Imagine (Fuzed Trilogy Book 2) Read online

  She said, “Yes sir. If you need anything at all, I’ll be right outside.”

  As she left, Tim noticed Greg studying him. Tim put on the headset and gave Greg a questioning look.

  Greg asked, “Is Smith your real name?”

  “What?”

  “Is Smith your real name?”

  “No.”

  Frowning, Greg asked, “Do you like what you do?”

  “Why ... are you thinking about changing careers?”

  Greg laughed. “No.” Then sighed and said, “I’m just trying to figure out how you can be so ... so fearless. I’ve been scared out of my mind for the last few hours. You and Commander Fuze do insane things and stay so cool.”

  Tim gave him a slight smile and shook his head. “Greg, courage isn’t lack of fear, it’s being scared and doing it anyway. You did great in spite of being scared. That’s real courage.”

  Greg said, “Thanks, but I don’t think I could do what you and Commander Fuze do. Like jumping off a cliff or facing down machine guns.”

  “Greg, we’re all wired differently. Not every act of apparent bravery is courage. Just because you don’t want to bungee jump doesn’t make you a coward. Some people are born with a thrill-seeker gene.”

  Greg nodded. “OK, but saving others, knowing you’ll almost certainly die ....”

  Tim stopped smiling. Looking past Greg, he said, “Sometimes, it’s just fearing something worse than death.” He refocused on Greg. “You won’t know until you’re put in that situation.” He patted Greg on the shoulder. “You’ll do the right thing if the time comes. Let’s just hope it doesn’t.”

  On the headset, Tim heard, “It’s Brian. You OK?”

  “Yeah, Greg and I are fine. Not sure about Josh. He decoyed the MSS by launching off Elton Musk’s penthouse balcony in a jetpack.”

  “A jetpack?”

  “Yeah.”

  There was a pause. “Why does that not surprise me?”

  Tim gave him a summary of everything that had happened since they arrived.

  After he finished, Davidson said, “Tim, Cyber Command just uncovered a virus that’s scanning the entire Internet, and copying and converting every document into Chinese.”

  Tim asked, “What’s it doing with the documents after it converts them?”

  “We don’t know. It’s a very sophisticated program. The concern is that the Chinese are saving all of our documents in preparation for a full-scale viral attack, or — some are suggesting — a nuclear attack with Electro Magnetic Pulse warheads.”

  Tim said, “That’s a bit farfetched.”

  “Maybe, but we’re now at INFOCON 1 and, unless we can quickly determine the Chinese government isn’t behind this, Sec Def is recommending DEFCON 2 to the President. They’re redeploying all the F-22 and B-2 squadrons to Guam and South Korea, and they’re pulling the remaining carrier battle groups from their normal patrol and sending them toward China along with British and Indian carrier battle groups. All the U.S. and NATO ballistic missile and killer subs, not to mention land-based ICBMs, are going on full alert.”

  Tim almost never swore, but he made an exception.

  Davidson said, “There’s another complication.”

  Tim waited.

  “We went back and looked at Josh’s genetic test results.”

  “Why?”

  “When I gave Josh the copies of his stolen files, he seemed interested in the genetic tests. I got curious about the strange results and talked to the lab.”

  Tim said, “And?”

  “It appears Josh may have been genetically designed.”

  “What?”

  “He has less than half the genetic material of a normal human.”

  “He’s an alien?”

  “No, his genes are normal. There just aren’t enough of them.”

  “How can you live without half your genes?”

  Davidson said, “I don’t know, but the way they explained it — his chromosomes have been stripped down to only the essential ones, and they’re all pretty much perfect. That can’t happen by accident.” He paused. “Have you seen him do things that shouldn’t be possible for a normal person?”

  “No ... well, he did heal extremely fast from a third-degree burn on his hand and ... during training his reflexes and vision were phenomenal.” With a resigned sigh, he added, “He learned to speak Chinese on the flight to Shanghai.” He paused. “But I’ve heard of people who have those abilities.”

