Touched by a Phoenix (47 page)

She had berated her father for putting so much money into it when they built the facility. Now, she was thankful he had insisted on including the bunker. Brad had been working down here since returning to work after the accident.

Rescue One and the newly redeveloped drone, The
African Crowned Eagle
or ACE for short, were both housed here. Brad had wanted to name it after a bird. His choice amused her until she researched the bird while he worked late one evening. The Crowned Eagle was a large bird of prey with enormous power. The Crowned Eagle was much smaller and had a shorter wingspan than other eagles. However, it was the most powerful of all eagles in its ability to carry its prey.

Seemingly out of proportion to its counterparts, the eagle’s body weight was less than ten pounds. Yet, it was capable of carrying a sixty-pound kill. The bird had long tail feathers, giving the appearance of a greater length, while its wings were shorter and boxier than a normal eagle. Its wingspan was about five feet, which gave the eagle a huge advantage when it came to maneuverability. The most impressive and somewhat chilling aspect of the eagle was its unusually large talons. Its hind legs could crush a human skull.

Brad had wanted to go ahead and rename the prototype drone for phase one to ACE. He even had her painted similar to the bird, although she was being replaced, with a new, smaller design.

She didn’t think anyone other than Brad could have come up with the idea or design for the new drone. He had wanted her to resemble the bird’s form and maneuverability. She was half the size of the traditional drones and had a much shorter, more aerodynamically designed wing. She looked like something from twenty years in the future. Phase three will initialize Rescue One’s laser power and eliminate the need for a payload, making her much lighter and faster. If Brad’s calculations were correct, he believed the new drone would reach a top speed at just over eight hundred miles per hour. If he was right, she would break the sound barrier at just a little over Mach 1!

Brad shared every detail of phase three and four with her. Together had decided it would be best to keep the details of her power source and potential stealth capabilities under wraps until he perfected them. If Brad were successful…Rescue One would be awesome upon completion. The ding of the elevator broke her train of thought.

“I need you to help me gather a few things, please,” Brad said.

His hands shook and he had that glazed, confused look in his eyes. She could tell he was either dizzy or having trouble with his hand eye coordination. Alexis helped him to the closest desk.

“Bring me Jessica’s laptop,” he requested softly as he sat down.

Alexis did as she was told, then asked, “What else, love?”

“See those cables over there? I need a hard line into the communication network. Would you give me one end and plug the other into Port 47 on Switch 16,” as he put his head in his hands.

Again, she did as she was instructed quickly gathering the cable and handed Brad one end as she headed for the server room.

“Got it,” she called from the next room.

Brad took a deep breath and began to key furiously.

“I’m going to try to access my laptop through a backdoor. Hopefully, I will be able to get in before they gain access, but I could use something to drink if you wouldn’t mind.”

“Not at all. I’ll be right back.”

The elevator doors opened and Phillip rushed in. “Brad, what happened?”

“Not now Phillip, give me a few minutes,” he barked.

“Here you go love,” as she handed Brad a glass of water, “Dad, I didn’t hear you come in.”

She leaned over to give him a kiss.

“Honey, what happened?”

Alexis took Phillip by the arm and led him away from Brad. She quietly told her father what had happened…at least all she knew, anyway.

“What is Brad.…”

“Dad, Brad is trying to access his laptop through a backdoor. If he can get to the hard drive before they do, he will destroy it, preventing them from gaining access to the programming for ACE.”

Alexis and Phillip stood in silence as Brad continued to key with smooth rhythmic strokes.

“Shit. Alexis, open “TestMy.net” and tell me what the upload speed is.”

“14.93 Mbps.”

“Dammit…not enough. I need to boost the upload speed by…at least 64.5%.”

“What can I do?”

“Shut down all the switches. I’ll start recalibrating the ISDN’s.”

“Okay.”

“Start here and then go upstairs. I don’t care what anyone is working on. Shut them down as fast as you can.”

She ran to the server room and blocked the door open.

He yelled, “Start with switch 15 and work backwards.”

She worked as fast as she could, but being less familiar with networking, she felt she was moving at a snail’s pace. Finally, “Switch 15’s done.”

“Do the same for 11 through 14 and let me know as you finish each one—hurry Alexis.”

