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Matthews entered the infirmary. Dr. Sheung and Dr. Lee stood at the side of Roy’s bed, studying the medical chart. Fluids flowed through the I.V. attached to back of his left wrist.
Sheung narrowed a harsh glare when she noticed Matthews. “What do you want?”
“What’s wrong with him?”
“Did Jonas send you?” she asked.
Dr. Lee seemed to shrink smaller as he eased away from her.
Matthews didn’t like her attitude. He crossed his arms and frowned back.
“You need to leave,” she said. “Unless Jonas sent you.”
“Then maybe I should speak to him. He’s the one in charge anyway.” Matthews turned to walk out.
“Wait!” she said without urgency and still sternly demanding.
Matthews faced her with anger burning in his eyes. He hated for anyone to address him with such a condescending attitude. The challenge in her tone infuriated him. Regardless of anything else she’d ever say to him, he’d always view her as an enemy and find a way to put her in her place. The fear in Dr. Lee’s eyes clued him to her reputation as well.
“What do you want?” she asked.
Matthews gazed from her to Roy. Rumors had already spread to the guards about what had happened in Mineshaft 15. Whatever poison these insects possessed was something he might be able to use to his advantage, provided he found a way to collect it. “Have you determined what has placed Roy into this state?”
Dr. Lee shook his head but didn’t verbally reply.
“No,” Dr. Sheung said. “We’re still waiting for the lab results to come back. Why? I’m certain Jonas will get the information before we do.”
“So he’s been nonresponsive to any medicines or steroids?”
“I don’t see how that’s any of your concern.”
Matthews placed a hand on his laser pistol. “Because I’m a guard?”
For the first time since he had entered the room, she looked nervous. Her eyes focused on the pistol. “Jonas didn’t send you?”
Matthews shook his head.
“Then why are you here?”
“We’re in near crisis and will be if the guards are unable to seal off the shaft where those insects are. I, for one, don’t believe Jonas is capable of keeping us safe.”
The hardness of her face faded. A relieved smile curled her lips, which looked foreign to her facial features. “And what do you propose to do?”
Matthews grinned. “Take his place.”
“I’ll gladly assist you in such an endeavor.”
“You need to understand,” Matthews said, “I am in charge. Not you.”
She nodded. “That’s fine, as long as it isn’t Jonas.”
***
Clark rolled up the datasheets and tucked them under his left arm and carried the cage of insects in his right hand as he walked down the corridor. He thought about what Anna had said about how dangerous it was for him to keep these insects alive. In many ways he agreed.
But out of the thousands of insects, why had these three surrendered? They seemed eager to communicate and almost social, or was it a ploy? Did they intend to act docile until an opportunity arose to where they could encourage the rest of their horde to emerge in full force?
Clark stopped midstride, closed his eyes, and shook his head. As intelligent as these creatures were, he had inadvertently been giving them vital information and knowledge of how their headquarters were set up. If they didn’t actually intend to aid the human population, these insects had plenty of necessary information they could relay to the hive. Even though they could communicate by spelling words, he didn’t know if they had other ways to relay messages to one another. For all he knew, they could somehow be reporting the layout of the facilities. The Olympus Mons encampment possibly had a Trojan horse comprised of three super intelligent insects.
He remembered how the swarm had killed Shad and hurried to get to the security office.
The insects had displayed an incredible military strategic pattern when they had surrounded Shad. It indicated their ability and knowledge of quick maneuvering to box him in so he had no possible way to escape. While these three exhibited peaceful behavior, they were armed with the same toxin as the ones that killed Shad and the prisoners.
Clark considered doing what Anna had suggested and incinerating them, but what if they were actual allies? How could he know with certainty that they weren’t enemies? He couldn’t ever truly know. If they were allies, they didn’t have any reason to be concerned. But as enemies? The longer he kept them alive, the more danger the human population faced.
He entered the security department.
Jonas glanced toward the door. “Did you get a toxin analysis?”
Clark nodded.
“And?”
“It isn’t good.”
Boony’s eyes widened. “Why not?”
Clark explained what Anna had shown him on the datasheets and the comparison of the insect toxin to that of the box jellyfish on Earth. “No antitoxin is known.”
