Weapon III

https://vocal.media/chapters/weapon-d23ba09q6

https://vocal.media/chapters/weapon-ii

The links to parts1&2 are above.

Alan waited in his office, nursing a pounding headache while the results from various searches came in. The Marines, in true military efficiency, brought their specimens to him first.

“What do you have for me, Sargent?”

“These are all the shiny dead bugs my men and I could find, Sir.” The Sargent reached across and placed two large mayonnaise jars full of insects on my desk.

“Did you notice anything unusual about any of them or where you found them?”

“Only that they all had hard shells, and we found them in clusters outside the ambassador’s and other high-ranking officials’ quarters, including yours.”

“Were there any live ones?”

“A few, Sir, but they flew off before we could catch any.”

“Tell your men I said thank you. You’ve been very helpful, Sargent.”

Shortly after the Sargent left, the head of housekeeping entered my office with a plastic container filled with dead pests. They were identical to the ones brought in by the Sargent. My men returned a short time later with multiple zip lock plastic bags filled with more of the same dead shiny bugs. Now it was time to examine these critters.

I’m not an entomologist, but it was clear even to me that these were all the same species. I took one from each container and held my magnifying glass over them.

“Hey, Jack, come here for a minute.”

My assistant came in from the office next to mine. I handed him the magnifying glass.

“Tell me if you see anything odd about these bugs.”

“They don’t have any heads, Boss. Instead, they have what looks like an antenna where their heads should be.”

“So, I’m not seeing things! These aren’t insects at all, they’re a miniature drone. I need to send a few of these to headquarters at Langly. While we’re waiting for the tech boys to analyze what we send them, we’ll do a little investigating of our own.”

“Sounds like a plan, Boss. Where do you want to start?”

“Get Bill in here. He’s our resident computer geek. Hopefully, he will have a few ideas.”

Before Jack made it to the door, a faint buzzing noise disrupted the otherwise quiet office. Someone had reactivated several of the dead drones that were lying on my desk. The ones still lumped together in jars, bags, and containers remained dormant. I grabbed the paperweight off the desk while Jack used the spyglass and we quickly terminated the machines before they could emit that brain splitting signal. Next, we gathered up all the containers and placed them in my office refrigerator. I hoped the insulated fridge walls, coupled with the cold, would keep them from reactivating, for now at least.

Jack and I caused enough of a commotion that several of the staff rushed to see if there was anything they could do to help. Bill was one of them.

“What’s with all the ruckus, Alan?”

“Bill, just the man I wanted to see. Check this out and tell me what you make of it.”

“You want me to inspect a bug? I’m a computer engineer, not a bugologist.”

“Use my magnifying glass and take a closer look before deciding.”

“Holy shit, what is this thing? Who ever built this really knows his way around micro-computers. It uses light for a power source and the smallest transceiver I’ve ever seen. Where did you get it, Alan?”

“Hell, I have a whole refrigerator full of them. I think these little drones are what’s causing everyone’s brain issues. Maybe not one lonely bug, but by using a swarm of them, it could be disastrous. Do you have any idea who could create these things?”

Bill stayed quiet for several minutes before reluctantly offering his answer.

“There is only one person I know of with the skills to build a drone this sophisticated. His name is Edward Hapsburg, my half-brother.”