THE ENEMY WITHIN

THE ENEMY WITHIN Chapter 12

12.

Kitamura considered the most recent meteorological reports, but all he needed to do was look outside to see the weather menace closing in. Storm clouds crept toward the Kennedy Space Center threatening to derail the launch. The Colonel trashed the report without reading it. He wouldn't deviate from his launch plans.

Down below, Kitamura watched men and women scrambling through final preparations for Trailblazer's launch. Did they understand the gravity of the mission? Did they know that they were prepping to destroy the first ship that had braved the galaxy to come to earth? Would they complete their tasks if they did? Overseeing their work made Kitamura feel just slightly worse than despicable. But he still had come up empty in the search for Max.

On the opposite wall sat the map Kitamura had set up displaying the most recent sightings of Max and his companions. There were multiple confirmations of four riders in random locations, which made no sense whatsoever. Kitamura's cell phone flashed - another sighting. He put a pushpin in the map suggesting a Northwestern route toward California. They were either driving in circles or something was very off in their Intel.

Jasper spit his chewing tobacco into a cup. "They're sending us everywhere except where they're going. How does that happen?"

Kitamura eyed the numerous thumbtacks. "Either there's been a series of false positive sightings or they're changing direction without any sense of purpose." Neither of those options seemed likely.

"Yeah, not buying." Jasper sat back on the table. "So what's really going on?"

The last possibility was the most frightening. "Perhaps they have some means to project a false impression of their direction. The receiver of that impression calls in the opposite or something close to it."

"So the question is," Jasper said, eyeing the map, "putting aside whether that's possible, which way don't they want us to look?"

Kitamura returned to the map. "There's a pattern to the sighting. North, northwest, northeast, and southwest - nothing to the southeast through Nevada."

Jasper nodded. "So they're probably heading down to Utah or maybe Arizona. They're using back roads to stay out of sight and want to control the ride."

Kitamura couldn't deny that there was something clever about the approach. The four had taken the cat and mouse game to a higher level. "In case they need to make a quick escape, they can scatter with some arranged meeting place down the road."

"Our net has to catch all four. Can't take the chance that one alone is just as dangerous." Jasper went to the window to observe the final pre-launch machinations. "We need to force them from the road. Make them feel another means of travel is safer."

Kitamura took out a red pencil considering the options. "We could set up roadblocks through this region, focusing on back roads, flush them out. But we don't know what they're willing to do to avoid getting caught."

"Looks like they're trying to fly under the radar, avoid detection. Stealth seems to be their game. So use that against them," Jasper said.

They wouldn't fly. The four would never take the risk of airport security. And if they could charter a plane, they would have done so already. Kitamura went back to the map considering all the options to get them off the road. The approach was so clear and simple he was amazed he didn't think of it before. When he looked back at Jasper, he found himself hesitant to voice the concept. There were repercussion variables at play that were beyond his control. But his eyes betrayed him.

"You've got something, Lieutenant. Don't be shy," Jasper said.

"I want to make certain that it solves more problems than it creates."