The Mojave Kidnapping

Two days later, Liam and Clara flew out to the Vance Global Mojave Aerospace Testing Facility in California for the final pre-launch telemetry calibration. The desert facility stretched across five thousand acres of sun-baked salt flats, surrounded by barbed-wire fences and massive concrete launch pads. In the center stood the towering Falcon-Nine heavy booster, its pristine white titanium skin gleaming beneath the desert sun. That morning, Clara had reviewed the…