The Unbelievable Mr Brownstone Omnibus 3

by Michael Anderle

  Shay laughed. “I wasn’t exactly eager to get pregnant anytime soon. We’ve got a perfectly great kid in Alison. I’m not really going to worry about it.” Her smile turned to a look of concern. “Are you concerned about it?”

  “I don’t know.” James stared down at his hands. They weren’t as calloused as he was used to, a side-effect of Whispy’s regeneration modifications. “I’m satisfied with the family I have. I’ve got two great women my life and a great dog, even if he is a whiny little bitch when it comes to wanting my barbeque sauce.”

  “I’m feeling good.” Shay slipped underneath the covers and turned off the lamp. “And you should, too. I think our luck’s turning around.”

  “Meaning?”

  “I think as long as I avoid any tomb raids, we won’t have any trouble. Pretty much all the threats from my tomb raiding days have been taken care of.” Shay let out a contented sigh. “Even the ones I didn’t know about. I figure if we mind our business, the universe will take care of the rest for us.”

  “And if the universe decides to cause trouble?”

  Shay turned on her side, an evil look on her face. “If someone fucks up our wedding, you better blow up a city to punish them.”

  James grunted. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  9

  Here we go again, Senator Johnston thought.

  He picked up his coffee mug and took a sip. It was too damned early in the morning for another meeting, but the Oriceran failure to stop the advancing Vax had turned the situation from a diplomatic to a potential national security issue.

  Ambassador Yona slumped in her chair, pale since she’d explained what happened to the team.

  “You’ve got no choice,” the National Security Advisor declared. “You’ve got to release strategic-level magic. Magically nuke the bastard. Nuke him until he glows, then nuke him again. Leave a crater so deep, it’d take him years to crawl out even if he did survive.”

  Yona slowly lifted her head, pity in her eyes. “You humans think you understand destruction. You think your great world wars and your nuclear weapons have made you the gods of death, but you know nothing of real destruction. You know nothing of the kind of war that scars an entire planet. Of the kind of war that etches itself in memories for the rest of existence.”

  “Be that as it may, Ambassador, that Vax will kill more people. Worrying about your treaty and some war that happened thousands of years ago when you have a clear and present danger seems short-sighted. You need to act quickly to take the monster out. You know its location, so do what you need to do.”

  Ambassador Yona shook her head. “King Oriceran has made his will clear. We will not risk abrogating the treaty. We won’t risk Oriceran’s total destruction out of panic. You mock the idea of worrying about a war that happened in the distant past, but it is our respect for that past which has prevented another such war.”

  The National Security Advisor scoffed. “How many people need to die before you buy a clue? I might be a short-sighted human, but at least I can see the truth.”

  Several other people at the table winced. Senator Johnston sighed.

  Yona’s face contorted in rage. “How dare you, human! Most of the Oricerans who have died at the hands of this creature had lived for centuries. We are keenly aware of the loss of every such being, and I won’t be lectured by a human on the matter.”

  Senator Johnston cleared his throat. “If I might interject?”

  Everyone swung their heads toward him except Ambassador Yona, who kept glaring at the National Security Advisor.

  “I actually agree with Ambassador Yona,” Senator Johnston explained.

  The National Security Advisor snorted. “Really? I expected better of you, Angus.”

  “Yes. I understand where you’re coming from, but they just lost an entire team of elves trying to send him to the World in Between, and that’s not counting the other teams they’ve lost. For all we know, the Vax might be immune to even a strategic-level spell.” Senator Johnston gestured toward the ambassador. “So nuking a bunch of the Oriceran countryside to stop one Vax might not only be overkill, but pointless overkill. Besides, you heard what she said in the briefing. The Vax keeps passing up opportunities to take out towns, and at least there are no significant population centers in the way before he hits the ocean. If they evacuate the smaller areas in between, that means almost no casualties.”

