Dark reckoning, p.25
Dark Reckoning, page 25
After verifying their passports, the woman who called herself Brooke led them out to her rental car. She placed their light luggage in the trunk then drove them to a private hangar on the periphery of the airport, where they boarded a white Bombardier Global 5000 business jet.
The plane was piloted by two men. One of them remained largely out of sight, while the other doubled as a flight attendant. Drenna thought she recognized the latter man from a few trips she had taken in the past. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to know who she was. That or he had decided to keep his mouth shut.
In terms of space and comfort, they couldn’t have asked for a better aircraft. The Bombardier’s luxurious cabin was filled with two rows of plush leather seats that could accommodate a dozen passengers or more. At the rear of the space was a large table that could be used for dining or an in-flight meeting. Even though hot meals weren’t served, the pilot pointed out a refrigerator and cabinet that were filled with an assortment of food and drink.
The long journey to the Caribbean took almost twenty-four hours. After a brief stop in London to refuel, the Bombardier made the overnight crossing to Joint Base Andrews outside of DC. Once they were on the ground, Brooke told Drenna and Mei there would be a two-hour layover. The two travelers decided to take a long walk around the base to stretch their legs and get some sun. When they got back to the aircraft, they discovered that the previous pilots had been replaced by a fresh crew, a man and a woman. Drenna didn’t recognize either one.
Drenna spent most of the final leg to Sint Maarten napping. The plane made its final approach to the Princess Juliana International Airport shortly after one in the afternoon. The runway at Princess Juliana was famous because landing aircraft passed about forty yards above Maho Beach in the moments before touching down. Tourists often gathered on the sand to watch the spectacle repeat itself throughout the day.
After executing a smooth landing, the pilots directed the Bombardier into a large hangar near the east end of the tarmac. As the door closed behind them, Drenna noticed another plane parked next to them. She guessed it belonged to the US military officials who had come for the NATO meeting.
Drenna and Mei retrieved their bags from a locker at the rear of the plane then bid farewell to the pilots. As they headed for the exit, Drenna felt a sense of relief wash over her. The long journey had finally come to an end. After disembarking, they would be transported to the Sonesta Maho Beach Resort. According to online maps, the resort was only a five-minute drive from the airport.
Brooke exited the craft with them. As they went down the air stairs, Drenna saw Jack Slavin and another man approaching from the rear of the hangar. Jack wore beige cargo pants and an olive T-shirt that stretched across his muscular frame. His handsome face seemed more tan than usual, which wasn’t surprising in light of his recent time in Key Largo.
Her gaze shifted to the man at Jack’s side. He was young, perhaps late twenties or early thirties. He had close-cropped blond hair and was dressed in khakis and a crisp white polo shirt. Even though he wasn’t wearing official garb, the man’s short hair and stern demeanor suggested he worked for the military.
Brooke went to Jack and shook his hand. “Good to see you.”
“Thanks for getting my friends here safely,” Jack said.
“They were well-behaved.” She nodded at the cargo hold. “Give us a few minutes, and we’ll unload your little present.”
“Thank you. The rear compartment is unlocked.”
Drenna could tell the two had met before. She could also tell that Brooke was attracted to the black-ops assassin. She guessed Jack got a lot of attention from the CIA’s female contingent.
As she walked off, Jack turned to Drenna and opened his arms. “Long time no see.”
Drenna stepped into his hug. “It has been a long time.” She stepped back and nodded at Mei. “As you probably guessed, this is Mei Kwan.”
Jack held out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you. Welcome to Sint Maarten.”
She shook the proffered hand. “It’s nice to meet you as well.”
“I’ll bet a month ago, you never could’ve imagined that you’d end up on a Caribbean island,” he added.
She smiled. “You’re certainly right about that.”
Realizing more introductions were in order, Jack gestured toward the blond-haired man standing next to him. “Ladies, this is Kyle Bender. Kyle is a systems engineer for DARPA. He and I have been working on the information you provided.”
“Jack and I go way back,” Bender said after shaking their hands.
“You never should’ve admitted to that,” Drenna said.
Bender smiled. “Don’t hold it against me.”
Jack gestured toward a modular office at the back of the hangar. “If we’re done with the comedy routine, why don’t we have a quick chat?”
As they moved toward the door, Drenna looked back at the plane. The pilots had come out and were helping Brooke unload a large metal case from the cargo hold. She had said it was a present, which probably meant a cache of weapons.
Jack came alongside her. “There has been a big development since you and I last spoke. I’ll give the two of you a quick briefing while they’re unloading my package.”
Drenna wondered what he was talking about. Had Chinese assets been spotted on the island? Had Owen Sutton shown his hand as a spy?
Bender held the door open for them to enter. The hangar’s office was about as bare-bones as one could get. The furnishings consisted of a tiny refrigerator, a work desk, and a long table with six chairs.
Once they were all seated, Jack looked at Drenna. “So, how was your flight?”
“I have to hand it to you,” she replied. “That might be the nicest aircraft I’ve ever taken on the agency’s dime. Usually, they put me on the little birds. That or I have to fend for myself and fly commercial.”
