“No Secret Service?” Sebastian asked his one and only friend. Well, maybe not only. Lately, and against all odds, it seemed as if he’d added the newlyweds Abby and Dylan Davies to his list of friends. The two badass soldiers from Keeneston, Kentucky, were on Birch’s black ops team that Sebastian funded privately to keep completely off the books.
“They’re out front. Now, pour out that swill you’re drinking. I got the good stuff,” Birch said, pouring a glass of Drunk Dog Whiskey into his glass. “This shit’s gotten expensive. It’s up to ten dollars a bottle.”
Sebastian gave a snort of amusement as he tossed back his ten thousand dollar bourbon. “It’s doubled in price since we first had it. Back then it was just five bucks.”
Sebastian remembered it well. He’d been on the front porch of the small two-bedroom house he’d lived in with his mother on the night she’d died when Birch had sat down next to him, pulled out the bottle, and the two of them hadn’t said a single word as they drank the entire thing.
“You should have invested in it,” Birch said as he waited for Sebastian to pour himself a drink. Then with a deep breath Birch raised his glass. “To Elaine. The best damn second mom a man could have.”
“To the best mom,” Sebastian said, holding up his glass. “May she be enjoying cocktails with your mother in the garden they always dreamed of having.”
“To our moms.”
Sebastian and Birch clinked glasses and then tossed back the Drunk Dog. Sebastian tried not to groan at the horrendously rough taste that felt as if a fire demon clawed its way down his throat before setting a bomb off in his stomach.
“To tradition,” Birch choked out between coughing fits before they tossed back the second glass.
They sat quietly as they drank the bottle. Luckily, Sebastian’s throat went numb after the third shot. His head swam and his memories threatened to overtake him. He shoved them back down and gave credit to Birch’s idea of buying Drunk Dog Whiskey.
“I hate to ask on Elaine’s anniversary, but I need a favor,” Birch said, interrupting Sebastian’s thoughts of his growing empire. An empire he’d built fueled by the anger and guilt over not being able to save his mother.
“Do you need a favor or does the United States need a favor?” Sebastian asked, sighing. He already knew he’d do it. He’d do anything for his brother and that’s what Birch was, the best damn brother a man could have.
“The United States, I guess, but I think you’ll find it impacts you too. You know about the race to space and all that from the sixties, but what you don’t know is the unpublicized space arms race,” Birch said with a slight slur to his words. “The Chinese government is determined to become the most powerful force in the world. You know how they, along with some others, are stealing technology, bullying other countries in the South China Sea, and making some alliances with other like-minded countries. Thank goodness Crusina and Bermalia have stepped away from them and become our allies.”
“Yeah, I know all about that. What does this have to do with space?” Sebastian asked.
“There are satellites in outer space . . .”
“No shit. My company has four up there,” Sebastian said with a snort.
“Well, the Chinese government is developing their own satellites to go up and steal information from other satellites. Sometimes it’s just sidling up to one of ours and taking pictures of the technology. Others use lasers to disable ours. Worse, we know they’re figuring out a way to intercept the messages we send through satellites. Other countries have already been hit by that. As you know, that tends to be classified military and government information. Something we don’t want the Chinese government to have.”
“No, we don’t. Nor do I want them seeing the technology I have on mine. So, what do you need?” Sebastian asked.
“That technology you have on your satellites, which I’m sure is light years ahead of government tech, is what I need help with. We have plenty of spy satellites in the Orion program. Heck, the US National Reconnaissance Office just launched the biggest and worst-kept secret spy satellite this month. The sucker weighs five tons and has a hundred-meter antenna that we use to zero in on our enemies.”
“And now China wants that,” Sebastian said, tossing back the last of his drink.
“And Russia. France has already called them out for espionage for trying to intercept military communications from their satellite. But lots of countries have satellites up there, just not in the numbers the US, Russia, and China have. Between governments and private sector there are almost three thousand satellites in orbit and until now, we’ve followed ‘the bigger, the better’ mentality. We use the big satellites to spy on Earth instead of putting people in danger on the ground. Now I want a satellite to spy for us in space and to protect our satellites up there from other countries.”
“Interesting, but satellites are constantly monitored. You want to put one up there so if another one gets too close to you, you can disable it? But say someone like North Korea decides to get mad you disabled the Chinese satellite that gives the dictator Internet? They can fire up a nuclear weapon and take down everything from television to communications to GPS. They have nothing to lose, but you’re playing the ally game. Suddenly space is a battlefield?” Sebastian asked. He knew one well-placed shot with a missile, a laser, or an EMP could knock out communications for most of the world, sending everyone back to the 1950s.
“That’s why I don’t want anyone to know we have it,” Birch said with a nod. “A silent killer, patrolling space.”
“You can’t hide a satellite, Birch. You can see them with strong telescopes and track them on radar.”
“I know. I want an invisible one. I don’t know how, but I know you can figure it out. That’s why I’m here. I want you to work with DARPA.”
Sebastian rolled his eyes. “The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is cute and all, but I’d still have to report to the Department of Defense, and I don’t report to anyone but myself.”
“Please, Seb. I need your help. Dr. Erwin Hoggard is the leader of the team and they’ve hit a wall. At least take a look at the research and see if you have any ideas. I won’t make you part of the official team, but a consultant. Does that work?” Birch asked.
“You know I’ll do anything for you. Let me look it over and see what they have and how I can help. Next time, get me drunk on the good bourbon before asking me a favor. I know the governor of Kentucky has given you the good stuff. Don’t be a bourbon hog, it’s not a good look.”
Birch snorted and pushed himself up. He swayed on his feet, or maybe it was Sebastian who was swaying? They stood smiling at each other, teetering on their feet, before giving each other a back-thumping hug.
“You’re a good friend, Sebastian.”
Sebastian watched Birch stumble toward the house and through the opened glass door before sitting back down to look out over the river. He heard glass break somewhere in the house and chuckled. The Secret Service would help Birch home.
Sebastian closed his eyes and listened to the sound of the river. His mind went back to Keeneston and to the wedding he’d just attended. The bride had been beautiful. Abby Mueez, now Davies, had literally glowed with happiness. The tough-as-nails Dylan had looked at her with such unabashed love it had made Sebastian uncomfortable. Sebastian and Abby had helped each other out in the past by being each other’s dates. It had been easy. Neither had wanted anything but a date with no strings so they wouldn’t have to answer questions about their private lives. There was the one time they’d both needed more, but it wasn’t because of feelings they had for each other. It was because of their loneliness.