Stealthy Steps
by Vikki Kestell
My name is Gemma Keyes. Other than my name, I am utterly forgettable—so those who never paid much attention to me in the first place haven’t exactly noticed that I’ve disappeared. Vanished. Oh, it’s much more complicated than it sounds. I've had to learn the hard way: Invisibility comes with its own set of problems.
I should tell you about Dr. Daniel Bickel, world-renowned nanophysicist. We used to work together, but I’ll be candid with you: He’s supposed to be dead. Well, he’s not. (Imagine my surprise.) Instead of the proverbial “six feet under,” he’s subsisting in an abandoned devolution cavern beneath the old Manzano Weapons Storage Facility on Kirtland Air Force Base here in Albuquerque.
“I need to show you what I’m protecting here, Gemma,” he insisted.
I stared into the clear glass case. I could hear . . . humming, clicking, buzzing. A faint haze inside the box shifted. Dissolved. Came back together. Reminded me of how mercury, when released on a plate, will flow and form new shapes. Only this, this thing was “flowing and forming” in midair.
“Do you see them?” Dr. Bickel asked.
“Them?” I was confused. My mouth opened to a stunned “o” as the silver haze resolved into blue letters.
H E L L O
Dr. Bickel hadn’t pressed any buttons. Hadn’t said anything to them. Hadn’t gestured.
He grinned. “Ah. They’ve noticed you. They know they haven’t seen you before.”
“Well, I wish they wouldn’t notice me!” I choked on the words, my eyes fixed on the glass case.
And I need to warn you about General Cushing. The rank and name likely conjure images of a lean but muscled old soldier, posture rigid, face cemented in unyielding lines, iron-gray hair cut high and tight. Let me disabuse you of that impression: General Imogene Cushing is short and a tiny bit plump. She wears her silvered hair in an elegant braid knotted at the nape of her neck, and she knows how to smile sweetly. With the deadliest of sharks.
You wouldn’t suspect a two-star general, an Air Force O-8, of being a traitor, would you?
Nanostealth
Book 1: Stealthy Steps
Book 2: Stealth Power
Book 3: Stealth Retribution
Book 4: Deep State Stealth, 2019 Selah Award Winner
“Vikki writes the kind of faith-filled fiction that hooks you within the first few pages, will not let you go until you have finished, and leaves you wishing for more.”
—Janis Braun, Seattle, Washington
“Her books are not just for 'chicks'! I was amazed how engrossed I became in the lives of Vikki's characters, and how much I could relate to their situations.”
—Ed Dunne, Los Angeles
“Be prepared to put life on hold. That's all I have to say!”
—Rebecca H., New Jersey
“You will laugh, you will cry but, most of all, you will be uplifted.”
—LaTisha Holland, St. Augustine, FL
I should tell you about Dr. Daniel Bickel, world-renowned nanophysicist. We used to work together, but I’ll be candid with you: He’s supposed to be dead. Well, he’s not. (Imagine my surprise.) Instead of the proverbial “six feet under,” he’s subsisting in an abandoned devolution cavern beneath the old Manzano Weapons Storage Facility on Kirtland Air Force Base here in Albuquerque.
“I need to show you what I’m protecting here, Gemma,” he insisted.
I stared into the clear glass case. I could hear . . . humming, clicking, buzzing. A faint haze inside the box shifted. Dissolved. Came back together. Reminded me of how mercury, when released on a plate, will flow and form new shapes. Only this, this thing was “flowing and forming” in midair.
“Do you see them?” Dr. Bickel asked.
“Them?” I was confused. My mouth opened to a stunned “o” as the silver haze resolved into blue letters.
H E L L O
Dr. Bickel hadn’t pressed any buttons. Hadn’t said anything to them. Hadn’t gestured.
He grinned. “Ah. They’ve noticed you. They know they haven’t seen you before.”
“Well, I wish they wouldn’t notice me!” I choked on the words, my eyes fixed on the glass case.
And I need to warn you about General Cushing. The rank and name likely conjure images of a lean but muscled old soldier, posture rigid, face cemented in unyielding lines, iron-gray hair cut high and tight. Let me disabuse you of that impression: General Imogene Cushing is short and a tiny bit plump. She wears her silvered hair in an elegant braid knotted at the nape of her neck, and she knows how to smile sweetly. With the deadliest of sharks.
You wouldn’t suspect a two-star general, an Air Force O-8, of being a traitor, would you?
Nanostealth
Book 1: Stealthy Steps
Book 2: Stealth Power
Book 3: Stealth Retribution
Book 4: Deep State Stealth, 2019 Selah Award Winner
“Vikki writes the kind of faith-filled fiction that hooks you within the first few pages, will not let you go until you have finished, and leaves you wishing for more.”
—Janis Braun, Seattle, Washington
“Her books are not just for 'chicks'! I was amazed how engrossed I became in the lives of Vikki's characters, and how much I could relate to their situations.”
—Ed Dunne, Los Angeles
“Be prepared to put life on hold. That's all I have to say!”
—Rebecca H., New Jersey
“You will laugh, you will cry but, most of all, you will be uplifted.”
—LaTisha Holland, St. Augustine, FL
