Them-2 - Chapter 9

Chapter Nine – Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA



By the time they left Tappy’s lab it was almost seven PM. The Gallagher’s followed Tappy to her home located about a mile from the University Campus, while Huck and Horse made reservations at the Holiday Inn near the University. Both were invited to join them at her home for a late dinner meal, however, Horse volunteered to drive to Louisville to file a preliminary report and drop by and pick up more suitable clothing for both of them. They knew they’d be spending time in the dense woods and perhaps even in the cave systems and the business suits they normally worked in were not conducive to outdoor work. He would meet Huck early in the morning.

Huck took the time to shower and shave, then asked the desk clerk for directions to the best wine shop. The shop was only a few blocks away and he purchased several bottles, one white, one red and one rose, since he did not know what was being served for dinner. With time to kill, he returned to the hotel lounge for a drink.

He was enjoying a cold Dos Equis amber when a familiar face entered the lounge and took a seat at a table across the room from him. Huck was certain that he knew the man, but he could not quite place him. Huck had met many people in conjunction with his work but this person was from another stage in his life. Finally, it came to him. The reason he had not immediately identified him was the missing uniform.

He grabbed his beer and walked over to the man’s table. “Would you like some company, Colonel Grace?” he asked, grinning down at the man. The man looked up with a puzzled but warm expression and motioned for Huck to join him. Colonel Grace was a tall man, slightly shorter than Huck but more beefy in the shoulders, and he was in excellent physical condition. His sandy blond hair was receding and cut military buzz style. For those meeting him for the first time, he was what might be called, a Bruce Willis look-alike.

“I can tell you haven’t identified me yet,” Huck chuckled. “No problem, I am one of many who sat through your boring lectures at Annapolis. Actually, they were quite interesting.” Huck offered his hand. “Huck la Roche, late of the United States Navy SEAL’s, NSA, now the FBI.”

“Ah! One of the many cadets I have unashamedly bored to death,” Grace replied. “I apologize in advance, Agent la Roche.”

“Huck! And, they called us midshipmen.”

“What brings you to the great city of Bowling Green? I hope it’s not serious?”

“Missing persons, kidnapping, that sort of thing. What is an Air Force Colonel doing in a place like this? Last I heard you were out in the top secret Area 51, the place that does not officially exist.”

“Actually I just finished a tour of duty in Utah at the Army’s Dugway Proving Ground at Michael Air Force Base, which also does not officially exist. I’m retiring this year and decided to settle down here in Bowling Green. I was raised about twenty miles east of here in a little town called Glasgow. The University has offered me a position teaching Graduate Chemistry.”

“Thirty years in the military qualifies you for full retirement,” Huck smiled. “On a colonel’s pay, you could set back and enjoy the good life.”

“Unfortunately I’d be bored to death. The transition from military to civilian life will be hard enough as it is. I’ve done enough traveling, and I’m too young to write my memoirs.”

“Your specialty was Chemical Warfare wasn’t it, Colonel?”

“Mike. I call you Huck, you call me Mike, deal? What else would the Air Force need with a Doctorate in Chemistry? Actually, I spent more time teaching than researching.”

“You on terminal leave, or do you have to report back somewhere?”

“My military affairs are in order,” Mike sighed. “I’m checking the housing situation in the area. Haven’t really decided if I want to live near the campus or in a quiet secluded place. I’ll be here a few more days then I’m off to Wright Patterson for final medical evaluation and out-processing.”

Huck’s cell phone interrupted their conversation with a noisy buzzing sound. He pulled it from his pocket and noted that Doctor Schmitt was on the line.

“Agent la Roche,” he answered.

“Sorry to bother you,” Tappy stated. “I know there’s a good liquor store just down the block from your hotel. May I impose on you to pick up a bottle of decent cognac for Doctor Gallagher? I’m afraid my liquor cabinet has been raped by my ex.”

“Hennessy, Remi Martin, Courvoisier, what brand do you prefer?”

“You be the judge,” Tappy returned. “Make sure you bring Horse with you, we have an extra big steak for him? He can’t escape, I can hear him coughing in the background.”

“I’m sorry, Doctor Schmitt, but Horse drove back to Louisville to file our report and pick up some rugged clothing for us. He won’t be back until early tomorrow morning. The noise you heard was an old friend I just met while having a drink, Colonel Grace from the U.S. Air Force. By the way, he’ll soon be a colleague of yours as he has accepted a teaching position with your university. He’s retiring and presently searching for a place to buy.”

“In that case, please ask him to join us for dinner,” Tappy stated. “No use in letting a perfectly good steak go to waste and I would consider it an honor and duty to welcome new staff to the university. Tell him I insist and I will not take no for an answer. Also, it’s Tappy, not Doctor Schmitt.” She hung up without waiting for an answer.

“Looks like I got you into a bit of a situation,” Huck smiled, pointing at the phone. “Doctor Schmitt, a biologist at the university, firmly insists that you join us for dinner at her home this evening. Seems like she has an extra steak she doesn’t want to waste.”

“I wasn’t expecting a social evening,” Mike smiled. “But, I learned years ago to take advantage of any good opportunity that came my way. You are certain I will not be imposing?”

“Certain!”

Less than an hour later they were at the quiet residential home. Relatively new, the house was in an upscale neighborhood and possessed old-world charm, having been designed in a southwest motif. Tappy led them through the house to a large deck and small swimming pool out back. Eoin and Kayle were sitting in lounge chairs, Caitlin and Jacob were absent, probably playing video games or whatever kids did to occupy their time. Huck introduced Mike and allowed the others to introduce themselves.

“Dugway? Eoin asked. “That’s a military base not far from of Salt Lake City. Isn’t that the place where they do testing of various chemical and biological agents? Army out there allegedly killed a lot of local sheep and other animals back in the 60’s?”

