"Ok," said Jack calmly, "it's settled then, a midnight tour it is."
"Breakfast...!" It was not a call anyone in this family was likely to miss. Eggs, bacon, pancakes, milk, juice... the whole fanfare. And nobody made it better. It smelled spectacular and Jack's mouth was watering long before he sat down at the breakfast table.
"Man, this is great," said Jack, loading his plate.
"My Lord," said his mother, "don't they feed you? I mean, wherever it is you've been."
"That's one thing we do well, is eat," he replied. "I just haven't eaten since about seven last night."
"And where was that..?" said Kyle carefully.
"And why are you so pale?" asked his mother. "You used to be so tan."
His father waved at her to be quiet. "That's not important Lynn." He never took his eyes off Jack. "So what happened, son? Exactly... Where have you been and why has it taken so long for you to come home? Your eye, the dog..." he glanced down at Fritz who sat quietly next to Gus the family dog. "What's happened?"
Jack was seriously hoping Fritz wouldn't feel the need to speak anytime soon. "Well," said Jack, "I'll tell you what I can, but some of it will have to wait until tonight..."
"Why tonight ?" interrupted his mother.
The doorbell rang before Jack could respond and his father rose from the table to answer it.
"Where's my car mom?" asked Jack, between forkfuls.
"In the garage. Your father and I had to go get it from the airport. Why?"
"Just curious..."
Kyle Steele walked back into the kitchen with a man dressed smartly in a blue-gray suit and Jack's stomach filled with butterflies. He looked like a Fed. Jack had not removed his jacket, his first instinct was to reach inside and produce the blaster. He resisted the urge. "Dad?"
"Son, this is Agent Phil Cooper, FBI. Phil, this is my son, Jack Steele." Phil Cooper stepped forward and extended his hand. Jack remained seated, stone-faced. "He's here to help you, Jack," prompted his father.
Jack rose slowly, taking care to prevent his jacket from dropping open and revealing the blaster. He shook hands with the agent, a short, curt shake, then sat back down.
“The scariest words in the English language,” commented Jack, “I'm from the government and I'm here to help...”
“Hey!” shot his father, glaring at him, “that was uncalled for...”
Lynnette set another place at the table and Phil joined the family for breakfast. The Agent munched happily and quietly for some time, studying Jack as he ate. Jack ignored him. "You were in Chicago last night," said Phil, after some time, "weren't you?" He glanced at Lisa and smiled. "It was easy to figure," he added. He watched Jack's face but there was no reaction. "Yeah," he continued, "it seems Jack Steele and body counts are synonymous."
Jack looked up from his food and cleared his throat but said nothing. His father had stopped eating and was staring at him, his mother looked pale. The only one that seemed unaffected was Lisa. "Y'know,” continued Cooper, "those two guys you left in the snow were Vasquez's men. He won't be happy about that."
"That's his problem, isn't it?" said Jack sarcastically, still eating.
"Hey kid, I'm not condemning you. Honest." He took a swig of milk and wiped the white mustache off his upper lip with a napkin. "In fact, in my opinion, you did the world a favor. But there's something curious, see..." He lit a cigarette and watched the smoke curl away. "The guy in the driveway is still alive." He watched Jack's eyes narrow. "And my men tell me, he keeps babbling something about some kind of lightning gun or something. The other guy... Christ," he breathed, "they faxed me pictures, he was burned in half...”
“Nice breakfast talk...” interrupted Jack, eating. He waved his fork, “And if you don't mind, I'd prefer you not to smoke in my house.”
“Their vehicle was destroyed beyond recognition,” continued Cooper, snubbing his cigarette out in his half-eaten scrambled eggs. “And there was a small amount of radiation of undetermined origin. Just what the hell did you use?"
Jack met his gaze and held it. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, thinking. Stone faced and without blinking, he reached in and drew out the blaster from under his jacket. Cooper was unmoved. He'd be a good Ruge player, thought Jack. Ejecting the power cartridge into his left hand, Jack held the weapon out in the palm of his right hand. "I used this. A lightning gun is actually a pretty fair description..."