Jonas took a deep breath. “Then we have no choice but to find a way to kill the hive before they take the opportunity to attack and kill us.”
Clark put his index finger to his lips.
“What is it?” Jonas asked.
He pointed to the caged insects, set down the cage, and walked over to Jonas and Boony.
“What’s wrong?” Jonas asked.
Clark whispered, “After what Anna told me, I’m worried that maybe I’ve placed too much confidence in these three insects being hospitable.”
Jonas frowned. “You think they’ll become hostile?”
Clark shrugged. “Is there any way that we could ever know?”
“What was her suggestion?”
“Toss them into the incinerator.”
“That’s a bit extreme,” Boony said.
Jonas shook his head. “I don’t know, Clark. It may be that you’re getting a little paranoid. After seeing Shad killed and some of the prisoners dying, you know what these insects are capable of doing. Maybe you’re succumbing to inner fears?”
“I know. But the more I’ve thought about the situation, the less inclined I am to think they might not be allies.”
Jonas placed a firm hand on Clark’s shoulder. “The container you have them in seems strong enough to prevent their escape. If you’re not comfortable keeping them near you, let me keep them in here.”
Clark shook his head. “No, you see, that’s more my worry than these three actually killing us.”
“What is?”
“Giving them further access to any of our facilities.”
“You think they can somehow transmit that information to the rest of the hive?” Jonas asked.
“You’ve seen what they can do. Their intelligence is phenomenal. Who knows what else they can do? I’m not an entomologist, but insects on Earth do communicate in various ways. Pheromones, tapping antennae, and other ways, but on Mars . . . who knows?”
Jonas offered a slight nod, more from kindness than actual belief. “Look, let me ask you something.”
“Sure.”
“We know from your account how they killed Shad, and we saw the one dead prisoner. Both were drained of their blood. What are the ones inside the hive eating?”
A bewildered expression came to Clark’s face as he shook his head, trying to come to an answer. “I don’t have any idea.”
“What would be your guess? I mean, there are thousands of them on the other side of that wall. They’ve had to eat something. What’s your best guess?” Jonas asked.
“I’d say they must eat the weaker ones, but really, we have no way to know unless we were to somehow spend a lot of time watching their behavior.”
“Which is something we cannot do,” he replied.
“I agree.”
The office door swung open. Jonas and Boony turned quickly. Gary was helping an exhausted miner stand. The older man looked like he was about to collapse at any moment.
“What’s going on?” Jonas asked.
“Sir,” Gary said. “You might want to sit down and listen to what this gentleman has to say.”
“He’s a prisoner. Did his chip malfunction?”
Gary shook his head. “He’s dressed like a prisoner, but he’s actually a guard.”
Jonas frowned. “What?”
Gary nodded and helped the man to a cushioned swivel chair where he promptly plopped down. Boony rushed toward the man with a bottle of water. “Yeah. This is Norm Schrader. After his Sleeper Chip malfunctioned, and when he was brought to me, I recognized him. He was aboard the shuttle that brought one of Grayson’s sworn enemies to Mars.”
“Who?”
“Steven Matthews.”
“And where is he?” Jonas asked.
“He’s posing as one of the guards.”
Jonas glanced at Boony. “Find every file on Matthews so we know who we’re dealing with.”
“Yes, sir.”
Norm swallowed a big gulp of water and sputtered afterwards. Gary patted the man’s back. Norm’s face was flushed. His eyes were weak. He was exhausted. “When you find that bastard, I’m going to kill him.”
“I understand your reasons for wanting to do so,” Jonas replied.
Norm shook his head. “No, you don’t have any idea.”
“Perhaps not.”
“No. I read his files. Matthews is a very dangerous man. According to Grayson he has only one goal.”
“What is that?”
“To take everything he can away from Grayson. Look at what he did to me? Psychologically, he’s a monster, worse than Grayson. If you go after him, you’d best go with the intent to kill him first. Don’t even consider trying to take him into custody.”
“Why not?”
Norm’s eyes narrowed. “Because he’s a desperate man. He’ll kill everyone he can before he allows anyone to take him into custody. But you know what I’m betting?”
Jonas shook his head. “No, what?”
“He plans to find and kill you first since you’re the man in charge. That is his objective and how his mind operates.”