Nina was standing with some of the trackers at the location where she and the other captives had slept two nights before. They had some dogs that they were trying to get interested in the scent of the captives from their sleeping sites. Nina wasn’t very impressed that the dogs’ handlers really knew what they were doing and had started arguing that they needed to get going when she saw a face appear in the bushes about fifty feet away. “Nina?” The person called.
“Wendy!” Nina said starting that way.
Several of the soldiers surged that way as well, causing Wendy to pull her head down fearfully. “That’s Wendy!” Nina shouted, suddenly fearful that one of the enthusiastic young men might start shooting. “She’s another one of the kidnapping victims!”
During a brief but joyous reunion, Wendy admitted she hadn’t budged since Mark had hidden her away under the bushes the night of the escape. The bushes she lay under were really dense, but Nina suspected a big part of Wendy’s success could be attributed to the fact that the guards hadn’t imagined anyone would try to hide so close to the camp. Before all that had been worked out, Wendy began demanding a ride out of there and a link through someone’s AI so she could call her family.
If Nina had thought she was upset when she wasn’t allowed to call home, it was nothing compared to the meltdown Wendy had. Nina had known that Wendy was an extremely anxious person and had been surprised by how well she’d handled things as a captive. Especially in comparison to what Nina would’ve expected from the nervousness she’d exhibited back at the mission site in Lopana. However, now that the pressure of being a kidnap victim had been released, it seemed that Wendy’d constrained deep emotions that had now broken free.
After an hour of Wendy’s hysterics, the leader of the group of soldiers had irritatedly put Wendy and Nina on a truck back to Davao with a junior officer and several soldiers who had strict instructions to keep them isolated.
Back at the local headquarters for the kidnapping task force Nina found that she had no need to make any requests in regards to contacting her family. Wendy proved to be the ultimate squeaky wheel, driving everyone in the center absolutely crazy with her hysterical rants. Late that day, they gave in to her arguments that Abu Sayyaf must realize that they’d escaped and that there was no point in trying to keep it a secret any longer. They let Wendy call home and Nina was allowed to call at essentially the same time. For a moment, she considered waiting. It was late afternoon in the Philippines and with a twelve-hour time difference that made it the wee hours of the morning back home. Then she decided her family would probably want to be awakened.
Although she called her parents first, she wasn’t surprised to learn from them that her brother Ardis had been organizing the families of the captives, had hired a negotiator, and had initiated a system to start collecting money for ransom. Her parents immediately connected Ardis into the conversation and she was able to thank him herself. He told her that the negotiations hadn’t been going well, so he’d started organizing a small force of his friends from the Special Forces. They’d been working on a strategy to physically rescue her if they could just overcome the almost insurmountable problem of finding her.
Nina asked, “How much money have you collected so far?”
“We’d collected nearly half a million dollars. Some of the families had quite a bit of money. Not much of it’s ours,” Ardis said, “but we should be able to get our part of the money back out of the fund.”
Startled, Nina said, “What?! Why?”
“Um, because you’re already free.”
Nina exploded in astonishment, “They’re my friends!”
Her mother said soothingly, “We know, we know. And it’s terrible that they didn’t manage to escape as well, but they’re hardly…”
Nina cut in vehemently, “I’m not coming home until they do!”
Calmly, her father made an effort to oil the waters, “Okay, okay. No one’s going to try to take our money back out of the fund. But you should know that it’s not really enough to get anyone free. They’re asking for a million dollars per person…”
“Ardis! Tell me about your plan to go in and do a rescue. Right now is our best chance because we know where they were yesterday.”
“No!” her father interjected. “I’m not having you risk the lives of both our children going after people we don’t even know.”
“AI, connect me only to Ardis…” Nina said, then, as soon as her AI confirmed that her parents had been cut out of the conversation, she continued, “Tell me about your plan Ardis.”
