12 - Nico #2
He’d never gotten one of Ari’s spy bracelets that blurred out how you appeared on camera.
It would have been useful, but things were always sort of tense with Ari, and Nico wasn’t going to ask.
So just in case anyone was looking at him through a security camera, he snapped a selfie with the satellite dishes behind him and got back in the car.
What Nico needed was an off-road vehicle, not a giant truck-sized SUV.
But it did have four-wheel drive, so he backtracked on Venus Station Road and made a left onto an unpaved access road about six hundred feet before NASA Road.
He kept his speed right around twelve miles an hour, slow enough to not kick up a plume of dust behind him.
His fingers tapped fast on the steering wheel as he drove so much slower than he wanted to.
But this road ran north about a half mile west of the guard gate, and it would get him there.
1709
Once he was safely past the guard gate, Nico merged north onto the paved Goldstone Road. Person of Interest—or at least the drone—hadn’t moved. But Nico was missing everything they were saying!
He sped up and in four miles got even with the signal, but it was west of him. Nico took the first left. A road sign read:
A POLLO
1.2 MILES
E LEVATION 3,038 F T .
It was another dirt road, but this time Nico didn’t care.
He sped along as the road bent right, then left, until up ahead he could see them: Three radio satellite dishes, each nine stories tall and fatter than two basketball courts side by side.
They loomed over the barren ridge of this Mojave Desert mountain, otherworldly. Another sign read:
UAS A IRFIELD
0.5 MILES
The signal from the hummingbird drone on Person of Interest’s car—stronger now—seemed to be at the farthest satellite dish.
Nico took the turn.
The Mustang was up ahead, parked by a dusty sedan in front of the squat DSS-26 entrance that led to the underground part of the giant satellite dish building. Person of Interest and Twangy were probably inside. How much time did Nico have?
He could see the hummingbird drone trapped by the license plate and cringed. Even if it was a gift, Byron wouldn’t be happy if Nico had broken his favorite drone.
Nico parked to the left of the Mustang and hustled out, just as two people came out of the building.
Fuck!
Person of Interest and Twangy spotted him. “Excuse me!” Twangy called out. “This is a secure area, not for tourists.”
Fuckity fuck fuck! Nico stopped with his back to them. He was only five feet away from grabbing the drone, but he couldn’t do it if they were watching.
Nico had his phone up, video on record as he circled in selfie mode. “Just grabbing a photo!” he called out.
He made sure to record their faces as he circled to get the satellite dishes behind him. He remembered how all those tourists on the cruise and at Club Azul acted, and flashed a peace sign at the camera to really look the part.
Twangy pointed back up the road. “DSS-16 and 17 are inactive, you can take photos there.”
Nico waved thanks and on purpose fumbled his phone, dropping it right behind the Mustang. He bent to get it from the dirt, hoping to snag the hummingbird drone, but Person of Interest darted over. “What are you doing there?”
Nico couldn’t let him see the back of the car.
“Being kind of clumsy, I guess.” Nico scooped his phone up along with a handful of the dusty topsoil and blew it all in Person of Interest’s direction. Coughing, the guy waved the dust away.
“Sorry about that,” Nico lied as Person of Interest gave him a nasty look and opened his driver’s door.
“I’ll be in touch,” Person of Interest said to Twangy as he got in his car.
About what? Nico wondered. But if Person of Interest was leaving, it was time for him to leave too. He’d have to grab the drone later.
“By the way,” Nico asked Twangy as he got into his own rental. “What’s UAS mean? UAS Airfield?”
“Unmanned Aircraft Systems,” Twangy answered.
Nico almost chuckled. Of course. Drones.
1716
Nico pulled into the access apron for DSS-16 and 17 and watched the blinking icon tracking Person of Interest’s car as it sped down the road backto Ft.
Irwin. He got out of the rental and took a few quick selfies to keep his cover, then hit the road to follow.
He’d keep a two-mile buffer between them.
1733
The sun had just set but there were no lights on in the little downtown as Nico passed through—not even streetlights.
It looked like Person of Interest was heading back to the army base airfield.
But then he stopped on the side of the road.
Barstow Road was a straight shot, and the only way Nico wouldn’t look suspicious was to just pass him.
As he drove by, he could see the guy was arguing with someone on his phone. How did he get his call through?
Once Nico was past a rise in the road and couldn’t be seen, he pulled into a gas station opposite the army base.
Might as well fill up while he kept an eye on Person of Interest. A handwritten sign taped to the pump said, W E H AVE A G ENERATOR AND G AS , I F Y OU H AVE C ASH .
Nico fished out one of the two emergency hundred-dollar bills Sam had insisted he keep in his wallet and headed into the office to pay. This qualified.
Walking back to the pump, Nico noticed a lot more activity at the army base now.
They had lights, probably from their own generators.
A lot of traffic in there, military cars, trucks, everyone rushing around, lots of yelling.
As Nico filled up, a bunch of cars started to come into the gas station, lining up behind him.
No one spoke, but the anxiety felt like it could all explode at any moment. Nico was sure it was the alien thing.
After gassing it up, Nico maneuvered the SUV off to the side to check on Person of Interest. Moving again, but back the other way. Nico got onto the road, realizing he had no idea how long this was going to take. He tried the satellite radio, but there was no signal.
1737
Nico watched the hummingbird drone’s icon stop in the downtown area. He backtracked and parked in a different grocery store parking lot, across the street from the Starlit Motel, where Person of Interest looked to be getting a room.
Person of Interest left the office with an old-fashioned metal key on a plastic keychain. Nico bet the guy had paid in cash.
Nico saw Person of Interest head into a room on the ground floor just in front of the Mustang.
The curtain was open, and Nico zoomed in on his phone camera.
He could see the guy moving around inside, using his own phone as a flashlight.
He could try to get the hummingbird drone now, but it felt too exposed.
On a hunch that her phone probably worked, Nico called Godeane’s official Director line. She picked up on the third ring. “Darling boy, fill me in.”
“He visited the Goldstone Deep Space Communication Complex, and met with this guy.”
He attached a screenshot of Twangy and texted it to her.
“We’ll run him through the database,” Godeane said. “What did they talk about? I need context, not just facts.”
Nico didn’t want to say he had no idea—yet. “It looked like he was going back to the airport, but something stopped him.”
“Military restrictions on all nonessential flights. With the blackout we’ve gone to DEFCON 3, so he’s grounded until commercial flights start up again, or he charters a plane.”
In the parking lot around Nico, people were frenzied, throwing groceries from overflowing shopping carts into their cars.
They were hoarding, Nico realized.
Person of Interest came out of his motel room and got into his car. Nico was glad he hadn’t tried to grab the hummingbird drone.
“He’s on the move,” Nico told her.
“No, I can see him,” Godeane said. “He’s in the motel.”
Nico pulled onto the road, following the Mustang south. “Maybe his phone is, but he’s driving somewhere.”
“Follow him!” Godeane ordered, but Nico was already on it.