General Thornton was stunned when he got the news that Jimmy Malone was missing and presumed dead. Even worse was the situation with the alien Linkh Leode. If he were dead he’d have to tell Kulchz and he didn’t know how he and the rest of the diplomatic mission would take it. If Linkh were alive, where was he? Witnesses had reported that he’d been rescued by Jack Carpenter and some of the bystanders at the Hanson home and then driven off in Jack’s truck toward town about the time the Nanomites struck. Jack hadn’t been seen since, so it was possible he and Linkh had been killed by the Nanomites. But he couldn’t rely on that supposition without substantiation and, so far, he hadn’t found any. He took a deep breath and then dialed the White House. The president’s secretary put him through.
“General Thornton?”
“Yes, Mr. President.”
“This can’t be good that you’re calling me directly.”
‘No, sir. It’s not. Jimmy Malone is missing and presumed dead.”
“What? You’ve got to be kidding?”
“No. I wish I were.”
“What happened?”
Thornton briefed the President on the situation.
“You’re telling me a private citizen has custody of one of our aliens?”
“Well, that’s a distinct possibility, sir. We have to assume it is true and act accordingly.”
“I thought you guys were taking care of Jack Carpenter!” the President said angrily.
“Jimmy had someone on that but apparently there were complications.”
“If Jack Carpenter takes our alien visitor to the press or even the police or FBI, we’re screwed.”
“I know. We won’t let that happen. Captain Winslow has a half dozen of his top investigators out looking for Carpenter as we speak. I’m sure they’ll find him.”
“We’ll have to get another liaison from the CIA to replace Malone.”
“Yes, I have already talked to the Director about that. An agent, code-named Mo, is being assigned and the Director has personally briefed him.”
“Good. Now what is being done to stop these Nanomites?”
“Ah. Nothing yet. I’m afraid we’re going to have to go back to Kulchz and get some ideas on how to contain them. Since they travel underground and through rock, it’s not going to be an easy task.”
“You better get Mo on it ASAP. I can’t believe something so small could cause so much trouble.”
“Apparently there are trillions of them and together they can move mountains.”
“Well, you need to find out from Kulchz how to destroy them. I can’t have any more buildings being swallowed up.
“Yes, Mr. President,” I’ll get right on it”
“Do that and report back to me tomorrow. You must find the alien and silence anyone who has interacted with him. If it’s discovered we have a treaty with an alien world, life on Earth as we know it will be over.”
“Yes, sir,” General Thornton replied. “I know. We’ll find him.”
General Thornton hung up and took a deep breath. He had a splitting headache so he opened his middle drawer, pulled out a bottle of aspirin and shook out three of them. He popped them in his mouth, picked up a water bottle off his desk, and chased them down. After taking a moment to collect his thoughts, he called Captain Winslow who was still at Death Valley Junction trying to make sense of what had happened.
“Captain Winslow,” he said.
“Captain, this is General Thornton.”
“Oh. Hi, general.”
“Any luck finding Jimmy Malone or our consultant?”
“We’ve pulled out Malone’s body but there is no sign of the consultant.”
“So, Malone’s really dead? I can’t believe it. I just saw him a couple days ago.”
“Yes, it happened so suddenly. They came early this morning before the forensic crew got on the job. I didn’t even know they were on site.”
“So, no sign of the consultant?”
“Right.”
“I’ve heard he was rescued by Jack Carpenter. Is that true?”
“That’s affirmative. Apparently Carpenter was watching the Hanson place when Malone and the consultant came to visit. I don’t know what Malone and the consultant were doing here.”
“I sent them there to see if they could help you out.”
“Really? Help me out, how?”
“I can’t say, but it’s urgent that the consultant be found immediately. He possesses classified information that must be protected at all cost.”
“I’ll get a team together to search for him.”
“Good. Any idea where they might be?”
“Yes. They probably went up to Deep Springs College up at Lone Pine where George Palmer works. I have a contact there who’s keeping an eye on Palmer for me.”
“It’s imperative that you take the consultant alive. He’s a diplomat and if he’s killed there will be hell to pay.”
“What about the others? George usually travels with an assistant, Cindy I think her name is, and Jack is usually with Dolly from Mona’s café.”
“Do what you have to do, but we have to put a stop to their investigation. It could undermine our case.”
“Yes, sir.”
“How is the prosecution coming along?”
“We have Reverend Little in custody along with Barnes and Lizzy Arnold. The bodyguard apparently got word that we were looking for him and disappeared.”
“Don’t you need him to effectively prosecute the cases?”
“No, he’s the killer so we want him, but he’s not critical to the prosecution of the others.”
“Where was he seen last?”
“He drove the Reverend home two nights ago but didn’t show up the next morning.”
“Is anybody talking yet?”
“Lizzy Arnold is cooperating, but she claims to know nothing about any murders. She does admit to knowing about the fake healings, but claims to have found out about them after the fact when she witnessed Reverend Little pay off the actors.”
“So, with her testimony and the undercover officers, are we okay?”
“I think so. It may actually help that the bodyguard is missing. He might come up with an alibi that could undermine the whole case.”
“Then if he’s found, shut him up for good.”
“Yes, sir. Understood.”
“Alright. Find the consultant and bring him to me. Don’t let him talk to anyone, no phone calls or any contact with anyone before I see him.”
“Yes, sir.”
General Thornton hung up wondering what he would do if the consultant weren’t found. Then he thought of the new CIA liaison, Mo. That was his job to straighten out this mess. Thornton prayed he’d have some good ideas on how to do it.