A Dubious Device: The Nanobot Terror (A Colton Banyon Mystery Book 10)

by Gerald Kubicki

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  W

  hen Banyon finally finished his call with the President, he hung his head and pressed his hands against his forehead to try to calm himself. The mystery had suddenly become more complicated. The other people in the room said nothing. Loni began to rub his back. “Colt, say something,” she pleaded.

  He raised his head and spoke to no one in particular. “The Effort has developed a delivery system for the nanobots. They plan to start killing millions of people in two days unless we can find a way stop them.”

  “Oh, my God!” Loni exclaimed. “This is getting to be very bad.”

  “That’s not all,” Banyon continued. “They also want the President to ban all guns immediately.”

  “That can never happen,” Steve the security expert remarked. “It would only make more people get ahold of guns. Everybody would be terrified.”

  “I also believe the first planned strike will be to kill off as many Congressmen as possible. This could collapse the Federal government and a military dictator — under martial law — could then take over the leadership of the country,” Banyon spoke in a depressed tone. “It’s likely that the Effort can win this one.”

  “This is terrible,” Haleigh said as her hands went to her mouth. Tears began to well up in her eyes.

  “You’re not joking are you?” Loni asked as she searched his eyes. She had never seen him be so depressed.

  “We need a break on this case fast or America is doomed I’m afraid,” Banyon said in a grief stricken voice. He looked around the room and noticed everyone had hung their heads in defeat, just like him. The mood was very sad and somber. America was under attack and they had found no answers. They were all thinking about themselves and if they would survive. Everyone had given up but Bart. He now went into action.

  “Listen people, we’re not giving up while there is still hope,” Bart said as he stood up for emphasis. “We know several things already. We know the Effort is behind this, so we know how they work. That’s a start.”

  “That’s about all we know,” Loni fired back.

  “That’s not true,” Bart explained and slammed his palm on the table. “They’re using advanced technology in the form of nanobots, they’re using deception, and they want to take over America. We just need to fill in some blanks. So let’s get our thinking caps back on and get some new information to fill in those blanks,” he said as an order. He then clapped his hands to break their mood.

  “If the Effort is behind this, then they are probably Chicago based,” Loni suddenly exclaimed.

  “Right, that’s the type of thinking we are looking for,” Bart said cheerfully as he pointed to Loni.

  “The Effort hates Blacks, Hispanics and Jews,” Steve added. “Asians are farther down the list, so I’ll bet they are targeting one of those groups.”

  “Good, that’s very good,” Bart said as encouragement. “What else can we come up with?”

  “Colt has already notified the President that Congress is a likely target and told him to look for a wannabe dictator,” Haleigh quickly said. “That may have already put a chink in their plans.”

  “Colt is right about these people, we need to look for a mistake or a bad decision,” Chase threw in. As quickly as it started, the new ideas ended. Nobody had anything more to add to the information.

  “What should we do now?” Haleigh asked in frustration.

  “We need to watch the tape of the ACLU news conference. Based upon what we know, I’m pretty sure one of the Effort people will be in the audience. It took place in Chicago,” Banyon uttered. “Maybe we can get lucky and identify them.”

  “I’ll get it on the TV,” Bart said.

  ***

  Five minutes later the news conference was on the flat screen. The spokesperson for the ACLU was a tall, very fit blond man who was dressed in a tailored brown suit. He appeared to be around forty years old and very confident.

  He stood straight and tall, gathered his notes, then spoke. “I have called you all here today to reveal a heinous, government directed cover up,” he started and pounded the podium. “It has to do with the very basic core of our legal system. The government has failed to protect US citizens. No person is safe…”

  Suddenly a message flashed on the screen. It said “Urgent. Call Marlene.”

  “Switch to Marlene Moore,” Bart ordered his IT person through his Bluetooth. Suddenly the ACLU lawyer was gone and the screen blinked.

  When Marlene came on the screen, she looked haggard but remained her stoic self. She once again seemed more like a news anchor presenting the news then the head of the largest law enforcement agency in the world.

  “We have a break,” she reported breathlessly.

  “Do you know about the letter to the President?” Banyon asked before she could continue.

  “Yes, we do,” she stated flatly. “People I know we can trust are handling the safety of Congress right now. We are also looking into the military people at the pentagon,” she replied as if it was scripted on the paper in front of her.

  “Okay, what have you got?” Banyon asked hopefully.

  “We have found out where the American Express cards were bought and we have a picture of the man purchasing them. We also have a picture of his vehicle. I’ll put them on screen,” Marlene replied like she was a director in a studio. Banyon noticed her nod to someone off screen. A picture of a checkout line appeared on the screen.

  Banyon moved closer to the monitor. The picture was grainy but he could clearly see an averaged size man paying for the American Express cards at a checkout in a mass market Target store. He was dressed in a white suit jacket. His face was nondescript, but he appeared to be Hispanic.

  “When was this taken?” Banyon quickly asked.

  “It was taken three weeks ago,” Marlene announced.

  “Did you get a hit on facial recognition?” Banyon continued.

