Desert Assassin (6 page)

Assassin remained motionless for the next four hours. Henderson joined Ling two hours ahead of schedule. “I couldn’t sleep wondering if anything has happened,” she said.

“I wish I was the reason she couldn’t sleep,” thought the major. “Come on, Stanley,” he said to himself, “don’t be stupid.”

He had the playback of the attack ready. “Alice, look at this.”

She remained silent during the attack. “Impressive,” she said once the attack ended. Looking at the live surveillance on the main monitor, she noted that the swelling had disappeared. “It would seem that it has dramatically decreased the time it needs to process its prey.”

She stared at the monitor for another minute. “Something else, Stanley, look at its coloration. It’s lighter than it was yesterday.”

“Damn if it isn’t.”

“Just a guess, but I wonder if it is trying to take on the color of the sand?”

“A chameleon assassin. That seems to be the only change.”

“That is visible,” said Henderson.

Ling stayed an extra hour past the end of his watch. Shortly thereafter, Assassin started moving slowly toward a nearby clump of grass.

The General, Rappaport and Williams headed out to see the show. “Alice is right,” said Rappaport, “the dark red color is fading. Another weapon.”

While it was approaching the grass, Assassin’s beak extended no more than a quarter-inch from its body. Despite the beak and the antennae, Assassin did not possess what could be identified as a head. As soon as it made contact with the grass, the beak telescoped outward close to an inch and a half. Shortly after blades of the grass began to disappear into its newly acquired beak, the upper mid-section of Assassin began to swell. Assassin finished its brunch, retracted the beak and appeared to go into its waiting mode.

Following his watch and with clearance from the General, Ling climbed into his dedicated Humvee and signaled two soldiers to join him. The meteorite was in the lab forty minutes later. Part way through his first viewing of Williams’ video, Ling had no doubt the object was indeed a meteorite. He had confirmed this with a series of field tests beginning with the magnet. He was now interested in only one thing; finding out if anything connected to Assassin remained inside the crack.

While the exposed part of the meteorite was roughly spherical, the part which had been buried in the sand was slightly flattened. It wouldn’t have been difficult to split open the meteorite, but he felt there was no need to do so. In addition, he understood it was the property of Williams.

Using a thin piece of wire, Ling found the greatest depth of the crack to be a fraction greater than seven inches. He spent approximately ninety minutes probing the interior with the wire and a surgical camera. There was no trace of any substance that might have been related to Assassin. He knew this would disappoint Alice.

C
HAPTER
S
IX

T
WO DAYS PASSED.
Assassin then began to peck away at nearby grass and devoured two grasshoppers. It seemed to be ingesting small amounts of grass which didn’t require it to go into protracted dormant states. There were only two visible physical changes – its length increased by approximately two inches and its coloration was very close to being a perfect match of the desert sand.

Henderson was on van duty when it happened. A kangaroo rat, apparently foraging for seeds and also unaware of the presence of the perfectly still Assassin, came with a few inches of Assassin’s rear left side. Assassin quickly swiveled to its left, extended its beak and stabbed its prey in the neck. The kangaroo rat collapsed, either paralyzed or dead.

Sliding over its latest victim, Assassin began to swell. The swelling stopped fifteen minutes later with Assassin looking like the upper half of a two foot, tan beach ball. Stillness ensued.

Henderson notified the others. Four minutes later, all five were watching a playback of the encounter. Ling then used one of the computers to call up information about kangaroo rats. Finding what he wanted, he read what he believed to be the most important point, “Their large hind legs enable them to jump up to nine feet in a single jump in order to escape predators.”

“If it could do that, it could clear the barbed wire,” said Rappaport.

“The kangaroo rat only weighs a few ounces. I suspect Assassin will be somewhere in the vicinity of twenty-five pounds when this latest change is completed. If it does replicate the rat’s legs, they would have to be incredibly huge in order for it to clear the fence,” added Williams.

“From what we’ve seen, I wouldn’t dismiss the possibility,” replied Rappaport.

