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FALLEN, NEVADA:
Okana knows the road to Essex’s compound by heart and drives as if in the Indie 500. They notify Jim when they are getting close, and he meets them in the parking lot in front of the security building.
Jim holds out two visitor badges. “Just to make it official. Follow me to my vehicle, and don’t say anything.” He turns, enters a code, and stares at the camera. He hears a buzz and opens the door, then leads them inside. No one pays them any attention as they stroll past the front desk and out the other side of the building. Once everyone is in the SUV, he backs away and heads through the compound. “Essex and Preston are having lunch in his living quarters, so your timing is perfect.”
Alex looks across the seat at Jim. “Any word from Rita?”
“Not that I know about. Essex is acting a little depressed. I think he fell in love with her. I do know she didn’t tell him that the torpedo also melts metals steel, even if it’s not pointed at it, and that it also instantly freezes water.”
“How did he find out?”
“Preston told him after it melted my car. Rita must have realized he would. That’s why she left before I went back to get them.”
“Listen, I don’t want to get you in trouble, so let’s enter through the visitor door with you as our escort. I’ll leave you out of the conversation.”
Jim parks near the entrance into a beautiful structure. Alex climbs out and leads the way into the building and up to the familiar receptionist. “Hello again. We’d like to talk to John, if he’s available.”
The young man smiles. “Of course, Mister Cave. He’s having lunch with a friend, but I’ll let him know you and Mister Okana are here.”
“Thank you.” He listens to the short conversation, then suddenly the office door bursts open and Essex appears, grinning from ear to ear.
Essex holds his arms out as he approaches Alex. “I’m so glad you guys stopped by. It worked, Alex! I went into orbit and came back in one piece.”
Alex can’t help but smile at Essex’s enthusiasm. “Well, congratulations, John. Any problems? Like a second signal taking over the SV1?”
Essex stops smiling. “Let’s go into my living quarters. Steve Preston is here, and neither of us knows how it happened.”
When Essex indicates for him to go first, Alex walks through the office to the doorway into the living room, followed by Okana and Essex, who closes the door. Evidently, Essex doesn’t want Jim to hear the conversation.
Preston hears the door close and stands from the kitchen table. He walks to the breezeway and stops when he sees Cave and Okana standing in the living room. He turns around and walks back into the kitchen to continue eating his lunch.
Essex indicates for Alex and Okana to sit down, then turns and looks through the breezeway into the kitchen. “We have visitors, Steve. Come out so we can talk about what happened. Maybe the four of us can find an explanation for the second signal.”
Alex remains standing. When Preston doesn’t come out, he eases the little man out of the way and walks into the kitchen, seeing Preston sitting in front of a plate of waffles. He looks over his shoulder. “That’s okay, John, We can talk in here.” He continues over to the table and sits down across from Preston. “I hear congratulations are in order.”
Preston doesn’t looked up until this moment. He stares at Cave and leans back in his chair. “Yes, a successful test of the SV1 project. I haven’t even gone public with the story. How did you find out so fast?”
“John just told us about it.”
“I see. Then what brings you all the way out here in the middle of the desert?”
“It’s important that we find Rita as quickly as possible.”
“As you can see, she’s not here.”
Essex sits down, but notices Okana remains standing. He looks over at Alex. “She lied to me, then left.”
Okana laughs. “Really? Now there’s a surprise.”
Alex looks over at Essex. “What did she lie about?”
Preston leaps up toward the little man, but Okana shoves him back into the chair. He glares at Essex. “That’s enough, John. It’s none of their business, so just shut up.”
Okana leans down close to Preston’s face. “Nice to see you again, Stevie?”
Essex glances at Preston before looking at Alex. “She didn’t really lie. She just didn’t bother to mention that the device here isn’t working as expected because of the second signal. It nearly killed us.”
“That’s part of the reason I’m here. It’s urgent that we find Rita. She knows how to modify the devices. With her cooperation, we could stop the second signal.”
