Impossible (Fuzed Trilogy Book 3)

by David E Stevens

  “Thanks, I really appreciate this.”

  The man smiles. “Least I can do for you after what you did for me.”

  “If you don’t hear from us in a reasonable time—”

  The man finishes, “I wasn’t here, neither were you. Someone stole the plane.” He shakes hands again, winks at Josh and Sheri, and leaves.

  Tim turns to Josh. “She’s all yours.”

  “How’d you know I wanted one of these for my birthday?”

  “You can fly this, right?”

  With a look of disdain, Josh heads up the steps into the jet. Looking back at Tim, he says, “There’s a manual in here, right?” He smiles as he sees Tim and Sheri look at each other.

  In the cockpit, he quickly commits the flight manual to memory. As he finishes, he looks back.

  Tim is loading a few boxes on the jet. When he’s finished, Tim joins him in the cockpit.

  Josh looks at him. “This thing’s got mods you don’t usually see on a … biz jet.”

  Looking innocent, Tim says, “Leather seats?”

  “Yeah … and a full Electronic Counter Measures suite with an anti-missile chaff and flare dispenser.” With a half-smile, he adds, “Let me guess. This is the CIA Director’s personal jet?” Before Tim responds, Josh puts up his hand. “Never mind. I don’t want to know.” Josh stands up. “Let me file a flight plan and we’ll pull chocks.”

  He never flew a Gulfstream or any business jet for that matter, but he’s not worried. It has the latest automation and displays.

  He flies it from the right seat — where the copilot usually sits — because it’s more natural for him to have the throttles on the left, like a fighter. The takeoff goes smoothly. He’s a little behind trying to follow departure instructions while getting a feel for the jet, but quickly catches up and enjoys flying the aircraft.

  After they’re at cruising altitude, Sheri joins them in the cockpit and Josh says, “Ok, I think I know who has the information and probably which office the data will be kept in, but we can’t just waltz in and take it.”

  Tim says, “Actually, that’s exactly what we’re going to do. We’ll connect one of our phones to a local computer.”

  Sheri smiles. “Although Jen wasn’t able to get the files, while you were hiking she got me some information on the personnel at the Phantom Works. I picked up a summer white uniform for you.”

  Josh gives her a questioning look, but Tim says, “Don’t worry. Just get us over to the Boeing side of the airport. Tell ‘em you’re from the government and you’re here to help.”

  Josh is impressed with the jet’s handling in the landing configuration. He knows St. Louis International like the back of his hand and it has nice long runways, but the test is— how well he can take a jet that he has never flown, and grease it in for a landing. He nails it.

  Taxiing directly to the Boeing flight line, he calls them on their base frequency and tells them that they’re from Naval Air Systems Command.

  They’re clearly surprised, but since NAVAIR is one of Boeing’s biggest customers, they respond with a, “Yes sir,” and send someone out to park their jet. They end up chocked next to one of the new Advanced Super Hornets.

  Josh changes into the summer white uniform Sheri acquired. Coming out of the bathroom, he shakes his head. “Sheri, the pants are too tight.”

  “Turn around.”

  As he does, she says, “Nope. They’re appropriate for the mission.”

  He gives her a questioning look.

  “The Phantom Works office manager is about 40 and recently divorced.”

  “How’d you find that out?”

  “Facebook.”

  “Ok, so…?”

  Sheri shakes her head in disgust. “Josh, sometimes you’re truly clueless.”

  “What?!”

  She rolls her eyes. “The only thing women find hotter than a cute fighter pilot with a nice butt … is a cute fighter pilot with a nice butt,” she raises an eyebrow, “that’s interested in them.”

  Tim wears a suit and puts on glasses that transmit what he sees and hears back to Jen and Sheri. They put tiny transmitters in their ear so Sheri and Jen can talk to them.

  They leave the jet and go to the flight-line office. Wearing fake Boeing ID’s, they introduce themselves to the flight line manager.