“At this stage in its development,” continued Williams, “it couldn’t have captured better prey for desert existence. In addition to the legs, kangaroo rats don’t need to drink water as they can survive indefinitely on the moisture in the desert grass seeds and mesquite beans which make up most of their diet. A few will also eat a limited number of insects and green vegetation. They also have superb hearing.”

“Where is this coming from?” thought Henderson.

All five contributed to what proved to be a lengthy discussion. The General had the final words, “If it attempts to clear the barrier, shoot to kill.”

Thirty-six hours passed with no movement or changes by Assassin. Williams was on duty when the swelling started to recede and Assassin began to slowly, almost imperceptibly, transform itself. It was a process that took an additional twenty hours. When it was completed, the results were beyond anything that could have been imagined. Thirty inches in length, exclusive of a long whip-like tail, Assassin closely resembled a giant kangaroo rat. Gone were the antennae and the beak. Added was a discernible head which included a mouth, nose, two eyes and two ears, all of which were perfectly proportioned in size to its much smaller victim. Its fur was indistinguishable in color from the surrounding sand. Most striking were the hind legs which were long, thick and powerful looking.

Williams reasoned that the long period of processing time, as he thought of it, for the kangaroo rat compared to that of the spider was due to more than just the size of its latest victim. It was the result of what Assassin had incorporated into itself.

All five team members were in the van shortly after eight in the morning when Assassin turned and faced the two duty soldiers who were stationed the ordered distance away from it.

Rappaport quickly radioed them, “If it approaches, shoot to kill.”

“God almighty,” exclaimed the General.

Assassin turned away from the soldiers as if it was not concerned about their presence and began rapidly consuming nearby vegetation using its newly formed mouth.

“We’ve witnessed something that transcends anything that has ever happened during the entire evolutionary process on Earth,” said an obviously incredulous Henderson.

“Stanley, Alice, please stay on duty until further notice. Jim, Bill, let’s go to the house.”

As they walked through the door, the General held up three fingers. Williams walked into the kitchen, grabbed three glasses and a bottle of scotch and joined the other two on the rear porch.

“What the hell is next?” tossed out the General.

“This baby isn’t done,” replied Williams. “It’s going to look for anything that will add to its capabilities.”

“If we kill it, do you think we could find out how it is able to do this?” asked the General.

There was no answer. The conversation continued for fifteen minutes before the General stood up. “Gentlemen, assuming it will capture another animal before any escape attempt, it will in all probability need to go dormant afterward as it just did with the kangaroo rat. We better be ready for anything that may happen after that.”

Meanwhile, Assassin spent the day eating and jumping around, never jumping higher than two feet.

The General and Williams were in the van shortly after nine that night when a message came through on the General’s radio. “Sir, incoming choppers, no lights, v-formation.”

“Do not engage,” ordered the General. He looked up at the ceiling and said, “Goddamn son-of-a-bitch.”

He paused for a few seconds. “Bill, I’ll contact Ling and Henderson and tell them to stay in their quarters. Jim will be here as soon as he hears the helicopters. Go back to the house. Hide your camcorder, any DVDs you’ve made and anything else you’ve got about the Assassin. Secure them as best you can where they can’t be found, then come back here. When you do, no matter how you are provoked, do not react. Also, if the bastard tries to recruit you, resist it, but only to a point. You might be our ace in the hole.”

Rappaport entered the van as Williams raced out.

Williams was back in the van with the General and Rappaport when a figure clad in a black uniform with no markings on it entered through the open door. He was just under six feet, late forties or early fifties, with a weather-beaten face, a pronounced jaw and heavily muscled. Williams recognized him immediately. He didn’t know his name or who he was, but he remembered him from the site of a massacre in Uganda.

“Thomas, James,” he said without a trace of emotion. He then looked at Williams. “Williams, Major Williams?” he asked while emphasizing major.

Williams said nothing.

“Jesse,” said the General, “I’m sure you are aware that this is an operation authorized by the Secretary.”

“Not any more.”

Jesse was Jesse Morgan, a shadowy figure who seemingly had near unlimited power.

Morgan looked at the largest monitor which showed a resting Assassin. Looking around the van, he asked, “Where’s the meteor?”

