by David Archer
WORLD ORDER
Copyright © 2019 by David Archer.
All right reserved.
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the author of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
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PROLOGUE
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
TWELVE
THIRTEEN
FOURTEEN
FIFTEEN
SIXTEEN
SEVENTEEN
EIGHTEEN
NINETEEN
TWENTY
TWENTY-ONE
TWENTY-TWO
WHAT'D YOU THINK?
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PROLOGUE
The Gulfstream touched down at just before seven a.m., and Noah and his team stepped off to find a van waiting for them. They climbed inside, and the driver took them directly to the headquarters building in downtown Kirtland. Rather than going down into the parking garage the way they usually did, they were dropped off at the front door and made their way to the elevator behind the lobby. The driver had told them that their luggage would be waiting in the van when they were finished, but that the Dragon Lady was waiting for them in her conference room.
Noah, Sarah, Neil, Jenny, Marco and Renée rode the elevator up together. When they stepped out, the current receptionist looked up at them nervously and simply pointed toward the conference room door. They moved as a group toward it, and stepped inside to find Allison Peterson and Donald Jefferson waiting for them as always, with Molly Hansen sitting close by.
“It’s about time you got here,” Allison said. “I trust you had a good flight over from merry old England?”
“It was comfortable,” Noah said. “I was actually expecting this call a lot sooner. I take it the mission you told us about before is ready to go?”
Allison nodded. “Definitely,” she said. “The CIA and NSA have been working on it for over a month, now, and they decided to turn it over to us. None of their people have been able to get in close enough to find out what’s really going on, and since we could be dealing with something out of a science fiction movie, the president suggested I send in my best possible team. You all know who that means.”
“Team Camelot,” Neil said. “But this isn’t one of our regular missions?”
“That remains to be seen,” Allison said. “There have been a number of unusual situations occurring. Several American military personnel have either disappeared or been murdered, and your first assignment is to look into those cases. They all seem to be connected to something unusual, and we need to know what kind of connection there might be.”
She turned to Molly. “Molly is going to give you what we know so far.”
Molly got to her feet and pointed a remote control device at the big screen on the wall in front of them. A satellite picture of what looked like a military installation appeared.
“This is a satellite image taken of what was recently nothing but virgin forest in Catamarca Province, Argentina. Some of our satellites detected unusual activity and the NSA decided to take a closer look, and this is what they found. Do you see the odd-looking structure in the center of the compound?”
The whole team leaned forward and looked closely. In the center of the compound was an oval-shaped structure. It appeared to be white, and quite a bit larger than the surrounding buildings.
“I see it,” Noah said.
“What is that thing?” Neil asked. “Almost looks like a flying saucer or something.”
“You may be right on target, Neil,” Molly said. She hit a button on the remote and the same compound appeared, but without the oval structure. “This photograph was taken twenty-four hours after the previous one. As you can see, that oval structure is gone. It appears that it was sitting over a concrete pad of some sort, and the pad is still visible.”
“Holy cow,” Neil said. “Are you saying that really is some kind of spaceship?”
“I’m saying that it’s gone.” Molly hit another button on the remote, and another picture appeared on the screen. This one seemed to have been taken at an angle, and showed several individuals walking across the grounds. The resolution was quite grainy, but at least two of the figures appeared to be nearly twice as tall as the others. “This picture was taken while the oval structure was still in place. When analysts zoomed in on it, they found what appears to be several people and some extremely tall figures. As you can see, the two tall ones are at least twice as tall as the other people in the picture.”
“Huh,” Marco said. “Could be grown-ups walking along with some kids.”
“It could be, but then we have this.” Molly hit another button and yet another photo appeared. This one was taken from ground level, and also captured the group walking across the ground. The resolution was a lot better, and it was clear that the four smaller figures were humans in some sort of military uniforms, but the towering taller figures had long, thin limbs and large, rounded heads. “The NSA believes you could be looking at the first photographic evidence of alien visitors to our world.”
All of them stared at the picture for several moments. Noah finally looked over at Molly.
“And is it?”
“We obviously don’t know for sure,” Molly said, “but there is definitely something strange going on down there. The problem is that every single operative who has tried to get close enough to learn anything has simply vanished without a trace. In some cases, they were maintaining radio contact with a support team several miles away and the transmission simply stopped in the middle of a word. There’s absolutely no indication that they ever got inside that compound, and even infrared imaging isn’t detecting additional life signs inside.”
“What about aerial surveillance?” Noah asked. “Has anyone overflown the area?”