  “I didn’t have anything on the schedule about a visit from NAVAIR.”

  Josh says, “Sorry, that was my fault. It’s one of those fast trips so we could work out some last minute funding details on the X-84. Can you run us over the Phantom Works?”

  “Of course. Do you need your jet fueled?”

  “Yes.”

  “Charge it to the NAVAIR account?”

  “Ah … yeah, that would be great.”

  The Phantom Works building is close to flight operations, so the flight line manager takes them over in a golf cart. From the flight side, they’re able to enter the Phantom Works from the hangar and avoid the gate guard. As they head in, Tim looks at Josh and quietly asks, “X-84?”

  “No idea, but it sounded good.”

  The flight line manager brings them in to introduce them to the Phantom Works office manager who’s standing on a chair trying to hang a picture on the wall.

  Tasha Clarkson is as Sheri described her. As she sets the picture down, she looks irritated at their unexpected arrival.

  Josh quickly asks for Dave Lavery, the head of the Phantom Works and former manager of the Wraith program. From Jen, they already know he’s not there.

  Clarkson says, “He’s flying back from headquarters in Seattle today.” Frowning she asks, “Was he expecting you?”

  Josh identifies her as a schedule driven personality. She’s petite and reminds him a little of Sheri both in build and personality.

  “Ms. Clarkson, I totally apologize. I got my dates confused and thought he was coming back yesterday. I’ll send him a text. Do you know when his flight arrives?”

  She softens a little. Looking on her computer screen, she says, “His flight should be landing in a couple hours.”

  Josh gives her his best smile. “Would it be ok if we just wait here?”

  She doesn’t smile but looks less irritated. “Sure, that’ll be fine. There’s some coffee over there.”

  Josh picks up the picture she was trying to hang. “I might as well be useful.”

  She shakes her head. “That won’t be necessary.”

  “It’s the least I can do and height has its advantages.” He walks over to the wall and places it about where she had it.

  He hears Sheri in his ear. “Nice.”

  “Maybe a little higher.”

  He gets up on the chair and holds it higher.

  She comes around from behind her desk and stands behind Josh.

  Tim slowly moves behind her and toward her desk.

  “Hmmm, maybe a little to the left and higher.”

  Josh hears Sheri say, “She’s checking you out.”

  “A little further left and a little higher.”

  Josh complies as Tim slips behind her desk and plugs into her computer.

  “That’s it, right there.” She hands him a pen.

  He makes a small mark on the wall. As he turns around, he sees Tim behind her desk bending over.

  She says, “Ok, now I just need the hammer.” As she starts to turn around, Josh purposefully slips off the chair and jumps to the floor just inches from her.

  “Oh my! Are you ok?” She puts a hand on his arm.

  Josh smiles. “Just clumsy.”

  Still standing very close, he says, “At the risk of a sexual harassment charge, I’ve got to tell you, you have beautiful eyes.”

  She blushes. “I don’t think that qualifies as sexual harassment.”

  They hear Jen in their ear, “There’s nothing classified on this computer and it’s not hooked to any of the others, but it does indicate the computer in the program manager’s office has classified stuff.”

  Tim quic
kly unplugs the phone and moves back around the desk.

  Josh says, “It’s lunch time, do you know a good place to eat around here?”

  “Bandana’s has pretty good food and they’re fast.”

  Josh smiles again. “I don’t suppose you could show us where that is and join us?”

  She frowns.

  Josh is thinking he moved too fast, but hears Sheri say, “Nice touch.”

  She finally nods. “Sure, no sense in you sitting around here waiting and it is lunch time.”

  Tim takes the cue and holds up a folder he’s carrying. “We probably don’t want to take this with us.”

  She says, “You can leave that here.”

  Josh frowns. “It’s got some very sensitive material in it for Dave. Would it be ok to leave it in his office? I know his office has a cipher lock and I’d feel more comfortable.”

