“Thank you,” Leah said.
“I’ll call the guard watching the door, the perimeter guards, and our medical staff in to discuss — I don’t know. I’ll make it up as I go. It’ll buy you several minutes, no more. You’ll need to be out of sight of the hangar before the security detail returns to their positions outside.”
“How long will we have until someone finds out we’re missing?”
“I can cordon off the partition for the sake of the girl’s health… maybe an hour.”
Leah leaned over and kissed Dr. Gordon on the cheek. His cheeks blushed but he quickly regained his composure.
“Give me three minutes.”
He ducked through the curtain and was gone.
Leah glanced at her watch, counting the seconds while her heart thrummed a much quicker beat. It felt as if she were carrying only the thermal blanket in her arms, now, K’aalógii’s body seemingly as light as a feather.
In exactly three minutes, Leah pushed through the curtain with the child in her arms and made a beeline for the hangar door. She heard Dr. Gordon telling the security and medical staff that he needed to review the events that were to follow for the next 48 hours and that everyone needed to pay close attention.
When Fischer’s security personnel complained that their orders came directly from Fischer, not the medical and science staff, Dr. Gordon let loose a string of profanity that made Leah grin as she reached the door. The force of his statement served both to quiet the guards and cover the sound of fifty-year-old hinges squeaking as Leah swung open the door and slipped into the frigid air.
CHAPTER 126
“It is show-and-tell time,” Paulson said, downloading his smart-phone’s photos into a laptop.
Luke Derringer, his bearded face twitching in anticipation, sat on the couch, along with Garrett and Marko and Teresa Simpson. Jack stood next to the counter with Paulson. Fischer paced near the door. Two soldiers stood next to him, their weapons trained down in the ready position.
Paulson opened the software and selected ‘Slide Show’ from a number of choices. “Okay — we’re ready to go. I’m setting the slides on a thirty-second timer so you can get a real good look at each one.”
Fischer stepped up to the counter, his eyes darting back and forth. When the computer flashed the first photo on the screen, his injured jaw dropped open and he grabbed the counter with both hands.
Paulson pointed toward the photo, which had been taken in the late afternoon in front of the hangar where the Gulfstream now rested. It was a group photo, as he’d promised. In the rear stood Garrett and Marko who had his arm around old Luke; down in front knelt Paulson himself, along with Ridley. Between them sat the familiar round metallic canister of a genuine Hafnium bomb. The only other defining feature was Ridley’s prominently displayed middle fingers reaching skyward from both hands.
“Hobson tossed the device in the volcano,” Fischer said in near panic. “Our pilots confirmed they saw it leave the back of the aircraft.” Fischer reached into his jacket and fumbled for the cigarettes.
“Well….” Paulson began theatrically. “This is what you call…. What did Commander Beckam call it?” he asked Jack
“Redundancy,” Jack said on cue, leaning against the counter.
Fischer swallowed and then whispered. “So while we were chasing Hobson through Mexico, you were—”
“Just wandering home like we had all the time in the world,” Paulson replied. “We’ve been here all day.” He nodded toward the hangar. “That Gulfstream is fast when it needs to be. Gave us plenty of time to get our chubby little friend hidden out in the desert.”
“Ask your boys here to step outside,” Jack said. “The next part of our discussion is confidential.” Fischer nodded, and the two soldiers stepped back out through the door, weapons still at the ready the entire way out.
Paulson pulled a flash drive from the laptop. “Here is a complete set of color photos. I suggest you send them to your boss right away, along with our modest list of demands.”
“What are they?”
“Dr. Leah Andrews and the Native Americans delivered to me within twelve hours,” Jack said. “If any of us disappear or have an unfortunate accident, no one will prevent the bomb from detonating.”
“That would mean you already armed it and set the detonation timer.”
“You know I had the codes.”
“Those things take time,” Fischer said weakly.
“That’s the thing about those bombs,” Paulson interrupted. “You know you can set the timer to detonate with a ninety day delay? Any moron who can operate a microwave oven could program that thing. I guess that explains why they gave ‘em to you.”
“You can’t keep that up forever,” said Fischer.
“We’re agreed. Time is short. Which is all the more reason for you to get your ass in gear,” Paulson said. “When my buddies in the Senate and Congressional Oversight committees get a classified briefing from yours on how your boss got us into this mess with the Russians, not to mention what could be coming down the road… well, let’s just say your boss is going to be resigning office for medical reasons. I’d suggest that he call the Russian President, ASAP and promise to share the alien technology.”
“I think it might be too late for that,” Fischer said. “The Russians have been flying assets into Antarctica. We think they intend to occupy the continent. In fact, just about every world power is activating their forces. It didn’t take long for rumors of what we found to spread around the globe.”
“I’m not sure I can help with Dr. Andrews,” Fischer said, slumping against the counter.
“That’s no good.” Jack moved closer to Fischer, who shrank back in fear. “What have you done with her?”
“It’s what she’s done,” Fischer said quickly. “Your wife is extremely resourceful, it seems. With help, she managed to slip out of the facility at White Sands. That was at least several hours ago, I understand.” Fischer hesitated, obviously fearful of what Jack might do if he went on. “I ordered two helicopters to search for her. If she resists, they’re authorized to use deadly force. They had to pause the search to refuel, but I believe they’re searching again now.”
Jack felt himself wanting to rip Fischer’s head off with his bare hands; instead he took a deep calming breath and said, “Then I think you have a call to make. Pronto.”
CHAPTER 127
The first hour after escape, Leah made good progress across the desert, passing several ancient-looking missile-test stands and a variety of broken-down equipment. She guessed this part of range hadn’t been seen active testing for years, probably why Fischer had been given use of it.
At first she’d glanced back toward the hangar at least once a minute, expecting to see a cloud of dust and a series of headlights rushing across the desert in search of their two missing guests. Fortunately, heading toward the dunes led her out into the desert; there were no paved roads in the direction she was going.
K’aalógii continued to sleep soundly despite Leah having nearly fallen several times while sliding down the steep banks of a wash. She checked her at once every five minutes to make sure that she was still breathing normally with a strong pulse. Not that Leah could do anything if her condition deteriorated.
The glistening dunes of White Sands were now half a mile away. The going would get tougher through the dunes and the travel more exhausting, slogging up steep slopes of frosty sand.
When she reached the first dune, Leah’s heart soared. Not only had she crossed what she thought was the most dangerous part of the journey, but the winter rains had frozen, solidifying the surface of the sand. She was able to move across without sinking in.