Machines of the Gods

by William B Lyons

  Steve glanced over at Neil before gazing back at the screen. “I remember reading in Jack Mason’s file that he was taking some kind of drug on a regular basis. According to the reports, he is addicted to this stuff. I find that very interesting.”

  Neil nodded. “Yes, it’s a type of steroid for the brain. However, it has some serious side effects. This stuff was developed about five years ago by a Russian chemist with the purpose of increasing the cognitive ability of mentally retarded people. It has been tried on both primates and humans in a very limited capacity. At first, this drug showed great promise. But, it’s very hard on the internal organs and it increased aggressive behaviors. In most cases, it led to complete insanity. It is for those reasons that the drug was banned.”

  Steve leaned back and nodded. “Yes, I know. However, Diamond Jack is still using it. He knows that if someone with normal intelligence takes it, he could become a genius. He’d have to increase his learning capacity to absorb all of the knowledge transmitted into his brain by that helmet. I’m just wondering where is he getting this stuff from? If we can find that out, we’ll have a new way of tracking this guy.”

  “We’ve already thought of that.” Neil stood up and faced the far wall. “Diamond Jack is dealing with the black market. There is almost no way of tracing it. Besides, he has probably stored all that he’ll be using. If not, we’re keeping tabs on all of the known pharmacies throughout the world. If this drug is ordered or even manufactured anywhere, we’ll know about it. So far, we’ve not had a single buzz.”

  Steve eyes focused on Neil again. “That simply means that some powerful individual is controlling the medical industry too—at least the black market side of the medical industry.”

  Neil turned back around. “I don’t think so. We’re talking about someone who has power in the technical industry, the intelligence industry, and the medical field too. I don’t believe that any one individual would have that much power. I don’t even think that a single group of people could even achieve such a level of authority. Not even the mob is that powerful.”

  Steve shook his head. “Once, not so long ago, I was involved in a case where it was suspected that there was one man who secretly controlled all organized crime. He was said to be the one who walks behind the shadows. He was said to head a worldwide criminal empire.”

  Neil smirked. “I’ve heard those stories before myself. Believe me, it’s just fiction. There is no emperor of crime. We would certainly know about it.”

  Steve listened to what was being said. What Neil had said made lots of sense; however, he knew that all of the dots had to connect somewhere. Even though it did not seem possible, too many coincidences had been taking place during the last few years with other cases he’d worked. At one time, he’d refused to believe such a theory himself. Now, he was not so sure anymore.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Late the same evening, Diamond Jack guided his sports car into the outer parking lot of the USG secret headquarters building. He casually parked the vehicle behind a large trash dumpster where it could not be seen from the main road. He then shut off the engine and got out. This mission would have to begin quickly because all the action must start before daybreak . Already the moon was beginning to rise in the distance as a light haze formed over the horizon.

  He quickly walked around to the trunk and opened it. The new devices were already operational. But first, he’d have to be concealed. He quickly picked up the shiny body suit that laid across the weapons in the trunk. After slipping into it, he then placed the hooded part of this suit over his head and down to his neck. Now, he resembled a swimmer in a wet suit.

  He marveled at his new toy. This suit had also been taken off of the small alien craft found on the ocean’s floor. The thousands of pixels covering this suit were invisible to the human eye, but could be felt with the human hand. Its material did not exist on Earth and could not be duplicated either. Yes, this was an original creation that was his alone. So after zipping it up tightly, he then touched the button on his wristband. Almost instantly, a digital screen engulfed the suit and made its wearer totally invisible. Next, he put on a pair of steel-plated gloves. After activating them with his wrist band, he smiled as raw energy pulsed through them—sparks now danced between his fingertips.. One touch would mean death to any victim he encountered. Finally, he retrieved a saucer–shaped disk from beside the spare tire and placed it under the invisible suit next to his chest. Oh yes, he was finally set.

  “Now, let’s play…” he whispered to himself, while running toward the main gate. Not even the electronic beams that outlined the grounds around this place bothered him. He did not even care if they knew he was coming. They’d never be able to change what was to come.

  He stopped suddenly. It was time to add even more heat to the fire he’d soon create. The time had come to contact a secret man he had within the USG. He withdrew his cell phone and made a call. On the third ring, someone answered.

  “Hello?”

  “Bret, it’s me. Are you still in the bio-vault?”

  “Yes, Jack, I am,” the man replied. “However, I’ve been re-thinking what you’re planning and it’s too dangerous. We’d better think of something else.”

  Jack sighed in rage. “Listen, don’t start being a punk now. We both agreed to this two weeks ago. The time has come to release the beasts from Signus IV.”

  “Listen, I’ve seen what those things can do. We’re talking about starting something that nobody will be able to handle. I just can’t do it.”

  “I saved your butt from being fired just last month,” Jack said. “I used my money to make sure that your wife got her life-saving operation just a year ago. Remember, I also kept your son from being kicked out of college for cheating on an exam.”

  “I know, and I’m thankful for all of that, but …”

  “You owe me!” Diamond Jack screamed with rage.

