Blue Skies

by Ali Vali

  “Me too, but we’ve got no choice other than to stop this before it takes hold with anyone else,” Drew said.

  “Sir, we have a call coming in for you on a secure line,” one of the guards said from the door to Drew. “It’s not anyone we can ID yet, so we’re trying to trace the call.”

  “Secretary Orr,” Drew said and listened for anything strange or identifying in the background.

  “You have four of my people in custody.” The voice was being manipulated to sound metallic so there was no way to know if it was a man or woman. “You have ten minutes to release them or there’ll be a consequence you won’t like.”

  “Would you like to give me a hint as to who that might be, or should I release everyone in custody across the country?” Drew said.

  “The three on the Jefferson I could almost understand, but Rodney James is a decorated hero and deserved a lot more respect than what you’ve shown so far.”

  “Who is this?” Drew locked eyes with Rooster and Walby, who were listening, but they both shook their heads. The trace the team was running was on the screen but it was bouncing off towers across the globe.

  “In good time, Mr. Secretary, but right now you’re on the clock. You have ten minutes to release Rodney James, Lieutenant David Morris, Lieutenant Alan Lewis, and Lieutenant Erika Gibson. My demands have also been sent to the White House, so consider yourself and your boss warned.”

  The line went dead. “Anything?” Drew asked.

  “No, sir,” one of the technical team answered. “Whoever it was has some sophisticated anti-tracing equipment.”

  “I thought we plugged the leaks in here?” Rooster said.

  “The computers were sealed, or so the geek squad said, and that might be true,” Walby added. “But there are more ways than the Internet to gather information.”

  “Way ahead of you,” Drew said and handed the phone to Rooster. “Tell your men to match up names to all phone calls made out of the office. I want to know who was on the other end.” He picked up another line and put out the red alert, calling up their national security forces.

  “Sir, President Khalid on line one.”

  “What the hell is going on?” Peter sounded angry. “If these people are trying to make us look like incompetent idiots, we’re doing everything we can to accommodate them.”

  “We’re working on finding the caller and I’ve got the planes in the air and troops on standby, sir,” Drew said. He took the report from their national radar grid from Rooster. There wasn’t anything in the air so far that didn’t belong there.

  “We’ll see how ready we are in five minutes,” Peter said.

  Drew felt as if he could do more from his office, but there was no time. When the mark hit three minutes, the caller was back on the line. “I’ve received no calls and I take it none are forthcoming.”

  “If you’re familiar with American policy, you have to know we do not negotiate with terrorists,” Drew said. The line was being traced again as Drew’s team and the president’s office listened in. “There’ll be no release of anyone in custody.”

  “I knew that when I gave you the ten minutes,” the mechanical voice said.

  “Then why waste your time making threats?” Drew asked.

  “I made no threat, Mr. Secretary, it was a promise. Khalid thought he could promote some people like you and show the public how fair-minded he is, but all he’s done is weaken our military to the point that we’ll lose the respect we fought so hard to gain in the last eight years.”

  “The last eight years have been nothing but an exercise in weakening our military. Promoting people who want to serve with honor is helping to rebuild it,” Drew countered as he watched the signal bounce from one tower to the next around the world. This guy was probably down the street having coffee as he made his idle threats.

  “Then I dedicate my next action to you, Khalid, Captain Aidan Sullivan, and Commander Berkley Levine,” the voice said and the line went dead before they could pinpoint the location of the call.

  “Anything?” Drew asked when he put the phone down.

  “Nothing yet, sir,” one of the guards reported, his radio alive with chatter but no sign of alarm yet.

  “Let’s get back to the office for now so we can monitor the situation and work on our report for tonight’s meeting with the joint chiefs,” Drew told Rooster. As the driver reached the door that led to Drew’s office, his phone rang and the excited voice on the other end told him that the caller’s threats were real and an area south of Coos Bay, Oregon, had been bombed.

  “Any injuries?” Drew asked as he and Rooster jogged into the building.

  “We’re sending people into the area now, sir. We called the local police and National Guard to seal off the area until our forensic teams can get in there.”

  “Where in the hell did this come from?” Drew asked the staff assembled in his office.

  “The strike didn’t come from the air. From the first accounts we’ve gotten, we think it came from the water. I’ve got water patrol searching for anything that could launch something big enough to destroy the swath of land we’re talking about here,” Admiral Sawyer Garner said. “The president’s been informed and everyone’s been put on the investigation into where these assholes got this much firepower to begin with.”

  “Start with an inventory of our own stocks. I want it finished by tonight.” The phone rang on Drew’s desk and the technician sitting at the tracking computer pointed to the phone. “Drew Orr,” he said when he picked up the receiver.

  “Now you know I’m serious,” the mechanical voice said and laughed.

  “What I know now is that you’re a terrorist who’s killed I don’t know how many innocent lives yet, and for no good reason.”

  “Nonsense, Secretary Orr, you know as well as I do that some innocent lives must be lost in war. It’s not pretty, but no different than when our founding fathers started their quest for freedom.” Drew watched the screen again as the bastard spoke and knew there was no way they’d catch him by conventional means. “New Horizon isn’t really new but a return to the way things are supposed to be before the gullible American public was seduced by the Antichrist they’ve put in the Oval Office.”

