Dragon Over Washington (The Third War Of The Bir Nibaru Gods) (12 page)

The heavy oak door opened and Agent Winder entered the room. Winder was a large, beefy man with a bull’s neck and a red complexion. He took a seat, staring intently at the director and ignoring everyone else.

The director got up and walked to a large map of the United States that was hanging on one of the walls. Thorpe used the pause to glance at the three agents sitting next to him. Mathew was sitting at attention, on the edge of his chair, his back ramrod straight. Graham was leaning back, sitting comfortably. Graham noticed Thorpe looking at him and winked. Thorpe grinned back. Winder kept staring at the director like a vulture.

The director stared at the map on his wall for a while and then briskly walked back to his desk and sat down behind it.

“Agents, you will form a team under my direct command. This team’s mission will be to handle any kind of event that may have any connection to the Russian crisis. You are hereby relieved of all other duties. This will be cleared with your section heads. We must get to the bottom of this matter, whatever the cost. We will proceed in the following manner: Secrecy is out first priority. Cover must not be blown at any cost. Agent Graham, you will make sure agents on the scene understand this. You will send a team to Owego and find out what is going on over there. Your agents have forty-eight hours. Agent Mathew, I want you to prepare a rapid deployment force in case something resembling the Russian crisis starts in Colorado. Have a heavy-weapons company from the 101 and a Predator battalion readied for combat deployment within twenty-four hours. The cover story must be maintained at all times. Agent Mathew, you may be required to put your men right into a battle zone; take this into consideration. As for Agent Winder, your team in Libya will cooperate fully with this investigation even if this means suspending their current mission. Is this clear, agents?”

“Sir! Yes, Sir!” The Agent Mathew barked. Agent Graham merely nodded and Agent Winder said nothing.

“You will be informed of any new information we manage to gather from Russia. I will contact the State Department again and advise them that they must open up talks on this matter with the Russian government. We cannot let this matter get out of hand. Agent Mathew, get a hold of any witnesses of the attack in Colorado and make sure you learn anything they know. Agents, this matter is of the highest priority. It - Thorpe, is anything wrong?”

The huge grin plastered on Thorpe’s face has disappeared, replaced by a sickly green tint.

“Ah - I just - it’s that I just thought these things are interesting. Why go to all this trouble?” Thorpe piped. The director turned to Thorpe’s own presentation and passed through the slides quickly. He found the image of the hot objects in the mountains.

“Thorpe, presumably you have been given a modicum of intelligence. Please oblige the taxpayers who pay your salary by using it. There is an unknown foe in the Ural Mountains using unknown weapons, unknown communication means along with an unknown language. This foe seems to be holding its own against several Russian motor rifle divisions. You have given me an indication that this foe may be entering this country. Worse, it may already be inside. You are an analyst. It is your job to think of the consequences. If you aren’t capable of doing this please do the Agency a favor and tell me.”

The director’s voice was scathing. Thorpe looked down at the floor. The director turned to the close-up image of one of the objects and stared at it for a time.

“Agents, if you encounter a problem of any sort I want to be informed of it immediately. Thorpe will brief you thoroughly on the situation. Thorpe will coordinate all aspects of intelligence gathering on this operation. I repeat, Thorpe, you are in charge of intelligence gathering. Your top priority is finding out what is going on in Colorado, as well as searching for indications of additional contacts elsewhere. We must not allow the Russian crisis to spread onto American soil. I will be waiting for confirmation from you before sending out the troops. Do you understand?”

Thorpe’s features had acquired a sickly cast.

“Me? In – in - in charge? But - but, I just do -” Thorpe shut up, frozen by the director’s gaze.

“Agents Mathew and Graham, I want you here in precisely six hours with detailed operational plans. Thorpe, I want you here in eight hours. Winder, see that your team is reassigned to this investigation. Dismissed.”

The agents rose and left, Graham dragging a stunned Thorpe outside. Thorpe was horrified, replaying the meeting in his mind over and over. His easy, carefree existence was about to end. He would have to work around the clock, answering urgent pleas for information, serving demands as best he could. He barely managed to cope with his mother, who thought he still needed constant care and called him at least three times a day.

Thorpe’s shoulders slumped and his hands were getting sweaty. He never thought what he discovered in Colorado may have any connection to whatever was happening in the Urals. He probably didn’t want to think about it. He definitely didn’t want to think what would happen when the seven weeks in the message were up, if The Man was right.

