Once Dead

by Richard Phillips

  Anchanchu sensed that, if it failed to establish firm control over Jack Gregory, there was no way of determining which of those incompatible destinies would occur. It was an all-or-nothing roll of the dice the mind worm was unwilling to risk.

  CHAPTER 70

  The update Nolan Trent had just gotten from Daniel Jones put him in a good mood, one he hoped would last the whole morning. Rolf Koenig’s code module had been successfully installed at both Greely and Vandenberg. The software had passed all performance tests and had been accepted by the government with compliments to the defense contractor for the numerous improvements made since the prior release.

  One by one, the items on his and Rolf’s lists were being checked off.

  The phone on his desk rang and Nolan lifted it from its cradle on the second ring. The caller ID said Knox.

  “Yes, Jacob?”

  “We’ve got a new problem.”

  Jacob’s tone siphoned the warm glow from Nolan’s body.

  “Explain.”

  “A few days ago, I specifically requested all available data on Janet Price.”

  “And we gave it to you.”

  “Bullshit! I requested critical information and I was given crap.”

  “Think about who you’re talking to and dial it down a notch.”

  “That faulty information damn near got me killed. Don’t tell me to dial it down.”

  Nolan clenched his teeth, biting off the response that tried to crawl from his throat, over his tongue, and out of his mouth.

  “Just tell me what happened.”

  Nolan heard Jacob pause to take a deep breath as the man tried to reassert his normal self-control before continuing.

  “I was told Janet Price was a promising young field agent who quit the CIA after two years of service to become a religious missionary in foreign lands. So I have one question. How could she kick the shit out of me in an Austrian parking garage?”

  Nolan felt the fingers of his left hand dig into his forehead as he tried to wrap his mind around what he’d just heard. Somehow his agency’s top killer had almost had his ass handed to him by a former employee who wasn’t named Jack Gregory. When he spoke again, the words rumbled from his throat.

  “I don’t know, but I’m damn sure going to find out.”

  “And Nolan . . . ”

  “Yes?”

  “Faster would be better.”

  Knox ended the call and Nolan had to clench his arms to prevent himself from hurling the phone at the far wall.

  “No shit!”

  Nolan shunted aside his irritation and dialed his admin assistant. She picked up on the first ring.

  “Yes, sir?”

  “Get the NSA’s Dr. Jennings on the line for me.”

  “Right away.”

  Nolan glanced up at the headline on CNN.com.

  Robot Moon Miners? Launch Scheduled Next Week.

  He and Rolf Koenig were so close to realizing their compatible but very different dreams. To have two very dangerous loose ends flapping in the wind, seeking to entangle a project that had been years in the planning, was frustrating. To have both of those problems fall under his area of responsibility was doubly so.

  Lindsey’s smooth voice brought Nolan’s attention back to the speakerphone.

  “I have Dr. Jennings on the line.”

  “Okay. Patch her in.”

  He heard the phone switch to the other line.

  “Dr. Jennings, this is Deputy Director Trent at CIA.”

  “How may I help you, Mr. Trent?”

  Dr. Jennings’s curt tone didn’t improve his mood.

  “I want all information the NSA can gather on a former CIA agent named Janet Alexandra Price forwarded directly to my office. This request carries the highest priority.”

  The pause that followed lasted three full seconds.

  “I’ve only been instructed to forward information related to Rolf Koenig and Vladimir Roskov to your office.”

  “This request falls within that purview.”

  “I’ll have to clear it with Admiral Riles.”

  “Then you do that, Dr. Jennings. I need the report this afternoon. If Admiral Riles needs clarification, he has my number. I’m sure there’ll be no need to involve President Harris again. Am I clear?”

  “Crystal.” The word sounded like she’d just spit into the phone.

  Nolan ended the call. Dr. Jennings was pissed and soon Admiral Riles would share that same feeling. Fine. He could join the club.