  She frowns again. “I’m really not supposed to open his office when he’s not here,” she pauses and then smiles, “but I guess it would be ok since he’s inbound.”

  They follow her down the hall to his office. They look the other way while she enters the code.

  Opening it, she turns on the light.

  Without being invited, Tim goes in and says, “I’ll just set this on his desk.”

  Josh immediately says, “Are you from St. Louis originally?”

  “Actually, I was born in New Orleans but my family…”

  Josh sidesteps slightly away from the door, so she has to turn away from the office to face him.

  Jen says, “Oh, oh, just checked Dave Lavery’s airline reservations. He caught an earlier flight and he’s on his way over to your location right now.”

  29

  PLUTONIUM

  Josh keeps eye contact as she finishes up with, “…so I ended up in St. Louis.”

  Remembering the information Sheri pulled from Facebook, he asks, “Do you like to travel?”

  “Absolutely love it!”

  “If you could go anywhere, where would you love to go?”

  She pauses, “I’ve always wanted to visit Peru and see the ruins in the Andes.”

  Josh says, “I’ve been to Machu Pichu in the Andes. It’s amazing. You really need to go there.”

  She smiles. “I’d love to!”

  Tim comes back through the door. “Thanks.”

  Jen says, “The program manager is pulling into the parking lot right now.”

  Josh pulls out his phone. “Sorry, gotta take this.” Talking to no one, he says, “Are you sure? … Right now?” He puts his phone back in his pocket and says to Tim, “A General Accounting Office audit team just showed up at NAVAIR. Bob wants us back ASAP.” He knows that to defense contractors, the GAO is more terrifying than a mother-in-law visit.

  She gives them a flinch look. “Ouch.”

  Josh says, “Sorry, looks like lunch will have to wait. Can you grab that folder from Dave’s office please?”

  She comes back with the folder and gives it to Tim. Then she gives Josh a business card. “Just in case you can’t get through to the office to reschedule, I put my cell number on the back.”

  He takes it and shakes her hand, holding it an extra second.

  She asks, “Can I have the flight manager pick you up?”

  “No. No thanks. It’s a nice day. We’ll just walk back.” He pauses. “By the way, could you do me a big favor? I shouldn’t have mentioned the GAO visit. It’s not related to any of the projects here and I don’t want to freak Dave out.”

  “Sure. I won’t mention that if you don’t tell him I let you into his office.”

  Jen says, “He’s entering the building.”

  Josh winks as they head out the door.

  They jog back to flight ops and tell them they need to leave immediately.

  As soon as they’re onboard, Sheri says, “Jen and I have been looking at the material you pulled off the computer. We think we know who the technology was licensed to.”

  “Who?”

  “Safran, one of the largest French defense contractors.”

  Tim asks, “Where are they manufacturing them?”

  “It doesn’t say but a lot of the drone test equipment was flown to a facility in Van, Turkey.”

  “What can you tell us about the facility?”

  As Josh starts the engines, Sheri pulls up Google maps. “Looks like an unmarked, two story industrial building surrounded by a fence.”

  Jen adds, “They have an extensive security system and I’m seeing NATO type of vehicles parked out front.”

  Josh says, “Bingo.”

  Sheri adds, “It’s right next to the airport in Van.”

  “I’ll file a flight plan directly to the Ferit Melin Airport.”

  Tim looks at Josh. “Does this thing have enough range?”

  “Yeah.” He does a quick calculation in his head. “It’s about 13 hours from here. It would be best to refuel on the east coast. Is there any food onboard? I’m starving.”

  Tim pokes around the galley. “Just coffee and crackers.”

  “Ok, we need to get out of here quickly and filing an international flight plan takes too long. There’s a small municipal airport on Cape Cod called Barnstable, where we can file and refuel.”

  Tim nods. “Why Cape Cod?”

  “They’ve got a place right by the airport that has incredible lobster rolls.”

  Sheri says, “I love lobster rolls.”

