cabin. Much easier to look after.”
“That sounds like the right thing to do, Brice, and I appreciate your being on top of things as usual,” Dick said. “But our best defense should still be our goal of capturing or eliminating Meier. Harry or Barbara, now that we have Meier’s attention, has he given any hints as to where he might be in the near future?”
“I think so,” Barbara said, drawing everyone’s attention. “Harry and Big Brother have been a wonderful resource, and we believe that Meier may be en route to his yacht, the Valkyrie, as soon as tomorrow. She is scheduled to pass through the Bosporus and the Dardanelles in two days and then sail to an as-yet-unknown destination. However, just knowing that much may be all we need. Once he gets into the Black Sea, there are no places he can go quickly.”
“Sounds like an opportunity to me. Brice and Van, can you be ready to visit the Valkyrie in two or three days?”
“Harry and I are ready for it,” Van said. “The only problem I see is getting a force onto the yacht. We can’t land on it; the pad is not big enough. Besides, there’s usually a helo on that deck.”
“If the B1 can come into a hover over the yacht, we can rappel down to the deck. Or we can jump from the B1 by parachute and land on the ship,” Brice said.
“Which is safer and has the best chance for success?” asked Van.
“Rappelling.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do. The B1 can be pretty stealthy, and it hovers well,” Van said.
Dick intervened by saying, “Just so we all know who we’re after, Barbara has prepared a brief on Meier that we all might benefit from and that you can pass to your teams. Barbara?”
Barbara stood and keyed a projector to shine an image on the front wall. “As you might have guessed, the picture on the wall is our target, Peter J. Meier. The goal will be to capture him, but if we can’t, then we will encourage his end, so to speak.
“For those of you who already know much about him, this may be a review. However, to some of you this will be new. Peter Meier is short by many standards at five feet six inches. He is in his midsixties with red hair streaked with gray. He has brown eyes and a slightly larger-than-normal head, as you can see on the screen. Based on a recent surprise phone call, we now know he suffers from ALS, or what many call Lou Gehrig’s disease. We suspect that the effects of the disease may be starting to show, including progressive muscle weakness, tripping, dropping things, abnormal fatigue of the arms and/or legs, slurred speech, and muscle cramps and twitches, to name a few. While the onset of this disease varies in terms of swiftness, we can assume that his mobility is likely impaired with muscle weakness as well as difficulty breathing. That does not mean he is an invalid or unable to offer some level of self-defense.
“By education he is an economist, trained and influenced by the old Soviet system, including the KGB, which he worked for in a bank in Berlin. He is dedicated to his own achievement of wealth and power. He is an above-average thinker and a planner with a low level of moral restraint; he’s observant and has a good memory and not much interest in other people’s views. Above all, he is ruthless. He goes nowhere without highly trained, professional guards. However, he limits public exposure, preferring to stay in places he owns or trusts implicitly.”
“Listening to this, I’m guessing that Meier seldom goes anywhere alone due to the limitations ALS forces on him, right, Barbara?” asked Van.
“That’s right. He’s not likely as fast or sure of foot as he once was, and he would likely rather avoid a direct personal conflict if he could, even if it meant sacrificing others. But he is still dangerous and smart. Keep your eyes and ears alert for tricks and surprises.”
“Thank you, Barbara. This all sounds like the best parts of a plan. Based on what we just heard, I think we should be ready to go in three days,” Dick said. “What we need to do now is put a fine focus on our intelligence and have Brice work up the final plan.”
Everyone agreed and filed out of the room to their individual tasks. Barbara, however, slipped Van a note, which said in big letters “You Owe Me Dinner!”
Van smiled at the note, but his pleasure was short-lived as he thought about the challenge ahead. This would be the first mission for the B1 and one that couldn’t be screwed up.
Back at Site R, Van and Harry were on Level 3 looking over the B1.
“You know, Harry, this worked perfectly on the Virginia visit. Nobody guessed that everything wasn’t just as it appeared. Perhaps they were so amazed that they just didn’t think to look closer.”
“Well, Commander, even if they had looked closer, I doubt that they would have found anything to spark concern or suspicion. I made a few ‘tweaks,’ as you call them, to some minor systems, but the B1 is essentially the same as when you test flew it earlier.”
“Can you make the same tweaks to the B2?”
