Category Five (21 page)

In the wee hours, unable to sleep, he'd switched on the television and followed Helena's progress. The storm was still situated far out to sea, but according to the local news stations, her effects were already being felt up and down the coast. Hurricane warnings had been posted. All along the east coast, people were boarding up their homes; cars were jammed on littl-eused
evacuation routes. There was chaos as people fled. Gas stations were sold out, supermarkets and hardware shelves stripped bare of essential items. Violence had erupted, and looting had already begun. Donovan knew from experience that the panicked atmosphere would only grow worse as Helena charged in from the open ocean.

He had mixed emotions about today's flight. On the one hand, he couldn't wait to see a hurricane with the size and fury of Helena. Yet he knew he'd be flying with Lauren in the back of the Gulfstream. He sighed. At least the lines had been drawn. She'd used her position to damage and discredit Eco-Watch. In his mind it was easily the worst transgression she could have orchestrated. He'd debated about whether or not to say something to her, but each time he imagined the scenario he found himself growing angry. It was still beyond his comprehension that she could have wounded him in such a way. He'd finally decided the best plan was to ignore her. He wanted to take the flight and the only way to get through the day would be to focus on his job, his life with Eco-Watch. For all he knew it could very well be his last mission as Donovan Nash.

He eased the Range Rover into his reserved parking place and shut off the engine. He saw Michael's car, as well as those of the rest of the morning staff. With the weight of the world pressing down on him, Donovan grabbed his flight bag and headed to the front door. He pushed open the glass doors that led into the lobby. He went to the small kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee, then walked down to the doors that led to the hangar. Inside the well-lit space, he could see both the
da Vinci
and the
Galileo
. He spotted Michael and Lauren talking near the nose of the
Galileo
. She looked relaxed, wearing khaki pants, sneakers and a dark green tee shirt. Her hair was tied back into a small ponytail. She held a clipboard, her eyes sparkling as she smiled and put her hand on Michael's shoulder.

“Hey, skipper, good morning.”

Donovan turned and found Randy Kordek walking toward him. His boyish features and crew cut made him look like he was no more than twenty years old. But in reality, Randy was thirty, a highly experienced pilot with almost three thousand hours in the Gulfstream. Randy was the third crew member for this morning's flight. Because of the range and endurance of the Gulfstream, they sometimes flew with a third, fully qualified pilot. It gave all of them a break on some of the eight-to-ten-hour missions.

“Hello Randy,” Donovan replied. “Did we get the mission profile from the science team yet?”

“Yeah. I think Dr. McKenna gave it to Michael. You want me to go find out?”

Donovan checked his watch. “I'd appreciate it. Can you bring it up to my office? I have some other things I need to do before they pull the airplane out.”

“Sure thing.” Randy paused. “You ever seen a hurricane like this one? I heard even NOAA suspended their flights into the storm after one of their planes sustained some damage.”

“I heard that too.” Donovan knew that the NOAA flights were usually into the heart of the storm, at altitudes of less than fifteen thousand feet. He couldn't begin to imagine the fury of the storm down low.

“It's the biggest storm I've seen.” Donovan moved aside so Randy could slip past into the hangar. “I'll be upstairs getting the weather. Bring me the route so I can file a flight plan.”

“Will do.”

Donovan retreated to his office. He tossed his bag onto the couch and settled behind his desk. With the touch of a button, his computer sprang to life and he began to access the aviation weather. He sipped his coffee as he studied the latest satellite image of Helena. She was almost 250 miles across, but he could
easily spot their destination. The eye was a small dark circle positioned in the center of the stark white clouds. He clicked on another page and committed the high altitude wind patterns to memory. He also retrieved the latest surface observations from Dulles, Washington National, and Baltimore airports. He expanded his search and printed out the forecasts. His last jump was to the Doppler radar composite. Only fifty miles off the coast, the first yellow and green images of the coming thunderstorms could be seen. They were scattered enough at this point not to give rise to much concern. But if this mission lasted more than six hours, the heavier bands behind might become an issue. Donovan shrugged. If they had to, they could fly south to get out of Helena's reach. He made a mental note to fill the Gulfstream with every last drop of fuel she'd carry. He was waiting for the last page of the weather to be spit from the printer when he heard a small knock at the door. He turned, expecting to find Randy with the profile. Instead, Lauren was standing there, an expectant look on her face.

