Storymania - Weller--A Novel In Work by Woody Floria

Weller--A Novel In Work (5)
Woody Floria

Hendrix stepped off the plain white 737 on to the tarmac into the stifling desert heat at Area 51. He was dressed in civilian clothes, blue jeans, tee-shirt, and a Colorado Rockies Baseball cap. Col. Hendrix, a man in a black jump suit with what appeared to be either a 9mm, or 40 cal. Glock in a shoulder holster questioned? Yes, Hendrix replied. Bostick, the man said, extending his hand. Commander of base security. Bostick’s handshake was firm, but not over powering. Come with me Col., we’ve set you up with gear for your trip into the desert. The Rangers are in the pattern for arrival within the next 15 minutes, so we need to hurry. Without further comment, Bostick turned walking away quickly. Hendrix followed Bostick into what appeared to be a non-descript office building. Stacked neatly just inside the door was a backpack with desert fatigues and a booney cap folded on top. There’s a rest room just down the hall on the left, Col., if you could changed as quickly as possible, I’ll get you hooked up with the Ranger team.

Hendrix and Bostick watched as the transport’s ramp lowered and Army Rangers begin to file out. It only took a moment to pick Blalock out of the crowd, as he was obviously the officer in charge. Col. Blalock, Hendrix said, extending his hand? Matt Hendrix, Strategic Air Command, I’m your liaison with General Crocker and this is Mr. Bostick, base security. Blalock shook both hands and then returned his attention to his troops. A moment gentlemen, Blalock asked, then begin issuing orders to his command sergeant. Returning his attention to Hendrix, he asked the obvious. Well Col, what’s our POA? We’re going to take most of your team out to the crash site by chopper to secure the area Hendrix replied. The rest will escort the truck convoy. It’s mainly open desert, but hard packed, so we shouldn’t have a big problem getting the trucks on site. We have some recon photos of the site, looks like a bit of a mess, but it also looks like the ship is in one piece, for the most part, Hendrix continued. Lucky break, Bostick commented, we usually only gets bits and pieces. The choppers were starting their wind up, so Hendrix gave Blalock a nod and the two men turned to get boarded. Going with us, Hendrix asked Bostick? Negative, sir, Bostick replied. My job is base security and I’ve got plenty on my plate, but good luck gentlemen, I’ll see you when you get back.

Peanut Brown was on the Interstate with his cruise set three miles above the posted speed limit. He had a steaming 24 oz cup of hot coffee and Chicago XXX in the CD player. Reaching for his cell phone, he keyed in a quick text message. “Jo Jo’s at noon.” 30 seconds later a reply came back. “My treat.”

Shanna Miller was dozing is her hospital bed with her son tucked in next to her asleep, when the door opened and her husband came in looking tired and disheveled. Dan Weller walked quickly to the side of the bed, reached down and held her in a tight embrace. Tears began to roll down her face as they just held each other in silence. Gallagher waited outside in the hall and spoke quietly to his second in command by cell phone. What’s your disposition, Rocky? We’re off site Roy, and in transit back to Houston. Any problems getting clear, Gallagher asked. Negative, we got out clean. The FBI guys are still on site, but they moved their car into the garage and when we left they were piled up in the living room watching Comedy Central. Nice, Gallagher thought to himself, like nothing ever happened. What about the package?
Got it packed on dry ice Rocky replied, we’ve got a charter flight out to Vegas booked and we’ll drive it out to 51 by rental. Better get a four wheel drive, Rocky, Gallagher cautioned, I understand the roads are pretty rough. Way ahead of you Roy, Rocky replied.

