“Let’s go through the items one by one,” Previne suggested. “Maybe we can identify the dangerous one.”
***
“I can identify the first items,” Maya said after a few minutes. “There are actually four of them on this list. They’re called Rise and are the anti-gravity devices that were used to power the sleds used to move wood.”
“I suspect that we will find many more of those,” Banyon noted. “There are probably several in the stash of weapons hidden in the desert. They are not game changers. We have weapons that can neutralize them.”
“Wait, I’m going to write these on the whiteboard so we all can see,” Heather announced and jumped up to the wall. She began to write.
“The next one is called Clear,” Maya said after a minute. “We have discussed it before. It’s a giant buzz saw that was used to cut down forests quickly. It flies through the air. This one could be very dangerous as it could cut down people too.”
“And we’ll be in an open desert with no place to hide,” Loni interjected.
“Also stoppable,” Banyon noted.
“Oh,” Maya suddenly exclaimed. “There are also two Reducers. They are hand-held and shoot out laser beams that were used to cut the wood into manageable pieces. The wood was then loaded onto the sleds for transport to the depositories.”
“They certainly had a powerful device there. They could also be used as a devastating weapon,” Previne agreed.
“How Star Trek,” Loni muttered.
“Do they have a range listed?” Banyon asked Maya. “How far can they shoot?”
“Not too far according to this codex. It appears that sometimes they had to use the Reducer twice to cut through a single tree trunk,” Maya explained.
“So I’m going to say twenty feet,” Banyon calculated.
“Close enough for hand-to-hand combat, but not a long range weapon,” Loni commented.
“I found the next one,” Maya offered while Heather wrote everything down on the whiteboard. “It’s called Mover. The device sends out a beam of light that can lift things like large tree trunks and large stones. They used it to load the sleds. The codex says they often used it to build things like buildings as well. But it could be used as a weapon because the device was often used to clear rubble by picking up and throwing the debris about a hundred yards.”
“Will there be rocks in the desert?” Loni asked with concern.
“According to Wolf there are only sand dunes,” Banyon responded.
“I don’t think that the Mover device is the game changer then,” Loni said.
“This one is interesting,” Maya said. “It’s called Cut. According to the codex, it is a giant knife that was used to cut stone precisely to make blocks and to build things.”
“And to dig perfectly shaped tunnels,” Heather added.
“How big a knife is it?” Mandy suddenly inquired.
“It says here that it is as tall as the huge Orion. So I’d say twenty feet,” Maya replied.
“I’d hate to have a sword fight against that,” Mandy said nervously.
“But it’s not a game changer,” Banyon explained.
Chapter Fourteen
There were only two weapons left to discuss. Everyone sat up a little straighter and paid a little more attention. The success of their mission depended on neutralizing Fasi’s devices. Their lives also depended on it.
“I think I found it,” Maya exclaimed excitedly and bounced in her seat. “It’s actually one of the devices that we already have in our stash.”
“Which one?” Banyon quickly asked.
“It’s the Insight device. But this one is a different generation,” Maya explained.
“I don’t understand,” Loni barked.
“As you know, the Insight device shows a picture of who last used any device, correct?” Maya explained as she looked around the room at everybody.
“Yes,” Previne replied. “But we have all the weapons that it tracked in Poland.”
“Well, this one is different,” Maya said looking at her sister sternly. “According to the codex, Orion took this one from a high ranking official of the Sumi whom he managed to trap in the woods and kill. This Insight device tracks all the weapons anywhere in the world.”
“Wow,” Mandy uttered.
“But not only that,” Maya continued. “It can pinpoint the direction of an activated device. As you know, it takes a weapon about two seconds to discharge. If Fasi knows how to use the device, he would have time to react and use one of his weapons to counteract it or fire at us.”
“So we’ll be out in the desert throwing fireballs and stuff at him and he’ll know where we are immediately,” Loni said angrily.
“He’ll also be able to direct his armed men to our location and wipe us out,” a worried Banyon added. “No wonder he has so many men with him. He wants to make sure we die.”
“This is a big problem,” Previne noted with exasperation.
“But won’t our weapon get to him first and kill him?” Heather the bright thinker asked. Everyone stopped to think about that but Maya. She continued to look up the last weapon in the codex.
“Uh-oh,” Maya suddenly uttered.
“What?” a stressed Banyon shouted.
“I’ve found the game changer,” she said sadly. “It’s called Stop.”
“What does it do?” the impatient Loni demanded.
“This one changes everything,” Maya said in a deflated tone. “It’s a jamming device. It was the second weapon Orion took from the Sumi official.”
“Jams what?” Banyon found himself asking.
“When pointed in the direction of a device, it shuts down the device immediately, there’s no delay,” Maya said with horror.
“That means he can turn our devices off while sending his weapons at us,” Banyon stated. “We won’t be able to use any of the Orion weapons on him. It’s the game changer all right.
Chapter Fifteen
The conference room was suddenly very quiet and somber. A feeling of defeat filled the room. Everyone around the table was contemplating the impact of the shocking news. The team had made plans that had blown up before, but this one had never gotten started.
