The Noble Mercenary

by Patrick John Donahoe

  Jacques assumed she was the modern day version of Sam Spade, Private Detective, observing him as part of the Baron’s vetting efforts. Before he finished his after dinner wine, the waiter brought him a second glass of wine, and said, “The lady at the bar bought you a drink.”

  The woman glanced over at Jacques, again, and he waved her over to his table. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, he thought.

  She picked up her drink, and sashayed over to Jacques table, a welcoming smile on her face. Jacques wondered how he had managed to encounter two model quality females in one day.

  Jacques stood, pulled out the other chair, and said, “Please join me.”

  “I don’t mind if I do.”

  Jacques settled her into her chair and retook his own. He held up the glass of wine, and said, “Thank you for the drink. My name is Roland Jacques Armand. My friends call me Jacques.”

  She leaned back in her chair, took a sip of her own drink, crossed her legs, and gave him the once over. “Such a gentleman, you must be French rather than German,” she teased. “My name is Katherine by the way, but my friends call me Kat, with a K.”

  “I’m very pleased to meet you Kat, with a K.” Jacques took another sip of his wine. So this is the Baron’s older daughter. I’ll pretend I have no idea who she is, and see what her game is.

  “I’m pleased to meet you, also, Jacques. It’s so uncivilized for a woman like myself to drink alone at a bar, and a man like yourself to eat dinner, and drink by himself. Don’t you agree? Am I too forward?” She sloshed her wine gently in the glass and took another sip.

  What appeared to be an expensive diamond bracelet sparkled on her wrist. Her long honey blonde hair covered her shoulders, and a few strands lay on her exposed upper bosoms. She was a healthy looking woman, and would have no trouble gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated in a revealing bikini. “You’re not too forward; you’re the perfect modern woman.”

  Without missing a beat, Kat replied, “I’ll bet you say that to all the girls.”

  “I can tell by looking into your cool blue eyes that you are highly intelligent. Your physique and carriage imply a physically competitive woman, who probably plays tennis, swims, and could compete well in any sport given the incentive. The way you move implies a great deal of self-assurance. You’re probably a career woman with a great deal of responsibility who walked into the bar to have a well-deserved night cap before retiring.”

  Kat studied Jacques’ face as he described her. When he stopped, she asked, “Did you read my dossier?” with a charming laugh.

  “No, but I can see and deduce the obvious.”

  “Be careful, even a perfect woman can be swept off her feet with sweet talk.”

  Jacques finished his first wine, then took a sip of the one Kat had bought. Hers was a fine wine, not the house wine he had ordered. “This isn’t an inexpensive house wine, but a fine French wine from Bordeaux, Chateau La Mondotte 2005, I believe. So thank you.” He took another sip of his wine, and she sipped hers with a new appreciation.

  “I’m impressed; you certainly are a Frenchman. You know your wines.”

  Jacques wanted to say he had a few bottles of that particular vintage stashed away in his apartment back in Virginia, but he held back. He had to resist showing off. Katherine would pick up any flaws in his backstory. He wondered how he could end this pleasant encounter gracefully. He did not want to get too involved with this woman, even though any other time he would feel like fortune had gone his way. She was probably checking him out for her father. The next few days would be critical to his mission. He needed to maintain a clear mind, and not get entangled with the boss’s daughter.

  “Do you have business in Munich?” she asked, to fill the short lull in the conversation.

  “Yes, I’m hoping to start a new job this week.”

  “Sounds exciting.”

  “I think it will be, and I’m anxious to start off well,” Jacques took an un-Frenchman-like swallow of the excellent wine, hoping to finish it as soon as possible. “How about yourself?”

  “I’ve lived here all my life. I’m the office manager for a large company.”

  “Sounds like a great deal of responsibility for a young woman.”

  “It is, but I enjoy my work . . . most of the time.”

  Jacques finished off his drink, he was anxious to end this encounter quick and well. She could prove to be an interesting date at some time in the future.

  “What about family?”

  “Oh, I have the usual, a father, a mother, and a younger sister. Now there is your perfect woman.”

