He jumped up on one of the restraining chairs and plunged the live end of the cable into the liquid. Nick had already scouted out a chair of his own, well in advance of the full execution of his plan, and was there before the sparks flew. He hadn’t counted on the glass being too thick to break, but Beckett’s hubris finished the job. This was life and death, and Nick Wolfe only cared about the results. To him, details were just that: details and nothing more.
The now-hiveless queen’s body locked up, unable to move except for some uncontrollable shaking. Her wings were of no use; she was paralyzed. The insect-woman fell over face-first, and started to smolder from the inside. A foul smell filled the room as the flames started to escape her body and consume her from the outside. It was hard to breathe and they needed to get out.
“Pull the cable out and be careful!” Nick ordered.
Heath pulled it out and secured it in a nearby control console.
Suddenly, the door exploded and the room was filled with daylight. Standing outside were Tristan Evans and a rescue team. Wolfe greeted the rescue party who would also act as his clean-up crew.
“Welckub to Kansas,” Nick said, trying to speak around his broken nose.
“We had to get here before you destroyed the whole ship,” replied Tristan Evans.
“You’re in luck. There’s still some left.”
Evans shook his head in resignation and ordered his science team in to collect samples of everything and everyone. He looked at the corpses of Newton Paxson and Beverly Beckett.
“Did you have to blow everyone up?”
“Not everyone. I’ve been in a pretty good mood,” deadpanned Wolfe. “There are whole bodies in the other room and down in the basement.”
“No survivors besides you and young Mr. Chesterfield?”
“Sorry. Their DNA was being manipulated by nanobots to match some ancient alien DNA. We couldn’t let them live.”
“I want a full briefing from both of you before you leave.”
“And I’d like some time off after that.”
“Understood, but I’m afraid we have another problem: the larger half of the Pangaea ship is coming back to Earth.”
“I know it is, and I also know you want to capture it, research it, exploit it for profit and for the good of humanity, but my advice is to send some nukes after it. Blow it away before it reaches orbit. It was all we could do to survive this with a handful of these mutant hybrids. This other ship has Josh’s DNA, and probably access to his memories and training. Maybe classified info too. Who knows? The last thing we need is an army of these aliens with his training and knowledge. I’m begging you, Tristan. Destroy it.”
Tristan motioned to one of his men who rushed over and produced a sat phone. He looked at Nick as if to ask if he were sure about what he just said.
“You have everything you need to study the aliens’ DNA and technology right here. It’s already yours. If you let that ship land you will lose it all. We all will lose everything.”
Tristan gave some confirmation codes and gave the order, and paused.
“It will take some time for the missiles to reach their target, but I will let you know as soon as they hit.”
“You’d better hope they do. I’m ready to talk to your people now, but first I want some coffee. Heath, are you coming?”
THE END
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Here is a list of all the Nick Wolfe Adventures.
About the Author
ROSS H. HENDERSON is the author of science fiction stories, including The Eyes of Little Birds, Slaves of Pangaea, and The God Class. He draws inspiration from classic writers of the genre Philip K. Dick and J.G. Ballard, placing his readers in strange and dangerous situations while asking questions about humanity, technology, and reality itself.
Before taking up writing, Ross was active in the Atlanta music scene, playing in various bands and producing albums. He has also booked and promoted events, including charity shows for Wounded Warrior Project.
Ross enjoys sci fi movies, art, history, and spending time with his family.
The God Class: The Third Nick Wolfe Sci Fi Adventure (Nick Wolfe Adventure Series Book 3) Page 7