  “Yeah ... but not all in one body.” Davidson sighed. “There’s something else. They said some of his genetic material was of Asian origin.”

  Tim frowned. “You’re not suggesting Josh is some type of Chinese genetic experiment?”

  Davidson didn’t reply.

  “You think he’s a double agent!”

  Davidson said softly, “We have to consider the possibility.”

  “That’s crazy paranoid. He should have gotten a Medal of Honor for what he did. He saved our butts even as we tried to kill him.”

  Davidson said, “You won’t get an argument from me. We owe him our lives.” He sighed again. “But let’s take a step back. On the aircraft carrier, he admitted he takes orders from a higher authority. We were busy trying to save the world and didn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Now, in light of our current situation—”

  Tim interrupted, “A Chinese agent inserted into the middle of our military industrial complex to save the world from a comet? That makes no sense.”

  Davidson continued, “Tim, we never found out where the original comet information came from, but it had to come from a technologically advanced country with space access. We also know Josh used the identity of a dead Navy pilot named Andy Logan to gain access to classified programs. Carl Casey was a friend of Logan’s and Admiral Joe Meadows was Logan’s former Squadron Commander.” He paused. “What if Andy Logan didn’t die in the crash? If you eliminate the impossible—”

  “Are we sure we know what’s impossible?” Tim shook his head. “You’re suggesting the Chinese government faked his death and genetically redesigned his body?”

  Davidson said, “We’re going to have Logan’s body exhumed.” There was a pause. “And it might not be the Chinese government behind this. It could be a faction inside their government preparing for a coup.”

  Tim shook his head. “Josh saved my life. He’s a good man. I don’t believe this.”

  Davidson said slowly, but with emphasis, “Have you considered the possibility that maybe he doesn’t even know who he’s really working for ... someone could be deceiving him. He could be a sleeper agent.”

  With frustration, Tim sighed and finally said, “So what do you want me to do?”

  Davidson matched his sigh. “I don’t know. This is the part of being a spy I hate.” He paused. “Just be ready to do whatever you have to.”

  Tim finally said, “For God’s sake, Brian, even if he is a Chinese double agent, we’re in China. How much damage can he do?”

  31

  JETPACK

  It occurred to Josh that a gallon of jet fuel had the explosive equivalent of a dozen sticks of dynamite. Useless trivia, unless someone had several gallons strapped to their back while attempting their first jetpack landing ... at night ... in the inside courtyard of a house. A house that belonged to one of China’s top military leaders and his renowned scientist wife. Incinerating them in their home might not further American–Chinese relations. He should have been more concerned, but he wasn’t. Spy tradecraft wasn’t his forte, but this was. A test pilot with a thousand carrier landings, there were few flight situations that scared him.

  The jetpack was very loud. He’d need to make a fast, direct approach. Unfortunately, the automatic stability system would make his descent too controlled and too slow. He flipped the switch back to manual override, and did a series of “S” turns to get a better feel for how it responded.

  With the cyber glasses and his exceptional vision, Josh identified the house sev
eral kilometers out. He could also see that the tiny courtyard at the center of the house wasn’t illuminated. The good news was that it would give him the element of surprise. The bad news was that landing in the dark would be just as surprising for him.

  As he started his approach, he heard a voice-text message from Tim. “A virus is converting all documents in the West into Chinese. U.S. is probably going to DEFCON 2. Need to talk.”

  No pressure. Retracting the wings, he swooped over the house and stopped his forward motion. Thirty meters above the roof, he cut the throttle. The jetpack dropped like a stone down a black elevator shaft. When he couldn’t stand it, he goosed the throttle and caught his fall a meter above the ground. With only a little wobble, he gently set down in the courtyard allowing the jetpack’s slender tripod legs to rest on the flagstones.

  As he hit the kill switch, he couldn’t resist. “Dang, I’m good!” He almost wished someone had been there to see it. The only casualty was a ceramic flowerpot, blown off a table by the turbine’s blast. As he unstrapped and ditched his helmet, he almost fell into a koi pond. The satellite picture didn’t show that.

