Blue Skies

by Ali Vali

  “I know that part,” Peter cut in.

  “I realize that too, but the answer you want requires a little history.” Drew produced the visitor logs from the Pentagon for the day Rogers had been replaced. “The new secretary met with Don for four hours as his first item of business, but the meeting was also attended by former Vice President Dick Chandler.”

  “The man is an ass who got us into a lot of the messes Olivia and I’ll have to clean up, hopefully in the next eight years, but there’s no way he’s involved in this,” Peter said with a laugh.

  “I’m not saying he is, Peter, but I do think that day was when the worm was put in place, and I’m sure it was sold to the new simpleton as being important to national security. Dick didn’t spend all that time in his bunker alone. He had some of the best technical minds in there trying to help him rule the world.”

  “And you think he had one of those computer geeks put in something so he could keep tabs on what was happening over there after Don left? Wait, don’t answer that,” he said as if something had dawned on him in that moment. “It wasn’t a problem when they put the replacement in, it was what came after. Even if my opponent in the election had won, there was no way he’d let Dick and his cronies anywhere near the important information again.”

  “I don’t have proof of that, sir, but that’s exactly what I think happened. Even after you started putting people in, someone has been monitoring all the information coming through the Pentagon’s system and cherry-picking the items that would cause the most damage to you.”

  “If that’s true, we need to build a solid case against everyone involved because we’ll only get one bite at the apple while it’s still on the branch. Screw it up and some of these bastards will walk, and they’ll destroy any information that’ll connect them to anything,” Peter said.

  “The answers lie with Rodney for now, and the key to getting them is Walby,” Drew said. “I’ll make sure he knows he has the green light to turn that key as many times as he needs to get the lock to open.”

  *

  USS Jefferson

  “Miss me?” Berkley asked Blazer once she unlocked his cell door. “I’ve been doing nothing but thinking of you since the last time I saw you.”

  “I hate to disappoint you, but you haven’t crossed my mind.” Blazer sat on his bunk, and despite the normal temperature, his shirt was wet with sweat. “What happened to the force that just attacked?”

  “They challenged an American carrier, what do you think happened to them?” Berkley stood with her fists on her hips which made the khaki shirt pull across her shoulders. She chose the posture because she could take up as much space as possible.

  “Considering what happened on our mission, maybe they thought it’d be an easy thing.”

  “Actually, it was easy on our part, and when you get a lot of help from the people supposedly attacking you, it was a breeze.”

  “What are you talking about?” Blazer leaned forward so far it looked like his stomach hurt.

  “I shot down their leader so he’d have to eject because I wanted to meet this Grim Reaper, but his own man blew him away.” Berkley watched as Blazer’s usual sour demeanor cracked into a picture of pain, and he started to rock on his bunk.

  “He’s dead?” Blazer asked with tears soaking his cheeks.

  “Friend of yours?” Berkley asked, shocked at his reaction to the news.

  “Get out,” Blazer screamed. “Leave me alone.”

  “There’s one more thing.” Berkley decided to put aside the questions and anger at what he’d done to her and Junior. “I understand Devin and the captain told you about the information we received about your father. You might not believe me, but I am sorry for your loss, and once we’re in port, representatives from the Pentagon will inform you of the details since he was in their custody when he decided on the route he did.”

  “Get out,” Blazer repeated but without the volume. “Leave me alone.”

  “What the hell was that?” Devin asked as soon as Blazer’s door was closed.

  “I’ve got a good guess, but let’s talk to Hattie one more time,” Berkley said and called Aidan to meet them.

  “You think Hattie held out?” Devin asked and had to almost jog to keep up with Berkley.

  “Hattie’s a sweet kid who’s confused as to what side she’s fighting for, and she’s going to tell Aidan everything or I’m going to fling her ass off this boat myself.”

  The interrogation room was empty, but Devin sat next to Berkley. “This Grim Reaper was related to Blazer, wasn’t he?” Devin asked and then sent a request to the Navy for the personnel section of Blazer’s file.

  “When you get that,” Berkley said and pointed at the screen, “I’ll give you a month’s salary if he doesn’t have a brother who’s either too young or has something physically wrong that kept him out of the aviation program.”

  A picture popped up on the screen of a nice-looking young man with blond hair and eyes so blue they resembled lasers. The small paragraph included with it identified Travis Morris, age eighteen, who was on the list to enter the Naval Academy when he graduated from high school. Blazer’s younger brother bore no family resemblance to him and it made Berkley wonder what his mother looked like.

  “What’s up?” Aidan asked when she arrived. “You’re supposed to be resting,” she told Berkley.

  “Ma’am, we’ve got some developments.” Devin told her about Berkley’s meeting with Blazer and showed her Travis’s picture.

  “You think this kid was in one of those planes?” Aidan asked Berkley.

  “Not only was he in one of the planes, I think you’re looking at Grim Reaper. When I was up there and he was taunting me, there was something familiar about his moves. It didn’t dawn on me until now because I haven’t spent enough time in the air with Blazer, but he was definitely one of Travis’s flight instructors.”

  “That I get, but what does Hattie have to do with all this?” Aidan asked.

