THE ENEMY WITHIN

THE ENEMY WITHIN Chapter 10

10.

Twilight descended over the desert where an iguana crested a dune to look out on the curious scene unfolding below.

Like a dragon awakening in a fury, a fighter jet roared to life with a burst of fire. A sphere stood atop a mechanical arm just beyond the jet. It was the size of a hot air balloon with an opaque gray surface.

Heat waves distorted the concrete bunker a quarter mile away. Behind the concrete and two-inch thick shatterproof glass, Kitamura made final adjustments for the display. His team of engineers had already done so, but Kitamura didn't like to proceed until he had looked over every detail. He turned to Colonel Jasper as the man took a bite from an apple. "We're ready."

"Northern spy," Colonel Jasper said holding up the apple core when he was done, as if the test before him couldn't be of less significance. "The kind of apple. Seems like something they'd have come up with during the cold war, but it's actually from the 1870's. They'd have been screwed if the Sat showed up back then. Let's see if enlightenment lets us fare any better." He threw the core in the trash and nodded.

They lowered their goggles.

The sphere, which was actually thousands of tiny orbs bound together, pulsed a single time. The air around it crackled and sparked to life. Flashes became frenetic. The sphere's surface grew brighter. Sparks circled like a swarm of radioactive fireflies.

Colonel Jasper broke out his baseball. "Status?"

"All systems green," Kitamura said, awaiting the order to initiate the test experiment.

There was nothing but the sound of leather meeting flesh as Jasper tossed the ball up in the air. Kitamura watched the air glow with a near supernatural light. What could the Colonel possibly be waiting for? Then it struck him - if this didn't work, they had no backup. He glanced at his superior, whose eyes were locked, not on the sphere or the jet, but the baseball gripped in his hand.

At long last, Jasper uttered a single word. "Proceed."

Outside the bunker, the sphere glowed a violent white. Then the sparks subsided and radiation shot out. Intense energy waves shot across the desert sands and engulfed the fighter jet.

Millions of sparks danced along the jet's surface as the waves swept over it. The engine sputtered and then shut down. The fire went out. The jet's roar faded away. The dragon was dead. Jasper made a rare fist of victory.

The duo walked out of the bunker onto the sands. "This may be mankind's greatest weapon in the future," Jasper said, taking in the grand design.

"Perhaps in the future, mankind won't need great weapons," Kitamura said, lifting his goggles.

Jasper looked at him like he was mad. "Have it loaded in the next thirty-six hours," he said as the sparks dissipated.

"We'll need more time."

Jasper took out his pistol.

Kitamura didn't even have a chance to react before Jasper aimed the gun at the Lieutenant's feet and fired. Kitamura didn't dare move.

Jasper reached past Kitamura's leg and picked up a dead Gila monster. Its head was huge. One bite and Kitamura might have been done before they were up in the chopper.

"A world without weapons, eh?" Jasper said, depositing the dead reptile over Kitamura's shoulder.

Kitamura quickly shuddered the beast off and ran after his boss. "Sir, is this really the best way? Couldn't we try to locate Max and find out –"