  CHAPTER 71

  The five-door silver Lada Niva wasn’t the most comfortable or the prettiest SUV Janet had ever ridden in, but it did have four-wheel drive, a spare, and tools for repairing a flat tire. All of those were important on Kazakhstan’s notoriously bad roads.

  The flight into Astana and their subsequent meeting with an oil field operations manager from KG group had been uneventful. The oil man had been glad to send the two Russian geologists on their way with the seismic equipment his parent company had instructed him to deliver. He had been especially happy to hear that they didn’t want any facility tours or to be shepherded around the countryside by one of his people. They were off to do their geological investigation of potential new fields and out of his hair.

  They had one more stop to make on the outskirts of Kazakhstan’s largest city, where their contact would deliver the rest of their mission kit before they got to enjoy the fifteen-hour drive to Kyzylorda. While it would have been much more convenient to fly into Shymkent, this was the spot where their contact was.

  Janet focused on her tablet, studying the files Levi Elias had forwarded.

  “So did the NSA identify your night stalker?”

  Jack’s voice brought her head up.

  “Name’s Jacob Knox.”

  “Knox?”

  “You know him.”

  “I know him.”

  Janet looked over at Jack, his face giving no indication of what he was feeling. That, and his failure to elaborate, couldn’t be good. Knox had been one of Jack’s counterparts at the CIA, an asset used for high-profile target eliminations. She hadn’t read more than half of the information Levi had provided, but Janet had already learned enough about Knox to know one thing: In that Salzburg parking garage, she had been very lucky. Lucky that Knox hadn’t stepped out from behind that van shooting instead of trying to get fancy with the night vision goggles, lucky that he had underestimated her.

  But Knox had been fortunate that it had taken her a half-second too long to reach his gun beneath that black Mercedes, a delay that had enabled him to duck around the corner before she could get a shot off. Next time they would both be ready for each other. She figured Jack was thinking much the same thing.

  “We’re here.”

  Jack’s words brought her vision out of her mind’s eye and back to the present.

  The house was little more than a shack; its attached garage appeared ready to fall down. The woman that opened the garage door to meet them was exotic. Tall and slender, her raven hair hung to her waist. Jack pulled the SUV inside and the garage door rumbled closed as he turned off the engine.

  When they stepped out into the dimly lit garage, the woman held out her hand and Jack took it.

  “I am Zhaniya.”

  Jack inclined his head. “Pure soul.”

  Zhaniya smiled. “Ahhh. A Russian who understands Kazakh. Such a rare thing.”

  Janet stepped forward, extending her right hand.

  “Elena Kozlov.”

  Zhaniya shook her hand and then returned her attention to Jack.

  “Sergei Kozlov,” he said, taking her extended hand in his.

  Janet glanced at Jack, half expecting to see that red fire in his eyes. But it wasn’t there, something she was surprisingly thankful for.

  “Please. Follow me.”

  Zhaniya turned and led them through a door that appeared about ready to tear free from its hinges. The apartment behind that door didn’t look much better: a threadbare couch
, a stained wood coffee table, and a kitchenette with appliances that appeared to have been manufactured in the mid-twentieth century.

  Zhaniya bent down and tugged on the oval rug beneath the coffee table, pulling the entire thing aside to reveal a trapdoor beneath. She lifted the hatch and stepped aside.

  “Sergei. You have the honor.”

  Without hesitation, Jack stepped onto the metal ladder that led into the darkness below. Before Janet could follow, Zhaniya stepped onto the ladder behind him, her shining black eyes locking briefly with Janet’s as she climbed down.

  Janet knew her annoyance was irrational, but it was there nonetheless. She briefly considered the possibility that her physical attraction to the assassin might be distorting her perceptions, but discarded the notion.

  Shoving those thoughts aside, Janet stepped onto the top rung of the metal ladder and followed the other two down. As she descended, the cellar light came on, a bare incandescent bulb screwed into a fixture in the center of the concrete ceiling. Four hundred square feet of concrete floor, the walls also of unpainted reinforced concrete, the room was no surprise. What filled the shelves and racks that lined the walls was.

