Chapter 40
The Extermination
Mo watched the end of a steady stream of cars roll by on their way out of Death Valley Junction marking the completion of the evacuation. Then he noticed a caravan of tanker trucks approaching from the opposite direction. General Thornton had called in sixty trucks filled with a very strong insecticide to be sprayed throughout the city in an effort to kill the Nanomites. He’d also arranged for an aerial spraying of the deadly poison to be sure there was a uniform application and every single one of them were killed. The lead truck stopped and the driver was given instructions for the operation. Five hundred soldiers had been called in to handle the job. They were told they were spraying to eradicate insects that had infested the area after the earthquake. Mo wondered if they would have followed their orders had they known they were committing genocide.
When the last truck had been given its orders, Mo went back to the headquarters tent where General Thornton, Senator Rawlings and Captain Winslow were monitoring the operation. They looked up when he entered the tent.
“How’s it going?” General Thornton asked.
“Everyone should be in place in fifteen minutes.”
“Good. We’ve given them nearly twenty-four hours to regroup. I just pray they haven’t left the area.”
“Unfortunately, there is no way of knowing where they are. It’s like trying to swat a fly in the dark.”
General Thornton shook his head. “You’re right, but this is our best bet for now. We’ll have to keep this area under surveillance for a while in case the bugs start building another cathedral. The moment one of them pops up, we’ll be on them so fast they won’t know what hit them.”
Mo wondered if the Nanomites knew they were about to be slaughtered. If they are truly intelligent beings they must realize there will be consequences for the destruction of a human city.
“Sir, have we taken any precautions against a counterattack?” Mo asked.
Senator Rawlings laughed. “A counterattack? These are bugs for godsakes! What do you think they are going to do, launch an assault against our soldiers?”
Mo shrugged. “No. But if they are intelligent, they may be concocting some type of plan in anticipation of what we are doing.”
“Well, I seriously doubt they are all that smart. I will agree they may be fleeing. That would be a natural response, attack and then run, but if you are suggesting they are going to attack us today, I can’t see it.”
“Okay. Just a thought,” Mo said. “But I wouldn’t underestimate them if I were you.”
“I’ll take that under advisement,” the General said and turned to an aide. “Okay, commence Operation Desert Cleansing.
The aide saluted and ran off to communicate the order to the troops. Just as he left, the ground around them began to rumble.
“What the hell?” Rawlings said as he was nearly knocked off his feet.
“Run!” Mo exclaimed. Without looking back he took off running. As he did the ground beneath the tent began to give way. General Thornton, Senator Rawlings and several aides disappeared into the abyss. Captain Malone ran and leaped to a rock that had stood firm and stood teetering on the brink. He looked down in horror into the dark sinkhole. A soldier ran over to him and offered a hand, but just as he reached for it, the rock gave way and he was gone. Mo stopped a half mile away panting heavily. He looked back at the cloud of dust and wondered no more about whether the Nanomites were sentient beings. In his mind they were not only intelligent, but were cold, calculating killers, hell bent on ridding Earth of the human race.
When he’d caught his breath, Mo got up and walked briskly to the highway. He knew there was a gas station about two miles down the road where he could make a phone call. Upon reaching the highway he starting jogging along the center line. The temperature he guessed was nearly 110∘ and he had no water. He wasn’t in very good shape either. Fitness had been a requirement when he joined the CIA, but it had taken a back seat as the years went by. His heart was beating so hard he could feel it pounding in his chest. Finally, his adrenalin gave out and he was forced to slow to a walk. Relief washed over him as he saw flashing lights ahead. As they got closer he realized it was a sheriff’s car. The car slowed and stopped beside him. Deputy Lawson rolled down the window.
“Did you come from town?”
Mo nodded. “Yes, there was another earthquake. The HQ tent fell into a sinkhole. General Thornton and Senator Rawlings were swallowed up. I’m not sure about Captain Malone. He was hanging on the edge when I saw him last. I was going to make a call for help.”
“I’ll radio it in. You better get in out of the heat.”
Mo didn’t want to involve the sheriff’s office, but knew the deputy wouldn’t take no for an answer. “Okay, but can you take me to the gas station up the road. I’ve got to call my superiors.”
Mo got into the air conditioned car and breathed a sigh of relief. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“Who are you anyway?” Lawson said as he made a quick U-turn and drove south.
“Harold Smith,” Mo lied. “I’m a special consultant to the Army working with General Thornton on the Death Valley Junction recovery effort.
“Did you take over Jimmy Malone’s job?” Lawson asked.
Mo was shocked by the question. “How did you figure that out?”
“Well. I figured Malone was doing something important, so when he was killed, the Army would get someone to replace him.”
