Crow's Gambit Read online

  Relenting, she moved back and leaned on the edge of her desk. Taking the time now she studied the young naval officer. Routine ribbons for high performance and efficiency adorned his uniform. Surprisingly though there were no expeditionary or theatre ribbons showing actual combat experience.

  An arctic service ribbon with the N denoting nuclear deterrence service was present, however. That was interesting and she made a mental note to investigate further what it implied.

  “Do you have some specific information or allegation to make against Mr. Darrow? Or do you just not like him because he’s wealthy?”

  A slight pink flush came to his face.

  Struck a nerve there, she noted.

  “We have confirmed reports he has had high level conversations with representatives of both the United Kingdom and Japanese governments.” His face looked smug at the announcement. “I shouldn’t have to remind you our relations with the United Kingdom have been somewhat strained since we didn’t back them in the Gibraltar Conflict.”

  “I am well aware of the current geopolitical situation in the world.” Unfortunately, given those two countries she was also aware of what Darrow was digging for. “Lieutenant, you’ve placed me in an awkward position. The matter to which you are referring is of the utmost delicacy and something I am not at liberty to discuss with you. You will not speak of it again to anyone or—”

  “Excuse me, sen—” the young man tried to interrupt.

  “Or I will have you arrested and confined under the Defense Secrets Act! Do I make myself clear?”

  He didn’t reply at first, his mouth hanging open in shock. “Ma’am, I work for the Joint Chiefs of Staff,” he protested.

  “Yes, but you are not one of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. If the admiral would like to discuss this issue with me, he can get off his ass and come here himself. Otherwise, the matter is closed.”

  “But senator, Darrow is a...” The young man’s voice trailed off, realizing he was about to go too far.

  “Yes, lieutenant? Darrow is a what?” Her tone was icy.

  “Well he’s a ... a robber baron, ma’am.” The way he looked down at the floor now reminded her of a small child who was in trouble with the teacher.

  “Oh, that.” She moved back to her chair in relief. Taking a seat, she leaned back and tried to appear relaxed.

  The economic disarray after Net-Day had affected everyone in one way or another. The stock market losses were enormous and the short-term unemployment rates were unprecedented.

  Only a few got through unscathed and even fewer came out ahead.

  Many people still hadn’t recovered.

  However, a small group managed to carve out or piece together multi-industry conglomerates. Economic fiefdoms able to shape or otherwise ride the wave of the following recovery. They made billions and replaced several of the former corporate powerhouses. Many people who had less resented their success and feared their newfound power.

  “Don’t tell me you’re a Conspiracist, lieutenant.” She knew there were many theories being spread the so called “robber barons” couldn’t have been so successful on their own. They must have had inside information either from government sources, or in the more fantastical stories, from the Sylph themselves.

  “Well, no ma’am.”

  The hesitation spoke louder than the actual answer. Not a full blown Conspiracist, but the young man had been influenced by one of the philosophies prevalent during the last decade.

  One of the Illuminati groups who feared a secret cabal was trying to control the world—ironically close to the truth—had influenced his youth.

  “Lieutenant,” she paused to find the right words. “I’m sure Darrow isn’t a perfect person. There are things in his past that walk the line of legal and ethical behavior. However, trust me when I say he’s loyal to the United States and her interests.”

  The young man frowned for a moment, considering. Finally, he stood. “If that’s how you feel. Is there a message you would like me to give the admiral?”

  “Yes. Tell him we all have black sheep in our flocks. He’ll understand what it means.”

  Touching a control, she deactivated the security seal. A moment later, her assistant opened the door to escort the lieutenant out.

  Alone again in her office, she sat pondering for several minutes. Things were moving fast now and could unravel at any moment. If they were all lucky, Darrow would be able do what he had promised. However, it would take more than luck to keep him from getting in trouble with the Brits. She was sure what rock he was looking under.

  She tapped the control for the intercom. “Vivek, get me Peter Darrow.”

  “Darrow coming online,” Vivek replied after a moment.

  “What can I do for you Senator?” Darrow’s voice was muffled. Probably in the middle of a meeting. Of course, it was possible he slept during the night.

  “The admiral is getting jittery. We need to move up our schedule.”

  “Speed increases our chances for failure or open conflict with the Sylph.” His voice was more alert now.

  “Funny how you can distinguish between those two things.” The Senator reclined in her chair. “Our window of opportunity is closing. We might not get another one for... A hundred years? If ever.”

  Seconds ticked away silently. “All right. I’ve got a contingency that might help speed things up. It’s not guaranteed though.”

  “Well, if things go sideways... I’m sure we can get cells next to each other in Leavenworth.”

  “Senator, if things go sideways neither of us will make it to Leavenworth.”

  “What’s the matter Darrow? You plan to live forever?”

  “Actually...”

  “Keep me updated.” She closed the call. Leaning forward she stared at her empty teacup. “Vivek,” she called. “Do we have any bourbon?”

  “Ma’am?”

  She let out a weary sigh. “I asked you to bring me another cup of tea.”

