Turning around, Carl gives him a half-smile. “I once rented a white one.”
Tim summarizes what Elizabeth told him and then says, “Here’s the video Judy transmitted before we lost contact with her and Jen.” As he plays it, he adds, “She’s impressive. She figured out how to fly a nano-drone into the monitoring room.”
They watch the choppy but recognizable aerial video. The picture moves rapidly over the top of the supervisor consoles into the glass command room. Inside, they see a man and a woman in their forties sitting in front of three giant monitors. As the drone flies behind them, they can see the displays. The drone shifts its view to look closely at the third monitor. From the conversation, they can tell it’s a three-way conference, but only one of the video windows is active. Tim freezes the picture. Although still grainy, the image is clear enough.
Josh says, “Hassan Batusura!”
Jessica inhales sharply. “The Deputy Secretary-General?!” She looks up. “We knew there had to be someone in the U.N. I was beginning to think it was Turan … never thought it would be the Secretary-General himself.”
Frowning, Carl adds, “And the voice of the person we couldn’t see … I know I’ve heard it before,” he shakes his head, “but can’t quite place it.”
Josh says, “I wouldn’t have guessed General Von Stein was behind this either, but look at his actions. His priority is to get veto authority over everyone’s nuclear strike capability, and Turan said Von Stein talked the General Assembly into giving him direct control of the space-based laser.”
Tim adds, “With that and the ability to monitor and kill key leaders, he’ll soon be the most powerful man in the world.”
Frowning, Jessica nods. “The most powerful man in history. This isn’t a conspiracy; it’s a global coup. We have to stop him, but first we need to rescue Sheri and Christoff.”
Tim says, “I was able to talk to Sheri briefly. They’re ok and she said they have an important piece of the puzzle to share. Hopefully, they’ll be allowed to leave soon.”
Greg says, “Then, the priority is to rescue Judy and figure out what happened to Jen.”
Jessica taps her fingers on her chin. “I think I know what happened to Jen. After The Great Tech Out, every new phone had to have a hardwired button that would stop it from communicating directly with other phones. It was a way to put Jen in timeout if she went rogue. Someone learned how to secretly initiate that across the globe.”
“How did you figure that out?”
“The same time Jen disappeared, the global data network massively slowed down.”
Greg frowns. “But I thought the idea behind a hardware shutoff was so it couldn’t be controlled by Jen or any software.”
Jessica rolls her eyes. “Yeah, but to save money and avoid adding another phone button, they made it so you just press and hold the power button for 30 seconds. Someone must have figured out how to spoof that. That time we thought Jen went to sleep … was probably a test. The good news is Jen’s not dead … just sedated.”
Josh says, “How do we wake her up?”
“Don’t know yet. I have to reverse engineer the process. It won’t be easy, but I’m pretty good at finding backdoors.”
Greg adds, “You mean creating them.”
“Whatever.”
Greg frowns. “If anything happens to Judy, it’s my fault for bringing her into this.”
Patting Greg on the shoulder, Tim says, “Greg, she volunteered, and she volunteered for the right reasons. We’ll get her out.”
Josh adds, “No one in the world’s better at exfiltration than Tim. The biggest challenge is how do we communicate with her without Jen?”
Jessica inserts, “Jen showed me how to access the SIGINT satellite. I already sent her a message.”
Nodding, Tim says, “We’ll probably have to do a smash and grab to get her out.”
Josh asks, “Geckos?”
“Yeah, but you broke one and the same trick rarely works twice. We’ll need a diversion.”
Greg nods. “Would this involve explosives?”
“Probably.”
Jessica holds her hand up. “Before we start blowing stuff up, there’s a message coming in from Judy.” She pauses as she reads it. “She’s got gonads. I like her.”
Greg impatiently says, “What?!”
“Hmm, she doesn’t want to be rescued, at least not yet. She believes she needs to stay to protect the kids. Instead, she’s asking if there’s any way we can smuggle stuff into her.” She shows them her tablet. “Here’s what she wants.”
