inconvenience.”
Suddenly David realized that there were voices coming from the other plane. He ducked under the fuselage to see a similar-looking private jet that had people getting on.
“Who are they?” David asked.
“A few of the other consultants. That’s what we’re calling you guys. Consultants. You’ll meet them on the plane.” said Tom. “We’ve got to go. Like I said, I’ll tell your wife you’re okay, and don’t worry about work. It’ll be there when you get back.”
He grinned, but the wrinkles stopped at his eyes. David didn’t have a good feeling about this.
David handed him the note and said, “Here. Please deliver this to my wife.”
Tom looked down at the paper note. He nodded and said, “Of course. Sure thing.”
“Mr. Manning?” called a voice. David looked over and saw a guy in a silly-looking airline uniform, his cap half cocked to the side.
“That’s me.”
“Right this way, sir.”
Tom waved and said, “Good luck. Remember, this may be one of the most important things you ever do. So do your best and don’t screw it up.”
David frowned at that. Hell of a pep talk . He walked over to the other plane, still unsure whether this was the best decision. David took a deep breath and walked up the ladder and into the aircraft.
*****
A few minutes later, Tom and his assistant stood on the flight line, and watched as David’s jet disappeared to the west. Tom closed his eyes and took a long drag from his cigarette. No turning back now .
The man in tactical gear said, “Are you really going to call his wife?”
Tom glanced at him. This guy was such an idiot. Where did his company get its goons? He was barely a step up from the henchmen on the Sopranos.
“No.” Tom replied.
There is no need. They’ll never see each other again.
Tom said, “Come on. Let’s get in the plane. We’ve got work to do.” He flicked the smoldering cigarette onto the tarmac and headed up the stairs of the jet.
CHAPTER 2
“Our historic dominance that most of us in this room have enjoyed is diminishing…China is going to rise, we all know that. [But] how are they behaving? That is really the question…” - Admiral Samuel J. Locklear III, US Navy, Commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, January 2014
The plane ride was long and uncomfortable. David’s face was covered with day-old stubble, and his eyes were slightly bloodshot from the lack of sleep. He also needed a shower. Badly. While the seats on the jet had the same luxury cushions as the first aircraft, there is nothing in the world that can make a nine-hour plane ride comfortable.
As soon as they had gotten in the aircraft, a male “flight attendant,” who David was pretty sure held no formal position with an airline, had given them each 20-page briefs to read. He also provided them food and drinks. Other than that, the man didn’t speak for the duration of the trip.
David rather liked the two other passengers he met on the plane. Each of them was going to participate in the same capacity as David. Brooke and he found that they were the best-informed of the group. All the other two had been told was that they were to be consultants on a national-security project.
Bill Stanley was a defense contractor who lived in Nevada. He had retired from the Air Force more than a decade ago, and had a wife and two grown boys. He worked on drones and “a few jets that you wouldn’t believe existed if I told you.” David learned that Bill commuted to work every day on a US Air Force Boeing 767. He would drive to Las Vegas’ McCarran International Airport, then fly to what was once known as Area 51. They joked about UFO’s and aliens, and then realized that nothing was very funny now that World War Three may be on the horizon. Bill spent most of his time working on the long-range satellite communications to and from high-tech US