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The rain had finally stopped for long enough for optimism. Neil Andersen looked at the computer in the corner. 0433. With the rain it wouldn't be even somewhat light for another five hours. Nicole was sleeping, they both had drunk a good bit and only stopped at midnight. Coffee first. Or sleep some more. Or... The computer screen lit up. Damn, I guess that settles that. Only three people had the ability to hit his network and access that particular node. Roger Bartlett was in Atlantis, something that Neil probably wasn't supposed to know but... Patrick Warren shouldn't be needing anything with Operation Green Serpent and that left Dave Cantrell at Coppertree. Dave had been dark for a while.... Gotta be Dave. He slid off the bed without waking Nicole, not difficult considering her probable state, and walked over to the desk in the corner. There was a chat window on top of the Ardewor screen. 'GOT A MINUTE? DC' Dave. Not really but even Dave with technically a couple of rungs above him wasn't likely to be willing to incur his displeasure for something trivial. He thought about it and decided that coffee was more important. The bar in another corner had a Keurig and he shoved in a Folgers Black Silk cup and filled the tank, shoved a cup under and punched the button. He moved over to the bed and dropped to the floor and did a hundred pushup, then went for the coffee. 'YOU WOKE ME UP FOR SOMETHING THAT WILL TAKE A MINUTE?' he replied. 'IT'S A LEVEL 4' It had better be. 'WHAT DO YOU NEED?' Not that I want to know. 'YOU AT BLUE LAKE ASAP' Blue Lake? That's four hours. 'THREE HOURS AIN'T GONNA BE VERY ASAP' 'SENDING A CHOPPER. THIRTY MINUTES.' 'FORTY-FIVE. IT'S TEN TO THE LZ.' 'FORTY.' 'THIS HAD BETTER BE GOOD.' 'DEPENDS ON WHAT YOU MEAN BY GOOD.' 'GOTCHA. LIGHT DANCER OUT.' Forty minutes. Not that the chopper won't wait but they don't like being exposed by delays. He gulped the coffee and went across the hall to the bath. Brush teeth, touch up beard, shower. Back to the bedroom. Nicole awake, sitting up. "Emergency," he said, pulling on the fresh outfit that was always there, because. Wrangler jeans and a khaki military shirt, Timberland boat shoes, Victorinox Spartan and a Bic lighter in the right pocket, a keyring with three keys that he was never without wherever he went went into the left. Nicole had pulled on a pair of jeans and was putting on a sweatshirt, not wasting time with words. He put on the shoulder rig with the pair of 10mm pistols and the Marine Corps bowie. His go bag was ready and he spoke to Nicole for the first time. "LZ ASAP. Something's up." "Better be," Nicole said as she slipped on a pair of moccasins. "Or your boss isn't gonna like it next time I see him. Which one is it, so I get the right one?" "Dave. If this isn't big he won't like what I have to say, so for now assume it is. Let's go." A Vietnam-era jeep occupied one of the four garage slots. Nicole took the wheel and Neil tossed his bag in the back and got in the passenger seat. He looked at his watch. "Eleven minutes," he said. "Not bad. They don't like having to sit still, we should roll up just in time. They did and Neil gave Nicole a quick kiss before grabbing his bag and runnint towards the helicopter as it settled. The back door on his side was open and he handed his bag to one pair of hands and another pair helped him aboard. The door closed and pilot gave it the gas. A quick climb to about five hundred and they were going near flat out across the flood plain. Just over an hour later they were down on the west side of Corker Ridge, about a hundred feet from the highest point. The blue lake the place was named for was several hundred feet lower and Neil figured using the name wasn't so smart for a secret installation. Or maybe it was - who would look for it to be close to one. In any case it was hard enough to see from any angle - dug ino the side of the hill and with the entrance covered by jungle. Only a small trail to the LZ would betray it and it was rarely visible. Covered with camouglage netting moved just long enough for the occasional vehicle to pass it would take a lucky satellite or drone to find it. An old Dodge Power Wagon, the dark blue and painted-over doors suggesting it was from a DOD auction, was waiting. He tossed his bag in the back seat and got in. The driver, a clean-cut young type probably on the security staff - likely since he was sent to pick him up - waited for the chopper to take off before using the free space to turn around and head up the trail. The entrance was the only visible part of the installation, two big grey doors attended by two guards. Neil knew there were many more inside so an unauthorized person getting past the guards wouldn't have accomplished much. He was expected and recognized and they opened the doors as he approached. He nodded a greeting and went in. Blue Lake was scattered over the area, part of it in a small town about two miles away and some in a couple of small populated places, a couple dozen other parts were isolated houses of groups of buildings. The part dug into the hillside as about twelve thousand square feet divided into smaller chambers. Two men in the khaki uniforms greeted him. "Main conference room," one of them said. "Left corridor." "Got it," Neil replied. There were two man outside the conference room and one opened the door. There were about a dozen people around the large table, Dave at the head, a large whiteboard behind him. Neil took the nearest available chair.
Leonard Parrish -- |
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