“Did you know Jimmy well?”
“No. Not really. We worked together a bit over at the Bat Mountain site. I was in charge of crowd control while the pilgrimage was in full swing.”
“Oh. I see. So, you must know Jack Carpenter.”
“Oh, yes. I’m dating his ex-wife.”
Mo thought about that a moment, wondering if it was time for a meeting with the elusive Jack Carpenter. “Have you seen Jack lately. I’d really like to talk to him.”
“No. Haven’t seen him in a couple weeks.”
“How would I get in touch with him?”
“Ah. You could leave a message with his answering service. I can give you the number. If that doesn’t work, he’s sure to be over at his ex-wife’s on Saturday. He usually takes his son Jake out then.”
“Great. I would like that number.”
“Sure.”
When they reached the gas station Mo went inside and used the payphone. He dialed a special number at the White House.
“This is Mo. I need to talk to the President.”
“He’s in a meeting with the Ambassador to Egypt,” his secretary said.
“Get him out. This is urgent,” Mo advised.
“Alright. I’ll get word to him.”
There was a long silence on the line and then the President came on. “This better be important, Mo. I don’t like being interrupted while in a meeting with a foreign diplomat. It conveys a lack of respect. ”
“Sorry, Mr. President. But I thought you should know General Thornton and Senator Rawlings are dead. I’m not sure about Captain Winslow.”
“Huh? What the hell happened?”
Mo explained what he knew. “If I’d have tried to help Captain Winslow I’d be dead now too.”
“So, now what am I supposed do? I can’t bring in the Joint Chiefs. They don’t even know about this project.”
“Yes, sir. I believe it’s just you, me and the Director now.”
“Have you talked to the Director?”
“No. This is the first call I have made. Sir, these Nanomites are a real threat to this nation, and I think you should bring in the Joint Chiefs to figure out how to deal with them.”
“I can’t do that. If what we’ve done leaks out the backlash would be not only devastating to my administration, but to our nation as well. There has to be something else we can do. How about Kulchz? Can’t he help? He’s the one who brought the Nanomites to Earth. It should be his problem anyway, not mine.”
“Perhaps, but I hav
e another idea.”
“What’s that?”
“Jack Carpenter and Agent Marcia Sanders of the FBI. They already know about the aliens, but they haven’t leaked the information to anyone as far as I can tell.”
“Are you sure they know?”
“Yes, they have to know. They have one of the aliens with them.”
“Oh, Jesus!”
“No. I think this may be okay. Let me make contact with them. With their help and the alien’s help, we may figure a way out of this mess.”
The President sighed deeply. “Okay. Make contact and then report back to me before you do anything else. Also, contact the Director and see if he has any ideas.”
“I will. Thank you, Mr. President.”
Mo hung up the phone, his heart now beating almost as rapidly as it had while he was jogging in the heat. He took another dime out of his pocket and deposited it. When he got a dial tone, he hit zero. When the operator came on he gave her his credit card number and the number for Jack Carpenter. He looked over at Deputy Lawson who was waiting expectantly. He wondered what the deputy would do if he were aware that Shoshone would be the next likely town to be obliterated by the Nanomites. As he was daydreaming a recorded message came on advising him that Jack Carpenter was out but that he would call him back if he left a message. Mo hung up the phone and walked over to the deputy.
“Deputy Lawson, I wonder if you would do me a big favor.”
“Sure. How can I help?”
“I need to get to Shoshone so I can pick up transportation. I could wait around here for Army transport but I think it might be awhile given the situation in town.”
“Sure, the Army has advised us to stay out of town anyway, so I don’t have anything else to do. Besides, I’m due for my dinner break anyway. Do you have time for a bite?”
“Sure. That would be great. I haven’t eaten all day.”
“Where are they sending you?”
“To find Jack Carpenter?”
“Why?”
“He may have some information that would be helpful to the Army.”
“Helpful how?”
“I can’t say. It’s classified.”
Curt nodded. “Did you try calling him?”
“Yeah. Just got a message.”
“We can swing by Angela’s place. She might know where to find him.”
They drove back to Shoshone and stopped at Deputy Lawson’s favorite diner. Mo decided this was an opportunity to find out more about Jack. If he was going to have to trust him, he needed to know if Jack was trustworthy. While they were eating Mo brought up the subject.
“So, how’s your relationship with Jack?”
“Okay. We don’t like each other much but we’re civil.”
“What happened between Jack and Angela?”
“Jack’s business is all over the county and it takes so much of his time, he neglected Angela over the years. She just got tired of it.”
“So, how is he as a father?”
“Jake loves him and they get along fine, but it’s hard for him only being able to see him once a week.”
“So, do you spend time with Jake?”
