“Who are you and why have I been kidnapped?”
“No, no, Mr. Childs, you have not been kidnapped. You have been safely brought here so that we, you and I, can get better acquainted and talk a little business. Would you like some tea? It is quite good on an evening like this one.”
“No thanks. And if we are to be in business together, I guess I need to know who you are.”
“You can call me Peter. I have been watching your business, Stellar Projects, with interest. Some of my associates have tried to present you with a partnership, but you declined.”
“Yes, with a threat that they made good on by disparaging my products in public and then suing me. Not much of a platform for partnership, wouldn’t you say?”
“Too true, Mr. Childs,” Peter Meier said as he took a seat directly opposite Van. “I have already disciplined those who acted rashly. I apologize also for the method by which you were brought here. However, I believe that it would be in our best interest if as few people as possible were aware of our association. Thus, the clandestine approach to meeting.”
“You are taking a lot for granted, Peter. What makes you think that I’m any more likely to agree to partner with you than I was with Iken?”
“Unfortunately, Harold is somewhat shortsighted; he does not see the big picture well.” Meier crossed his legs and absentmindedly picked at nonexistent lint on his trousers. “I see the potential in your projects, and I also see how closely they match with mine. I recognize that you have achieved advances that I have not. I respect that. It would be to my advantage if we could merge our technical knowledge, and it would be to your advantage to gain access to my production and research capabilities, to say nothing of financial backing.”
This guy Peter doesn’t give a damn about our joint benefit. He’s just laying a smoke screen to get my cooperation, Van thought. I’d be a fool to trust these guys!
“Peter, I appreciate what you’re saying and the potential it represents. But as I told Iken, our model is not based much on profit. We get some funds to keep things running, but the model is more about making people’s lives better, increasing their health and longevity—in short, helping people achieve their greatest potential.”
“And you think that making a profit interferes with that noble goal?”
“To a certain extent, yes.”
“I see. I note that your company, Stellar, is quite young—about two years old. Is that correct?”
“Yes, that’s about right.”
Meier uncrossed his legs and leaned forward to look Van in the eyes. “Then, Mr. Childs, I am at a loss as to how you might have been able to come up with the technology in the scanner and the nanites in so short a period of time.”
He knows about Site R! Or at least he has a strong suspicion. “What are you suggesting?”
“Logic would suggest that you and Stellar did not actually develop these technologies. That in fact someone or something else did.”
“Are you suggesting that little green men from Mars came to Earth and talked to me and gave me gifts?”
Leaning back with crossed arms and looking annoyed, Meier stared at Van and said, “No, of course not. Everyone knows that there are no little green men on Mars. But the knowledge came from somewhere, and I would like to know where.”
Not wanting to pursue this line of questioning farther, Van sighed and said, “Well, Peter, I think it’s about time to end this meeting and move on with our lives.”
Meier stood up and took a step closer to Van and pointed a long, thin finger at him. “I do not agree, Mr. Childs. As my guest, I insist you stay. I think we have much more to discuss.”
Outside the farmhouse, Brice heard the code words he and Van had agreed to and started his ingress.
“Team, activate stealth mode and move in on your targets. Keep it quiet.”
With that, Brice stood up from his concealment with his two partners and walked slowly toward the three drivers. He was sure that they would be seen, and he was ready to hit the ground shooting. But to his amazement, nobody noticed. The damned suits work!
As Brice’s group came up behind the drivers, one of the drivers turned as if he heard a noise. Brice froze. The driver stared for a few moments but then turned back. Brice and his men continued, each man executing a practiced blood choke hold, which they held until each guard passed out. Blood chokes amount to compression of one or both carotid arteries and/or the jugular veins without compressing the airway, causing cerebral ischemia and a temporary hypoxic condition in the brain. A nice hold when used with practiced efficiency. Slowly they lowered their victims to the ground. The guards in the front and rear required a different strategy since they could not be approached from the rear. So, with the newfound confidence in their stealthy suits, Brice and his men walked up to each guard and drummed them over the head with the hard handles of their tactical knives.
The roving guards were by now aware that something was going on. One approaching the rear of the house saw the two downed guards near the back porch. At the same time, the guard coming around front saw a similar scene at the front door. They both raised their weapons, looking for a target, but were, in the end, victims to heavy blows from the team’s tactical knife handles. Each guard was then restrained with plastic ties, and tape was placed over their mouths to keep them out of action when they woke up.
Van heard Brice finally say, “Mr. Childs, all hostiles down outside. Making entry in five seconds. Five… four…”
Hearing the entry countdown, Van sprang from his chair toward his captor. Meier fell back but Borman stepped in front and blocked Van’s attack.
“Three… two…”
Van was now thinking that he had gone too early. Borman pulled a knife from his boot and swung it, slicing into Van’s left shoulder. But Van’s momentum carried him into Borman, knocking him down. Then the third man was on him, grabbing Van from behind and trying to choke him.
