Invasion

by Jon S. Lewis

  “What’s wrong?” Oz asked.

  “Look.”

  The patrolman had sheathed his flashlight and was reaching for the gun in his holster. He drew it out slowly and approached the Jeep, his boots crunching in the gravel. The patrolman’s eyes were glowing red.

  : : CHAPTER 41 : :

  McAlister, listen to me,” said Oz. “No matter what happens, your job is to get Danielle out of here. Do you understand?”

  “No way,” Colt said. “We’re not leaving you behind.”

  “I don’t have time to argue. Just do it, okay?”

  Oz flared his nostrils as the patrolman took his last few steps to the Jeep. As he raised the barrel of his gun, Oz kicked his door open. The force caught the patrolman on the arm, and the gun went flying. Oz jumped out of the car and launched at the man, tackling him into the gravel.

  “Wait . . . where are you going?” Danielle asked as Colt fumbled with the handle, trying to get out.

  He managed to open the door and ran over to look for the gun.

  The patrolman wasn’t a big man, and if his gray hair was any indication, he was only a few years away from retirement. Still, somehow he managed to push Oz away as though Oz were nothing more than a goose-down pillow.

  Oz groaned as he hit the gravel, but he rolled to one knee before the patrolman could kick him in the head. He caught the cop’s leg and twisted. The motion sent the man off balance, and he fell face-first to the ground as Oz brought his elbow down on the back of the patrolman’s thigh. He followed with a strike to the kidney and then one to the back of the neck before climbing on top of the officer.

  “I told you to get Danielle out of here,” he said. His chest was heaving from the adrenaline as he reached for the cop’s handcuffs. In one quick motion he locked the right wrist, then tightened the left so the patrolman’s hands were caught behind his back.

  Colt was standing over him wide-eyed with the officer’s gun in his hands.

  “You realize those patrol cars have cameras with live feeds, right?” Oz said as he rolled the man over. He was unconscious, and when Oz lifted his eyelids, the red glow was gone.

  Colt hadn’t thought about that. “Now what?”

  “In the next few minutes this place is going to be crawling with news cameras and cops with itchy trigger fingers,” Oz said. “They don’t appreciate it when you attack a member of their fraternity.”

  “But . . . his eyes.”

  “Until we can prove that Trident Industries can turn anyone with a biochip into an assassin, it’s just another conspiracy theory. Think about it,” Oz said. “Last week you wouldn’t have believed it either.”

  Colt lowered the gun and turned to Danielle, who was sitting in the backseat on the verge of hyperventilating.

  Oz picked up the patrolman and slung him over his shoulder before walking to the cruiser. “Open the door, will you?”

  Colt obliged, and Oz set the patrolman in the front seat. “Now let me see that gun.”

  Colt handed him the firearm, and Oz started wiping away the fingerprints with the tail of his shirt.

  “Won’t they be able to trace the fibers?”

  “First of all, you watch too much television,” Oz said without looking up. “And second, if you have a better idea, I’m all ears.”

  “I don’t suppose that CHAOS has access to any time machines? I think we need a do-over.”

  “Why don’t you go check on Danielle? I’ll be there in a minute.”

  “So I guess that would be a no.”

  At first it was faint, but before long the sound of rotor blades roared overhead. Colt looked up to see an enormous silhouette in the sky. Floodlights shone down, lighting up the desert below. As the airship closed in, the wind picked up and clouds of dust blanketed the freeway. Colt had to shield his face to keep the sand from his mouth and eyes.

  “What is that thing?” Colt said as his hair blew.

  “The cavalry.”

  Colt watched as the largest helicopter that he’d ever seen landed in the desert not more than twenty yards away. It looked like an armored whale painted army green. Its tires were taller than Oz’s Jeep, and it had a massive propeller jutting out on either side of the tail. The rounded nose was covered in a honeycomb of glass windows. There were rocket launchers mounted on top, and from below, a giant howitzer jutted forward.