“In the lab,” replied the General.

Morgan turned and looked at Williams, “It is now property of the United States.”

Williams showed no emotion as he looked directly into Morgan’s eyes. “Well done,” thought the General.

A half minute passed with neither man so much as blinking before Morgan said, “You will be compensated.”

Williams remained stone faced.

Turning back to the General, Morgan said, “Show me everything you’ve got.”

The General looked at a computer located near the main monitor.

“What else?”

The General said nothing.

Ling and Henderson had spent time each day editing the electronic surveillance monitoring of Assassin going back to when it was first put into place. The result was a ninety-three minute highlight video.

Morgan sat in front of the monitor watching it from start to finish without saying a word. When it was done, he stood up, looked at the General said, “At seven hundred hours, I want the gates opened.”

“I won’t do that,” said the General.

“I will. You and your men are free to go or free to stay.”

He turned to Williams, “Major, I would like to meet with you in your house. Your call.”

The General nodded his approval.

C
HAPTER
S
EVEN

A
S THEY ENTERED THE HOUSE,
Morgan asked if there was anything to drink. Williams brought out the scotch.

They sat on the rear porch. “What else do you know, Major?”

“You are making a mistake.”

“I’ll be the judge of that. You are a long way from Uganda.”

Williams said nothing.

“I understand you are following the General’s orders, but working with me will be to your advantage.”

“I am under the command of the General.”

“If you refuse, I will ‘recruit’ Lieutenant Henderson.”

At that moment, Williams considered attempting to kill Morgan then and there, but thought better of it.

“What do you want?”

“You can remain under the command of the General, but I want you with me as we follow the creature. Now, what can you add?”

“Leave Henderson and Ling alone.”

“The General can send them out of here immediately. If they stay, they will be left alone to do anything they want. No one will interfere. You have my word.”

“I have no idea what your word is worth.”

“As much as the General despises me, he will confirm that I keep my word. I rarely give it, but when I do, I honor it. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be where I am.”

Williams shared enough to believe he satisfied Morgan. One thing he kept to himself was the theory that the Assassin might be able to reproduce asexually. Following a series of questions from Morgan related to what Williams thought the Assassin’s ultimate capabilities could become, he held up an empty glass. Williams refilled it.

Morgan took a small sip. “In addition to the helicopter I have here, I have six more outside the fence, each with six men – my best. Anything we will need can be brought in immediately. Two supply vehicles are being readied. The entire air space from here to the mountains is restricted.

“Does the restriction include the General?”

“No, he can use his chopper and bring along anyone he wants. He will have full access to our supplies. You will fly with me. I’m going back to my camp along with the men who came with me. None will be back here unless the alien heads this way. I will see you at six hundred hours. You will have all the weaponry you need. One final thing; I know you have to report back to the General. Tell him whatever you want.”

Ten minutes later, Morgan was airborne.

As soon as Williams entered the van, the General summoned Ling and Henderson. All four remained silent as Williams shared his conversation with Morgan. When he finished, the General said, “Nicely done, Bill. Thank you.” He turned to Ling and asked, “Stay or leave?”

“Stay.”

“Lieutenant, stay or leave?”

“Stay.”

“Jim and four soldiers will go with me. The two of you will remain here.” Looking at Ling, he said, “Major, Lieutenant Henderson will man the van overnight. I want you to find Lieutenant Martin immediately. Have him pull his soldiers from the barrier and get them back here. Get whatever weapons you want from him. Keep this area secured. You are in full command in my absence.”

During his time in the Air Force, Ling had free reign to pursue his life’s work – astrophysics. His military career was a secondary consideration. The General’s last sentence changed that. At that moment, Ling became first and foremost an Air Force officer.

First Lieutenant Martin was standing with four soldiers in the tent area. All were trying to make sense of the landing of the helicopters. Ling approached the group. Salutes exchanged, Ling dismissed the soldiers. He instructed Martin to order the two soldiers on duty within the barrier to return immediately and to make securing the complex the top priority. Finally, he listed the weapons he wanted delivered to the van.