As Ardis haltingly described what plans he had, Nina had a rising sense of horror. Almost everything about his strategy was tentative. He’d only begun thinking about ways to do this, but Nina realized that now was the best opportunity they would have to track Abu Sayyaf and her friends. “Ardis,” she interrupted his description of even more possibilities he’d been considering, “This is our chance. Now! Not after you work your plan to perfection. You need to get on the next plane to Mindanao with as many people as you can bring.”
“But…”
“No butts! Tell your AI to make a reservation. Now!”
“We can’t bring weapons into the country.” He said frustratedly, “Besides, some of my people might not even have passports.”
“What do you mean?! They’ve been in the military. I know they’ve been overseas with you!”
“When you travel with the military you don’t have to have a passport if you’re traveling on official duty. They might have gotten passports so that they could take vacations over there, but a lot of them don’t.”
“Just bring the ones who can come now! I’ll start trying to figure out how to buy you some weapons here. What else will you need?”
“Infrared and low-light gear, high-end GPS, camo…” he ran down. “But we can bring that stuff with us. Do you really think you can buy weapons?”
“I’m sure there’s a black-market. Once I find somebody who sells guns I’ll call you to figure out which you’d prefer to have of the ones that’re available. Now, get moving!”
Ardis barked a little laugh, “When did you get to be tougher than my drill sergeants?”
Chapter 6
Ellen had just arrived at work when her AI said, “You have a call from Ardis Quan.”
“Put him on… Ardis, what’s up? Did you think the tangler might be useful if you and Brock carry out your invasion of the Philippines?”
“Um, my sister and Wendy Bannon have escaped.”
“Oh my God!” Ellen said, the bottom dropping out of her stomach. Hesitantly, she asked, “What about the others?”
“Nina says they all managed to get out of the camp two nights ago, but that Nina and Wendy are the only two who’ve shown up back in civilization. We…” After a moment of hesitation, he went on in an unhappy tone, “We’re pretty sure the other four were recaptured.”
Ellen had grabbed the table with one hand to steady herself. Now she fell into the chair next to it, feeling like she’d been gut punched. “Oh…” Ardis had been their organizer. The one who seemed like he had some idea what to do. He’d been the one talking to the negotiator and rounding up people who might be willing to undertake a rescue. Now, she realized, he had no reason to be involved anymore. Is he calling to see if I want to take over as the leader of the group? she wondered. “Um…” was all she could think to say. She wanted to ask him if he was abandoning them, but she suddenly didn’t want to acknowledge that he no longer had any reason to stay, thereby giving him an excuse to leave.
“It’s a lot to take in, I know,” Ardis said. “But here’s the deal. Nina thinks our only chance to rescue the others is to do it now because we know where they were the day before yesterday. If we wait very long, they’ll get far enough away that we won’t have any chance to pick up the trail.”
He’s still in! Ellen thought with a burst of joy. “Okay!” She practically gasped, “I agree. How do we make it happen?”
Ar
dis sounded almost despairing. “There’s just so many problems! I had six guys lined up as possibles for a mission, but four of them can’t go. One doesn’t have a passport and the other three have just taken jobs they can’t afford to quit. That leaves just Brock and myself. I’m about to ask the hostage family group if they’ll let us spend some of the money they’ve put aside. We could use it to buy plane tickets and get some supplies. But even if they do, we’ll only have two people… well, and Nina who’s already there and hell-bent on participating in any attempted rescue. If we’re going to have any chance, we’ll need your lifters.”
“I’ll go,” Ellen found herself saying. She immediately thought it was a terrible idea. Jeff could take care of the kids by himself, but it would be a struggle while he was working. She only had a little bit of vacation time built up at Miller Tech. It’s for my brother! she mentally shouted at herself. More calmly, she thought, What the hell—I’m pretty sure Miller would let me take time off without pay and hold the job for me until I get back… If I get back. She gritted her teeth and continued, “And if the group won’t approve spending our money, I’ll buy the plane tickets.”
