Plain and simple, they got smoked.
By the time they topped Jackson Hill and the helicopter waiting there for them, they’d all been hit by paintball rounds multiple times.As for Darwin, he looked like a piece of modern art covered head to toe in orange splats of color.It felt disgusting, not to mention embarrassing as hell.
Darwin and the other guys didn’t say a word on the short trip to the flight line.Instead, they all sat in the helicopter, regaining their breath from the sprint up Jackson Hill.
“What the hell were we facing out there?”Lennox finally said over the hum of the copter’s rotors, his thoughts mirroring Darwin’s.
“As maneuverable as the thing was, it has to be a quad- or octo-copter,” Colt murmured.“But if so, it’s the fastest and quietest one I’ve ever heard of.”
“And the way it responded to our changes in tactics?”Dean shook his head.“It’s like the operator knew what we were going to do before we did.It has to be another SEAL in the driver’s seat.No one else could anticipate what we’d do.”
The mission outbriefing was similar to the first one they’d had, with the lead engineer, Giles Chambers, leading the Q&A session.It was the same stuff as before, with the engineers wanting to know what they’d seen and heard, what they’d thought during the mission, why they’d taken the actions they had, and how they might do things differently next time.
When Darwin and his Teammates wanted to know how the Genesis platform had been able to navigate under the trees the way it had and then move away so quickly, Giles and the other engineers avoided anything that sounded like a direct answer.The only thing they’d say was that Genesis had never been hit by any of their MILES shots.They also confirmed the drone hadn’t been guided by a SEAL or anyone else in the military.
Darwin tried to press for answers––more out of frustrated curiosity than anything else––but nothing was forthcoming.Five minutes later, the briefing ended with a vague reference to them being called back sometime for the third and final phase of the Genesis test program.As bad as phase two had been, Darwin wasn’t looking forward to phase three, especially since it was implied there’d be live ammo involved this time.Hopefully, the testing wouldn’t get in the way of the wedding coming up soon.
After cleaning up and changing clothes, Darwin and his Teammates headed to the flight line, and the helicopter waiting to take them back to Coronado.This time, Darwin walked more slowly, keeping most of his attention on the hangar housing the Genesis drone.His effort was rewarded when he caught sight of a dozen men and women in suits standing off to the side of the hangar doors, chatting eagerly with Giles.
And right there in the middle of the group were two very familiar people––Silas Forbes and Harold Thompson.Suddenly, it all made sense.The two people from the wedding he’d been sure he’d seen somewhere before were two faces in the crowd of people he’d caught a glimpse of the first time he and the guys had been here.He couldn’t believe he hadn’t figured it out before now, but in his defense, Silas and Harold had simply been random faces in the crowd.
“What’s up?”Lennox asked as they took their seats for the short flight back to Coronado.
“Remember those two guys I told you about from the wedding––Silas and Harold?”Darwin said as the helicopter took off and thumped its way into the sky.“I just saw both of them in the hangar with the Genesis drone.I don’t know why I didn’t realize it before, but they’re somehow involved with this program.”
“You think Arthur had something to do with the Genesis project as well?”Colt asked, leaning forward so he could talk without the crew chief hearing.
“I overheard Arthur arguing with Silas, Harold, and Rhett about trying to back out of a deal they’d already signed,” Darwin said.“Arthur specifically said it was something dangerous that could get them killed.A couple hours later, he’s dead, and everyone is acting like they don’t even know who he is.Now, we find out Silas and Harold are part of a classified Navy weapon program that’s probably worth millions of dollars.The idea that Davis wasn’t involved in Genesis as well is hard to believe.”
“So, your working theory is that someone is trying to, what, get out of the contract they signed with the Navy to develop the Genesis drone?”Dean asked.“Why would they do that, unless they think they can sell it to someone else?”
“I have no idea what’s going on,” Darwin admitted.“It could be that, or I could be completely wrong about all of this.”
“Should we tell Seth?”Lennox asked.“Though honestly, I’m not sure if we have enough to convince him of anything yet.”
They all batted that idea around for a while, finally deciding Lennox was right.They had nothing Seth would accept as proof, just a bunch of conjecture and wild conspiracies.
“While my gut is saying there’s definitely something going on with Silas, Harold, Upton, and Katrina’s brother and father, I think all we can do right now is wait until Kyla finishes her background checks on everyone involved and see what she uncovers,” Darwin said with a sigh.“I’ll sniff around a little more and see if I can eavesdrop on some more conversations.Then we’ll take it from there.”
“Be careful,” Trace warned.“One man is already dead, and if you’re right about this being some million-dollar scheme to steal from the Navy, the people behind it sound like they’ll kill anyone who gets in their way.”
“I won’t do anything dangerous,” Darwin promised.“Not when Katrina would also be at risk.I don’t want any of this to get near her.”
Simon and the other guys let him know that if he needed help, they’d be there.
“All you have to do is call,” Simon added.
Chapter eleven
“Oh,honey,Ididn’trealize you were having breakfast alone.”
Katrina looked up from her phone and the romance book she was reading on it, avocado toast poised in her hand, to see her mom standing beside her table in the resort’s go-to restaurant for breakfast, a concerned look on her face.She sat down across from Katrina, smiling and nodding when the server hurried over to ask if she wanted to order something.
“A cup of Earl Grey, please.And an egg white omelet with spinach.Thank you.”She turned her attention to Katrina.“I heard Darwin left.Did you and he break up?”
Amazingly, Katrina waited for the server to place her mother’s tea on the table and then leave before answering.It was a near thing, though.
“As much as I know you’d love that, no, Darwin and I didn’t break up,” she said, proud of herself for not snapping at her mom.“He had to go to Coronado yesterday afternoon to take care of work stuff.He’s already texted to let me know he’s on his way back.”
