Hybrid - Forced Vengeance (35 page)

“If we get hung with this we’re going away for a long time. Shred everything that can incriminate us, then burn those documents. Call our sources at our subcontractors and have them do the same. Make the payoff worth their while. I’ll be in the office shortly. I don’t want one piece of paper or one computer file anywhere that can tie us to this fiasco.

“Let the government accuse us all they want. We should be able to stall awhile if there’s nothing for the government to seize or review.” Richard sighed lightly as he looked at the burning hulk of metal and plastic that was once his prized import.

“And Conrad? Have a company car come pick me up. My Lamborghini suffered damage at the hands of some juvenile’s vandalism.”

“At once, sir,” Conrad answered.

“Oh, and Conrad? Cancel our contract on Miss LaSalle. That no longer serves our purposes. The money saved there will be better utilized on this new undertaking.”

“As you wish, sir.”

* * * *

Colonel Arthur Ross reluctantly walked to the area where Anderson and the Pentagon officials were being detained. He returned the salute to the armed guards and passed through the double locked door to find the three men and two women frightened and huddled together. Across from them Lt. Colonel Anderson lay on a couch, his right arm in a sling and his shoulder bandaged.

Ross exhaled heavily and sat himself at the head of the adjacent conference table. Anderson refused to even acknowledge his commanding officer. The Pentagon delegates were far more vocal about their displeasure.

“Ross!” One man among them seethed with anger. “What in the hell is going on here? You’re supposed to brief us on the progress you’ve made with extraterrestrial technology, not keep us prisoner.”

Ross gestured everyone to seat themselves around the conference table. “You too Bill, if you can manage it.”

Anderson nodded curtly and struggled up and made his way to the chair at the opposite end of the large conference table.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are currently at a global defcon alert,” Ross announced. “There’s a fleet of alien ships approaching Earth at this very moment. Our initial attempt to destroy the invaders failed. Our job now is to implement whatever remaining resources we can muster to mount the best orbital attack – and repel a possible ground invasion with the time we have left.”

“What about NORAD?” a Pentagon official countered. “We must speak to our superiors and confirm this threat. You’ll forgive me if I don’t give you full credibility. Abducting government officials and imprisoning them is a crime in itself.”

Ross acknowledged his doubt with a nod. “NORAD and Cheyenne Mountain are the ones who ordered the defcon threat level. Once you arrive at the command center there will be proof enough. You will be allowed to confirm the threat with your superiors, but nothing more.”

Ross gestured to four guards to enter the room. He instructed them to escort the government officials to the control room and allow them one brief contact with their respective organizations. The guards escorted the quasi-prisoners to the Groom Lake Control Center while he and Anderson remained at the conference table.

“I can’t believe you shot me,” Anderson said.

“A shoulder wound, Bill. I had no intention of killing you, just putting an end to your tirade.”

“ ‘Shut up, Bill’ would have accomplished the same thing and been a lot less painful,” Anderson replied.

Ross laughed, waving off the discussion. “We need to put our differences behind us. The world is in grave danger. This is bigger than you and me now.”

“How will you keep our dirty secret about Gray, about the second starship? That alien child
is
the reason for the invasion. That fleet is undoubtedly coming here to fetch him. Wouldn’t it just be easier to turn Gray over and try to negotiate our grievances diplomatically?”

Ross raised an eyebrow. “And admit that we kept an alien prisoner without the knowledge, consent, or approval of our government?” Ross shook in head in disapproval. “That would lead to an investigation and eventually to our court-martial not to mention the discovery of other associates that have built the organization.”

“So to cover our proverbial asses we’re going to risk global annihilation?” Anderson challenged.

“Yes.” Ross raised both palms up. “That’s how things are shaping up. If we fail I don’t sincerely think that we’ll be around long enough to enjoy a military trial; we’ll die in some type of accident somewhere or our bodies will turn up in some discarded trash heap. We’ll not be allowed to testify; we know too much to risk being interrogated. Our superiors will never let it get that far. Defeating these aliens – or at least driving them off – is our only way to ensure we live.

“Besides, we don’t know the true motives of these creatures. They must be stopped with the weapons available through NORAD and Cheyenne Mountain. We may have a chance.”

“Gray told you what the motive was: A father coming for his son.” Anderson’s voice reflected impatience. “How long until the other father comes for his son? I’m sorry, Art, I can’t have a part in this travesty. There’s still time for you to do the right thing and contact that fleet. Gray can give you the right frequencies. This can still be worked out in the end.”

