The Alex Cave Series. Books 1, 2, & 3.: Box set

by James M. Corkill

  Cook eased Pegasus within five feet of the stern of the black sub and pulled back on the throttle, keeping just enough force to stay directly behind it. He stared at the rotating propeller. What the hell can I do?

  The pewter-colored device suddenly flashed in his lights and it gave him an idea. He eased Pegasus forward along the right side of the black sub and gave her full throttle. Fortunately, the other sub seemed to be unaware of his presence. Or so he thought.

  The black sub suddenly veered right, slamming its thick propeller housing into Pegasus. It drove Pegasus away from the device and it took Cook a second to regain control. When he swung her around to locate the black sub in his lights, it was gone. He had not realized the speed of the black submarine and slowly spun Pegasus in a circle, but a thick cloud of gray silt bellowed in all directions and he knew he would never be able to find it.

  “Damn it! Did you guys see anything on your screen?”

  “We didn’t see anything.” Williams answered.

  The image from Pegasus was suddenly rolling over, and over in slow motion, and then it jumped from left to right.

  “Damn it!” Cook swore in frustration. The cameras jerked again, and Cook rotated the lenses to get a level view.

  The lights on the front of Pegasus could barely penetrate the silt stirred up by the action of the subs, and they did not see the black sub racing at the camera lenses until it was too late. The pictures jerked around erratically for several seconds, and then the video screens were blank.

  “Shit!” Cook swore as high pressure sprays of water tore at his skin, ripping away chunks of his flesh. “AHHHHH! Help me, damnit!”

  Up on the Olympus, no one spoke as Williams listened to Cook screaming into his microphone, begging for help. When the radio speaker was silent, Williams looked at his Executive Officer. “Contact Adak and tell them what happened.”

  Williams grabbed the binoculars and stared in the direction of the mystery boat, now much closer to his position. “What the hell?” he whispered as a small seaplane he thought was a boat climbed into the air.

  * * *

  Chapter 23

  FRIDAY. ONE WEEK LATER. WYOMING:

  It was nearly seven PM when Alex drove under the sign for the Okana Land and Cattle Company. It had been a pleasant drive south on the eastern side of Yellowstone, though he was still dreading his meeting with Okana’s cousin. He would be polite, indulge in the general chitchat, and pretend not to be bored.

  As he parked next to a red SUV, a small girl with wavy dark brown hair walked up to his door, staring up at him through his open window. As he slowly opened his door, she smiled.

  “Are you the cave man?”

  Alex laughed. “I suppose I am. What’s your name?”

  “Halona. Uncle Okana saw you coming up the road and told me to bring you up on the porch.”

  When she held out her hand, Alex hesitated for a second before wrapping his hand around hers. What’s Okana up to this time? He must be softening the blow for meeting his ugly cousin.

  As Halona led him around the side of the house, she kept asking questions about where he was from, where he worked, and why his name was cave man. He answered all but one of her questions. “It isn’t cave man. It’s Alex Cave.” When she giggled, he smiled.

  “Uncle Okana is funny. Just like Grandpa Richard. He’s up in the sky with the white buffalo now.”

  Alex found it odd she would use a Native American Indian Philosophy. When they walked around the corner of the house, he saw three people sitting in chairs on the porch through the open railing. Okana, a small older blond woman, and an attractive woman with long black hair. When he and Halona walked up the steps, all three gave him a puzzling stare. He quickly let go of Halona’s hand, thinking he might be doing something improper, though he felt he hadn’t.

  Halona ran up the steps, laughing. “His real name is Alex Cave, uncle Okana.”

  When the three of them smiled, Alex relaxed his shoulders as he climbed the steps. Okana stood and gave him a hug.

  “Glad you could make it, Alex.” Okana indicated the blond woman. “This is my mom, Judith.”

  Alex stepped forward and reached down to shake her hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  Okana indicated the black-haired woman. “This is my cousin, Fala.”

  When the woman stood and smiled, Alex held out his hand. “Hello.” When she accepted his hand, she stopped smiling and he wondered if he done something wrong.

  “You’ll have to forgive me, Alex. Have we met before?”

  Alex grinned and shook his head. “I’m sure I would have remembered.”

  Fala smiled. “My mistake. I was surprised my daughter took to you so quickly. She’s usually very shy around strangers.”

  Now that she mentioned it, he did feel unusually comfortable meeting Fala for the first time. Now he realized why they had stared at him and Halona. “I just thought she had a friendly personality.”

  Judith stood. “Have you eaten yet, Alex? I have plenty of leftovers.”

  “Actually, I haven’t eaten since breakfast. That would be great.”

  “Have a seat and I’ll bring it out for you.”

  “Thank you.” As Alex sat down, Halona suddenly sat down beside him, smiling. He glanced over at Fala, who was grinning at his uneasiness. “I’m not used to being around young children. I’m more used to college students.”

  “Okana told me you’re a geology instructor in Bozeman.”

  “Geophysics, actually.”

  When Judith returned with a plate of food, Halona jumped down to chase a calico cat, and the four of them talked while Alex ate. As they talked about Okana’s father, Alex noticed Judith’s faraway look. Reminiscing, he supposed.