“One…”
The front door of the farmhouse burst open, and Van saw Brice fire one suppressed round from his MP5 into the head of Van’s assailant. As Van sagged to the floor, feeling pain in his throat, he watched in appreciation as Brice’s team smoothly flowed into the house and into every room. He heard the word “clear” repeated as every room was verified to be free from hostiles. But that was all he heard until Brice loomed over him with concern.
“You all right?” Brice asked as he cut Van’s restraints.
“I’m fine. Where are the other two?”
“Not in the house, and the other team members say they didn’t come out.”
“How could that be?”
“Don’t know, we’re looking.”
Van noticed a medic standing by to help him but waived him off and stood up on numb legs, impatient to look around for himself. Meier and Borman were nowhere in sight.
“They can’t have just disappeared, Brice. They were right behind me when you broke down the door.”
“I know, but look over here,” Brice said, pointing to a dark, open closet.
“It’s a tunnel!”
“Yes, and two of my guys just went through it.” He paused, listening to something. “In fact, they just reported from the other end.”
“What did they find?”
“Nothing but tire tracks. The kidnappers had a car waiting for a getaway. They’re gone.”
“Shit!” Van exclaimed. “This won’t be good for us. If I’ve gauged Peter Whoever well, he’ll up the ante somehow, and soon.”
To himself, Van thought, What was all that about where my technology came from? Does he know about the Host? Or… has this guy Peter also found a site that he’s using for profit and power? More bad news if true.
CHAPTER 18
On the plane back to Site R, Van used one of the secure communications elements from a combat suit to open a conference call with Dick, Barbara, and Harry. They needed to talk about what had just happened and what they’d learned.
Opening the discussion
, Van said, “Brice, I want to thank you and your team for getting my butt out of that farmhouse. But maybe next time we count to three instead of five.” There were chuckles all around. “Seriously, I couldn’t have been happier that you guys were there. How did the suits work?”
“My guys haven’t stopped talking about them,” Brice said enthusiastically. “We walked right up to the three drivers and got about a foot and a half away, and they still didn’t see us. Same with the other guards. You need to sell these things; you’d make a bundle.”
“No, Brice, as I told my captors, that’s not our model. And I’m not sure that the world is quite ready for a globe full of invisible warriors. Let’s keep this to ourselves for the time being. If you have any recommendations, please pass them on to Harry. Dick, what are your opinions or observations?”
“Well, my first one is that we failed to see the kidnappers in time to stop them. That’s something we’ll work on here. Second, we were right when we guessed that we stepped on some big toes. This guy calling himself Peter seems to be the key to what’s going on. We’ve started investigating Europa, Avantek, and Red Wolf to see if we can ID Peter and link him to those companies. We could use some help from Harry on that. If we can stop Peter, I think we can put all of this to rest and then get back to our original business of doing some good.”
“I can’t argue with that,” responded Van.
“By the way, Van, how is you shoulder? Everything OK?” asked Dick.
Van imagined Barbara’s ears perking up, waiting for this response.
“Actually, it turns out that it was less of an injury than we thought; should be all better in about a week.” He didn’t say that it was nearly already healed, presumably because of the nanite injections Harry gave him early on. He reminded himself to talk more with Harry about this.
“OK. I’ll forward a copy of our after-action report and some material that Barbara has prepared. Let me know if you have any questions.”
“Thanks, Dick,” Van said and closed the connection. Short and sweet was the way to go.
Back at Site R, Van asked Harry, “In my last chair session I distinctly remember seeing references to sites, plural, on Earth. That implies that there’s more than one. How many others are there, where are they, and could Peter have discovered one? I ask that because when he was questioning me, he suggested that my knowledge didn’t come from me but from someone or something else.”
“That there is more than one site, you are correct, Commander,” responded Harry. “Your knowledge progress has reached the next level of disclosure. There are in fact three additional sites here on Earth. One is in the African continent in Chad. Another is in Borneo. And the third is in Iraq. The Host wanted sites located strategically so that they might be used in conjunction with one another and to provide alternatives if one site was compromised or destroyed. They were also placed in remote areas to prevent easy discovery.”
Already considering their potential uses, Van asked, “I know I can probably access the information that I want in time, but tell me two things now: Are the sites designed and equipped the same as this one, and where are they exactly?”
“No, the sites are not the same as this one,” replied Harry. “The Chad site is a small one that contains a storage of medical supplies, a few inert robots in storage containers, and a non-AI computer for basic work. It is located in the northwest part of the country in the Tibesti Mountains, south of the Libyan border and east of the town of Bardai.
“The Iraq site is slightly larger than the Chad site and contains similar medical supplies, robotic help, and a small-arms locker. It is in a wadi area currently near the village of Buwayr and south of Mosul.
“The Borneo site is like this one here in Arizona, but is preloaded with more strategic material and is slightly larger, about half again as large as this site. The site is in the mountains of Kalimantan Timur in East Kalimantan Province. It is located well to the northwest of Samarinda City and is surrounded by but not included in the protected areas.”
“Are you able to control all of those sites in addition to this one?”