Major Ed Furlough watched as the alien craft was unloaded and moved into the hanger at the S-4 facility. The S-4 hangers were tunneled into the side of a mountain and the most secure location in the entire base. Furlough was a little frustrated, because the unloading process had been delayed until a window was available with no satellite coverage within range. He was also a bit wired and edgy on caffeine. He had been over 24 hours without sleep and the stress of the last 24 hours was really wearing on him. Bostick had the place wired down tight. The guy was a real harass, but Furlough liked him, and called him G. Gordon, behind his back. Son of a bitch, Bostick exclaimed, we finally got one intact!! Yea, now if we can just hold on to it, Furlough mused. Oh, we’ll hold on to it, Bostick assured him, take a look. Outside the three foot thick blast resistant hanger doors, a truck was pulling into position, and Blostick’s men were obviously in the process of setting up some sort of camouflage netting. What cha got up your sleeve, Furlough asked. Ground to air missile defense system, Bostick replied. Think you’re guys could knock an alien out of the sky, Furlough asked with a grin? Listen flyboy, Bostick replied with just the slightest touch of irritation, you fighter jocks aren’t the only folks that know how to scoot and shoot. My team knocked down more then a few scuds in the Gulf . Okay, Furlough acknowledged, no offense, I’m just thinking that made in China might be a little easier to deal with then made on Mars, or whatever. Yea, whatever, Bostick replied as he turned and walked away to supervise the air defense arrangements. Furlough just grinned to himself--hardass!!

Hendrix could clearly see the downed ship as the chopper’s rolled over the desert. Circling to get a brief recon of the area, his copper flared and landed approximately 100 yards from the downed craft. Blalock’s chopper was the first down, and his men were already out and deploying in a skirmish line. Just as Hendrix begin to jump from the chopper, he was jolted violently to his left and then knocked to his knees. Alarms were screaming from the cockpit and smoke was filling the cabin. In an instant, Hendrix
could hear automatic weapons fire from Blalock’s Rangers. Struggling to regain his footing, Hendrix was jostled and knocked about by the Rangers attempting to get up and off the stricken chopper. Rolling to his right, he hit the ground hard, but quickly regained his feet. Looking around, he saw what appeared to be laser fire coming from behind an outcropping of rocks. The entire scene was surreal, like something out of Star Wars. There were Ranger’s down in the field of fire, and other Rangers returning fire. Blalock was signaling his men to pull back as a Cobra gunship roared overhead firing a stream of hot lead and tracers into and around the outcropping. The rocks literally shattered and disintegrated under the blistering onslaught. As the gunship pulled up and around to make a second pass, two Rangers fired 40mm grenades into the rocks with devastating results, 15 seconds later, the gunship bore down on its second pass, completely oblitering the area in a hail of concentrated fire.

In an instant, it was over as quickly as it had started. The air was filled with smoke and the smell of spent gun powder. Blalock issued terse orders to his men as they began to advance on the outcropping. Jogging to catch up, Hendrix joined Blalock just as they made their way to within 10 feet of the outcropping. What they saw was sickening. The splattered remains of what appeared to be two or possibly three aliens. The entire area had been hosed down so completely, it was practically impossible to tell. Blalock was on the comms to the Cobra pilot looking for additional resistance. Deploying his men to recon the area, Blalock finally took a moment to address Hendrix. I’ve got men down, we’ve got to get them taken care of before anything else happens here. Confirm, Hendrix agreed, what do you need me to do. I doubt they have the medical facilities we need at 51, and I can’t imagine Crocker’s going to want us evacing our men to ER facilities back in Vegas, so get on the horn and find out what he wants us to do?

In an instant, Hendrix had his cell phone out and was speed dialing General Alfred Crocker. Amazing he thought to himself, I actually have a signal out in the middle of no-damn-place!! Crocker answered almost immediately. What’s happening Matt? Bad situation here General, Hendrix replied. We got hit, ambushed. AMBUSHED, Crocker cut in with a tone of astonishment? Yes sir, Hendrix replied, apparently some of the aliens survived the crash and took a hard stand. They fired on you, Crocker asked in absolute amazement, with what? Don’t really know General, Hendrix replied, looked like some sort of laser weapons, but bad enough to take a chopper out. Incredible, Crocker exclaimed. What’s your status now? We have situational control here sir, Hendrix replied, but we have WAI and need to medical evac ASAP. How serious are your injured Matt, Crocker questioned. Serious sir, we have four men down with what appears to be sever burns. Okay, here’s what we’re going to do Matt, Crocker replied. Get your injured stabilized and back to 51 ASAP. I’ll have a MAC flight inbound post haste. We’ll get your injured in the air to Bamsy. They have the best burn specialist in the world!! Roger that, Hendrix replied!! Turning to Blalock, Hendrix relayed Crocker’s instructions.

