“I’m guessing the bomb isn’t in a cave in New Zealand,” Indy said.
“Newnes Plateau.” Arden practically bounced on her feet. “There’s a famous glow worm tunnel in the Blue Mountains. It’s an old, abandoned train tunnel that is filled with glow worm larvae. They used to do tours of it, pre-invasion.”
Dom stiffened. Now it clicked. “This larva got transferred to Mount Wilson when they moved the test bomb.”
She nodded. “That’s my theory. Yes.”
Tane stood. “And maybe this tunnel is where they’re keeping the main bomb.”
Arden nodded again.
Indy tapped on her comp screen, pulling up a map.
“Here. The tunnel isn’t far from Mount Wilson! About thirty kilometers as the crow flies.”
Dom pulled Arden up on her toes. “Nice work, bella.”
“Thanks.”
Tane straightened. “This is great, Arden.” He looked around the room. “I’ll inform the general. I want all of you ready to move.”
“Thank fuck for that,” Levi said.
Chapter Eleven
Arden tried not to fidget as she stood in the busy Command Center with Indy, and Elle Steele from Hell Squad, flanking her.
General Holmes came out of the door leading to one of the conference rooms. He strode to the front of the crowd and Arden thought he looked stressed. His shirt was rumpled, and he looked like he’d been running his hands through his silver-tinged, dark hair.
She’d shared her discovery about the glow worm larvae with him. He’d been about to go back into a call with the Groom Lake base.
Holmes straightened and ran his gaze over the assembled squads. “Groom Lake has intel.”
The air in the room changed, sharpening. Arden turned her head and glanced at Dom. He gave her a small nod.
Just that small move eased some of the tension in her chest.
“They interrogated a Gizzida prisoner,” the general said. “A scientist.” He took a deep breath. “They’ve confirmed that there are three bombs. They need to be placed in certain locations around the planet and detonated together.”
“Why?” Tane called out.
“Apparently, doing so will amplify their effect…and ensure the entire planet is covered with Gizzida genetic material.”
God. Arden’s stomach dropped away. This was worse than she’d ever imagined.
“Fuckers,” Indy muttered.
“If we can destroy one bomb, that will mitigate the effect,” Holmes said. “And give the other bases time to search for the other two bombs.”
The soldiers in the room shifted restlessly. Tane stood with his hands on his hips, staring at the ground. Marcus looked like he wanted to punch something. Roth looked angry.
“From what the scientist shared, one of the bombs is in the North American region. Groom Lake is working to track it down. Nothing concrete yet.”
“And the other?” Marcus asked.
Holmes lifted one shoulder and blew out a breath. “No sign of it yet. The Gizzida scientist didn’t know where it was.”
“So, we need to destroy the bomb we know is here,” Tane confirmed.
The general nodded.
“How?” Hemi asked. “If we blow it up, it’s gonna spread alien DNA all over the place.”
Noah stepped forward. “My team’s best guess is that we should drain the liquid out of the bomb and destroy the detonating mechanism.”
Marcus crossed his arms over his chest. “But the aliens can remake the bomb, right? Fill it back up again.”
Noah nodded. “Sure, they could. But that will take time. Right now, we need time to find the other two bombs and find a more decisive solution for destroying them.”
“And we now have a location of where our bomb is?” Marcus asked.
The general turned his blue gaze to Arden. He waved her forward.
Clearing her throat, Arden addressed the crowd. “I found glow worm larva in the footage from Mount Wilson.” The picture flashed up on the screen. “There’s a well-known glow worm tunnel close by.”
More pictures appeared, these ones from the archives. They showed the amazing beauty of the glow worm tunnel. The glow worm larvae lit up the roof of the tunnel like stars scattered through the night sky.
“I don’t know for certain that the bomb itself is there,” Arden continued. “But it was likely that the test bomb was.”
“Tane,” Holmes said. “I’m tasking this to your squad.”
Tane nodded, one dreadlock falling over his broad shoulder.
“Hell Squad and Squad Nine,” Holmes continued. “You’re on standby as their back-up.”
“General.” A soft, female voice cut through the room. “I’d like to go on the mission.”
Arden turned and spotted Selena stepping through the crowd. From nearby, Tane growled.
The general looked at the alien woman for a second. He glanced at Tane, before he looked back at Selena. “Your skills would be welcomed, Selena. We need to throw whatever we have at destroying this bomb.”
“This is my home, too.” Her large, green eyes flickered to Tane for a brief second. “I’ll fight to protect it.”
Arden shifted a little. “I’d like to go as well. With the combat drone—”
Dom stepped forward, two menacing steps. “Arden.”
“This is also my fight,” she said. “I want to help.”
Dom ground his teeth together, then cursed in Italian.
“Welcome to my fucking club,” Tane muttered to Dom.
Noah cleared his throat. “I’ve equipped Arden’s combat drone with our new cineole weapons.”
“You’ve finished testing them?” Holmes asked.
The head of the tech team nodded. “We’ve been running non-stop tests. We know the cineole breaks down the raptor’s cellular structure with enough exposure. My team has amplified the affects as much as we can. It will certainly help weaken them.”
Excited whispers rippled through the soldiers.
They’d known for a long time that the raptors were affected by the trees on Earth. Now they had a chance to use it to the benefit of all humans. Maybe these weapons could help turn the tide of the fight.
Noah looked at Squad Three. “I’d be happy to add some cineole to your weapons.”
The berserkers all nodded.
“If it makes them bleed, then bring it,” Hemi said.
Tane was looking up at the screen. “The trees are too thick around the glow worm tunnel entrance to land the Hawks.”
Indy nodded and tapped on a comp. “I agree. I suggest
