The major’s MPs, in full uniform, were now in the main area. Reinforcement guards from the installation, dressed in paramilitary uniforms, appeared. Both the MPs and the guards yelled “Freeze,” their weapons trained on each other. The standoff came down to the lead guard, code-named Gold, facing the lead MP, the major. There was dead silence.
Then the major spoke, “United States Army. Drop your weapons.” Gold responded, “United States Marines. Drop yours.”
“Oh, shit!” Kronos blurted out, putting a voice to what was on everybody’s mind.
“We are here on direct orders of the Commander in Chief,” the Army major barked.
“You are violating the security of a top-secret installation, Major.”
“Well, it ain’t that secret anymore, pal. In minutes, the 82nd Airborne and First Ranger battalions will be swarming all over this place. Surrender your weapons and your command.”
“Then you shall die with us, Sir.”
Hiccock moved forward. “Wait a minute, fellas.”
The major could not believe the stupidity of Hiccock’s move. “Sir, take cover.”
Hiccock ignored him. “Look, Marine. Do you know who I am?”
“You are an unauthorized person in the facility that I am sworn to protect …”
“… against all enemies foreign and domestic,” Hiccock said. “Yes, I know, I took the same oath. But I work for the president. I have code-word clearance and I am seventeenth on the NCA protocol.” Hiccock saw that his last statement confused the Marine guard. “Let me show you my ID. I am seventeenth in line to the presidency in the event of a decapitating preemptive strike.”
Just then, Professor Robert Parnes swept into the middle of the standoff in a white lab coat with his graying hair and prosthetic arm and demanded, “What is going on here?”
Edmonds, who was wound tight and on edge because of his diet pills, wheeled around and nearly fired at his own boss.
“Sir, please leave now,” Gold said to Parnes. “The security of this immediate area is compromised.”
Hiccock couldn’t believe his eyes. “Parnes? Bob Parnes?”
“Bill Hiccock? What are you doing here?”
“You are running an illegal operation.”
“Afraid not. I am running a top-secret project. I thought you were at the White House. Why are you breaking into my facility?”
“Can we call off the warriors first? All these locked and loaded weapons make me a little nervous.”
Parnes assessed the situation, “What if I do mine but you don’t do yours?”
“Fair enough. Okay, so we do it by the numbers. One of yours stands down then one of mine does.”
Edmonds watched every move the invaders made over the sights of his gun. He was breaking out in a sweat now, cursing his body for trembling under stress.
Upstairs in the command center, Mack was bleeding heavily from the shoulder. Admiral Parks rushed over to him. She examined the damage and made a preliminary diagnosis. “It went clean through. You might not pitch in the majors again, but I don’t think you’ll buy the farm.”
“Henrietta, you go and take care of that science guy. I’ll be okay.”
“Medic!” Parks called out. She caressed the man’s good hand and squeezing it said, “Thank you for getting your old unit together and doing such a fine job.”
“Me and the guys … we never broke up. We just started our own business and kept blowing up things. Heck, this has been the most fun we had since we took down the hotel in Vegas.”
“Still, Mack, I owe you one.”
“Your husband pulled my rump from the drink a few times. This one’s on my tab with him.”
A medic arrived and Parks kissed Mack on the forehead. Then she was off. She ran into Tyler being led down into the facility by one of the MPs.
“Admiral?” Tyler inquired.
“Miss Tyler.”
“How are you doing?”
“My house has been destroyed, my husband’s best friend and war buddy is missing half his shoulder, there is a mad crazy somebody who’s going to make regular Americans blow up our country in forty-five minutes, and if I still got periods this would be the day. But besides that I am fine … except your husband is probably gonna get us all killed.”
“My ex-husband.”
“That seems like a dumb mistake, woman.” She was off, leaving Tyler speechless.
The mutual stand-down continued in the main area, as soldiers on each side alternately received the signal from his respective commanding officer to secure his weapon.
Hiccock continued explaining the situation to Parnes. “So my hacker friend Kronos here traced it back to this facility, which, by the way, does not appear in any government records.”
Not noticed by anyone, Edmonds was sweating as his eyes darted around; chasing flashes of light only he could see.
“Are you accusing somebody here of using my equipment to sabotage the United States?” Parnes said, incredulous.
“Or possibly you, Professor … unfortunately.”
The major gave one of his men the signal and another weapon was secured.
“Me? Why would I …”
“Oh, I dunno, maybe because big-ticket research money, the kind that you’re used to, doesn’t fall off the trees unless there’s a real nasty threat to this country.”
“Not me, Bill. I literally gave my right arm for this country.”
“Could still hurt, Parnes. And that could be a good reason to extract revenge. But that’s my wife’s area, actually.”
Another Marine guard got the nod to stand down.
Edmonds’s face was now registering anger.
“Oh, that’s right. You married your old boss at Stanford. Cute, as I remember.”
“You should see her now,” Tyler said as she walked into the chamber with Admiral Parks.
Edmonds’s eyes darted to the new distraction caused by this woman. Slowly his finger moved to the trigger of his aimed and cocked M16, one involuntary spasm away from blowing off Janice’s head.
Hiccock and Tyler both stopped and looked to each other, simultaneously asking, “Are you okay?” Hiccock smiled and returned to Parnes.
The major got the eye of another MP and he too relaxed his stance and lowered his weapon.
“So what are you baking here, Parnes?”
“The next big thing, Bill.”
“Cold fusion?”
Gold nodded his head and another weapon lowered.
Edmonds was now breathing heavily through his mouth.
“AI. The most far-reaching program of R&D on AI ever in the U.S.A.”
“Of course, artificial intelligence. You were always a big-time DARPA guy. I guess this whole place is on the Department of Defense research and development, off-budget shopping list.”
Edmonds started to shake ever so slightly.
“Well, actually, no. My associates and I were asked to leave the Defense Advanced Research and Projects Agency. Unlike you, Bill, I wasn’t able to stay out of the big leagues. So I pitched this idea to the Department of Agriculture, of all places.”
“Agriculture? This top-secret facility is code word cleared for what … ‘farmland security’?”
“Old habit, Bill. There are companies and governments all over the world that would stop at nothing for the technology we are ‘baking’ here.”
An MP behind Hiccock lowered his weapon but the one beside him kept his trained across the room.
“Well, it’s over Parnes. You are shut down.”
Parnes became animated with a newfound emotion. “Bill, we are doing it, right here. The Holy Grail … the ultimate in computational science. We have created true artificial intelligence, Bill. Think of it!” Then suddenly, changing beat, he asked, “Why is your wife here?”