Deception Point Page 92

Through the murkiness, a staccato burst from the nose of the chopper sent a deluge of shots biting over the Goya's fiberglass deck, cutting a line over the harsh. Rachel dove for spread past the point of no return and felt the burning cut of a shot touch her arm. She hit the ground hard, at that point moved, scrambling to get behind the bulbous straightforward vault of the Triton sub. A roaring of rotors detonated overhead as the chopper plunged past the boat. The clamor vanished with a creepy murmur as the chopper soared out over the sea and started a wide bank for a subsequent pass. Lying trembling on the deck, Rachel kept her arm and looked down at Tolland and Corky. Evidently having lurched to cover behind a capacity structure, the two men were currently stunning to their feet, their eyes checking the skies in fear. Rachel pulled herself to her knees. The whole world unexpectedly appeared to be moving in moderate movement. Squatted behind the straightforward ebb and flow of the Triton sub, Rachel glanced in alarm toward their lone ways to get out the Coast Guard helicopter. Xavia was at that point moving into the chopper's lodge, hysterically waving for everybody to get on board. Rachel could see the pilot jumping into the cockpit, fiercely tossing switches and switches. The edges started to turn†¦ gradually. Too gradually. Rush! Rachel felt herself standing currently, getting ready to run, thinking about whether she could make it over the deck before the aggressors made another pass. Behind her, she heard Corky and Tolland running toward her and the holding up helicopter. Truly! Rush! At that point she saw it. A hundred yards out, up in the sky, appearing out of void haziness, a pencil-slender light emission light inclined over the night, looking through the Goya's deck. At that point, discovering its imprint, the pillar ground to a halt on the holding up Coast Guard chopper. The picture took just a moment to enroll. In that awful second, Rachel felt all the activity on the deck of the Goya obscure into a collection of shapes and sounds. Tolland and Corky running toward her-Xavia motioning uncontrollably in the helicopter-the obvious red laser cutting over the night sky. It was past the point of no return. Rachel spun back toward Corky and Tolland, who were running max throttle now toward the helicopter. She rushed outward into their way, arms outstretched attempting to stop them. The impact felt like a train wreck as them three collided with the deck in a knot of arms and legs. Out yonder, a blaze of white light showed up. Rachel viewed in dismay and frightfulness as a flawlessly straight line of fumes fire followed the way of the laser bar straightforwardly toward the helicopter. At the point when the Hellfire rocket pummeled into the fuselage, the helicopter detonated separated like a toy. The blackout wave of warmth and clamor roared over the deck as blazing shrapnel poured down. The helicopter's flaring skeleton staggered in reverse on its broke tail, wavered a second, and afterward tumbled off the rear of the boat, colliding with the sea in a murmuring haze of steam. Rachel shut her eyes, incapable to relax. She could hear the blazing destruction murmuring and faltering as it sank, being hauled away from the Goya by the substantial flows. In the disorder, Michael Tolland's voice was shouting. Rachel felt his amazing hands attempting to pull her to her feet. Be that as it may, she was unable to move. The Coast Guard pilot and Xavia are dead. We're straightaway. 111 The climate on the Milne Ice Shelf had settled, and the habisphere hushed up. All things being equal, NASA executive Lawrence Ekstrom had made an effort not to rest. He had gone through the hours alone, pacing the arch, gazing into the extraction pit, running his hands over the scores in the monster burned stone. At long last, he'd decided. Presently he sat at the videophone in the habisphere's PSC tank and investigated according to the President of the United States. Zach Herney was wearing a shower robe and didn't see all interested. Ekstrom realized he would be essentially less delighted when he realized what Ekstrom needed to let him know. When Ekstrom completed the process of talking, Herney had an awkward look all over as though he suspected he should at present be too snoozing to even think about having seen effectively. â€Å"Hold on,† Herney said. â€Å"We must have an awful association. Did you simply reveal to me that NASA blocked this current shooting star's directions from a crisis radio transmission-and afterward imagined that PODS found the meteorite?† Ekstrom was quiet, alone in obscurity, willing his body to alert from this bad dream. The quietness unmistakably didn't agree with the President. â€Å"For Christ's purpose, Larry, reveal to me this isn't true!† Ekstrom's mouth went dry. â€Å"The shooting star was discovered, Mr. President. That is all that is applicable here.† â€Å"I said reveal to me this isn't true!† The quiet expand to a dull thunder in Ekstrom's ears. I needed to let him know, Ekstrom let himself know. It will deteriorate before it shows signs of improvement. â€Å"Mr. President, the PODS disappointment was slaughtering you in the surveys, sir. At the point when we blocked a radio transmission that referenced an enormous shooting star held up in the ice, we saw an opportunity to get back in the fight.† Herney sounded shocked. â€Å"By faking a PODS discovery?† â€Å"PODS would have been going soon, yet not soon enough for the political race. The surveys were slipping, and Sexton was pummeling NASA, so†¦ â€Å" â€Å"Are you crazy! You misled me, Larry!† â€Å"The opportunity was gazing us in the face, sir. I chose to take it. We blocked the radio transmission of the Canadian who made the shooting star revelation. He passed on in a tempest. No one else realized the shooting star was there. Units was circling in the zone. NASA required a triumph. We had the coordinates.† â€Å"Why are you disclosing to me this now?† â€Å"I figured you ought to know.† â€Å"Do you recognize what Sexton would do with this data on the off chance that he discovered out?† Ekstrom favored not to consider it. â€Å"He'd tell the world that NASA and the White House deceived the American individuals! What's more, you recognize what, he'd be right!† â€Å"You didn't lie, sir, I did. Also, I will step down if-â€Å" â€Å"Larry, you're overlooking what's really important. I've attempted to run this administration on truth and tolerability! Goddamn it! Today around evening time was perfect. Honorable. Presently I discover I deceived the world?† â€Å"Only a little falsehood, sir.† â€Å"There's nothing of the sort, Larry,† Herney stated, steaming. Ekstrom felt the little room surrounding him. There was quite a lot more to tell the President, however Ekstrom could see it should hold up until morning. â€Å"I'm sorry to have woken you, sir. I just idea you ought to know.† Across town, Sedgewick Sexton endured another shot of cognac and paced his condo with rising disturbance. Where the damnation is Gabrielle? 112 Gabrielle Ashe sat in the murkiness at Senator Sexton's work area and gave his PC a discouraged glare. Invalid Password †Access Denied She had attempted a few different passwords that appeared to be likely prospects, yet none had worked. In the wake of scanning the workplace for any opened drawers or stray pieces of information, Gabrielle had everything except surrendered. She was going to leave when she spotted something odd, shining around Sexton's work area schedule. Somebody had plot the date of the political decision in a red, white, and blue sparkle pen. Surely not the congressperson. Gabrielle pulled the schedule nearer. Decorated over the date was a frilly, sparkling shout: POTUS! Sexton's exuberant secretary had clearly glitterpainted some progressively positive deduction for him for political decision day. The abbreviation POTUS was the U.S. Mystery Service's code name for President of the United States. On political race day, if all worked out positively, Sexton would turn into the new POTUS. Planning to leave, Gabrielle realigned the schedule around his work area and held up. She stopped out of nowhere, looking back at the PC screen. Enter Password:_ She took a gander at the schedule.