Americans.
“Think you used enough there?” Jack said, running past Sebastian and into the long alley to the rear of the station.
“I thought it was adequate,” Krell said. Everett gave the German a stern look.
The three men ran down the alley, shedding police jackets as they went. They heard the sirens and the pounding of feet behind them as the alley started to fill with policemen. Bullets began flying, echoing off the brick walls.
They reached the end of the alley and had the choice to go right or left. Jack chose right, as it would lead them north, where traffic in the city was heavier. He figured if they failed to escape it would be harder for the police to shoot them in the midst of a crowd. But he realized that he had been wrong before when judging police reactions.
As they made the turn onto the main street, one round narrowly missed Everett as he skidded around the corner. Just as he made the turn behind the German, he glanced to his left and saw that the street on that end was full of screeching police vehicles.
“We’ve had it, Jack,” he called out loudly from the end of the three-man line.
As they neared the street, Jack’s hopes of escape faded. An Audi patrol car skidded to a halt, blocking their path. As Collins stopped, wanting to turn and see if there was something he’d missed, the rear window of the police cruiser lowered and a skinny arm started waving them forward. All three men were caught off guard, as this was not the reception they had expected. Jack reacted first by running in that direction, soon followed by Everett and then Sebastian. As Collins neared the car, the rear door was thrown open and he jumped into the lap of someone who grunted as his weight collided with him. Everett soon followed and Sebastian after that. The patrol car burned rubber just as the side window shattered from a bullet. Then they heard several loud clunking noises as the trunk was struck.
“Jesus, those guys are serious,” Everett said as he tried to push Sebastian off him.
“Jack, if you don’t mind, your head is about to break one of my ribs, and I only have so many of them,” announced a familiar voice.
Collins looked up and could not believe what he was seeing. Scrunched up against the door of the car was none other than Senator Garrison Lee. As his eyes widened he sat up quickly and looked up front at the driver. She was small and could barely see over the steering wheel. The woman turned sharply onto the broad avenue.
“Where to, Jack?” Alice Hamilton asked, as she fought to control the car. They skidded around the corner.
“What are you two doing here?” Jack asked. He slid in between the open Plexiglas enclosure and into the front passenger seat. He just stared at Alice, unable to form any more words.
“Well, I can pull over and give you the long version of what that old man back there is thinking, or I can give you the short version on our way to wherever we need to be. Which will it be?” she asked as she threw the car around another corner.
“The short version on the way out of the city-that way,” Jack said, pointing to a side street.
Jack momentarily allowed the tension in his body to ease. He turned and looked at Lee. He could see that the senator was in a lot of pain as he popped two small tablets into his mouth. Then the old man looked at Jack with his one good eye.
“Don’t look at me like that, Colonel. I’m not dead yet.”
“No? The last time I saw you, you were well on your way. Now what in the hell are you doing here?”
Lee seemed to relax as he leaned forward and looked at Sebastian, who was busy looking out the window as police sirens wailed from every direction.
“Who is this?” Lee asked, getting the German’s attention.
“I am Major Sebastian Krell, here under orders of my chancellor.”
“Senator Lee, this is the man responsible for getting me out of Germany. He’s German Special Forces,” Jack explained.
They were all tossed to the left as Alice threw the car around another corner to avoid a passing police car.
“Damn, woman, I’d like to spend the time I have left getting to that godforsaken mine and finding out what this is all about,” Lee said, grimacing in pain.
“Shut up, old man. I’m not talking to you at the moment.”
Sebastian threw Jack a look and pursed his lips as if he was going to whistle. He turned away, knowing that the old woman in the front seat was truly angry and probably wouldn’t understand his surprised demeanor.
“Don’t mind her. She’s in a little bit of a snit because she thought I was just going to go out like an old fool, lying in bed so she can have final control over me after all these years.”
“I told you to be quiet,” Alice said as she turned onto a road with houses lining both sides.
“I can see this is going to be a fun ride,” Everett said, turning to face the front windshield.
“I don’t really care to hear anything from you or Jack either.”
Alice floored the police cruiser and the car shot off.
10
As the twelve-man crew sat at their stations inside the shuttle Atlantis waiting for the tower crew to break out the wrenches to free them, thereby ending the mission of Dark Star 3, a flurry of activity started around them that sent the astronauts into a quandary. They had been informed in the previous two hours that both Ares platforms had performed magnificently and that Discovery and Endeavour had achieved low Earth orbit on their way to rendezvous with the International Space Station. That was the last information that had been passed on to them.
For Sarah, Ryan, and Mendenhall, located in the crew pod in the cargo hold, they were wondering if they had been forgotten. They had been hanging in their seats with their backs against the pod bulkhead facing straight down for two hours and they were starting to feel light-headed. Mendenhall was being driven crazy by the sweat that dripped from his nose and collected against the clear faceplate of his helmet. He shook his head and then they felt the movement of the shuttle. An extremely loud rushing noise reached their ears.
“Jesus,” Sarah said, turning as far as she could to the center of the three seats. “They’re beginning to fuel the main tank.”
“No, they would have said something to us,” Ryan said as he returned Sarah’s worried look.
“ Atlantis, CAPCOM, we are a go for launch. Stand by for a message from the president.”
When the announcement came through the speakers in their helmets, all three froze as they thought at the same time that this wasn’t a good thing.
“Crew of Atlantis and Dark Star 3, it is with a heavy heart that I pass on to you the following information. At 1740 hours Eastern Daylight Time, the shuttles Endeavour and Discovery were destroyed in low Earth orbit by an unknown enemy. There were no survivors. I made the call to inform you myself, as it is my decision that you be sent into space as per the backup plan. Dark Star 3 is now the United States’s only hope of stopping the foolishness that has brought nations to the brink of armed conflict. While we are near to discovering the identities of those responsible for these horrific acts, including the assault on this office, I fear we cannot wait for an outcome we would like before risking your lives. You know what needs to be done, and I am sure you will all do your duty. May God bless you. I and the American people wish you Godspeed, Atlantis.”
A tone sounded, indicating that the president was done.
“Okay, people, we have completed fueling procedures and we are now in a five-minute countdown. Atlantis will launch at 2010 hours, immediately after the Saturn is in low orbit. We will not follow Discovery and Endeavour. We will be maneuvering at every opportunity once we have cleared the atmosphere. I have informed our shuttle flight team that they will all be fired if we don’t make it. Good luck, and I’ll see you at the space station.”
Sara, Will, and Jason listened to Colonel Kendal and they could all hear the worry in his voice despite his