“No!” Half rising Ross slammed his fist on the table. “We can’t appear weak, or they’ll continue to abduct our people with impunity.”

“That’s bullshit, and you know it. Gray said that it was only a handful of his people who performed those abductions, and they’ve been taken care of. We haven’t had an abduction story or a real, confirmed UFO sighting in quite some time. That fact gives the aliens’ claim validity.”

Ross shook his head vehemently. “I’m sorry, Bill. I’m not going to confine you here, but you’re relieved of all formal duty. I’m going to trust you not to do anything that’s going to get you in trouble – or get you killed.”

“Fine,” Anderson said, raking a hand through his hair. “God help you for what you’re about to do.”

“God has nothing to do with this.” Ross got up from the table. “This is about securing our planet and covering our butts. Stop acting like some goddamned religious convert and get with the program, Bill. Your hands are just as dirty as mine or anybody else’s.” Ross pointed to Anderson’s rank insignia. “You knew what the stakes were when you pinned that silver oak leaf cluster on your shoulder.”

Anderson glanced down at the silver patches. “You’re right, Ross, of course, but you’ve gone overboard. I know what my sins are and I know what I’m guilty of. I’ll not shirk my responsibility and accountability when the time for a reckoning comes. But you’re superseding your authority and leading this planet down a path of destruction.” Anderson straightened to a full standing position. “You’re unfit for command, in my assessment.”

Ross gave him a cold stare then finally added, “Just stay out of trouble and stay out of my way. The next time I’ll shoot to kill. Are we clear?”

“Clear, colonel.” Anderson nodded.

* * * *

Anderson watched his old friend storm out of the conference room. Somehow he had to stop Ross from launching the human race into a war where there was little chance of winning. He needed Sergeant Phelps. The sergeant had stood up to Ross before. Would he be willing to help him now, when there was so much more at stake?

Chapter 18: Birth date +3 days, 0730 hrs 

Erik had given the dial code to Denton last night and the counselor had assured him that he would have an answer first thing this morning. Meanwhile, he’d spent most of the night reviewing the data discs from Nancy Bertoni. Michael Sparks had dug into countless data banks in order to unearth all this information. The data on disc indicated a conspiracy so deep and so complicated that it made any other scandal pale in comparison.

Denton was right, again. This wasn’t the kind of thing that he should rush into. If Denton could come through today it would save him trying to investigate the lead on his own. Denton could rally the entire weight of his organization to solve the eight-digit code.

Erik sat in the middle of his living room; his clothes carelessly tossed on his couch as he focused his telepathic ability outward, searching for the signal that had reached out to him earlier at the restaurant – and in Paris. He probed further and further out into the telekinetic void. Several thoughts and impressions floated to him, but none were what he sought.

He needed more power; he pictured his Esper self and willed his body to undergo the change. His mind opened up and plowed through the telekinetic void. He felt he was on the right frequency, but there was simply nothing there. He shifted his attention back to Shanda’s unique frequency. He focused on their shattered link. In his hybrid mode he harnessed all of his mental strength and sent out a general probe. He waited for several seconds.

He heard no response. That wasn’t a good sign. Even with all the clues he’d obtained and the puzzle he’d unraveled, he still didn’t have the final, most important piece. Where was Shanda?

His agency cell phone rang, startling him out of his focus. He reverted back to his human form as he activated the unit. He’d learned long ago that his Esper vocal chords were limited to a series of hisses and high-pitched tones. It was a complex mechanism for speech but it sounded meaningless to human ears.

“Knight, seven-four-three-nine-alpha.”

“Yesterday the United States Military and other nations of the world went on a global alert!” Denton’s voice boomed excitedly over the phone. “A global defcon alert is only used in case of invasion!”

“Settle down, Martin. You’re going to pop a blood vessel.”

“There’s so much more, but I have the answer to your question, my young friend. Just sit tight. I’ll be at Madame’s in about ten minutes.”

“You found where that code came from!” Erik jumped in eagerly.

“That and more. It’s all coming together Erik, just like you’ve said to me in the past. All the pieces of the puzzle fit together, nice and neat. But we’ve got a national crisis on our hands and Washington wants you quarterbacking.”

“I’ll see you in my booth in ten minutes.” Erik hung up. “Invasion?” he said to himself. “Who’d want this polluted hunk of rock?” The flashes of Alissa’s vision played back in his head. The observers were the ones who were coming.” He scratched his temple. “For some unknown reason they decided to invade Earth.” Jakor had told him that the Observers were a peaceful race. What had been done to set them off? How could Ross reach out beyond the confines of this world and piss off an entire species of sentient beings?”

