Weapon V

Alan, Jack, and Bill stared dumbfounded at the now silent phone, while an occasional large piece of concrete from the decimated building across the way fell to the ground, shattering itself into small chunks. The wail of sirens and the shouts from the injured and those attempting to rescue them filled the area surrounding the embassy. Chaos reigned. Without speaking, Alan motioned for his associates to place their phones on the desk and follow him to the SKIF. Once the three were securely inside and the door sealed, they were free to develop a plan of action.

“Okay, gentlemen, we have three days to come up with a plan that will protect our buildings and keep Edward Hapsburg from doing any future damage. Jack, do you have any ideas?”

“Something capable of generating that much power has to be at least as large as a semi-truck. They can’t transport it undetected on these country roads. Why don’t I see what satellite surveillance shows?”

“Bill, you’re up! What do you have for us?”

“Well, I have a couple of thoughts, Alan. I agree with Jack as to the size of the machine, but I don’t think it’s portable. This thing needs a large power source to function and I can’t imagine being able to plug it in along the road somewhere. No, I think it’s right here in the city, camouflaged in one of these many construction sites. They’re probably using a crane boom as a directional antenna. It’s a good place to launch their bug drones from as well. Sorry, Jack, this seems more logical than a mobile platform.”

“No need to apologize, Bill. Your idea makes sense, and you know how Edward thinks better than we do. Instead of checking the fringe areas along the jungle, I’ll concentrate on the construction sites. Is that all right with you, Alan?”

“That makes the most sense. See what the aerial surveillance turns up, Jack. Excellent suggestion, Bill. Now, once we locate this device, I’m sure your brother will have a plan to protect it from attack. What do you think it might be?”

“My brother and I never shared many ideas, but I think if he was under attack, he would use his machine against the attackers. I doubt you would run into traditionally armed resistance, just his bug drones and the main sound wave machine.”

“I was hoping you would say something like that. If Edward’s machine is stationary, then I believe I have a way to neutralize it using mirrors. When I was young and stupid, I played in a rock band. If we were booked in a hall with a lot of mirrors, we would ask that they be removed because the reflective surface distorts the sound. If we can get headquarters to send us enough drones fitted with mirrors, we can reflect the sound beam right back at him. What do you think of that idea, Bill?”

“It could work, but you would need a swarm of drones similar to the ones they use in the 4th of July shows. It’s worth a shot. If Jack can get an exact location, we could send the drones in closer so we would need less of them.”

Hearing his name, Jack looked up from his computer and smiled. “Ask and you shall receive my friends. Look at this video. Watch the air around the top of the crane tower. You can see the surrounding air become distorted just as they launch the sound beam. That is our target. We should send in the cavalry and destroy the place.”

“Sorry, Jack, but that’s not such a good idea. I’m sure my brother will have hundreds, maybe thousands, of his bug drones ready for such an attack. We may capture the place, but it will be at a heavy price. I think Alan’s idea is better.”

The three agreed on a plan and set everything in motion for their counterattack in three days. Their biggest concern was getting the drones pre-fitted with mirrors to their location in time. Another issue was keeping the plan secret. All communication needed to be handled via encrypted lines or on paper. The other embassies under threat had been informed about the imminent danger, but not about the plan to counter it. No one outside of a small group had access to that information.

Alan’s phone rang at noon on day three.

“Good afternoon, Alan! I see you waited until the last minute before evacuating. It’s not like the Russians or the Chinese to pull out first, but they’ve left you holding the bag.”

“They have their orders and I have mine. Edward, have you decided to stop all this nonsense and negotiate a mutually satisfactory agreement?”

“Nothing we can negotiate will be good for the earth. Besides, all I need to do is look at how your side’s negotiations with the Indians turned out to know I can’t trust your side. I gave you three days and your time is up. You have fifteen minutes to evacuate the embassy or perish in the rubble. Goodbye, Alan!”

Alan pushed the launch button, which sent an encrypted code to the drone operators. One thousand drones leaped skyward and raced to a seemingly unoccupied construction site. Mirrored drones slid into position just as the only crane boom vibrated to life. Embassy security watched via video link while the sonic beam was reflected onto itself. The front line of drones crashed to the ground, unable to withstand the sonic vibration, but the second line held. Disrupted by the mirrors, the diverted beam sliced into the facility directly below, pulverizing it.

As he expected, Alan’s phone rang as the dust settled.

“It looks like you and my brother are more resourceful than I gave you credit for. I’ll have to correct that mistake the next time we meet.”

“Not to worry, Edward, we’ll be ready for you.”

Both men ended the call.