“May I come in?”

Donovan nodded.

“Randy said you wanted the mission profile.” Lauren walked toward him and pulled a sheet of paper from her clipboard. “It's pretty straightforward.”

Donovan took the paper and tried to focus on the crisscrossing flight path. It was simple. They'd be flying a standard bracketing maneuver. It would give them the most accurate sampling of the hurricane's steering winds.

“Are you okay?” Lauren knew it shouldn't take him more than five seconds to understand the data, yet he seemed to be giving it his undivided attention.

“I'm fine,” Donovan said without looking up. Under the desk, his legs were wire taut. Out of his peripheral vision he could see her hip slide slightly to one side as she shifted her weight. He
wished she would take the hint and leave. It seemed impossible that this was the same woman he'd once loved.

“I've been thinking. After everything that happened on Saturday…” Lauren hesitated, losing her nerve to reach out to him. “I was hoping we could—”

“Could what?” Donovan looked up from his desk. He could see the surprise and confusion in her eyes.

“I don't know.” Lauren seemed to struggle to find the right words. “After the other day, we didn't even say goodbye. It's bothered me all weekend.”

“You said goodbye over a year ago.” He thought of the picture of her in his drawer, then the photo with Erin.

Her shoulders slumped at his words. She'd never heard him sound so bitter and wounded.

“But that's water under the bridge, as they say.” Donovan shuffled the papers in front of him. He found a paper clip and methodically fastened them together.

“So there's no room left to even talk?”

“I'm talked out. But I can tell you one thing,” Donovan's anger rose, “if I wanted to hurt you, I'd have done it directly. I would never have gone behind your back to discredit you.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Let's drop the pretense. I know what you've been doing. I know about the leaks to the press.”

“I have no idea what you're referring to.” Lauren unconsciously stepped back; the anger coming from Donovan filled the room.

Donovan placed both hands on his desk as if steadying himself. “I know you're the one who has been discrediting Eco-Watch…What I don't know, is why. What would make you try to destroy everything I've worked so hard to build?”

“Donovan. You're the last person I'd want to hurt. And you know there's no one who believes in Eco-Watch more than I do. Now please tell me what you think I did!”

“Look.” Donovan sighed as he stood. He regretted bringing it up. Obviously, she would deny her part until hell froze over. “This isn't the time or place to discuss this. We both have important jobs to do today.”

“Are you proposing we sit down and talk later? A real conversation, as opposed to what we're having right now?”

Donovan wondered what Lauren was after. He was about to explain that a meeting was the last thing he wanted, when he caught something in her eyes. Was it a flicker of hope?

“Mr. Donovan Nash?”

Donovan looked past Lauren as a male voice called out his name from the doorway. Two men in suits breezed into the room. They both flashed official IDs as they moved closer.

“What can I help you with?” Donovan looked at their badges; they were DIA.

“I'm Special Agent Dixon. This is my partner Special Agent Hollingsworth. We need you to come with us.”

“Why?” Donovan shot them a guarded look, then glared at Lauren. He knew she had to be behind this intrusion.

“We need to ask you some questions. Now if you'll please come with us.”

Lauren turned to the men. “Mr. Nash is required to assist the DIA on a very important mission this morning. I'm sure whatever you need to do can wait until later.”

“I'm sorry, Dr. McKenna,” Dixon shot back. “But my orders are to bring Mr. Nash with us back to DIA headquarters.”

“This is bullshit!” Her temper began to rise. “No one is going anywhere until I speak with Director Reynolds.” Lauren pulled out her cell phone and began to dial.

“Mr. Nash.” Hollingsworth stepped closer, pulling his coat aside to display his weapon. “Please keep your hands where I can see them.”

