He closed the laptop. He had things to pack. Mostly clothes, like socks, underwear and a few other favorite items. The laptop, to write down his findings and upload it if he solved the mystery. He was worried they might search it, but he was also confident in his encryptions. He also brought a simple notebook, to write things down if he had no computer access. He inspected his various traps while walking around in the house. The traps were just like he left them, they always were. Better safe than sorry.

He trusted that the military would provide most things, so he only packed a single bag.

The rest of day passed quickly and in the middle of the night, at around 4, when he was sleeping soundly, the doorbell rang. Several times.

His eyes opened instantly. Who would come visit in the middle of the night? Many thoughts swirled around in his head.

Thieves? No, they wouldn’t alert me. Police? Damn, is my background catching up on me? But they would also charge right in if they really came for me… A neighbor? Maybe there has been some kind of accident?

He crawled out of bed, his previously drowsy state gone. He took a sneak peek through the window blinds. Outside he saw a black Hummer truck and two men with army uniforms standing next to it.

They said they would come tomorrow? Or is this hour tomorrow for them?

Sighing, he walked through his house, lighting it up as he passed. His house was not very large and only had a single floor.

He opened the front door, but didn’t remove the door chain lock.

“Yes?” Adam asked.

“Are you Mr Hunter?” The uniformed man said.

“Yes? Who’s asking?”

“Sir, I have been ordered to pick you up. We must move out asap.”

“Ok, I need to go to the toilet first. Give me five minutes to get ready.”

“Hmph, very well. Don’t do anything stupid.”

Adam nodded and closed the door. Stupid? They think I’m going to run away? He shaked his head as he continued towards the toilet. After some personal time, he got dressed and picked up his bag. The front door opened and Adam stepped outside. He paused briefly and turned his head for one last look at his house.

He had never left his home for more than two days. One time when he was younger, he won a weekend stay at a five star hotel. Since he was curious what it was like, he had accepted the offer. It turned out to be nothing special. At least in Adam’s mind.

“That was eight minutes… sir.” The man in the uniform said. “We got a schedule to keep. So get in the vehicle and lets go.”

Adam could only silently sigh. He gave his bag to one of the men waiting by the car, and crawled into the backseat. The car was much larger than he was used to, making it awkward to get in.

“Hurry up back there!” The angry man in the uniform shouted from the driver seat.

“Shit! They order me, a Second Lieutenant, to pick up some civilian in the middle of the night. Damn, since these sudden budget cuts, they keep ordering stupid stuff. This isn’t why I joined the army.” The man in the uniform driving the car mumbled to himself, unfortunately everyone else in the car could hear it too.

Suddenly, he struck the steering wheel twice with his palm, causing the car to swerve on the road.

“Sir, please calm down!” The other one in the front seat said, his uniform showing his rank was lower.

“Shut up, Sergeant.”

Adam was terrified. He was sitting in the backseat together with the third soldier, who didn’t look so good either. Is this how the military acts?

Thankfully the trip was peaceful after that. However it was not very long. It only lasted about one hour. They had arrived at the destination. A runway in the middle of nowhere. On it was a helicopter. A black unmarked Black Hawk helicopter.

Adam breathed in cold air through his teeth. The black helicopter conspiracy theory! Adam had done research on that topic but he never came up with anything substantial.

No, I shouldn’t get too excited. It’s only a black helicopter.

Calming himself, he got out of the big hummer truck.

“Here is your bag, sir.” The sergeant said, handing it over to Adam. “Enjoy your trip.”

“This is where we part. I don’t know why you are important enough to spend so much resources on, but good luck anyway.” The third soldier said. He had talked with Adam during the ride.

“Good bye, Private Ryan. Nice knowing you. Maybe we will meet again someday.” They shaked hands, both smiling.

“Yeah yeah, get on with it. We still got a schedule to keep. I’m the one that’s going to fly the helicopter with you so, hurry up.” The Second Lieutenant said.

They got into the helicopter. Adam had some problems with it once again, but he managed to get in.

