by Terry Mixon
“A reputation for driving a hard bargain and then abiding by it. I’m confident we can work out the verbiage in a way that satisfies you, but we can come to an agreement in principle right now. My son needs many other trained military personnel because the alien threat is much greater than even the United States government currently understands.
“If he is agreeable, you could stand at his right hand. You have all the skills one could hope for and probably many contacts that would prove exceptionally useful. Since you have doubts about me, I’m more than willing to allow him to do the negotiation of the details. I assure you that he will confirm everything I’m telling you now.”
Krueger sighed. “All true. It seems that events have overtaken our earlier agreement. I’ll pass the word to my people that we’re releasing you on your own recognizance. You are no longer our prisoner.
“But we don’t work for you. Not yet. I’ll do everything I can to get us home and then we’ll see. That’s the best I can offer.”
Clayton extended his hand. “That’s more than good enough for me. Allow me to welcome you provisionally aboard. I suppose our first question is what we’ll do about the people in that army out there.”
The drone must’ve been hovering uncontrolled this entire time. The stabilized image of the woman showed that others had joined her. In particular, a distinguished looking man in uniform. He held the spyglass now and was observing the drone.
“It does appear the cat is out of the bag,” Krueger agreed. “We can get the drone away, but they’ll be on their guard now. If we wish to avoid meeting them, we can huddle inside the cave and they might miss us.”
“But they might not,” Clayton argued. “I think the time for concealment has passed. Besides, if we’re ever going to learn the lay of the land and find a way back home, we’re going to have to talk with these people. We have to convince them that we’re friends, or at least potential allies.”
He examined the woman in the image again. She was speaking with the man beside her. He didn’t know them, but Clayton was a master of body language. The man might be the military officer, but she was his superior. Perhaps socially. In any case, she was ultimately the one he’d have to convince to help them.
He allowed himself a smile. Well, high-pressure negotiations were his specialty.
* * * * *
Harry stared out of the helicopter as it flew over the wilderness. The New Zealand landscape below was lush and untouched. “It’s beautiful.”
The pilot—an officer in New Zealand’s Air Force—nodded his agreement. “Sure is. Hell to walk through, though. I feel sorry for the poor buggers wandering around down there.”
“Any word on the search?”
“Some. We sent a ship out and confronted the US destroyer yesterday. They refused to let us board, so we forced them to turn back with our jets and ships. This has turned into a real international incident.”
Harry shook his head. “Sorry about that.”
“Not your problem. Hell, it’s not even your boss’s concern. He came here with diplomatic immunity. America had no right to send soldiers onto our soil, much less kidnap two of our citizens and someone under our protection.”
The man sounded grim. If his attitude was widespread—which Harry suspected it was—that boded ill for the US’s influence in the area for a long time to come.
“They didn’t turn up on the ship once we impounded it, either,” the pilot continued. “No one is talking, but based on personal belongings, at least a dozen of their people are unaccounted for. That probably means they’re still around here somewhere. We’ll find them.”
Harry suspected they wouldn’t find anyone at this point. The only reason he could think of that the military people hadn’t made it back to their ship was that his father had led them into the base. They were either still down there now or they’d escaped to another world.
Yet one more headache for him to deal with.
“You’ve confirmed it was an American drone?”
That bit of information had been waiting for him when he’d landed. The US forces had left quite the calling card.
“Oh yeah. A number of our boys have worked with American forces before. One of them recognized the drone as a kind favored by the CIA. No weapons, but great cameras. Somebody shot out the engine and it crashed. The electronics were booby-trapped, too. It was American.”
“I’m sure that’s going to prove awkward when you trot it out as evidence at some future point.”
“I hope so,” the pilot said. “I bet they cart it to the UN and make a huge stink of it. Not that the UN is good for much except generating hot air.
“We’re almost to the landing zone. The search parties are centered on the area where Mister Rogers was camping. Once I drop you off, I’ll join the search.”
Harry nodded his thanks, even if it wasn’t a prospect that filled him with joy. The man might’ve shown himself to be a human being, but Harry had a lifetime of dislike to overcome. Frankly, he doubted he’d ever change his opinion of his father.
That didn’t mean he couldn’t work with the man. So long as their goals aligned.
The landscape around where his father had set up camp was gorgeous. Seemingly untouched by human hands before their helicopter had touched down, he could imagine living out here himself.
The headquarters for the search area consisted of several tents set up near a large, flat stone suitable for landing a helicopter on. Just adjacent to that was a larger mesa that Harry immediately suspected housed the New Zealand base.
Not that he was likely to confirm that anytime soon. Several men and a tall woman stood waiting for the helicopter to idle. No doubt these were the people coordinating the search. They’d occupy his time to a much greater degree than he’d like for the foreseeable future.
At some point, though, he’d be able to slip away and examine the mesa for concealed entrances. He just had to bide his time.
Once the rotor blades had slowed, Harry shook the pilot’s hand, set his headset down on the seat, and made his way out to meet the New Zealanders.
