“Okay, short stuff. Keep your little secret,” Collins said as he handed her the last fallen book. It was on the mineral properties of meteorites. “But keep in mind that whatever Niles and the president are cooking up, people are starting to die over this thing.”
“Jack, we know that, and I wish I could tell you everything, but I just don’t know. I do know you, though, and you can’t storm into Niles’s office and demand that I be kept safe. Whatever they have planned, if you want me to back away from my job, I’ll do it, for you. But it has to be me doing the requesting, not you.”
Collins reached out and hit the blinking Level 35 button again, overriding Sarah’s request for the car to stop.
“You know I won’t do that,” he said, his eyes cast down. He turned and smiled at McIntire. She smiled in return. “Not because you’re an officer in the Army, but because I love you too and would never ask you not to do your job because of that love.”
The elevator came to a stop and Europa announced that they had arrived. As the doors opened Pete Golding was standing there. He looked surprised to see both Jack and Sarah.
“Oh, hello, Colonel,” he said, adjusting the thick glasses on his nose.
“Pete,” Collins said, stepping out of the car. He looked back at Sarah as Golding stepped inside. He winked as the doors started sliding closed.
Before the door closed, Jack heard Pete say, “I’m glad I ran into you, Sarah. Europa wants your exact measurements. NASA needs them ASAP.”
“Damn it,” Jack said as he turned and went to find Niles.
Jack finally tracked Niles down in the astrophysics lab on Level 35. When he walked inside he saw that the entire division was present. Most of the technicians and scientists were sitting at computer consoles and the rest were studying virtual reality diagrams projected onto every inch of wall space. Collins saw designs he had seen as a kid from the Apollo program. These were being studied and modified by the people Jack knew as the best in the astrophysics business. He saw Niles in the far corner conferring with Virginia Pollock and when Compton finally noticed Jack standing at the door he nodded once to Virginia and excused himself.
Niles once more looked tired and ragged, his white shirt stained with ink at the front pocket and the slight rim of hair that circled his head uncombed and messy. He smiled as he stepped up and faced Jack.
“I figured you would come looking for me before too long,” he said as he removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “Jack, the president has more than enough to handle at the moment, Ecuador is really pushing Interpol to get that arrest warrant to the State Department.”
Jack remained silent as his eyes moved from Niles toward the far wall, where he saw the projected image of the Ares VII rocket. It was being moved by crawler to an assembly area at what looked like one of the Western Air Force bases. That meant it was either Vandenberg or March. His bet would be the Vandenberg launch facility in Central California.
“What in the hell is going on here, Niles?” he finally asked as a flurry of activity near one of the engineering stations drew his eyes. “I see the president’s not taking any chances like the Russians did.”
Niles placed his glasses back on and looked at the image of the giant Ares being moved toward the second assembly building at Vandenberg.
“The Chinese are only two weeks away from launch. We’ve learned from NSA and CIA resources that they have a totally viable system in the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, or CLEP. They’re far more advanced than Western intelligence ever thought possible. They actually have two ready-to-go platforms and are capable of placing twenty men and women on the Moon.” Niles turned back to face Jack. “We’ve also learned that as many as fifteen of those may be Chinese Special Forces personnel, but we’re still gathering intel on that.”
“What you’re saying is they’re preparing to introduce armed force into this thing?”
“Yes. At least I’m convinced that they are. The president, not so much.”
“Are they fully capable?” Jack asked, remembering the books Sarah was carrying.
“The China National Space Administration has every intention of not only recovering the mineral and technology from the surface of the Moon, they intend to hold their ground with a series of launches, possibly creating a permanent or at least rotating presence on the Moon.” Niles took Jack by the arm and steered him toward an empty corner of the massive room. “The Chinese have adapted no fewer than six of their heavy-lift Long March launch vehicles for lunar operations. They have the landers and science to back this up. Everyone was caught off guard-again.”
“Jesus,” Collins muttered.
“In two weeks they plan to launch at least two systems from their Xichang Satellite Launch Center northwest of Xichang City. They really screwed the European Space Agency. They stole a lot of their hardware and software technology for the missions.”
“The damn world is going to turn the Moon into an armed camp,” Jack said, looking harshly at Niles. “You know what happens when you get a bunch of soldiers together in an intense environment and they all have guns, don’t you, Niles?”
Compton rubbed his temples.
“People start shooting each other,” Jack said as he shook his head. “Tell the president the priority is on Earth, Niles. We have leads on where to find Columbus right here, so why risk the lives of people by sending them out there?” he asked, gesturing angrily toward the sky.
“Jack, the president is basing his decision on my recommendation, and there are elements that outweigh… well, we need to be in on this for reasons I can’t go into right now. That’s a presidential order-the hanging kind, if disobeyed.”
Collins was taken aback. He had never known Niles Compton to take the extreme measure before the practical. The look in the director’s eyes was one of determination, and Jack knew he had better not push the issue further, at least not yet. He hoped Niles wasn’t feeling power-hungry in a way that would taint his decisions.
“Do you think you’re using your influence with the president a little outside the lines of what’s proper, Mr. Director?”
Niles looked at Jack and his features were a cross between hurt and anger.
“I guess that’s for the president to decide, Colonel,” he answered, but he saw that Collins immediately regretted what he had said.
“I’m sorry, Niles,” Jack said. He took a step back and rubbed his eyes. “That was uncalled for.”
“Jack, what if we don’t find Columbus or if we can’t get into Ecuador even to search? What’s our backup?”
“That’s why the president has to allow me and a team to get our asses to Germany.”
Compton turned away from Jack and watched the harried activity around him. He smiled to himself and shook his head.
“Jack, Interpol will be on you like hounds. They’re taking this murder thing seriously. They want you and Carl pretty bad. The president suspects the Ecuadorians are being pushed by someone.”
“Better people than Interpol have wanted my ass before, Niles.” Collins watched Compton to see how he reacted to what he said next. “I noticed you didn’t include Mendenhall and Ryan in that statement. The last I knew they were with Carl and me in Ecuador.”
“You sneaky son of a-!” Compton paused. “What do you know?”
“Nothing, I just observe when I’m down here, that’s all.” Jack picked up a small electronic device. He looked it over and placed it back on the console.
“Okay, Jason and Will are being reassigned to a team being led by Lieutenant McIntire. That’s all I can say for now, Jack. This is a NASA thing, not mine.” He took Collins by the arm and looked into his eyes. “I can tell you that what you’re worried about is remote. There are two elements, or teams, ahead of hers.”
“We can stop all this madness, Niles. Let me and Carl get to Germany before it’s too late.”
“And what if you’re caught and extradited to Ecuador?” Niles asked with a tinge of anger in his voice.
“Well, we’ll need to go back there eventually anyway,” Collins said with a smirk. “All kidding aside, Niles, we may be able to prevent something really bad from happening. In case you hadn’t noticed, we have some very well equipped people out there who aren’t all that thrilled about outer space and what it has to offer.”