  “This guy is a ghost,” she replied. “There doesn’t appear to be any record of him.” It told Banyon all he needed to know.

  “How about the vehicle? Let’s see that picture,” Banyon asked.

  The picture quickly changed and showed a view of the large parking lot. The man casually strolled up the parking aisle and entered a small white cargo van parked in an angled parking slot. Instead of backing up though, the van moved forward and out of the picture. Banyon could not see the license plate.

  “Did you get the plate?” He asked Marlene.

  “This van has one of those license plate covers which only allows you to see the numbers if you are directly behind him. Even our best techs can’t read the numbers yet.”

  “Could you follow him?” Banyon said in desperation. “Where did he go?”

  “No,” she quickly replied. “We have no idea where he was headed once he left the parking lot.

  “This is all that you have? I hope that there is more evidence,” Banyon inquired with expectation.

  “That’s all we have so far I’m afraid,” she replied. “Will this help?”

  “I don’t know,” Banyon let out. “Where is the Target store located? Knowing the city and state might help.”

  “The Target store is in the town of Vernon Hills, Illinois,” Marlene responded as she read from her notes.

  “Marlene can you have your people zoom in on the back of the van?” Banyon quickly asked.

  Suddenly, a close up filled the screen. Banyon studied the photo for about a minute. “I see two things. The van has a towing ball and there is a small sticker on the back window,” he announced with limited excitement.

  “We couldn’t identify the sticker. It looks like a bunch of waves,” Marlene told him. “I have techies working on it.”

  Banyon stared at the screen trying to put the information together. He looked at Loni for a second and saw she was also concentrating on the picture as well. Follow the leads, bounced around the inside of his head. All he had to do is connect them.

  “Maybe it
is a company logo,” Loni offered. Her statement prompted Banyon to think outside the box.

  They may have made a mistake, he thought. “Let’s go over what we have learned from the pictures,” Banyon spoke slowly as he pondered the case.

  “But the man who purchased the cards is off the grid,” Chase Sanborn said.

  “What can we learn from his description?” Banyon asked as he continued to study the pictures.

  Haleigh, the observant police detective, went next. “He is well groomed, clearly not a bum. He stands straight up indicating he is disciplined. He is wearing an unusual suit,” she added. “He might work as a waiter or a bartender,” Haleigh deduced.

  “There is one other option,” Banyon announced. “He could be a domestic servant.”

  “Now, that makes sense,” Bart said with enthusiasm. “Effort members are usually very wealthy. They would use a servant to perform menial tasks. Our guy might not even know why he was buying the cards.”

  “Good,” Banyon replied. “Now we just have to find out where he works. What can we learn from the van?”

  “It’s a nondescript working van,” Steve the automotive buff said. “It probably belongs to a business and is used to carry things. I can see scuff marks and dents. It definitely carries cargo.”

  “And the trailers hitch?” Banyon turned to look at his group. They were all leaning forward in their seats and concentrating on putting the clues together.

  “It would be used to pull things like a boat or large objects,” Steve said. “I also see mud on the bumper,” Steve added. “He has recently been in a field, I think.”

  “Or maybe a farm,” Loni added.

  Banyon suddenly threw his arms up in the air. “That’s it,” he exclaimed. “Our guy works as a servant on a horse farm.”

  “Why do you say that?” Marlene asked from off screen despite being impressed.

  “The sticker is of a horse head. The waves are his mane. Can you see it now?” Banyon gushed with excitement.

  “The van is probably used to pull a horse trailer and carry supplies. The mud is from the area where they keep the horses and Vernon Hills is loaded with large horse farms,” Loni quickly noted.

  “They made a mistake,” Banyon proudly said and pounded the table. “They forgot to tell the servant to go to another town to buy the cards.”

  “Or he was just lazy,” Haleigh interjected.

  “God Damn. How many horse farms are we talking about in the area?” Marlene asked, showing some emotion. “We can start checking them out immediately.”

  “My guess is there are about a hundred horse farms in the area,” Banyon replied. He lived only a few miles from Vernon Hills.

  “That could take a while,” Marlene responded with disappointment.

  “Wait,” Banyon said. “We might be able to reduce that number. Marlene, have your techies been able to finish the facial recognition of the people that attended the ACLU news conference this morning?”

  Marlene’s face once again occupied the screen. She turned to someone off to her side and asked the same question. “We have finished it,” she relayed to the group.

  “Have someone check and see if any of the people have a connection to a horse farm in Vernon Hills,” Banyon told her.

  ***

  While Banyon and the team waited nervously for Marlene to check out the people from the ACLU audience, they decided they needed some food. Neither Loni nor Haleigh were very domestic, so the sandwich making chores fell to Chase and Steve. Bart had stocked the refrigerator with a variety of cold cuts, bread and accessories.

  “Don’t you have any salads?” Loni said with annoyance. “I want a salad,” she demanded and stamped her foot like a little girl.

  “We have some lettuce,” Steve replied. “Put some mayonnaise on it,” he said in good humor.