Greg frowns. “Huh. Epoxy, aluminum foil, picture of a bracelet with the neurotoxin injector exposed?” He skips to the last one and points at it. “Not sure how we can get those.”
Josh shakes his head, but then says, “We can’t, but maybe Christoff can.”
Carl adds, “I’m scanning the records of the security people at Abadon. We might be able to turn one of them.”
“Yeah. Wait … what?!” Greg shakes his head. “The same guys who tried to shoot us?”
“The security people are prior military who believe they’ve been hired to defend a Top Secret government facility. They have no idea what’s going on inside. I’m trying to find someone we, or the CIA, worked with in the past.”
Tim looks at Jessica. “Tell her we’ll figure out a way to get the stuff she needs to her as soon as we can, but she needs to be ready to bug out at any time.”
Greg nods. “We’ve got to get this to the press.”
Tim shakes his head. “A fuzzy video of a video isn’t enough and we now know nano-drones are watching the heads of the two largest news networks.” Tim looks down at his phone. “Sheri just texted, she’s flying back to New York City and I know Elizabeth’s returning from Houston. We need to know what they know.” He looks at Josh, “Why don’t we reconvene in New York while Jessica and Greg work on reviving Jen.”
Josh nods. He’s excited to see Elizabeth, but also nervous … remembering their last encounter.
55
DEPUTY
Josh drives back to New York City with Tim. Sheri and Elizabeth meet them at the safe house where Tim and Sheri first took Josh.
Tim immediately hugs Sheri, who’s still wearing a blonde wig and sunglasses.
Josh and Elizabeth approach each other tentatively, pausing at arm’s length.
She reaches out and puts her hand on his arm. “I’m sorry. I … I jumped to conclusions and never gave you a chance to explain. I just didn’t understand. I’m really sorry.”
He grabs her and pulls her in to a hug and kiss. The kiss continues.
Tim clears his throat.
Sheri punches him. “Let ‘em be.”
Finally, Sheri says, “Ok, rent a room.”
As they break lock and sit down, Sheri says to Elizabeth, “So, what exactly happened when you confronted Wendy about spilling the beans, and….” she nods toward Josh.
Frowning, Tim says, “Is that really important right now? We have some serious things we need to cover.”
Sheri says, “Yeah, yeah. Hold your horses.” She just looks at Elizabeth.
Elizabeth bites the side of her lip and slowly says, “Well, initially, she was … a little shocked.”
Tim bursts out laughing.
Sheri looks at him like he’s grown another head. “You never laugh. What’s going on?”
Tim clears his throat, trying not to laugh. “She … she tased Wendy.”
Josh’s eyes get wide.
Sheri turns to Elizabeth. “What!?”
Still biting the side of her lip, Elizabeth shrugs. “When I asked her who she told, she said she was done talking to me and I should go back to nursing. She was going to leave, so—”
“Wow.” Sheri grins. “Remind me not to piss you off.”
Josh carefully studies his tablet.
Tim, still smiling, says, “Ok, enough backstory. Sheri, what happened in Russia?”
Sheri goes through a detailed d
escription of their meetings with President Volkov. She finishes with, “I came back here on a fake passport and Christoff went back to the island.”
Josh shakes his head. “I feel bad for Harrison, but that explains some things and opens new questions. Wendy says it takes at least two people to modify the software, but I’m sure it takes more than two to rotate the entire station and fire the laser. We have to get this information to her ASAP.”
Tim nods. “The cat’s out of the bag, we need to approach Turan directly and find out where he stands.”
Sheri adds, “And, until we know, we need to keep the status quo.”
Josh frowns in question.
“I mean … you and Elizabeth need to continue to appear at odds with each other.”
Josh and Elizabeth look at each other sadly.
