Them-2 Chapter 40

Chapter Forty – Near Pikeville, Kentucky

Huck glanced at the flushed faces standing around in the communication room. Kayle and Tappy were standing together with a defiant look supported by Colonel Grace. Allison Watkins, Joey Prestano and Doctor Gallagher occupied the other side of the large semicircular desk area. All were waiting anxiously for him to make a decision. They had just received Moses’ demands, which had turned into an ultimatum, and time was limited.
Huck looked at the communication’s specialist monitoring the telecommunications equipment. “Get me General McKensey on screen.” Since the system was established and operated by military satellite, the communications between Cheyenne Mountain and all Department of Defense bases was still operable.
General McKensey did not stand on formality. As soon as the connection was made and Huck appeared on screen, he spoke. “What’s new, Huck?”
“We finally received the damands from that fruitcake who kidnapped Kathay and the children, sir.”
“Go ahead.”
“In exchange for them he demands our complex here and our immediate evacuation. He wants a signed letter from the President that no hostile action will ever be taken against him or his congregation. He also wants free and clear title to all the land within one hundred miles of this bunker complex, which will forever more be considered a free and sovereign nation, and he wants enough food to feed five hundred for one year.”
“Bastard doesn’t want much, does he?”
“He wants a reply in the next thirty minutes or he will start cutting the fingers off the children, sir.”
“You believe him?”
Huck did not hesitate. “No doubt in my mind. He is demented and will do exactly what he says. Bastard will probably enjoy every minute of it too. On another note, the man who presented the demands calls himself Iggy. He states that he is with Moses against his will and he and a number of the congregation wish to escape. He told us about a band of people in the National Forest who were under assault by Moses’ forces. He called them hippies, and they are supposedly well organized. He said he got a message to them to call him on ham radio and he will send their frequency to us if and when they call. The man sounded sincere and scared. He also mentioned that he was being closely watched.”
Hyram mulled the new information over for a few moments. “I suppose this Moses character is smart enough to hang on to the children until he’s safely in his new home?”
“He may act like a fruitcake, sir, but he’s a very smart con artist.”
“Think he’ll keep his word and let the children go once his demands have been met?”
“If his demands are met, I believe he will. He’ll have everything going for him.”
“This messenger didn’t elaborate on the people living in the National Forest did he?”
“No sir. He just called them hippies and enemies of Moses.”
“Obviously, they are well organized if they have somehow managed to survive until now. Do you think you can contact this odd group and arrange to move some of your people to their location in support?”
Huck thought about it for a while. He knew that the President was in the room with General McKensey because he had noticed him in the background. There were two points of thought circulating. First, the average military commander would have immediately said that the hostages must be sacrificed for the overall good of the community and second, there was no mention of a possible commando raid to free them, a raid that may have gotten the hostages killed, all of which indicated that the President was calling the shots. Although the ants had played havoc with the world, the military was still powerful enough to mount Special Forces raids anywhere in the country. These were the two contentious points he had been bantering with Tappy and Kayle before he called the general.
“Now that we know they exist, I could send a few Bradleys on a reconnaissance to locate them. Once contact is established and we know their capabilities, I can make a better on the spot analysis of specific needs. As for moving the people, I think the plan we formulated earlier will work better.”
“Did this Iggy character mention the size of Moses’ group?” Hyram asked.
“He indicated that the church had around ten thousand members.”
“Damn! That’s one hell of a lot of people. How have they been surviving against the ants all this time?”
“Long story, General. Doctor Schmitt thinks the small group under Moses’ influence may have been captured by the ants, turned into slaves, and given pheromones to protect them. Moses allegedly used this slime to build up his congregation. Like I said, he’s a damn good con artist.”
“Sounds feasible. If he has ten thousand people, why does he only want to bring five hundred into the complex?”
“Good question, sir. My guess is he’s going to put his most devout members inside the base and scatter the remainder around it as a protective buffer, either from us or the ants.”
“Hold on for a minute.” Hyram got up and moved away from the video feed. It was a good five minutes before he resumed his seat. Everyone waited pensively for him to return. Huck knew he had been consulting with the President and other advisors.