Preston realizes it’s in his best interests to help them find her. “I could have my people check around.”
“We don’t have much time, so I’ll take all the help I can get.”
Preston stares up at Okana. “If you get out of my way, I’ll go make the call.”
Okana grins and steps back. “Sure thing, Stevie.”
Essex looks over at Alex. “I know more than Rita knows. We spent a lot of time together studying the specifications of the devices. If it’s that urgent, I could do it.”
“It’s not that simple. It cannot be someone with brown eyes.”
“I see. What about yellow?”
Alex glances up at Okana, then back to Essex. “Yes, yellow will work, but yours are brown and you can’t use contact lenses.”
Essex glances over his shoulder to see if Preston is still away talking on the phone, then leans in close to Alex and Okana. “Most people find my eyes too distracting, so I wear non-prescription brown contact lenses.” He spreads one of his eyelids and gently moves the tiny fake iris to one side.
Okana leans in for a closer look. “Wow. I can see why. They almost glow. They’re not totally yellow. I can see a few tiny specks of light-green mixed in.”
Essex moves the lens back into position. “Will they work?”
Alex smiles and grabs Essex’s hand. “Yes they will, my friend. Can you take a break from Preston for a few days? Maybe a week at the most?”
Essex frowns. “We’re getting ready for another launch, Alex. I can’t take that much time off. One day, maybe two, is all I can spare.”
“If we don’t permanently shut down that second signal, it may be your last launch. Do you want to take that chance?” He can tell the little man isn’t scared by the possibility. “I promise this will be worth it.”
Essex thinks about it for a second. He isn’t suicidal. If there is a possibility to make sure the signal remains off, he has to do it. “All right. When do we leave?”
Alex gets up from the table. “Pack just what you need and let’s get started.”
Essex stands and walks into the living room toward his bedroom, just as Preston steps out of the hallway from the guest bedroom.
When Essex walks away, Preston looks at Alex. “None of my people have seen Rita, but they’ll find her.”
Essex walks out of his bedroom with a small suitcase and looks at Preston. “I need to use the jet. I’ll be back in a few days.”
Preston reaches out and grabs Essex’s shoulder, pulling him close. “What are you up to?”
Okana grabs Preston’s arm. “He’s doing you a favor, so let it drop.”
Preston flings his arm to get rid of Okana’s hand. “The jet stays here, unless you tell me what’s going on.”
Alex puts his arm around Essex’s shoulder. “We have our own ride. Let’s go.”
Okana gets in Preston’s face. “I’ll be sending some friends to pick up that device, and it better be here when they arrive. If you’re a good boy, maybe I won’t press charges for grand theft. I have a witness.”
Preston’s hands clinch into fists at his sides. “Rita will never testify against me.”
Okana chuckles. “I can’t believe you and Essex are so naïve.” He leaves Preston staring at his back when he follows Alex and Essex out through a private exterior door.
Jim is standing at the reception counter waiting for his friends to come out when he sees Okana on the other side of the main entrance, waving him outside. He hurries out to join him, and sees Alex and Essex getting into the back seat of his SUV. He doesn’t ask questions as he and Okana walkover and climb in.
Essex reaches over the seat and puts his hand on Jim’s shoulder. “I’ll be gone for a while, but I’d like you to keep an eye on Preston. Keep me updated on what he’s doing.”
“I will.” He puts the car in gear, and drives through the complex.
Okana looks across at Jim. “I’ll be sending some Marines from the Fallon Naval Station to pick up the device. If you have any problems, the man in charge is Commander Ramey. Just don’t tell them what it is.”
Jim parks in front of the security building and climbs out. He waits for the others before opening the door and leading them past the security desk and out to the parking lot, then crosses his arms across his chest, leans back against a vehicle, and looks at Alex. “What should I do about Preston’s men? My guys could arrest them, if you want.”