  Flattening himself against a shadowed wall next to the windows and door, he tried to control his breathing. It seemed unnaturally quiet after the noise of the jetpack. The only sound was the soft, metallic clinking of cooling turbine blades. As he stood there, he realized incinerating their house might not be required to initiate an international incident. If he were captured here—

  A light turned on and the door next to him opened. A man came out into the courtyard with a flashlight in one hand. In the other hand, it looked like he was carrying a ... meat cleaver? As the man approached the jetpack, Josh slipped in behind him. In Chinese, Josh said, “Don’t move.” When the man tried to spin around, Josh used a judo move to knock him off balance and pull the cleaver from his hand. The man fell backward against the jetpack, knocking it over with a loud crash.

  Unconsciously, Josh said, “No!” His jetpack was lying on its side with an obvious crack in the engine cowling.

  Quietly, but with force, Josh said, “Get up.” He nodded toward the door into the house and added, “I won’t hurt you. I’m a friend of Dr. Lee.” Glancing back at the jetpack, he said under his breath, “Perfect landing and they’ll think I’m zero for four.”

  As the man stepped through the patio door into the house, Josh heard a female voice ask in Chinese, “What was that?”

  Before the man could answer, Josh stepped in behind him. He saw Jessica Lee and recognized her mother, Dr. Li Sun, from the file pictures. He quickly said, “Sorry about the flower pot.”

  Both of them looked at him in surprise.

  Then in English, Jessica said, “What are you doing here!”

  “Trying to prevent World War Three.”

  Fearless, Jessica came forward. She told the man and her mother in Chinese that everything was OK.

  Josh could see he was an older man, probably the cook. Apologizing to him, Josh carefully handed the meat cleaver back.

  Jessica asked, “How did you get here?” Looking behind him, she added, “Where’s Greg? Is he OK?”

  Josh caught the concern in her voice on the last question. “I just followed your app’s navigation function, and it took me right here. Have to admit, its abilities are impressive.”

  She shook her head with a frown. “They shouldn’t be. BOTIC doesn’t work here. But I meant,” she pointed toward the window, “how did you get into the courtyard?”

  With a slight smile, he said, “I just kinda dropped in, and Greg ... he may be on his way here, or he may be a guest of the MSS.”

  In Chinese, her mother said, “Is this the one you told me about?”

  Jessica, peering into the dark courtyard, said, “Yes.”

  Josh saw the family resemblance. Dr. Li Sun was about the same height and build as her daughter, with equally fine and beautiful features. She was studying him intently.

  To Jessica, Josh said, “Greg thinks you’re innocent but—”

  “He’s right!” She turned toward him. “I didn’t create BOTIC to sabotage the West!”

  “Then why did you leave so fast?”

  “I told you. I needed to check some things out. I came back here to find out if someone ...” she paused and sighed, “if my father was trying to subvert my work.”

  Surprised, he repeated, “Your father?” Frowning, he asked, “And ...?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know. I need more time.”

  “Hate to sound like a cliché, but time’s something we don’t have. I just heard the U.S. may be going to DEFCON 2.”

  She shook her head. “That’s crazy! There’s no concrete evidence that China’s behind the hacking.”

  “That’s true and that’s why I’m here, but it ain’t looking good. China has the most hackers of any country and a Cyber Warfare division numbering in the tens of thousands.”

  “OK, but that doesn’t explain why. What would their motive be?”

  He ticked off on his fingers. “China is now the largest consumer of shrinking oil reserves, and relationships between China and the West are at an all-time low with export and currency devaluation issues.” Hitting a second finger, he continued, “Over the past decade, China commissioned six new aircraft carrier battle groups, all with stealth aircraft and drones capable of carrying nuclear warheads anywhere in the world.” With a third finger, “We know the People’s Army has been stockpiling Electro Magnetic Pulse warheads. They can take out technology without destroying the infrastructure. Some suspect EMP warheads are onboard the new Chinese space station.”

  She shook her head. “Still circumstantial.”