Cooper picked it out of Jack's hand and examined it, turning it over and over. It was about the size and shape of a 9mm semiautomatic pistol but lighter than it looked. Kyle leaned over and stared at it too. "This is it? It feels like a toy..." said Cooper.
Jack snorted. "Hardly." To his surprise Cooper handed it back.
“How does it work?” asked his father.
“Well I took one apart once...”
“And?”
“And I learned I should never take one apart again,” he chuckled.
“Don't be a smartass...”
Jack shook his head, “I'm not, totally a true story. It's actually called an Ion Pulse Laser Blaster. It operates on a burst of intensely focused light. That's the total extent of my knowledge of this thing...” he slid the power cartridge back in and re-holstered it. “That and how to reload it.”
"And how did it come into your possession?"
"Hm,” Jack smiled, “interesting choice of words, Mr. Cooper. I'm sure you have a hundred questions, but if I told you, I doubt seriously any of you would believe me. So, if you can all wait just a few hours until tonight, I will be able to answer all your questions and explain absolutely everything." He drained his juice glass.
"Why, what happens tonight?" asked Cooper.
"It'll be easier to show you rather than just tell you," explained Jack.
"What could be so unbelievable?" asked his father. The phone rang before Jack could respond and his father rose to answer it. "It's for you," he told Cooper.
Cooper came back and sat down at the table after a short phone conversation. He stared at Jack. "It seems the B25 Sweet Susie, the one you disappeared in, has turned up..."
"Do tell..." said Jack sitting back with a wry smile.
"Really..? said his father. "Where?"
"Right back at the hangar where it first took off from," answered Cooper. His eyes never left Jack's face. "Would you know anything about that, Jack?"
Jack smiled innocently. "Who me?" he shrugged. "Maybe..."
"Funny thing is," announced the Agent, "it seems it simply dropped from the sky earlier this morning... right through the roof of the hangar of Miles Aviation. Destroyed the plane, the hangar, and a partly restored P38 Lightning parked inside."
Oooh, thought Jack, bonus points! "Aww gee," he said unconvincingly, "that’s too bad..."
Cooper looked at him slyly. "Yeah, you look really broken up about it. How'd you do it?"
"Tonight," said Jack, pushing his chair back. "Midnight." He was tired, his left arm aching. He wanted, needed some rest.
“You know there are a lot of people who want to talk to you, Mr. Steele...” said Cooper standing, “FBI, CIA, ATF, NCIS... I could go on...”
Jack was unmoved at Cooper's posturing, “Please don't.” His arms were folded casually across his chest.
“Maybe we should talk about protective custody,” he said drawing out a pair of handcuffs slowly. “Give us a chance to straighten things out, the FBI can protect you...” He laid the cuffs on the table. “It would be best if you did it voluntarily...”
“Best for who...? You?” He glanced at his dad and back to Cooper. “See what I mean dad? They're here to help... what a crock. They thrive on using people. I wouldn't have been in the mess in the first place if it wasn'
t for the helpful folks in the government.”
“I don't want to have to do it the hard way.” Cooper shifted but froze, he blinked in disbelief. With speed that was difficult to comprehend, Jack had the Ion Blaster pointed at him, still sitting calmly. It was as if he hadn't moved at all.
His parents stared at him silently, blinking. Kyle wasn't sure he had actually seen him move.
“So if it doesn't go your way, you'll bully people. Nice. I've got news for you, you really don't want to get into a pissing match here, Mr. Cooper. You will lose. That ballistic vest you're wearing might as well be made of tissue paper - and you've seen what this thing can do. So how about you take your hand off that Glock, so I don't have to mess up the walls of my house with your guts...”
Cooper let his hand drop to his side, then leaned forward, his hands on the table. “Kid, you have no idea what you're up against, how much trouble you're in... there's a price on your head. You need the FBI's help.”
