Read Online One of the Boys by Merline Lovelace - Free Book Online

confirmed.
    The chase plane’s camera zoomed in closer to show the missile mounted under the F-15’s wing. It was long and sleek and white, its clean lines belying the deadly power of its normal payload. The missile fluttered on its modified mounting, buffeted by winds as the fighter streaked across the Florida sky at Mach one speed.
    Two seemingly endless minutes later, the pilot’s voice crackled over the loudspeakers. “Missile away.”
    The central screen lost its fuzzy blur. All eyes riveted on it as the camera in the missile’s nose activated and began to record the short flight.
    â€œThe guidance system won’t activate.”
    The already thick tension in the control facility kicked into overdrive. Maura watched, breath suspended, as the missile’s downward trajectory sharpened. The pilot tried again, and then again, to activate the Maverick’s internal guidance controls, without success.
    A collective groan swept the control facility when the missile flew into a stand of trees fifteen miles short of the scheduled impact point.
    The central screen went blank, and Maura’s gaze whipped back to Jake. Amazingly, his lean face showed none of the raging disappointment she knew must be coursing through his veins. She shook her head at his iron control and glanced back at the blank screen. Heaven only knew how much of the missile had survived the impact.
    Slowly the crowd filed out of the control facility. They’d get together tomorrow to go over the data from the pilot’s debriefing and the recovered missile. Maura lingered as the room emptied, her eyes straying once again to Jake. He stood and spoke briefly with the general, who nodded once or twice, then left.
    â€œI guess it’s back to the drawing board,” she said when Jake joined her.
    â€œThat’s what the test business is all about,” he responded with a roll of his shoulders. “Trial and error. A miss, followed by a hit. You can’t expect to field a modified system without getting out all the bugs. We’ll find out what went wrong and fix it.”
    â€œIf there’s enough left of our missile to even try again.”
    â€œIf not, we’ll modify another.”
    Maura groaned, thinking of the backbreaking hours spent over their computers to come up with the original design.
    â€œWe should get most of this one back,” Jake said, obviously trying to reassure her. “The missile most likely cut through the trees and plowed into sandy earth. That’s one of the reasons Eglin is such a good test bed. We recover most of what we have to drop.”
    He hesitated, his glance roaming over her face. “I’m going out to see what the recovery team digs up. Want to come?”
    â€œYes, I do! I’ve been out on the range a couple of times for orientation, but never to see the results of an actual shot. The remains of an actual shot,” she amended with another groan.
    Â 
    They took the range vehicle assigned to Jake. A modified jeep, it was designed to take the narrow, unimproved dirt trails that crisscrossed Eglin’s vast reservation.
    Some of Maura’s crushing disappointment lifted as they left the main base and headed north. Tall pine trees towered above them on either side, thrusting out of the thick scrub brush that thrived in northern Florida’s sandy soil. Late afternoon sunlight flickered through pine branches and dappled the road in a shifting pattern of light and shade.
    Jake kept in contact with the range patrol via his handheld radio. Following their instructions, he turned twice onto smaller, numbered side roads. Within a half hour, they picked up the flashing lights of the response team that had sealed off the impact area.
    A security policewoman inspected both Jake and Maura’s badges closely before passing them through the initial checkpoint. A mile or so farther down the road, they pulled up behind a cluster of official