  “Sibling rivalry? I wish I had a sibling to rival.”

  “I love her, but yes, we are competitive,” Kat adjusted herself in her chair, “and she tends to be an overachiever. She’s a doctor.”

  “I’m impressed.” Jacques pushed his chair slightly back from the table. He needed to end this encounter on a positive note. He realized that the Baron must have some important position in mind for me. Hoping to maintain his connection with Kat, but unsure of the Baron’s, or Kat’s ultimate intentions, he said, “I’ve just completed my five-year hitch in the Foreign Legion, and came here as my last assignment to attend a sales conference. I’ve not been able to get enough rest these last few days. I must regrettably beg your leave. I hope you don’t take offense.”

  “No, of course not, I admire your dedication, and the fact that you didn’t try to hit on me,” she started to rise from her chair.

  “Not entirely. Could I have your phone number? After I’m more settled, maybe we could go out to dinner and get to know each other better.”

  “I’d like that.” Katherine wrote a phone number on a slip of paper and handed it to Jacques. “I often work late, but I could be available this Friday evening.”

  “Hopefully, I will be also. As soon as I know my schedule, I’ll call you to confirm if Friday is a go, or regretfully, to let you know if we need to schedule another evening. Fair enough?”

  “Fair enough.”

  Jacques stepped around the table and assisted Kat with her chair, took her hand, looked into her bright blue eyes, and reiterated, “As soon as I know my schedule, I’ll call you. I’d very much like to go out with you on Friday.”

  Kat leaned forward and gave Jacques a light kiss on the lips. “To help you remember.”

  Kat walked out of the restaurant like a super model striding down the runway, her hips intriguing Jacques in her tight businesslike, but attractive, dark blue dress and matching jacket. Jacques settled his bill with the waiter, rode the elevator up to his room, and turned in for the night.

  He hoped to sleep in, a luxury he had not been afforded for too long. He dreamed of a beautiful siren who lured him onto the rocks of a dark barren beach. The siren attacked him with razor like claws and pointed teeth, startling Jacques awake at the sudden transformation from beauty to beast. He glanced at his alarm clock’s glowing hands, saw it was only 5 A.M., and dropped back off to sleep.

  Jacques was awakened by the hotel phone. His radio alarm clock indicated it was 8:10 A.M. Who would be calling this early in the morning?

  “Mr. Armand?”

  “This is he,” replied Jacques in a grumpy voice.

  “I am pleased to inform you that Hapsburg Aeronautics is offering you employment. We would like for you to report to our Corporate Office tomorrow morning promptly at 8 A.M. for processing. Ask for me, the HR supervisor, Mr. Cousteau.”

  “Yes sir, thank you, I’ll be there promptly at 8 A.M.” Jacques hung up the phone, rolled over onto his side, and dropped off to sleep.

  Twenty Three

  Jacques arrived at the reception desk at 7:45 A.M., fifteen minutes early, and informed the receptionist he was there to meet with the HR supervisor.

  “Mr. Cousteau will be with you momentarily. Please have a seat.”

  Jacques sat in the reception area’s comfortable arm chair, placed the satchel containing his iPad and a folder of fake persona
l papers on the floor, and waited. He glanced through a recent copy of Hapsburg Aeronautical Magazine and was impressed at the diversity of the company, but his focus was on the drone article.

  At promptly 8 A.M., a slight man in a pin striped suit, wearing thick glasses, and sporting a bad comb over, approached him and asked, “Mr. Armand, I presume?”

  “Yes sir,” Jacques dropped the magazine back onto the end table and stood up. He towered over the HR supervisor, who led him back to the offices behind the reception desk.

  “Have a seat.” Mr. Cousteau directed Jacques to the chair next to his desk. “Most of your papers are in order, but bereft of much information.”

  “Yes sir. I just completed a five-year hitch with the French Foreign Legion and been given a new identity. I have an honorable discharge and served well.”

  “I understand, but the Baron, I mean Mr. von Hapsburg, has asked for you to receive clearances that require thorough background checks. This is very unusual.”