  Tim just looks up and shakes his head.

  As soon as they land, Sheri says, “Tim and I’ll go out and grab some food and groceries. Josh, it’s a long flight, why don’t you get some sleep.”

  He nods. “I’ll get us filed and catch a nap.”

  As Tim and Sheri grab a cab and head into town, Tim says, “By the way, good idea using Josh as a distraction. You’re a natural at this game.”

  “I’m a psychiatrist,” she smiles, “but it doesn’t take a PhD to figure it out. Josh’s a girl magnet.”

  He smiles. “And what defines a girl magnet?”

  She smiles back. “You.”

  “Nice try.”

  She laughs. “There are tons of good looking guys out there, but one of the things that makes guys particularly attractive is when they don’t know they’re attractive.” She shrugs. “Josh must have been an ugly kid.”

  Lying in one of the extremely comfortable reclining leather chairs, Josh hears them return, but keeps his eyes closed until the smell of lobster hits him. His internal clock says he got two hours of sleep, which is equivalent to five hours for most people.

  They don’t bother with the fine china the jet comes with. Quickly devouring the butter soaked lobster rolls, they finish with giant slices of strawberry cheesecake.

  After checking the weather, Josh gets their clearance and takes off.

  This time, Sheri sits in the left seat. As soon as they reach cruising altitude, he sets the autopilot and Tim joins them.

  They put Jen on the speakerphone. “Based on the information you pulled off the computer, what can you tell us about the nano-drone specs?”

  “They have similar specifications to a mosquito. They’re about the same size and maneuverability and can operate for weeks.”

  Josh shakes his head, “How’d they pull that off? No battery can last that long.”

  “They don’t use batteries. They use radioisotope thermoelectric generators powered by plutonium 238.”

  Sheri’s eyes get wide. “They’re nuclear?”

  “Yup.”

  Josh slaps his forehead. “Of course. NASA’s used that technology to power deep space probes for decades.” He whistles. “But shrinking it that small … that’s impressive.”

  Frowning, Sheri says, “But with plutonium, aren’t they like radioactive?”

  Jen replies, “Yes, but when encapsulated and shielded, they’re pretty safe. They’ve been used to power pacemakers. Although, with the nano-drone’s size, there’s little shielding. As long as they’re flying around, there sho
uld be minimal exposure danger.”

  Josh raises an eyebrow. “Probably don’t want to eat or breathe one.”

  “No, and the documents indicate the plutonium power source is why they were banned from use in the United States.”

  Tim asks, “Any other limitations?”

  “Yes. They transmit audio and video but the signal is very weak, and they need a special satellite overhead with minimal obstructions, or they need a receiver close by. That could be a regular drone.”

  Josh looks at Tim. “Ok, so, what’s the plan?”

  “We need Jen to access their network, but this time we can’t BS our way in. I’m afraid we’re going to have to break in and—”

  Josh starts humming the Mission Impossible theme song. Sheri joins in.

  Looking up under half-closed eyelids, Tim just shakes his head.

  IV

  SURVEILLANCE

  30

  TURKEY

  “Colonel Crow, Dr. Turan will see you now.”

  She goes into his office and shakes his hand.

  He motions her to a seat in front of his desk.

  Wendy takes a deep breath. “Dr. Turan, first I need to apologize for my behavior at the ball. I don’t drink very often and in my excitement about being considered for command … well, I had a few too many. I apologize and promise you that will never happen again.”

  Turan smiles. “Colonel, you make it sound like you were swinging from the chandeliers. You didn’t do or say anything offensive or untrue. You simply ended up in an awkward situation.” He pauses. “In this era, everyone is supposed to be socially conscious and politically correct, but you are a military officer. I find it hypocritical of society to want you to kill for your country and then not burp in public. You’re a warrior and you’ve sworn an allegiance to protect your country and now the entire world. You don’t have to apologize to me or anyone else for having some fun now and then.”