  “If you’re such a patriot of the people, why go through such lengths to disguise yourself?” Drew asked.

  “All in good time, but you should stop wasting your time with Rodney and the others. They’ve all taken an oath not to talk.”

  “We found their nice little surgical enhancements, so the only two of you who are permanently silent are Adam and Jerry. The others are in our hands now and I’ll do whatever it takes to break them, so enjoy your sick game while you can, but we will find you.”

  “The only way that’s going to happen is if I turn myself in.” The aggravating laugh came again. “You’re in over your head, as is your boss, but I’m getting ready to rectify that by showing the public what true order really means. That they can go to bed at night and sleep well knowing that they are tucked safely under the blanket of safety that exists only if people like you are shown the door.”

  “My kind? What exactly does that mean?”

  “The kind of man who puts two incompetent bitches in charge of a mission that had disastrous results, and the kind of man who thinks that’s progress. Your boss also took out the most devoted men working at the Pentagon and replaced them with doves like you. Any progress that was made, you gave away so that our enemies will see us only as the weakling you and your kind represent.”

  “You blew up American soil because the Jefferson has a woman at the helm and I’m not a warmonger? Are you insane or totally stupid?”

  “What I am is generous.” The inflection never changed, but the volume went up. “I’m telling you that the war has begun whether you want to acknowledge it or not, and I’ll continue to hit you until the seduction I mentioned ends and the public begs me to take charge so the bleeding will stop. And the two I’ll begin with are your li
ttle poster girls you’ve put before us as the two shining examples of the new military. That’s a bigger joke than when Khalid was sworn in.”

  The line went down again and Drew didn’t bother to ask if there’d been any luck on the trace. Instead he asked to be patched to the Jefferson, then to the president.

  *

  USS Jefferson

  “The captain needs you on the bridge,” Devin told Berkley. She was standing at the railing on the main deck talking to the other pilots.

  “You ready to take me flying?” Aidan asked when Berkley stood next to her and waited to be acknowledged. “Secretary Orr expects us in Washington by tonight if possible.”

  “Did they find where all those jets flew out of?”

  “There was a private airstrip in the middle of a thick stretch of forest in Oregon. We believe they destroyed it with four missiles fired from a ship off the coast.” Aidan gave control of navigation over to her second and started for the deck. “The team the FBI sent in said there was space for seventy planes, but the place was deserted, which kept the casualties to zero. A small wood mill nearby didn’t fare as well.”

  “When it came to the airstrip, was it a case of wishful thinking or good planning?” Berkley thought about what kind of damage another heavily armed forty-five planes could do around the country if they really existed. “No other clues left behind?”

  “I’m sure the twenty people who died because they had the bad luck of being at work today are considered a ton of evidence, but that’s it. Whoever’s responsible called Secretary Orr before and after it happened. The shit storm that caused is why he wants to talk to us.” Aidan turned her face to the cool breezed coming off the water. “My father’s known Drew for years, so I’m not surprised at how many resources he’s dumping into this. We’re beyond a couple of disgruntled people playing soldier, I think.”

  “Who are you going to put in charge here? Because you leaving now isn’t exactly how it’s supposed to work.”

  “I’ve put a team together with people like Devin and Luther, and they know what to do. I trust them.”

  “Okay then,” Berkley said.

  It seemed to Aidan that the words had just left her lover’s lips when she was in the backseat of Berkley’s jet lined up for takeoff.

  Five hours and a few pit stops later they landed outside Washington and were met by Rooster and some of his men.

  “Thank you for getting here so quickly.” Rooster shook hands with them. “We’re going directly to the meeting and then we’ll put you up for the night.”

  “Sounds good,” Aidan said as Berkley nodded next to her holding their bags. “But I’ve got an apartment here, so when we’re done I’d rather stay there.”

  “Consider it done, Captain.” Rooster waved up the driver. “Now, if you’re ready.” He held open the back door.

  “Am I alone in feeling that there’s a big sack of shit hovering over us and somebody’s getting ready to drop it on us?” Aidan asked Berkley in a low voice.

  “It’s when you wish you had a total security clearance to know everything that’s going on.”

  “Careful what you wish for, Cletus, because too much information is sometimes worse than none at all.”

  “I doubt we’re getting that, so I’m not worried.”

  “Uh-huh,” Aidan said without conviction.

  When the vehicle stopped, it occurred to Berkley that they hadn’t had the chance to call their parents and tell them they were back. “Depends on what this is, but if we can, we should go see your folks tomorrow,” she told Aidan.

  “My father’s already crazy about you, but I’m sure once I tell him what you said it’ll knock you up a few notches.”

  The guard at the White House gate asked everyone for their IDs before they were allowed in. Their escorts moved them quickly through the door and into the basement situation room where Drew and Rooster were already waiting.

  “Madame Vice President,” Aidan said when another door opened and Olivia Michaels stepped in. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am.”

  “Sorry to drag you off the Jefferson before you had the chance to dock her.” The vice president shook Aidan’s hand and then Berkley’s. “Commander, I’m glad to see you doing so well. How’s the shoulder?” The invited military personnel filed in as the vice president was speaking.