Slowly, though, anger took over. He looked resentfully at the three agents walking away. He wasn’t a department head or section chief, or even a field agent. He was an analyst. Why should he care if something happened in Colorado? It wasn’t his job. He wasn’t paid to care. It was just a game for him, really, just trying to figure out what was going on. It was like playing a quest on his PC, jiggling all the puzzle keys till they fitted.

There was another thing, though: that cloud moving above the ocean in straight lines. He hadn’t said anything about it to anyone, but what could it mean? This was something even more impossible, even more so than the other events. Thorpe feared The Man’s response if he knew about it. Though he told himself he didn’t really care, he tried to think what the consequences of something being able to move a cloud in straight lines could be.

“Thorpe?” The director snapped and Thorpe was rudely shaken from his musings. Thorpe turned around. It was easier to face the director than face the things his imagination was creating.

“I do not seem to remember authorizing KH11 usage,” the director said, matter-of-factly. “Ah – uh  -” Thorpe was dumbstruck.

The director pressed a button on his desk.

“Molly, tell Rouganov to come to my office,” the director barked.

“Oh, shit,” Thorpe muttered. He looked around him frantically, but there was no way he could escape before Dmitry arrived.

Day 10 after Earth Barrier Breach.

Owego, Tioga County, New York State, United States. Wednesday, 18:40.

The blue and green bus stopped at the station at the junction of County Road 38 and Main Street. Several passengers disappeared inside the bus, and it continued on its way out of town, moving across the bridge and towards Endicott.

A woman was left standing in the bus station, staring after the bus and its ‘“Tioga County”‘ sign. She was at that indeterminate age between 25 and 30, and not really thin, since she was rather big-boned, though she certainly possessed all the right curves in the right places.

The woman threw her long black hair backward and looked around her. The apartment houses along Main Street were relatively low, three and four stories high, mostly from red brick. Stores occupied the ground floors, people living in the upper stories. She smiled as she looked at the few, carefully tended trees and bushes lining the streets.

A lot of effort has been invested in the looks of the town, giving it an open, cheerful appearance. Even the street lamps had the picturesque quality of another age, a century ago. The bridge across the river had red and green arched supports. The stores were colorful - signs and awnings decorating the streets.

The woman picked up her backpack - a big one, designed for travelers - and crossed Main Street. She walked slowly, looking around, a small smile playing the comers of her mouth. She handled the large backpack easily, walking in a powerful, graceful way.

Fifteen minutes later, the woman stopped in front of a trio of old men seated on a long bench in front of a small diner. One had a long pipe, thin plume of smoke rising, parked in the corner of his mouth. He was reading a newspaper, the ‘“Tioga Three States Weekly”.‘ He was also snoring lightly, the paper almost dropping from his wrinkled hands.

The other two were playing a game of chess, using pieces that had clearly seen better days, just like the players themselves. One wore a wide-brimmed cowboy hat; the other was chewing tobacco loudly, occasionally spitting. Three mugs of coffee were waiting for them, resting on a small plastic table nearby.

It seemed that they had been sitting there for hours and would probably sit there till nightfall without a care in the world. The woman watched them a moment before the tobacco spitting man turned to spit, saw her and nearly gagged. He recovered, elbowed his snoring companion and made a gesture, as if lifting an imaginary hat from his head.

“Hello there, young missus!” he hollered.

The old man with the hat removed it and the man with the paper folded it carefully and put it aside. She smiled at them and waved. She had long fingers, white and graceful.

“New in town, are you?” The tobacco man asked.

“Actually, I am,” she said, her voice soft.

“Then, you’ve come to the right place, you did! We know everything there is to know about this town, we do. Anything you want, we know where it is,” he said.

“Shut your gob, Harry! Let the girl speak up,” the cowboy-hat man said. He had high boots to match his hat, polished to a mirror-like reflection.

“I was looking for a place to stay. You know, a motel or something. I don’t have a lot of money, though,” she said, smiling,

“Well, ain’t this your lucky day! Susie here has the best place in town. Clean sheets, a great view and wonderful character,” the tobacco man said.

The cowboy turned to him.

“How the hell do you know how clean her sheets are?” he asked.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” the tobacco man said, grinning wildly.