“Yes I can, Commander. And now that the design has been verified, it can be done in about a week. Not in time for the Valkyrie mission, however.”
“That’s OK. Will we have room for four shuttles on this deck?”
“Not in the new configuration, Commander. We can always transfer a shuttle t
o Site B for the short term until the B2 is reconfigured.”
“Good idea. Let’s send the Truman to Site B for now and bring in the B2. Also, I remember that you’ve been moving the medical chamber up and down from Level 3 to Level 1. Can we keep it on Level 1 until this thing with Meier is over? If we need it, having it where the shuttles land might be handy. Plus, if we need it, I don’t want anyone going lower than Level 1 for now.”
“Not a problem, Commander. I will move it back to Level 1 right away, as well as some of the medical supplies that we have in storage.”
“Also, can you build a small room around it to be an actual medical center for the short term?”
“There is plenty of room for that, Commander. May I suggest that we also move the learning chair to the same location? It will open the landing area up a little.”
“Good. Do it as soon as possible. I have the feeling we are going to need the medical technology we have here sooner rather than later.”
CHAPTER 33
While Harry and Van were busy making their preparations, sparks were flying in Geneva. In his townhouse, Meier was on a tirade and pacing back and forth, a sign of his anger. Eric Borman was on the speakerphone.
“Borman, it has been an intolerable amount of time since your failed attempt at Stellar, and you still haven’t any news of value on Childs. Give me one good reason not to have you slow-cooked over a very hot fire!”
“I know who helped Childs attack Avantek and is protecting him.”
“You what?” Meier said, stopping in his tracks.
“I said I know who is helping Childs.”
“Who is it?” He went silent; his muscles tensed.
“The Carson Group.”
Relaxing a little and taking a seat at his desk, Meier asked, “What do you know about them?”
“Carson and Childs went to the US Naval Academy together. They are old friends. When looking into friends of Childs’s, we saw that there have been multiple visits by Carson and some of his team to the Stellar facility in Rancho Bernardo. In fact, when Childs was injured in his accident, it was the Carson Group that came to his aid.”
“Well that’s interesting. Is there more?”
“Yes. The Carson Group is a security company similar to Red Wolf. Since our troubles with Childs, they have moved into a new facility and expanded the number of people working there. Most of those people are former Special Forces. More interestingly, guess who collected the reward on the capture of Rehman?”
“You are going to tell me it was the Carson Group, correct?” said Meier with a crooked smile as he leaned back in his chair.
“Yes indeed. There are more connections, but our analysts agree that Childs could do none of this by himself. The Carson Group, therefore, has to be Childs’s muscle in these attacks.”
“I assume you have this group under observation even as we speak?”
“Yes we do.”
Meier’s anger and frustration gave way to curiosity. “Do you have a plan before I leave here for the Valkyrie?”
“They are well protected, but I indeed do have a plan.”
“Then tell me,” said Meier, leaning forward once more as Borman continued.
“This is how we see it working…”
Harry informed Van and the Carson Group that the Valkyrie was approaching the Turkish Straits and that Meier’s G5 crew had filed a flight plan from Geneva International to Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul.
“Commander and Mr. Carson,” Harry said over their implant communications, “Meier is on the move and appears to be headed to his yacht. I have D2s airborne, as well as the Enterprise.”
“Looks like our time has come, Van. I’ll alert Brice and Barbara,” responded Dick.
“OK. There is a seven-hour difference between your location and Istanbul. I suggest we depart from the same location as before but two hours earlier. That way we should be over the Valkyrie about 2:00 a.m. local time in the Black Sea.”
“I’ll pass that along to Brice, and he’ll be ready with a team.”
“Commander and Mr. Carson,” Harry interrupted, “I have visual on the Valkyrie. She is close to starting through the straits and has slowed down. Probably due to the traffic and waiting for Mr. Meier’s arrival via the yacht’s helicopter, which is not now on her deck.”
Late in the afternoon, Van eased the B1 down in the same empty field as last time in Virginia. The only visible thing was the cargo door opening as the ramp lowered and a team of ten men plus Brice quickly jumped in with their gear in tow and took their seats. Up came the ramp, and as the door closed, they lifted off. Brice took the copilot’s seat again.
“Jesus, Van, this is the first time I’ve ‘seen’ this thing, so to speak, in the daylight, and the stealth is way beyond what I imagined. I expected to see something, but there was nothing till the door opened. Not even a shimmer like on our suits. You have to get this to our Special Forces groups!”
