Read Online Dragonflies: Shadow of Drones by Andy Straka - Free Book Online
Authors: Andy Straka
Tags: Science-Fiction, Thrillers, Military, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Mystery; Thriller & Suspense, Thrillers & Suspense
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said. “I’m all-in just like you when it comes to this job.”
But was she? She couldn’t afford to let him see any differently, at least until she had more information.
“All right,” he said, draining the last of his mug of coffee. He pushed his chair away from the table. “Let’s get going and figure out what we’re doing this afternoon.”
12
The young woman’s name was Stacie Hutchinson. A junior majoring in business, she lived in an off-campus apartment complex called University Crossings. Standing next to Tye on the stoop of Hutchinson’s apartment, Raina felt a lump rise in her throat about how to break the news to the pretty coed that she’d been raped.
She and Tye had used facial recognition software to make a positive ID from the Kurn video. Stacie Hutchinson certainly had a distinctive appearance. The girl could have been a fashion model with her long brunette hair, slender figure, and slim face. Not to mention a thin nose with dark, narrow eyebrows, and her smooth, apparently suntanned skin. Completing the beauty package, Hutchinson’s bee-stung lips seemed to wink at the camera inquisitively in the photo from her Facebook page. Raina was curious to see if the girl looked the same in real life.
She couldn’t help absent-mindedly running her fingers along the scars on her neck, her gaze instinctively dropping to the oddly shaped end of her pant leg that draped over the top of the sneaker covering her artificial foot.
The garden apartments were tucked into a quiet neighborhood between a public park and a row of upscale stores. The tenants were mostly upperclassmen or graduate students. Tye and Raina were dressed like students as well–wearing blue jeans and casual shirts.
“It’ll be okay,” Tye reassured her.
How did he do that? They’d only really known each other for a couple of weeks, yet he already seemed to have the ability to sense what was going on in her head.
She smiled and nodded as he rang the bell.
They had argued over who would talk to Hutchinson. Tye thought she, as a woman, should go by herself, owing to the nature of the crime. She could see his point of view, but she preferred to stay with her computers and take care of intelligence and flying the drones, letting him do all the fieldwork. In the end, they’d struck a compromise. They would both go.
But since Raina spent most of her waking hours these days holed up behind a computer screen, she couldn’t help feeling like she was missing out on something not being plugged in to the Internet and her MAVs.
No one seemed to be coming to the door after the first ring, so Tye pushed the bell again.
“Just a minute!” A young woman’s voice sounded faintly through the heavy door.
“Your lead, rookie.” Tye whispered. He’d taken to teasing her about the fact she’d “only” been a pilot, not down with the ground grunts like him.
“Rookie, my–”
“Uh-uh.” He held up his hand. “Let’s watch the profanities. Remember we’re live and in living color.”
Even without the drones, they were still recording, forced to rely on a hidden camera for Tye and a simple sound wire for her. The audio and video twins, Tye had joked. Yin and Yang.
Was wearing such surveillance equipment without a court order legal in Virginia? Raina didn’t even know. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know.
They were definitely tracking under the radar. She doubted she and Tye were the only “operators,” as Williamson had started referring to them. She needed to start thinking about counter-measures in case they found themselves under remote surveillance. The bad guys in Iraq and Afghanistan were always trying to hack into drone control systems and the Iranians had even succeeded. Williamson had managed to reactivate her Top Secret clearance, so she had access to a treasure trove of encrypted files and potential MAV strategies. Whoever Williamson was plugged into these days, they had the right connections.
But she also liked
But was she? She couldn’t afford to let him see any differently, at least until she had more information.
“All right,” he said, draining the last of his mug of coffee. He pushed his chair away from the table. “Let’s get going and figure out what we’re doing this afternoon.”
12
The young woman’s name was Stacie Hutchinson. A junior majoring in business, she lived in an off-campus apartment complex called University Crossings. Standing next to Tye on the stoop of Hutchinson’s apartment, Raina felt a lump rise in her throat about how to break the news to the pretty coed that she’d been raped.
She and Tye had used facial recognition software to make a positive ID from the Kurn video. Stacie Hutchinson certainly had a distinctive appearance. The girl could have been a fashion model with her long brunette hair, slender figure, and slim face. Not to mention a thin nose with dark, narrow eyebrows, and her smooth, apparently suntanned skin. Completing the beauty package, Hutchinson’s bee-stung lips seemed to wink at the camera inquisitively in the photo from her Facebook page. Raina was curious to see if the girl looked the same in real life.
She couldn’t help absent-mindedly running her fingers along the scars on her neck, her gaze instinctively dropping to the oddly shaped end of her pant leg that draped over the top of the sneaker covering her artificial foot.
The garden apartments were tucked into a quiet neighborhood between a public park and a row of upscale stores. The tenants were mostly upperclassmen or graduate students. Tye and Raina were dressed like students as well–wearing blue jeans and casual shirts.
“It’ll be okay,” Tye reassured her.
How did he do that? They’d only really known each other for a couple of weeks, yet he already seemed to have the ability to sense what was going on in her head.
She smiled and nodded as he rang the bell.
They had argued over who would talk to Hutchinson. Tye thought she, as a woman, should go by herself, owing to the nature of the crime. She could see his point of view, but she preferred to stay with her computers and take care of intelligence and flying the drones, letting him do all the fieldwork. In the end, they’d struck a compromise. They would both go.
But since Raina spent most of her waking hours these days holed up behind a computer screen, she couldn’t help feeling like she was missing out on something not being plugged in to the Internet and her MAVs.
No one seemed to be coming to the door after the first ring, so Tye pushed the bell again.
“Just a minute!” A young woman’s voice sounded faintly through the heavy door.
“Your lead, rookie.” Tye whispered. He’d taken to teasing her about the fact she’d “only” been a pilot, not down with the ground grunts like him.
“Rookie, my–”
“Uh-uh.” He held up his hand. “Let’s watch the profanities. Remember we’re live and in living color.”
Even without the drones, they were still recording, forced to rely on a hidden camera for Tye and a simple sound wire for her. The audio and video twins, Tye had joked. Yin and Yang.
Was wearing such surveillance equipment without a court order legal in Virginia? Raina didn’t even know. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know.
They were definitely tracking under the radar. She doubted she and Tye were the only “operators,” as Williamson had started referring to them. She needed to start thinking about counter-measures in case they found themselves under remote surveillance. The bad guys in Iraq and Afghanistan were always trying to hack into drone control systems and the Iranians had even succeeded. Williamson had managed to reactivate her Top Secret clearance, so she had access to a treasure trove of encrypted files and potential MAV strategies. Whoever Williamson was plugged into these days, they had the right connections.
But she also liked
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