“The Bombardier Global 5000 is the largest plane in our fleet. To be honest, getting it was a stroke of good fortune. When I called my logistics specialist to see what we had in the area, he said an airplane had just dropped off several officials in Athens. He was able to reach the crew two hours before they were scheduled to fly back to the US. I don’t think the pilots were too happy about having to wait another day for you to arrive, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.”
“I’m sure they were able to find something to do in Athens,” Bender said.
Jack sat back in his chair and looked at Mei. “Speaking of the crew, I trust they treated you well.”
Drenna wished Jack would move things along. She didn’t mind a little small talk at the beginning of a meeting, but in this case, it seemed odd in light of the big development he had referred to earlier. Maybe he was trying to size up Mei before sharing anything sensitive.
“The entire experience was first-class,” Mei answered. “They never give us that kind of transportation in China. Then again, I wasn’t a top official, so maybe some travel that way.”
“Trust me, we don’t usually fly that way either. I live on commercial aircraft.” Jack turned to Drenna. “And how was your host?”
“Brooke?” Drenna thought for a moment. “She was nice. She mostly kept to herself, which was fine by me. She spent most of her time sleeping or pecking away on her laptop.”
Jack smiled. “I hope I’m not giving away any state secrets, but her real name is Christina. My logistics guy told me she’s a trainee. If she was on her computer for that long, then she was probably taking tests.”
Bender looked at Mei. “It’s an honor to meet you. I’m familiar with your work.”
Mei bowed her head slightly. “Thank you. I guess you’ve been keeping an eye on us.”
“Always,” Bender said with a slight grin. “And I’m sure the MSS keeps an eye on us as well.”
Mei nodded. “Yes, they do. In fact, China’s focus on the US borders on paranoia. It starts from the top and cascades down from there.”
“Oh, we can be guilty of a little paranoia as well,” Bender said.
Drenna shot Jack a look that signaled he needed to move on.
He gave her a quick nod of understanding. “I’m glad both of you had a good trip. I guess it’s time we got down to business.” He gestured at Bender. “First of all, I would trust Kyle with my life. Anything you say here is safe with him.”
Although Drenna respected Jack’s opinion, she rarely gave her complete trust to an individual she had just met. That said, she would give him the benefit of the doubt in light of the urgency of the situation.
“Kyle, why don’t you tell them a little bit about your background?” Jack said.
Bender cleared his throat. “I served a little time in the military then received an honorable discharge for a medical issue that ended my career. Once I was out, I pursued an electrical engineering degree at Texas A&M. I then worked in the private realm for a few years before eventually taking a job with the DOD back in 2018.”
“What do you do at DARPA?” Drenna asked.
“I work in R & D,” he answered. “Currently, I’m working on what we call the Manta Ray Project.”
Drenna frowned. “Ray as in the sea creature?”
He nodded. “We’re developing a submersible drone that is similar in appearance to the animal. The technical name for such a craft is uncrewed underwater vehicle or UUV.”
“Kyle told me a little bit about it,” Jack interjected. “What makes this UUV so special is that it’s virtually undetectable on radar. For all intents and purposes, it’s an invisible weapon.”
“I can tell you that Chinese military officials are quite concerned about that project,” Mei said. “They see it as a threat to our naval vessels in the South Pacific.”
“It would be a game changer in any war against Taiwan,” Jack said.
Mei nodded. “Again, the paranoia is off the charts.”
“So it’s an attack drone?” Drenna asked.
Bender nodded. “In part, yes. But the ray will be capable of many things. Surveillance. Transport. Communications.”
“Is it currently in operation?” Mei asked.
Bender smiled. “That’s something I can neither confirm nor deny.”
“I’m surprised you’ve shared as much as you have,” Drenna said.
“I haven’t told you anything that can’t be found by conducting a simple search online.”
Drenna nodded.
“In case you’re wondering, there’s a reason Kyle brought all of this up,” Jack said. “Owen Sutton is a consultant on the Manta Ray Project. In fact, Kyle has worked with him a bit.”
Drenna looked at Bender.
“I’ve worked with Owen, but we haven’t had a lot of contact,” he said. “He’ll occasionally get on a Zoom call to help us with the AI piece.”
Jack’s expression turned more serious. “After Drenna contacted me, I reached out to Kyle discreetly. I shared the information that was gleaned from the drive Mei provided. After hearing me out, Kyle shared your concerns. He ended up contacting an officer in DARPA’s internal investigation unit.”
“We don’t have much time, so I’ll just get right to the point,” Bender said. “After looking into the matter, the officer uncovered a few things that didn’t make sense. He believed they were red flags. His words, not mine.”
“Can you tell us what you found?” Drenna asked.
“I can’t share the bulk of our findings with you today.” Bender took a quick glance at Mei then shifted his gaze back to Drenna. “But one thing I can tell you is that there are deep concerns about Sutton’s wife.”
Jack leaned forward and put his elbows on the table. “He’s married to a Russian national named Katerina Murashov. She’s about twenty-five years younger than him, which carries with it the obvious concerns.”
