The Demon Drivers BOOK IV - Ch. 8: The Eye of the Eagle
The Demon Drivers BOOK IV
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General Ramsey leaned back in his chair and stretched his arms over his head. He checked his watch: 12:40 a.m. Once again, he’d gotten so lost in the work that time had not only slowed to a stand still, it had ceased to exist. He’d been pouring over Parker’s file since 4:30, skipping dinner entirely without ever realizing he’d done so. If he could just find the boy’s father like the kid asked. . . .
Training the kids for this hare-brained scheme was another matter altogether.
No.
He forced himself to stop and think: This is a MISSION, just like all the others. He never would have guessed this would be part of the overall campaign, though. There was so much to do, so much to consider, and not a lot of time in which to do it. If he was going to pull this off without one or all of the kids getting hurt, or even killed, he was going to have to power through the next couple of weeks with laser-fine precision at a break-neck pace. It would demand his utmost attention and concentration.
Neither of which would be worth a damn if he were not adequately rested. He would head home to his cottage perched on the shore of Lake Molasses, perhaps take a relaxing swim beneath the artificial moon before he went to bed.
Yeah, right, he thought. You know you’re going to go home and fall asleep on the sofa again, probably with your clothes on while you’re worrying about these five kids.
He forced himself to close the file on his computer, Parker’s file, and was about to power down the system when he noticed something flashing out of the corner of his eye. He turned to the monitor in question, one of five he’d had installed two days ago. Each monitor showed a constant image of one of the kids, using Candyland’s vast network of motion-activated computer-controlled cameras to track them wherever they went.
Currently, four of the five monitors showed closed doors in a hallway. General Ramsey knew the four kids were in their rooms, presumably in bed and fast asleep. The fifth monitor, however, switched to a camera in the Main Hangar. The vantage point was from the eye of the eagle, high up on the back wall near the hydraulic lift.
General Ramsey activated the photon enhancement on the camera and the feed switched to a nightvision-green glow.
A side door opened and a small figure emerged. The person went to the semi-circle of Battle-suits beneath their black covers. General Ramsey reached for the phone to call security and alert them to an intruder in the hangar.
He stopped, put down the phone. He zoomed in.
It was Parker.
He watched Parker pull the sheet off his Battle-suit. Watched him retreat from the spotlight and sit down on the floor with the black sheet furled around him.
What was he doing?
The General leaned back in his chair and watched the monitor.
For a long time, Parker merely sat there, staring up at the Battle-suit.
Gradually, the General’s eyes closed. His head bobbed on his neck. He was nodding off. He would have to forego the moonlight swim and go straight to sleep. He would try to forget about the mission, just for a night, a few hours, and would focus instead on the cool red and white candy cane-striped sheets and pillows on his fluffy. . . .
He refocused his attention on Parker, sitting motionless in the near-dark. Behind Parker was the ring of orange cones surrounding the section of broken concrete floor, the floor which had been nearly pulverized, albeit theatrically, by Parker. The General had to admit, Parker had style. This was something he always looked for in his test pilots. In his best pilots, it was something he always found.
His head bobbed again and he opened his eyes wide.
He jerked upright.
Parker was getting to his feet.
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