Free Game of Drones by Rick Jones, Rick Chesler Page B

were only privy to the specific sub-system they worked with. You never see these drones until it’s too late, Tanner. They do not register on any existing radar system.”
    “And these mini-drones, they’re called what, again?”
    “Micro Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, or remoras. Each Reaper is equipped to carry up to four remoras at a time. Now, a Reaper can go as far as 500 miles. But these mini-drones, which carry a maximum payload of five pounds, can only travel a distance of six miles. During the Reaper's flight, these programmed remoras can detach themselves from the mother’s back and head for a specified target, while the Reaper continues on to another mark.”
    “How devastating can a mini-drone be?”
    Casey gave an uncomfortable chortle. “Weighted down with five pounds of Semtex? Very. Or they can carry a specialized canister capable of spraying aerosolized biological and chemical agents over a wide area.”
    Tanner was floored. “Hold on. Are these people are in possession of biological and chemical agents?”
    “We checked, and nothing has been reported as missing. But it's a concern because if they did manage to get their hands on some, those remoras are the perfect dispersal method..”
    “No need to get complacent, right?”
    “That’s right.”
    “And the senator’s plane?”
    “As you know, Senator Houseman was spearheading the cause to strengthen the armed forces, not downsize them, which is what President Carmichael wants to do. Houseman was openly determined to shore up our borders against terrorist incursion and was quite vocal about racial profiling. So the scary thing is that Shazad and his team knew what plane he’d be on, its course, and timed it perfectly so that the Reaper could acquire and intercept . . . The Senator died 180 miles west of D.C.”
    “Along with more than 160 other people.”
    “Between the JBAB and the senator’s plane, the death toll is over 200. And we have little doubt that Shazad is just getting started.”
    “So what is it that you need from me?”
    “Carmichael realizes that this nation is about to be cast backward in time to nine-eleven all over again. The airspace has already been closed with fighter jet coverage policing the sky. We expect a sharply declining stock market. And worse, the collective mindset of the nation will once again become so paranoid that America may take years to come out of its shell. Carmichael has ordered the Press Secretary to cushion the blow with a 'don't worry, everything's gonna be all right' news conference. Then, once we have more of a direction to proceed in regarding Shazad, he’ll take to the podium himself."
    “He’s still in Washington?”
    “No. He’s at Raven Rock, like me.”
    Tanner absorbed all this. Regardless of what the Press Secretary was going to say, the meaning would still be the same: American soil was about to soak up trauma. How do you soften a blow like that?
    “Tanner, I need your new team. I need you to find Shazad and his unit, and to terminate them without prejudice.”
    “Whoa! We’re not assassins, John. We only terminate if certain conditions exist and the action is completely warranted.”
    “I’m not saying that you’re natural born killers, Tanner. But do you think that a guy like Aasif Shazad, a presumed member of al-Qaeda who has the skills and insights of his enemy, is just going to allow you to walk right up to him and shake his hand? He’s not going to play nice. He’s going to kill you, Tanner. He’s going to kill you, your squad members, and if he can get away with it-- he's going to kill as many American citizens as he can."
    “Look, Casey. We’ll find Shazad, we'll engage him, and we’ll shut down his operation. But we will not kill anyone other than for reasons of self-defense or to protect others who can’t defend themselves.”
    “Well, good luck to you, Tanner, if you think Shazad isn’t going to throw punches right back at you. If you can take him alive, then