Upon his return, Henderson immediately asked Ling, “Who is this Morgan?”

“I don’t know, but he obviously wields a great amount of power.”

He looked at her and thought she shouldn’t be there, but she was. Vowing that he would do whatever it took to keep her safe, he said, “Don’t worry, Alice, everything will turn out okay.”

“Damn,” he thought as soon as the words came out, “I didn’t sound very convincing.”

He walked slowly toward her with the intention of giving her a brief hug of assurance. Five, ten, fifteen seconds passed as they embraced. He pulled back slightly and looked at her face. Her eyes were closed. Their lips touched. Instinctively, he backed away a step. “Alice, I’m sorry.”

Ever so softly she asked why, and then kissed him.

Meanwhile, Williams, the General and Rappaport met in the house.

“Fill me in on Morgan,” said Williams.

“Not easy to do,” replied the General. “What do you know about the shadow government?”

“Not much except the rumors that there is a clandestine group, or maybe several groups, that are the real power brokers, not the pocket stuffers in Washington.”

“It’s more than a rumor. From what I’ve been able to piece together, sometime in the late forties or early fifties a small group outside of the government managed to get a hold of technology for a revolutionary source of energy. One which would give the planet all the energy it needs.”

“Where did they get it?”

“My sources tell me there are two possibilities. One is the Germans were on the verge of a breakthrough when the war ended and the other is that it came from alien spacecrafts that either crashed or were shot down. Either way, this group managed to get control of it.”

“Flying saucers?” laughed Williams.

“That was my first reaction, but I know quite a few high placed military who believe they exist. There are some who claim to have seen them. They keep their mouths shut for fear of being smeared or busted. Two that I know about who didn’t keep quiet died in what were reported as being accidents. Both were convinced that a cabal is secretly running the country and has the alien energy technology. Word is that they were getting too close to finding out who is running the show.”

“So they’ve been sitting on this technology for fifty to sixty years. Why?”

“From what I’ve been told, whatever they have could be easily and cheaply copied if it were released.”

“So much for fossil fuels.”

“Exactly. The group undoubtedly consists of those with both power and money. Some of those involved must be making their billions from oil. If it’s the real deal, the need for oil would all but disappear. There goes the billions. Unlimited cheap energy would close the gap between the super rich and the rest. There goes the power.”

“If you are right, General, this might be the military-industrial bunch that Eisenhower warned about.”

“Time wise, it fits. Ike gave that speech when he was leaving office in 1961. Whoever they are, they would have been consolidating their power during his presidency. He must have had some knowledge of their existence.”

“So, did he meet with aliens?”

“Now that is pure bullshit.”

“Where does Morgan fit in?”

“I have no doubt this is the group he works for. He probably doesn’t know anyone in the inner circle, but it makes no difference. He’s got a small army made up of the best men money can buy and he’s backed by the most powerful bastards on the planet.”

“How do you see it, Jim?” asked Williams.

“It took me quite a while to come around to Tom’s way of thinking, but I no longer have any doubt about it. Morgan’s arrival cements it. They want Assassin.”

Williams entered the van at 5:30. “Alice, the house is yours to use.” Placing a key on a table, he said, “If you need it, take my Pathfinder. That includes driving it to Florida.” Before she could respond, he exited the van.

Stepping into a waiting Humvee, he instructed the driver to go. As the vehicle approached the north side of the fence, two men uniformed in black signaled them to stop. One of them pointed to the string of black helicopters parked along the north side.

Opting to walk, Williams climbed out of the Humvee. He studied everything around him as he proceeded – the men, their equipment, the helicopters. Quickly noted was that the flat black helicopters were absent serial numbers on the tails and any other identification.

Morgan was waiting for him.

“Thank you for coming, Major.”

Williams said nothing.

Walking toward the lead helicopter, Morgan asked, “When we open the gates, what do you expect Assassin to do?”

“Head to the hills and look for prey along the way.” Not lost on Williams was Morgan’s use of Assassin to identify the alien.

They climbed into Morgan’s helicopter. Front and center was a large screen focused on Assassin, which was bounding along the inside of the western quarter of the fence.

