Read Online Code 13 by Don Brown - Free Book Online

laughed, then stared down at his empty brandy glass. “Now then. Down to business. Where do we stand on Blue Jay?”
    â€œHere’s the deal.” Patterson eyed him, speaking in a southern drawl with a tinge of Savannah aristocracy, making one-syllable words like deal sound like two syllables, something like “dee-yul.”
    â€œThe contract is sitting on the desk of the Secretary of Defense for the United States of America, waiting for the Secretary’s signature. The money’s already been approved by Congress for the Navy’s discretionary budget, so that’s not a problem, contingent on the Navy’s legal review process.”
    â€œWhat’s that mean? Contingent on the Navy’s legal review process.”
    â€œGood question, Richardson. You mind if I take you up on that drink offer after all?”
    â€œNo problem.” Richardson picked up his phone. A sultry-sounding Ivana came over the intercom. “Yes, sir?”
    â€œBring me another brandy, Ivana. Prepare one for Mr. Patterson too.”
    â€œWith pleasure, sir.”
    He hung up. “So, Jack, we were talking about the Navy’s legal review process.”
    â€œYes. Bureaucratic stuff. They have to conduct an internal legal review to be able to justify that what they’re doing under the contract complies with domestic law, since they could get into all kinds of legal trouble if they don’t comply with the law.”
    A knock on the door. “Come in.”
    â€œYour brandies, gentlemen.”
    â€œThank you, Ivana. Put them down on the coffee table.”
    â€œMy pleasure.”
    Richardson waited as his Anna Kournikova look-alike of a secretary set the drinks on the table, gave them each a flirtatious smile, then turned, walked out the door, and closed it.
    â€œNow, what’s this about, Jack?” He picked up his glass and handed Patterson his. “Some sort of legal stuff the Navy has to do? I thought the Navy operated under the rules of war or something. And how long is all this going to take? We’ve been gearing up for this production and have hired tons of people in anticipation of this contract. Like her husband, for example.” He nodded to the door through which Ivana had just exited. “We can’t afford any delays. We’ve got billions on the line here. So whatever this legal mumbo jumbo is, I need you to cut through it.”
    â€œPatience, my dear Richardson. The Navy and, in fact, all the armed forces have different rules, regulations, and laws they must comply with when they operate inside the United States as opposed to operating at sea.”
    â€œWhat kind of rules? We’re talking about flying a bunch of drones through the sky. It’s not like they’re going to sail an aircraft carrier up the Savannah River. That should be simple enough.”
    Patterson leaned back on the sofa. “Well, they’ve got to get over something called posse comitatus first.”
    â€œ Posse what?”
    â€œ Posse comitatus .” He took a sip of his drink, then loosened his tie. “A federal law passed after the Civil War, signed by President Rutherford B. Hayes. It prohibits the military from being used for law enforcement inside the borders of the United States. It originally just applied to the Army.
    â€œBut they later amended it to include the Navy. So they’re waiting on this legal opinion from some Navy lawyer at the Pentagon, saying that the proposed use of the drones complies with the law. That’s part of the contingency they need to make this happen to get the funding cut loose.”
    Richardson steepled his fingers together and thought. “Let me see if I can get this straight. We have an opportunity to begin a production project that will make AirFlite one of the top three defense contractors in the world, will pump millions into the Georgia economy when the production lines start rolling for these Blue Jay