Free World Without End by Chris Mooney Page A

U.S. Army's battle lab in Colorado has been trying to develop and integrate high-tech equipment for battle situations involving troops. It's called JEDI the Joint Expeditionary Digital Information program. They're in the process of finishing a working prototype of a combat suit that uses this optical camouflage technology. You climb inside, press or speak the code, and within the blink of an eye, you're invisible.
    "The military, just like the FBI and CIA, can't afford the top-drawer technical talent, so they've turned to the companies that can. The advancements in this optical camouflage technology are due to the work of one individual: Major Dixon. Dixon works for a company called Praxis, based out of Austin, Texas. The project is code-named ROM ULAN based on the cloaking technology from Star Trek. I'm sure you've seen an episode."
    An assignment was coming. Excitement bubbled through him and then a voice screamed out NO, this was his time, he had earned it, the deal was that he would be left alone. Let someone else deal with it.
    Then another voice piped in and asked, What's the problem, Steve? Are you afraid to get back into the game, or are you afraid you've lost your edge? Which is it?
    "Dixon was offered half a million dollars for information on the suit,"
    Pasha said.
    "He hasn't accepted yet, but he's thinking."
    "Who's the buyer?"
    "We're calling him Angel Eyes. We've been tracking his movements for the past three years. Ten months ago, he stole this working prototype from an army base in New Mexico."
    The desert disappeared and now Conway was standing on the floor of a high-rise office building. A Blackhawk attack helicopter was hovering just outside the window, the sound of its blades muted. The Blackhawk turned to fly away and suddenly the image of the helicopter melted, as if caught behind ribbons of intense heat, and then vanished. Amazing.
    "What we know is that someone placed several remote-controlled devices inside the ventilation system that, once activated, delivered a drug that knocked everyone out inside the building," Pasha said.
    "Angel Eyes and his group he would have to have a group to pull something like this off managed to bypass all the security, got inside the helicopter and flew away. We've never been able to recover the chopper."
    "What about the blueprints?"
    "The databases were raided, and then a computer virus wiped out anything left. The paper files, which were stored inside a safe, were also stolen. All of it's gone, including the tape backup copies. Angel Eyes is extremely thorough."
    "If Angel Eyes has the helicopter, then he has the optical camouflage technology. Why does he need Dixon?"
    "The helicopter is a solid structure. It can't change shape or run or jump. Dixon is modifying the technology for a man. It's much different."
    "Tell me more about Angel Eyes."
    "We know he steals cutting edge technology weapons mostly and that the inventors disappear without a trace. So do the prototypes and every blueprint, backup copy all of it disappears. We know he's left only two victims, and we know that he wants this military combat suit bad.
    I'll debrief you when we get to Austin."
    "I haven't said yes."
    Pasha removed his goggles. It took Conway a moment for his eyes to adjust to the van's semidarkness.
    "There's going to be an opening at Dixon's company, Praxis, for a network security specialist," Pasha said.
    "LAN management and all that. I want you to get friendly with Dixon.
    Guide him. We want him to sell it to Angel Eyes."
    Pasha handed him an envelope. Inside was a one-way plane ticket to Austin, a license and credit card under the name Peter Miller, and a thousand dollars in cash.
    "Use the Miller identity until all this is settled," she said.
    "Then you "II be using your real identity."
    This was happening too fast. He couldn't process it. He was quiet for a moment, thinking about the Armand gig, how it had turned sour and what he could have done to prevent the outcome.
    "The