  “Let’s go,” Oz said as he slapped Colt on the back. He got in the front seat of his Jeep and started the engine, but Colt didn’t move. “Come on, McAlister, those cops are going to be here any minute. Let’s go.”

  Colt shook his head clear before he ran to the passenger seat. At the same time the belly of the airship opened to form a ramp. Colt hopped into the Jeep, and Oz put it in gear before slamming his foot on the pedal. They shot off in a cloud of dust. Oz steered them between the copter’s front tires, up the ramp, and then into a cargo bay that was as big as a gymnasium.

  There was a wall of storage crates on the far end, as well as two armored trucks and six ultralights that looked similar to the model Colt had flown. CHAOS soldiers were everywhere, clad in high-tech body armor that matched the hue of the copter.

  Helmets covered their faces, making them look like modern-day knights, but the design was sleek instead of bulky. The eyes were backlit by an ambient light. Each carried a rifle with a grenade launcher mounted beneath, and there were jet packs strapped to their backs. Grandpa McAlister was right—his jet pack was a relic.

  The hydraulics hissed as the ramp closed behind them, and moments later the helicopter was lifting back into the sky.

  “It’s a pleasure to see you again, McAlister,” Agent Richmond said as he approached Oz’s Jeep. Agent D3X was close behind, his single eye flaring bright in the dim cargo bay. “I meant to tell your grandfather that the footage we captured from your memories was most helpful. That was definitely Van Cleve, not some impersonator. My goodness, but you had yourself a scare that night, didn’t you, son?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “As for you, Romero,” Agent Richmond said. “The trouble you get yourself into never ceases to amaze me.”

  “I guess I’m just lucky,” Oz said.

  “I’m not sure that’s what I’d call it,” Agent Richmond said. “But where are my manners?” He walked over to open the back door so Danielle could get out.

  “Thank you.”

  “My pleasure, Miss . . .”

  “Salazar.”

  “Ah, yes,” Agent Richmond said as he closed the door behind her. “The young lady who nearly got herself run off the road the other day. I’m glad to finally make your acquaintance.”

  Danielle’s eyes were locked on the robot.

  “Oh, don’t mind him,” Agent Richmond said. “He’s just a big old bucket of bolts . . . kind of like an overgrown toaster with feet, you might say. So long as you’re one of the good guys, you have nothing to fear.” He paused. “You are one of the good guys, aren’t you, Miss Salazar?”

  Her lips were moving, but no words came out of her mouth. She had to settle for nodding her head.

  “That’s wonderful,” Agent Richmond said. “Then I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation why the three of you had a respected highway patrolman handcuffed with a gun pointed at his head.”

  Danielle looked first to Colt, then to Oz, but she didn’t say anything.

  “We didn’t have a choice,” Colt said. “He was going to shoot us.”

  “I see,” Agent Richmond said, after nodding his head a few times. “Now why was he looking to shoot three handsome young teens like yourselves on a night like this?”

  “Ask the people at Trident Biotech,” Oz said. “They sent him.”

  “So you believe the patrolman, who has given nearly thirty years of service to the highway patrol, is an agent of Trident Industries?”

  “No,” Colt said. “At least not by choice. He’s one of the Cursed.”

  “Those biochips are pesky little things, aren’t they,” Age
nt Richmond said in a voice that Colt thought was too cavalier. “Well, you three are lucky that we were assigned as part of the security detail tonight. Otherwise you might be in a mess of trouble right now.”

  “What do you mean?” Colt asked.

  “He means that he’s been following us around,” Oz said.

  “Director Romero asked us to keep an eye on you,” Agent Richmond said. “I must say, that was some party at the Westcott residence. And who knew you had so much in common with that pretty young lady.”

  Colt narrowed his eyes. Apparently Trident wasn’t the only one watching him.

  “I’m just doing my job, son.”

  “What about the video camera in the patrol car?” Oz asked.

  “Oh, we’ve already taken care of that.”

  “How?” Colt asked. “I mean, that was a live feed, right?”