Drenna didn’t need an explanation. There were always concerns when a younger Chinese or Russian woman was known to be involved with a US official, particularly if that official had access to classified information. While it was certainly possible that such relationships were harmless, in most cases, the heavy smoke indicated a fire.
“Just to be clear, it’s not just the fact that he married a younger Russian woman,” Bender continued. “We tried to trace her background in Russia, and she doesn’t really have one.”
“That is odd,” Drenna said. “So did you approach Sutton with the information you gathered?”
Jack and Bender exchanged a quick glance.
“No, we didn’t,” Jack finally said. “And even if we wanted to, it’s not possible now.”
Drenna’s brow furrowed. “I don’t understand.”
“Owen Sutton went missing this morning.”
Chapter 42
Silence fell over the room.
Dozens of questions swirled in Drenna’s mind. Did Owen Sutton disappear before coming to Sint Maarten? Or did he vanish at some point after arriving? If the latter, she wondered if local authorities had found any evidence of foul play.
Jack was the first to speak. “Let’s back up a moment. Kyle, why don’t you tell them what led up to Sutton’s disappearance?”
“I believe Jack has already told you that this is a conference on artificial intelligence,” Bender began.
Drenna and Mei nodded.
“Attendees have been arriving at the resort throughout the week,” he continued. “Some came early to enjoy a little sun before the meetings began in earnest. Owen Sutton and his family arrived two days ago.”
Drenna frowned. “You said family. Do Sutton and his wife have children?”
“Twin boys,” Jack said.
“Today was supposed to be the first full day of meetings and presentations,” Bender said. “Our event organizer woke up at about six this morning. After making coffee in her room, she realized she had a voicemail from Owen. In the message, he indicated that he and his family had come down with a mild case of food poisoning and said he wouldn’t be making it to any of the meetings. He said he might join the proceedings tomorrow if he felt better.”
“Obviously, the US team was concerned about his health, so one of them went up to the room to check on them,” Jack said. “All four were gone.”
Before Drenna could react, a loud buzz sounded across the table.
Bender removed his phone and stared at the screen. “Sorry, but I need to take this.”
“Sure,” Jack said.
Bender held the phone to his ear as he stepped outside.
Once the door was closed, Drenna looked at Jack. “Do you think there’s a reasonable explanation for Sutton and his family disappearing? Maybe they went to a local urgent care.”
Jack shook his head. “They checked all the ones in the area, as well as the hospital. And they weren’t able to reach them on their phones either. What are the odds that Sutton and his wife both had their devices turned off?”
Drenna nodded.
“Do you think he defected?” Mei asked.
“I’m trying to keep an open mind,” he replied. “But I have to admit that’s the first thing that crossed my mind.”
Drenna frowned. “The timing doesn’t make sense.”
“What do you mean?” Jack asked.
“Let’s assume Sutton is secretly working for the Chinese. We know that MSS is sending at least two operatives to Sint Maarten. With that in mind, I think it’s fair to assume Sutton came down here to gather information from our NATO allies, perhaps some new technology related to artificial intelligence. After gathering that information, he could pass it along to his handlers.” Drenna paused. “So why defect before the meetings have even started?” Drenna asked.
Jack sighed. “Maybe he already got what he needed. Maybe someone gave him access to something they were working on. At this point, who knows? There are more questions than answers.”
“You may be right about that. I guess we’ll just have to look into—”
Before she could finish, Bender burst into the room, his expression one of deep concern. “We need to get going. They’ve found something on CCTV that may shed light on what happened to Sutton.”
Bender led the others out of the hangar. A dark-gray Range Rover Sport with tinted windows was parked outside the door. As Bender loaded their bags into the rear compartment, Drenna noticed the large metal case from the plane had already been placed there. With the Chinese likely on the ground, she was thankful they would have some weapons to use if things got ugly.
Once the bags were put away, everyone piled into the upscale SUV. Bender got behind the wheel, while Jack took the passenger seat next to him. Drenna and Mei sat in the rear. After briefly checking something on his phone, Bender started the Range Rover and drove to a nearby gate, which opened automatically. Once they were through, he turned west on Airport Road.
Drenna stared out the window. A craggy ridge lined with palm trees flashed by on their right. She had visited the French side of the island once before, but that trip had been brief. She had flown in one afternoon to interview an informant then out the following morning. The one thing that had stuck in her mind about the place was the beautiful contrast between the lush green mountains and the sky-blue waters.
Jack looked over his shoulder. “Fortunately, the resort is only two miles away. We’ll be there soon.”
Drenna nodded then said, “Kyle, I believe you said they found some footage that may relate to Sutton’s disappearance. Did they provide any more details?”
He met her gaze in the mirror and shook his head. “All I know is that Sonesta’s head of security found something on CCTV that could give us a clue as to what happened. My boss hasn’t even reviewed the footage yet. He’s going to wait until we get back so we can all watch it together.”
Drenna wondered whether the footage would confirm that Sutton was working with the Chinese.
“As you can imagine, the security personnel at the resort are a bit rattled,” Jack said. “They’re not used to something like this.”