  “Please don’t ask me to do this terrible thing. I just can’t. Those creatures from Signus IV are the worse things I’ve ever seen. We just can’t turn them loose upon the world. I won’t do it. Hear me, I won’t do it!”

  Jack turned off his phone and put it back in his pocket. He then withdrew a small transmitter from his other pocket and pressed a button at its top. “Well, Mr. Bret Long, you will pay for your punkish attitude.”

  ***

  In a secret laboratory several floors down within the USG complex, Bret Long sat down at a table and sighed to himself. He knew that Diamond Jack would soon come after him as well. However, he’d face that when it came. Even having a maniac coming after him was better than turning monstrous creatures loose upon the world. The time had come to escape somehow.

  Behind him, a small vent door opened up and one of those monstrous creatures from Signus IV crawled out. It was a hellish-looking thing. Being slightly over two feet long, it resembled a giant bee with a hard shell over most of its body. Its head was about the size of a rats. This thing also had a mouth of tiny, but very sharp teeth. At the other end of its body was a spiny tail that had an inch-long stinger attached. A black coat of fur surrounded its head too. Now, the thing’s wings quickly spread out as it became airborne with a loud hum.

  After suddenly hearing this familiar sound, Bret snatched around just as the thing attacked. “No!” he screamed as the creature’s stinger pierced his neck.

  ***

  Diamond Jack started running toward the main gate again. He knew that his former partner was probably dead by now. It did not matter. If the man still lived, he’d take care of him within the hour. But now, his terror would begin.

  ***

  An alarm suddenly went off and the lights in Neil’s office started flickering. The hall sirens were going off too. Next, both of the telephones on Neil’s desk started ringing along with the cell phone in his pocket.

  “We have to figure out what this fool is going to try
next,” Steve continued, turning around to face the computer screen. “Maybe we can set a trap this time.”

  Neil’s right hand went up. “Hold on, Steve, it looks like something is happening as we speak.” He snatched up the telephone. “What is going down?” he barked into the the receiver. “Why are the alarms going off?”

  Steve impatiently waited. He was tempted to just storm out of this complex, but he still needed the resources available here to continue his search. After all, his adversary had more connections and weapons than anyone he’d faced before. “What’s the situation?” he asked, noticing that Neil had suddenly slammed down the phone. “Has something else happened?”

  “You won’t have to go anywhere because this maniac has come to us!” Neil turned around to the electronic smartboard behind him. “He’s entered a secure area of this facility out beyond the rear parking lot.”

  “How do you know it’s him?”

  “He used his private access card to gain entrance to the technology building.”

  “I thought that area was guarded, and his card had been deactivated,” Steve said and leaned closer to the desk to get a closer look at the screen. “How was he able to get access to that building?”

  “I don’t know!” Neil shouted, pulling up the live-feed from the cameras above the parking lot entrance.

  The image showed the bodies of three security officers by the main gate. In the background, the sounds of gunfire erupted. Neil quickly minimized that icon and enlarged the video icon inside the technology center. Three other security guards were crouched in a circle and were firing in all directions. Suddenly, one of the officers was hurled into the air and slammed against the rear wall by an invisible force. Next, a bolt of energy from nowhere blew the next officer across a table of computers and onto the floor. Fire erupted from the dead man’s chest. The last officer slowly backed toward the rear entrance and fired his automatic weapon in a sweeping pattern, spraying bullets across the room.

  “What in the hell am I seeing?” Steve questioned.

  “That maniac is wearing cloak gear!” Neil yelled. He then turned and lifted a microphone from his desk. “Shut down all of the doors to the technology center. Seal off the underground entrance to this complex, and send all of the security officers we have to that section!”

  The image on the screen now showed the remaining security guard struggling with an unseen force. The man was then lifted into the air and slammed against the rear wall. His throat was slashed and blood spurted out of the open wound. The man’s body was quickly thrown across a table and onto the floor. Next, bloody shoe prints tracked across the room and stopped at the elevator door. A bloody hand print appeared on the control buttons, and the elevator door opened.

  Neil stared into the screen and yelled, “Diamond Jack is in the rear elevator by the data processing center and headed down. Shut off all elevators on that end of the complex.”

  “How do we get to that elevator from here?” Steve asked, checking the gun in his shoulder holster. “Come on, we have to get moving!”

  Neil slammed a clip into his handgun and headed toward the office door. “Just follow me, I know a shortcut,” he said over his shoulder. “We’ll have to be really careful too. That fool is also wearing those power gloves. That’s where the energy bolts came from. Those things have a range of about eighty feet. We’ll be stopping by the armory to get bulletproof vests too.”

  While dashing down the hall, Neil snatched up his walkie-talkie. “Freddie, get that paint cannon ready and meet us at the rear service elevator.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  “What in the hell is cloak gear?” Steve asked, looking at the ascending digital numbers above the elevator door, while also adjusting the bulletproof vest across his chest. “I mean, I know that it makes you invisible, but what else does it do? How in the hell do we get around it?”

  Neil swallowed and tightened the bulletproof vest across his chest too. “That suit came off the alien craft we found in the ocean. The material it’s made from cannot be found on Earth. Anyway, when activated, the suit duplicates the images around it. The wearer blends in perfectly with his surroundings. Hell, the guy could be standing next to you, and you’d never see him.”

