by John Conroe
Chapter 26
We jumped back to Idiria and from there to New York, Declan first relocking the White Court’s gate in his Middle Realm capital.
By standing agreement, his Earth-based gateway opened in the basement of the Tower. We stepped out to find ourselves facing Arkady, Deckert, and a squad of security personnel armed for dragon, including a pair of SIG MG 338 machine guns that I knew fired the devastating .338 Norma Magnum. The compact machine guns fired a mixed belt of silver and regular magnum 300 grain bullets, each with almost twice the muzzle energy of the old 7.62mm military round.
We stood very still after stepping out, but Arkady gave a curt order as soon as Nika came through, second to last. The guys instantly dropped their muzzles toward the ground and stood down.
“She awaits,” the giant vampire security chief said, looking us over before stopping his gaze on my sister-in-law.
“You two need to hear this as well,” I said, pointing at him and Deckert. “Where is she?” I asked, but my bond told me the answer almost immediately. “In the apartment. Let’s go,” I said, heading for the elevator.
Ten minutes later found us all in the apartment, facing Tanya, Lydia, Chet Atkins, Omega in holographic avatar form, and the two security leaders.
“I can already feel your anxiety,” Tanya said to me. “It’s bad.”
“Worse. Two tactical nukes most likely aimed at the San Andreas fault line and the New Madrid fault line. West Coast and middle of the country.”
“A tactical nuclear weapon is actually pretty small,” Chet said. “I doubt either fault line would rupture from such an explosion.”
“Omega?” I asked.
“Yes and no. Chester is mostly correct. A small nuclear explosion is unlikely to trigger tectonic slippage, unless it was placed in exactly the right place, where maximum tension has built to the right level. The Vorsook would certainly be able to determine such a place.”
“Shit,” Chet said.
“Exactly,” I said, but the AI’s words had given me a thought. “Omega, could you determine where those precise locations are?”
“I am attempting to do so now. However, I have already determined that there are several on each fault line, and both have built up intense pressure over the years.”
“We need to inform President Polner,” Tanya said.
“I have contacted the White House, and the president’s chief of staff is convening an emergency meeting within the next fifteen minutes.”
“We need to get going,” Declan said to Omega. The holograph looked at him and nodded.
“Yes. An Obliterator is inbound to the Tower helipad.”
“Why are you leaving?” I asked.
“Elementals to contain the damage,” Lydia guessed.
“Yeah,” Declan answered with a nod. “The events at the Museum of Natural History were a distraction. Fuchs was probably having his nukes delivered to the Vorsook’s agents. Those bombs are already in place and I doubt we can find them in time. But if I can convince enough elementals to help, we can maybe stop the faults from triggering massive quakes.”
“Good thinking,” Tanya said. “Go. Omega can link you into the briefing while you travel west.”
Thirteen minutes later, Tanya, Lydia, Nika, and I found our images being projected into the Oval Office. Declan and Stacia were also there, along with Omega’s avatar. Facing us were President Polner, Nathan Stewart, General Tobias Creek, FBI Director Tucker Tyson, and a few people we didn’t know.
“Based on Omega’s advice, I’ve included the Secretary of Energy, Janet Asher, and one of her NEST people, Kevin Lattice, along with Secretary of Defense Holmberg and Sarah Giametti, who heads up the US Geological Survey, and her chief scientist, Roseann Plume,” President Polner said, introducing them. “Now, tell us exactly what’s happened.”
By agreement, the leadoff fell to me. “The elf known as Emil Fuchs was presumed to be in service to Queen Morrigan of Fairie, a conclusion we came to because during the operations in New York City at the Museum of Natural History, he was freed from FBI custody by agents of the Winter Queen. We have just met with her and gleaned important new information. While he is in her custody, he is not her agent, but rather her prisoner. We knew from Oracle reports that the goblin bodies recovered were dyed both white and green, but upon meeting Fuchs in person, we determined that he was not employed by either Queen, but was a contracted operative working for the Vorsook. Morrigan informed us and we confirmed that Fuchs had obtained two tactical nuclear weapons of Russian origin, backpack nukes as they are called. The New York incident was a diversion. Those weapons were delivered to other agents who have, we believe, emplaced them somewhere along the San Andreas and New Madrid Seismic zones.”
