Read Online Hotshot by Catherine Mann - Free Book Online Page A

never had a particularly close relationship. The divorce from Jayne right after Shay graduated hadn’t helped matters, but there wasn’t much he could do to change that now.
    Vince thumbed the image control. “For monitoring these meetings, we will employ nanotechnology.”
    Next slide, a small mechanical . . . insect?
    “We use models that look like a bumblebee or spider, with a camera or listening device installed. We can fly it by remote from a control station, sending the bee or spider into a room. We’ll have a lot of eyes watching the feed coming in. Our air force team will be on site checking, while also transmitting the images to the FBI and NSA representatives. Any questions so far?”
    Vince waited through a string of “No,” “Not so far,” and “Not yet” before continuing. “If we’re lucky enough to narrow our field of suspects, we’ll move on to phase two. We employ a military tracker to check cell phone calls. We can do this from the ground, but it’s more effective when used in flight. The radar is so precise that it can target a weapon. Civilian monitoring relays what tower the phone is pinging off of, which only offers up a twenty-mile radius. With our new equipment, we can determine exactly where the call is coming from.”
    Congresswoman Raintree raised a finger. “Why hasn’t the military passed this along for police use?”
    “Excellent question, ma’am. They know about the technology, but like anything that’s new, it costs money, lots of money, making it prohibitively expensive for regular law enforcement. We’re still in the testing stage but feel confident enough in its safety to use this opportunity for a field test.”
    Don willed down the frustration, the downright discontent over not being in the middle of what Vince and his fellow aviators created as a regular course of business.
    Raintree nodded. “Funds are definitely a concern. It’s reassuring to see all of you reaching across territorial issues to blend resources and work together.”
    “We will be using the PC-6 Pilatus,” Vince continued, the slide displaying an inconspicuous small craft that could have been sitting on anyone’s private runway. “It’s a recent addition to the air force fleet. There’s currently a squadron at Hurlburt Field, the home of Air Force Special Operations. We have allocated one from them. It’s a single-engine turboprop, very unobtrusive, painted to look like a civilian plane. It can be flown by one pilot and one person to man the equipment. I’ll be flying with Captain Jimmy Gage, while Captain Dave Berg and Sergeant Mason Randolph monitor data on the ground.”
    Paulina slid off her glasses and tapped the tip against her chin. “Tell me more about this plane and what makes it different from, say, a Cessna.”
    Vince gripped the podium. “Colonel Scanlon, would you like to answer that one?”
    Scanlon took the floor. “The plane is designed for utility work, carries interesting sensors airborne, has good cargo space, and a sweet maneuverability for getting in and out of small spaces. The plane itself has already been used in Iraq. We’re working from our end to improve the monitoring equipment.” He waved for Vince to resume the briefing.
    “That brings us to phase three, the actual congressional hearing. As you know, Congress doesn’t draw a lot of security, just their scaled-down version of the Secret Service. Traditionally, they only get Secret Service protection if one of them is running for president. We’re also concerned for the safety of the congressional witness, Shay Bassett, given the recent deaths at her clinic.”
    Vince turned toward his navigator. “Berg, how about you explain more about the workings of the nanosensor monitoring capabilities.”
    Berg steepled his fingers, his low-spoken words the kind that carried far. “There’s versatility. We can also park the aircraft and simply use the mounted controls for nano sensors in the plane if we’re