Callsign: King II- Underworld

The mist continued to swell out of the ground, sparkling like reflected moonlight, as they stepped into the still darkened foyer. Mayfield barked an order to a subordinate then stepped past King and the others to lead the way to the mission control room.

Not much had changed in the forty-eight minutes since King and Nina had last seen the facility. The only difference was that this time, they didn’t linger at the door.

“Dr. Copeland,” Mayfield called. “These people would like to speak with you.”

The physicist glanced up from his workstation. He looked like a man on the verge of psychotic break. Sweat beaded on his balding pate, and his shirt was rumpled and soiled, as if he hadn’t changed it in days. “You’re kidding right? Now, of all times?”

King pushed forward. “Dr. Copeland, you have to shut Bluelight down immediately.”

“Believe me, I’d love to.” Copeland turned back to his computer screen as if there was nothing more to say on the matter.

King wanted to grab the man by the shoulders and shake him, but he kept his anger in check. “I don’t think you understand what your device is doing.”

Copeland looked up again. “Who are you again? And how do you know anything about Bluelight?”

“I know that it’s driving those creatures insane, and I know that as long as you run that machine, they’re going to keep coming and they’re going to keep killing.”

Copeland shook his head. “There have been some unexpected side-effects, but General Mayfield assures me he can deal with that.”

“General Mayfield has no idea what Bluelight is doing.”

Mayfield didn’t hold back. “Sigler, I think you’re the one who’s clueless here. Do you even realize what Bluelight means for us?”

King didn’t have an answer.

“The President has ordered the Defense Department to phase out petroleum usage, and shift to alternate energy productions. Just imagine that. Imagine trying to fight a war from a forward operating base surrounded by fields of windmills and solar panels. It’s a strategic nightmare. But Bluelight can change all that.”

“Just what in the hell is Bluelight, anyway?” Pierce intoned.

Copeland checked his screen again then stood up. “So you don’t know. What a surprise. In a nutshell, it’s free energy.

“The Earth is surrounded by a shell of antimatter particles. They’re created by the sun and radiate outward in the solar wind. The Earth’s magnetic field scoops them up, one antiproton at a time, and there they stay until they eventually decay. In some areas, where the magnetic field is especially strong, there are large anomalies, but you can find them almost everywhere if you know where to look.”

“You’re harvesting antimatter?” Nina said. “Sounds like something from Star Trek.”

Copeland seemed to take that as a compliment. “We don’t harvest it. The Bluelight system fires a proton beam into the magnetic field. The protons and antiprotons annihilate each other, just like in the warp core reactor, and produce charged plasma high above the atmosphere. The plasma throws off a lot of loose electrons, which conduct back to the source. We use the lightning to charge an array of batteries. In just eight minutes, the prototype Bluelight device can produce enough electricity to run a small city for an entire day.”

Mayfield nodded. “A portable version, small enough to fit in the back of a truck, could power an entire army base. So you see, shutting it down is not an option.”

“Don’t you realize what’s at stake here?” King persisted. “Those creatures are going to keep coming.”

“We’re ready for them this time. There can’t be that many of them left.” Mayfield cocked his head sideways. “Wait, is that why you’re here? Trying to protect endangered species, or some crap like that?”

As if to underscore his statement, a soldier stepped into the room from the foyer. “Sir, we’ve engaged the hostiles. And there’s something else.”

The building must have been heavily insulated, because until the door opened, King hadn’t heard any noise from outside. Now, the room was filled with the percussions of thunder and gunfire.

“On my way,” Mayfield said. As he reached the door, he turned to King again. “I’ve got soldier work to do. You three stay here and keep out of Dr. Copeland’s way. Bluelight stays on. End of story.”





32.


Sokoloff was only half a mile from his goal, when the GPS display blinked off and was replaced by the message:



Signal Lost.



An instant later, the mist started to rise from the ground. The urgency in his employer’s demand made a lot more sense. Earlier, the mist had preceded the appearance of the creatures by only a few seconds. The hitman stomped the accelerator to the floor and focused his attention on the building directly ahead.