There was silence for a moment, then the SecDef leaned forward. “How confident are you of this information?”
“We pulled it straight from Emil Fuchs,” I said.
“Pulled it?” he asked.
“Telepathy, Roger,” Nathan Stewart said. “Assuming this is accurate, what would be the result of nuclear explosions along those fault lines?” he asked, turning to the Geologic Survey lady.
“Earthquakes triggered by nuclear weapons is a theoretical security issue that we’ve had on the radar for a long time. Roseann?” she asked her scientist.
“Assuming a tactical weapon is of low yield, it might amount to nothing,” she said, pushing her glasses up on her nose.
“Assume exact placement at the point of greatest tectonic tension,” Omega said.
She looked startled to be addressed by the AI, but then his words sank in. Her expression changed to horror and her bosses became alarmed. “It could potentially devastate the country.”
“Explain to those of us with only high school geology,” President Polner said.
“I’m fairly certain you are all aware of the San Andreas Fault and its potential for a massive earthquake,” she said. “It could eradicate the western coast of the fifth-largest economy in the world. Ports, agriculture, Silicon Valley, much of our biggest tech infrastructure, are all on that coast. The New Madrid fault is lesser known but has just as much potential for destruction, but this time in America’s breadbasket.”
“I get the California sliding into the sea thing, but what happens to cornfields in the Midwest?” SecDef Holmberg asked.
“There is a phenomenon known as liquefaction that can happen in certain geologic regions. It occurs when sandy soil that is saturated with water is seismically shocked to such a degree that the soil loses all ability to hold as a solid and instead becomes a liquid. Such an event could cut through a one-hundred-and-twenty-mile slice in the middle of the country and could sever water, energy, and transportation infrastructure,” Roseann Plume said. “Agriculture would, of course, also be a casualty.”
“That’s like a one-two knockout combination,” Nathan Stewart said.
“What’s your plan?” Polner asked, looking at me and Tanya.
“Declan and Stacia are currently en route to the Midwest,” I said.
“Actually, we’re there,” Declan said. “We’re going to contact as many elementals as we can and see if we can mitigate as much damage as possible. After we set that up, we’re going to do the same in California.”
“At the same time, I have multiple drones scanning both fault lines for radiation signatures, but it is very much a needle in a haystack exercise,” Omega said.
“I’ve also contacted my aunt. She’s going to attempt a reading to try and pinpoint the locations of the bombs,” Declan said.
“But we need more help, Mr. President,” Tanya said. “NEST exists for events like this. Anything to help us pinpoint the blast points is vital.”
“Excuse me, Mr. President; I’m not up to speed on this paranormal stuff,” the Department of Energy lady said. “I’ve seen some of the interviews, but how exactly are these elemental things supposed to stop nuclear blasts and earthquakes?”
“At a guess, probably exactly
like happened with the Aleutian Subduction quake,” Polner said. “Right, Declan?”
But Declan’s holographic image was frozen in place and did not so much as blink. “He’s on another call, so to speak,” Stacia said. “But you are exactly right, sir. Elementals are beings of natural energy. We classify them based on the kind of energy or environment they occupy. Earth is obvious, fire is generally volcanic, air travels in high energy air masses, and water occupies zones of current or thermal upwellings in the oceans. They range from small fry that might occupy a small mountain to giants like the supervolcano under Yellowstone or the Aleutian giant that helped us before. A tactical nuke has a lot of power by our perspective, but for a big elemental, it would be a blip. If he can convince several of the Earth elementals in each region to keep watch, they could theoretically absorb the effects of a blast. But if they’re in the wrong spot, it won’t work.”
