​     More silence. ​Finally, "What you're telling me is astounding. It has to be bullshit."

​     "I told you you wouldn't believe me. Still, are you satisfied? Are you satisfied I did the best I could to answer your question?"

     "I now know I'll never get the real answer if that's..."

​     "That was the real answer. That answer was more real than anything you'll experience in life. Okay, now for my question. I want to know...oops. I'm sorry." He spotted some activity on his forward visual scanner. "I think I may have to go now. I figure I'm going to get real busy here in the next few minutes."

     "Are you..."

     "I'm entering the airspace around Pete's Peak. Gotta go."

     He switched off Tana, turned on Claudia. "Talk to me, babe," he said. "How big are they? How strong are they? I'm counting fifteen, sixteen..." 

​     "They're Goldbody's finest, Adam, his best aircraft. Jets as big and strong as yours." 

​     "Sounds like I've got my work cut out for me. Link with me, Claudia. Let's do this together. You want to?" 

​     "Wouldn't miss it."

                                               CONTINUE