“You can tell him we have a deal,” General McKensey returned. “Remind him that if the children are harmed in any way, we will blow him and that complex to hell, and we have the ability to do it. Let us know when you have contacted the people in the National Forest. I agree, the original plan is better. Keep us posted on your status.”
“No problem general. There is another very important item that Doctor Schmitt would like to tell you about.”
Huck moved away from the video feed and motioned for Tappy to take his place. Tappy and Kayle both look relieved.
“Thank you, General,” Tappy stated in a low tone of voice. Hyram nodded his head for her to continue.
“We may have found a way to destroy the ants.”
The video feed on the Hyram’s end suddenly filled with people. The General angrily motioned for them to back off.
“Go on Tappy.”
“As you know we have been working on several parallel projects. Our latest project involves the use of fungi in the genera Cordyceps and Ophiocordyceps. This fungus has been known to infect certain ants, altering the ant’s behavior, and eventually killing the ant. We combined the basics of these fungi with a variation of Strepsipteran parasites and the properties of the nematode, Myrmeconema neotropicum that infects canopy ants. The result was fascinating. The fungi also collaborate with the dufour's glands and pygidium to send out signals that fool the ants into believing that all is well.” She was practically out of breath when she finished.
“Okay! Now that you’ve given it to us scientifically, will you please explain it in English,” Hyram chuckled. “I for one didn’t understand a word you said.”
“The formula we fed to our captive ant is killing it, General. And, we are absolutely certain that introduced into the ant population at large, it will destroy all of them. The fungal mix is passed from ant to ant like a virus, but it’s not exactly a virus. A few days after an ant is infected, green mold starts to grow on the exoskeleton. Within thirty-six to forty-eight hours, the entire ant is completely devoured by the fungi. After the ant remains have been reduced to mold, the fungi dies for lack of a host.”
“How do we distribute the formula? Can we simply infect one ant and let the fungus do its work?”
“We know that the formula works on live adult ants,” Tappy replied. “If introduced into a colony it will destroy the entire colony, including the queens, through the process of trophallaxis. Our only concern is whether or not it will attack and destroy the larvae and pupae. We won’t know this until a nest or colony is infected and we can check it out after giving the fungi time to work.’
“You mean someone will have to go down inside the nest of these monsters to see if their babies have been killed?”
“Exactly, General. It’s the only way to make certain future generations are not born.”
“How soon can you get the formula and process to our scientific team?”
“Already done General. I sent copies a few hours ago to every scientist I know who is still alive, which happen to be very few. We need to introduce this immediately into the ant population. I’m afraid my test subject is too far gone to return it to its nest so we’re going to have to feed the formula to a new one in this area.”
“No need for you to do that, Tappy. I can have my Special Operations Teams fan out and do the dangerous work. You’re much too valuable to risk.”
“Do you have any Entomologists or Myrmecologists on your special teams General?”
“Very doubtful. Even I don’t know what scientific field that covers.”
“Ants General. The field covers insects and ants. A trained Myrmecologist must inspect the nest to verify that the formula works on the larvae and pupae, otherwise, we will never be certain that future generations of the monsters will not pop up.”
Hyram smiled back. “In that case I will send a Special Operations Team to your location and you will be in charge. Let them do the dirty work, but if you must go inside the nest, it will be your decision to make.”
“Thank you, General.”
“Please, from now on call me Hyram, will you Tappy?
“Okay, Hyram.”
“Incoming message,” the communication’s specialist yelled. “From Iggy!”
“Hang on General,” Huck stated. “We’ll hook you in so you can listen. Mr. Ignatowski we have you on line.”
“Mister Ignatowski is not available at this time,” a strange voice replied. “You might say he’s just hanging around.” The voice started to giggle then laugh uproariously before continuing. “Iggy had a ten foot pole rammed up his ass and planted in the ground. The point should be entering his throat just about now. The bastard was a traitor. He tried to get a note to Beth and the hostages and he called those damn hippies to make a back stabbing deal.”