“Likewise, Air elementals can funnel radioactive fallout to the upper atmosphere and away from populated areas,” I said. “Water elementals can contain contaminated groundwater, and so on.”
“So, what, he just asks and they do it?” the Energy secretary asked.
“No,” Stacia said. “Not even close. The fact that they pay any attention to a single human is actually fantastic. They are generally not aware of humans at all. And they have their own agendas. But he has an incredible track record of either getting cooperation or being allowed to borrow power.”
“Well, that 9.7 quake under the Pacific was the biggest thing ever recorded,” Giametti said. “If he could mitigate that, these would be much less, so it seems possible.”
“Yup,” Stacia said. “As long as we get the right spots. That’s vital. Even elementals can’t be everywhere at once. And in that instance, we were right at the epicenter of the quake.”
“Kevin?” the energy secretary turned to her NEST expert.
“We can have two planes airborne in under forty minutes, one already stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, the other out of Edwards in California. In addition, we have drones available with advanced detectors out of Creech in Nevada.”
“All of those aircraft have my technology on board,” Omega said. “Their use could be invaluable.”
“Declan, how likely is it that you can recruit the necessary, ah, elementals to our cause?” President Polner asked. Our witch was moving again and seeming to follow the conversation.
“Well, Mr. President, it shouldn’t be too big of a problem in the West, as there are quite a few in the Santa Cruz mountains where the fault lies. But the Midwest is not heavily populated with Earth elementals, at least not big ones. I actually was just talking to Mississippi, who is a very large Water elemental, about that.”
“Mississippi, as in the river?” Nathan Stewart asked, clearly fascinated.
“Yes. I’ve explained the problem and it is very interested in helping us. However, it can’t do much about the fault line; that falls into the realm of Earth types. Mississippi is attempting to get the attention of enough smaller entities within the various faults to see if we can put together a kind of coalition.”
“I have had good results from coalitions,” President Polner said. From the pained looks on some of his cabinet members’ faces, they clearly didn’t think this was the same thing at all. “We need to prepare the populations along those fault lines for disaster,” he said.
“That will be difficult and ineffective, Mr. President, as both fault lines cover hundreds of miles,” the geology lady, Giametti, said. “And Mr. O’Carroll hasn’t even made it out west yet.”
“Ah, that’s not exactly true,” Declan said. “I’ve already had a number of small conversations with elementals in California. Omega’s drones can send and receive infrasound and so I use them like telephones.”
“Like you did with the USS Ketchikan?” SecDef Holmberg asked.
“Yes, but even better, as the drones’ tech was custom-made for this sort of thing,” our witch said.
“And what has resulted from these contacts?” Polner asked.
“I have some confidence that a one or two-kiloton explosion won’t trigger a big quake in California. But as I said, the Midwest is an issue.”
“I see. Then we’ll need to alert FEMA and mobilize every available agency that we can,” Polner said.
“Sir, I have to sign off,” Declan said. “We’re landing in the middle of the fault lines so I can make direct contact.”
“Good luck, Godspeed, and please keep us informed,” Polner said. Witch and werewolf nodded and then were just gone from the room.
The president turned to Tanya and me. “What about you?”
“Well, Mr. President, we don’t have Declan’s contacts, but we are pretty good hunters,” Tanya said.
“So we’re all going to hunt down the aliens’ ground agents and get the details directly from the source,” I said.
He looked at us for a moment, then frowned. “Well, you should get going then… Time is of the essence.”
“We’re almost there, sir. We’re calling you from Omega’s personnel transport,” I said.
“Where are you starting?” Tucker Tyson asked. “I can have Bureau resources ready to support you.”
“Right at the heart of it, Tucker,” I said. “New Madrid, Missouri.”