  “I don’t mean to be unusual. I’m only looking for work. If you would like a character reference, feel free to call Colonel Beauchene of the French Foreign Legion, and he will vouch for me. Beyond that I have no suggestions for your dilemma.”

  “Ahem,” came a voice from behind Jacques. Jacques turned to see Katherine dressed in a black body-hugging power suit.

  “Hello,” Jacques said, “what are you doing here?”

  “I told you I am the office manager for a large corporation,” she said with a straight face.

  “So, joining me for a drink was not a chance encounter?”

  “No, I wanted to see the prospect my father wants to hire for myself.”

  “And?”

  “And, I’m willing to take a chance on you.” She addressed the HR manager, “Mr. Cousteau, process Mr. Armand for employment.” She turned to walk away, and then turned back, “First call Colonel Beauchene of the French Foreign Legion in Paris, and find out what he has to say about this obvious reprobate. If Colonel Beauchene vouches for him, maybe we’ll keep him.” She winked at Jacques. “I’ll be back to process your badge, if Mr. Cousteau approves,” she added, and glided away.

  Mr. Cousteau made Jacques wait while he called the Colonel for a reference. Whatever Colonel Beauchene said seemed to satisfy the HR manager.

  After an hour and a half of tedious paper processing and badging, Katherine sent Jacques to Hangar 5. “Whatever icons and chip Katherine had incorporated into his badge, Jacques found that he didn’t require escorts, or the intense scrutiny by the guards he had encountered on his previous visit. He entered Hangar 5 with a courteous nod from the guard and went straight to Louise’s and Herman’s work space.

  Herman greeted Jacques like a long lost friend. “I was pleased when they notified Louise that you were hired, and were coming onboard to work with us,” said Herman.

  “Thank you, Herman. What are we going to be doing today, seeing as the day is already half over?”

  “Louise wants you to read this manual that explains our consoles, our simulations, and the many capabilities we have in our equipment” Herman handed Jacques a thick document entitled simply, ‘System Manual.’ “Tomorrow, we’re going to our development facility where you can see the latest creations. I noticed you have all the required icons on your badge. The Baron must have something special in mind for you.”

  “Special in what way?”

  “For starters, piloting the Baron’s latest creations. Louise has had some experience with them, but she and I primarily run simulations, and administer exams for prospective new personnel.” Herman lowered his voice and continued in a conspiratorial voice, “Louise keeps hoping she will move up to operations one day. She’s bored with simulations.”

  “I already put in a good word for her.”

  Herman stared at Jacques as though he had seen him for the first time. “You put in a good word for Louise, on your first day?”

  “And for you, too. We have to stick together.”

  Herman’s jaw dropped. “OK, whatever you say.”

  Louise walked up behind Jacques and asked, “What is this about sticking together?”

  Jacques turned to face her, and replied, “I asked Kat if we could be a team, an operations team.”

  Louise’s expression went from stern to shock, “How do you know Kat?”

  “We met at my hotel’s bar last night and had a drink. Today, when I processed in to work for Hapsburg Industries I had a short chat with her, and told her if she wanted me to be on an operational team, I wanted you and Herman to be on the same team.”

  Herman, barely able to contain himself, blurted out, “What did she say?”

  “She said as soon as you can provide adequate replacements for yourselves you can be on the team. She’s been considering making you operational for quite some time, but you were too essential in your current positions.”

  “Damn. I knew it. . . Well, we already have two replacements in mind and will submit their names to Miss von Hapsburg today. Thank you, Roland Armand, whoever you are.” Louise’s stoic expression warmed to one of polite friendliness. Her hard feelings of being passed over by a newcomer seemed to soften with Jacques’ unexpected generosity.

  “Please call me Jacques. All my friends do. Now, I’ll go over to your conference table, and read your system manual from cover to cover, with bad cups of coffee, unless you have some other duty you want to perform.”

  “No, thank you, Jacques. Let Herman, or I, know if you have any questions. I need to contact our potential replacements, and give them a heads-up right away.” Louise left the area.

