The Society of Orion Book #7: The Turkish Findings (Colton Banyon Mystery 21)

by Gerald J. Kubicki

  Kiri Keo stood up and watched his convoy of trucks being destroyed. He was in awe of the power of the knife. It disappeared into the jungle.

  When he turned back to the now open causeway, he was further shocked. A huge circular saw was flying about a foot off of the ground like a Frisbee. It headed up the narrow road towards his men.

  “Jump,” he screamed this time and leaped into the moat. Seven more of his men didn’t make it. The buzz saw hit them around the knees. They fell over like fresh cut trees. Blood was sprayed everywhere.

  When the drug dealer surfaced in the water, he immediately felt a huge headache. A very bright light was shining into his eyes and a tremendously loud noise filled his ears. He was disoriented and couldn’t remember why he was in the water. He heard cries of agony and realized something was wrong, but couldn’t put his finger on the problem. He decided to swim for the nearest shore and dove under the water thinking that he had to get away from the noise. His headache immediately disappeared and he remembered that he and his men were fighting blue intruders. He stayed under water until he reached the edge of the moat.

  When he resurfaced, the light and sound were gone, but he was faced with a new horror. A gigantic metal roller had appeared from nowhere and was heading up the causeway, crushing anything in its path.

  Unfortunately, four of the drug lord’s men had climbed out of the water onto the causeway. They were still disoriented and didn’t recognize the threat of the fast moving roller. It came at them too fast. They were flattened like pancakes along with the men who had lost their legs to the buzz saw. It was a horrific sight. Blood sprayed into the air along the causeway and into the moat. The roller kept going and never slowed down. Kiri Keo lost sight of it as it entered the jungle. By that time the drug lord had reached the other side of the moat.

  Kiri Keo looked to his right and then to his left as he pulled himself out of the water. He saw that many of his men were still alive and had reached the shore of the moat near the wall of the compound. We’ve got them now; he thought and bolted from the water.

  As soon as he stood up, he was hit with a blast of wind that rivaled the many cyclones that often plastered Cambodia. The difference was that this wind didn’t contain any rain. The wind picked him up and tossed him back into the moat like a rag doll. He struggled for breath as the wind whipped the usually calm moat into small tidal waves. Several of Keo’s men drowned in the fury of the chaos. Then the wind seemed to pass over the water and attacked the jungle behind them.

  The drug lord and his remaining men stormed out of the water and headed for the entrance. Some of the men were within twenty feet of the opening when a huge fireball sprang from the opening. The men nearest the entrance were immediately engulfed in flames. They turned screaming and sprinted back to the moat to attempt to drench the flames, but their bodies stilled burned even when they went underwater. Who is doing all this damage to my men?

  ***

  Kiri Keo eventually found his answer when he was able to finally make his way out of the moat. He ran up the dozen stone steps to the opening in the huge protection wall and plastered himself along the stone next to the opening. He snuck a peak around the corner and into the entrance. In the middle of the large doorway entrance stood three giants. They were about fifteen feet back from where Keo was located. The men were all over ten feet tall and the three of them completely blocked the way inside. The giants were pulling out small silver devices from inside their armor and aiming them at Keo’s men. Once they fired the weapons the giants tossed them to the ground and pulled out another one. They worked like a very well trained military unit.

  Above his head Keo could hear bullets pinging off the high wall. His snippers were supplying suppression fire because the blue defenders were attempting to look over the wall and find his men. Every few seconds a small red laser beam shot out from a defender. When the beam connected with one of his men it cut them into pieces.

  A second fire ball blasted out of the opening. Keo realized that it took several seconds to power up each weapon. The time to take a shot was right now. He pulled his pearl handled pistol and rolled around the edge of the opening. He fired point blank at the giant on the left. The bullet hit the defender squarely in his massive chest. He didn’t even stagger. The bullet just ricocheted away. How can I kill these giants?

