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

by Gerald Kubicki

  “What should we do?” Bart asked.

  “I suggest that you all go home and get some rest, tomorrow is going to be a humdinger,” Marlene replied. “It will take me a few hours to set up in my new location. I have all your phone numbers and if I need you, I’ll call. Good work today.”

  “Please call, we want to help,” Colton Banyon pleaded.

  “Oh, I almost forgot. There is one more thing to report,” Marlene said. “We just got a report that a plane was hijacked from the executive airfield near Schultz’s house about the same time as we captured the servants. The pilot and his daughter have identified the hijackers as the two servants that were missing.

  “Where did they go?” Banyon asked.

  “It’s kind of strange,” Marlene acknowledged. “Their destination was Laughlin, Nevada. Good luck.” The screen suddenly went dark.

  The room was quiet for a few seconds. “I’ve been to Laughlin many times,” Chase said as he broke the silence. “Why would two hijackers want to go there?”

  “I don’t think that it was to escape capture. A hijack is much more risky. There are many safer ways to avoid the police,” Haleigh reasoned.

  “It seems to me that there must be something valuable that they want in Laughlin,” Steve added.

  “Or they are going to Schultz’s second facility,” Banyon said. He could sense the growing excitement in the room. The people around him were angry and tired of sitting on their butts.

  “That’s it,” Bart screamed. “The second facility is in Laughlin, Nevada. “They’re going there to collect some money or for revenge.”

  “Why do you say that?” Loni asked.

  “Loni, these guys are Hispanic. They are part of the race that Schultz is trying to kill. Schultz skipped out on them in Chicago, and maybe even tried to kill them. Remember that the kitchen was barricaded,” Bart pointed out.

  “So, they want their money,” Steve closed the loop.

  “What can we do about it? There’s no one to tell,” Loni said with a shrug, remembering that Marlene was on the move.

  “Let’s go help them, then,” Bart said loudly.

  “Just us?” Chase asked in a worried voice.

  Bart quickly hit the intercom button. “Ryan how many shooters can we get in here within an hour?” This division of Dewey & Beatem, like their parent, was in the business of fixing problems — sometimes that required people that could shoot guns.

  There was no response for several seconds, Ryan then replied. “Counting you, me, Steve, Chase, and Mrs. Sandborn we will have ten shooters.”

  “That will have to do. Get them in here and tell them to prepare for war,” Bart ordered.

  “Yes, sir,” Ryan replied.

  “But how will we find the servants or the facility?” Chase wondered.

  “I think that I know a way,” Haleigh interjected. “I know the police chief in Laughlin. My guess is that the servants stole a car or van and will drive to the facility. There can’t be that many warehouses in Laughlin. We find the car and we’ll find them and the facility,” she proudly stated. “But I need to get back to the office to get his private number.”

  “Loni and I need to go with you,” Banyon said. “My car is at the office.”

  “Why do you need your car?” Steve questioned.

  “We are going to go home so Loni can change.” She got the message.

  “That’s right, I’m not going fighting in this new dress. It would be unladylike,” she said with a shake of her head.

  “And, you guys go ahead, don’t wait for us. We’ll meet you there, in Laughlin. I’ll call as we get to town,” Banyon said.

  “Okay,” Chase said. “I’ll drive you.”

  “You stay here with Bart and Steve. I’ll drop them off,” Haleigh said and ushered Banyon and Loni out the door.

  Chapter Sixty-Seven

  C

  olton Banyon was quiet in the van as it headed back to the police station. He believed Bart was probably taping everything he said and he didn’t want to give him any information. Instead, he worked on his plan for later that night. It was different than Bart’s.

  Loni and Haleigh sat in the front and chatted about what they should wear to go to war tonight. Loni said she preferred black stretch leotards for the flexibility and so she could move about stealthily. Haleigh explained that she liked clothes which had lots of pockets to hide weapons and lots of Kevlar.

  When they got to the station they all exited the van, but Haleigh told them to stay put by the vehicle as she ran into the building to get the private phone number of the police chief in Laughlin. When she returned, she had her phone firmly planted in her ear. She wore a large black gun and also carried a shotgun.

  “Don’t arrest them, just watch them,” she yelled into the phone. “At least until we get there. That will be in less than two hours, okay. I owe you one Chief.” She smiled and pressed the end call button.

  “He’s on board?” Banyon asked.

  “Yes,” she said breathlessly. “They already have a report of a stolen van near the airport. I told him to look in the warehouse areas and not to arrest them until we got there. He said there was only about a mile of warehouse in the south of the city and he would send patrol cars through the area immediately.”

  “Good going Haleigh,” Banyon said and patted her on the shoulder. “And don’t be too afraid about later. I’m sure there won’t be too many bad guys at the warehouse. We’ll have a bunch of good shooters.”

  “Afraid? I’m not afraid,” she blustered. “I graduated from West Point. I was trained for combat. I shoot well too.”

  “Oh, sorry, I didn’t know,” he said with embarrassment. “We have to go now and get ready,” Banyon turned to leave.