“That’s the place,” Mike answered. “Lots of top secret, hush-hush goings on. We also conduct Air Force flight tests there. Some even say that much of the Area 51 secrets have been relocated to this base, thus they have nicknamed it, Area 52.” Mike winked at Tappy indicating that he was kidding. “But, I’m a simple chemist. Wouldn’t know anything about that stuff.”

“Know how to operate a grill, Colonel?” Tappy pointed to a large stainless steel cooking grill near the outside bar.

“That I can handle, and, it’s Mike.”

After a delicious meal they finally got around to the topic uppermost on everyone’s mind. Jacob and Caitlin disappeared back into their own world so they were free to explore extreme ideas and possibilities.

Huck insisted they bring Mike into the conversation by explaining events up to that time. Mike was initially skeptical, but a lifetime of science and military influence had prepared his mind for just about anything.

“If it is these creatures behind the missing persons reports, it’ll take more than a 9mm pistol to bring one down,” Mike stated. “I imagine their exoskeleton is like plate armor.”

“So you wouldn’t recommend investigating the area without heavy artillery?” Eoin asked, refreshing his excellent V.S.O.P, cognac.

“Doctor… Tappy, is the expert on bugs.” Mike quickly learned that Tappy did not agree with titles. “Perhaps she should be the one to expound on the nature of our potential adversary.”

“Spoken like a true military man,” Tappy smiled. “Actually, Mike isn’t far off on his assessment of the fire ants exoskeleton. The exoskeleton, is an external covering that provides a protective casing around the body and a point of attachment for muscles, in contrast to the internal skeletons of humans and other vertebrates. Ants don’t have lungs; oxygen and other gases like carbon dioxide pass through their exoskeleton through tiny valves called spiracles. They also lack closed blood vessels; instead, they have a long, thin, perforated tube along the top of the body called the dorsal aorta that functions like a heart and pumps haemolymph towards the head, thus driving the circulation of the internal fluids. The nervous system consists of a ventral nerve cord that runs the length of the body, with several ganglia and branches along the way reaching into the extremities of the appendages.”

“So it would be pretty damn hard to kill one of these big ants?” Huck asked.

“Yes, very difficult. In addition to the exoskeleton being as hard as armor, you could probably penetrate the body at any number of points and miss the main nerves or the dorsal aorta. The best thing to do would be to blow off its antennae.”

“Why’s that?”

“Well, it won’t kill the ant but it might help prevent it from functioning properly. Ants use their antennae to smell the pheromones emitted from other ants. These scents warn of danger, they say hello to fellow ants, and receive orders or requests. The signals and pheromones, which are chemical substances excreted by ants to influence the behavior or physiology of others of the same species, play an important role in the complex organization of ant societies. Ants spend most of their time in direct contact with the ground. When a worker ant comes across food on her way home, she will leave a trail along the ground, which in a short time other ants will follow. When they return home they reinforce the trail, bringing other ants, until the food is depleted, after which the trail is not reinforced and slowly disappears. Without their antenna they would be unable to follow or react to these pheromone signals.”

“Would an assault rifle do the job?” Kayle asked.

Tappy looked thoughtful. “I’ve never fired an assault rifle but I believe if you put enough bullets into anything it will eventually go down.”

“Although regular ammunition will probably work, we also have armor piercing rounds,” Huck added. “Perhaps I should call Horse and have him sign out a few M-16’s.”

Kayle added. “Are we going under the assumption that these monstrous insects are really out there?”

“My motto is, it’s better to be safe than sorry.” Huck stood and pulled out his cell phone to call Horse.

“Your mention of these pheromones is interesting.” Mike leaned back further into his deck recliner. “You said they follow them like signals?”

“It’s their primary communication and identification system.”

“Is that the means they use to identify friends or enemies?”

“Yes. Each ant in the nest is given a family pheromone identity. When they meet family members in or outside the nest, they kiss and go on their way. If they meet an ant from a different nest, or another insect or animal, they immediately become enemies or creatures to avoid or eat.”

“Since it is a pheromone I assume it is chemically based?”

“All pheromones are chemically based.” Tappy wasn’t sure where Mike was going with his line of questions.

“Assuming we could kill or capture one of these creatures, could we possibly extract the pheromone and duplicate it?”

“You mean duplicate it and try to fool the insect into thinking that we are family members?”

“Yes, that’s the thought I was mulling around.”

“I can see no reason why it wouldn’t work, except, the ants do have eyes even though they’re eyesight is poor. I know that the slave maker ants coat their slaves with a special pheromone so they can identify them.”

“Didn’t you say these beasties had some slave maker ant in them also?” Eoin asked.

“There were some gene traces of Polyergus Rufescens.”

“It’s something to keep in mind,” Huck added, returning to his seat.

“I guess a good chemist might be able to isolate the pheromone and duplicate it,” Kayle muttered. “But, it will take someone with a cast iron set of cohones to let one of those giant monsters get close enough to see if it worked.”

“We have the chemist.” Eoin pointed to Mike. “As for the cohones…?” He grinned at Huck.

“Our first job is to find out if they actually exist.” Huck glanced at his watch. It was nearing midnight. “Horse and I want to get an early start tomorrow, so I think this old man needs to find his bed.”

“I thought we were going with you?” Tappy stated.

“Right now this is a missing persons case,” Huck returned. “I cannot allow civilian personnel to get involved. If it turns out that our missing people have been taken by giant ants, then I’ll call in the experts. Naturally, you are the local experts.”

“I received permission from Belfast to assist you,” Kayle smiled. “You will accept my offer won’t you?

Huck nodded his head. “Your help will be appreciated, Ms. Gallagher.”

“Kayle!”