  “Wow, if you could find a way of duplicating this suit, you could have invisible soldiers, aircraft, missiles, vehicles, and tons of other stuff. Hell, the enemy wouldn’t know anyone was coming until they were attacked.”

  Neil glanced over at Steve and smiled. “Now, you’re beginning to see what is at stake here. You cannot even detect someone wearing cloak gear with radar or infra-red. Hyper sensitive equipment will not detect this suit either. We’re sitting ducks to someone wearing that thing.”

  Steve shook his head. “What about those electric gloves? Can these bulletproof vests provide some kind of insolation?”

  “Not really. However, that fool could have a gun on him. It never hurts to be careful. However, I don’t think it will come to that. We’ve trapped this animal in the service elevator. When the doors open, we’ll blast him. He can’t escape because the power has been cut to everything on that floor. An entire squad of security officers will meet us there. It’s almost over.”

  Steve shook his head. “I’ve heard that before.”

  The main elevator doors opened. Steve and Neil stepped out into a dark hallway. Almost instantly, four SWAT team members in full tactical gear raced past them and ran toward the elevator at the end of the hallway.

  “Come on, they may need our help!” Neil yelled.

  “Sure, why not!” Steve replied, withdrawing his gun and dashing toward the mounting activity at the other end of the hallway. “One thing though, if he’s invisible, how will we know if we’ve killed him? I mean, he could just walk past us.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ve already made plans for that possibility.”

  “Whatever…” Steve whispered to himself. He then squatted down behind a line of SWAT officers facing the elevator and aimed his gun in that direction.

  Neil quickly crouched down and cocked his automatic weapon before turning to face the door as well. “Freddie, when the elevator opens, flood the chamber with the black paint. The rest of you keep firing until I give the order to stop, understand?”

  They all nodded, and the man holding the paint gun braced for the action that was surely to begin shortly.

  The lights dimmed as a power surge swept through the building. The energy systems on this side of the complex had been diverted to another area for extra precautions. Also, the doors leading to this hallway had been locked too.

  Neil motioned to a SWAT agent who was tinkering with the control panel mounted on the rear wall and gave the okay signal. The agent then touched two wires together. Sparks flew and the elevator doors ahead slowly opened.

  All of the SWAT officers quickly cocked their guns and squatted down in combat stance. The ones nearest to the elevator also lifted up their bulletproof shields and tightened the straps of their helmets.

  Neil swallowed and gritted his teeth before giving the final command. He then lifted his left hand and brought it down quickly. “Light the fool up!”

  All seven of the SWAT members fired through the elevator entrance. Dozens of holes were punched into the back of the elevator as smoke and sparks filled the chamber. The loud roar of the automatic weapons became deafening. Freddie then turned on the nozzle of the giant paint gun, blowing gallons of black paint into the elevator. If Diamond Jack survived this onslaught, he’d be clearly visible under a coat of black paint.

  For ten full seconds, all guns roared as smoke and sparks filled the area around the elevator door. Small fires broke out in the enclosed chamber as some of the bullets bounced about and chewed into the surrounding walls. Dozens of spent shell casings hit the floor, creating a light pinging sound.

  “Halt!” Neil finally shouted while slowly standing. �
�Freddie, shut off the paint gun!”

  All of the shooting stopped and everything was quiet. Only the crackling of the fire in the elevator could be heard. Neil eased forward, stepping lightly, gun aimed at the elevator opening.

  He carefully stepped up to the elevator door, expecting to be jumped or shot at any moment. He slowly peered inside. There were dozens of smoking holes and a coat of black paint that covered every square inch of the interior of the elevator. However, there was no sign of a body. “How can this be?” he asked while looking around in confusion. “Where is he?”

  Steve rapidly stood and dashed up to the elevator door. He looked past Neil and scanned the enclosure very carefully. “It looks like we’ve been screwed!” he then yelled and turned back toward the puzzled SWAT team. “He’s not here!”

  Neil leaned against the wall and sighed in confusion. “How did he get out of the elevator? It doesn’t seem possible.”

  Steve frowned and shook his head. “It’s simple.” He then turned and pointed to a pair of bloody shoes in the corner of the elevator. “The man got in, took off the shoes, and then got right back out before the door closed again. An empty elevator descended down to this floor. He knew that you’d follow the blood trail. That’s why he probably sliced that last security guard to death rather than blasting the guy with those electric gloves. This deception gave Diamond Jack some extra time to get hidden somewhere else in the building.”

  Neil slammed his fist into the wall. “Damn!” He then turned and faced the SWAT team again. “Okay, close off all of the floors. I’m talking about this entire complex. Also, dispatch a K-9 unit. Turn on the infra-red lighting, and activate all of the internal defense systems. Every alarm must be activated too. Come on, move!”

  “Yes, sir!” one of the men shouted. He then motioned to the other men. They all then headed off into different directions.

  Steve grabbed Neil by the shoulder. “This guy has been missing for about ten minutes. In that short amount of time, where would he go? What could he be after in this complex? Why would he come back here?”