  “Wait, I have a question for you,” She said with a flush on her face. “I’m not sure how to ask it.”

  “What is your question?” Banyon turned back to give her his full attention.

  “What’s going on between you and Chase’s boss Bart?” She stated flatly. “He watches you like a hawk. I’ve noticed that whenever you come up with any ideas, Bart jumps on them immediately. Also, you’re very careful what you say when he is not around. Something is going on and I want to know what.”

  “Very perceptive,” Banyon replied. His respect for the young sleuth was growing by the minute.

  “I’m a detective remember. I’m paid to observe and notice things,” she answered sarcastically.

  “Haleigh, there is nothing to be concerned about, okay?” Banyon told her. “Bart is just a little paranoid. He knows I have a special talent for figuring things out. Some of it has to do with some of the unique friends I have gathered over the years. Bart wants to know who they are so he could contact them directly and cut me out. It would make him more money. He is all about money, and revenues are currently down at the firm.”

  “That doesn’t necessarily explain why you say so little when he is not around,” she argued.

  “That’s simple,” Banyon responded. “He bugs everything. I’m sure the conference room is bugged. The van is bugged and probably my car. He’s always looking for an edge. But I can handle it. I’m used to it.”

  “Does Chase know this?”

  “Probably not,” Banyon said. “You should tell him, but not in any place where Bart might have placed a bug.”

  Haleigh thought for a second. “Okay, I believe you. See you in a bit,” she said cheerfully and got into the van.

  “What was that about?” Loni quickly asked as they walked to their car.

  “She is very suspicious, it makes her a good detective,” Banyon replied. “I’m going to have to watch what I say around both Bart and her from now on.

  “Do you think he actually bugged our car?”

  “Yes, so let me tell you about what we really are going to do tonight before we get into the car,” he said.

  “Okay,” Loni replied.

  “Then we are going to rent a Jeep and leave our car at the ren
tal agency. We’ll need it to go off road.”

  “Let’s rent a black one,” Loni quipped. “What’s the plan?”

  He filled her in on the treasure, the artifact and finally the Patel clan.

  She was happy about two out of the three pieces of information.

  ***

  Meanwhile, back in the computer room at Dewey & Beatem, Bart was busy scanning the video and audio tapes from the long day. He had sent everyone else home and wanted to be alone as he looked for any clue to Colton Banyon’s secret connections. Banyon had worked at the firm for several years now and Bart was amazed at his track record. He wanted to find out what made Banyon so successful at solving mysteries and finding people and things. Banyon made thirty percent of the profits on those cases and that was about what Bart made. He wanted all the profits.

  “I’m going to find out your secret,” Bart yelled out in frustration as he realized he would not learn anything from the tapes from that day.

  Chapter Sixty-Eight

  D

  etective Haleigh Taylor was correct. Raul and Aldo had stolen a blue delivery van and were currently parked along the dirt shoulder of the road about one block up the street from the second Schultz manufacturing facility. They were both armed. When the young girl from the plane tossed them out, they heard their guns clatter on the tarmac and they circled back to collect them.

  They jumped over the chain link fence and headed towards the lights of the small city of Laughlin. Twenty minutes later they spotted a delivery van parked in front of a flower store. It was easy for Aldo to jump start the unlocked van. He believed no one would be looking for the van until morning. It was already the middle of the night. But he was wrong. The owner of the van was actually in a bar two doors down and soon came in search of his ride. He quickly reported it missing to the police. Aldo had made a mistake.

  Aldo drove to a gas station and bought some food and a city map. He used the money which he had given Raul back at the mall in Chicago. He cursed the pilot and his daughter for making sure he had none left in his pocket. The two of them ate in the van and studied the map. Aldo knew the exact address of the warehouse but was unfamiliar with the city. It took him a few minutes but he found the warehouse.

  “There it is, my friend,” he exclaimed as he stabbed his finger at the map. “It’s on the south side and west of the river. We’ll be there in just a few minutes.” Aldo started the van and took off.

  “What are we going to do once we get there?” Raul asked. “I’m sure there will be other people there and maybe even guards. How will we get our money?”

  “We’re not after the money,” Aldo laughed.

  “Then what are we doing?”

  “We are going to stake out the place and wait for the bitch-daughter to leave. We will follow her,” he said evilly.

  “All this over a piece of ass?”

  “That’s going to be a little extra bonus,” Aldo hissed. “I haven’t told you yet, but we are really after a huge treasure. She is going to lead us to it. It’s buried in the desert just North of here.”

  “How can you be certain she hasn’t already gone after it?” Raul was not quite sure of Aldo’s plan.

  “Because, my friend they haven’t landed yet. The pilot told me it would take nine hours to get to Laughlin. It’s only been eight hours since they left the horse farm. We just got here faster.”

  “We almost didn’t get here at all,” Raul replied sarcastically as he remembered their adventure on the plane and rubbed his sore head. “I never want to run into those two again. My next trip will be on a bus.”

  “Trust me, we are ahead of them,” Aldo said.

  “But what if she goes directly to the treasure from the plane?”