  “Healing nicely, ma’am,” Berkley said.

  “Aidan.” Drew stepped up and gave her a warm hug. “Great job on picking a good crew and getting out with so little casualties considering what was thrown at you.” Drew shook Berkley’s hand with both of his. “It’s an honor, Commander.”

  “Thanks, and likewise,” Berkley said and glanced around quickly at the rest of the people who’d arrived. “Considering your guests tonight, can I ask why we’re here?”

  “Protecting our country is about to become a different animal, and—”

  “We need all the help we can get,” President Khalid finished for him. “At ease, everyone, and let’s get to it.”

  Drew pulled two chairs for Aidan and Berkley before he sat next to the president. “We talked with Rodney right before the terrorist with the little voice changer called, and he finally filled in some blanks for us,” Drew said.

  “He’s referring to retired Admiral Rodney James,” the vice president filled in for Aidan and Berkley.

  “The meeting confirmed the bits of information we’ve been able to collect after what happened to Commander Levine.”

  “What did Rodney cough up?” Vice President Michaels asked.

  “New Horizons is more of a movement than a business. It has a command structure much like our military, but their mission is to put in place a much more dictatorial government.”

  “They want to overthrow the government?” one of the generals asked. “That’s ludicrous, and more like Rodney having some fun at your expense.”

  “I’d agree with you, but consider where we are right now.” Drew stood. “We are fighting two wars and deployed in other hot spots around the world. What was supposed to be a short stint in Iraq has become a quagmire.”

  “A perfect storm since the people entrusted with our safety are at their most fatigued, that’s true.” The president leaned back in his chair. “Still, that doesn’t compute in my mind as to how Rodney, or whoever he’s working with, thinks they can be successful.”

  “Storms can be tracked, but they’re still a guessing game as to where and when they’ll hit until they’re right on you. In this case the storm was carefully created and controlled until Commander Levine dropped those bombs on her target. Not until then was the plan unleashed,” Drew said.

  “What exactly is that?” Vice President Michaels asked.

  “It was supposed to start with the sinking of the Jefferson by their air corps once the ship was in range of the U.S. coastline, followed by some wishful thinking in hoping for retaliation from North Korea on American soil.” Drew could feel the frustration growing in the room. “That was the plan, and I’m not trying to hold back, but you all need to have a complete picture.”

  “What I’ve heard so far is shit,” the general said.

  “What we have, sir, is millions of dollars missing from the Pentagon’s budget and put into blind accounts that are going to take months to find,” Drew said. “That money obviously was used to finance New Horizon’s revolution. What I don’t know yet is if there are any weapons missing as well as the cash, but since they don’t sell guided missiles at your local supermarket, I’m going with the assumption that they stole some of those as well.”

  “Granted, having a unit of jets go against our people was crazy,” Rodney’s replacement Sawyer Garner said, “but there’s no sign of any militia that organized working within our borders.”

  “Not yet. But remember those who lived here for years leading unassuming lives until they decided to bring down the Towers,” Drew said. “And before any of you start preaching about how that can never happen again, know that Rodney wa
sn’t the top man, and we don’t have a clue as to how many runts like Blazer they have. But the reason we’re here is to decide on a course of action to deal with who Rodney said is in charge. If he’s telling the truth, then the cleared patch of land in Oregon will be the first of many.”

  “He cracked on that?” Olivia said.

  “Rodney did give us a name, yes.” Drew took a deep breath. “The leader and creator of New Horizon is Dick Chandler.”

  “The former vice president?” Peter asked incredulously. “Tell me you’re joking.”

  “When Rodney said his name, a lot of this made more sense,” Drew said. “It had to be someone with power to put all this together, especially when it came to the people he was able to recruit. The wrench in all this not moving as fast as Dick had planned was you, Aidan.”

  “How so?” Aidan asked.

  “The initial message sent to Jerry Teague mentioned you were being a problem, and whether you knew at the time, you managed to lock away some of the people put onboard to give you the most headaches.”

  “You were also a problem for them, Commander,” Rooster told Berkley. “Their main battle cry was to use you as an example of what needs to be changed under a new rule. Too bad you not only lived but you carried your partner out of there, which didn’t exactly fit with their theory of where women belong or don’t.”

  “Are they still questioning Rodney?” Peter asked.

  “That’ll continue for some time,” Drew said. “I’m having the detainees moved to the facility for questioning as well. We need to get answers and fast before we have any more incidents like Coos Bay, and I think we should use any means necessary to do that.”

  “To review then, the money comes from the Pentagon, and Rodney’s named Dick Chandler as the mastermind,” Peter said.

  “That’s correct, sir,” Drew answered. “I really don’t want to believe it, but it’s the only scenario that makes sense to me the more I think about it. No matter how you look at this, Chandler’s involvement and the power he held under the last administration was the only way he could’ve infiltrated the way he did. That he surrounded himself with people like Jerry Teague and Adam Morris explains the recruits willing to give up their lives, and that he gave people like Rodney free rein for so long explains a lot as well.”