“That’s great!” Ardis said. “I’ll still try to get approval from the group, but I’ll start working on the tickets right now. There’s no need for you to come to the Philippines though, what we need are warriors and…”
“I am coming!” Ellen said. “You’re right, I’m not much of a fighter, but he’s my brother. I can help with logistics… and analysis…” She tried to think of something else to claim she could help with, but she was struggling to come up with anything useful.
“Okay, okay. I’m sure you’ll be able to do something…” Ardis paused as if he’d been struck by a thought, “If you can get us some more of the flyers, we can always use more eyes in the sky.”
“I’m going to go squirrel away some of the flyer vests, then tell my boss I’m taking time off. As soon as I’m out of the building I’ll get back to you to find out when our plane leaves.” She wondered if she’d even have time to go home and pack. She shook her head in frustration that she was worried about such a detail. She could just buy stuff at the airport if the timing were too close.
Ardis signed off and Ellen started gathering up lifter vests from around the labs. They hadn’t made all thirty of the ones Miller had asked for yet, but she was able to find seven. She stuffed them into a plain unlabeled box and taped it shut, hoping that no one would start looking for one of the lifters in the next few minutes. She started for a meeting she’d already been scheduled into. Miller was supposed to be there, and she felt like she owed it to him to tell him she was leaving.
Ellen burst into the little conference room. Myr, Vinn, Randy and quite a few of the other research team members were already there, but Miller hadn’t arrived yet. She spun around to go out looking for him, but ran into him coming in the door. “Dr. Miller!” She said excitedly, “Two of the women captured with my brother escaped. I’m going to the Philippines with a group that’s going to try to track the rest of the victims, starting where the women were released! I’m pretty sure I don’t have any accrued time off, but I’m hoping you’ll give me a leave of absence without pay.” She shouldered past him on her way out the door, saying, “I’ve got to go now… just didn’t want you wondering what’d happened to me.”
Miller got a concerned look on his face and said, “Of course. Go. Don’t worry, we’ll keep paying you.”
Ellen started down the hall toward the lab where she’d stashed the lifters. “You want to take MT-1?” Miller called after her, “It’d get you there faster than an airplane.”
Thunderstruck, Ellen stopped and turned. “MT-1” was how they’d started abbreviating “Miller Tech-1,” the spacecraft’s official designation. If she’d thought of it, she realized, she’d have considered stealing the spaceship as well as the lifter vests. It would get to the Philippines way faster than a commercial flight. “You’d let me take it?” she said, disbelievingly.
He waved dismissively, “Of course! You just need one of the people who’re approved to fly it to go with you. We’ve already got FAA clearance for it to make test flights and had one scheduled for this afternoon.”
A chorus of, “I’ll go!” sounded from the room behind Miller. Myr, Vinn, Randy, and even Harvey Dean, the engineer who’d designed MT-1, all started crowding through the doorway. When Miller said they couldn’t all go, Myr and Vinn pulled rank and started down the hall after Ellen.
“I’m going to take a few lifters too,” Ellen called back as she stepped into the lab where she’d hidden them. Actually, every one of them I can find, she thought.
Ellen grabbed the box with the lifters and handed it to Vinn, “Carry this; I’ve got to talk to people.” As they headed out to their cars to drive over to the hangar where the spacecraft was kept, she turned to Myr, “I want to leave ASAP. Would you be willing to stop at the Walmart on the way to the hangar? We need stuff like soap, toothpaste, deodorant, some changes of clothing, food, and anything else you can think of. I’ll have my AI send you my sizes and Vinn can do the same.” She frowned, “Maybe Vinn should go with you so you can get through the store quicker?”
Myr shook her head, “No, Vinn’s our best pilot. He needs to get to the hangar and get the ship ready. I’ll just hire someone to help me out at Walmart.”
Ellen gave her a startled look, “Where are you going to find someone to hire at Walmart?!”