  As Keo watched in horror, the giant in the middle said something in a language he didn’t understand and nodded his head. The three defenders began to move forward. They each had a weapon in both of their hands. The drug lord could see grim determination on their blue faces. They showed no sign of fear. They were attacking.

  Keo could see that it would only take them three huge steps to clear the doorway. Then they could fire their weapons along the walls and kill more of his men.

  At the same time, a second large laser machine appeared above the wall. It started firing a laser beam at the drug lord’s snipers. Two were hit immediately. The beam moved quickly towards the remaining snipers. Keo quickly understood that if his snipers were knocked out, the blue defenders covering the walls could lean over and pick off his men at their leisure. It looked like the end for the drug lord.

  ***

  General Wendell Whitehead was writing furiously on a pad as he kept glancing at the monitors. He was recording valuable information about how the Sumi planned their defense and attacked. He had already recorded all the devices that they had used. It was also clear that the Sumi had an elite group of super-fighters that displayed no fear. The large laser device was a surprise and now he knew that they had more than one. He wondered how many new devices they would use.

  They had moved the drones close enough that they could read the expressions on the faces of the combatants. The look on the drug lord’s face was one of imminent defeat. The Sumi’s seemed more confident.

  “The Sumi will be a handful in an open battle,” the fleet admiral pointed out. They seem to have a battle plan and warriors to execute it.”

  “Let’s hope we never have to go one on one with them,” General Whitehead replied.

  “Do you think that is possible?” The Secretary of Defense asked over General Whitehead’s shoulder.

  “I’ve got people working on it right now,” the general replied absently.

  “Uh-oh,” the technician cried out. “Something has happened.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Kiri Keo pulled back around the corner when he saw a grenade land at the feet of the blue giants. He wondered if it would do any damage and got ready to shoot as soon as the giants passed through the opening.

  The explosion was accompanied by some horrible screams of agony. We’ve hurt at least one, he thought encouragingly. Two long legs appeared followed by the two remaining giants. The blue defender next to Keo turned and looked at him curiously. His dark yellow eyes were so intense they seemed to pass right through Kiri Keo. The defender was ten feet tall which was literally twice the height of the drug lord. Keo prepared to die, but noticed that something was wrong with the blue fighter. He was bleeding from several cuts on his head, but more importantly the grenade had done additional damage. His hands were missing.

  Keo fired his gun at the giants face. He stopped walking in mid-stride and fell forward like a large oak tree. He was dead before he hit the ground.

  The last blue defender put up a good fight. While he was also bleeding from several places, he continued to blast away at the drug gang. It was close quarters fighting now. The giant used two hand-held lasers and slashed through several more men by using it like a sword. Eventually, two of the gang members managed to grab one of his long blue arms. He roared in anger and flung them away like toys.

  More of the drug gang attacked his body. One of Keo’s men was able to climb up his back. He pressed a pistol to the giants’ head. When he fired, the giant fell to the ground and crushed two more men under him.

  “Shoot the laser gun,” Keo screamed at his man who held the PRG. The man was so mesmerized by the
carnage that he had not reacted when the big device suddenly appeared. He shouldered the RPG and pressed the trigger.

  The blast knocked some of the drug lord’s men to the ground as it exploded against the side of the laser gun. The man driving it was immediately killed and the machine dropped into the courtyard.

  “Follow me,” Keo yelled out and headed into the structure. About forty-five of his men were able to follow. When he reached the courtyard, he saw chaos. Blue men were flying everywhere at once. They crisscrossed the drug lord’s path firing their puny laser guns and screaming like Indians. Others were running to the steps of the big temple. There the largest blue man of them all beckoned them with his long arm. As the men scrambled to reach the steps, many of them lost their threatening headdresses. There was long blond hair underneath.

  The tall man on the steps threw a buzz saw at the entrance hoping to mow down some gang members as they entered. But he was too late. All of the drug lord’s men who could run were already inside.