  Janet felt her pulse quicken as she stepped off the ladder and moved around the room, examining its contents with growing delight. The collection of weapons, ammunition, and explosives was impressive. But the high-tech gear pulled her forward.

  Jack grinned at her. “Makes you wish we were pulling a trailer behind the SUV doesn’t it?”

  “That thought occurred to me,” Janet said, running her hand over the latches on an olive-drab, hard-sided case that was a little bigger than a suitcase.

  She turned her attention to Zhaniya.

  “What’s in here?”

  “Take a look. My orders are to give you whatever you want.”

  Janet released the metal latches and raised the lid. Jack’s low whistle echoed her thoughts.

  “A scanning laser?”

  Janet turned to Zhaniya. “Permanently blinding?”

  Zhaniya nodded. “Out to three kilometers in green and infrared wavelengths. Tripod mounted and capable of being remotely operated.”

  “Power supply?”

  “A brand new capacitor technology the Russians stole from Los Alamos National Laboratory.”

  “And you stole it from them?”

  “Not me. I’m just the broker.”

  Janet closed the lid. “We’ll take it.”

  “I thought you might.”

  Forty minutes later, they had finished their shopping. Several trips to the SUV with their new equipment and supplies and the associated packing of those items took up the rest of the hour.

  “Is that it?” Zhaniya asked. “Last chance.”

  Janet closed the Lada Niva’s back door. “That’ll do.”

  “Can I offer you something to eat or drink before you go? Maybe something else?”

  Jack opened the driver’s side door and shook his head. “Thank you, but we have a long drive ahead.”

  A sly smile graced Zhaniya’s lips as she watched Jack climb into the driver’s seat.

  “Good luck. Maybe I’ll see you again.”

  As Janet settled into the passenger seat and the garage door rumbled open, she had the distinct impression that Zhaniya’s last words hadn’t applied to her.

  CHAPTER 72

  When Levi Elias stepped into Admiral Riles’s office, he wasn’t happy, but this wasn’t his call. It was Riles’s ass that was hanging out on this one.

  “Yes, Levi?”

  “Sir, we’ve got a problem. Nolan Trent at CIA has instructed Dr. Jennings to run a full NSA query on Janet Price. We are instructed to provide all available information directly to his office.”

  “Instructed or requested?”

  “He’s not asking. He’s demanding information under the temporary presidential authorization related to Rolf Koenig and Vladimir Roskov. He said you’re welcome to discuss it with Director Rheiner if you want the DCI to raise this issue with the president.”

  Admiral Riles leaned back in his chair, his hands clasped in front of him. His face betrayed no emotion. Neither did he speak. The uncomfortable silence that followed lasted so long that Levi seated himself to wait for his boss’s response. When the Admiral leaned forward again, Levi mirrored his movement.

  “Here’s what I want you to do, Levi. Tell Dr. Jennings to deliver only the information that matches Janet’s original cover story.”

  “The CIA already has that.”

  “Exactly.”

  Although the answer was what Levi had been hoping to hear, he wouldn’t be doing his job if he didn’t raise the counter-argument.

  “If it comes out, the president might interpret this as you disobeying a direct order.”

  “He might. He might not like the fact that I put together my off-the-grid special operations team that Janet Price is a member of. But I believe I have that authority and I’m damn sure not going to disclose anything that puts any of my agents’ lives in jeopardy.”

  Levi rose to his feet. “Yes, sir. I’ll inform Denise right now.”

  Admiral Riles nodded and returned his focus to the daily intelligence update he’d been studying when Levi entered. As Levi turned and walked out of the Admiral’s office, he had to admire the man’s inability to worry about anything. Riles thought things through carefully, made his decision, and that was the end of it.

  A useful trait. Unfortunately it was one Levi would never master.

  “What the hell is this crap?”