The woman laughed and they turned to her.

“Is this her place?” she asked. The diner behind them was called ‘“Susie’s Place”.’ The recently fixed front window sported pink curtains. Several plastic tables could be seen inside.

“Is a frog’s ass watertight, young missus?” The tobacco man said, giggling.

“Watch your waggling tongue in front of a lady, Harry,” the cowboy said.

“You go on right ahead, young missus. Just tell old Susie we sent you and you will be just fine!” said the cowboy to the woman.

“Thanks, guys,” the woman said and entered the diner. A small bell rang. The place was filled with rather greasy cooking smells. Only one table was occupied, a small family gathered around. There was a counter with a few high chairs next to it and a board with the menu.

“Sit down! Sit down! Be with you in a minute,” a deep, cheerful voice shouted from the kitchen.

The woman chose a table, put her backpack carefully on the floor and sat down. She looked at the town through the diner’s windows, watching the cars slowly driving by. Her black eyes followed the occasional passerby, absorbing something of the quiet, peaceful atmosphere of the town.

“Ain’t you a pretty little thing. New in town, are you?” The voice startled the woman and she turned to the speaker. The speaker was a large African American woman, probably more than fifty years old. Her hair was tied in a bun and a huge apron covered her bulk. She smiled as the seated woman blushed.

“Hi. Yeah, I’m new. Everyone keeps asking me that. I’m Ellis.” The women shook hands. The black woman had a steel grip from long years of working in the kitchen. She was somewhat surprised that Ellis’s grip was just as strong.

“Hi. I’m Susie. What can I get you, sugar?” The big woman cheerfully asked.

“Well, those nice men outside said you had a room for rent. I am looking for a room for several days,” Ellis said.

“What nice men? Do you mean those three ol’ goats? I’d drive them out if I could find a broomstick sturdy enough! But look at you honey, you’re all skin and bones. I’ll put something into you and then we’ll talk about the room,” Susie said. Ellis laughed.

“Okay, okay. But let me warn you, I’m, like, a vegetarian. No meat,” Ellis said. She laughed again as she saw the horrified expression on the black woman’s face.

“Youngsters today, all gone over! At least I can get you a pizza and a salad, how’s that sound?” Susie said.

“Sounds great, Susie.”

“Tuna on the pizza?” Susie asked.

“Yeah, sure. Tuna is great,” Ellis said.

“Won’t be five minutes, honey,” Susie said. She stopped by the door to the diner on her way to the kitchen and stuck her head out.

“You billy goats stay away from my clients!” She hollered.

“Don’t get yer panties in a wod. If it wasn’t for us, you wouldn’t have any clients!” Ellis heard the tobacco man shout cheerfully back.

“Ha!” Susie sniffed and entered the kitchen. Ellis was sitting with her back to the wall, able to see the kitchen, the entrance to the diner and the door to the john.

Scenes from several locations in Tioga County adorned the walls, depicting snow-filled forests and waterways. Ellis looked at the small family sitting near her, a couple trying to feed a small boy who was much more interested in making life hard for his big sister.

Ellis looked at the recent repair marks on the diner’s front, signs showing where new windowpanes have been installed. There were many signs of damage outside: several of the street’s lamp posts seemed to have been knocked down not long ago and restored. Here and there, broken windows were visible and many trees had broken branches. Every house had at least a few missing bricks, and the pavement was riddled with cracks.

Susie was back, five minutes later, carrying a large tray which she put on a nearby table. She placed a large salad with two sauce bottles before Ellis. Ellis picked up a fork and started to eat the salad while Susie wiped her hands on her apron and sat next to her, the chair creaking under her weight.

“What happened here, Susie? This town looks like someone trashed the place. You’ve been in a war or something?” Ellis asked.

Susie sighed. “You’re just about right there, honey. Several nights ago, the mother-of-all storms came calling. It was raining cats and dogs and there was so much lighting you couldn’t hear anything on the radio, there was only static. Let me tell you, honey, the next day we had people pulling cars out of buildings and branches out of their windows. The street lamps were almost all blown away,” Susie said.

Ellis continued eating thoughtfully, watching Susie from the corners of her eyes.

“If it weren’t for the Sign Bearers, I don’t know how we would have pulled though,” Susie added.

“The who?” Ellis asked, her mouth full as she munched away.