“Satellite,” said Morgan.

“I may have overlooked something in my last assessment of Assassin,” said Henderson. “I suspect Assassin may be the equivalent of a human anywhere from two to four years in age with respect to its awareness. Which means it is developing fifty to as much as hundred or more times faster than a human. Not only that, it is also increasing its awareness, for lack of a better word, with each captured prey.”

“Two weeks or so away from being a teenager,” offered Ling.

“It might be sooner depending on what it encounters once Morgan turns it loose.”

The gates on the southern, western and northern sides of the fencing were opened at 7:00AM. Assassin passed by two open gates before exiting one of the western gates. As Williams had anticipated, it headed due west.

Morgan piloted his helicopter. Williams sat beside him. They were accompanied by six members of Morgan’s force.

“What is your objective?” asked Williams as the helicopter ascended.

“Let it attack whatever it chooses and grow as long as we know it can be contained. Then capture it.”

“Then what.”

“Bring it to a facility where it will be studied.”

As they were talking, two of the seven helicopters sped ahead going directly toward the mountains.

“We also have a drone ready to fly if needed.”

Meanwhile, Assassin continued on at an eight to nine-mile per hour pace, stopping briefly every fifteen minutes or so to ingest vegetation.

Eighteen miles out, Assassin stopped. Viewed from the screen, it was almost indistinguishable from the underlying sand. Six minutes passed without movement. It began to pivot and once again stopped.

“Be prepared for what might be a long wait,” said Williams.

“Prey?”

“My best guess. I’m not sure that learned is the best word, but it’s using what it has learned from the assassin bug.”

“If I understand you correctly, even though it has shed the assassin bug’s outward features, you are saying it has retained its instincts.”

“Yes, if instincts is the right word, and maybe more. Perhaps its toxin.”

Morgan landed his helicopter; the others followed suit, as did the General. All were at least a half-mile away from Assassin.

“The General is three hundred yards behind us if you want to pay a visit.”

“Maybe later,” replied Williams as he focused on the satellite feed.

One of the crew brought forward two trays, each with hot coffee, two warm bacon and egg sandwiches, hash brown potatoes and a cardboard bowl filled with blueberries and strawberries.

They finished eating in silence. Breakfast done, Morgan asked, “Will it take on anything that passes by?”

“Tough to tell, but I suspect it will be looking for something which will add to its strengths.”

At 10:15AM, Morgan said, “I need to stretch. Join me?”

Williams nodded. Morgan dismissed all but one of his crew, who stayed behind to monitor Assassin.

“Let’s get a closer look at it,” said Morgan as he headed in the direction of Assassin.

Williams followed without saying a word. Morgan slowed his pace once he made it to within thirty feet. He stopped at a distance of ten feet and observed the perfectly still Assassin for several minutes.

While standing the same distance away, but five feet to Morgan’s right, an image of Assassin suddenly springing at Morgan flashed through Williams’ mind. He also briefly thought about drawing his ACP and unloading it into Assassin. Meanwhile, it remained perfectly still.

Observing done, Morgan turned and began walking away. Williams remained in place for a few additional seconds.

Shortly after the two returned to the helicopters, Williams spotted two trucks in the distance coming in from the direction of his house.

“Supplies,” said Morgan, speaking for the first time since starting the walk to see Assassin up close. “Enough to carry us for two weeks if necessary. When the one on the right is fully unloaded, it will be used to transport Assassin after we capture it. Also, they did not travel through your land.”

“If you capture it,” thought Williams.

The trucks rolled in as Assassin remained motionless.

“Major, would you mind taking over monitoring the feed? I want to check the supplies and go over with the men what will have to be done to prepare for the night.”

“No problem. What are your plans?”

“Depends on Assassin. If it stays put, we stay put. If it’s on the move, we go with it. At least three of the four helicopters will fly with us. The fourth will be used when needed to ferry supplies to the two at the base of the hills. If it’s here, it goes with us. The truck crews will scoop up everything we leave behind and follow us. One more thing, can you fly this baby?”