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FALLON, NEVADA:
Sloan follows Essex’s directions out across the desert, south of his research facility. She parks the SUV a short distance from an elevated concrete block and shuts off the engine. She studies the area, noticing several concrete bunkers about a thousand yards away. “This looks like a test site.”
“Yes, it was an experimental explosives test site during the Cold War. I bought it from the Department of Defense when I purchased the land for my research and development compound.”
Sloan opens the door and steps out. “Grab the device and let’s learn how it works.”
Essex turns to look over his shoulder into the back of the SUV. During the long ride, he could not stop looking at the silver block, expecting it to activate at any moment. “We should spend a good deal of time studying the device before trying to activate it, Janice.”
Sloan slams the door shut, moves to the rear of the car, and opens the hatch. “You’re such a wimp, Essex.” She grabs the device and carries it over to the three-foot square concrete block, then places it in the center.
When Essex moves up beside her, she smiles and shows him the three colored lights. “I’m assuming these three touch pads control the way it functions, like when it repelled us up the tunnel, instead of dragging us down.”
When she reaches out to touch one, Essex grabs her arm. She jerks it away and glares at him. “Don’t ever touch me again!”
“I’m sorry, it’s just that how do you even know which ones to push? We have no idea what will happen when you touch them.”
“I saw the amber and ruby lights glowing when it was still on.” She touches the two lights just to scare Essex and grins when he jumps back.
Essex relaxes when nothing happens. “It seems you have a broken gravity device. Let’s just take it to my facility and backward engineer it.”
Sloan grins, reaches into her pocket, and brings out the square crystal. “It won’t do anything without this. When we floated up out of the tunnel, I realized the device was still on, so while I was thrashing around, I removed this key and we fell on Alex and Okana.”
“How did you know they would catch us?”
“I didn’t, but I didn’t want to get any higher.”
“Won’t it affect us like before?”
Sloan shakes her head no. “I was next to it when it was on and didn’t feel anything. I’m sure it only affects things directly above it.”
“Damn it, Sloan. You could have told me. I’ve been worried sick it would activate at any moment.”
Sloan smirks at him. “It was payback for trying to kill me in the tunnel.”
“I didn’t have a choice. The rope was around my neck and I couldn’t breathe.”
“Are you ready?”
Essex steps back. “Go ahead.”
Sloan inserts the key and turns it until it stops, then moves to the opposite side. She touches the amber and ruby-colored touch pads one at a time, but nothing happens. When she touches the turquoise one, the concave surface suddenly radiates neon blue light. She turns and smiles at Essex. “It’s on, and we’re still alive. What did I tell you?”
Essex flinches when a bird suddenly slams into the ground a few feet away. “What the hell?” More birds begin hitting the ground around them. “Holy shit!” Essex yells. “Turn it off!”
Sloan presses the touch pads, but it doesn’t stop. She carefully reaches around to the opposite side and turns the key, and when that doesn’t work, she removes it. “I can’t shut it off!” She slides the crystal into her pocket. “Let’s go!”
They run between falling carcasses back to the car, jump inside, and watch a dozen more birds slam into the ground in a circle around the device. Essex, being in the aviation industry, hopes no aircraft will be flying over this part of the desert in the immediate future. He has no idea how high the gravity distortion will be, and something as dramatic as a plane being torn from the sky will draw mass media attention, and that isn’t the type of attention he wants right now. Even so, if word gets out that he’s involved in activating the device, the price of his stocks will plummet, and he’ll be bankrupt within a year.
He looks over at Sloan. “I’m not taking responsibility for this. If we can’t shut this damn thing down, it’s going to be your problem, not mine.”
Sloan abruptly turns to face him. “Listen, you sawed off little shit! We’re in this together, got it?”
Essex has seen that look in Sloan’s eyes once before, and it scares the hell out of him. “Listen. Let’s just get out of here before something bigger falls from the sky.”
“All right, but I seriously have no idea how to turn that damn thing off.”
She starts the engine, backs away from the test area, and heads back toward Essex’s facility.
Essex gets an idea. “What about professor Cave? I’ve heard rumors about him. He seems to have a knack for this type of thing. We should at least give him a call so he doesn’t waste his time going down to look for it.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s been down there already. Did you know he’s good friends with Martin Donner, the Director of National Security?”
“Yeah, well, that means he has a lot of clout for whatever he wants to do. He’s probably the best bet for shutting that thing down.”
Sloan stares out across the desert. She doesn’t care that Essex wants to become best friends with Mr. Cave. She still has a business to run. She turns to glare at him. “Not a word about this to Cave, is that clear?”
“Damn it, Janice. Eventually that thing is going to pull something other than birds out of the sky. Hundreds of people could die if an aircraft is yanked out of the air. We have to contact Cave. I’ll send a couple of my people out here to guard it.”
Sloan knows for the moment, Essex is the only witness who knows she is the one who turned it on. For the time being, she needs his assistance, so she decides not to kill him just yet. So far, she hasn’t been convicted for any crime, but she will be pressing her luck if Cave isn’t dead and gets involved. In fact, she can’t count on Essex’s hired thugs to keep their mouths shut either.
Sloan grabs Essex’s fingers, squeezing them until he grimaces in pain. “No. Not a word to anyone. No guards, and definitely no Cave, or else I’ll remove your manhood. Are we clear?”
“Crystal!”
“Good.”
When Sloan lets go of his fingers, he massages them as he leans back in his seat. “You’re a fool, Sloan. Exactly what do you suggest we do?”
“For the moment, nothing.”
Essex glares at her for a few moments, then sighs in resignation. He regrets becoming business partners with such a reckless and violent person. At some point, he knows his business dealings with Sloan will end up with him in jail or bankrupt. Of course, if she has it her way, she’d kill him before either of those things happen.
Sloan silently curses herself for acting so hastily with such an advanced piece of technology. Of course, turning it on is the only way to learn about its true capabilities. It could be worth a fortune to the right people. She knows Cave could get involved, and if the bastard does manage to shut down the gravity device, he will still need the key to re-activate it. If the government wants it bad enough, it is going to cost them a lot of money.
She glances over at Essex, who’s leaning back in his seat with a faraway look in his eyes. She doesn’t know how long it will take Cave to shut down the device, but she doesn’t want to be too far away when it happens. Her lips transform into a sneer at her new plan. I’m a genius.