“In time, Brice. Still need to work out a few bugs. Harry is tracking the yacht into the straits, and apparently the ship’s helicopter is on the way to Ataturk Airport to pick up Meier. So sit back and relax for a few hours.”
An hour into the flight Harry came online. “Commander, Mr. Meier has been picked up at the airport and is on his way to the Valkyrie. I expect he will be there in about thirty minutes. The yacht is nearly to the Anadolu and Rumeli lighthouses, which mark the official entrance into the Black Sea.”
“Got it, Harry. Thanks.”
Dick, Barbara, and several security men were in the Carson Ops Center in the interior of the upper-level complex. Dick and Barbara had offices outside the center looking out onto the highway.
“Dick, I’m going to my office for a while. Not much happening here, and I want to work more with Harry on some of Meier’s financial intelligence.”
“OK, Barbara. Take Rick Conners here with you.”
“Is that really necessary?”
“Absolutely. Until Meier is put away, we need to stay sharp. Go with her, Rick. I don’t care what she says.”
“Yes, sir, Mr. Carson. Ms. Fuller, let’s head out.”
Barbara’s office was down a few doors from the Ops Center and across the hall. She addressed him as they walked. “Don’t you feel left out not being with the team, Rick?”
“Not really, ma’am. All our jobs are important and we rotate all the time.”
“You have a great attitude, I have to give you that. Here’s my office. You can use the couch if you want while I’m at my desk.”
“Thank you, ma’am, but I’ll remain standing. Standard procedure.”
“OK, thanks,” she said and busied herself looking over financial records.
Just then they both heard what sounded like a helicopter.
“What’s that?” Barbara asked.
“Looks like a news helicopter, ma’am. It has WJLA markings.”
Suddenly the helicopter came into a hover and both side doors opened. Two men could be seen dressed in black and carrying two long weapons.
“Hit the deck! Now!” cried Rick as he depressed the emergency button on his phone.
Rick threw himself over Barbara just as a white flash erupted from the helicopter and a machine gun opened fire. The flash, Rick knew, was an RPG launch, a rocket-propelled grenade. He had seen plenty of them in Afghanistan. He closed his eyes and hoped for the best—there was no place to go.
The explosion was devastating, especially on the glass-fronted office. Machine gun bullets tore into the couch, the desk, and every picture and piece of art in the office. Then all went quiet—until it started all over again, but in a different office. More explosions and more machine gun fire, and then nothing.
CHAPTER 34
On the final leg of the flight, Van’s calm was interrupted by a frantic implant call from Dick.
“Van! Abort, abort! Get back as soon as you can!”
“What the hell is going on?”
“We have been hit. RPG and
automatic-weapons fire throughout most of the outer offices. Some internal Ops Center damage. We need you and Brice back here now!”
“On our way. Update us as soon as you can.”
“Roger, out.”
“What was that about and why are we turning?” asked Brice.
“Just got a message routed through Harry from Dick on my headphones.” He was wearing a set of David Clarks, mostly for show.
“What’s happening?”
“There has been an RPG and automatic-weapons attack on Carson HQ. We’re headed back as fast as this brute will go.”
There was silence between the two for a few moments before Brice asked, “What’s the damage? Anybody hurt?”
“Don’t know yet. Part of the Ops Center was damaged, so we’re getting bits and pieces through Harry. Even he doesn’t have the whole picture.”
“Shit!”
“My thought exactly.”
Disregarding the care he had been taking on not using the shuttle’s maximum speed to get to the target, Van accelerated and headed for the Metro parking lot that he had used to pick up Dick. Harry arranged to get two vans to the parking lot ASAP.
In a little over forty minutes, the B1, still in stealth mode, landed in the parking lot. Everyone bailed out fully dressed for combat and poured into the waiting vans, which took off immediately.
“What about the B1, Van?” Brice asked as he fastened his seatbelt.
“We have a limited remote autopilot capability, which Harry can access. He’ll keep it safe until we need it. He may even fly it home. What’s important is getting to your site as soon as possible.”
As they approached the Carson building, the area was full of emergency vehicles of all types, with red and blue lights flashing everywhere and reflecting off the surrounding glass buildings.
Future Discovered: Host Saga Book 1 Page 22