As he’d expected, the woman stepped forward. “Mister Jacobs? My name is Molly Goodwin. I’m sorry to meet you under these circumstances. We’re doing everything we can to find your employer.”
He shook her hand firmly. “I’m sure you are. Do you have any idea which direction they went? Were they injured?”
“I’m afraid not. They sent the rest of their party off while they created a distraction. They climbed up on that mesa over there and rappelled down the far side.
“We’re not sure they actually got off the mesa. We couldn’t find any indication of people heading out in a different direction than the rest of the party.”
Harry looked at the mesa. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to take a look up there. Alone.”
She gave him an odd look before shaking her head. “That’s not going to be possible. They used a large stone to take out the easiest way up. You’re going to have to have assistance climbing to the top.”
He smiled. “I served in special operations for quite some time. I have a lot of experience climbing places you wouldn’t think people could get to. I assume you’ve already got a rope hanging down to assist people in getting to the top?”
“We do, but it’s not the safest option.”
“The important things in life rarely are. I understand that sounds strange, but I need to see this for myself.”
She looked unconvinced. “I’ll see what we can do.”
He didn’t feel bad about manipulating her. If that was the last place anyone had seen his father, the odds of the entrance being up top were exceptionally good.
Not that he’d have an opportunity to explore the base right now. The very last thing he wanted to do was tip the New Zealanders off that they had an ancient installation in their backyard. If that happened, they’d seize it.
He’d locate the entrance and perhaps scout it out. Then he’d come back once every
one was asleep and check it out in more detail.
Harry hoped whatever problems his father had embroiled himself in weren’t time sensitive. Otherwise, the old man would have to get himself out of them all by himself.
On second thought, he hoped the man wasn’t all that safe. The bastard deserved some grief for all the hell he’d caused Harry over the years. Karma was a bitch. He’d settle for pulling the old man’s ass out of the fire at the last minute.
Chapter Nine
Jess had to travel to the French base in order to contact Brenda Cabot. She really needed to figure out a better way to communicate with people on Earth.
By the time she arrived, it was dark in the United States. Though it might be rude, she didn’t have time to waste. She dialed the burner that Cabot had given them using a burner of her own.
That number had changed after Harry’s people had called to verify the intruders at the base were associated with Brenda. That made sense to her. With the global communications intercept capability of the NSA, they would quickly tag any call in the world that seemed suspicious.
And international calls to US citizens always made the US government suspicious.
The phone rang twice before Cabot answered. The woman sounded a bit groggy. “Do you know what time it is?”
Jess considered her watch. It was still on GMT. She did a rough calculation in her head. “Late?”
“Early,” Brenda said firmly. “Is there a fire? There better be some kind of fire.”
“We need to talk as soon as possible. Face-to-face. As soon as possible.”
There was a moment of silence. “You know how to come visit me. Give me a half hour to get ready.”
“Thank you.”
Jess ended the call, removed the SIM card from the phone, and crushed it under her heel. She handed the now useless burner to Rex. The scout took it and dropped it into one of his many pockets.
In exchange, he pulled out a different phone and handed it to her. Then, to her confusion, he pulled out a second phone and handed it to her.
She glanced at them before giving him a quizzical look. “Is this some kind of social commentary about me talking on the phone too much? Seriously, I’m not a chatterbox.”
He laughed. “Not at all. You’re holding a piece of brand-new technology. One that can make your life a lot easier. Those are quantum phones. Apparently Clayton Rogers had perfected the technology and then kept it secret so that the US government wouldn’t get it.”
Jess examined one of the phones more closely. It was a bit bulkier than her usual one, but not by much. Honestly, some of the carriers had gone ridiculously slim. At least these had enough bulk for you to hold them comfortably.
She touched the screen and found that it looked very much like the phone she’d just used. “It seems pretty normal to me.”
The man nodded. “And it behaves fairly normally as well. It can connect to any of the regular cellular networks. One positive is that it utilizes software embedded inside the network to generate a false identity for the phone. You don’t have to pull out a SIM card once you use it.
“Every call appears to come from a different phone. One already located in the general area that you’re in. Apparently it’s some kind of backdoor that Clayton Rogers installed before he sold that company to the Chinese.”
She had to admit that sounded useful. “Why do I have two?”
“Because it also has a quantum mode. You don’t have to use any existing cellular network. You can call other quantum phones directly. I haven’t tested the range, but the geek that delivered these said I should be able to call Harry directly without any issues. I figured you’d want one to give to Cabot so you could have secure communications.”
“That does sound like a good idea. The last thing we want to do is bring the US government down on her people. They have the only operational gate inside the United States. Did you get one sent to Harry?”
Rex smiled wryly. “They arrived about an hour after he’d left. I paid an exorbitant amount of money to send someone after him. It’ll be dark there before my guy lands, but he should be able to get a phone into Harry’s hands early tomorrow morning.”