“According to GPS tracking, yes,” Molly replied. “Unfortunately, they’ve seen absolutely no sign of that compound, not even the clearing that it’s obviously occupying. A few attempts have been made to penetrate the canopy with drones, but they simply disappear. Two helicopters flew over the area and were beaming back video, but they also vanished without a trace. Since then, there’s been no attempt to fly into that area directly.”
She clicked the button again. A new image appeared, this time showing two of the oval structures in the compound, and what appeared to be a third one hovering above it. This photo was taken from ground level, as well, and Neil let out
a low whistle.
“No visible propulsion system,” he said. “Are we looking at antigravity?”
“We honestly don’t know what we’re looking at,” Molly said. “All we know at this point is that something is going on down there, and it could be a threat to global security. If this truly is some kind of alien activity, we certainly need to know about it.”
Donald Jefferson cleared his throat. “Noah, it’s been decided to send your team, along with a couple of specialists, down there to see what you can find out. You are not to attempt infiltration unless your orders change, but we need you to find any information you can about this compound and what might be going on there.”
“That’s right,” Allison said. “Most of you will be posing as FBI agents, but Renée will be busy with duties of her own. You will begin by investigating the deaths and disappearances of our military personnel in the area, because the joint Chiefs think they might be connected to this mystery compound. Jenny will be working with you as an investigator, Sarah will be handling transportation as always, but Renée, who has previous experience, will be running the laboratory. Of course, your primary objective is to learn anything you possibly can about those oval structures, or craft, whatever they are, and gain any information possible about those tall, alien-looking figures. Needless to say, you can take any equipment you like. I don’t want to be sending you on a suicide mission, Noah, so I don’t want you to end up like the other operatives who try to go in there. I want you to come back, do you understand me?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Noah said. “When do we leave?”
“As soon as you figure out what equipment you want to take with you. The Gulfstream is being refueled now, and will take you to Buenos Aires as soon as you can be prepared to go. We’ve already established a diplomatic connection with the Argentinan government, so you’re not going to have any trouble about taking weapons in with you. For once, they want answers as bad as we do. No one in the Argentinan government has any idea what’s going on out there, and they can’t even get anybody close to the place.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Noah said. “Do you have any further information we need?”
Jefferson picked up a stack of envelopes and passed them out. “Here are your identification kits, satellite phones, and the dossier containing all the information we currently have on the compound and the dead or missing personnel.”
“And what if we find aliens?” Neil asked. His eyes were still wide, and yet he seemed to be excited.
“Should you get close enough to ascertain that they are indeed alien entities,” Allison said, “it will be up to you to determine whether or not they present a risk or danger to this world. If you find that there is such a danger, you are authorized to use whatever means necessary to either terminate that danger, or get word out to the rest of the world about it. If for any reason you cannot make contact with us, you are authorized to contact any other security agency worldwide.” She looked Noah in the eye. “This situation could present a danger to the entire world. This is about more than our own national security, Noah. I need you to find out for sure what is going on down there, and help us to preserve the security of the whole damn planet.”
“First off, however,” Jefferson said, “there are some things you’re going to have to look into. As Allison mentioned, there have been abductions and deaths of certain military personnel. You’re going to go in posing as investigators from the FBI at first, and your credentials will give you jurisdiction superiority in each case. Don’t let the local military investigative services interfere with you. Once you have completed that phase, their military will provide you with helicopter transport to a staging area ten miles from the compound. Unfortunately, you’re going to have to deal with the jungle down there. You might want to think about that while you are preparing your gear.”
“Are there any leads on what happened to these personnel yet?” Noah asked.
“Only one,” Jefferson said. “One man was abducted out of his front yard early this morning, as he was leaving to report to duty at a military base outside Buenos Aires. That will be your first stop, and the Military Police will assist you in the investigation. There are a few other cases wherein military personnel have died or disappeared under suspicious circumstances. You’ll decide which ones you believe might be related after you get there.”
“Yes, sir,” Noah said. “Is there anything else?”
“Just this, Noah,” Allison said. “I’ll be going along with you on this one. My cover is that I’m the Agent in Charge of your investigations.”
ONE
"Since when are you a lab technician?" Marco asked Renée as they sat on Noah’s couch. The team had stopped by Noah’s house to freshen up after leaving the briefing. Noah was taking his turn in the shower at the moment. “I thought you were just a clerk at R&D?”
“Is it really that hard to imagine?” Renée asked. “You know why Wally brought me with him when he came over to E & E? It’s because he said I was one of the best lab assistants he had ever had. You have any idea what a lab assistant does?”