“Calvin! It's Lauren.” She turned away from the men. “I'm at the Eco-Watch hangar. Two men just showed up here. They're DIA. As I speak, they're trying to take Donovan into custody. Need I remind you it would be nice if we could make our flight this morning!”

Donovan stood and watched as Lauren listened to whomever she had on the other end of the line. She turned and glared at the two men. Donovan couldn't miss the semi-smug expressions on the faces of the DIA agents. He had a sinking feeling that Lauren wasn't going to win.

“We'll talk later.” Lauren angrily snapped the phone shut and turned to look at Donovan.

“I'm sorry.” She lowered her eyes. “There's nothing I can do.”

“It's okay.” Donovan felt an odd rush of affection for her sweep over him. In the face of everything he knew, her concern and anger seemed genuine. But it didn't make any sense.

“This is such a mess.” Lauren moved closer. “I don't know what to say. I think this is absurd.”

“That's enough, Dr. McKenna,” Dixon warned as he slid between them. “He'll get his chance to explain.”

Donovan saw the expression of alarm on Lauren's face. He was completely confused. Why was she trying to protect him now, after all she'd done to precipitate these events?

“Pat him down,” Dixon ordered.

Donovan stood motionless as Hollingsworth frisked him. He locked eyes with Lauren. She was clearly horrified.

“He's clean. You want me to cuff him?”

“That's up to you, Mr. Nash,” Dixon said, carefully. “Will you come on your own accord? Not make any trouble?”

“If I were going to make trouble, you'd have seen it by now,” Donovan replied, still conflicted over Lauren's words and actions.

“Okay. Let's go.” Dixon nodded at his partner and stood aside to escort Donovan out of the office.

“Lauren,” Donovan called out over his shoulder. “Tell Michael what's going on. He and Randy can fly the trip, but it's important for him to call William. He needs to be informed. Michael has the number.”

Lauren nodded. “I'm sorry. I'll find you as soon as I get back.”

Donovan was thankful that the lobby was vacant as they left the building. He was put into the back seat of a waiting government car. As they drove away, Donovan turned and looked back. Lauren stood at the window of his office, her hand covering her mouth. Somewhere, deep inside, he knew that her reaction wasn't rehearsed—she was truly in shock at his being taken. All of a sudden, everything seemed completely out of sync. He'd accused her of leaking information and she'd acted as if he were speaking gibberish. Her guilt was further diminished by her actions when the DIA showed up. Either Lauren was a far better liar and actress than he ever dreamed, or he and William were wrong about a great many things. Donovan didn't know exactly what was waiting for him at DIA headquarters. Hopefully, once William threw his formidable powers into the loop, his arrest would be short-lived. Donovan took a long look at the facility. The
Galileo
was being pulled out onto the ramp. The people about to climb on board were who he lived for. He knew he would miss them far more than he could imagine. He thought he'd have one last day of flying before he became Robert Huntington once again. But as they sped through the gloomy morning toward the District, he knew it wasn't to be.

M
ichael!” Lauren called out the second she burst onto the hangar floor. She quickly covered the distance to where he stood.

“What's up?”

“Donovan was just arrested! Two DIA agents took him away.”

“They took Donovan?”

Lauren could see a look of suspicion on Michael's face. “He said for you and Randy to take the trip, but he wanted you to call William VanGelder.”

“Did they say where they were taking him?”

“To DIA headquarters at Bolling Air Force Base.”

“Oh, perfect.” Michael leaned closer. “You're with the DIA, right?”

Lauren nodded and braced herself. The furious look in Michael's eyes spoke volumes. She knew Michael was a force to be reckoned with when he was angry.

“Then you call your bosses and tell them I'm not flying until they bring Donovan back.” Michael's face was a picture of defiance. “Fix it or this airplane stays parked.”

“It's not that simple.” Lauren tried to keep her voice calm. She didn't want to fight with Michael.

“I don't know how to make this any more simple. No Donovan…no flight.”