In-fucking-credible Crocker exclaimed to his aide. They actually fired on our troops. The situation seems to be heating up general, Courville replied. No shit Chris, this is unprecedented. We’ve had a few scrapes in the air with them before, but even at Roswell, the lone alien survivor didn’t resist. Well sir, Courville pontificated, if we’re going to be brutally honest, it’s us that have upped the anti. We have gone on the offensive!! That’s one way to look at it Chris, Crocker acknowledged, but at the same time, it’s high time those little bastards begin to realize that United States of America is a sovern and independent nation, and as such, we have every right to protect ourselves against all invaders. Being from another universe, doesn’t give them some special dispensation from respecting our right to self defense. True Sir, Courville replied, but I’m just thinking about how the President will react to this latest development. Well, I guess we better find out, Crocker acknowledged.
Make the call Chris, better he hear it now from me, then later from someone not directly in the loop.

Once, Courville had departed, Crocker opened his cell phone’s addresses book and quickly hit number 29 on the speed dial list. Al, you devious bastard, General Taylor Boswell answered. What the Hell do you want, a rematch? No thanks Bos, Crocker replied, at 20 bucks a hole, Golf is too much like a contact sport for me to take you on again!! You’re flattering me Al, and that scares me, because I always know it means you want something. You have me dead to rights on that Bos, Crocker replied, but this is business. Okay Al, what can I do for you, Boswell questioned. I’m sending some Rangers in to your ER via MAC transport just as fast as I can get them there. I don’t know the nature, or extent of their injuries, but they’re burned and it looks bad. That’s what we do Al, Boswell replied. I know, Crocker Acknowledged, but this is “black” Al, I can’t stress that enough!! I’m going to need your best people and they have to know how to keep their mouths shut. I’ll handle it personally Al, Boswell confirmed. Thanks Bos, I wish I didn’t have to be so cloak and dagger with you on this, but it really is a matter of national security. I understand Al, Boswell acknowledged, I’ll give you a call as soon as I can give you something concrete on your Troopers. Appreciate it, Bos, Crocker replied. No problem Al, give my best to the misses. I will Bos, I promise, just as soon as she’s talking to me again..

The sun was just starting to set as the transport trucks arrived at the crash site. Getting dark, Blalock remarked, no way we’re going to get this mess cleaned up tonight. Roger that, Hendrix confirmed and it’s getting cold. No shit, Blalock acknowledged, and we got no camping gear, or fire wood. Well, let’s give Bostick a call and see what he can do about that. Okay, that can be your little project, I’m going to get a defensive perimeter set up for the night.

President Jon Mathews stood in front of the “big board” in the White House war room 100 feet below the historic old structure. A display of “The Fence” was being displayed and General Alfred Crocker was on speaker from Crystal Mountain. I understand sir, it’s like nothing we’ve ever seen? Damnit Al, this shit is getting serious. Up on the big board display, there were over 30 Angels airborne in and around Area 51 and two dozen more within a hundred mile radius. So far, it just looks like a show of force Mr. President, Crocker confirmed. We haven’t seen any aggressive behavior. What the fuck Al, Mathews exclaimed, you don’t call a concentration of 50 alien space craft within a 100 miles radius of our most secret and secure military base aggressive behavior? Well sir, Crocker exclaimed, they aren’t firing on us. No, not yet, Mathews acknowledged, but you’ve got to wonder when that will start? We’ve got air defense on full alert sir, and we can scramble fighters in on a moments notice. Hold your fire there Al, the President cautioned. I don’t want to get into a pissing match with these guys just yet. Let’s just stay cool and see what they’re up to? I agree sir, Crocker confirmed, but it is my recommendation that we get our fighters in the air. Okay Al, Mathews replied. Get our guys up, but keep them 200 miles away and spread them out. We can put up a show of force to, but force tempered with discretion. Confirm sir, Crocker acknowledged.

