Free Aim and Fire by Cliff Ryder

in what looked like a smaller version of the control room at NASA, with computers and large plasma-screen monitors everywhere. Some displayed the rocket outside on the launch pad, while others showed a map of the United States with trajectory arcs from Texas to various destinations in the eastern United States, including estimated flight times.
    And on the far wall, high above everything, was a large red digital timer that was currently set to forty-eight hours. The men inside were of different nationalities, from Middle Eastern or Indian to Spanish, Mexican, British and even one white-blond Scandinavian, and each was intent on his task, whether that was programming, running three-dimensional models or conferencing with one another.
    The receptionist walked to the end of the hall and swiped his security card through another slot. “Please go inside. Mr. Allen is waiting.”
    Pushing open the door, Narid walked into the office.
    The room was comfortably furnished, with thick carpet, wood paneling and no windows. In the center were two up-Aim and Fire
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    holstered chairs facing a desk with a computer and a man sitting next to it. On the wall to his right were three monitors, one showing the rocket, the other two each divided into four quadrants that flashed on various security cameras around the area, including outside the perimeter.
    Another door to his left was open, revealing a small but meticulously clean bathroom.
    The man on the other side of the teak desk was dressed in a button-down, dark blue oxford shirt with his sleeves rolled up, a silver tie neatly knotted and dark gray slacks with black wingtips. He was in his early forties. His face lit up as he saw his visitor, a broad smile revealing perfect, capped white teeth. He rose and held his arms out wide as he came toward Narid, who embraced him and returned the traditional, formal Islamic greeting wishing peace, Allah’s mercy and blessings on the other person.
    “It is good to see you. We were worried after not hearing from you for so long.” As he spoke, Joseph took a small device from his desktop and walked around the room, studying the needle with every step. Narid watched him pace the perimeter, moving the sensor over the walls, pictures, chairs and desk. He completed his circuit and nodded to Narid, indicating that it was safe to talk. “Something to drink or eat?
    You must be hungry—believe me, I know how impossible it can be to find decent meals on a trip like that.”
    “Perhaps a bit later, after wadu. ” All of the travel and motel rooms had left him feeling unclean, and Narid was looking forward to performing the ritual Muslim cleansing. He sank into an overstuffed maroon armchair, luxuri-ating for a moment in its soft embrace before leaning forward, his expression intent despite his exhaustion. “Do you do that often?”
    Joseph Allen tossed the bug detector on his desk and sat 72

CLIFF RYDER
    on one corner. “Twice a day. In this business, everyone is looking for an advantage. The private space race makes the one between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. look like child’s play. Sure, everyone smiles for the camera and says they are doing whatever their program’s goals are to benefit humankind, but the truth is that everyone’s fighting for the same piece of the pie here, whether it’s for an X-Prize award—still a drop in the bucket compared to what we spend on R&D in a year—or federal grants and loans, there’s still only so much to go around. That’s why our security is so high for such a small company, but you already know that.”
    Narid was fully aware of the reasons, along with many other things about Allen and his leading-edge aerospace company. The man in front of him was a second-generation American citizen who had spent the past fifteen years founding and building the space-exploration company, getting his master’s degrees in astrophysics and engineering to build the next generation of lightweight, fuel-efficient rockets to