The Twelve Stones (43 page)

“Get the aircraft to hover directly over that carport; I’ll take care of the rest.”

The pilot nodded and pushed the collective back down. Kline released his pilot and opened the door. Geoffrey
,
still pale from their near miss in the helicopter
,
screamed to his boss over the rushing wind. “Where are you going?”

“To find us a parking spot.” Kline replied nonchalantly as he jumped out of the helicopter and onto the carport below.

Landing on the roof and crushing several panels of the delicate solar panel equipment, Kline fell, rolling down the side of the carport and onto the ground below. Standing, he brushed himself off as he approached the nearest beam that held the expansive carport up.

Clutching it tightly, he grunted and removed the beam, the roof tearing where he took it off. Chucking the beam like a piece of trash, he threw it away into the field beyond the complex’s fences. He moved, tearing off another piece of the corrugated metal carport and throwing the remains into the field and river beyond.

He folded his hands, cracking his knuckles as he approached the truck that had been plugged into the metal beam he had just thrown into the water. He smiled and picked the truck up as if it were one of his favorite toys. Spinning it on one finger, he tossed that too into the river, the water and waves washing up onto the high banks.

He turned and casually tossed another light pickup truck into the water.
The helicopter should have plenty of room to land now
,
he thought to himself. He looked up, smiling and waving at his helicopter above him, pointing to its new landing pad.

The helicopter settled once again into a hover above the spot. Bit by bit, it lowered itself down
,
finally landing perfectly. The pilot killed the engine. There was work to do if he wanted to get this bird back flying in the air safely.

The pilot opened his door
.
“I’ve never seen anything like that
,
”
h
e said
,
staring at Kline in wonder. “How’d you…”

Kline waved dismissively. “Fix the chopper. Mr. Tate and I have an appointment inside. Be ready to take off when we return
.
I
s
that clear?”

“Yes sir, Mr. Kline.” The pilot swallowed. It might be best to forget what he had seen and just fix the helicopter if he wanted to go home tonight. He grabbed his tools and headed back to the tail rotor of the aircraft
,
intent on finding out how badly it was damaged.

“Mr. Tate, you’re with me.” Kline began walking towards the four buildings where a crowd of people had gathered to watch the helicopter land. There usually wasn’t this much excitement at the Allen Telescope Array. The pair of them strode past the first group of people, ignoring their whispers and furtive glances.

“Sir, you think we may have made too much noise with that landing?” Geoffrey asked his boss nervously. Kline stopped, turned on his heel
,
and addressed his second in command.

“Perhaps you’re right. Ahem…” Kline cleared his throat
.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the Allan Telescope Array, my apologies for my somewhat dramatic entrance
,
which may have interrupted your day here at work.”

A security guard
,
complete with radio and flashlight
,
approached Kline and Geoffrey somewhat hesitantly.

“Sir, you need to come with me
,
”
t
he
security guard said nervously
.
“I don’t…” The words out of his mouth were cut off as Kline’s hand shot out, clutching the security guard’s throat.

“I’m just curious,” Kline asked
,
his eyes looking up and down the man’s face, “What brings you to this point in your life? Surely you had some larger dream than sitting in a windowless office in the middle of nowhere?”

The guard couldn’t respond. The crowd of people who had gathered around began running in fear. Kline watched them scatter off, his attention momentarily distracted
.
“Doesn’t matter
,
I suppose
.
Y
ou’re
here now, you’re in my way, but it’s possible you serve a larger purpose that I’m currently unaware of.” Kline tossed the man hard, throwing his body through the plate glass window entrance.
The man landed on the ground hard, bleeding profusely from several cuts. He slumped over as he moaned in pain. Kline ignored him and Geoffrey followed him as they briskly walked into the complex.

Geoffrey was already moving to the main counter. Typing furiously on the keyboard in front of him, he located the office they were looking for. “She’s in Building 3,
O
ffice
138
,
which just across the way from us here.”

Kline surveyed the damage in front of him. This would need to be cleaned up.

“Disable whatever security system they have and format the security drives. Leave nothing behind!”

Geoffrey nodded and began to type rapidly on the keyboard in front of him.

Kline exited the main building and into the courtyard behind it. There, surrounded by several different types of wildflowers, trees and plants, he walked down the narrow path, towards the other large building with several satellite dishes situated on top of the roof.

Approaching the door, he tried it, finding it locked. Sighing heavily, he tore the door off its hinges, tossing it behind him.

People screamed as Kline peered into the lobby of the Allan Telescope Array. He opened his jacket and removed a gleaming black rectangular gun. The front was flat and square
,
with nine tiny holes drilled into the end of the barrel. It was one of the more devious guns Kline’s company had invented. Inside the magazine were
900
tiny aerodynamic hypodermic needles filled with a potent neurotoxin. These people here were men and women of science
,
and Kline wished them no harm.