As he was issuing the orders required to get fighter airborne and into position, Crocker cell phone rang. Looking down at the caller Id, he immediately answered. Matt, what’s your status? We have the transport trucks on site, it’s dark, cold, and we’re seeing a lot of strange lights up in the sky. Confirm Matt, we’ve got a real ugly situation brewing here. It looks like our friends are very serious about getting their property back. I’ve been getting the same impression, Hendrix confirmed. Okay Matt, I’ve got fighters up, but we’re holding them back until we have a better indication of our friend’s intent. Well sir, I’d only be guessing, but at this point, I’m thinking they intend to fly down here and kick our ass just any minute now. I’m afraid you might be right Matt, Crocker confirmed, so I’m going to leave the call up to you. Fight, or flight? Hold one sir, Hendrix requested, let me talk to Blalock. Looking over, he filled Blalock in on the situation. It’s our call Joe, we can stay and try to hold our position, or pull back? I don’t like the idea of giving ground I’ve already had to shed blood to take, Blalock growled. Nodding his consent, Hendrix returned to Crocker. We’re going to try to hold sir. Okay Matt, we’ve got you up on the big board, if they start coming in on your position, we’ll get air cover in as fast as we can. Roger that sir, Hendrix acknowledged, we’re going to dig in here. Good luck, Matt, stay in touch!!

UPDATE # 4 STARTS HERE

Dr. Jose Phillips entered Shanna Weller hospital room quietly and noted Dan Weller asleep in the bed adjacent to his wife’s. Good evening Mrs. Weller, I’m Doctor Phillips. Good evening doctor, Shanna Weller replied, when can I get out of here and go home? Well, medically speaking there’s no reason you can’t leave right now. Great, Shanna replied, nothing personal doc, but I’m ready to get the Hell out of Dodge!! I’ll get the paperwork started then, Phillips replied. By the way, just to put your mind at ease, the baby is fine. Heartbeat is strong and there are no indications of any problems. BABY, Shanna Weller asked in confusion, you mean my son? No Mrs. Weller, Phillips replied, your baby. I don’t have a baby Dr Phillips, I’m not pregnant!! Now Phillips showed confusion!! You didn’t know, Phillips asked? You are pregnant, about 8 to 10 weeks!! There’s NO WAY Doctor, it must be a mistake!! I’m on birth control and I just had my period last week!! There’s no mistake Mrs. Weller, we did an ultra sound and you are very definitely pregnant!! Shanna’s mind was reeling! She and Dan had made a conscious decision not to have any more children. Neither wanted another child to have to go through the trauma their son was being subjected to. Almost reflexively, Shanna swung her feet over the side of the bed, slid down to the floor, reached over and shook her husband. Wake up Dan, we need to talk!!

Major Ed Furlough stood just outside the blast doors of the S-4 Hanger with Bostick watching the night sky. DAMN, the MUFON guys over on Freedom Ridge must be having orgasm!! No shit, Bostick agreed, it’s looking like the final scene from Close Encounters Of The Third Kind up there. Are your guys tracking targets, Furlough asked? No way, Bostick replied, we’ve got HARM technology, so you know they do to, but we can go hot quick if we need to, and at this range no doubt we can do some damage!!
I don’t know about you, but I’ve seen enough Furlough continued. I think it’s high time we battened down the hatches. Roger that, Bostick agreed, let’s get hunkered down, there’s no telling what we’re in for tonight. Are you scared, Furlough asked? Damn straight, Bostick replied. Scared shitless, but what can you do? Returning to the hanger, Furlough flipped the switch that closed the heavy, blast doors. Bostick was already checking on his team. The air defense missile controls were fully manned and ready to go operational at a moments notice. The whole base is on alert, Bostick informed Furlough, for what it’s worth. Yea, for what’s it’s worth, Furlough agreed?

Gallagher’s cell phone rang, and he was relieved to hear Rocky’s voice on the line. Did you get my message? Yea I just got it Boss, Rocky replied. Sorry for the delay, but they made us turn our cell phones off on the flight. Yeah I know, Gallagher replied, they fuck with the navigation systems, or something like that. So what’s the deal, Rocky asked? Find yourself a hotel and sit tight, there some kind of shit going down at the base tonight, and there no way I want you out on that lonely stretch of highway until we get a better grip on the situation. No problem Roy, Rocky replied, I’m sure I can find something to occupy my time in Vegas!! Negative, Gallagher replied!! I hate to be a killjoy, but you need to find some place in the heart of the city and sit on your package. Guard it with your life!! Jesus Roy, don’t ya think I’m going to look a little weird checking into a four star Vegas hotel with a 100 quart ice chest in tow? It’s Vegas Rocky, Gallagher replied, there’s no such thing as weird!!

Go to part: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10