“Colt, what should we do?” Loni asked in a whiny voice.
“I honestly don’t know,” he replied softly in a hopeless tone while shaking his head.
***
After a few minutes, Heather addressed the group. “There are several parts to this plan. The stopping of the mercenaries, recalling the Moroccan troops, the break in of Fasi’s home, the takedown of Ahmed Fasi and the capture of the Orion weapons that he possesses. Only one part is now incomplete — the destruction of Fasi. We should go ahead with the rest of the plan while we figure out a way to defeat him.”
“You’re right,” Pramilla agreed. “Steve and Eric have already left for Morocco and didn’t take their cellphones so no one could look at them. Until Eric uses the Talk device we can’t even communicate with them.”
“And if we don’t go after Fasi now, he’ll just come after us here in Chicago when he’s ready,” Mandy exclaimed. “People could get killed.”
“We need to get the Orion weapons out of his hands before he kills more people, Colt,” Previne agreed. The pressure was on Banyon and he knew it.
After a minute he replied. “Then let’s move ahead with the rest of the plan,” Banyon spoke as if he was coming awake from a nap. “Pramilla, you and Heather need to get the ball rolling with the King of Morocco. Previne, you and Mandy need to make arrangements for our trip. Use the company plane.”
“And Colt, Loni and I will figure something out before we get to Morocco,” Maya said hopefully.
Chapter Sixteen
When the four other women left the room, the remaining three members of the Forever Ours team began to explore options.
“Maybe we should inform the President and he can help,” Loni suggested.
“No!” Banyon roared. “He’ll
want the weapons when we’re done,” Banyon told her. “Could you imagine those weapons in the hands of a politician? Any politician.”
“Oh, yeah, you’re right,” she agreed. “Maybe we should bring a bunch of heavy weapons, you know like RPGs and Bazookas and blow him up,” Loni said with a gleam in her eye. She liked destructive weapons.
“We have never done any tests on the weapons,” Banyon said thoughtfully. “We don’t know if they are indestructible or will blow up if hit with a blast. What if they go off like a nuclear bomb from the Vril that powers them? We could all die,” Banyon reasoned.
“Oh, well it was just a thought,” Loni said to backpedal.
“Maybe we should bring more people and spread out in the desert,” Maya offered. “We could then each activate one weapon at the same time. Maybe we could overwhelm the Stop weapon.”
“And at least one of us would be killed by his retaliation, maybe more,” Banyon said in dismissal of Maya’s idea. “There will also be mercenaries running around the desert. They could kill us too.”
“Then maybe you should ask Wolf if he has any ideas,” Maya blurted out.
Banyon didn’t hesitate. “Wolf, do you have any ideas on how to stop Fasi? Also is anything new?”
“I have pinpointed the location for the ambush tomorrow night,” the spirit replied in Banyon’s head. “Also he is only taking one of the Reducers and one of the Risers with him. The other weapons have been returned to the vault. But another problem has arisen. You’d better answer your phone.”
“What?” Banyon screamed. Loni and Maya had no idea what Wolf had just told him, but cringed when Banyon yelled.
One second later, Banyon’s cellphone rang. He quickly pressed the button and once again screamed, “What!”
“It’s Carol,” the voice at the other end of the line said. Her voice was shaky and filled with fear. “Colt, you need to see something down here in Timmy’s office right now.”
“I’m in an important meeting,” he screamed back at her in frustration.
“Colt, this can’t wait.”
Chapter Seventeen
Colton Banyon left Loni and Maya back in the conference room to continue the search for a viable option to stop Ahmed Fasi’s ambush. He ran down the hallways and eventually skidded to a halt inside Timmy’s private office in the basement. Both Timmy and Carol were there. Their faces were pale.
“What’s so important?” he demanded.
“Come and look at this screen,” Carol said and pointed to one of the seven monitors on Timmy’s desk.
“What am I looking at here?” Banyon quickly asked. He could see that the screen showed a picture of a forest. It had been taken from a satellite.
“This is a picture of a forest about a hundred miles from the location of the third depository,” Carol explained. “Notice anything funny?”
“What?” Banyon uttered. He had no clue.
“See these different colored large spots?” Carol asked and pointed to the areas.
“I see them,” Banyon agreed.
“I’ve had a friend who is a tree specialist look at the photo. He says the spots are new tree growth. This one here is about thirty years old. The next one is about twelve years old and the last one is only six years old.”
“My god!” Banyon exclaimed. “The Sumi have not stopped coming here for wood.”
“In fact their visits have accelerated,” Timmy said.
“The Sumi image in Ecuador told me that the trip to Maltos takes three years,” Carol explained. “Based on their trend, they are due back here anytime now.”
Banyon could feel panic rising throughout his body. There were two reasons. First, was that the Sumi could be invading on their next visit. He knew that it was inevitable. Their planet was dying. The image in Ecuador had told them as much.
The second problem was that Timmy now knew about the Orion weapons and the Sumi. This was equally as dangerous because Timmy never kept anything to himself.
Banyon quickly turned to both Carol and Timmy. “I need both of you to swear that you won’t tell anybody about this until we can mount an expedition to the depository and assess the real situation. Do you agree?”