“How can it call from here to New Zealand without using a cellular network?”
The ex-military man shrugged. “Damned if I know. I’ve never even used it.”
As an engineer specializing in space projects, Jess knew a lot about science. That didn’t mean she understood quantum mechanics. Frankly, she was halfway convinced the scientists that claimed they did were just making things up.
Still, the universe had proven itself stranger than she’d anticipated. She’d do more research and then some real-world testing before she formed an impression.
“Once I’m done meeting with Cabot, I’ll get her to send me directly back to Freedom Express,” she said. “If you’ve got one of these close to hand, let’s get the number in my contact list now.”
“Already done. The units meant for Harry and Cabot, too. As far as I know, that’s all there are. These are prototypes. The guy that dropped them off said it would probably be another six months before there was any kind of real production, but who knows what that means.”
“I’ll need his contact information, too.”
“Will do.”
Jess waited until the designated time and went down to the gate. She grabbed the cat carrier that she’d left down near the gate when she’d went upstairs. The artificial black cat stared patiently at her through the grate.
That made her feel guilty. She knew intellectually that sitting down here for half an hour hadn’t hurt the mechanical device, but she should’ve left it somewhere more comfortable. Somewhere with food, water, and a litterbox.
Once she’d established the connection to Cabot’s gate, her end filled with mist and lightning. She waited for it to clear and then walked through.
Cabot and two of her associates were waiting on the other side. Jess wasn’t familiar with either of the men.
The other woman raised an eyebrow at the carrier. “Stopping by the vet after your visit?”
Jess smiled. “Something like that. I wanted to know if you have any kind of advanced scanning technology. To look at the cat.”
The other woman’s expression took a turn for the confused. “I’m not sure I understand.”
“Then allow me to explain. You’re going to find this fascinating.”
* * * * *
Brenda stared at Jessica Cook in shock. She knew her mouth was hanging open, but couldn’t help herself.
“Is this some kind of joke?” she asked. “An artificial cat? Why in the world would the Asharim build an artificial cat?”
“They didn’t. It appears that the Asharim were investigating something amazing in the outer system. Way out past the orbit of Pluto. They have a station there in orbit around a dead, frozen planet. The cat came from there.”
Brenda stared into the cat carrier. The small black cat looked completely normal. Nothing struck her as off. The way it sat looking at her was perfect.
“Are you sure it’s artificial?”
Cook nodded, her expression dark. “It was lying in the lap of a frozen body. Someone who had probably been dead for more than a thousand years. That’s the minimum. We found definite signs that the Asharim were exploring the world. The cat was there when the world died, however long ago that was.”
“May I? Is it safe?”
The other woman gestured toward the carrier. “This one seems friendly and disinclined to scratch or bite.”
Brenda figured out how to open the carrier and held a hand in. The small black creature delicately sniffed her fingers and then brushed her cheek against them. Brenda could hear a soft purr coming from inside the carrier.
This was unreal.
When she encountered no resistance, Brenda pulled the cat out of the carrier and set it on the table in front of her. It stood under her hand as she petted it, its tail flirting.
“This h
as got to be some kind of joke. I’ve never heard of anything like this. Even the Asharim couldn’t have built such a perfect replica. You say you found a planet. Why would the inhabitants build a replica cat?”
The other woman extended a tablet toward her. “I think I’d best let the pictures explain for themselves. These were taken from the camera on my vacuum suit.”
Brenda took the tablet and brought it to life. The first picture was already queued up. It was the exterior of some kind of building with lots of snow piled around it.
She felt her hackles rise as she flipped through the images. The sight of the frozen bodies made her heart lurch. Especially the family on the couch. The little girl with the small black cat in her lap.
Her eyes shot up to meet Cook’s.
“Humans?”
“Our doctor confirmed it. These people were completely human. What’s more, they didn’t come from anyone taken by the Asharim.”
The woman pulled an ID card from her pocket and slid it across the table.
Brenda saw that it was a Virginia driver’s license. Then she started noticing the oddities. The birthdate was August 4, 2223.
“That’s bullshit!”
“I have proof, if you have some kind of scanning device.”
“We have some scanning technology,” Brenda admitted. “It’s designed for human medical issues. I have absolutely no idea what it would return from a mechanical device. Or a real cat.”
Cook smiled. “I suppose we’ll find out.” She took the unresisting cat and put it back into the carrier.
Brenda looked at one of her men. “Get Granger down to the medical center.”
He headed out at a trot.
She led Jessica Cook down to the area they were using as a medical center in their new headquarters building. Five minutes later, Doctor Todd Granger walked briskly into the room.
He smiled at Cook. “Jessica! It’s a pleasure to see you again, though I must confess I didn’t expect you to come visit me. You’re not hurt, are you?”
Granger had been with Brenda when she’d led a group to meet Harry Rogers and Jessica Cook for the first time. He’d been escorting their prisoner at the time, Secretary of State Josh Queen.