“The two large sites, ours and the Borneo site, were designed to integrate with the first site to be discovered,” Harry said. “When you discovered this site, my control and access were automatically extended to the Borneo site. A side benefit to this is that if this site were to be destroyed, I would still be present and operating in the same fashion in Borneo as I am here. The Chad and Iraq sites were not designed to be fully integrated. However, I could and did have the Chad and Iraq sites transmit a signal like the one you followed in Arizona. But both sites have been off-line for a number of years, and I cannot confirm their status, Commander.”
“That’s interesting!” Van said with a big smile. “At least we’re not glued to this site for operations. I think, however, that I won’t disclose this to Dick until it’s required.”
“A wise move, Commander,” replied Harry. “Mr. Carson is a good man and deserves much trust. However, it is best to keep some things ‘close to the vest,’ as you say.”
“I’m concerned about the off-line sites, Harry. There were several strange things about that guy Peter in Bern. First, he has a medical company that also has a medical scanner on the market, and he seems to have a tech company into robotics and certain computer control systems. Second, I noticed when we were talking that, like me, his head is slightly larger than normal. Finally, as I said before, he was suggesting that our technology did not come from Earth. Putting things together, could he have discovered one or both off-line sites? It would make sense.”
“That is a possibility, Commander. But it would require a neural evolutionary composition like yours or the Host’s. If so, this man may be more of a danger than we know. If he does have advanced neural capacity sufficient to enter a site, there is another possibility.”
“What would that be?”
“If his genetic system is like yours, there is a possibility he also has the ALS gene and may be in some stage of the disease. That might explain at least part of his interest in our medical technology beyond just financial gain. He may suspect that you discovered a more valuable site. One with a cure.”
“That’s interesting but still speculation,” Van said with passing but notable interest. “Speaking of the sites, and just to keep things straight, let’s call the Chad site Site C, Iraq Site I and Borneo Site B. Meanwhile, crank up the Enterprise and let’s go take a look at each one. Chad first.”
Tucked away in the mountains of Chad, Harry and Van easily found the site they were searching for. Like the first site, this one opened in a similar manner as Site R. Inside, however, there was a big difference.
“Well, this is underwhelming, Harry. Only one big room. And it’s nearly empty!” Van said with arms outstretched, palms pointing to the empty space.
“It appears, Commander, that someone has been here and removed most of the supplies and equipment.”
“You mean like Peter. The guy with the big head like mine.”
“He is the logical person. If so, it confirms our suspicion of his state of neural evolution.”
“I guess the bad news is there is no computer, the robot containers are empty, and most of the significant medical supplies and equipment are gone. Want to bet this is where Europa Medical came up with its medical scanner idea and Avantek got its robotics start?”
“I do not bet, Commander. But you are likely right. It may also explain you being followed, the offers of partnership, the patent case, and your kidnapping.”
“There is nothing of interest left here. Deactivate the access Peter may have had and replace it with mine alone. Since there is no major computer left, I guess we have to use the access bar for now. Let’s move on to the other site in Borneo, then loop back through Iraq on the way home.”
The Borneo Site B tour, though necessary, was a little boring. As Harry said, it was pretty much the same as Site R, just larger. But unlike Site R, Sites C and B w
ere completely isolated. No road in or out and no nearby town, village, or anything for that matter. Probably a good thing.
“Harry, let’s make all the same changes and improvements to this new site as we did at Site R. Meanwhile, let’s move on to the Iraq site and then go home.”
“Yes, Commander.”
Getting to the Iraq site was a little more difficult. When the Host had established the facility, it had been in the middle of nowhere. Now, a few small villages such as Buwayr had sprouted, but they were no more than a few stone houses and a road leading to the Tigris River. Always cautious, Van and Harry nevertheless made their approach at night in the shuttle’s stealth mode.
Harry landed the Enterprise in what he calculated to be a few yards from the site entrance. But when they exited the craft, they could see no evidence of the site at all.
“Are you sure this is the right spot, Harry?”
“Yes, Commander. The coordinates are exact. In addition, as we were approaching I used the shuttle’s radar scanner to help detect the site. It is here but covered in sand many feet deep.”
“Too deep for us to dig out right now, I suppose.”
“Yes, Commander.”
“This gets better and better. One site has been compromised, and this one, in addition to being in a war zone, is buried under fifty or a hundred years of sand that we can’t easily dig out. And the cherry on top is that we don’t know if this site has been compromised as well.” Van kicked at the sand thoughtfully for a moment, gauging their next move. “That’s enough for me today, Harry. Let’s go home.”
CHAPTER 19
At Site R the day after the Iraq visit, Van reviewed what they knew and thought they knew about Peter. It was pretty clear that the German had discovered Site C and taken the contents to start and promote some of his companies. It was also likely that Peter suspected Van had found a similar but likely better site. Based on Van’s observations, it appeared that Peter had the same or similar advanced neural systems, as evidenced by the size of his head and his probable access to a site. The idea that he may well be suffering from ALS was a reach, but there was some logic to it.
Future Discovered: Host Saga Book 1 Page 11