She could hear the urgency in his voice, which only made her more nervous. After a few minutes, she yelled, “Done.”

“Aha…I’m in.” Brad’s voice showed the first sign of relief. “Good girl, now get upstairs and call me, so I know when you’ve finished each one.”

“Got it.”

“Shit…they’re in.” She heard him say as the elevator doors closed.

Alexis wedged herself between the elevator doors as they opened and pushed with her entire body, forcing them open enough to squeeze through. She was in a dead run as she hit the server room door with full force, slamming it against the wall. Putting the phone on speaker, she dialed Brad’s extension.

“Phillip, will you get the phone?” It was more of an order than a request but Phillip didn’t argue.

“Brad, I’ve got two more to go.”

He didn’t respond, but continued to key. He hit ‘enter’…and waited. Finally, the blue screen began scrolling…uploading the kill files.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

“Brad…,” she waited.

“It’s working. Alexis, go ahead and finish. I’ll reboot them before we leave.

“No, you need to see the doctor,” she insisted as the call disconnected.

The elevator doors opened and she stepped out. Brad’s head was in his hands, the computer screen blank.

“Did they get anything?” she asked quietly.

“No, but they are good. I was only a step or two ahead of them,” he admitted softly. “Whoever it is, knew exactly what they were looking for—and how to get it.”

Alexis turned as white as a ghost, “Someone on the team?”

“Yes—or someone on the team is feeding someone the information. No one could have hacked into my computer that fast.”

Phillip picked up the phone and dialed a number, “John, did you find anything?”

“Dammit John.…”

“Yes, I know we agreed to back security off, but that didn’t give you the right to let your men allow something like this to happen!”

“Get somebody over to Alexis’s house and get your ass down here now,” he thundered.

Alexis looked at Phillip, somewhat shocked at his reaction. “Dad?”

“They found new phone taps and surveillance at Brad’s, so I have to assume they got into both homes while you were away.”

Brad was solemn. “Alexis and I will make a list of everyone who has any knowledge of the project. Maybe we can narrow the search down a bit. We have to figure out who is behind this.”

“I’ll wait for John upstairs. I’ve got a few phone calls to make anyway.”

Alexis eyed him suspiciously. “Dad, who are you calling?”

“Fred Thompson.”

“Dad, no. Please don’t do this.”

“Honey,” he reached out to take her hands but she backed away. “I’ve got to keep Brad and the project safe. There is no other choice. I need to get Brad to a secure location.”

Brad piped in softly, “Phillip, I’m not leaving Alexis.”

Tears slipped down Alexis’s cheeks. She hated this…but her father was right. They had to get Brad somewhere safe.

“Sweetheart, Dad’s right.” She wrapped her arms around him. “As much as I don’t want to be without you…you need to finish what you started.”

“But what about the wedding?” Brad spoke too loudly for his aching head.

Phillip decided this would be a good time to make a quick and silent exit.

“Hopefully, John can figure this out in a few days and everything will be all right. If not, we can push the wedding out a couple of weeks.”

“Oh hell no…we are getting married on Saturday…do you hear me?” Brad demanded as he pulled her closer, resting his head on hers.

“Sweetheart, I’m not going anywhere,” she murmured against his chest.

“I know,” he sighed, “that’s beside the point. I’ve waited too long for you. I won’t wait another minute.”

“Bradley, it will all work out, but you need to do this…for us…for our future,” she whispered.

“No, Alexis…I will not go without you.”

“Brad, I don’t want you to go either, but someone is after you and until they find out who, it’s not safe for you to be here.” Her gaze softened and the tears glistened, “Remember what the watch said…my life began with you?”

“And you are my ending…but Alexis, I can’t go without you.”

“Sweetheart, they are not after me…they are after you. If something were to happen to you, I would die.” She was quiet for a moment, “Brad, I love all that you are…you know I will be here waiting for you when this is over. Please love. As soon as this is over, we will be husband and wife and can have a normal life.” She tried to be brave as she smiled up at him.

He sighed, “Darling, I don’t like this. Why can’t you come with me?”

“There’s work…perhaps a wedding to reschedule…and someone has to find out what’s going on here.”