  Josh added. “I agree, but we just learned a virus has been quietly converting all documents on the Internet into Chinese, and storing them somewhere.”

  “Oh.” She frowned. “That’s bad.” Jessica translated their exchange into Chinese for her mother’s benefit.

  Her mother looked worried and said in Chinese, “We need to talk to your father.”

  In Chinese, Josh said to Jessica’s mother, “It’s probably a little late to ask, but is your house monitored?”

  Surprised, Jessica said, “You speak Chinese?”

  Josh shrugged. “I picked it up on the flight over.”

  Frowning, Jessica’s mother asked, “What is your ancestry?”

  Josh shook his head at the non-sequitur. “What?”

  Jessica rolled her eyes. “My mother’s one of China’s leading genetic scientists.”

  He studied Dr. Li, as she studied him. “Dr. Li, I’m afraid I really don’t know.” Curious, he asked, “What would you say it was?”

  “I’ve never seen anyone like you.”

  Impatient, Jessica jumped in. “In answer to your question, the house is clean but considering my dad’s position, I wouldn’t rule out some type of observation.” She went to the courtyard window, cupping her hands around her eyes, she peered out, asking, “What is that!”

  He shrugged. “A prototype jetpack.”

  “Wow. It wasn’t exactly quiet. Your arrival was probably noticed.”

  Dr. Li said, “Let’s talk to my husband. He’ll be home soon.”

  Jessica, with obvious disdain, added, “Yeah, he knows everything about everything.”

  Dr. Li said, “I apologize. Jessica and her father are strong personalities and don’t see eye to eye.”

  Jessica added, “That’s an understatement.”

  Before Dr. Li could respond, a phone rang. She nodded politely and went to answer it.

  After she left, Josh said, “OK, I believe you didn’t know about all this,” he sighed, “but that doesn’t alter China’s position as the prime suspect.”

  She matched his sigh. “I know, but it doesn’t make sense. If the Chinese government destroyed Western civilization, it would destroy China. Their economy is totally tied to the West, and as big as the People’s Army is, it can’t occupy the entire world.” She shook her
head. “There’s a piece missing.”

  An encrypted text displayed in Josh’s glasses. It was from Tim and said, “Where are you?”

  Josh replied, “Parents.’”

  Tim’s text came back, “Our sources say MSS converging on your location. Suggest you depart.”

  To Jessica, he said, “Just got word the police are coming. Gotta go. Is there a car I could borrow?”

  “But you need to stay and help me interrogate my dad.”

  “Love to, but if I stay, it won’t be your dad getting interrogated.”

  She nodded. “My rental’s out front.”

  Dr. Li came back with a slight smile. “That was my husband. He told me an American escaped from the police and might be on his way here to attack us. He said we should get away from the house and that the police are on their way.”

  Jessica looked down at her phone and said, “Uh oh.” Looking up, she added, “Suspicious of my father, I hacked into the house security system.” She handed it to Josh. “This is the surveillance camera view out of the front of the house.”

  Josh saw two black Audi A6s pull up in front and park on the other side of the street. Into his cyber glasses, he said, “Hal. Encrypted voice-text to Elton Musk.”

  “Ready.”

  “Can jetpack be flown remotely?”

  While he was waiting for a reply, Jessica handed him her car keys. “Sorry it’s a Chery QQ.”

  Josh looked at her blankly.

  “A jelly bean loosely disguised as a car.” She shook her head. “Not the best getaway vehicle.”

  Musk texted back, “Download a universal drone control app. Jetpack’s Wi-Fi access code is ‘grok.’”

  Josh handed his phone to her. “Put your security camera app on mine and give me your phone.”

  While she was installing it on his phone, he downloaded the remote control app to hers and went back out into the courtyard. He tipped the jetpack up on its tripod legs and hit the start button. As the turbine spooled up, he went back in the house and looked at the display on Jessica’s phone. He saw a dark, fuzzy video picture of himself looking out the courtyard window toward the jetpack. “Excellent!” The jetpack had a small camera mounted on it to fly it remotely.