Station Breaker

50 Secret Ops

Tyler surveys the crowd while I just stand here, leaning on the table, numb. In the past few hours I've had two men tell me stories about what this is about. While Vaughn was working hard to convince me and put me at ease, Tyler just scared the shit out of me.

I kept hoping all this would be worth it. But I didn't mean like this. A nuclear weapon in Low Earth Orbit would be more than a pretty light show. It would destroy half the satellites in space and send thousands of airplanes dropping from the sky. Not to mention the effect it could have on power grids, causing blackouts and plunging cities into chaos.

"You okay?" he asks.

"Still processing."

"Hell of an info dump. You're here because I asked my father and Peterson to find out if the K1 had a nuclear weapon onboard. And it would appear that it does…"

"What about Capricorn?"

"Someone whose job was to make sure you got to ground safely."

"And the person I was supposed to meet in Brazil?"

"In the hospital right now. Hit by crossfire at the stadium."

"Jesus Christ. Maybe if you told me more."

"Maybe if a lot of things were different."

I'm alive and he lost his father. "We should tell the world about this."

He shakes his head. "It's complicated. Zhirov controls the entire Russian space program. If we say this is about a nuclear weapon onboard the K1 the Russians will call us liars and Zhirov will make sure there's nothing to be found if the Russian president somehow gets access."

"But we could stop him from getting the next trigger."

"No. If we call Zhirov out on this right now and the Russian President shuts down their next launch, the K1 commanders will be able to improvise a trigger."

"What good would that do if their president knows that it was Zhirov's plot all long?"

"Politically? Nothing. But strategically, Zhirov could then resort to using it as a threat. If he detonates the bomb over the US or China, there's going to be hell to pay for Radin."

"That's insane." What madness is this?

"That's Russia. Zhirov knows once the shit hits the fan he's a dead man. That's why he's playing this for all he can. He already assumes that if Radin gets reelected and sweeps with his party, he'll be seeing the inside of a Russian prison, no matter what. He's got nothing to lose."

"Okay. I get it. The Russians are nuts. What's our play?"

Tyler stares down at his hands on the table. "I don't know. Silverback, the spy, we think he's controlled by Zhirov. And to be honest, there are people in our government who would be okay with this playing out if the detonation happens over a part of the world that doesn't speak English."

"China?"

"A Russian EMP could set back their industrial base a few years — at least their telecommunications. While that might be bad for iPhone factories, plenty of people in the Pentagon wouldn't cry over that."

"It could also start a war."

"Yes, but the aggrieved party would be severely handicapped. And the moment that bomb goes off, Zhirov or one of his pals will storm into Radin's office, place him under arrest and make peace with the rest of the world before the shooting starts."

"Christ. How do we fix this?"

"We're not totally alone. Peterson and my father had some help. I've got a trusted contact in the NRO. A few in the CIA and even a couple friendly Russians."

"Can I give you the square, so at least I'm out of the picture?"

"The moment I take possession of that they could come get me."

"You're a senator."

"With a husband and kids. Right now there's a black SUV parked at the end of my block. It's been there since the moment you guys docked at the K1 — before dad…" His voice falters for a moment. "I contacted the Secret Service about it and they tell me that they have no idea who it is, but they have government plates."

"You're being spied on?"

"I figure that I'm about to be served any moment with a warrant accusing me of espionage. It'll be bullshit. The DIA or somebody else will say I gave secrets to some ex-lover — chances are they've already paid one off. My name won't mean anything."

I nervously look around, afraid that he may have brought more trouble to me.

"Relax. I've got some friends with local law enforcement. There's a perimeter here."

"These guys kill cops."

"I know. That's why I have to ask you to take it a little further."

"I'm a wanted man. I might not be the best courier. Why not ask one of your cop friends?"

"I don't trust anyone that much. I need you to take it to a man who might be able to do something about it."

"The President?"

"No. Somebody with real power. His name is Markov."

"Sounds Russian."

"It is. But he's one of ours. He defected in the 70's. Since then he's been one of the most sought after analysts in the intelligence community. He's also probably one of the smartest people on the planet."

"And you trust him?"

"If Markov wanted to take over the world, I'd defect to his side.

"When he came over to us the Soviets put his family on a train and sent them off to Siberia to use as a bargaining chip. They died of cholera a month later in a gulag. The Russians fucked up big time on that one. They turned a mildly motivated defector into their worst enemy.

"Legend has it after the Berlin Wall came down Gorbachev called up Markov and said, 'You win.'"

"And you need me to bring the square to him?"

"This is a game I don't know how to play. I'm not sure anybody does. Markov is the only one who stands a chance."

"What the hell? What was your plan? Your dad is dead, so is Peterson. How did you see this playing out?"

He stares at me for a moment without blinking. "Dixon, go fuck yourself. My dad is dead because he believed in things more important than himself. We didn't have a plan. We had an opportunity we had to take. Dad knew it. Peterson knew it. If we waited, a lot more people were going to die. And they may still… I know this has been a rough…"

"Rough? You act like this is a fucking road trip."

"Well, you may see the end of this and live. Dad won't. Peterson won't."

Christ. "Don't lay that guilt on me. I didn't ask for this. I wasn't even supposed to be on that rocket."

People turn to look at us as my voice rises.

Tyler keeps his low. "No. You weren't. Robbie was."

"This should have been his problem," I say exasperated.

"It was going to be. Until dad changed his mind."

"Wait, what?"

"Robbie was in on it. But dad decided he didn't have what it took to see things through if it went to hell. He called me up and told me he was going to have Robbie back out so you could fly. Dad thought that even though you weren't military, you'd be the man to count on."

I shake my head. "Well, he chose wrong on that one."

"Are you kidding?" He stares me in the eye. "Are you seriously kidding me, David? Dad said you were the best pilot he ever met. Dad said you were the quickest thinker in a fix he ever met. Dad thought so much of you, holy shit, I wanted to be you."

"I never knew." This was a very different side of Bennet than the one I worked with.

"Of course not. The man could have given stone-face lessons to the Sphinx. You're more like dad than you realize. And you're the only person I trust to get it to Markov."

"Can't he come to me?"

"He's older than Yoda."

"Fuck." I groan. I'm in this too deep. I get it. "Fine. Where does he live?"

"Well, there's that. It was a condition of his defection. He wanted some place secure but not on government property… it's a private community inside Disney World."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."