  “She is picking up three men from here to help her uncover the loot. Brenda would never stoop to manual labor. Be patient my friend,” Aldo reassured him. “All we have to do is follow her and let them uncover the treasure. Then we step in and take it.”

  “How much treasure are we talking about anyway?” Raul said with increased interest.

  “Oh, just a couple of billion dollars,” Aldo responded. That shut Raul up as he thought about the treasure.

  ***

  Both men were on the verge of falling asleep on their stakeout when they heard a low rumbling noise in the distance. It got louder and louder and soon made the van shake. Aldo peeked into the rear view mirror and his eyes widen in shock.

  “What is that?” Raul wondered with alarm.

  “Holy shit, get down,” Aldo screamed.

  “What’s happening?” Raul screamed back.

  “There’s an Army tank coming down the street,” he yelled. They shrank as far down as they could in their seats as the behemoth rolled past them and stopped right next to the warehouse. Five soldiers got out. They were fully armed.

  “What’s this?” Raul said in frightened voice. He knew military road blocks and checkpoints were common in Mexico, but not here in the United States. “Are they looking for us?”

  “It looks like they are here to protect the warehouse,” Aldo replied as he peeked over the dashboard. A light flashed into his eye. It came from the rearview mirror. “Get down,” he yelled again.

  Within seconds a police cruiser silently slipped by the van like a deadly shark looking for food. It braked near the military checkpoint and a window rolled down. One of the soldiers leaned towards the cruiser. There was some discussion which Aldo couldn’t hear and ended with the soldier giving a shrug. The police cruiser continued on down the road, but the police officer had spotted the van and had already reported it.

  Part Eight

  Closing In

  Chapter Sixty-Nine

  I

  t took Banyon ten minutes to rent a Jeep locally. He and Loni piled in and headed for his home. It was only an eight-minute drive. He decided to talk to Wolf then, to save time. They needed to be on the road to Laughlin as soon as possible.

  “Wolf, are you there?” Banyon asked.

  “You did a marvelous job of using the information I passed to you,” the spirit replied. “No one suspects you knew the answers, especially since someone else usually put the information together.”

  “Thanks, but I need some more answers. Have you got anything we can use?”

  “Of course,” Wolf said indignantly. “Schultz has landed and is headed to his hideout. It will take them about an hour to get there.”

  “Give me the address.”

  Wolf gave him the location and then said. “But there is no need to worry about getting the information to the others.”

  “Why is that?”

  “The location has already been found by the Laughlin police. Detective Taylor’s idea was a good one.”

  “How many Effort people are at the facility?”

  “There are thirty armed men protecting the facilities. Bart and his assault team will have enough men. But there are a couple of small complications.”

  “Complications? What complications?”

  “Vice Admiral Meyers is taking no chances. He has posted an army tank and five army soldiers next to the building as a checkpoint. It won’t be easy to get around them without harming them.”

  “Holy crap,” Banyon yelled in disbelief. Loni, who was driving gave him a questioning look.

  “Are they part of the Effort?”

  “They are just soldiers, doing as ordered,” the spirit said. “Meyers is using the military to protect his backside.”

  “We don’t want to harm them. How can we get around them?”

  “I suggest you change their orders.” This made Banyon think for a second. Suddenly, the solution was clear. So he moved on.

  “What about the nanobots? Have they sent out any more?”

  “Their next scheduled victims are the Blacks in Milwaukee. However, the next phase is on hold as they have — so far — failed to find a successful delivery system which has a high causality rate. All those nanobots and the original prototypes are
located in the warehouse. All the others are in sprayers or on credit cards.”

  “So, if we can destroy all of them in the warehouse, Schultz will be out of business, right?”

  “He does not have another supply,” the spirit replied.

  “I’m pretty sure I know how to kill the nanobots. Do you have any advice?”

  “Turning off the sub-zero storage containers will kill most of them. But Schultz may be able to set some loose in the warehouse. But I believe you know how to stop them, right?”

  “Yes, I do,” Banyon replied. “Is there anything we need to know about the buried treasure?”

  “There is a slight complication there too I’m afraid.”

  “What’s the complication? Banyon asked with a groan.

  “There are two men. They were servants to Schultz at his farm. They know about the treasure and are currently on stakeout near the warehouse. As soon as Schultz’s daughter leaves the warehouse with her three helpers, they intend to follow and attempt to steal the valuables. They are armed and dangerous. Schultz’s daughter will be armed as well.”

  “You’ll keep us informed, won’t you?”

  “The situation is too important for me not to,” the spirit replied.

  “How big is the treasure? Will we be able to haul it away in two vehicles?”

  “It’s not as big as I originally told you,” Wolf confessed. “It’s probably worth fifty or sixty million dollars. There are, however, several priceless items which are on record as going missing before the war. You should be able to get a nice finder’s fee for them. The rest needs to be returned to the people of Europe.”

  “We don’t get to keep any of it?” Banyon couldn’t believe his ears.

  “Many people have been looking for this bounty for a long time,” Wolf said. “You don’t want them to investigate you, do you? You’ll still make good money.”

  “Okay,” Banyon replied. “But what about the talisman?”