Tarizon: Desert Swarm

by William Manchee

Chapter 42

  Mending Fences

  Agent Sanders, George and Cindy drove north toward Bishop. They didn’t see the dump truck and soon surmised that it had gone the other way. As they were pulling into a gas station Agent Sanders’ radio crackled and then a voice came through.

  “Agent Sanders, this is Joe, come in.”

  Sanders picked up the radio and replied, “Sanders here.”

  “There’s been a new development. We need to talk.”

  “Roger. We’re between Bishop and Independence. Where do you suggest we rendezvous?”

  “We need Jack too. How about Mona’s café?”

  “Okay. See you there in an hour.”

  Agent Sanders wasn’t going to bring Jack to Mona’s café as he’d have to bring Linkh along too, so she figured she’d pick him up and they’d all parlay at Jack’s trailer. They needed to work on a strategy for dealing with the Nanomites anyway, so the Independence job site was a good place to do it. Joe’s car was parked out front of Mona’s Café when they drove up. They walked inside and found him sitting with another man at a table. They joined them.

  Joe motioned toward the other man. “This is Mo. He’s taken over for Jimmy Malone.”

  Sanders nodded tentatively.

  “Where’s Jack?” Joe asked.

  “Why don’t you tell me what’s going on first,” she said looking at Mo. “Someone’s been trying to kill us, so we’re a little paranoid right now.”

  Mo shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “Right. The agency apologizes for that,” Mo said.

  “Seriously?” Sanders spat. “You think an apology is going to cut it?”

  He sighed. “No. But that’s the best I can do for now. The agency realizes the error of its ways. Thankfully, I had no part in this matter until yesterday.”

  “Huh,” Sanders snickered. “So, we’re just supposed to forgive you now?”

  “No, but we do need to put aside our differences for now in the interest of national security. You see, General Thornton and Senator Stallings are dead.”

  “They are? How did that happen?”

  “The Nanomites killed them.”

  Mo explained what had happened at Death Valley Junction when they tried to exterminate the Nanomites. “So, we are in a rather tenuous position. Prior to Jack discovering the Nanomite cathedral, only six people knew about the Nanomite presence on Earth. Three of those are now dead. So, now with you and your friends, there are seven people on the planet who know about it.”

  “Why has it been so ultra-top secret?” Sanders asked. “I think people would accept the fact that there are aliens from another planet given time to get used to the idea.”

  “Well, you don’t know the whole story. If you did the answer to your question would be obvious. Unfortunately I can’t discuss anything with you that you haven’t already figured out.”

  “So, what do you want us to do?”

  “We need your help in stopping the Nanomites. We know you have the alien Linkh Leode.”

  “Who told you that?”

  “Witnesses saw him leaving the Death Valley Junction crime scene with Jack.”

  “Even so, how could we possibly stop them?”

  “We don’t know, but with Linkh’s help perhaps we can come up with a strategy. He knows a lot about them and can help us do that. Once we determine a course of action, we’ll have the full resources of the U.S. Army, CIA and FBI at our disposal. We just can’t tell them exactly what kind of enemy they are fighting.”

  “What will the generals and bureau chiefs think about that? Do you really think they will follow our command?”

  “They won’t know of your involvement. They’ll be taking orders directly from the President through me.”

  “I’m in,” George said. “We’ve got to stop them from spreading their cathedrals.”

  “What do you mean?” Mo asked. “Have they shown up somewhere else?”

  Sanders swallowed hard. “Yes, I’m afraid so. There’s another cathedral near Independence and it’s twice the size of Bat Mountain.”

  Mo’s face paled. “Holy mother of God.”

  “Yeah. Jack and Linkh are there now trying to figure out how to deal with it.”

  “We need to get over there,” Mo said, “and get our heads together. If there is any more proliferation, it may be too late to stop it. Will you help us?”

  Agent Sanders turned to George and Cindy. “What do you think?”

  Cindy shrugged. “Why not? This may be the most important thing I do in my lifetime. It will definitely be the most interesting.”

  “It will be dangerous,” Mo warned. “The Nanomites are highly intelligent and they figured out pretty quickly who was in charge at Death Valley Junction and took them out.”

  “We’ll have to take that into account in whatever plan we put together,” George said. “I hope Jack and Linkh are okay.”

  “Let’s get over there and find out. Will you take us there?”

  Agent Sanders nodded. Seeing a waitress walk by, she put up her hand. “Check please.”

  The waitress pulled a check out of her apron and handed it to her.

  “I’ve got it,” Mo said taking the check away from Sanders.

  When they got outside Mo asked Agent Sanders to ride with them so they could talk. Sanders agreed and George and Cindy followed them in their car. Sanders wondered if she could trust Mo. The CIA and the Army had already tried to kill her and her civilian team. What would prevent them from doing the same thing once they were no longer needed. She had to come up with a way to make sure that didn’t happen. She climbed into the back seat and got comfortable.

  “Head toward Independence and I’ll tell you where to turn off the main road,” Sanders said.

  “Okay,” Mo replied as he pulled out of the parking lot. “Do you think we can trust George and Cindy?”

  “Yes,” Sanders replied. “They are both intelligent and honorable citizens and understand why all of this has to remain a secret.”

  “What about Jack and Dolly?”

  “Jack and Linkh are getting along like long lost brothers. He really likes him and wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize his safety. You don’t have to worry about Jack. And Dolly is as sweet a woman as you could find. None of them are the type that would try to cash in this situation.”

  “Good. Leaks will not be tolerated.”

  “What about our safety? You want our cooperation but what happens once the Nanomite situation has been resolved?”

  “I’ve talked to the President,” Joe advised. “He’s assured me you’ll be safe as long as you keep everything you know, or learn in the future, secret.”

  “So, that’s it? All we get is the personal assurance of the man who obviously authorized our assassination in the first place.”

  “You don’t know that,” Joe replied.

  “No. She’s right,” Mo said. “The President authorized the CIA to do whatever it took to protect the treaty with the aliens, including assassination. The thing is, if you don’t cooperate, you are dead anyway. But if you do cooperate, then there won’t be any reason to kill you and you may very likely become a valuable asset to the Agency.”

  “The President also wanted me to tell you that you and your friends will each be paid a $100,000 tax free consulting fee for your services,” Joe advised.

  “But I’m already on the FBI payroll?” Sanders said.

  “This will be a bonus paid in cash completely off the books.”

  Sanders didn’t trust the President or Mo and she doubted Joe had any control over the situation, but she realized Mo was right. If they didn’t agree to the deal they were as good as dead.