فصل 37

37

Operation Mute

Since Cassy had never been to Christmas Ranch, she couldn’t reveal much about it. Zara and Hatch’s war ministers grilled Ian, Taylor, Zeus, Nichelle, Abigail, and McKenna for several hours on the specifics of the ranch headquarters. The Elgen learned how the property was laid out, the level of security, where their weapons were kept, their routines, and, most important, where they would find Sharon Vey. By the time they finished their interrogation, they knew everything they needed to destroy the ranch once and for all.

After concluding his meeting with Captain Shool, Hatch called a council of the EGG—the four who were in Tuvalu and the rest by video around the world.

“Gentlemen,” Hatch said. “The resistance has made a fatal error and handed us the rope we need to hang them. Yes, we are weakened, but, fortunately, we still have guards abroad and, as luck would have it, not far from where we require them.” He walked to an electric screen, and a map of the world appeared. “The last of the resistance resides in two places.” He pointed to the map with a laser pointer. “Their main headquarters and hiding place of the voice is here, a secret compound in the northeastern mountains of France. The second is a ranch in southern Utah, where the resistance council and Sharon Vey are hiding. That is where they went after we destroyed Timepiece Ranch.” “Sir,” EGG Amon said. “I thought we had destroyed the resistance in Mexico.” “Unfortunately, we’ve learned from our interrogations that they had been tipped off about the attack, and contrary to our belief, we didn’t kill a single member of the resistance. There was no one there to kill.” “But we lost men in the attack. . . .”

“Yes, we did,” Hatch said. “The resistance was defending the ranch by remote to create the appearance of a battle. We have a clever adversary.” Hatch turned back to the council. “We’ll send Captain Smythe and his men from our Baja base to Christmas Ranch to bring back Vey, then destroy the ranch and all its inhabitants.” “Who will we send to their French compound?” EGG Amon asked.

“The Domguard.”

The EGGs looked at one another.

“Do you have a problem with that, EGG Amon?” Hatch asked.

“No, sir,” Amon replied. “That’s precisely what I would recommend.”

“Good. Because it’s what we’re going to do.”

The Domguard, also known as the Order of the Amber Tunic, was the most elite of the Elgen special services and was considered even deadlier than the Lung Li. They received the highest level of combat training, comparable to military special ops, the Navy SEALs, Army Rangers, or Marine RECON.

The Domguard were stronger and larger than the other Elgen guards. But it wasn’t just their physical presence that made them stand out. Their attire was unique, consisting of a black-silk uniform with an insignia of an all-seeing eyeball, with the pupil in the form of the taijitu, the black-and-white yin-yang sign.

In addition, the Domguard wore an amber-colored cloth belt, signifying the Amber Tunic, an ancient occult society. Amber had special significance for the Elgen scientists and the Elgen in general. In fact, before the Elgen company was incorporated, it was, for a time, called Amberz. The word “electricity” came from the word “elektron,” the Greek name for amber. An early Greek philosopher noticed that amber, when rubbed by silk, would become magnetized and attract objects. That invisible power was called electricity.

In reality, the EGGs knew little about the Domguard, which was Hatch’s doing, since he reserved the force to serve as his personal guard and troops, loyal only to himself. If there were ever an attempted coup within the Elgen, it would be the Domguard who would crush it and restore Hatch to power.

When Hatch had returned to the Tuvalu plant from Hades, one of the first things he had done was put the Domguard on alert to be prepared to fly to Tuvalu. But he hadn’t given them the order yet, as they were currently his only troops in Europe, and with Schema, the former Elgen chairman, still abroad, Hatch couldn’t afford to leave that part of the world completely unattended.

“We’re still analyzing all the data we’ve received from the Glows and finalizing attack strategies,” Hatch said. “But here are the basics. To avoid the possibility of them warning each other, causing us to lose this priceless opportunity, we must simultaneously attack both strongholds. Since there’s an eight-hour time difference between the two locales and a night attack is always to our advantage, we plan to attack their French headquarters at four thirty a.m. using night vision. This would put our attack on Christmas Ranch at eight thirty p.m. mountain time, an hour after sunset.” Hatch stepped back from the board to better emphasize his point. “I’m calling the French operations Operation Mute, since we’re finally silencing the voice. I’m calling the Utah sortie Operation Christmas Eve, for obvious reasons. Our objective is to bring back Coonradt from Europe and Sharon Vey from America.” “What about the Glow Grace?” EGG Bosen asked. “Is she being held at the ranch?” “Yes, she is. What about her?”

“Don’t we want her back?”

Hatch shook his head. “No. Only silenced. She can die with the rest of our enemy.” Hatch stood. “While we finalize the specifics of the attack plans, I want both forces moved into striking position. Bring the Domguard up from Rome into Turin, and the Apache Guard in Baja up into northern Nevada. I want them ready to strike at a moment’s notice. EGG Amon, I leave it to you to get them in place.” “Thank you, sir.”

“What of the rebels?” Despain asked.

“They are, for the time being, stranded on Plutus and holed up in the depository, a situation we will soon remedy. Captain Shool of the Philippine Navy has agreed to shell the depository and deliver our army to the island to reclaim our property. He has also agreed to come on as our new chief admiral of naval operations.” EGG Despain clapped, followed by the other EGGs. “Well done, sir,” he said.

“Thank you.” Hatch looked around the table at his council. “Does anyone else have anything to add?” Amon raised his hand. “Yes, sir. I thought it might be appropriate, at this time, to invoke the words of the Elgen handbook. ‘A new day has dawned, not just for the world but for us. Rise up to this morning of a new dispensation, the novus ordo glorificus Elgen, and personal glory will follow.’ ” “Thank you,” Hatch said. “And allow me to complete the charge. ‘Elgen, I salute you!’”