Marco shook his head. “No. What?”
“Pretty much everything the lab director gets credit for. I can hold my own in the lab, Marco. Just because I was clerking for Wally at R&D, don’t think I don’t know my way around a microscope or a mass spectrometer.”
“And we’re taking a long along a doctor,” Marco said. He shook his head. "That's something that hasn't happened before."
"Read the dossier,” Neil said. “Doctor Emerson is a forensic pathologist."
Marco's eyebrows shot up. “Yeah, I know, I was there too, remember? I just wonder how Noah is taking it.”
"Black, with sugar; I thought you'd know that by now, Marco," Noah's voice interrupted in that very moment as he walked into the room. “Get ready. We’re leaving for R&D in ten minutes."
"Yes, sir,” Marco said. “Ten minutes it is."
It didn't take them long to get to R&D, and Wally was waiting when they entered the building, accompanied by another man in his fifties.
“Noah!” Wally exclaimed. “It’s good to see you. I want you to meet Doctor Eric Emerson, he’s going to be going with you on this mission. Doctor Emerson is a forensic physician, like a medical examiner, and Allison thinks he might be useful.”
Noah shook hands with the doctor. “Doctor Emerson,” he said. “Good to meet you.”
“Likewise,” Emerson said, his clipped British accent clear and precise. “I’ve heard quite a lot about you, Mr. Wolf. It’ll be good to actually see you in action.”
Wally grinned at the two of them. “Okay, you guys can get acquainted later. Right now, I need to know what kind of equipment you might want to take with you, Noah.”
“I’ve got some ideas,” Noah said, “but I’m also open to suggestion, Wally. Right off the bat, I want four of the gas pellet guns we used in Thailand, and a substantial supply of the pellets. Give me two pairs of deception detection glasses and one of your backscatter x-ray phones, and one of the smaller explosive printers. Add anything else you can think of that might come in handy.”
“To be honest,” Wally said, “I think those were probably the things I would’ve suggested. Of course, you probably want to take some conventional weapons with you.”
“We will, we’ll be stopping by the armory after we leave here.”
“Then let me get your list gathered up, and you can be on the way. And, Noah? Of course I know what the mission is about. If you find any really exciting technology down there, try to steal me a sample, will you?”
“You know I will,” Noah said.
It took about twenty minutes to get everything gathered up, and then they were on the way to the armory. Each of them chose their favorite weapons, although Neil selected a different submachine gun than the one he had been using most commonly. Instead, he picked up a Beretta MX 4, a nine millimeter submachine gun that was known for reliability and ease-of-use among law enforcement agencies worldwide.
Jamison, the armorer, gave him a pair of double drum magazines that would give him a loaded capacity of more than a hundred rounds.
Noah and Marco picked up the special Glock forty caliber automatics they always carried. These weapons were electronically tied to rings that each of the men wore, and could not be fired by anyone not wearing the ring. Noah also chose a pair of sniper rifles, opting for fifty caliber Barrett M-102’s that were accurate up to two thousand yards. Both he and Marco were qualified with them, and Renée had trained with them as well.
An hour later, Noah and his team, along with Doctor Emerson, arrived at Kirtland Airport once again. Allison was already there, and she took Noah aside for a brief conversation. The rest of the team took care of loading their gear into the aircraft, although Sarah was watching the interaction closely.
“I wonder what they’re talking about,” she said to Renée. “It’s not like Allison to keep the rest of us in the dark this way.”
Renée shook her head. “I don’t know,” she said. “And maybe it’s something we don’t want to find out about.”
Whatever it was, the conversation ended abruptly and both Noah and Allison joined the others in boarding the plane. Noah sat down beside his wife, but Allison was in the seat directly across from them. Sarah decided to keep her curiosity to herself until she could get Noah alone.
Minutes later, they were both pushed back in their seats as the plane lumbered down the runway. It leapt into the air and began climbing, gaining altitude for the eleven hour flight to El Palomar Airfield.
Noah and the team had slept on the previous flight, so they were quite rested. Allison, on the other hand, dozed off within minutes after the plane left the ground. Sarah waited until the older woman started to snore, then turned to Noah.
“So, what was all that about back at the airport?” she asked softly. “Can you tell me?”
“Yes,” Noah said. “It turns out that the man who was abducted earlier this morning is actually the E & E liaison officer in Argentina. She’s concerned that if we are dealing with extraterrestrial activity, the things he knows could be dangerous. We have no idea what another intelligence might think of us, but they might not take kindly to learning that we engage in assassination.”
