That’s why they wanted the Indian River Lagoon, Aaron realized. The expansive body of water had been converted into a massive tank for some extremely exotic fish. Aaron had the feeling these guys wouldn’t consider themselves mankind’s pets. By the way they were treating Moni, they viewed the situation as the reverse.
“I’m on the beachside. Where are you?” Aaron asked. “I’ll meet you as soon as I can.”
“I’m here too.” Moni didn’t sound the least bit worried about being trapped on the narrow strip of land with hostile aliens cutting her off from the rest of the country. “You should leave here, Aaron. Mariella will be fine. I’m taking care of her.”
“What about you, Moni? Who do you think killed her teacher? I found her head at the bottom of the lagoon. That’s what this poser does to people who supposedly care about her.”
“Stop lying to me! Mariella may not be human, but she’s still a child. The only hope she has of growing up with her family is in this new home. Even if a few people get hurt, doesn’t she deserve that right?”
“Who’s talking now? Is it Moni or the alien Mariella?”
“Aaron! You know the girl can’t…”
“You don’t sound like the woman I met who loves helping kids, and I mean real kids. Mariella and those aliens are in your head. She’s influencing you, Moni. If you don’t leave her, she’ll take your head too.”
“Mariella loves me. Those people were cruel to her.”
“What about Mariella’s parents? Do you think they were cruel before the aliens possessed their daughter and murdered them?”
“You don’t know how it happened. You weren’t there.”
“Mariella was. Why don’t you finally ask her? There are no secrets between you two now, right?”
“Stay away from me, Aaron. You stay away from us.”
“I can’t do that. If you don’t leave her, she’ll take you into the lagoon with them. I’ve seen what that acid does to people. They plug heads into their colony like light bulbs. Is that what you want?”
He waited for an answer and got only silence. He thought he had made her stop and think until he finally checked the phone line. She had hung up.
Aaron’s father threw him a sideways glance. Once again, his son had met his expectations by pissing somebody off.
“Aliens huh?” His father rested a condescending hand on his knee. “Son, I know a real good rehab center in West Palm Beach that could get you off that junk.”
“I’m totally straight, dad.” Aaron jerked his leg away.
“Uh huh. You sure you don’t want me to lend you my Terminator to kill those aliens?”
“Cut it out. I’m fine. Let me make one more call.”
Determined to make Swartzman’s final mission count for something, Aaron dialed the sheriff’s office and got connected to Detective Sneed. “Where’s the scientist?” asked Sneed, who didn’t deem the student worthy of that job title.
Following a heavy sigh, Aaron paused until he could shake the image of the raw muscle on Swartzman’s face from his mind. “My professor didn’t make it today. His last act was sending you those photos. Did you get them?”
“Holy shit, yeah. What are they?”
Aaron explained everything, even what Moni had told him about the aliens. It shocked him how readily the detective accepted every word. When a giant, impenetrable bubble covers the lagoon, all skepticism must fly out the window.
“A fine job you did, kid,” Sneed said. Aaron felt guilty hearing the slightest praise. “We’re evacuating the beachside. Helicopters are on the way to Patrick and Hoover Junior High. You better…”
“I’m not leaving without Moni,” Aaron cut in.
“Is that so, eh? I’m not fix’n to leave without Moni, and her little friend, either. I’m set to drop in on her with a SWAT team. Meet me at Hoover and you can tag along.”
Aaron agreed. Just as his father pulled the Mercedes into his driveway, he told him about the change of plans. His dad ignored him, shut off the car and marched toward the front door.
“Dad, come on. My friend is in trouble.”
He strolled inside without glancing back. Aaron futilely yanked on the locked car door. He kicked its tire with his good leg.
A few minutes later, his father came outside and placed down a change of clothes and some tennis shoes. He tossed Aaron a set of car keys.
“Take mom’s wagon. I don’t want you getting a ding on my Mercedes with all these freaks running around. And change your cloths. If you’re trying to impress a girl, you shouldn’t look like you just crawled out of the lagoon-even if that’s what you just did.”
“Thanks da…”
He slammed the door shut.
Chapter 45
The latest plume of black smoke rising from the yellow bubble didn’t come from a destroyed bridge. This bomb had been delivered by an F-16 defending its home base. Brigadier General Colon had never dreamed about ordering an air strike in his backyard-literary, since he lived on base with his wife and son.
The smoke cleared from the satellite image on his computer, and he saw the result. He leapt from his chair and dashed to the window. Less than 100 feet away, the bubble stood firm. Shifting into a deeper shade of yellow, it completely obscured his vision and the radar signatures of the enemy’s workings inside the lagoon.
The detective must be right. Only an alien force could withstand firepower like that.
None of their small arms fire or artillery had so much as scratched the barrier. The invaders hadn’t waged a counter attack, but the presence of the bubble had inflicted severe damage along the base’s waterline. It had swallowed the loading dock and placed a steep obstacle on south side of its longest runway to block air traffic. An enemy force could assemble along the base’s edge and they’d never see it through the bubble until it assaulted them. Colon wouldn’t let them neuter his base, no matter where in the galaxy they came from.
“Sir, the civilians are in position near the runway. We have three birds ready to fly,” a soldier radioed into Colon’s command post. “We’re running out of parking, sir.”
“Those cars won’t be going anywhere for a while,” Colon said. “Put them on the golf course. I don’t think many people will be teeing off under the circumstances. Commence the evacuation now. The sick and children go first.”
The next call came from someone a little higher up the chain of command: Secretary of Defense Arnold Stronge. Colon had seen him in formal processions, and the occasional morale-boosting visit to base, but he hadn’t dealt directly with him while the heat of battle weighed on his neck. Even the theft of the explosives hadn’t brought his full attention down on him, although it would have if the media had caught on and made it national news. But no one could sweep a 70-mile long extraterrestrial outpost under the rug.
“I’ve seen lots of conflicting reports about what’s going on down there, brigadier general. Perhaps you can clear a few things up for me,” Stronge said. “Is this some advanced terrorist organization? A domestic scientist with funding from a hostile foreign government? I’ve heard other rumors, but frankly, they’re not worthy of discussion.”
Up in Washington, talk of an alien invasion still elicited snickers. It seemed a lot more plausible to someone who had watched eight entire causeways dissolve in the lagoon like antacids.
“Mr. Secretary, I’m absolutely certain that this invading force is neither foreign nor domestic. It’s not of this earth, sir. The nanobiotechnology I described in my report is beyond our capabilities. And this barrier that’s infringed on my base is as well. It withstood an airstrike.”
“So you really did write that? I have a team analyzing your report right now,” Stronge said. Colon couldn’t blame him for his skepticism. “In the meantime, it’s clear this is a hostile force. Did you hit it with the hardest ordinance you’ve got?”
“Negative, sir. We have a MOAB, but it’s too dangerous to use this close to civilians,” said Colon, referring to a massive ordinance nicknamed the Mother of All Bombs.