“Dude, I was sworn to secrecy about this a long time ago,” Timmy responded and waved his hand.
“What?” Banyon exclaimed again.
“Ever since you found the transmitter on Mt. Charleston,” the youth replied. “Which reminds me,” Timmy said changing the subject. “The transmitters have become more active.”
“What do you mean?” Banyon beseeched him.
“They are sending out messages more frequently all of a sudden. They appear to be coordinates and locations.”
Things had quickly gotten very bad for Colton Banyon. He had so much to figure out and only a few hours before he left for Morocco. Getting the Orion weapons from Ahmed Fasi was no longer an option.
“Who are you working with on this?” Banyon demanded from Timmy.
“You’ll find out very soon,” he evasively replied. “I can’t tell you right now, dude.”
In addition to everything else, Banyon now understood that there were spies in his company. Who do they work for? Who can I trust?
Chapter Eighteen
Banyon left Timmy’s office with his head spinning. There seemed to be so many unsolvable problems that he had to deal with and so little time. He had told the geeks to begin planning a mission to go to the third depository. They would leave as soon as he returned from Africa.
If I’m not dead, he thought as he headed back to the conference room. On the way he realized that he actually had to go to the bathroom and veered off to the nearest location.
He was drying his hands and lamenting in his problems when the door flew open and the ferret scurried into the room. He stood facing Banyon. Banyon groaned. Just what I need is more problems, he thought.
“I…need to talk to you…urgently,” the ferret stuttered.
“Not now Edgar. I’ve too much on my mind,” Banyon said strongly in dismissal of the weak lawyer.
“But I’m here to help you,” the ferret said in a now clear, strong voice.
“Help me with what exactly?” an interested Banyon replied. He had never heard the lawyer be so assertive.
“I’m here to help you stop Ahmed Fasi,” Edgar returned.
“What?” Banyon uttered for the fifth time in an hour.
“I have a present for you,” Edgar responded. “It will help you stop him.”
“Who are you really, Edgar, and who are you working for?” Banyon demanded.
“I’ll explain everything later,” the lawyer responded. “But I can tell you that I represent the other four chapters of The Society of Orion. I’m their lawyer and have been for a long time.”
“What?” Banyon said in shock. But the lawyer’s statement explained many things about the ferret’s behavior and his involvement in the quest for the Orion weapon.
“Here, take this gift,” the lawyer said. He brought out the box that Steve had seen passed to Edgar by two men during his recent surveillance.
“What is it?” Banyon inquired as he opened the box.
“It’s what you need,” the ferret replied. “It will allow you to collect all of Fasi’s weapons.”
As Banyon studied the small square metal object, he realized that it looked just like an Orion weapon. “This won’t work Edgar. Fasi has a jammer that can turn off any Orion weapon.”
“Oh,” Edgar responded. “You mean the Stop weapon. It can’t affect this device.”
“It can jam any Orion weapon,” Banyon said hotly.
“But, you see,” the lawyer explained. “This is not a Sumi weapon. It is one of ours.”
“What do you mean ours?” A shocked Banyon asked. “Do you mean the society, the US government, or someone else?”
“I’ll tell you in due time,” the ferret replied. “Just use the gift to stop Fasi first.”
“Why give this to me?” Banyon no
w asked.
“We will soon need all the Orion weapons,” the ferret explained. “You need to collect the weapons from Fasi.”
“But why me?” Banyon wondered out loud.
“Haven’t you figured it out yet?” Edgar responded.
“Figured out what?”
“Mr. Banyon, you have been chosen to serve as the new Orion. You will be needed when the invasion comes.”
“What?” Banyon said with alarm.
“Perhaps I should explain a few things,” the ferret offered.
Chapter Nineteen
By the time Banyon returned to the conference room his confident smirk had returned. He now knew how to defeat Ahmed Fasi. The ferret explained how the weapon worked and how to use it properly. He thought that when he entered the room Maya and Loni would be relieved, but he was wrong.
Maya had her head buried in the codex. Her long dark hair fanned out on the table top, Banyon could not see her face. Loni was writing something on the whiteboard with her back turned to him. She was writing down all the Orion weapons in two columns as Maya called them out.
“Zeus,” Maya said without looking up. “That one goes in column B.”
“Okay,” Loni responded. Her little bottom shook seductively as she wrote on the board.
“That’s all the weapons we know about,” Maya called out without looking up. What’s the final count?”
Loni counted up one column and announced, “So far we have identified fourteen column B weapons, of which we possess twelve. We don’t have Moses staff or the jug yet.”
“What are you guys doing?” Banyon asked in wonderment.
“Colt, you’re back,” Loni yelled and ran to hug him. “You’ve been gone for nearly an hour.”
When Maya looked up there was a smile of satisfaction on her pretty face. “Colt,” she gushed. “We’ve made an important discovery.”
Banyon sat down in a chair and kept the box in his lap. “So tell me,” he asked expectantly.
The Society of Orion Book Six: The Moroccan Affair: Colton Banyon Mystery Page 4
