Free Search for the Phoenix: Phoenix Series Book 2 by Jim Proctor Page A

before looking past her to the guard at the end of the room. “No,” was all he said.
    “It means they are now spying on civilians. These bastards will be tracking everyone. Everywhere we go, everything we do. And they now have all the records, so they know where we all were a week ago, a month ago, a year ago,” she said.
    “You can’t be serious. Why would they want to do that?” Don asked.
    Clarice shook her head. “Don’t be naïve. Why else would they be here?”
    “He’s coming back,” Dan whispered as he turned back to his data display. As the guard approached, Dan pointed to his screen and said in a more normal tone, “Look at this. We have a high rate of dropped packets to satellite twelve. Its orbital position looks good, so we need to readjust the antenna for the uplink.”
    “Yes, you’re right,” Clarice said as the guard continued along the aisle. Beads of sweat covered Dan’s forehead. She slid her box of tissues across the counter to him and whispered, “Wipe your face before someone sees you. You look guilty of something.”
    He complied. “What are we going to do?” he asked softly.
    “Nothing yet. I need to wait for the right moment,” Clarice said.

Chapter 6
     
    Megan awoke with a start, not sure where she was. The drone of the engine brought it all back to her in an instant. Checking her position, and then the time, she found she had been flying for just over two hours. In two more hours, she would reach the airfield at Oberck where she would refuel and sleep until morning. The seats in the central section of the cabin folded down into a reasonably comfortable bed, and there was a diner across the street from the aircar pads that served a decent breakfast. She and John had dined there more than once on their journeys.
    From Oberck, two hours flying would take her to Zebulon, so she’d have plenty of fuel to get back to Oberck on the return trip. Nolan had said that his uncle owned two aircars and had a private runway in the pasture behind his house, but he had no fuel source.
     
    * * * *
     
    Gentle, steady winds made her descent into Oberck comfortable and uneventful, though she preferred to land in daylight. The navigation system made night landings easier, and she could land the aircar without ever looking through the window, but it was more fun to do it visually. She informed the arrivals controller that she needed fuel, and he instructed her to follow the blue marker lights to the fueling area.
    After a few turns around some hangars, she brought the ship to a stop at the fueling unit. She opened her shutdown checklist and methodically followed the procedures. As she moved toward the door, she saw Nolan’s data unit in the mesh pocket on the wall and wondered how he was doing. Surely by now, he was aboard the Independence, and he may have even left orbit already. Then it struck her that she would not know if his mission was a success until she got back to Caldon to meet him. What if he isn’t there? she thought. That could only mean one thing. She quickly pushed the thought aside, opened the door, and stepped out.
    An attendant arrived, accompanied by a large dog with long, golden fur. “Do you want me to top it off, ma’am?” he asked.
    “Yes, please,” she replied as she knelt down to greet the dog, whose tale wagged frantically at this invitation to affection. It darted over to her, pressed up against her side as she gave it a hug and stroked its soft fur.
    “That’s Shelby. She’s my best friend. She keeps me company during the night shifts.”
    Megan looked up at him and smiled. “You’re lucky to have her. How old is she?”
    “She’s almost eight,” he replied.
    “Is that old for a dog?” she asked.
    “Naw. I expect she’s got another eight to ten years left in her.”
    Megan snuggled her cheek against Shelby’s face and hugged her neck. “She’s a sweetheart. You’re a lucky man.”
    “She’s all I have left,” he said, “since my wife passed