17 Chapter 17

In a joint effort with the CIA, the NSA had intercepted a code that revealed the Soviets would be launching Sputnik II early in November, and this time the payload would be the passenger it carried, a dog named Laika. It lit a fire under the Defense Department, who provided funding for Wernher von Braun and his team to begin work on the Explorer program.

Still, with Kruschchev becoming Premier of the Soviet Union and Castro’s army attacking Havana, I thought we might have more to worry about down on the ground.

I was working a code that I’d been given earlier when the in-house phone buzzed. “Yes, Tony?”

“How do you do that?”

“Do what?” I laughed to myself, knowing full well what he meant. I could tell unerringly when my oldest brother was on the line.

“Never mind. Listen, I need you in here right now. Jefferson’s forwarded a new code to us, and there’s something about it that’s driving me out of my mind.”