  Alex stood to take his plate into the house. “That was wonderful, Judith. Thank you.”

  Fala stood. “I’ll take it in for you, Alex.”

  “All right. Thanks.”

  Okana noticed Alex staring after Fala. “You two seem to be getting along nicely.”

  Alex looked down at Okana’s smirk. “What? Oh. Yes, she’s a very nice lady.”

  “I thought you two might hit it off.”

  Alex grinned and stared out across the desert as the sun was dipping over the mountains. He felt a strange sensation of familiarity with Fala for some strange reason. He hadn’t felt this way with any other woman but Sevi.

  Alex turned when he heard the screened door open, and smiled when Fala stepped out onto the porch. When she smiled in return, he wished he could sit out on the porch with her for the rest of the evening, instead of driving to the motel.

  Judith noticed how Alex and Fala looked at each other, and smiled to herself. From what Okana had told her about Alex, he was a good man. Fala had been through so much pain with her bastard ex-husband, she hoped Fala and Alex would enjoy each other’s company. “Why don’t you stay here with us, Alex?”

  Alex was caught by surprise. “Oh, ah. I don’t want to impose, Judith.”

  “Nonsense. Halona can sleep with Fala in the guest bedroom. You can sleep on the fold out bed in the den.”

  “All right. I guess I’d better call the motel and cancel my reservation.”

  Fala was thinking she wouldn’t see Alex again until the service tomorrow, and was pleased he would be staying here at the ranch. “I’ll take care of it, Alex. My parents own the motel.”

  When Alex felt small fingers curl around his hand, he looked down at Halona’s grinning, dirt smudged face. She reminded him of his niece in Washington, and he smiled. I’ve missed so much enjoyment by not being around her when she had been this young. The idea of having his own family someday had been his and Sevi’s dream, but ever since he had lost her, he had given up on the idea. Perhaps Okana was right and it’s time to get on with my life. I’ll just have to wait and see how things develop with Fala.

  “Mom says we have to sit down and be still to watch the sunset. You can sit next to me, Alex.”

  When he looked
over at Fala, her lips formed a soft smile. “I think your mom is right. Where should we sit?”

  * * *

  Chapter 24

  SATURDAY. COBRA:

  When Chris heard the truck approaching through the woods, he climbed out of the golf cart ready to meet his new passenger. He knew it was a woman, but was not told the reason for her visit.

  When the truck stopped, Chris wondered why a forklift was attached to the rear. He waited while the driver and passenger climbed out before walking over to introduce himself. He hadn’t expected her to be so attractive. He held out his hand. “I’m Chris Jenkins, your security guard.”

  Rita studied the hefty man before accepting his handshake. “Rita Harrow. Are you the only help I get?”

  Chris hadn’t realized he would be helping her. “As far as I know. I’ll do what I can to help, but I’m just a security guard.”

  “All right, Chris. Give us a hand unloading this thing.”

  After the driver lowered the forklift to the ground, Chris opened the rear door of the truck and looked inside. His first impression was some type of experimental torpedo, but why would they bring it here?

  When he heard a beep from the forklift, he stepped out of the way.

  *

  OKANA RANCH:

  While Alex and Okana set up the folding tables for the reception after the funeral, Alex learned more about Okana’s heritage. When they started the service, Alex had a much deeper appreciation of the way it was performed. Once the memorial service was over, baskets containing a variety of home-cooked meals were opened and spread out on tables.

  Now sitting under a large oak tree with Fala, Alex could not remember the last time he had felt so relaxed. He enjoyed Halona’s dancing around, and it felt as if they were a family. He was already dreading having to go home tomorrow. At least he had one more night in their company.

  *

  COBRA:

  Once the device was positioned upright in a stand, Rita told Chris to start unpacking her equipment and set it up on a console. She drove the golf cart out of the mountain and entered Preston’s number. “I’m ready to start testing the device. How soon can you get here?”

  “Tomorrow afternoon is the soonest I can get there, so just hold off until I arrive.”

  Damn! “All right. I guess I can wait.”

  “Good. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  When she entered the main chamber, all her equipment was ready and Chris was dragging a power cord across the floor to the console. She studied the configurations for a moment, and then looked at Chris. “I’m impressed, Chris. Are you really just a guard and not a technician?”

  Chris grinned at the complement. “I’ve hooked up enough computers and stereos to figure out what hooks up to what.”

  “Well, plug us in and let’s see if this thing still works.”

  Chris felt a little uneasy not knowing what was going on. “If you don’t mind my asking. What is this thing? Is it a bomb? Can it blow up?”

  Rita took a moment trying to figure out what to tell him. “It’s difficult to describe, but it’s not explosive. Are you ready?”

  “Ah, what should I expect?”

  “We should see a small tornado form directly above the point. Here we go. Two, one, go.”

  Chris stared at the top of the torpedo waiting, but nothing happened. In a way, he was relieved. He didn’t care what she said, the damn thing looks like a bomb, and bombs explode. He looked over at Rita. “I guess it’s a dud.”

