The Hammer of Eden

Priest said: “You notice they don’t mention the Hammer of Eden? They know that was me in Sacramento. But they’re trying to pretend it had nothing to do with us. They think they’re preventing panic. They’re wasting their time. In twenty minutes there’s going to be the biggest panic California has ever seen.”

“All right!” Melanie said. She was tense but excited, her face flushed, her eyes bright with hope and fear.

But, secretly, Priest was full of doubt. Will it work this time?

Only one way to find out.

He put the truck in gear and drove down the hill.

The link road from the freeway looped around and joined the old country road leading into the town from the east. Priest swung onto Main Street. There was a coffee shop right on the fault line. Priest pulled onto the parking apron in front. The ’Cuda slid in beside the truck. “Go buy some doughnuts,” he told Melanie. “Look natural.”

She jumped out and sauntered across to the coffee shop.

Priest engaged the parking brake and flicked the switch that lowered the hammer of the seismic vibrator to the ground.

A uniformed cop came out of the coffee shop.

Priest said: “Shit.”

The cop was carrying a paper bag and heading purposefully across the lot. Priest guessed he had stopped off to get coffee for himself and his partner. But where was the patrol car? Priest looked around and spotted the blue- and-white roof light of a car that was mostly concealed by a minivan. He had not noticed it as he drove in. He cursed himself for inattention.

But it was too late for regrets. The cop spotted the truck, changed direction, and came over to Priest’s window.

“Hi, how you doin’ today?” the cop said in a friendly tone. He was a tall, thin boy in his early twenties with short fair hair.

“I’m just fine,” Priest said. Small-town cops, they act like they’re everyone’s next-door neighbor. “How are you?”

“You know you can’t operate that ride without a permit, don’t you?”

“Same everywhere,” Priest told him. “But we’re aiming to set up in Pismo Beach. We just stopped for coffee, same as you.”

“Okay. Enjoy the rest of your day.”

“You, too.”

The cop walked off, and Priest shook his head in amazement. If you realized who I am, buddy, you’d choke on your chocolate-frosted doughnut.

He looked through the rear window and checked the dials of the vibrating mechanism. Everything was green.

Melanie reappeared. “Go get in the car with the others,” Priest told her. “I’ll be right there.”

He set the machine to vibrate on a signal from the remote control, then jumped out, leaving the engine running.

Melanie and Star were in the backseat of the ’Cuda, sitting as far apart as they could: they were polite, but they could not hide their hostility to each other. Oaktree was at the wheel. Priest jumped into the front passenger seat. “Drive back up the hill to where we stopped before,” he said.

Oaktree pulled away.

Priest turned on the radio and tuned to John Truth.

“Seven twenty-five on Friday evening, and the threat of an earthquake by the terrorist group the Hammer of Eden has failed to materialize, heaven be praised. What’s the scariest thing that ever happened to you? Call John Truth now and tell us. It could be something dumb, like a mouse in your refrigerator, or maybe you were the victim of a robbery. Share your thoughts with the world, on John Truth Live tonight.”

Priest turned to Melanie. “Call him on your cell phone.”

“What if they trace the call?”

“It’s a radio station, not the goddamn FBI, they can’t trace calls. Go ahead.”

“Okay.” Melanie tapped out the number John Truth was repeating on the radio. “It’s busy.”

“Keep trying.”

“This phone has automatic redial.”

Oaktree stopped the car at the top of the hill, and they looked down on the town. Priest anxiously scanned the parking area in front of the coffee shop. The cops were still there. He did not want to start the vibrator while they were so close — one of them might have the presence of mind to jump into the cab and switch off the engine. “Those damn cops!” he muttered. “Why don’t they go catch some criminals?”

“Don’t say that — they might come after us,” Oaktree joked.

“We’re not criminals,” Star said forcefully. “We’re trying to save our country.”

“Damn right,” Priest said with a smile, and he punched the air.

“I mean it,” she said. “In a hundred years’ time, when people look back, they’ll say we were the rational ones, and the government was insane for letting America be destroyed by pollution. Like deserters in World War One — they were hated then, but nowadays everybody says the men who ran away were the only ones who weren’t mad.”

Oaktree said: “That’s the truth.”

The police cruiser pulled away from the coffee shop.

“I got through!” Melanie said. “I got through to — Hello? Yes, I’ll hold for John Truth.… He says to turn off the radio, you guys.…” Priest snapped off the car radio. “I want to talk about the earthquake,” Melanie went on, answering questions. “It’s … Melinda. Oh! He’s gone. Fuck, I nearly told him my name!”

“It wouldn’t matter, there must be a million Melanies,” Priest said. “Give me the phone.”

She handed it over, and Priest put it to his ear. He heard a commercial for a Lexus dealership in San Jose. It seemed the station played the show to people waiting on hold. He watched the police cruiser come up the hill toward him. It went past the truck, pulled onto the freeway, and disappeared.

Suddenly he heard: “And Melinda wants to talk about the earthquake threat. Hello, Melinda, you’re on John Truth Live!”

Priest said: “Hello, John, this isn’t Melinda, it’s the Hammer of Eden.”

There was a pause. When Truth spoke again, his voice had taken on the portentous tone he used for announcements of great gravity. “Buddy, you better not be kidding, because if you are, you could go to jail, you know?”

“I guess I could go to jail if I’m not kidding,” Priest said.

Truth did not laugh. “Why are you calling me?”

“We just want to be sure, this time, that everyone knows the earthquake was caused by us.”

“When will it happen?”

“Within the next few minutes.”

“Where?”

“I can’t tell you that, because it might give the FBI the jump on us, but I’ll tell you something no one could possibly guess. It will take place right on Route 101.”

* * *

Raja Khan jumped on a table in the middle of the command post. “Everyone, shut up and listen!” he yelled. They all heard the shrill note of fear in his voice, and the room went dead. “A guy claiming to be from the Hammer of Eden is on John Truth Live.”

There was a burst of noise as everyone asked questions. Judy stood up. “Quiet, everyone!” she shouted. “Raja, what did he say?”

Carl Theobald, who was sitting with his ear close to the speaker of a portable radio, answered her question. “He just said the next earthquake will take place on Route 101 within a few minutes.”

“Well done, Carl! Turn up the volume.” Judy swung around. “Michael — does that fit any of the locations we have under surveillance?”

“Nope,” he said. “Shit, I guessed wrong!”