  The gang members let loose with their machine guns. Soon sleds and blue men began falling from the sky. Others were cut down as they ran for the temple steps. Kiri Keo went straight for the building. There were about twenty blue men standing huddled together on the steps now. They didn’t attempt to defend themselves. Kiri brought up his pistol to shoot the leader, but the man turned a band on his large finger. Instantly a clear shield enveloped the men.

  Kiri was furious when he saw his bullets harmlessly bounce off of the shield. He yelled for some of his men to shoot the shield with their machine guns. When the bullets didn’t penetrate the surface, he grabbed a grenade from a man near him and dropped it at the edge of the barrier. The explosion blew a hole in the ground, but the shield stayed intact.

  By now his men had killed the rest of the blue men. The drug lord wondered if some of the blue defenders had slipped away and were hidden in the huge complex. He decided to send some men to search for any survivors as soon as he cracked the shield surrounding the blue men on the steps.

  The two groups stared at each other. Neither knew what to do next. After a few minutes, the tall blue man inside the shield reached up and seemed to swipe at something above his head. Suddenly, the shield and the men inside disappeared. After a stunned minute, one of Keo’s men went to the steps and was able to climb them. The defenders had disappeared and made a getaway.

  “They’re gone,” he told the drug lord.

  “That’s too bad. I wanted to kill them all. But we’ve won back my poppy fields,” Kiri Keo exclaimed and screamed like a madman.

  ***

  “Can we still track the Sumi?” General Whitehead asked.

  “The shield throws off heat just like a person. We can track the shield using infrared sensors,” the technician replied. “They’ve made it out the back exit of the compound and are heading into the jungle.”

  “Keep track of them,” the general ordered. “When we can get some troops in the area, I want to capture them.”

  “How can you do that?” the fleet admiral asked.

  “I’ve got people who can turn the device off. The Sumi can’t stop the deactivation. Then we’ll take them as prisoners.”

  “How long before your man can get to them?” The Secretary of Defense asked.

  “Probably a day,” the general responded. “Your men will need to keep them insight until then.

  “In-coming!” another technician suddenly screamed.

  “What have you got?” General Whitehead asked nervously.

  “It’s too large to be a missile and smaller than any of their recorded shuttle crafts,” the tech responded. “It entered our atmosphere thirty seconds ago and is heading straight to the Cambodian site.”

  “Is it a rescue mission?” the general wondered out loud. “Or does it hold reinforcements?”

  “The ship doesn’t appear to be big enough to carry more than five people,” the tech responded.

  “Can we shoot it down?” the general asked without hesitation.

  “It’s going too fast. Our nearest missile site won’t be able to get a bird in the air before it passes them,” the fleet admiral said as he read from a report he was handed.

  “Sir I detect radio traffic coming from the Sumi ship,” the tech said. “It’s a manned operation.”

  “Then what the hell is it doing?” The Secretary of Defense uttered and moved closer to the screen to watch.

  “Uh-oh,” General Whitehead uttered. “I believe that it is the Sumi version of a kamikaze,” the general bellowed in disgust.

  ***

  It had just turned into night at the duplicate Angkor Wat site. Kiri Keo had dispatched his men to search the compound, but found nothing of value. They did find the prison where the three hundred villagers had been kept. After freeing the people, the survivors had gone to get food and drink for their heroes.

  His men had built a fire in the courtyard. He sat near the fire drinking from a bottle of beer and listening to stories told by one boy about being a prisoner of the blue people, but he did not discover their real identity. The Angkor Wat site was beginning to have a calming effect on the drug lord. Maybe I should make this place into a Disney world and get out of the drug business, he mused with a smile.

  “Look everybody. Look up in the sky,” someone shouted. “I see some shooting stars.”

  When Kiri Keo glanced up he saw two beautiful red-flaming balls flashing through the sky. As he watched, the objects became bigger and bigger. He realized too late that the objects were headed straight to where he sat.