“No. He tolerates me but that’s about it. I don’t have a lot of spare time either, as you can imagine. I struggle to keep Angela happy.”
“So, if you needed a foundation built, would you hire Jack?”
“Oh, yeah. He’s the best concrete contractor in the state. I’ve recommended him to a lot of people. Like I said. There’s no animosity between us. When I came along, Jack and Angela’s marriage was pretty much over.”
“I see.”
After they’d finished dinner Lawson called Angela and asked if it was alright for them to come over. She said it was fine, so they got in the squad car and drove over. Jake was mowing the front lawn when they pulled up. Lawson got out and nodded at Jake. Jake turned off the lawn mower and walked over to them.
“Jake. I want you to meet Harold Smith. He works for the Army and is looking for your dad.”
“Really? Why?”
“Hi,” Mo said. “Oh, we need his help on a project. It’s pretty important that I find him quickly.”
“Did you call him?”
“Yes. I left a message.”
As they were talking Angela came out of the house and walked over to them. Lawson greeted her with a hug and a kiss and then turned to look at Mo.
“He usually gets a motel someplace nearby his current job site,” Jake said.
“Where’s he working now?”
“Ah. He’s in between jobs. The next one coming up is near Independence. He might be out there although I heard something about that project being delayed.”
“If he didn’t get a motel where would he sleep?”
Jake looked at his mother. “Ah, well. He spends some nights with Dolly. She works over at Mona’s Café. Sometimes he even camps out near the job site or sleeps in the construction trailer.”
“Is there a construction trailer at Independence?”
“Yes, I believe there is.”
“Thank you, Jake. If you hear from your father tell him I’m looking for him. Tell him the government needs his help and his forgiveness.”
“Forgiveness?” Jake asked.
“Yes. We haven’t been exactly friendly to your father, so he might not be anxious to talk to me. It’s a long story, but he’ll understand. Tell him it’s a matter of national security.”
“Where can he find you?”
“I’ll be at the Desert Inn tonight. After that I don’t know. Tell him to call the number I left on his recorder. He can leave a message if I don’t answer.”
“Alright. I’ll do it.”
“Thank you, Jake, Angela. Deputy, if you’ll take me to the Desert Inn, then I’ll be out of your hair.”
Lawson nodded and looked at Angela. “I’ll be right back, okay.”
“Sure,” Angela said
When Mo got to the Desert Inn he got a room and started searching for Jack. He wasn’t at any of the motels in Independence, so he decided to call Agent Sander’s supervisor at the FBI in Las Vegas. Joe Spencer answered on the first ring.
“Spencer.”
“Agent Spencer. This is Harold Smith with the CIA. I’ve taken over Jimmy Malone’s job as liaison to the Army.”
“Right. I was sorry to hear about Malone’s untimely demise. What a freaky way to die.”
“Yes. Listen. I don’t know if you have heard or not, but there’s been another earthquake at Death Valley Junction and General Thornton and Captain Winslow may be dead. I say may, I don’t know for sure, but they fell into a rather deep sinkhole. I’d be surprised if they are alive.”
“No. I hadn’t heard that. My God! That’s terrible.”
“Yes, very unfortunate.”
“So, how can I help you?”
“Listen, I know the FBI has been conducting an unofficial investigation into the murders at the Bat Mountain Site and the Death Valley Junction incident.”
“Well,—”
“You don’t have to confirm or deny it, but I know Special Agent Marcia Sanders is in charge of it and she’s working with Jack Carpenter and others.”
“Okay, assuming your intelligence is accurate, what do you want from me?”
“General Thornton, Senator Rawlings and I were in charge of the Bat Mountain project and with both of them gone, the President and I are in a terrible bind.”
“How is that?”
“There needs to be some immediate action taken to protect the country from a rather novel but potent threat to this nation that must be kept absolutely secret. I don’t know what you have been told, but whatever you have learned is classified and cannot be disseminated to anyone.”
“Okay. You’ve got my attention. What do you want me to do?”
“I need to meet with Agent Sanders and everyone else who has knowledge of this situation immediately. We need to pool our resources so we can effectively meet this threat.”
br /> “How do I know I can trust you?”
“I can give you a direct number to the President. He’ll personally confirm his desire that you help us. Do not report this phone call to your superiors. They do not know about this top secret program and are not authorized to find out about it.”
“Alright. Give me the number. If it checks out I’m at your disposal.”
“Good. Just remember, however, any field agents assigned to help must not know the true nature of what we are dealing with. We’ll have to come up with a cover story to satisfy their curiosity.”
“Got it. Give me the number.”
Mo gave him the number and then hung up. He wondered if Joe would call the President or go directly to his superiors for instructions. He prayed he’d be smart and call the President.