  Chapter 3

  SWEEPING LOW OVER THE landscape, the drone’s wake turbulence ripped leaves from the trees it passed. The turbofan engine thrummed with a low bass which startled wildlife. At least they wouldn’t be able to report the illegal flying activity. The same couldn’t be said for the locals—a solid reason for Cassie to steer away from major roads and concentrations of people.

  Of course, the orbiting Sylph spheres were another matter. If she flew only a few inches too high they would detect her. Then the drone would quickly become nothing but a sparkling after image when they vaporized it. Which was precisely why Cassie made sure the drone hugged the contours of the land. Especially since it didn’t belong to her and its owner would be displeased if it was destroyed.

  Cameras and LIDAR laser beams on the nose and wings of the drone recorded images of the landscape ahead. Sensors throughout the drone measured system variables and aircraft status. The resulting data stream was transmitted to a nearby cellular tower whose security protocols had been bypassed.

  The data passed node to node until it reached its destination, a small rented office in the suburbs of Minneapolis, where Cassie sat in front of a bank of computer monitors wearing a VR headset. It supplied an immersive version of a heads-up display, integrating and preprocessing all the drone’s information.

  "Maybe we should take the speed down a notch?" Lizzy’s voice popped into her ear.

  "Can't do it Lizzy. If the shipment doesn't get there on time, we don't get paid." Her savings was growing, but it was still too small to pay her way back into the university. If she didn’t start making money soon, she’d end up working in Mrs. Gardner’s kitchen forever.

  She tightened her hands around the two specially designed haptic joysticks, which allowed her to direct the flight of the drone. She’d spent hours honing her reflexes to react instantaneously to unexpected obstacles—like the hawk which had just appeared without warning in the drone’s path. The drone seemed to bobble slightly as it veered away. They were doing fine.
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  Cassie knew her style of flying made Lizzy nervous. The paths she followed were slightly erratic and the way she handled the controls unorthodox. Lizzy often expressed surprise she was able to keep the drone in the air. But Lizzy was simply too cautious. That’s why she was a good remote interface operator, or RIO.

  It was the RIO's job to check the communications links and plot the path for the drone, anticipating trouble and steering her clear of it. At just over two-hundred miles per hour, the pilot had little to no reaction time even with the aid of the artificial intelligence autopilot. The RIO tried to plot a path that was fast, close to the ground, and above all—avoided the potential for detection and arrest.

  "There's a riverbed coming up on your ten o'clock. You should be able to drop just below the tree line and follow it until we're past the highway," Lizzy announced.

  A glowing triangle icon appeared on the virtual display showing her where to go.

  “Got it, thanks.”

  This was their fourteenth job as a team and the two of them worked well together. They'd originally met on an online multi-player flight simulator, one of the simulators hosted on the underground net, away from prying government eyes. The two of them had hit if off instantly and started flying missions together in the game. It wasn't long after they took their first barnstorming job together.

  After Net-Day, barnstormers helped fill the void left by the demise of commercial air freight. True to their historical namesakes they flew low, fast, and some would say recklessly. Carrying small packages, they could make deliveries over several hundred miles faster than trucks. Unfortunately, they couldn't always avoid detection, by either humans or the Sylph.

  There had been several cases of a drone taking off someone’s roof or ripping out a high voltage power line. Cassie knew the flaming wreckage of a drone shot down by the Sylph stoked public fear. In response, the government had deemed barnstorming a public safety risk and strictly outlawed it.

  Cassie banked the drone smoothly into the stream bed and continued flying only a few feet off the ground. The rocky path was wide enough to suit her, but its course continued to bend right and left with few long-range vantages. She knew the biggest danger was coming around a bend and finding something unexpected in your path. The transmission lag would slow her response time even more, and while the automatic avoidance software would help keep the drone safe, it wasn't smart to let it have too much control.

  The goal was to deliver the package to a freighter in Duluth before it departed. Getting it there faster meant a bigger bonus. To do that barnstormers knew to stay as low as possible, relying on luck more than skill to manage the inherent risk.

  She turned a bend and a fisherman appeared on the screen without warning. The drone increased its height fractionally to avoid him.

  "Crap Cassie! Did you notice you just tried to take the head off a fisherman?"

  "I noticed."

  "Hope you didn't royally piss him off. The last thing we need is a flight advisory on us."

  "The drone belongs to Thomas. Untraceable. Zero markings. Most of the parts were custom manufactured without serial numbers. The turbofan engine has sound and infrared minimization installed. Even if the fisherman did get a look at the it—unlikely at the speed we’re going—he’d be unable to provide enough information to track it down.”

  Barnstormers had become this generation’s amalgamation of the previous maker and hacker sub-cultures combined with a greater desire to make money.

  "Okay, decision time. The lake is coming up," Lizzy intoned in her ear. "We won’t lose contact with the eLORAN navigation towers, but we might lose communications. I’m running an encrypted channel on a hack into the regional microwave towers. Their signal strength isn’t great over large bodies of water. Take the longer route following the towers or cut across the lake?"

  "Lake. It's faster." Lakes in Minnesota may be big, but Cassie knew if they lost signal the autopilot should get the drone across. They would pick up the connection on the other side.

