“You’ll have to fight Camille first,” said Petyr. “She already looks at you like a big sister.”
Freda smiled and nodded. “I never had a little sister. That would be nice.”
As usual, they talked for a while until the store lights went out and the door locked. In a few minutes she slid closer and he put his arm around her. For a while, they simply sat and enjoyed the security they felt together, until she turned to him. “You think you could stand some company on your deliveries next week?” she asked.
Petyr looked at her with surprise. “Of course I could, but I thought you couldn’t.”
Papa said to take some time and go with you. I used to love riding. This might help me get back into some shape,” she said snuggling closer.
Petyr held her tight. Of all people, Freda didn’t need to get in shape; she was already perfect as far as he was concerned. But the thought of having her with him made him feel good all over. “You sure you can keep up?”
She elbowed him in the ribs. “You’ll just have to find out,” she said.
Petyr looked at her and smiled. “You make me very happy,” he said. There was some emotion in his voice.
Freda almost gasped. She looked him in the eyes. “I am happy too, especially when I am with you.”
A new look came over his face. He eased closer. When he felt he was safe, he closed the gap between them and he felt her lips against his own. The kiss lasted for several minutes. When they came apart, both took a deep breath of air, then let out a quiet laugh. She rested her head on his shoulder. “That was wonderful,” she said.
“Then we need to do it some more,” he said. They were in the middle of another wonderful kiss when they heard a voice above them.
“Ewwww,” cried Sasha.
This time both of them let out a laugh.
After a brunch together where everyone shared what was going on in their lives, Hammond and Jeffers led a minivan with Tim Maxwell and Dr. Harry Reid to the David Taylor Research and Development Center, located on the banks of the Potomac River in Maryland. It was a huge facility with some of the tightest security Maxwell had ever seen. They were stopped no less than three times before they got out of the van to be met by Dr. Thomas and a man wearing a short sleeve white shirt and khaki slacks.
“Admiral, this is Dr. Gregory Mason, the man who runs our RF research and the anechoic chamber. When I called him yesterday he volunteered to come see what you’ve got,” said Thomas.
The men shook hands and Dr. Mason led them into a large concrete building. “Were you kidding when you said this material absorbs RF energy?” he asked.
“I wasn’t kidding,” said Maxwell. “We found that once the material is grounded, all the radios and cellphones in the vicinity quit working. One of the guys brought in an old CB radio he had. At first it worked fine, then when we grounded the thing, nothing happened. We could see the indicator that it was transmitting, but a receiver in the next room quit getting a signal. That’s when I called the Captain — I mean, Admiral Hammond,” he said sheepishly.
The men entered through a heavy door into a room filled with monitors and equipment. On one of the walls was another heavy door leading to the chamber itself. There was already some equipment inside it.
“I took the liberty of setting a few things up,” said Mason. “There’s a transmitter antenna and a receiving antenna on the other side of the chamber. As you can see, I can change the position of the transmitting antenna to see how this may work from different angles. I can also interchange different transmitters using a variety of frequencies so that we can see just how much this material of yours can do.” Mason manipulated some dials and the men watched as the antenna moved to different spots in the room. “Now, let’s see this material you have,” he said.
Dr. Reid opened his briefcase and extracted a grayish sheet of resin covering some sort of cloth. There was a hole drilled in one corner with a bolt through it. “It’s not pretty, but I can’t dispute what it does. Quite frankly, I’ve never seen anything like it before,” Reid said.
Mason held up the plate and studied it. There wasn’t much to tell. “Let’s hook it up then,” he said.
The men followed Mason into the chamber and watched as he placed the plate into a holder in the middle of the room. “You say it works when it’s grounded?”
“Yes, sir,” said Maxwell.
Mason nodded and pulled out a wire, attaching it to the bolt. He led the wire back to a panel and plugged it in. “This will let me control when it is grounded,” he said. Once done, everyone left the room.
Mason and the others returned to the control room and he turned on both the transmitter and receiver. “Okay, leaving the plate ungrounded, let’s get the signal going.” He switched on the transmitter and immediately got a strong signal on the receiver set. He measured the received output. Then, looking at the others, he said, “Here we go.” He hit the switch grounding the plate.
Immediately the signal dropped to zero. Mason got a surprised look on his face. “Well I’ll be damned.” He then began moving the dials and watched as the transmitting antenna began moving around the room. The receiver readings remained at zero. The dial didn’t even flinch.
Next, he used other controls to turn the plate to different angles. Only when the plate was nearly end on to the transmitter did the receiver begin picking up a weak signal.
“Holy shit,” exclaimed Mason. He lit off another transmitter and tied it to the antenna. Once again, the signal was absorbed. Once more, he switched transmitters and hut the transmit key. Again, nothing happened. Mason flipped the switch ungrounding the plate. The signal came through measuring over 10,000 watts of power.
After shutting down the systems, Mason turned to look at a stunned Thomas, then back to Maxwell. “Young man, I need to see that formula, then I need to talk to you about a job.”
“As expected, they have begun their buildups. Unfortunately, they have begun too late. Even if they begin conscription tomorrow, they cannot get any sizable force together before we begin our operations,” said General Ivan Pusko, the Chief of the General Staff for the Armed Forced of the Russian Federation. He was sitting in a private meeting with the head of the Armed forces, the President of Russia, Alexi Borodin. The two of them had planned for the last six years in their bid to restore the glory of Russia. Both men had grown up in the Soviet Union and if they had their way, it would return. Painstakingly, over those six years, they had built back the military to levels close to where they were at the end of the 20th Century, when the Soviet Union had hundreds of ships, and thousands of tanks and planes. Now they were ready to make their boldest move.
Borodin took a sip of tea and set the cup in its saucer. “I heard from our intelligence service that the American President told them they would have to fight the next war on their own. It will just mean we will not lose so many of our troops. When do we begin placing our assets?” he asked.
“It begins on the 30th of next month. We give our people thirty days to reach their assigned positions and then wait for the final signal. Then, as we planned, everything begins. Our commanders are fully briefed and ready,” said Pusko.
“Good. I want everything to go at once. That means our submarines, ships, planes and troops hit their target together. I know it is difficult, but if you remember, the Americans boasted about their so-called ‘shock and awe’ phases when they attacked Iraq. It is time they came to know what shock and awe really is. We have the most powerful armed force in the world and I want this to be quick and decisive. Although I have no doubt of our victory, I would rather have it at little cost to us. Make sure everything is arranged accordingly,” he ordered, pointing his finger at the general.