  “You know, lettuce has no nutritional value,” Loni responded and stuck out her tongue at Steve.

  “Want me to go outside and pick you some palm leaves. You could have a palm salad,” he retorted as he put ham on a piece of bread.

  Banyon was happy to see banter among the group. It meant they were thinking. They needed something to reduce the stress.

  Suddenly, Marlene, who was still onscreen, spoke.

  “We’ve got something,” She announced excitedly. The screen split in half and a picture of a woman appeared. The picture showed a very composed attractive woman. She was blond, well dressed and appeared to be about fifty years old to Banyon. She sat in the back of the conference room by herself.

  “This woman has ties to a horse farm,” Marlene stated.

  “Who is she?” Loni asked as she took a bite of the ham sandwich Steve had made for her.

  “Her name is Brenda Schultz. Her family are well known horse breeders in guess where?” Marlene uncharacteristically baited them.

  “I’m guessing Vernon Hills,” Steve replied.

  “That’s correct,” Marlene said with a smile. “The horse ranch is ninety acres and her father has owned the land since the fifties.”

  “Anything else which can be used as evidence,” Bart the lawyer asked. “That’s not much to go on.”

  “The farm is an LLC and lists five white cargo vans, four horse trailers, and twelve domestic servants,” Marlene read from a sheet of paper.

  “What kind of horses do they breed?” Banyon quickly asked.

  “They specialize in raising stallions. They currently have about two hundred horses on the farm.”

  “Wow,” Loni exclaimed. “That’s a lot of sperm.”

  “These people are the ones,” Bart quickly interjected. “I’ll bet the nanobot facilities are on the farm.”

  “Curiously, they also have had several large unexplained expenses of late,” Marlene read from several sheets that had been placed in front of her.

  “I’m beginning to believe these people are our bad guys,” Haleigh quipped. “My instincts are buzzing.”

  “We have enough evidence to go take a closer look at them,” Marlene said. “I’ll set up a SWAT team.”

  “There is not enough for a warrant,” Chase the lawyer argued.

  “We are Homeland Security,” Marlene retorted. “We don’t need a warrant to look into suspected domestic terrorism. I’m getting a team going right now. We should be able to hit them in two hours.”

  “What’s the name of the horse family,” Loni asked.

  “The official name is the Bernard Schultz Horse Farm, LLC.”

  Banyon, who was sitting at the table eating his sandwich, suddenly jumped to his feet. “Who is the owner,” he screamed.

  “His name is Bernard Schultz.”

  “Oh my god,” Banyon uttered.

  Part Five

  Answers

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  B

  renda was crying uncontrollably on the patio. Bernard had just dropped a bombshell on her — it changed everything for her. Her life was completely shattered. She felt like she was fifteen years old and alone, once again. She had no future. All her efforts meant nothing now. Bernard’s first secret had devastated her. The words stuck in her head.

  “I have a son,” he had said.

  “But, but…” she stammered. She quickly understood she was not destined to inherit the horse farm. The son would get everything. Bernard was cutting her loose. He had used and abused her and now he was throwing her out into the street. He was the cruelest man she had ever known.

  “There is more you need to know,” he offered as he touched her shoulder with an unexpected display of sympathy.

  “Get your filthy hands off me, you Nazi bastard,” she screamed. “I have taken care of you for over forty years and this is how you repay me?” She reached over and slapped his face as hard as she could, then she began to get up from her chair.

  Stunned by her uncontrolled fury, Bernard was suddenly concerned for his life. “Aldo,” he screamed. The servant appeared out of nowhere.

  “Calm her down,” Bernard o
rdered. The servant didn’t hesitate and grabbed Brenda’s arms pinning them behind her back as he sat her back down in the chair. She immediately began to buck and try to throw Aldo off, but he was too strong. She was swearing, screaming and thrashing around like a mad person. Bernard liked it.

  Her styled hair became disheveled, her breasts pushed hard against her silky top as Aldo applied more pressure. She attempted to kick out at Bernard with her long legs, but Aldo dragged the chair out of reach. All she accomplished was a rise in the hemline of her skirt. Bernard was suddenly lost in a real fantasy. To him there was nothing sexier than a helpless woman struggling against the inevitable. I have seen women act like this before, he thought pleasantly. Many times.

  “Calm down Brenda,” he croaked with lust in his voice. “I need you to listen to me. I have more to tell you.”

  “I’ll kill you,” Brenda screamed and continued to struggle. There was no fear in her eyes, there was just fury.

  He got her attention when he replied. “How you handle what I still have to tell you will determine how long you will live from this moment on.”

  “What else can you do to me, anyway,” Brenda shot back.

  “I can have Aldo take you out to the barn to teach you a lesson,” he croaked. “And I’ll watch.”

  Aldo reached around and grabbed her breast.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  T

  he old man was now totally consumed by a fantasy. “Cuff her to the chair,” he ordered using his Nazi Major voice when saying it. His need to dominate a helpless woman overshadowed everything else at the moment. The fact that the woman had been part of his family for forty years meant nothing to him. The pleasure he was experiencing was all that mattered right now.