  A quiet moment followed which she recognized as Lizzy saying a silent prayer. "Updated flight plan on your way." New triangles appeared, laying out a route over the lake. "Up your elevation a few feet and try to stay as close to the eastern shore as you can. Maybe the signal won't break up so bad."

  The drone sped across the surface of the lake while Cassie watched the signal strength out of the corner of her eye. It jumped erratically but maintained a marginal connection. As the drone neared the opposite shore, she pulled up a magnified image and began scanning for people on the shore. She had no desire to buzz anymore fishermen. Something caught her attention and she zoomed in.

  "Dammit! Two o'clock."

  "I see it. Looks like a freight train. It's not on the schedule. Must’ve been delayed. They're going to spot us."

  Cassie lowered the drone to the lake's surface, dropping the speed to keep from creating a contrail. Making the delivery on time was one thing. Going near a moving train was something else. Given the renewed importance of railroads, Congress had passed the Federal Transportation and Railroad Act. Interfering with the operation or safety of a train became a federal offense with especially stiff penalties.

  She didn't know what Leavenworth Penitentiary might be like, but Kansas didn't sound fun. It sounded hot.

  Without warning black dots filled her display. A thud jolted her through the haptic feedback system of the joysticks. Yellow and red alarm indicators started flashing on the peripheral screens as she struggled to maintain control.

  "Bird strike!" Lizzy yelled in her ear. "You scared up a flock of geese. Evade!" Bird strikes had been known to take down larger aircraft than the drone before Net-Day. They were just lucky it hadn’t been a direct hit on the engine intake.

  Time moved in slow motion for Cassie. The drone's systems indicated damage to the port control surfaces. The fly-by-wire control system tried to adapt and reconfigure, but not fast enough. She pushed the joystick hard left to avoid another bird. The drone barely responded. Peripherally she watched the weak signal warning flash. They were losing their connection to the drone.

  Another bird appeared right in front of them, but her joysticks had gone dead. The drone's onboard avoidance system kicked in too slowly to prevent more damage. The autopilot, desperate to escape, increased power and pulled into a steep climb.

  "No!" She yanked back hard, but the controls refused to respond to her touch.

  "Cassie you're climbing too fast! Watch your elevation, watch your..."

  A momentary flash filled the screen as the sensors spiked and died. The projected terrain went blank and soon a "Connection Terminated" message flashed.

  She banged her head against the head rest.

  "Well, that was dramatic." A pop-up window opened, showing Lizzy at her own control unit. "I'm guessing a Sylph X-ray laser. At least there won't be much left of the drone for them to identify. I'll send our employer your regrets." Barnstorming contracts carried a strict no refunds policy. Still, a reliable reputation was what got you contracts. Getting your client's shipment vaporized wasn't a resume builder.

  "Forget the employer. Thomas is going to be pissed." She slumped back in her seat.

  "Yeah, he's probably going to want us to pay for the drone, isn't he?"

  Without the money to build her own, Cassie had to rent or borrow them from Thomas. He had his fingers in most of the illegal drone activity in the Twin Cities region.

  "Don't worry about it, Lizzy. It's on me.” The pilot bore the responsibility for the drone's safe return. “I don’t think Thomas will bother with you.”

  “Watch out for him. He’s dangerous.”

  She couldn’t agree more.

  While Thomas had some of the best tech in the field, doing business with him involved risks. Volatile and easily angered, she didn’t think he was emotionally stable. There were unpleasant rumors about how he dealt with competitors and those who owed him money. The rumors typically involved outlawed electroshoc
k and magnetic induction weapons.

  “I’ve got it covered,” she lied, not knowing how she was going to handle Thomas. “You better lay low for a while. The engineers on the train probably saw the flash and reported it. The Feds will be backtracking the signal soon."

  "Already scrubbing my digital tracks. You know how to find me. Good luck with Thomas."

  The window shut thrusting Cassie back into the world of the cheaply furnished office. Just one of many similar locations around the Twin Cities where barnstormers rented time. The sites tended to move around and were found where high bandwidth data networks existed—primarily near VR conference centers, investment companies, or insurance firms. Never any staff on site and no questions asked.

  She initiated a log wipe of the control system and shut things down, careful not to leave any physical trace of her presence. The VR headset belonged to her, her own custom creation. She carefully packed it in her backpack. The door locked behind her and she headed for the lobby. Pulling up the city transportation app on the flexible computer tablet wrapped around her wrist, she scanned for a nearby bus. With luck, she could still get to work before her shift started.

  She gazed at her surroundings as she hopped on the bus. No signs of panic. No explosions or flashes from the sky. It looked like their drone hadn’t instigated a full-scale attack from the Sylph.

  So, there’s a positive takeaway for the day.

  The AI controlled autobus dropped her off near the university campus, a few blocks from home. She was running late. Tonight, she had a shift at the sandwich shop Mrs. Gardner owned. It didn’t pay much but it came with free food and Mrs. Gardner had been so nice to her since Grandpa died.

  Cassie knew she’d needed more help than usual since her own husband had died. Flipping her backpack over her shoulders, she headed down the sidewalk before shortcutting through the alley. The back door of the kitchen stood open, the smell of warm bread fresh out of the oven drifting out.