  The National Security Advisor looked at Ambassador Yona and Senator Johnston with a confused expression. “So, what…your big plan is for him to drown? I’m willing to bet the kind of aliens who send super-soldier killing machines across the galaxy understand they might occasionally run into an ocean or two.”

  Ambassador Yona took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “The Vax won’t go to the ocean.”

  “Why are you so sure?”

  The elf’s face twitched. “Because contrary to what you seem to believe, we’re not naïve fools. Since the destruction of Alazi, the creature’s course has been unerring. It’s going somewhere in particular.”

  The National Security Advisor nodded. “But where?”

  “We’ve been examining the areas intersecting its general course,” Ambassador Yona explained. “We’ve been looking for unusual magic or anything that would explain the creature’s goal on Oriceran.”

  “He’s searching, and he has a trail,” Senator Johnston suggested. “I’m guessing it’s probably searching for Brownstone.”

  “That’s our belief as well. We did find something: an area with unusual portal resonance. The Vax has been directly marching toward that area.”

  A quiet murmur swept the table.

  “I’m not an expert on magic, Ambassador,” Senator Johnston replied. “Could you clarify the implications of that for me?”

  The elf frowned. “I would if we had a better understanding of it ourselves. The resonance is like nothing we’ve encountered before, and there’s only one other place on Oriceran we’ve been able to find that has a similar resonance.”

  Senator Johnston sighed. “Let me guess. Right outside of Alazi, I presume.”

  Ambassador Yona nodded.

  The National Security Advisor looked at the two of them. “It’s looking for wherever Brownstone portaled onto Oriceran? What good does that do? He’s not on Oriceran anymore.”

  “Because, sir,” Senator Johnston explained, “Brownstone eventually ended up on Earth. I’m guessing that once the Vax finds that area, he’ll go to where Brownstone next appeared.”

  “Which is where, exactly?”

  “Los Angeles.”

  The National Security Advisor gritted his teeth and glared at Ambassador Yona. “We can’t let that thing into a major city. I understand the losses you’ve suffered, but we’re not talking hundreds here. We’re talking millions of people at risk. You have to nuke the bastard.” He looked at Johnston. “Or is this some sort of spy thing? He’s going to hook up with Brownstone, and they’ll attack together?”

  Senator Johnston scoffed. “James Brownstone could have brought the pain without a rude family member. No, I suspect this is not all that different from what any oppressive, violent government does to a defector when they have a chance. I suspect this is an assassination. It just so happens that this assassin isn’t bothering to be subtle.”

  The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs slammed a fist on the table. “Then we should take Brownstone and stick him in the middle of the desert. We wait for the Vax to come through, and we drop our own nukes on him.”

  Senator Johnston chuckled. “We start setting off nukes or strategic-level magic on this side, and it won’t only be the Oricerans we have to worry about. I’d rather not accidentally start a nuclear war, gentlemen.”

  The National Security Advisor frowned. “We’d be nuking ourselves. We can even tell them why.”

  “You tell other countries that we’re dropping nukes because of an alien invasion, and I guarantee they toss a few nukes our way too. Next thing you know, we’ve done t
he Vax’s work for him. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think there will be much need for a senator in a post-apocalyptic radioactive wasteland.”

  Ambassador Yona watched Senator Johnston with an appreciative look on her face.

  The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs pointed up. “What about asking the Alliance for help?”

  “We don’t know what they might do. For all we know, they might decide they have to boil the Earth to get the Vax. Besides, if we go hat in hand to aliens for help, they’ll think we’re weak, and that has negotiating implications going forward. We need to prove that we can defend ourselves.”

  The National Security Advisor shook his head. “We can’t sit here and do nothing. We need to—”

  “It won’t work, by the way,” Senator Johnston interrupted. “The bait plan.”

  “What? You think it’s immune to nuclear weapons?”

  “I don’t know about that, but you’re missing the obvious.” Senator Johnston gestured toward Ambassador Yona. “Our Vax friend is ignoring cities now, but when he appeared, he was in a city, and he destroyed it. Even if we can lure him out to the desert by sticking James Brownstone there, there is still the distinct possibility the Vax will end up in the middle of LA. If he does, he’ll probably spend at least a little time sightseeing in an unpleasant manner before he chases after James Brownstone.”