  “We scrambled the signal before they ever saw it,” Agent Richmond said.

  “And the patrolman?” Oz asked.

  “He’ll be fine,” Agent Richmond said. “A bit sore, I’d say, but fine. He won’t remember a thing, though. They never do. As for the evidence that you left behind, our cleanup crews will take care of it. However, I believe now would be a good time to talk about a curfew for the three of you.”

  : : CHAPTER 42 : :

  To Colt’s dismay, his grandfather was in agreement about a curfew, but it didn’t end there. Starting Monday, he was going to be driving Colt to and from school every day.

  “Can I still go to the comic book shop with Oz on Wednesdays?”

  “We’ll talk about it.”

  “What about Danielle’s house?”

  “Once the Salazars get their new security system installed, I suppose that would be all right.”

  “The movies?”

  “Don’t push it.”

  Colt let it drop. It wasn’t like he had much of a personal life anyway. Lily’s party was the first time that he’d been out since he moved to Arizona, and his only two friends were destined to become a couple. Since Lily wasn’t going to break up with her boyfriend any time soon, that meant Colt would become the dreaded third wheel.

  Sunday morning dawned bleak. Colt didn’t want to get out of bed, but he promised his grandfather he would start going to church. The service was supposed to start in thirty minutes, and Colt knew that as far as Grandpa McAlister was concerned, ten minutes early was still too late.

  Instead of taking a shower, Colt wetted his hair in the bathroom sink, rolled on some deodorant, and washed his face. He could tell that his grandfather wasn’t impressed with his blue jeans and T-shirt, but at least he’d gone with the track shoes instead of flip-flops.

  “Are you ready to go?” Grandpa McAlister said, though he didn’t wait for a response. He grabbed his powder blue sport coat from the back of the kitchen chair before hurrying to the garage.

  As he passed by, Colt could smell the drugstore aftershave that his grandfather had worn for as long as he could remember. “You look nice, Gramps,” Colt said.

  “Maybe next week I’ll let you borrow one of my ties.”

  They got to church with enough time for Colt to grab a bagel and orange juice from the café. Grandpa McAlister decided to head over to the sanctuary, where he sat toward the front. Pastor Shrader’s sermon was about a man named Uriah whom King David had sent to war knowing that he would be killed, all so he could steal Uriah’s wife. Colt couldn’t help but wonder if he would send Graham off to war if it were in his power.

  After the service, Colt was surprised to find Lily in the foyer with her parents and her little brother, Michael. If he hadn’t known better, he would have thought the siblings were related by blood instead of adoption. Like Lily, Michael was thin with hair so blond it was almost white.

  “I didn’t know you went to this church,” Lily said.

  “My grandpa’s been going here for a while, but this is my first week.”

  “We were just talking about you.”

  Colt frowned. “Really?”

  “I’m singing during the service next week, and . . . well, since you play the guitar—”

  “I don’t think so,” Colt said, cutting her off before she could get to the question.

  “Come on,” Lily said, grabbing him playfully by the arm. “I don’t have anybody else to ask.”

  “Why do I have a hard time believing that?”

  “Look, I’m not going to take no for an answer.”

  Colt knew he was in trouble.

  “I’ll e-mail you the music so you’ll be ready for practice on Thursday night,” she said.

  “But—”

  “Pick me up at six sharp.”

  There were so many ways that this was wrong, but before Colt could stop his lips from moving, the word okay slipped out.

  : : CHAPTER 43 : :

  That afternoon Lily e-mailed Colt her arrangement of a hymn called “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.” He had sung it plenty of times over the years, but that was from the anonymity of a pew, not on a stage with a microphone. He sighed and then grabbed his guitar to tune the strings, figuring that he might as well practice in case he wasn’t able to come up with a reason to back out.

  If that weren’t enough, at lunch the next day Danielle shared her plan to break into Trident Biotech’s server—and she was going through with it whether Colt and Oz helped her or not. She was tired of wondering where the next attack was going to come from, she declared.