Jack laughed hard, “What I'm up against? You pompous ass... you have no idea what I'm capable of. You saw what happened to the last two guys that tried to collect on that,” he added flippantly. “And as far as one branch of the government protecting me from another branch of government - I can't believe you can say that with a straight face. It's the dumbest thing I've ever heard.” He stood and slid the blaster back in its holster. “Let me be perfectly clear, Mr. Cooper, I don't need your help, or the help of any government agency...”
Cooper straightened up and shrugged. “So you want to live the rest of your life looking over your shoulder?”
“Cooper, you're starting to bore me. You're in so far over your head, you can't even see the light of day... and you don't even know it ” He glanced at his parents but did not turn away from Phil Cooper. “Dad, if you value him as a friend, keep him away from me until tonight.” Jack walked out of the room followed by Fritz and Lisa. “I'm going to get some rest.”
CHAPTER THIRTY THREE
COVERT INCURSION: GULF OF MEXICO
Ensign Myomerr adjusted the Invader's controls for descent and nosed it down. "Are you gentlemen ready?"
"All set, Skipper," said Dooby.
"Fifteen-hundred klicks to co-ordinates," stated Ragnaar.
"Thank you, Lieutenant. We'd better hustle it up, we're running late..." She shoved the throttle forward.
■ ■ ■
"Where are they, Jack?"
Jack checked his watch, 12:15. "I don't know, Lisa." He leaned back on the lounger and scanned the sky over the Gulf. Lisa moved a lounger from the other side of the sundeck, next to his, Fritz was strolling around on the sand. “They'll be here,” he added confidently.
"Can you see them?” she asked.
"Not yet. Believe me, you'll notice their entry. But I can see the Freedom."
"Really? Where?"
Jack pointed up at the moon. "There, see that little rectangular shadow on the left side? It's moving, can you see it?"
"Yeah..."
"That's it."
"Wow," she whispered. “It must be huge if we can see it from here...”
Kyle, Lynette and Phil Cooper stood in the house at the sliding glass door watching Jack and Lisa. "What do you think they're looking at?" asked Lynette.
"Good question..." mumbled Cooper staring at the night sky over the Gulf of Mexico.
"What do you suppose he's waiting for?" asked Lynette, stepping away.
"I wish I knew," answered Kyle. "But in a minute I'm gonna' go out there and get a straight answer out of him if I hafta' shake it out of him..."
"Easy, big fella," said Cooper. "Let's let him play it out. Maybe when nothing happens, he'll come to realize that he needs our help."
Kyle raised an eyebrow, he was starting to think his son was right - while Jack rested, he'd had to stop Cooper from calling in other agents. He'd begun to realize what Lisa had said about Jack being changed - different, was true. They were deep changes, he had a command presence that was unmistakeable, and Kyle felt a sense of fearlessness that was almost palpable. While always a fairly tough kid, his son had grown into a man that he would consider extremely dangerous and capable if forced to fight. He had convinced Cooper that forcing his way on Jack would end in disaster, in more ways than one.
It was a pleasant night and Jack was thoroughly enjoying it. There was a gentle breeze dancing through a set of wind chimes on someone's house somewhere up the beach and the gentle tinkling notes made Jack's eyelids heavy.
"Look!" shouted Lisa, sitting bolt upright and pointing to the horizon.
Jack's eyes shot open just in time to see the tail end of what looked like a shooting star. "That's them!" he said with a smile. “Told ya you'd notice it...” The light had disappeared below the horizon. He pulled the comm from his pocket as he stood up, fitting it into his ear.
Cooper and his parents had seen his actions and filed out onto the sundeck. "What's up, Jack?"
"Our taxi's here, Mr. Cooper."
"I don't see anything, Jack," said his mother. Thunder rolled gently in the distance.
"Give it a minute."
"Look, son," said his father, aggravation dripping from his voice, "I think we've had just about enough of this, it's going on twelve-thirty..."
"Patience, dad... There!" said Jack, pointing. A faint, rosy glow appeared on the distant horizon, reflections dancing on the water. He looked up and down the beach, most of the houses were dark, their occupants asleep. Thunder rolled again, louder than before.
"What is it?" Asked Cooper.