Big Hummer truck, now a Black Hawk heli. What’s next?

The Second Lieutenant hit a few switches and the blades started spinning, creating a massive noise. Adam put on his headset and they lifted from the ground. The feeling of hovering in the air was quite exciting. He had never flown before. Not with a normal aircraft either.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

“So, what should I call you? Second Lieutenant is a long title to say.”

“The name is Rick, however you don’t need to speak at all. Problem solved.”

Adam guessed he didn’t like talking much. Maybe he needed to concentrate on flying.

They quickly reached an altitude of two kilometers and Adam was staring out the window, mesmerized by the view. Having seen pictures of what the ground looked like from up high before, he didn’t think much of it at first. But now when he was high up in the air, he couldn’t stop looking. Forests, roads, small cars and houses, it was all a new experience.

He noticed a burned down part of the forest. Wonder how that happened? The news didn’t report anything.

As the trip continued, Adam started to feel bored.

“Hey, Rick, how much longer?”

“Not much longer, forty minutes maybe.”

“Where are we going anyway? Seems we are heading towards the ocean?”

“Correct. You will see when we get there.”

Thirty minutes later they reached the ocean and soon after Adam saw something big in the distance.

“Is that a… carrier?”

Rick seemed to cheer up for the first time.

“Indeed, one of the new Ford classes, but most likely the only one.” Rick sighed, “They cancelled the others and scrapped most of the older carriers. They are, or were, supposed to replace the old Nimitz class. They are better in pretty much every way, especially in the electrical power department. Nimitz class have been struggling with newer technology thanks to it’s older design. They didn’t think so much power was needed back in the day. Anyway, this baby is over 300m long and can carry 90 planes...” Rick continued to spew out facts about the ship.

While Adam had a hint of interest in the beginning, he quickly lost it when he noticed they were hovering over the ship just so Rick could keep talking.

“Hey, Rick, aren’t we going to land?”

“Hmm? Oh yeah, I forgot myself there for a minute. I have always like the great machines of war, they are the reason I joined the army.”

“Then why didn’t you join the navy or airforce?”

“Eh, well, while it’s true they have the larger ones, the feeling of riding a tank, shooting down bad guys is impossible to beat. You know, being right in the middle of the action, instead of standing on a ship who knows how far away or flying high up in the air bombing things.”

Rick hit a few switches and began to talk into the mic.

“This is Black Dragon, requesting permission to land. Over.”

“This is Gerald R. Ford. Permission granted. Out.”

Rick turned off the radio again.

“Is that how a conversation normally goes?”

“No, this one was a little more casual than normal. We cut a few corners but, eh, not like we are doing anything important anyway. They are just waiting for you and a few others. They haven't had any action in a long time.”

Adam looked down at the flight deck, it was mostly empty.

“Where are all the planes.”

“Yeah, like I said, budget cuts. They scrapped most of them. Anyway, this is where we part. You are going to ride on this ship for a while, and I’m returning home to sleep.”

Adam decided to ask Rick a very important question before he left.

“Do you know why they suddenly scrapped so much of the army?”

“No idea. But you will most likely find out before me. You aren’t the first civilian I have to play taxi with.”

It wouldn’t be that easy of course.

The helicopter landed safely on the deck, shutting down the engine so Adam could get out without suffering from the noise.

Adam grabbed his bag and climbed out. Some of the ship crew were standing on the deck waiting for him. They were a mix of flight deck personnel wearing different colored jerseys, goggles and a helmet with built in ear protection. There were also a few regular sailors wearing blue service dresses with white hats.

As Adam approached the group, one of them walked out a few steps in front of the rest, took off his hat and put it under his arm.

“Welcome, Mr. Hunter.” He extended his hand for a handshake. “I am the captain of this fine ship. The name is Stone, Captain Stone. We have been expecting you. Please allow us to...” He motioned to one of the lower ranked to take Adam’s bag, something he gladly accepted.

“Now, follow me. I’m sure you are tired after your travels. I will take you to your room.”

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