  Nolan Trent threw the folder on his desk with such force that it slid off the far edge, sending its contents fluttering across the floor. He didn’t care.

  Christie Parson raised an eyebrow, but made no attempt to pick up the results of her boss’s tantrum.

  “It’s the information the NSA provided on Janet Price.”

  “Bullshit. There’s not one scrap of new information in that file.”

  When Christie merely shrugged, he felt his blood pulse in his temples, threatening to make her the object of his frustration. But she wasn’t the one he was pissed at and he didn’t do counterproductive things like yelling at one of his best people just to blow off steam. Instead he waved her out and punched a button on his speakerphone.

  “Lindsey. Get Admiral Riles on the phone for me.”

  “Yes, sir. One moment.”

  Less than a minute later he heard her voice again.

  “Connecting you now.”

  Hearing the line switch, Nolan paused to take a deep breath before speaking.

  “Admiral Riles, this is CIA Deputy Director Nolan Trent.”

  “I gathered that. What can I do for you, Mr. Trent?”

  The man’s calm voice further irritated Nolan.

  “As you are no doubt aware, yesterday I requested vital information from your agency. I just received the report and it doesn’t have a single piece of information I hadn’t already gathered from CIA sources.”

  “And?”

  “And I think the NSA is intentionally stonewalling us in violation of the president’s directive.”

  The pause at the other end of the line lasted several seconds before the NSA director’s insufferably steady voice replaced it.

  “Mr. Trent. I assure you that I have no intention of stonewalling the CIA’s investigation into Janet Price. But let me suggest another possibility, even though it seems farfetched.”

  “And what is that?”

  “Perhaps, this time, the CIA actually managed to gather accurate information without the NSA’s help.”

  The click that indicated that Admiral Riles had just hung up on him left Nolan staring at the speakerphone. A disquieting thought occurred to Nolan Trent. Maybe the NSA director was right.

  CHAPTER 73

  “Herr Koenig. You’re needed in the payload mating facility.”

  Rolf looked up from his laptop to see the long, lanky form of Gerhardt Balkman, his first shift manager, standing in t
he doorway to his office, concern firmly etched into his gray-bearded face.

  Having seen Rolf rise to his feet, Gerhardt turned to lead him to the source of the problem. Rolf moved up beside him as they walked from the office space into one high-bay and then another. At the entrance to the payload final-assembly bay, they both donned clean suits and entered the room. Rolf didn’t need conversation and Gerhardt had worked for him long enough to know it. He’d get his explanation of the problem when he got where Gerhardt was taking him.

  As it turned out, he never needed the problem explained to him. Approaching the spot where the nuclear power generator was being installed on the XLRMV-1 mining vehicle, the red failure indicators on the test monitors told the whole story. Stepping up to the control panels, Rolf entered a series of commands, watching as the diagnostic data cascaded across multiple screens.

  The nuclear generator had suffered a severe short that had arced past the circuitry designed to protect other parts of the device from such an event. Catastrophic failure. While all the circuitry could be replaced, it could not be done in time for the scheduled launch.

  “How did this happen?”

  Gerhardt shook his head. “That’s just it, sir. It shouldn’t have been possible. As the robot arms were moving the generator into position for it to be connected to the XLRMV-1, a voltage buildup caused the primary capacitor to explode, creating an arc across the control circuits and into the frame. We were lucky nobody was touching it or they’d be dead right now.”

  “Lucky? You call this lucky?”

  Gerhardt didn’t flinch as he met Rolf’s gaze. “We’ll just have to delay the launch until we can replace the components and get the next launch window.”

  “We will do no such thing. I want the backup nuclear generator shipped up from Kyzylorda as fast as you can get it here. Get this facility ready to receive and prep the replacement. In the meantime, I want a team working to figure out how the capacitor failure happened so we can ensure we don’t suffer a similar failure with the backup. If you need to pull people in from other shifts and work everyone overtime, do it.”