Peter leaned forward, propping an elbow on the desk, extending his hand as if Gavin was on the other side of the desk. “I’m not positive. However, I think whoever it is had the man who discovered the bomb killed.”
“How did he die?”
“Supposedly from a heart attack, but I’m confident he was murdered.”
Without hesitation, Gavin asked. “What’s his name?”
“Carl Stewart, he was our shop manager.”
The director’s tone unexpectedly dropped, again composed. “Okay, I’ll have some agents investigate. Any chance the astronauts are involved in any of this?”
Peter vigorously shook his head. “Absolutely not.”
“Then we need to storm EarthOrbit’s facility and take over operation of that spacecraft.”
Peter shot to his feet. “No, if that happens there is a good chance they’ll set off the bomb, killing the astronauts.”
“Peter, I’m sorry, but we cannot risk losing the International Space Station and its crew.”
Though Peter agreed, he remembered his promise to Suzy. He couldn’t just let those men die. It was his responsibility to make sure they returned safely. He slowly started to pace around his desk. There must be some way of saving those men. His analytical mind started to race as he leaned back on his desk. His eye caught the white marker board hanging in his office with handwritten dates associated with the mission. He focused in on the circled date, which was the drop-dead date they needed to launch by, 9/29. A sudden realization popped into his head. The reason that date was selected was so EarthOrbit could beat SpaceQuest’s launch of their last test rocket. Surely that rocket was already on the pad. Maybe he could convince Allen to give him a ride. If SpaceQuest got him up quick enough, he could certainly figure out how to rescue the men.
Peter jumped back to his feet. “Gavin, give me a couple hours before you do anything. I have an idea.”
“What is it?”
Peter let out a sigh and spoke guardedly. “I need to make a phone call first. I’ll get back to you shortly.” Peter hung up and immediately started dialing Allen Ferguson’s number as he circled back to his chair.
After a quick hello, the CEO of SpaceQuest joked, “Peter, aren’t you with the enemy now?”
Peter settled further into his seat. He needed to be up front with Allen and explain why he was working for the competition. Since Allen supported both NASA and SID in providing a rocket for the moon mission, he fully expected the man to back this operation once he knew the facts. “I am, but I am here on assignment for SID.”
“Oh, you’re still working for the government? Then I guess I shouldn’t take it personally that you went over to the dark side. I was a little hurt when I heard you started working for EarthOrbit, especially since I never heard back from you after returning from space in Galileo.”
Peter did feel bad not circling back to congratulate Allen on the success of his equipment. Both the Newton rocket and the Galileo capsule had done a fabulous job on both missions. But things had been happening too quickly. “I’m sorry about that, Allen. I’ve been put on one assignment after another. In fact my fiancée is pissed I haven’t spent much time with her.”
“Wow, so you and Anya are engaged?”
“We are.”
“Well, congratulations. So what’s this assignment you’re on?”
Peter lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “What I’m about to tell you is top secret, so it must not leave this conversation.”
Allen answered in an amused tone, “Peter, I’ve been through this before; I think you can trust me.”
Peter had to say that, but he fully trusted the CEO. “We think there’s a bomb aboard the Iris spacecraft.”
Allen’s response was as Peter expected. “A bomb? How did that get on their ship?”
“That’s a long story, but China looks to be involved. We believe their plan is to explode the bomb by the International Space Station.”
“Holy shit!” There was a moment of silence as Allen processed the information. “If they seriously damage or destroy that station, the whole space industry will shut down. There will be no place to shuttle cargo or astronauts. There will be no contract. That would kill my company. What do you need from me?”
“I’d like to hitch a ride on your test rocket.”
A shocked tone came out of the receiver. “What, are you serious?”
“It’s our only option.”
“You know I have dummies on there, right?”
“I’d just be another one.”
Allen’s voice relaxed slightly. “Funny. So what’s your plan?”
Peter scratched his head. “I really don’t have one yet, other than using your rocket to get me into space. I’d just be a passenger until taking control once you had me close to Iris. I suggest you have your team flying the rocket as you would for the test. You can explain to the media since EarthOrbit was trying to upstage your mission, you decided to return the favor by flying circles around them.”
“I like that. Well, I am only considering this since you have already proved yourself flying a Galileo spacecraft.”
Peter stayed quiet while Allen stewed on the idea.
Allen sounded almost angry, “I cannot afford anything happening to the space station. That’s our mother goose. So I’m game. If this is going to happen, you obviously need to get in space as soon as possible. The Newton rocket is ready, she’s currently sitting on the pad. We’ve just been waiting until September 29th per NASA’s request. So we can probably have you launched within twenty-four hours.”
“Perfect.”
“By the way, we still have the Skylab suit. Will you need it?”
Peter hadn’t gotten that far in his thinking about the operation. But he needed some kind of spacesuit to rescue the men, and the Skylab suit worked perfectly on the last mission. “Absolutely, I’m glad you still have it.”
“I’ll have our suit techs get it ready. So how soon can you get to the Cape?”
Peter pushed his chair back as he crossed his legs. “Not sure. I’ll catch the first flight out of Bush Intercontinental.”
Peter sensed Allen getting excited and taking control. “That could take forever to get you out here, especially having to fly into Orlando. That’s too much wasted time. Tell you what, I have an oil tycoon buddy who owes me a favor. He has a Learjet at Hobby. You hustle over there and I’ll make sure it’s full of fuel and on the tarmac ready to go. I’ll also set up clearance so you can fly directly into the Cape.”
“I owe you, Allen.”
“Yes, you do. However, America and I owe you for proving China wrong. The fact you were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to make that happen is tough to pay back. So let’s just say this will make us even.”
“Thanks, Allen, I appreciate this. See you soon.”
Peter quickly gathered his belongings as he started thinking the mission through. There was only one oxygen pack on Iris, and two were needed to get both men over to Galileo. Since the flight plan had Blake using the ship’s umbilical cord, he would need his own portable oxygen unit along with a special adapter so he could plug it into his suit. Peter’s only option was to sneak out the backup oxygen unit and adapter before leaving. Since he was no longer welcomed in the building, he would have to go into spy mode and steal them.
AFTER CLIMBING UP the emergency stairwell stairs to the second floor doorway, Peter stopped to turn an ear in the direction he had just hiked. He listened for anyone following. All seemed clear. He had been sneaking through the complex trying to reach the storage vault where all the spacesuits and equipment were stored, including the oxygen packs. So far he had been able to avoid the security guards, knowing Chris had probably alerted them. He was sure the asshole wanted him out of the building immediately, if not arrested for assault.