  He died in a ball of fire along with the rest of his men. The inside of the entire compound was completely destroyed. A huge trench like hole replaced all the buildings.

  ***

  Three hours later a small group of men exited a helicopter about a half mile from the explosion. They wore all-white hazmat suits complete with their own air supply.

  Jet fighters circled the area. Their cameras replaced the visual images that were lost when the drones were fried by the explosion. A few miles away, five V-22 Ospreys were in a holding pattern. The versatile aircraft contained more than a hundred specialized ground troops.

  The men in the white suits lugged several boxes which contained testing equipment. They set the cases on the ground near where the huge crater from the explosion started and began testing the air quality and for signs of radiation. It took about a half hour before they determine that the site was safe and signaled the command ship that all was clear.

  Within minutes, the special troops began unloading their cargo and setting up powerful night lights. Their job was to look for Sumi weapons, especially the large laser guns.

  They worked through the night. A hundred men searched, dug and prodded the explosion site, but nothing was found. The Sumi weapons were gone.

  When General Whitehead was informed the next morning, his only comment was, “I’m more afraid of their kamikaze bombs then their Vril weapons.”

  Part Three

  More Attacks

  Chapter Nineteen

  About the same time that General Whitehead was being informed that there were no Sumi weapons found at the Cambodian site, a stealth Comanche helicopter crossed over the coast of Ecuador undetected. After a few minutes, it let loose five unmanned drones whose mission was to find out if there were any large amounts of people hiding in the jungle.

  Reconnaissance aircraft were also sent from a battle fleet positioned in international waters off the South American coast. The battle fleet included one Virginia class fast-attack submarine, with a complete compliment of missiles. It also contained the newest Ford-class super aircraft carrier and two destroyers. It was a makeshift, but lethal battle group that had been cobbled together on short notice for the mission.

  The admiral who controlled the battle fleet was located in the Pentagon and was a member of General Whitehead’s group. He hoped to get his men into the jungle and into attack position before the Sumi survey team descended from their s
tarship. But that was not to be the case.

  The drones soon picked up heat signatures from over a hundred and fifty bodies. They were located in the deep jungle near where the Tayos caves were located. The drones automatically informed everyone concerned with the mission. The hunt for the Sumi was now in full swing.

  Alarms began sounding all over the battle fleet. The admiral was well aware of the Sumi’s Kamikaze attack of the Cambodian site and didn’t want it to happen to his battle group. The submarine immediately went underwater and armed all of its missiles. No Sumi human bombs would get past the high-tech submarine if they could help it.

  On the flight deck of the carrier, over a hundred and fifty troopers scrambled to attention. They were all dressed in gear to fight in the hot jungle. They were a mixture of Navy SEALS, Delta forces, Army Rangers, British SAS, and CIA operatives, all trained in jungle warfare. The man put in charge of the ground forces was a major in the army. His name was Major Robert Pond. He now strolled to the front of the men with a swagger that showed confidence.

  Major Pond was a lifer. He intended to stay in the military until he retired. He had already completed fifteen years of service, but appeared to be much younger. He was in perfect physical shape. He always stood ramrod straight and was known as a no-nonsense officer. He was given the assignment to lead the jungle force because he was an excellent strategist and could think on the fly in the heat of a battle.

  It was a bright sunny morning on the Pacific Ocean. The temperature was in the eighties and the seas were calm as the major addressed his collected group of fighters. He had confidence that they would all do their job. Kill the Sumi and take their weapons.

  “We have detected a large group of people hidden in the Amazon jungle. We are pretty sure they are the Sumi we are after. As we discussed in our planning sessions, they have a variety of unusual weapons, but nothing we can’t handle,” he quipped. “The most dangerous Sumi will be in full battle armor that seems to be able to stop our bullets. We think that there will be anywhere from twenty to thirty of them. Go for head shots or grenades to stop them. That is all, head for your transportation. We leave in five minutes.”