Sheri rolls her eyes. “You look like kicked puppies.” She pulls the radiation detector out of her purse and tosses it to Josh. Nodding towards Elizabeth, she says, “She needs an exam. A thorough one. Bedroom’s that way.”
Josh smiles and offers his hand to Elizabeth.
As they stand up, Sheri adds, “Take your time.”
The next morning, Josh goes to Turan’s office.
Turan’s executive assistant says he’s in an important meeting.
Josh waits outside, but it’s only a minute before Turan’s door opens and he comes out with another man.
Turan sees Josh and says, “Wait, Dan, this is my new Deputy I was telling you about, Commander Josh Fuze. As I mentioned, Josh was a U.S. Navy fighter pilot.”
As Josh shakes hands, he realizes it’s Dan Pierre, the Secretary of Defense, and says, “Good to meet you, sir.”
Pierre nods approvingly. “Good to see more U.S. military in the U.N. family, particularly now.”
After some small talk, the Sec Def leaves and Turan motions Josh into his office, closing the door. “That was an important meeting. The U.S. finally decided to lead the nuclear countries and allow the U.N. veto authority on nuclear strikes. The geeks are going to figure out how to connect us with the nuclear football, so it will require three people to turn the key.” He looked at Josh meaningfully. “It helped to be able to tell him that a former U.S. Navy officer was my new deputy. The rest of the countries will fall in line now that the U.S. has agreed.”
Josh nods but says, “Except Russia.”
Turan looks disgusted as he shakes his head. “Yes, that’s going to be very difficult after the Secretary-General leaked the information implicating the Russians.”
Josh frowns. “We need to talk about that.”
Turan nods. “Yes, but … not here.” Without saying a word, he motions for Josh to follow him.
They take the elevator down to the lowest basement floor. From there, they go to a small conference room that requires a badge swipe to access. Once inside, Turan closes the door and they sit at a small table. “This room is shielded from any electromagnetic signals. We created it right after we learned about Jen, as an emergency contingency.”
Josh does a quick sweep of Turan and the room with his phone. They’re clear.
Turan gives him a puzzled look but says, “Wendy told me the two of you were concerned for my life and thought I was under surveillance by nano-drones. I know all about nano-drones. I used them to combat terrorism in Europe.” He pauses. “I was very skeptical that they could be used against us … but I discovered Wendy was right. I confirmed there is a secret facility in Nevada operating them.”
“How did you find out?”
“The Secretary-General.”
Frowning, Josh asks, “You told him about all this?”
“Yes, of course. He’s my boss and as a former NATO general, Von Stein was aware of the facility. He said he’d investigate any illegal use.”
Josh tilts his head slightly and asks, “You can hear them, can’t you?”
Turan nods. “You?”
“Yeah.” It confirms their genetic similarity. He has to convince Turan that the Secretary-General is behind the conspiracy or anything he tells him will go straight to the enemy. “Did Wendy tell you that Sheri was going to Russia to investigate their involvement?”
Turan nods. “That was a good idea. As a celebrity, she can get access to people that we can’t.”
“Were you aware that after the Secretary-General leaked the information implicating Russia, Sheri was arrested?”
“What?!”
Josh just nods and waits.
Frowning, Turan puts his hand on his forehead. “It’s my fault. I should have known that when I shared that with Von Stein, he’d release it to the press. He and Volkov are enemies and continue to cross swords. I suspect the leak was retaliation.”
“Maybe … but you don’t become a general without the ability to think strategically, and we immediately lost contact with Jen and had to shut down our investigation of Abadon.” Until he’s sure his conversation won’t go any further, Josh’s priority is to protect Judy.
Turan slowly says, “And all this happened at the same time,” he taps his fingers on the tabletop, “right after I told … the Secretary-General.”
“Yes.”
Turan gets up and starts pacing. Finally, exhaling sharply, he says, “Josh, I’ll level with you. I don’t like Von Stein, but … it’s hard for me to imagine him being involved in a major conspiracy, much less behind it. He’s a bull in a china shop. I don’t think he has the skill or patience to pull something like this off.”