The toxin was designed to stop limbic activity
—
that is to say, paralyze his victims instantly. After Geoffrey’s description of Mr. McCray’s vulnerability to non-lethal types of weapons, he had picked up his needle gun from the personal store he kept with him at all times in his trailer. There, he had every type of weapon imaginable, and some that were still highly classified by the Department of Defense. His close connections with the DoD had enabled him to get his hands on some potent weapons in the past, the needle gun being no exception.

Inserting a high
-
pressure CO2 cartridge, he aimed and fired the needles rapidly into the oncoming crush of terrified scientists. The needles spat out the end of the gun rapidly, hitting several men and women in lab coats. The crush of people made it impossible for the rest to get past Kline. He giggled as the darts hit his intended targets, their terrified faces falling helplessly to the floor as if they were living dolls that had suddenly been turned off.

The truth was much more terrifying. The men and women who fell victim to his needles were awake, paralyzed in a living nightmare, unable to move their limbs or do much of anything except breath
e
and feel the tingling toxin working its way through their nervous system. In a few hours, they would be quite all right once again, but in the meantime, they would be stuck as prisoner
s
in their own
bod
ies
.

Kline exited the lobby, turning a corner and walking down the hallway lit by bright fluorescent bulbs. Turning to his left, he ran into a group of people running down the opposite end of the hallway. The group stood there, all frightened for their lives as they watched the man in the impeccable suit hold the gun on them.

“Where is Office 138?” Kline asked
,
his voice low and gritty.

A woman with her chin held high looked with disapproval at Kline. “Why are you here? There’s nothing of value here for you to take! What could you possibly want?”

“Emily Harper.” Kline said menacingly. “I’ve got her resume and I’m just dying to meet her.”

“She’s a goner, left hours ago
,
”
o
ne of the other scientists offered up quickly. The woman hugged the lab coat around her tiny frame as she stepped
up
to Kline. “I don’t even know if she’ll be back.” Behind her, she grasped a fire extinguisher, and as Kline approached her, she could feel the sweat on her hands as she clutched her improvised weapon. If only he stepped a few feet closer...

“Shame.” Kline flipped the switch on his needle gun and fired an open spread of six needles tipped with the nightmarish neurotoxin.

The group of them fell,
each struck with a needle and paralyzed
. Kline saw the woman who had confronted him clutching the fire extinguisher. He laughed and crouched next to
her
. “What exactly did you think you were
going to do with that?” Kline hissed in her ear
,
licking his lips. “I suppose, in another universe, it’s possible you killed me. You small
nothing
of a woman.

“
You have no idea
of
the forces you are trying to interfere with. You think that you could possibly stand in my way? I know you, I know everything there is to know about you, and we've only now just met. All the challenges you faced growing up, born in a large family, with little to no money or attention. Blessed with brains
,
you scraped and clawed your way through life until you ended up here, in this moment
,
where you
might have
struck down
the most powerful man in the world.”

Geoffrey entered the building
,
seeing his boss stroking the terrified scientist on the ground. He looked at his watch and cleared his throat. His boss’
s
flair for the dramatic was costing them time.

“
Yes
,
I know
,
Mr. Tate. I’m finishing up here.” Kline smoothed the terrified young lady’s hair back on her head. “Today you are the luckiest woman alive, because you stay alive. You go on, lead a normal life, and leave these nerds behind.” Kline stood abruptly, letting the young woman’s head bounce on the floor below.

“
Now,
O
ffice
138
,
I believe it is.”

Kline and Geoffrey strode purposefully down the hallway
,
looking at the various
numbered
plates on the wall. He paused at
N
umber
137, hearing voices from the next room.

“Hey, something’s happening out there
,
”
Kline heard a woman’s voice call out. “People are running towards their cars.”

“I wonder what’s going on
,
”
a
nother
voice asked
.
“Can’t be lunchtime already, can it?”

“If it is, you can buy me lunch. It’s about time you picked up a bill.”

Kline smiled. He walked into the office, a concerned expression on his face.

“Ms. Harper, may I have a moment of your time
,
please?” Kline asked quickly
,
a smile spread
ing
across his face.

Emily turned around
,
surprised by the dark man who had just invaded her office. Tall and serious,
he wore an expensive suit
, and he had an air of unchecked confidence. Kline smirked as he entered the room, his eyes boring into Emily's as he made himself comfortable in the seat facing her desk. Emily looked down at her phone and contemplated her situation. She’d try attitude first and see what happened.

“How can I help you?” Emily asked, moving behind her desk. Christina glanced nervously at her friend.

“My name is Rupert Kline.” Kline readjusted himself in Emily’s office chair. He looked around her
S
partan
office. “Not much in the budget for office equipment
,
I see.”

Neither woman responded. Kline shrugged and crossed his legs as he put his hand to his mouth. He sat silently, staring intently at Emily, not saying a word.

“Can I help you with something?” Emily asked
,
irritated. Christina made a move towards her phone, flipping it open in her pocket as her fingers sought out 911.

“My dear,” Kline waved towards Christina, “Would you mind taking your hands out of your pocket? Your cell phone won’t do you any good here anyway. We’ve got the complex’s entire communications blocked for right now
.
P
lease, miss, I don't want to kill you too.”