“Do you represent Moses, Mr…”
“Burt. Call me Burt. Yeah, I’m the executive officer here. My boss is really pissed. While Iggy was trying to help Beth and the broad to escape, the kids disappeared.”
“What do you mean, disappeared? Isn’t Beth working for Moses?”
“Beth will be working for me soon, as soon as I get her clothes off.” Burt started to laugh and giggle again. “The brats used the dumb waiter and somehow sneaked around my guards. Well, they’re not guards anymore, they’re hanging around with Iggy.” His uncontrollable laughter started again.
“They haven’t been located yet?” Tappy asked.
“You sound hot, momma. Yo kid one of the brats?”
“Just answer the damn question!” Tappy yelled.
“My oh my, I do like your sweet voice. Nope! Looked everywhere. That’s not why I’m calling. Boss still has the President’s hot looking teenage daughter. Our deal is still on or she gets it. Of course she’ll be mighty sore before the axe falls, if you know what I mean.”
“We approve of the exchange,” Huck stated. “We will start evacuating the complex immediately. The terms remain the same, harm the girl in any way and it’s over.”
“You that tough FBI bastard the boss raves about?”
“You the wimp that got your ass kicked by a group of hippies?”
The voice on the other end hesitated. “Very good. I look forward to kicking your honkey ass!”
“I have a brother by the name of Horse who’s eager to have a piece of you too,” Huck stated.
“Enough of this macho talk!” Kayle cut in. “Have you had any sign of the ants in your area lately. The children may be in real danger.”
“No ants in weeks,” Burt replied. “We also know the slime don’t work any more. Boss is a real smart man. Why do you think we want your bunker?”
“May we send a search party into the area to look for them?”
“You may not. When we are safe inside the bunker we don’t give a damn what you do. Until then, we better not see you are any military pricks anywhere near us. Is that clear enough?” Burt abruptly cut the connection.
“Did you get that General? Huck asked.
“Sounds like you have a very fluid situation going on there.”
“I don’t know the size of the hippie force they keep referring to, but I doubt it’s strong enough to withstand the kind of concentrated assault that Moses can throw at it. We have around six hundred military personnel in the complex. Depending on the armament and firepower available to Moses, those odds are not in our favor.”
“I’ll work on getting you some help,” Hyram replied. “Can’t promise you anything since we are spread thin everywhere, but I’ll work on it.”
Huck turned to the nervous group standing around him. “We need to start evacuating the complex. It’s going to take every vehicle we have and can get our hands on.”
“Evacuate to where?” Dr. Gallagher asked.
“All combat qualified personnel are going to the Greenbriar State Forest. We’re going to find this hippie outfit and support them. All noncombatants are going to the Pike County Airport. We will send enough Bradleys with them to fight off any attack by the ants. Our reconnaissance units have reported no activity in that area for months. You’ll be reinforced there with soldiers the General is flying in.”
“Why the airport and not some semi secure buildings?” Joey asked.
“I have an alternate motive,” Huck grinned. “Not sure if I can pull it off, but Hatcher Field is the place we need to be.”
“Noncombatants withstanding, I sure as hell am going to Greenbriar,” Tappy stated. “And, I don’t give a dam what that man said, I am going to look for my son.”
“Me too!” Kayle added.
Huck shrugged. “I agree with you going to Greenbriar, Kayle. However, Tappy, you need to be in a place where the Special Operations Team can land and that place is Hatcher Field.”
Tappy started to protest but Huck cut her off. “Kayle and I and Horse will be looking for the children. We find Caitlin, we find Jacob, they’re bound to be together. In the meantime, you can work with the military on getting that formula into circulation. The sooner it spreads the better off we’ll all be. A small team stands a better chance of finding the children that a gaggle of people. Besides, we don’t want that fruitcake finding out we’re in his neck of the woods.”
Tappy reluctantly agreed.
“I would like to go with you?” Joey asked. “It’s partly my fault that the kids are missing anyway.”
Huck glanced at Allison. He knew they were both hoping for an outside chance of rescuing Kathay too. “Okay, you’re on.”