Alex thinks about it. “Only if Preston tries to take it away before our people get here. It can’t leave this facility, no matter what happens.”
“Got it. I’ll let you know if I hear from Rita.”
Alex sees Essex trying to get into the front passenger seat, before Okana steps in his way. He smiles and turns to Jim, reaching out to shake his hand. “Thanks for the help.” He turns and climbs into the passenger seat.
Jim watches them drive away across the desert, before going back inside to brief his men on the situation.
***
Preston paces across the living room, pondering his options. He isn’t about to give up his device. It’s the cheapest way to recover the metals. Without it, he will never recoup his investment, let alone make a huge profit. He grabs his phone and presses a speed dial number. “Find the truck that delivered the package and meet me at the foundry.”
***
NAS FALLON:
During the drive, Alex calls Jadin at her sister’s research facility, and the news isn’t good. What they are attempting is extremely difficult, with no guarantee it will work. He reminds her that he’s running out of time. He only has fourteen hours left to meet Seth’s deadline, and it will take ten just to get back to Pandora. She promises to bring a partially sabotaged software program.
He’s down to twelve hours by the time they show their IDs at the main gate and vouch for Essex. Okana drives them to the Operations Building, and they stop at the reception desk. Alex recognizes the young sailor. “I believe Commander Ramey is expecting us.”
“Yes, Mister Cave. Go on back to his office.”
Ramey stands and indicates for his friends to sit down. “You must be John Essex.”
“Yes, Commander. Thanks for allowing me onto your base.”
Ramey sits down and looks across at Alex. “Did you find what you were after?”
“Yes, and they’ll be expecting your Marines. The sooner the better.”
Ramey grabs his phone and gives an order. “They’re on their way with a flatbed truck and hoist. The shipping crate is taking longer because they can’t use any metal, but it will be ready by the time they get back.”
“I need you to lock it up in an isolated concrete bunker until Okana and I come back to get it. No one else is to take possession of it, and no one goes inside once it’s locked up.”
“Understood. Your jet is fueled and ready to go.”
Alex stands. “Thanks, Commander. We’ll head over to the air terminal and wait in the jet for our friend to arrive. We’ll leave immediately from there.”
Ramey gets up and grins. “I envy you two. It sounds like you’re off on another exciting adventure.”
Alex smiles. “Yes, we have a pretty good job.” He reaches out to shake hands. “I imagine we’ll be seeing each other again soon.”
“Be careful.”
***
Alex and Essex climb out of the vehicle at the air terminal, and walk inside while Okana drives the car back to the motor pool. When he returns, they walk across the tarmac and climb the stairs into the jet.
Skip and Carl are sitting at the table in the cabin. In the center is a portable radio, and they’re listening to conversations between the military aircraft and the air traffic control tower. He joins them while they wait for Jadin.
Alex fights the desire for coffee, knowing he needs to get some sleep once they’re in the air. Okana and Essex go straight to the reclining chairs. Moments later, he hears two distinctly different kinds of snoring.
Alex listens to the air traffic control tower broadcast from the radio, and looks over at Skip. “What’s going on?”
“Severe lightning storms over Quebec. We’ll need to divert north to get around them.”
“What does that do to our timeline?”
“It adds another hour to the trip. Ten hours total. We need to be ready to taxi the minute Jadin gets here.”
Alex looks up at the digital clock above the counter. Damn, this is going to be close. “Add another hour from Iceland to the arctic. We need to be wheels up in fifteen minutes.”
He enters Jadin’s number, but she doesn’t answer. He looks at Skip. “Could you find out the arrival status for military flight 8767?”
Skip is about to ask where it’s coming from, but the look in Alex’s eyes means it’s classified, so he just gives the tower the flight number.
Alex listens to the reply, and leans back to hide his frustration. Flight 8767 is still twenty minutes out. He tries not to stare at the clock by looking out the window at the fighter jets roaring down the runway.