  The National Security Advisor scrubbed a hand over his face. “Then what do we do? If the Oricerans can’t or won’t stop him and he does come over, I don’t think a few Marines will be enough.”

  “We need to give him what he wants,” Senator Johnston suggested. “If James Brownstone doesn’t leave LA, that’ll keep the Vax there, and James Brownstone is our best bet for beating this thing without nukes or strategic-level magic.”

  Everyone stared at Senator Johnston as if tentacles had popped out of his head.

  “And what?” the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs asked. “We let this happen in LA? First of all, we don’t even know if Brownstone can win.”

  “No, we don’t,” Senator Johnston replied. “But he’s had a long time and a lot of strange creatures to adapt to. I’d give him good odds. Plus, a man defending his home is always going to fight harder than a man coming from the outside to mess with him. I think we at least give him the chance.”

  “And if he fails?” The Chairman stared at him, his eyebrow raised in challenge.

  “Then I suggest we use both nuclear weapons and strategic-level spells. We drop everything we have until there’s nothing left.”

  Ambassador Yona snorted. “You would kill millions of your own people to destroy one creature? You yourself just mentioned a risk of global war.”

  “I’m only offering that as a final suggestion. Maybe we can toss him in a trench or something if we get lucky, but if your people couldn’t send him to the World in Between, I doubt any clever spells or tricks we can come up with would work.” Senator Johnston smiled disarmingly. “And, no, I don’t intend for anyone other than James Brownstone to be at risk if at all possible.”

  The National Security Advisor returned to looking confused. “How are you going to manage that? Try to lock them in with shield spells?”

  “I suspect the Vax could get through that. No, the easiest way to ensure no one is hurt is to make sure they aren’t there to begin with.”

  “Huh?”

  Senator Johnston gestured widely. “I suggest we completely evacuate Los Angeles and Orange Counties.”

  Stunned silence gripped the table. If they did what he suggested, they would be undertaking one of the greatest mass evacuations in human history, affecting tens of millions of people. It might even be the largest.

  “That’s insane,” the National Security Advisor objected. “And if we start to evacuate them because of the Vax, what’s to stop all those other countries you mentioned lobbing their nukes to stop an alien invasion? Make up your mind, Angus.”

  “I have no intention of announcing to the world that an invasion is taking place.” Senator Johnston smiled. “I’m here in this room because the President has invested me with unusual authority in many matters related to the non-Oriceran extraterrestrial issue, and it is in this capacity that I recommend we recruit James Brownstone to fight the Vax, and we evacuate the area to ensure minimum collateral damage.”

  “And you’re going to do all of that without admitting the reason?”

  Senator Johnston nodded. “That is the idea.”

  “How?”

  Senator Johnston laughed. “By doing what politicians do best: lying.”

  10

  A couple of hours later, Senator Johnston was going through contingency plans on his computer when there was a knock on his door. He wasn’t expecting anyone, and he didn’t like being surprised.

  Plastering on a smile, the senator reached for the desk drawer where he kept a .38 loaded with anti-magic bullets. “Come on in.”

  The door opened to reveal a handsome dark-haired man in a suit—Sentry 8224, or as he liked humans to call him, Corey.

  “Well, now,” Senator Johnston offered. “This is unexpected. I would have thought you would have made an appointment like you did in the past.” He kept his hand on the gun beneath his desk.

  “I apologize for approaching you directly, but the circumstances required it. This one time we can’t sit around playing games and discussing possibilities is during a crisis.” The Shepherd tapped the silver bracelet he wore. He’d admitted it was a technological device in the past when directly asked.

  “I’m a US senator, my alien friend. I’m always dealing with a crisis. Would you care to be more specific in this instance?”

  Corey sneered and shook his head. “Your flippancy is amusing, considering your planet is on the verge of destruction.”