Josh pulls out his phone and plays the last part of the video from Abadon. They also hear the Deputy Secretary-General talk about following the “General’s orders.”
Turan shakes his head. “This is impossible.”
Josh shrugs. “It appears Von Stein is running Abadon through his deputy … unless the Deputy is operating independently.”
Turan shakes his head again. “No way. The Deputy does what he’s told.” With a deep breath, Turan adds, “It’s hard to believe, but the evidence is damning.” He pauses and looks at Josh. “If this is true, General Von Stein is an exceptional actor.”
“Regardless,” Josh raises his eyebrows, “Wendy and I have been implanted with the same capsule that killed Harrison and the DNI. It’s likely you have too and who knows how many others. We’ve given Von Stein unilateral control of the ISLO’s laser and we’re about to hand him nuclear veto authority.”
With a half-smile, he says, “Josh, you really know how to ruin my day.” He pauses, thinking, and then exhales slowly. “Ok, we need to expose him.”
“And be ready to arrest him and the Deputy before they can trigger the capsules or use the ISLO.”
Turan looks at him intently. “Josh … you’re talking about a coup.”
“Doruk, the Secretary-General is already in the process of pulling off the greatest coup in history. This is a counter-coup. We’ve got to shut down Abadon. With their ability to monitor everything we do, they have an incredible advantage, not to mention the ability to kill us.”
“I agree. We can prove nano-drones exist, but the evidence that they’re spying on world leaders, and that the Secretary-General is behind it, consists of a shaky, low-resolution video.” He pauses. “Wait! What we could do is leverage Von Stein’s accusation against Russia. With Volkov’s help, we can prove the ISLO was secretly and illegally used to kill the head of Antiqam and he attempted to frame Russia.”
“That’s a good idea.” Nodding, Josh adds, “We still have to figure out how to prevent his accusers — us — from dying suddenly of a heart attack. We have to find a way to incapacitate him before we expose him.”
Turan narrows his eyes. “I have an idea. Last year, the World Health Organization Director mentioned a virus they’re dealing with. It isn’t life threatening, but it’s a problem because it creates sudden and acute symptoms similar to diseases that are deadly. Maybe Elizabeth can explain what’s going on to Dr. Deken and see if we can get a … sample.”
Josh nods slowly. “When he goes to the h
ospital, we quarantine him and use our security forces to ensure he remains isolated.”
Turan nods and then blows out a lungful of air. “Josh, there’s a lot at stake here. I hope you’re right.”
56
COUP
Less than 24 hours later, they execute the plan. Within 12 hours, the Secretary-General becomes extremely ill and he’s taken to the hospital where he’s quarantined. With U.N. security forces guarding and isolating him, Turan calls a press conference.
“The Secretary-General has been hospitalized with a serious illness. He is in stable but guarded condition. Due to his recent trip to the Congo, he’s been quarantined until they can determine if he was exposed to a dangerous virus.” He pauses for emphasis. “Unfortunately, I’m sorry to report that the Department of Global Security has also uncovered evidence that General Von Stein secretly and without authority ordered the use of the International Space-based Laser as a weapon.”
There’s a massive buzz in the room followed by rapid-fire questions.
Turan holds up his hand and says, “Let me continue. It appears the charges against Russia were false.”
The questions come fast and furious.
Josh admires Turan’s ability to handle the press.
“What evidence do you have?”
Turan calmly says, “The evidence has been given to the members of the Security Council, and they will decide how it should be released.”
“Will Deputy Secretary-General Batusura take over?”
“Unfortunately … he may also have been involved and is being detained for questioning.”
“Then who will be the acting Secretary-General?”
Turan shakes his head. “That will be up to the Security Council and General Assembly.”
There are dozens of questions shouted at him.
Impossible (Fuzed Trilogy Book 3) Page 28