“I’ll bet if I offer one of their employees a thousand-dollar tip, they’ll be happy to help me find whatever I need,” Myr said as she got into her car.
Ellen stared after her for a moment, realizing just how much money she must have. Starting back on her way, she spoke to her AI, “Connect me to Brock Harden.” She got in her car and told it to take her to the hangar. A couple of rows away she saw Vinn getting into his car as well. Brock’s voice came on her earpiece, “Hi Ellen, Ardis had me find us both plane flights from Kansas City to Mindanao, but I don’t have the money for them. He said you’d pay for them? If that’s right, I can have my AI send yours the info.”
“Change of plans, have your AI send mine your address and I’ll pick you up in 15 to 30 minutes.”
“That’s great. It’ll save me paying for airport parking.”
“Is all your stuff there at your house?”
“Yup, all packed up. I’ll be waiting. Call me when you get here. I live in a shitty neighborhood and you really won’t want to come knock on my door.”
In fact, it was almost 35 minutes before Brock got another contact from Ellen. He’d really expected it would be longer than that though. She said, “Make it quick if you can, we’re kind of blocking the street.”
Brock assumed that all the parking spaces were full, a not uncommon event. He patted his dog, and said, “Don’t worry Killer, Jenny’ll come get you as soon as she gets off work.” He picked up two large rucksacks and shouldered his way out the door.
To Brock’s complete astonishment a huge, flattened sphere was completely blocking the street. It not only went from one side of the street to the other, but its sides hung out over the parked cars on each side. He estimated it to be almost forty feet in diameter and twenty feet thick. It sat on a smaller can about fifteen feet in diameter and eight feet thick. Ellen was leaning out a door on that bottom section waving to him to hurry.
Brock trotted over while staring at the thing and wondering how the hell it’d gotten there. It barely fit into this street and there were numerous locations on nearby streets where it shouldn’t have been able to get by. “What the hell’s this thing?” he asked.
Ellen said, “It’s a prototype spacecraft from Miller Tech where I work. It can get us to the Philippines in about an hour.”
Brock stared wide-eyed for a moment, then said, “Without going through customs or an airport?”
She nodded.
He handed her his rucksacks and said, “I’m getting my dog and weapons!” He turned and ran
back to the ramshackle house he rented.
Once Brock and Killer had climbed the stairs up into the ship, he was introduced to Myr Sevii and Vinn Saigler. Saigler spoke to his AI and a moment later Brock felt a surge of weird acceleration.
Just like with the lifter vests, Brock felt something pulling upward on his head and chest. He felt like it was probably also lifting on his lower body, just not enough for him to really notice it. The surrounding buildings that he’d been able to see out of the windows around the circumference of the ship had immediately disappeared. Brock saw some windows set into the floor and stepped over to look down through them. To his astonishment, the earth was already far below them. “Wait, we’re not going into space already, are we. What about Ardis?”
Ellen said, “He’s finished mustering out but hasn’t moved out of Fort Bragg housing yet. We’re going to get him, but since it’s nearly 1000 miles, we’ll get there faster if we go up sixty miles first to get outside the atmosphere. He’s already on his way to meet us at the general aviation area of the Fayetteville airport.”
Giving her a wide-eyed look, Brock said, “Wait, does he know you’ve got a spaceship?”
“Um, no. We’re trying to keep it quiet and I was worried he might say something to someone. Right now he thinks I’ve got a friend who’s going to pick him up in a helicopter and take him to the Charlotte airport.”
Brock got a broad grin on his face, “Ask them to let you land at the helipad and tell him to meet you out there.”
Giving Brock a puzzled look, Ellen asked her AI to set it up. To Brock, she said, “What’re you thinking?”
“I want him out at the helipad so I can see the look on his face when we come down!” Brock suddenly hesitated, “Wait a minute, you’re coming down out of space near a big military base. What if they start shooting?”
Lifter: Proton Field #2 Page 20