“Alexis, promise me you will stay out of this. John and your father can handle it,” his voice was stern.

“I will let them handle the situation.”

“And promise me you will go and stay with your parents while I’m away.”

“There’s no need for that. I’ll be fine.”

“It’s the only way that I will agree to leave you.”

“All right, if that’s what it takes to keep you safe…I’ll do as you ask.”

He dipped his head for a long loving kiss. They were wrapped in each other’s arms when the elevator opened and Phillip exited.

“Ahem…sorry to interrupt, but we need to get down to business.”

“I was taking care of business,” Brad said smugly as he gazed down at Alexis.

Phillip was the first to speak, “Fred is contacting Andrews. They will be ready when you arrive. I’ve got a truck on its way and a security detail will follow you out.”

“Is all this necessary?” Brad asked. He was afraid it would scare Alexis.

“I’m afraid so. Fred is clearing the airspace and scrambling two F-16’s as we speak. We can’t take any chances with either your life or the drone.”

“What kind of truck?” Brad asked.

“Secure semi, should be here within half an hour.”

“That doesn’t give me much time. Alexis, will you get the list of names for everyone who knows about the project together for John while I start gathering the items we need to transport.”

“I’ll help you and then I’ll make the list.”

“I’ll help him, Alexis. You take care of the information for John.” Phillip turned to follow Brad.

It wasn’t long before the elevator ding announced John’s arrival. Bill let him off and headed back up to the main floor. Alexis glared at him and pointed to the chair, “Sit,” she commanded. “Now, I don’t know what the hell you are up to, but you better find out who did this…and I mean ASAP…do you understand me?”

“Alexis, I’m sorry. We thought if we lightened security a bit they might try something, and we’d have a lead to go on.”

Her eyes shot daggers at him. His instincts told him to duck as she flung them at him with more force than he expected. He felt as though he needed to run catch his head as it rolled across the floor. Yes, he had been right when he told Phillip she would kill to protect Brad.

Her words were menacing and callous, “I don’t give a rat’s ass what you thought…I want them caught…and I want Brad safe!”

“Yes, ma’am.” He knew it was unwise to try to reason with her right now.

She sat down, keyed a list of names, and sent them to his email.

“Forty-two people have some knowledge of the project, whether known or unbeknownst to them. Besides the obvious; the list includes folks from aeronautics, electrical and mechanical engineering, the physicist and bioengineering group, IT software testers, one person in procurement, and a couple people at the Department of Defense.”

“Yes ma’am. I’ll put someone on this immediately.”

John stood to exit.

“John,” she spoke up, “only six people can access the bunker: Phillip, Brad, Bill, Javier, Marcus, and myself. Individuals marked with asterisks have worked in the bunker with Brad, fourteen in all. I suggest you start with the last group.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Alexis escorted John back up to the main floor. They rode in silence.

As John stepped out of the elevator, Alexis’s cold voice hung in the air, “Have your men meet us at the bunker exit…I want six vehicles escorting Brad and the drones to Andrews. And John…make sure they are fully armed.”

She stepped off the elevator into the bunker and headed straight to Brad.

The other entrance to the bunker was two blocks away and hidden from the normal line of site. The truck had arrived and was in position to leave. Brad and Phillip had already loaded and secured the wings and were currently loading ACE. Alexis loaded Rescue One and helped with the remaining equipment.

He whispered, “Darling,” as he wrapped his arms around her, “as soon as the demonstrations are over, I promise to make you my wife.”

“I love you. Please be careful.” She was barely breathing—making every effort to put on a brave face. She would not cry—she wanted him safe.

“Alexis,” he whispered his lips only millimeters from hers.

The warmth of his breathe filled her soul. The rush of heat started in her chest and slowly spread throughout her body. He leaned forward slowly…his hand brushed a stray lock of hair from her face. In an instant, his lips were on hers…so warm against hers. His kiss was so tender and sweet. His lips barely touching hers. It was patient. Loving. Slow. Lasting. Deep and filled with love. The kind of kiss that grabbed her stomach and squeezed in that gut-wrenching…I need you kind of way. Her heart swelled with love. He was leaving his soul with her until he could return to claim her as his. A magical kiss that was meant to last a lifetime.