Chapter 27
We actually touched down a bit east of New Madrid, inside the boundaries of the Reelfoot Lake State Park, which is actually in Tennessee. The lake itself was caused by earthquakes on the fault back in 1811 and 1812, which caused flooding and backflow along the Reelfoot River. The resulting lake, actually a series of basins, now covers over 15,000 acres and is, at its deepest, only about eighteen feet.
During her bout with Fuchs, Nika had picked up the image of him meeting a man at a park. The man had been wearing a Tennessee park employee uniform.
Omega landed us behind the park headquarters just after six-thirty Eastern Time. Western Tennessee was an hour earlier, but the daylight had turned to the gloom of dusk and none of our people were bothered. Nika, Tanya, Arkady, and I spread out as we approached the building. Lydia, under strong protest, was back in New York, guarding the twins and coordinating with the White House.
This time of night, there was only a single park ranger on duty in the welcome center. The man who looked up from his phone was probably mid-fifties, tall and thin, with a tightly trimmed gray beard and hair that was more salt than pepper.
“Good evening, folks. The center is closing in a half…” He trailed off as he took us in, his eyes shifting behind us and up as Arkady followed his queen inside.
“Hi, we’re looking for information on one of your fellow rangers,” Tanya said with a smile that pulled his eyes from the giant vampire behind her and locked his attention fully.
“Ah, you’re her,” he said in stunned recognition.
“Tatiana Demidova,” she said, holding out one slim hand, “Ranger… Robbins,” she read from his name tag.
He stared at her for a few seconds, then tensed up and slowly turned his head to me, gulping as he recognized me too.
“Hi. Chris Gordon,” I said.
He nodded, not speaking.
“We need to find a Ranger Steans,” I said. “It’s vital that we get in touch with him as fast as possible.”
“Simon? He’s not here. He’s, ah, on vacation,” Ranger Robbins said, looking from me to Tanya, then glancing at Nika, who was studying him carefully, almost cringing when he glanced up at Arkady, then coming back to me.
“Really?” Tanya asked. “When did he start his break?”
“Ah, yesterday. What’s this all about?”
“It’s a matter of National Security,” Tanya said in an earnest tone, a tone I recognized. It was what I called her Star Wars Obi-wan Kenobi voice.
“Oh. Really? He said he was going fishing.”
“Can you give us his address?” she asked so reasonably that I wanted to find it for her myself.
“U
m, I’m not supposed to…” His voice drifted off. “National Security?”
My Chosen nodded her beautiful head, her eyes earnest.
“Well, that’s different then,” he said.
“Got it,” Nika suddenly said, turning away, the rest of us following instantly.
“Thank you, Ranger Robbins,” Tanya said over her shoulder.
“But I didn’t give it to you,” he protested as we left.
We moved to the transport drone and three minutes later, we were stepping out of the floating vehicle onto the porch roof of a house that had been converted into apartments. The window lock yielded to my strength and one by one, we ducked into the apartment.
“No computer,” Nika said from a clean and unused-looking desk area. “Nothing in the trash can.”
“All the trash cans have been emptied,” I said, “and I don’t see any mail or papers of any kind.”
“This place has been sterilized,” Tanya said.
“Simon Steans has no online presence at all,” Omega said, speaking from the small orange-sized drone that had floated into the apartment behind us. “His paycheck was deposited to a local bank and the money withdrawn in cash every pay period. He has no social media, no cellular service contract, internet service, or even an email address.”
“Completely off radar,” Tanya said as she looked under couch cushions and behind furniture.
Arkady was doing the same. He suddenly stood up with something in one big hand. “Classic car buff,” he said, turning the small square document to reveal it was a Polaroid picture of two men and a car. “Chevy Camaro Supersport.”
We all moved closer to the big vampire and the photo. Up close we could see a black American classic muscle car and two men, older and younger, father and son.
“Stanley H. Steans was the registered owner of a black 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Supersport. Stanley Steans is also the father’s name on Simon Steans’s birth certificate. He was reported deceased ten months ago.”
“The son’s been using the dad’s registered car, perhaps?” Nika wondered.