“Well, honey, maybe I already said too much. You wait and see, you’ll meet some of them soon enough if you stick around. Anyway, they helped us put the town back together. Like angels they were, dropping out of the sky,” Susie said.

She looked outside and then turned to Ellis, sizing her up.

“Enough about the town. What about you, sugar? What are you looking at in this town?” Susie asked.

Ellis moved the salad plate aside and cut herself a slice of pizza. She lifted it up and took a big bite.

“I was up in New York City, Susie. I got bored and decided to move on,” Ellis said.

“Oh? Are you in some kind of trouble? You can tell ol’ Susie”.”

Ellis smiled.

“No, no. I’m not in trouble. The class I was teaching in New York wasn’t working out too well. I also didn’t like it too much in New York. It’s a big place, Susie. People there don’t have room in their hearts for other people,” Ellis said.

“You had a class there? What do you teach?” Susie asked.

“I’m a Kung Fu instructor,” Ellis said. Susie watched her silently for a moment.

“That’s not a thing for a proper woman to do, honey. Shouting and breaking things all day long. No self-respectable woman here would even think about it. A good thing you quit it, honey,” Susie said.

Ellis grinned, her white teeth gleaming.

“I don’t break things, Susie. That’s karate. But think about it. How many women are hurt by men? How many get raped? How many wives are beaten by their husbands? If only they knew a way to protect themselves, maybe some of the bad things wouldn’t happen. Maybe if a woman who was being attacked wouldn’t freeze up, but would have the presence of mind to kick, shout and run away, things would turn out differently,” Ellis said.

Susie watched her silently for a time.

“You might have a point there, honey,” Susie finally said, grudgingly.

“Yes, Susie. Anyway, you might see me training later on. It’s something every woman should learn. That’s what I teach,” Ellis said.

She cut herself another slice of pizza, but stopped before taking a bite.

“Besides, training does wonders for the figure, Susie,” Ellis said. Susie smiled and was about to say something in return when the bell rang. She turned around to see who had entered the diner.

“Excuse me, honey, one of them angels I was talking about just walked in,” Susie said.

Ellis ate her pizza, watching the tall man who had entered the diner. He was thirty-something, wearing a worn t-shirt and a pair of pants that had obviously seen better days. He looked tired, but smiled an easy smile as Susie walked over. They talked for a while and then the man sat at the counter while Susie went behind and prepared him a glass of orange juice. Then she came around, grabbed him by his arm, and practically dragged him over to Ellis’s table. Ellis hurriedly tried to finish the slice of pizza she was eating.

“Ellis, let me introduce Allan, one of the men who came into town. Without him, my diner would still have a broken front window and no tables to speak off. Allan, this is Ellis. She is staying here for a few days. She will be teaching girls how to defend themselves,” Susie said, making Ellis laugh again.

“I didn’t even see the room, Susie!” Ellis said, getting up.

“Don’t mind Susie here, she tells everyone what to do. Hi, I’m Allan,” the man said.

Ellis started to extend her arm, but looked down and saw it was still greasy from the pizza. She wiped it on her jumpsuit and extended it again. Allan shook it.

“Hi, I’m Ellis”.” There was a moment of silence as they both looked at each other.

“Well, I’ll leave you two young birds together,” Susie said.

“Sorry, Susie, I’ve still got several other places to visit today. It was nice meeting you, Ellis,” Allan said, smiling.

“Likewise.”

“I’ll stop by tomorrow to see if everything is all right, Susie,” Allan said. He left, the bell jingling again as the door opened and closed.

“He’s a nice man, Ellis, real nice. You should really try to get to know him,” Susie said.

“Susie, I just got here. Let’s wait till tomorrow to get me married,” Ellis said mirthfully.

Fifteen minutes later, Susie and Ellis went through the kitchen, and up a small stairway, to the upper stories of the building.

***

On the outskirts of Owego, a black Ford van was parked on the shoulder of State Highway 434. Near the van a young couple sat on a blanket, a simple picnic, bread, cold cuts and a bottle of red wine, was arranged in front of them. They sat embraced, watching the gentle splashing of the Susquehanna River as it gurgled its way onward, the lovely view of Owego as a backdrop. They had each other; and it seemed nothing else existed in their world except the pair of them. The hours passed and the sun started to drop, giving the water a reddish tint.