The Phoenix Conspiracy by Richard L. Sanders Read Free Book Online Page B

over to
us."
    "So how do we handle this?"
    "It's kind of a sensitive balance,
Calvin. And, quite frankly, you wouldn't be my first choice. I mean
you're skilled enough to do the hunt, but there's a diplomatic
aspect here that I need you to be careful about. No offense, of
course."
    "None taken."
    "But, as you said, you're the closest.
And we have to get after the Harbinger before the trail gets any
colder."
    "Say the word, Director." Calvin
nodded. "And we'll power up the Nighthawk and find it."
    "That's another thing," Jack sounded
angry. "They have the Nighthawk in lockdown and won't release it.
Like they didn't want us to preempt their jurisdiction and chase
after the Harbinger without their consent. I don't know why they
thought we'd get in the way."
    "Yeah, that's very... interesting,"
said Calvin. "Almost like they wanted the Harbinger to have a head
start."
    "Now don't get carried away. The Fifth
Fleet managed to attack the Harbinger, but it slipped through their
fingers. They don't want it to get away. Why would
they?"
    "No reason I can think of."
    "Don't worry, it's being taken care
of," said Jack. "So get your crew and get aboard. We're sending all
the release orders and I think we're mostly on the same page now.
When I give you the go ahead, I want you to launch and get to
work."
    "What's the ETA on that?"
    "Maybe an hour. Hopefully
less."
    "You're killing me. I could get my
crew ready to launch in fifteen minutes."
    "It's a bad situation, but we have to
work with it. Remember, it's very important that you don't step on
the toes of the Fifth Fleet. I'll work my angle from here to make
sure they don't hamper the investigation too much. But stay out of
their way, do what they want, and let me worry about it,
okay?"
    "Yes, sir," said Calvin. He hated red
tape, especially when it served no purpose but to get in the way.
"In the meantime, Jack, can you send me everything you have on the
Harbinger? I want to look it over? Manifest, personnel files, last
known position and heading, everything."
    "Yeah, we'll transfer everything we
have to the Nighthawk's computer. Do you have the latest decryption
software aboard?"
    "I'd have to ask Shen, but I think so.
They did some updates when we first made port."
    "Good. And Calvin... don't let me
down."
    "I never do. But there's another
problem. I'm short an officer; the Fifth Fleet stole my XO. Can I
have him back?"
    "No but thanks for reminding me." Jack
cleared his throat again. "As part of our agreement with Fleet
Command you're taking a Navy Officer aboard as your XO."
    " What? " Calvin didn't even try to hide
his surprise. "That makes no sense. He won't know anything about
the ship or how our operations work."
    "There isn’t any available Intel Wing
staff at Praxis to fill the role. And your new officer is a she,
not a he."
    " Whatever .”
    Jack gave him a hard look. "I don’t
think I like your tone."
    "Sorry, sir. I only meant that the
more restrictions I have to deal with the harder it will be to
conduct this investigation."
    "Would you rather be tracking finance
accounts from behind a desk on Capital World?"
    "Point taken, sir."
    "I understand your grievances but
you'll just have to deal with them. Get your new XO up to speed so
you can use her. As long as you keep her happy and involved,
that'll make everything easier with the Fifth Fleet."
    Calvin resisted the urge to complain
again. The fact that Intel Wing had to cater to Fleet Command just
to do their job was ludicrous. Intel Wing never went to the Fleet
Admirals to demand they deploy their squadrons in different ways.
Why should the Fleet get any say on how an intelligence
investigation is conducted?
    "And as the final term of our
compromise, any reports you make will have to be simulcast to both
me and Vice Admiral Harkov of the Fifth Fleet. She will be
following the investigation from Fleet Command's side."
    "I have to report to Fleet
Command?"
    "Yes. And it's very important that you
send us the reports