  Senator Johnston chuckled. “Now you sound like a passionate young person. Crisis this. Crisis that. Again, what are you talking about?”

  Determining what Corey knew would help ascertain what sort of intelligence the alien could collect when the US government kept information from him.

  “There’s a Vax Purifier on Oriceran right now,” Corey declared. “It has already destroyed one town. Don’t try to deny it. I know it. I’ve seen it.”

  “I haven’t denied anything.” Senator Johnston tossed his gun back in the drawer and ignored the flick of the alien’s eyes toward the side of the desk. “I just wanted to make sure we were about to discuss the same issue. It doesn’t hurt to be careful. After all, it’s not like I want to accidentally pass on classified information to a…foreign national.”

  Corey narrowed his eyes. “This is an unusual situation. The Forerunner didn’t summon the Vanguard, but that doesn’t make this situation any less dangerous regardless of the slight shift in Vax tactics. It’s not too late, though. You can request formal, open assistance from the Alliance. Even if this creates some difficulties with our open-contact protocols, we can help, especially if the Oricerans can generate a portal large enough to allow ships to go to their world.” A forced smile took over his face. “I understand there are political ramifications pertaining to the use of certain types of weapons for both the Oricerans and your Earth governments. We could provide a way out of that conundrum. We could take out the Vax without you using any of your weapons or spells of mass destruction.”

  Senator Johnston snorted and narrowed his eyes. The alien was always underestimating him. Advanced technology might have let Corey spy on him somehow, but he needed better info when dealing with a detail-oriented man.

  “Ships?” Senator Johnston asked. “Now that’s an interesting word choice, because I’m fairly certain that when we last discussed this, you told us there was only one small ship present in our solar system.”

  “A Vax Purifier has appeared, and you’re quibbling over sovereignty?” Corey shook his head. “Pride will lead to nothing but your planet becoming a burned-out husk.”

  Senator Johnston leaned forward and folded his hands. “Let me lay it o
ut for you, my alien friend: even if the Oricerans could portal over some Alliance ship from orbit to above Oriceran, which is a big if, considering the limits magic has when you get away from the surface of the planet, I highly doubt they would do it. They’re even more skittish about weapons of mass destruction than we are. So give it up. It’s a dream.” He shrugged. “Besides, neither Oriceran nor Earth needs the Alliance’s help.”

  Corey scoffed. “Then how do you intend to stop the Purifier? The Oricerans have already failed, and the fact that we’re even having this discussion proves they can’t. In every battle, an already strong foe grows stronger.”

  “It’s easy to stop an ultimate weapon.”

  “How?”

  Senator Johnston gestured grandly. “With another ultimate weapon.”

  “Brownstone?” Corey shook his head in disbelief. “That’s your big plan? You’re just going to throw Brownstone at the Vax?”

  “I intend to ask him politely, but I’m not worried. He’s already made it clear that he’s more than happy to fight any Vax who might arrive. So, you see, your assistance is not needed at this time since we have access to other advanced alien technology.”

  Corey took a few steps toward Senator Johnston, his face tight. Senator Johnston reached into the drawer and gripped the gun again.

  “You don’t understand.” Corey hissed. “A Forerunner is nothing more than a glorified scout. That’s why it calls the Vanguard, and a Purifier is far worse than the Vanguard. It can also summon Destroyers, which are also far worse. James Brownstone can’t win, and that’s assuming he doesn’t betray your planet the first chance he gets.”

  Senator Johnston clucked his tongue. “Now, now, that’s an awful thing to say. I have faith in James Brownstone, far more than I do in the Nine Systems Alliance. Let me make that clear up front.”

  Something approaching panic covered Corey’s face. “Even if Brownstone doesn’t join his people, there is still the risk that they can gain access to his adaptation potential. It’s bad enough that we have one Vax exposed to magic, and now we have another. Soon, more will come.” He shook his head. “You’re forcing the Alliance into a dangerous position.”