  “I told you, it’s not a bomb. I just have to try another set of frequencies tomorrow.”

  Suddenly all the lights flickered, but a second later they were steady again. Rita looked at Chris. “What the hell was that all about? I thought this place ran on geothermal energy.”

  Chris looked around the room. “It’s never done that before.” He looked over at the device. “It must have something to do with your non-bomb.”

  “That is ridiculous. It had nothing to do with it.”

  Chris sighed. “If you say so.” He turned and strolled across the room to the lounge.

  Rita stared after him as she considered his suggestion. She didn’t completely understand how the devices functioned, but she remembered Alex saying once they were out of the water they would behave differently. This one is above ground, so it could not possibly affect anything around it. Something else had to have caused the lights to flicker. I had better figure out what went wrong before Steve arrives.

  * * *

  Chapter 25

  SUNDAY AFTERNOON. COBRA:

  As Chris drove down the tunnel with Preston, he had a bad feeling about the test today. He could sense Preston’s excitement, although Rita seemed a little more reserved from her initial enthusiasm yesterday. In any case, he had already decided to wait outside this time.

  When Chris parked near the steel door, Preston saw Rita standing in front of the control console and climbed out, grinning as he strolled across the floor to Rita. “Is everything ready?”

  Rita smiled and reached out to pull him close for a hug and a kiss. It had been nearly two months since she had seen him, but he seemed so cold emotionally she thought he might have lost his affection for her. When she let go, he was staring at the device. “Is something wrong?”

  Preston smiled. He never had an emotional attachment to Rita. She was only a puppet in his scam to make millions of dollars from his cleanup contracts with the Federal and State Governments. “Of course not. I’m just anxious to see if this thing works, is all.”

  Rita felt relieved that his affection for her had not changed, and smiled. “All set.”

  They both turned when they heard the golf cart driving down the tunnel. Preston gave Rita a puzzled stare. “What’s up with him?”

  Rita understood why Chris had left, but didn’t want to let Preston know she had ignored his order to wait. “He’s just a guard. Don’t mind him.”

  Preston grinned. “Show me how this thing works.”

  *

  OKANA RANCH:

  His bag was already in his SUV, but Alex kept procrastinating to leave as he and Fala sat under the tree. “How about you and Halona come and stay at my place next weekend? I have a spare bedroom, and I’d love to show both of you around Bozeman.”

  Fala was hoping Alex would like to see her and Halona again. He wasn’t too far from where they lived in West Yellowstone. “We’d love to.”

  They both turned when they heard high-pitched giggling, and watched Okana swinging Halona in a circle by the arms. When Alex grinned and looked back at Fala, she leaned in close, kissing him lightly on the lips. When she leaned back, Alex felt everything was right in the universe and smiled at her.

  *

  COBRA:

  For a few moments, nothing happened, and then the overhead lights began to explode. Shards of white hot metal rained down, scattering across the floor. When the alarm began to blare, the emergency lights flicked on, barely illuminating the vast room. The ground shook so hard the device toppled over, crashing against the concrete.

  Rita and Preston grabbed the edge of the console for balance as the floor shuddered. Their hands were ripped from the console as the floor heaved up three inches, tossing them off their feet.

  Rita held her arms up for protection as chunks of concrete crashed down from the ceiling. When the shaking stopped, she struggled to gulp air into her lungs as they quickly became clogged with dust from the crumbled concrete.

  Suddenly she remembered the blaring alarm was for the door closing. She stumbled over the debris trying to reach the narrowing gap between the door and the frame. In her rush to the door, she stumbled over something soft on the floor, crashing onto the jagged pieces of concrete. “Shit!”

  As she scrambled onto her hands and knees, she looked over at the door just as a small sliver of light blinked out and a deep thud filled the room.

  She remembered the keypad and stood to go try it, and realized what had caused her to fall. Preston’s b
ody was buried under pieces of shattered rock from the ceiling, and a puddle of dark red blood had spread out from under his head.

  As she stared at the dark buttons, she realized she didn’t even know the combination. At first, she started to laugh, but when reality set in, she leaned back against the cold steel door and slowly slid down onto the floor. As her vision began to blur, she brought her knees up under her chin and wrapped her arms around her legs. She could only hope Chris would let someone know what happened. The problem was he would probably tell them a bomb caused the earthquake and she was dead. There would be no rush to open the door, and they would probably just leave it as a crypt. She wrapped her arms over her eyes and began to sob.

  *

  Chris had just cleared the exit when the Golf cart began rocking from side to side. He realized it was an earthquake only a second before it rolled over, tossing him to the ground. When he looked up above the entrance, massive boulders of gray rock were rolling down the face of the mountain. He scrambled up on to his feet, running down the road. When he glanced over his shoulder, thick gray dust was roiling from the entrance of the facility.

  *

  OKANA RANCH:

  Alex and Fala stopped grinning at each other when they felt the ground tremble. They stood and looked around as if they might see the cause, but everything seemed fine.

  Judith appeared on the back porch and looked down at Alex. “What just happened?”

  Alex shook his head. “It was an earthquake, but I don’t understand why it happened. This part of Wyoming is geologically stable.”