"You government types," joked Jack, "would probably call it a weather balloon." He keyed the comm unit, "Steele to Invader, slow down or you'll overshoot."
"Invader copy." Myomerr dropped the speed brakes and yanked back the throttles. Ragnaar toggled off the main engines as the throttles hit the zero mark. She coasted toward the beach on anti-grav at over two-hundred miles an hour.
"Set it right on the beach," instructed Jack. The blue flare of the braking jets reflected off the water, their soft whooshing audible over the gentle Gulf breeze. The shadowy profile of the Invader seemed to grow as it approached, and Jack smiled to himself with self satisfaction. "Invader, adjust your gear settings for soft, uneven terrain."
"Invader copy, sir." Ragnaar input the commands into the computer and the auto-controllers extended the gear to anticipate sinkage and the need for auto-leveling.
Kyle scratched his chin. "Looks like some kind of hovercraft," he told Phil.
"You could say that..." commented Jack, overhearing, “but you'd be wrong...”
"Hovercraft don't have landing legs," said Cooper. His hair was standing up on the back of his neck. "You've been on a ship, haven't you? That's why no one's been able to find you!"
"Very good, Mr. Cooper." Jack smiled and Phil Cooper smiled back. Jack wondered if he had figured it out.
"Well that would explain the uniform," whispered his mother.
"But what country?" replied his father. "I've never seen a uniform like that."
They watched in silence as the Invader slowed to a crawl, turned, and crabbed sideways as it reached the beach. Jack was aware of a distinct humming as it approached. Probably the anti-grav generators, he thought.
Settling to the sand, the humming subsided as the anti-grav generators spun down. Jack approached the ship as the waist door hissed and the boarding ramp extended. Ragnaar's hulking frame almost filled the doorway, and Jack knew exactly who it was without seeing his face. Fritz darted by and up the ramp, brushing past the Lieutenant. “Sir,” he saluted. Jack returned the salute and was aware of the others crowded close behind him.
"Sorry about the delay, sir," began Ragnaar, "we had a few minor problems...
"
"That's Ok Lieutenant." Jack turned to the others. "Let's get everybody aboard..."
Ragnaar frowned. "I wasn't informed we would have passengers, sir."
"Is it a problem, Mr. Ragnaar?"
"Uh, no, sir!" he replied backing out of the doorway.
Light streamed out across the sand. "C'mon..." encouraged Jack. He ushered everyone up the ramp except Phil Cooper who stood at the bottom, one foot on the sand, the other on the ramp. “Go or stay, Cooper, makes no difference to me,” he shrugged, “but I would've thought you'd want to see this through...” The agent took one step up and paused, undecided. “We'll be back before daybreak,” prompted Jack. Phil Cooper nodded and strolled up the ramp. Steele gave the deserted beach one last scan before closing the door behind him. Phil Cooper sat next to Kyle and Lynette, studying Ragnaar and his unique features. Despite his size, he looked human enough, sort of.
Lisa smiled wryly as she strolled past to see who was in the cockpit. “It's not nice to stare...” she whispered. She returned as wide-eyed as her parents after meeting the Ketarian pilot, Myomerr.
"Dooby," said Jack, "find the med kit and get everyone a translator disc, Ok? My sister will give you a hand."
"Yes, sir." He turned to Lisa, smiled gregariously and stuck out his hand. "Hi. Name's Dooby, good to meet you. Didn't know the Skipper had a sister."
She shook his hand and smiled at the young man with no hair. "And I didn't know he had a crewman named Dooby. I guess we're even."
Jack stood in the doorway of the cockpit, his back to his passengers, talking to Ragnaar and Myomerr as the Invader lifted off the beach and sped across the open expanse of water. "So what was the delay?"
"The ship's been on yellow alert most of the day, Captain. There's been a lot of traffic through the far end of the sector. The pilots are flying a patrol as we speak." He paused to adjust the input for the navigation computer. "Commander Smiley said better safe than sorry."
Wings of Steele - Destination Unknown (Book 1) Page 50