  “If you need anything, let me know. I’m going to perform some weekly maintenance on the equipment, but I’ll be in the area,” Herman said.

  Jacques poured the last cup of hot coffee from the used, and abused, 10 cup Bunn brewer, into the cleanest cup he could find, and settled down for an afternoon of boring reading. He made a mental note to bring a personal cup and a supply of various teas to work, plus, on a daily basis, a large thermos of decent café coffee.

  Twenty Four

  Louise picked jacques up in the turnabout at the front of his hotel at 6 A.M. the next morning. Herman was already riding shotgun. They drove the twenty miles to the Hapsburg Aeronautical skunkworks development hangar in silence. Jacques nursed his Styrofoam cup of java on the way. Louise pulled into a parking area paved with gravel and they entered a hangar with no windows. A guard cursorily checked Louise’s and Herman’s badges and greeted them by name, he double checked Jacques newly minted badge against a computer monitor for clearances and photo ID prior to allowing him entry.

  Whatever Serena, Desiree, and the Colonel had put in his personnel files must have impressed the Baron to have allowed him to have so much access so soon. His introduction to Kat probably didn’t hurt. Jacques was going to have his hands full juggling his relationships with Kat and Louise. They were both strong willed women, and he sensed Louise wanted to have an intimate relationship underneath her stern outward demeanor.

  Jacques was pleasantly surprised to discover the development hangar was organized similar to the production hangar, with aircraft neatly arranged on the hangar floor, and a control center on the second floor balcony. The aircraft appeared quite different than the production models. Some had odd airframe designs, with sloped surfaces, unusual paint jobs, and odd wing configurations.

  Drones had become a huge business in only a few years, and new models with more and more capabilities were hot ticket items. Large contracts could be had with the most innovative designs. Not only were the Americans buying them by the thousands, but every other country in the world wanted to be a part of the unmanned aircraft age.

  Jacques, Louise and Herman reported to Mr. Benz, the operational chief.

  “This is quite sudden, Louise. I expected you to join our little enclave someday, and am glad it’s today. This must be the young man I’ve heard so much about.” Mr. Benz stated, reaching out to shake Jacques’ hand.
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  “I’m Jacques, Roland Jacques Armand, but I prefer Jacques. I hope everything you’ve heard was good.”

  “All good my boy, all good.” Mr. Benz gave Jacques a firm handshake, and looked him straight in the eye. “We’re flying our latest design for the first time today, and you three will assist with the launch, and conduct the flight.”

  Louise perked up at the prospect of participating in an operational flight rather than operating the simulators. The three of them followed Mr. Benz to the hangar floor where a sleek prototype drone sat waiting for its virgin flight. Two men were conducting an aircraft preflight, one looked like a tech and the other a pilot.

  Mr. Benz said, “Start your preflight from the beginning and show our new three-man team the drill.”

  The tech handed Jacques a clipboard with a set of required inspections, boxes to check each item off, and a pencil to mark and make notes. As the preflight proceeded, Jacques felt impressed that this was a remarkable machine, but he resisted asking suspicious questions.

  The aircraft had a small jet engine built into a fuselage made of some kind of composite plastic. The wings were made of a similar kind of composite plastic, with blended winglets. Winglets, or wingtips, that curved up vertically, had been shown to reduce drag and increase cruising efficiencies on passenger jets by up to nine percent. The aircraft was painted, or coated, with a flat black paint similar to the paint used on early U-2 aircraft, to enhance stealth capability. The drone looked like it could easily break the sound barrier and still avoid radar.

  Jacques and his team of Louise and Herman were going to be allowed to put the aircraft through its paces. In his excitement to pilot the craft, he had to remember his primary goal was to find out what the Baron intended to do with his high tech toys. Jacques and Louise sat side by side in a dual control console. Louise would serve as copilot and navigator. Herman sat at an adjacent console and served as system monitor, including radar, communications and weapons. Both Louise and Herman had override switches to abort the mission if Jacques lost control of the aircraft.