Sam Fisher- Mark V Tactical Armor

  "First and most important," Redding said, "you're familiar with Dragon Skin?"

  Fisher was. Originally developed by Pinnacle Armor, Dragon Skin was the world's first "move when you move" body armor. Lightweight and flexible, Dragon Skin could stop bullets as heavy as an AK-47's 7.62mm. For years DARPA had been working with Dragon Skin-like composites for special operators, but hadn't been able to decrease the weight enough to make it feasible.

  "DARPA's figured it out," Fisher said.

  Redding nodded. "Meet the Mark V Tactical Operations Suit, code-named RhinoPlate. Weight, four pounds unloaded; thickness, eight millimeters--about a quarter inch. Outer shell is Kevlar; core material RhinoPlate; inner layer is seventh-generation Gore-tex."

  "Stats?"

  "Good against shrapnel at twelve feet; rifle rounds at fifteen; pistol and shotgun at eight feet. The Gore-Tex is tested to maintain core body temperatures down to fifteen degrees Fahrenheit with the hood up, and as high as one hundred ten. You could go from Alaska to the Sahara and stay relatively comfortable."

  "The color's different."

  "Good eye. New camouflage. The outer layer of the Kevlar is treated with a polymer fiber similar to the coating on stealth aircraft: matte-black, slightly rough to the touch for maximum light absorption. I won't bore you with the physics, but the micro-roughened exterior partially defuses light. Basically, about thirty percent of whatever photons strike the surface gets trapped--if for only a split second--but enough to diffuse them. Bottom line: You stand still in a shadow, you're virtually part of the shadow."

  "And the pouches and harness points? Everything's moved. It looks . . . lumpy."

  "Disruptive patterning. We've resized and rearranged them to break up your form."

  Mother Nature abhors straight lines. In low-light conditions the human eye tends to seek out movement, color difference, and geometric form. Of the three, movement was the easiest to address: stand still. Color difference was also easy: Black gives the eye little to draw from the background. Form, however, was problematic. The human body is a unique collection of angles and lines easily discernible to the human eye. By rearranging the pouches to various spots on the suit, the familiar outline of the body becomes fuzzy.

  Fisher took the suit from Redding and examined it. He nodded. "I like it. One question."

  "What?"

  "Where do I put my car keys?"

- Checkmate, Chapter 10