  “Maybe nothing and maybe everything. When I talked to Blazer he knew those planes were coming, and I don’t believe any of Devin’s men gave him the heads up. Am I right?” Berkley asked Devin.

  “My orders were to keep them locked up and to give them no information unless it was approved by the captain.”

  “Then how did he know, and why did he have such a bad reaction when I told him what happened? The information to attack came from someone on the mainland, but we have to be absolutely sure about that, and that’s why we need to talk to our messenger pigeon.”

  “The world’s off-kilter if we’re being attacked by our own people,” Aidan said with a shake of her head. “What’s there to gain from that?”

  “That’s someone else’s job to find out, but they’d better hurry. Whoever sent those kids to their deaths for nothing deserves to rot in a hole somewhere.”

  “You requested to see me again, Commander?” Hattie said a few minutes later.

  “Have a seat,” Aidan said.

  “Hattie, I’m going to warn you about lying before we start, but I have faith it’s not necessary and you’re going to do the right thing here,” Berkley said, trying her best to be nice. “Was the message you got out for Erika the only one?”

  Hattie sat back and sighed. Instead of answering she grabbed two handfuls of hair and acted as if she was going to cry. It was Aidan who lost patience first.

  “You may feel like we’re picking on you, but before you answer you should ask yourself if we already know the answer,” Aidan said.

  “If you know already, ma’am, why am I here?” Hattie asked.

  “Because Commander Levine thinks you deserve a chance to redeem yourself for doing something you didn’t realize was so harmful,” Aidan said. She glanced at Berkley, who stood behind Hattie and had her thumb up. “Blazer knew we were attacked, yet he’s confined with no communications except for anyone approved by me. Since I know none of Devin’s men told him anything, how’d he know that?”

&n
bsp; “I didn’t send anything out, and I don’t care what you think you know. It wasn’t me.” Hattie dropped her head and was gripping the edge of the table as if she’d slide away if she let go. “You might be in charge, but I know I’ve got rights, so I’m going back to work. If you’ve really got all this evidence against me I guess you’ll lock me up too.” Hattie stood.

  “Sit your ass down,” Berkley said loudly. “You go when you’re dismissed and not before.” With the information Devin had given her, she now knew she’d been wrong about Hattie. “No one said anything about you sending a message out.”

  “It’s good to know you realize I’m not that stupid,” Hattie said.

  “But you did get one and deliver it to Blazer,” Berkley said, now sure that’s what had happened. “You chose this idiot over your country because you thought he had a right to bitch? Isn’t that what you said about Erika? What you should’ve asked yourself is why he was in trouble in the first place.”

  “The message came through a couple of days after Erika asked me to send the first one. She told me those planes were part of a secret exercise sanctioned by the Navy to test our preparedness. They weren’t supposed to shoot at anyone.”

  “For your sake aren’t you glad I’m better than the pilots we faced? If not, your stupidity could’ve really cost you.” Berkley felt the anger build in her chest, and Hattie was only a small reason why. She was most upset with herself. “Since you can’t do enough for Blazer and Erika, I think you should join them.”

  “Captain, isn’t that your call?” Hattie asked.

  “Commander Levine saved me the trouble,” Aidan said. “Devin, take her down and we’ll turn over the lot of them once we make port.” Hattie stood and started to move before Devin could touch her. “What the hell happened to respect for your superior officers?” Aidan asked Berkley when they were alone again.

  “I was thinking the same thing and something finally dawned on me.” Berkley stared at the closed door distractedly.

  “You’re doing pretty good so far if you ask me, so I can’t wait to hear what else you figured out.”

  “That’s why whatever all this is has worked so well.” Berkley fell in a chair, suddenly feeling very tired.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Think about the service and the security forces today and how they’ve all changed since September Eleventh. It’s tight and the security measures are ridiculously redundant. For someone from the outside to break them would be next to impossible, so whoever the puppet master is—”

  “Controls on the lowest level,” Aidan finished for her.

  “Makes sense, doesn’t it?” Berkley asked and nodded. “People like you give orders, but you don’t actually send the messages or follow the chain of who gets the orders. This crap we’ve faced worked because their boss recruited the worker bees, not too many people in command.”

  “How do we find them all then?”

  “It depends on the level of organization and what they hope to accomplish. This might only be resolved from the top down.”

  “How else would they do it?”

  “For something like this, finding the top will be as difficult as trying to round up everyone like Hattie.” Berkley stretched and winced when it pulled at her wound. “The fleet of jets they sent against us proves they’ve got money and a gaggle of recruits. What I don’t understand is why challenge us at all?”

  “I’ll leave that up to men like Drew Orr.”

  “The problem with that, Captain, is that people like Drew Orr will expect the answers from someone like you. If I’m right about that, you have to prepare yourself for your retirement to be delayed.”

  “I love it when you’re right, but I hope to hell you’re way off target this time.” Aidan gazed at her and opened her mouth a couple of times before finally speaking. “If you’re not though, what happens then?”

  “We get free clothes and cool toys for a couple more years.” Berkley smiled. “Whatever happens, I think we proved ourselves adequately enough that we can serve together.”

