“Third generation,” Crockett replied. “Looks like version 3.2.6, but you’ll have to confirm if you can find herID.”
Ellen shut the door behindher.
“I haven’t seen you in a while, Decker,” Maverick said. “I like the man-bun. Maybe I should growone.”
“We need details.” Crockett had no patience for small talk, not when he had what could be another drone fail on his hands. Before sitting, he removed his suit jacket and rolled up hissleeves.
“I’ll take notes.” Decker spun a chair at the conference table, grabbed his tablet, andsat.
“I met my team this morning at oh-seven-hundred for a test flight,” Mavericksaid.
“At your airpark on Maryland’s Eastern Shore?” Crockettasked.
“Yes. Every device goes through rigorous testing there, then again at the final destination prior to deploying theaircraft.”
“Was she the only one you tested?” Crockettasked.
“No. We ran another bird—Falcon—and several Spy Flies through their paces. Those we’d purchased several months ago. We just got Eagle last week.” Maverick poured himself a mug of coffee and shoved half a cinnamon bun into hismouth.
Decker looked pasty white. This equipment breakdown was something Wilde Innovations had never experiencedbefore.
After wolfing down the rest of the pastry, Maverick leaned against the credenza. “Two minutes into flight, she quit responding to pilot instruction and wentrogue.”
“Ah, hell.” Decker glanced atCrockett.
“She buzzed us, then, about twenty-five feet in the air, she dropped,” Maverick said. “I’ve been working with your drones for what—over five years—and I’ve never witnessedanythinglikethis.”
With his jaw clenched, Crockett shoved out of his chair. Again he peered inside the duffle as if the answer could be pluckedout.
“We collected everything we could find and I hauled ass here,” Maverick continued. “This is some crazy shit. I swear she acted like she’d beenhijacked.”
“Smart move coming here.” As Crockett turned around, he fought the urge to pound his fist through a goddamn wall. “Footage?”
“Of course.” Maverick sipped the hot java. “I’ll forward you the video along with the corresponding ground-to-air audit trail. Hard to believe without the footage. If I hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t believe itmyself.”
“Was your ground pilot new?” Decker asked. “And what kind of device did you pair withEagle?”
“Penelope’s no stranger to Wilde products. She operated Eagle via one of several military-spec tablets dedicated strictly to our missions. And no, she wasn’t joking around. This was a pre-flight inspection for a top-secret mission overseas. I don’t screw around when it comes to my Birds or myFlies.”
“This breakdown couldn’t be happening at a worse possible time.” Crockett’s phone rang. “I’ve got to take this.” He answered. “Danny, what’s going on?” he asked, trying to soften his gruff tone. He shifted his focus out the window at the office building across thestreet.
“Congratulations! You made it past RoundOne.”
Crockett sighed. “Great.”
“You don’t expect me to believe that, doyou?”
“You caught me in the middle of ameeting.”
“The Director is pushing hard for this, so Round Two will be in seven to ten days. The CO will contact you with yourtimeslot.”
Fuck.“Thanks for the good news.” Crockett hung up and shifted his attention to Decker. “We’re headed to Round Two in about a week. You’ll be joining me, in asuit.”
Decker’s expression brightened. “Why don’t you look like we just got one giant step closer tothe bigwin?”
Maverick’s brow puckered. “What’s goingon?”
“Later,” Crockettreplied.
