Chapter 44
Searching for the Enemy
When Joe, George and Cindy neared Death Valley Junction they ran into a military checkpoint. They stopped and Joe showed the officer in charge his badge.
“Yes, Agent Spencer. I have been ordered to cooperate with you fully.”
“Good. What’s your name?”
“Lt. Johnson.”
“Okay, Lieutenant. What’s the situation here? Did Operation Desert Cleansing go forward after General Thornton’s death?”
“No. The Joint Chiefs suspended the operation as soon as they heard about the attack. We’ve been told to stand down until we get further orders.”
“Good. Do you know where your target is?”
“No, Sir. We don’t even know what the target is?”
“Have you seen anything unusual in or around the city since you have been watching the perimeter?”
“No. It has been quiet since the evacuation. The ground in that area is very unstable so we are not allowing anyone back in.”
“Alright. We’re going to go in and have a look around,” Joe said.
“I wouldn’t drive a vehicle in there if I were you. I’d do your inspection on foot.”
“You’re probably right. We’ll drive to the outskirts of town and park our vehicle.”
“Would you like an escort?” Lt. Johnson asked.
“No. That won’t be necessary. Thanks.”
Joe eased out of the checkpoint, drove to the outskirts of the city and parked the car in a convenience store parking lot. They walked down the middle of the deserted highway until it ended abruptly. If they hadn’t known what had happened they would have assumed the city had been bombed leaving large craters in the road. But as they worked their way through the rubble they came across huge sinkholes that had swallowed up whole buildings, some half buried and others now entirely underground.
“So, where do you think the Nanomites are now?” George asked as he peered down into a deep hole.
“You’re the scientist. You tell me,” Joe replied.
“Well, from what I know about them they will be together wherever they are. They act as a collective body.”
“Okay, so where would they go if they knew someone was out to destroy them.”
“Somewhere where I could defend myself?”
“Or somewhere they could hide,” Cindy added.
“True,” George conceded. “They don’t like water, wind or fire, so they’re going to want to build a shelter against those elements.”
“So, they’ll go somewhere where they can build a cathedral,” Cindy said.
“Yes, so they have probably evacuated the city. They need a quiet place where they will be left alone.”
“Let’s see if the Army can get us a chopper so we can scout the surrounding terrain for any sight of them,” Joe suggested.
George nodded. “Good idea.”
They went back to where Lt. Johnson was waiting and asked if he could get them a helicopter. He said he could and called for one immediately. Fifteen minutes later they were in the air searching for any sign of the Nanomites. They searched in every direction several miles. They all agreed the Nanomites couldn’t travel fast enough to be any farther away but by nightfall they hadn’t found them. That night they went back to Shoshone and had dinner with Jack, Dolly, Linkh and Agent Sanders to report on their progress.
“I think we keep forgetting that the Nanomites are very intelligent,” Jack said. “They know if they just move a few miles out of town and start building a cathedral we’ll discover it. I think they are hiding some place waiting for an opportunity to disappear.”
“How could they just disappear?” Cindy asked. “They can’t fly.”
“They do have wings,” Joe said. “Right Linkh?”
“Right,” Linkh agreed. “But I don’t think they can fly around like a flock of birds. They are so small the wind would scatter them everywhere. You see some objects that seem solid to us have a lot of empty space, so their wings allow them to breach those empty spaces easily. So, I think they will move into sand, gravel or rock that is being transported somewhere. That’s how they are moved on Tarizon. The Nanomites build four by four crystal blocks and pack as many swarms inside as they can. Then the blocks are moved.”
“So, where would there be sand, gravel or rock around here that is transported out of this area?” Joe asked.
“There aren’t any railroads going through here anymore, but there are still some borax mines operating nearby and the ore would be transported out by truck. I think there is one about seven or eight miles southwest of here.”
“But how would they know that?” Cindy asked. “They can’t communicate with anyone?”
“They are telepathic,” Linkh replied. “They can read minds, so all they have to do is get near a human and scan his memory for whatever information they need.”
“I thought they only spoke Tari?” Cindy said
“True. But they can still see images which is usually good enough.”
“So, if they make it to the borax mine they could hide in the ore and easily be loaded on a truck and sent to God knows where?”
“There are several borax processing plants around but I think this one ships to Boron California,” Jack said.
“Oh, crap!” Joe exclaimed. “That’s two thirds of the way to LA.”
“You can’t let them get to LA,” Linkh warned. “In Shisk they brought down eleven skyscrapers before a peace treaty was worked out.”
“We better get out there first thing tomorrow morning and see if there is any sign of them,” Joe said. “If you are successful at Bat Mountain, bring some Nanomites out to the mine and maybe they can talk the Death Valley Junction swarmmasters into returning to Bat Mountain.”
Jack and Linkh agreed and the meeting concluded with everyone praying in their own way that the Bat Mountain swarmmasters would agree to help and that they could find the Death Valley Junction swarms before they disappeared.