  “Then we get the picket fence?”

  “I even come with a dog.”

  “Which reminds me…” Aidan glanced at her watch and started to get up. “You promised me a story about the name Cletus.”

  “I thought you would’ve figured it out when Dad christened Harvey with Junior.”

  They walked to the mess hall together and greeted quite a few people along the way. “Isn’t your dog’s name Junior?” Aidan asked.

  Berkley nodded and handed her a tray. “Junior is our dog,” she whispered, “and he comes from a long line of champion hunters, so it’s in his blood to find his prey. Dad thought it’d bring Harvey luck to share his name.”

  “And Cletus?”

  “That’d be Junior’s great-granddaddy, and Dad’s favorite dog of all time. The day I got my wings he thought I deserved the name, and not before.”

  Aidan laughed as she loaded up her tray. “Not exactly ferocious sounding, but it suits you.”

  “Maybe later you could pet me,” Berkley whispered again and made Aidan stumble with her tray.

  The rest of their trip was uneventful. Berkley tried to talk to Jin a few more times before they reached the rendezvous point. Jin was polite, accepted the food Berkley brought, but didn’t answer any question except to say she was fine.

  When the Marine Osprey landed, Berkley walked Jin to the craft and wished her well. Jin bowed and shook Berkley’s hand before boarding without a problem. Lowe wasn’t nearly as cooperative.

  The short, portly man had to be carried on as he screamed obscenities in both Korean and English. When the craft lifted off Berkley felt as if this wasn’t the last she’d see of Jin, and if it wasn’t, she looked forward to having a real conversation with her when Jin felt comfortable enough to go beyond the niceties.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Northern Virginia

  “Anything yet?” Rooster asked when he joined Drew at the monitor. The room the feed was coming from had three interrogators working with Walby, but their target, Rodney James, still had his jaw set in a defiant pose. It’d been three days and he was still nowhere close to cracking.

  “We’ve learned new and inventive ways to use the standard curse words,” Drew said.

  “How did we get here?” Rooster asked and tapped the screen over Rodney’s forearm, which was covered with a bandage where the poison device had been removed. “This kook was advising the president not that long ago.”

  Drew put his hand up when Walby opened a file on New Horizons. “Hang on, and see if he changes his story any.”

  “Rodney, we’ve picked up and questioned all the people on the list, and you’re the only one with the grape Kool-Aid sewn into his arm,” Walby said. He was way beyond trying to be polite. “They’ve never heard of all this, and have agreed to cooperate however they can.” He slammed the file in front of Rodney so hard that he jumped in his seat. “You listed over thirty wild goose chases and it’s time to tell us why. Think about your family and everything you stood for.”

  “That’s what I’m doing.” Rodney picked up the folder and flung it at Walby’s head. “It’s time to stand up for what’s right.”

  Walby and his men laughed. “In case it hasn’t sunk in, you’re standing alone. Your buddies decided to desert you in spectacular fashion. Jerry and Adam cracked after ten minutes of questioning, not exactly what you were looking for in some allies, I’m guessing.”

  “Eventually, they’ll have their reward when things change.”

  Walby walked around the table and put his hands on Rodney. “When what changes?” he asked as he squeezed Rodney’s shoulders. “I’m sure you’re sick of being in here, but not as tired as I am asking you the same goddamn thing over and over.” He let him go and moved so Rodney could see him. “So hopefully your last answer is a signal that you’re willing to make this easy on yourself.”

  “Walby, you’re a traitor to the cau
se.” Rodney stood and walked toward the door as if daring anyone to stop him.

  “Wilfred, the monitors please,” Walby said and the video feed Drew and Rooster were watching went dark. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you, Rodney.”

  “You wouldn’t dare touch me,” Rodney said with contempt.

  “The president needs answers and it’s my duty to get them,” Walby said. Behind him the men with him readied a board. On the floor was a bucket of water with a towel floating in it.

  “That pansy doesn’t have the balls to deal with threats the way we did,” Rodney said, but his eyes were glued to the bucket.

  “When a force tried to sink one of our carriers, he knew the rules changed, but I give him credit for trying to give you the respect you don’t deserve,” Walby said and cocked his head in Rodney’s direction.

  Despite the facility’s thick walls, Drew and Rooster heard Rodney’s muffled cries. It took less than thirty minutes for Walby to get the answers he needed. When he gave Drew the information, he watched the shock register as much as when he’d first heard it.

  “You think the information is reliable?” Drew asked.

  “It doesn’t take much to get people to talk, and we’ll verify what he said in a few hours with another interview. The last thing Rodney wants is to repeat the last hour, so he’ll talk. Our job is to compare stories.” One of Walby’s team delivered a written report of what Walby had said. “If you want my opinion—he’s telling the truth. At least enough of the truth that he’s missing his little implant. I understand their purpose now more than ever.”

  “Keep at it, and we’ll check with you at midnight,” Drew said. “With this information, our meeting with the president has to be tonight, but I need Aidan and Commander Levine here and that’s about how much time they’ll need to make the trip.”

  “For the first time in all the years I’ve been doing this, I hope I’m wrong,” Walby said.