“Sir, I’ll get you that report and see what I can find out on who the insider is,” said Doug.
After the door closed, the president asked, “What is it, Jack?”
“Sir, I think I might know who the mole is at NASA.”
Bill leaned against his massive desk, arms crossed. “Go on.”
“Chris Riddick.”
“Who’s Chris Riddick?”
“He’s the director of flight crew operations for NASA. He’s been with NASA ever since the moon shot years. He would be an ideal source for China, since he has a long history with NASA. Chris is our main contact at NASA for SID agents and training. Something seemed very odd with him to our director of SID, so he elected to have him tailed. We learned he has a serious gambling problem with high debts at two major Vegas hotels. The fact he has these high debts, I’m thinking maybe he was paid off in some way by China.”
“Damn. Why didn’t you mention this in the meeting?”
“Sir, I trust Doug. But I know he has a long relationship with Chris and I wanted to mention it to you first.”
“Well, see what you can find out. Check those hotels and see if there is any Chinese connection. We may need to inform Doug sooner than later if we decide to send one of your agents to the moon. I don’t want our plan leaking to the Chinese.”
“I’ll personally oversee this and see what we can find out.” Jack got up and shook the president’s hand before leaving.
10
WHAT TO DO
Jack was getting ready to go to lunch when he was summoned to the president’s office. The UN had gone public with their findings, stating there was not enough evidence to prove the United States landed on the moon, and the case was going to the International Court of Justice to reach a conclusion. The president was obviously upset when he called. He wanted to meet with Jack immediately to discuss the possibility of getting an agent to the moon. He’d received Doug’s report and wanted to review it. Because of the urgency in the president’s voice, Jack skipped lunch and hurried to the White House.
As he walked in the oval office, he saw the president finishing up his lunch. “Eating on the job, sir?” Jack eyed a large half of a turkey sandwich still left on the plate.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had a day as president where I haven’t worked through lunch. There always seems to be a crisis going on, and there just isn’t enough time in the day. I try to take advantage of every opportunity I get.” The president wiped his mouth. He put the napkin on the tray and pushed it slightly to the side, signaling he was done. As if watching, his executive assistant was there instantly to take it away.
Jack’s stomach growled as he took a seat across from the president, pulling out a notepad and pen from his briefcase. As the assistant walked past he couldn’t help eyeing the remaining half of the turkey sandwich, knowing it probably tasted as good as any food he had eaten at the White House. As much as he wanted it, he shouldn’t ask. “I know the feeling,” said Jack, watching the sandwich leave the office.
The president swiveled his chair over to lean back before plopping his feet on his desk. “Did you find out anything more about Chris Riddick?”
Jack put the sandwich and his hunger out of his mind. “Yes, sir, and you were right. One of the Vegas hotels where Chris has a high gambling debt is owned by a Chinese company. Though we suspect the Chinese Mafia is managing the hotel, this is not yet confirmed. I imagine he has been threatened.”
“Dammit,” said the president as he removed his feet and vaulted forward. “That’s enough for me. You need to bring him in and find out what he knows. We can’t risk our plan getting in the hands of the Chinese. If you have to lock him up, do it!”
Jack confidently nodded his head. “I’m way ahead of you sir. Chris was put on leave as soon as we learned of the connection and is currently being questioned in our offices.”
“Good.” The president lifted up a binder on his desk. “Here is Doug’s report on getting one of your agents to the moon.”
Eyeing the binder, Jack shook his head. “It still surprises me the UN actually considers we never landed.”
The president’s tone softened as he answered. “They’re just going off the facts put before them, and unfortunately those damn Chinese have done a good job skewing the truth.” The president started shuffling through papers on his desk looking for something. His face perked up when he found what he was looking for—a magazine. He tossed it to Jack, startling him. “Look at that. We got an early release. Looks like the Chinese even have Americans questioning the landings.”
Jack studied the magazine’s cover, which had a picture of a taikonaut in his spacesuit jumping high above the lunar surface while saluting the Chinese flag next to him. It was an identical picture to one of America’s more famous shots, known as the “Jump Salute.” Though Jack couldn’t remember which NASA astronaut did the salute, he had seen the photo many times and always thought it was one of the more impressive shots taken on the moon. It made sense the Chinese would pick such a well known picture to duplicate so they could get the world’s attention. The caption read, Moon Hoax? “Does the magazine back up China’s claim?”
“Not exactly. They try to stay objective.” The president leaned back and crossed his arms. “They had the picture analyzed and stated it was authentic-looking and questioned that it could have been done in a studio or doctored up in any way. But they never come out and say it was taken on the moon. They go on to state some facts. But what really surprises me is their latest poll, which shows over half of America now questions that the landings ever occurred. Americans! I couldn’t believe it.”
Jack placed the magazine back on the president’s desk, shaking his head.
The president continued. “Looks like the UN will be putting out a resolution in the next day or so banning us from space flights because of that ridiculous claim we have ballistic missiles in space. We need to make some decisions now on how we are going to end this crap. I do not want China pushing us around.”
Jack just shook his head in silence, wondering what the president’s next move was.
The president suddenly lowered his voice. “I reviewed Doug’s report on what it would take to get one of your agents to the moon. Before I go into too much detail, I want you to know they did not come up with any way of saving your man. He will die on this mission, and I have a hard time with that. I can’t just send a man out to space to die unless I’m sure this is the best and only option available. Considering all the space exploration that has gone on over the last fifty years, not one man has ever died in space. I would hate for the first one to be an American.”
Making sure all options were considered, especially any that could bring his agent back alive, Jack asked, “Did they consider sending a manned NASA rocket directly to the moon?”
“Yes. Doug looked into reviving the Constellation program for this mission. The report says even if NASA found the budget to do this and they cut corners by limiting the needed testing, the best they could still do is over a year. I assume by that time the UN would have lifted the ban. Besides that is too long to wait. By then China will have a stranglehold on us and the world.”
Jack needed to put the president at ease. “Sir, I hate whenever I approve an assignment that has a slim chance of survival. However, every agent accepts that their job may require this at any time. Every one of them has taken an oath that their country comes first, even if it requires the ultimate sacrifice. They understand their job is to serve their country and the president.”