“Hmmm, Colonel Ross, you seem to be on everybody’s shit list today,” he remarked.

Alissa did foresee a part of this combat; he was leading the human military defense against the invading forces. That must be what the flashed scenes were about – bits and pieces of the upcoming conflict. And the mysterious black cloud must be some alien weapon.

Erik shook his head. This was all happening too fast. His top priority was finding his wife! But how could he turn away from a problem this big with cataclysmic repercussions if he failed? The Espers did more than make him a hybrid; they had turned him into part of the living Earth itself, a force of nature capable of commanding the very elements at a molecular level. That kind of power frightened him.

He had a difficult choice to make: Take Denton’s information and find his wife, or take part in fending off the alien invasion. Once again he shook his head. He would wait until he had all of the facts in front of him before he made a decision.

* * * *

Alissa had seen the ships again, only the second time her vision was more detailed. The ships had neutralized several human shuttles and weapons before landing on Earth. She saw Erik in the middle of a desert engaged in a heated battle with huge alien machines; then she saw the big moving wall of black that threatened to consume everything.

“What could that moving black wall be?” he asked himself as he sipped a coffee.

Martin Denton arrived, and Erik immediately picked up on the elder man’s excitement and agitation.

“What’s going on?” he asked Denton.

“Let’s do this in your office. This is classified,” he whispered.

Erik instructed Alissa to bring their meal to his office, and both men adjourned to Erik’s study.

He sat his desk while Denton settled on one of the couches.

Denton spoke out first. “About ten o’clock last night I received a phone call from our company’s representatives at the White House. There is a
fleet
of ships heading toward Earth at this very moment. We’ve already tried to destroy them … and failed—”

A knock at the door stopped Denton. Erik told Alissa to come in. Denton looked impatient as she filled coffee cups and served two sizable breakfasts.

“Go on,” Erik said, explaining, “Alissa already knows about the invasion. She’s been seeing images of the upcoming fight for a month now. We just couldn’t piece it all together until recently. Besides, I trust her implicitly, and you can too.”

Denton’s eyes popped as he stared at the young girl. “We’re going to have to get you a clearance, my dear,” Denton announced. “Perhaps I can persuade you to take a position in Boston. I’m always looking for good help.”

Alissa blushed and smiled politely. “Mr. Knight would be lost without me.” She laughed and closed the door as she left the office.

“Can you really trust her? I mean … what do you really know about her?”

“She saved my life a few years back. You might say she was the catalyst that made me what I am today. So yes, I trust her implicitly. She’s a part of my family and a good, loyal friend.”

Denton nodded gravely. “I have the source for the phone number you obtained from Dr. Mills and more importantly we were able to trace the eight-digit code from Richard Pendelton. The number from Mills came from the Pentagon, but when we accessed the Pentagon computer records that number had been eliminated.”

Erik raised his hands in frustration. “Why am I not surprised?”

“However,” Denton added, “the eight-digit access code and phone number are a different story. That is one of four scramble codes used for our Groom Lake Testing Facility outside Nevada. That’s where the Air Force does a lot of their black ops research.

“Area 51,” Erik muttered as he leaned forward. “Roswell and all the supposed alien research is generated from that facility, correct?”

“Supposedly. This is all fitting together perfectly. Colonel Ross and Lt. Colonel Anderson were transferred to Groom Lake over eighteen months ago. Shortly after that Pendelcorp began acquiring defense contractors and winning lucrative contracts.” Denton paused. “But from what we could learn, none of their contract awards have ever made it to actual production.

“Pendelcorp appears to be a front for the splinter government in Washington. This group is using Pendelcorp to funnel legitimate tax dollars to fund their hidden agenda, and right under our noses.”

“If Ross is at Groom Lake, then it would make sense that he’d have Shanda there as well. The government and the Air Force are on record denying the existence of Area 51, despite the obvious evidence to the contrary,” Erik replied.

“I’ve already got three men confirming the colonel’s location. I’m positive he’s still there. It’s the logical place to house Shanda and the baby – when she finally delivers.”

“Shanda won’t be there that long, I assure you. Pendelton claims that Ross picked this fight. How can one man pick a fight with an entire planet and our government be completely in the dark about it?” Erik glanced at Denton and waited for an answer.

“I don’t know, Erik. After all this is over there’ll be some serious auditing as to how all this shit occurred under everyone’s noses, including ours. That’s what annoys me the most,” Denton added. “We didn’t catch it either. We have the same weakness in our internal intelligence gathering that’s infected the rest of our system of government.”

