Bill asked, “What did you all think of the last part of the meeting today?”

Natesh said, “You mean Lena’s revelation? It was compelling. What did you think?”

David said, “I was pretty shocked. I work on classified technology for a living. I’ve seen a lot of real cutting-edge stuff. If they have ARES, that’s bad news.”

“It sure is.” Bill agreed. “There’s that silver bullet we were talking about all day.”

David nodded. “Imagine our ships, our troops in combat, and our aircraft without any navigation or smart weapons. A great deal of our communication...arguably the most important parts, would be wiped out. We would be back to Vietnam era technology. And the thing is, our military is pretty reliant on the tech that we have. I mean, when was the last time you wrote a letter? Has your cursive handwriting gotten any worse since you were in grade school? No need to practice with email, right? The same will go for war fighting. No need to practice using a compass all the time if you have got GPS. And if the other guys are practicing, advantage them.”

Natesh said, “Or worse, if the Chinese retain their technology. I believe they just launched their own GPS system. I’m sure it would be quite possible to crash our satellites and leave theirs intact.”

David looked at each of them. That little voice in his head was talking to him again. Something just didn’t sit right about all of this. Natesh and Bill both seemed like good trustworthy men. He wanted to ask them if they believed everything that they had heard over the past 24 hours. Instead, he just kept silent.

Natesh said, “Lena and the Major will be taking us through some more of the Chinese military capabilities and limitations this evening. We should probably leave in another few minutes.”

“Sure thing. Don’t want to be late for the CIA lady.” said David.

Bill said, “So…Lena said we could go to her if we had any issues right?”

Natesh said, “Yes, that’s what she said. She said she can get us anything that we need while we are here.”

Bill’s voice sounded pained like he was trying to figure out what to do. “That’s my issue. Look, I just don’t know if I can afford to be here.”

David was pretty sure that he was referring to his wife’s illness.

Natesh said, “I’m...I’m not really sure what to say. I know this is probably obvious the way you’re feeling. But, I assume you’re worried about your wife?”

Bill let out a deep sigh. “Yep. I realize this is important. But I got a lot of important things on my plate right about now. Before the world goes to hell, I would rather spend that time with my wife. No offenses to you fine gentlemen.”

David ate the last bite of his green beans and wiped his mouth with a napkin. He thought about the position Bill was in and where they were in the world. The guy needed to get off this island.