  Danielle had never been good at playing the role of the victim. She preferred to be in charge, and if that meant taking the fight to a multinational corporation with more resources than half the countries in the world, then so be it.

  “I need to get someone’s credentials so I can log into their system,” she said. “Once I’m in I can upload a virus that will let me make a new credential, and then we’ll be able to get in whenever we want. I’m thinking we could go to the Trident Biotech campus over by the hospital during lunch tomorrow.”

  “I hate to break this to you,” Oz said, “but Chandler High is crawling with undercover CHAOS agents, and they’re all under strict orders to keep an eye on us. There’s no way we’re going to be able to leave . . . And even if we did sneak away, the minute we walk through the doors at Trident Biotech, they’re going to recognize us.”

  “Then I guess we’ll have to get creative, won’t we?”

  Colt had no idea how she managed to pull it off—and in only two days’ time, no less—but somehow Danielle arranged for everyone involved with Chandler High’s Biotechnology Academy to take a tour of Trident Biotech’s corporate headquarters on Thursday. If it was an official school trip, there was nothing the undercover CHAOS agents could do to stop her.

  Apparently Danielle discovered that Trident Biotech had underwritten Chandler High’s entire biotechnology program, so she’d approached the dean of the academy with her idea. Once Mrs. Barnum signed off, Danielle called Trident’s community relations department to book a tour. Their first opening wasn’t until February, but after a bit of cajoling, they agreed to squeeze the students in.

  Danielle’s aunt was a reporter at the Arizona Republic, so Danielle promised to pull some strings and turn the tour into a photo op. It didn’t hurt that the father of a classmate was a vice president in Trident Biotech’s sales department.

  Oz wasn’t a part of the program, so he had to stay behind— and he wasn’t happy about it. Danielle promised him that she’d text updates as often as she could.

  “Do you have any idea what they’re going to do to you if they find you there?” he asked.

  “No, but I suppose you’re going to tell me.”

  “This isn’t a game, Danielle.”

  “Really? Because I was having so much fun fighting off mechanical spiders and getting chased through the streets by a maniac who wanted to run me off the road. Oh, and I almost got shot too. So no, I had no idea that this wasn’t a game.”

  Oz shook his head.

  “Look, they wo
uld never expect us to walk through their front door,” Danielle said. “Besides, Trident Industries has more than 300,000 employees worldwide. Do you think they’re all in on the taking-over-the-world thing? I kind of doubt it.”

  “I still don’t like it,” he said.

  “We’ll be fine. I promise.”

  Thursday morning the buses pulled up to the front of the Trident Biotech tower with forty-seven students, three faculty members, and five parent volunteers, including Danielle’s aunt and a photographer from the Arizona Republic.

  There were twenty buildings in all, on more than forty acres of what used to be dairy farms. Besides a state-of-the-art research facility and an enormous library, employees at Trident Biotech had access to incredible amenities. There was a health club with personal trainers and massage therapists, a salon, a bowling alley, a preschool, a dry cleaner, and five different cafeterias that looked like gourmet restaurants. There was even an indoor rock climbing gym, a swimming pool with a high dive, and a theater that played all the latest movies.

  “This is more like a city than a business,” Colt said as he looked out the window.

  “It’s too bad they’re trying to take over the world,” Danielle said, “because I’d love to work at a place like this one day. It’s incredible.”

  “Now I want everyone to be on your best behavior,” Mrs. Barnum said. “Our department exists because of their generous donation, so before you decide to do something that you might regret, remember that.” Even though Mrs. Barnum was only five feet tall, her naturally curly hair combined with her predilection for high heels gave her an extra five or six inches depending on the day.

  As the students stepped off the bus, a trim man in a pinstripe suit greeted them. Howard Liang was Trident Biotech’s Community Relations Director, and members from his staff handed each of their guests a duffel bag. Inside there was a T-shirt, a key chain, a coffee mug, and a variety of other trinkets with Trident Biotech’s company logo.