Erik gave a serious nod. “I hadn’t considered that. We need to round up the guilty and get some long-overdue answers. I’m afraid that when all of this finally becomes public, there’ll be as many dirty players as there are innocent. This could cripple our credibility, not only with the American people but with the rest of the world. Our military started an intergalactic incident that affects the entire planet.

“If we manage to survive this we’ll still take a beating in the international community. We’ll have to throw the United Nations a bone or two once we solve this.” Erik sighed heavily. “If we solve this,” he amended gravely. “What kind of information do we have on what’s coming?”

“I haven’t received any specifics as of yet. All I know is that the aliens are on the way, moving at speeds well beyond our technological capability.” Denton’s facial expression turned even more serious. “Might you be able to hold them off? Between us, my friend – just how powerful
have
you become that the government would want you in the middle of this fray?”

Erik gave Denton a dubious look. “I don’t know. I’ve done some experiments shortly after my change, looking for limits or boundaries.” Erik paused to sip his coffee.

“And?” Denton urged.

“I had to stop before I found any. “I kept changing shortly after the initial mutation. Each time I transformed, there was a new latent ability that I hadn’t recognized earlier. I have limits, I just don’t know what they are and I’m afraid to push myself any further than I already have, in order to reach them.”

“But do you think you’ll be able to go toe to toe with these things when they get here?”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, Martin. Let’s get out there and pull the damn plug on this before it goes any further. The sooner I get Shanda home and get this mess cleaned up the happier I’ll be.”

“I’ll put in a call to the Pentagon to see if I can get you a flight out there,” Martin replied.

“When will the government brief the public about this threat?”

“We don’t want to inform the public until we know what’s really going on. We’re hoping to avoid a confrontation. If not then a general warning will be issued. There’s no sense in causing a global panic when we really have no idea what’s about to occur, is there?” Denton replied.

“I guess not, but the secrecy bothers me. If my ass was about to be cooked I’d want to know about it as early as possible.”

“Can you imagine what an ‘end of the world’ speech would do right now? There’d be panic, looting and lawlessness. We need to defer that as long as possible or avoid it all together,” Denton said in a grave voice.

“Makes sense. Let me know as soon as possible about that transportation. If I have to, I’ll get to Groom Lake on my own. It may take me longer but I’ll get there.”

“I’ll have your answer on transportation this afternoon at the latest,” Denton assured him. “In the meantime there’s a videoconference in Boston concerning force deployment and resources. It’s a top-secret briefing, and you’ve been given clearance to attend. Washington is being briefed from NORAD and Cheyenne Mountain on our defensive capabilities as well as your input on what you can do to augment our ground forces, if it goes that far. I was told to twist your arm to get you to attend.”

Erik shook his head. He would fight if he had to, but he refused to be a pawn on the chessboard anymore. He was going to start playing his own game.

“I need to get to Groom Lake sooner than that, Martin,” Erik countered.

Denton raised an eyebrow in shock. “I know you’re anxious to get your wife back, Erik, but I think you just missed the entire point of what I told you. We’re being invaded, son, and the president is calling on you to help defend this county – this planet.”

“The president wants his favorite cleaner to take care of yet another mess that was created by failed government oversight and government mismanagement.”

“You’ve got a point, I’ll concede that. But you have to admit that the current circumstance should supersede your need for rubbing the government’s face in its own excrement.”

Erik smiled despite himself. “Martin, you have a most unique way of putting things. I’ll forego the excrement rubbing providing I get my transportation shortly after. My wife’s probably wondering if I’m ever coming for her.”

“She’s probably in the safest place right now, relatively speaking, if there is an invasion. She’d be in more danger out here in a panicked populace if things go south. Groom Lake is one of the most battle-hardened facilities in the country.”

“True.” the detective agreed. “But she’s under Ross’s thumb, as a prisoner. I’d rather have her with me where I can see to her protection.”

“Are we about done here?” Denton changed the subject. “The videoconference starts in a little over an hour. I’d like to be on time for this one,” Denton said as he gestured toward the door.

Erik stood up and grabbed his jacket, “After you, counselor.”

Groom Lake Command Center 0830 hours Eastern Time

Ross, followed by the Pentagon group, walked into the control center amidst alarms blaring and panic spreading. “Report!” he ordered.

“Sir,” the technician on radar said, sitting at attention, “the alien armada made a hyper light jump. They vanished off our scopes and then reappeared just outside lunar orbit. The lunar observatory post is tracking them along with our sensors. The alien vessels have formed up just outside of the moon and are currently at station keeping.”