“Something on your mind?”
Chris unzipped her purse, began fumbling for her keys, and said in a low voice, “You know, at work we’re getting a lot of chatter that’s giving me some serious déjà vu from when you were still in our section.” She paused, and held a troubled expression. “I probably shouldn’t be mentioning this.”
With his interest piqued, Connor leaned against the side of his car and crossed his arms. “Well, if you want to share, that’s on you, I’m not asking. But it won’t go any further if you want to get something off your chest.”
She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “There’s are a lot of strange chatter coming out of Nigeria.”
“Didn’t I see on the news something about threats of a civil war going on over there?”
“Nothing about that. Now, realize, it’s only chatter. We haven’t put things together yet, but it has got something do with nukes.”
Connor groaned. “God, I hope not.”
“Me too.” Christina finally grabbed the keys from her purse, gave Connor a quick hug and said, “Thanks for the assist back in the restaurant.”
Before Connor could say anything, she walked to her driver’s side door, opened it and hopped into her car. He tossed her a wave as she backed out of her parking spot, rolled down her passenger’s side window, and said, “Take care of yourself, and I’ll see you next month.”
As he watched her car leave the parking lot, Connor thought about what she’d said. Nukes. It couldn’t be. Not again. Only a handful of months ago he’d been involved in a mission for the place he worked at now that had involved defusing a nuke. It was during that time t he’d been “transferred” from his analyst position to his current cover, but in reality he was working for a place called the Outfit.
With a prickly sensation running up his neck, he was on alert. He’d always trusted his Spidey senses, and he was convinced that tingle was an indicator of something. He panned his gaze across the parking lot and caught a silhouette of a man standing at the entrance to the restaurant.
The man was wearing a black suit, sporting a pair of shades, even though it was dark out, and he was looking across the parking lot, directly at him.
He could tell who he was before the man began walking toward him. It was Thompson, the guy who’d recruited him into the Outfit.
The guy had had his number from the moment they met. If he’d wanted to talk, he could’ve called. There was only one reason he’d have come searching for him tonight.
A threat to national security.
Addendum
Broken Arrow:
In Patriot, our main character learns of a nuclear device that has gone missing. This situation is often referred to in military jargon as a Broken Arrow. And the incident that the book is based on is surprisingly enough, very real.
Believe it or not, there are at least several dozen nuclear weapons that have been lost and not reclaimed—and that’s a conservative estimate, as most countries are loath to admit their real numbers.
For example, on October 3, 1986, the Russians lost a Yankee I-class submarine in eighteen thousand feet of water at the bottom of the Hatteras Abyssal Plain. It was reported that thirty-four nuclear weapons were lost in the incident.
Patriot is based on an actual Broken Arrow incident. On December 5th, 1965, the aircraft carrier USS Ticonderoga departed the US Naval Base Subic Bay out of the Philippines and on its mission a US Navy Douglas A-4E Skyhawk attack jet was being rolled out for exercises, loaded with a nuclear payload. Somehow, the attack jet fell over the side of the ship with the pilot and the payload never to be seen again.
The jet was carrying a B43 nuclear payload, with an estimated explosive yield of one megaton. It is believed that the plane with all onboard immediately sunk to the ocean floor, 16000 feet below.
About the Author
I am an Army brat, a polyglot, and the first person in my family born in the United States. This heavily influenced my youth by instilling in me a love of reading and a burning curiosity about the world and all of the things within it. As an adult, my love of travel and adventure has driven me to explore many exotic locations, and these places sometimes creep into the stories I write.
I hope you’ve found this story entertaining.
- Mike Rothman
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