Chapter 37 Maggie meeting Alexander

The taxi that pulled up in front of Alexander 's home disgorged a single passenger before driving off.

Maggie was walking inside, when she spotted 1997 Peterbilt 379 EXHD, Customized 2006 Pontiac Solstice GXP, 2006 GMC TopKick C4500, 2004 Hummer H2 Search and Rescue vehicle and finally LT

2007 Chevrolet Camaro in the backyard.

She opened the door and walked straight to, Alexander' room. She saw Alexander on his computer, while Mikaela was sitting next to him watching him.

Maggie spoke,"Alex, I have a very important information from Secretary Keller, he wants you to get a reading on this. Also, he told you have some extra information to tell me."

Alexander nodded and said,"Give it me."he gestured Mikaela,"Tell her everything."

Mikaela nodded and started to tell Maggie everything about the Autobots and Decepticons, Maggie was in shock. But she remembered the scorpion- robot thing in video of Qatar. So she went and looked out the window seeing all the car and trucks, that looked safe, where robots in disguises.

While Alexander plugged the drive into the nearest USB slot and started running scans the Decepticon virus and he was already typing furiously, his fingers machine-gunning the keyboard as deftly as any concert pianist performing Rachmaninoff. He worked without looking up at her, and said," The signal pattern's evolving, changing. Mutating. It's learning. It is very high level cyber virus, if not for the Phalanx defense, the whole network would have to be shut down."

Maggie questioned,"What else did you get?"

Alexander gestured to the screen," PROJECT ICE MAN—TOP SECRET SCI— SECTOR SEVEN ACCESS ONLY." They gazed at it together. The file title was simple and straightforward, Alexander understood the details, but Maggie couldn't make sense of it.

"Project—Ice Man?" Maggie mumbled. It sounded like a title for a new Saturday-morning kids' cartoon series, not something fit to draw the attention of National Security and hypothetical alien machines.

More information unscrolled on screen. Included among it was, insofar as they could tell from a quick overview, a complete history of Arctic exploration, including foreign sources as well as those in American English. Maggie frowned. she knew all about Peary and Amundsen and Scott and especially Matthew Henson, but she'd saw a slightly addled-looking elder seaman Archibald Whitwicky. Peering over his shoulder, Maggie was really puzzled.

While Alexander spoke up," That is Captain Archibald Witwicky, the Autobots and Decepticons came for his glasses."

Mikaela recognized the name an said,"Like Sam Witwicky."she remembered the boy that tried to hit on her a month ago.

Alexander nodded and replied,"He is his grandson, also I bought the glasses from him."

Maggie questioned,"Did you give it to them?"

Alexander shook his head and answered"No, I was about too, but you showed up."

Maggie nodded, while Mikaela added,"Let's give it them, it would be best in there hands."

Alexander nodded and taking the glasses, he went out with Mikaela and Maggie following him.

When they arrived all the Autobots started transforming into there robot form, while Alexander and Mikaela didn't show any reaction, she got used to it. While Maggie watched the whole thing in awe.

Alexander held out the glasses and said," Here is the glasses of Archibald Whitwicky."

Optimus Prime carefully took the glasses from Alexander's hand, hr held a pair of decrepit human spectacles up to his face. Two narrow beams of carefully modulated photons shot from his eyes to pass at a particular angle through the lenses of the old glasses. The combination of light, lens, and what had been etched on the glass generated a three-dimensional sphere some distance from his face. Recognizably the world on which they presently found themselves, the slowly rotating sphere was breath-taking in its detail and straightforward in its message: a single pinpoint of light shone unblinking on one of the northern continents. Optimus altered the light, and the view expanded to reveal an irregular body of water entirely surrounded by land. Less than a second of electronic noise issued from the huge mechanical life-form. "In terms of local measurement, the cube is two hundred and fifty miles from our present position. A distance easily and clandestinely traversed."

In the Pentagon base, the statistics being posted on one screen were replaced by a beeping noise and an accompanying visual failure notification. The screen alongside it went dead next. And then the one beside it, and then three more, and then . . . In less than a minute every screen in the room had locked up with a warning. Conversation and general discussion were replaced by complete pandemonium. Unable to do little more than stare as the disaster unfolded in front of him, a horrified Keller spoke into his headphone mike. "What's happening?" Almost always under complete control, his voice began to rise. "Somebody talk to me. I need a sit rep— stat!"

The general who had earlier reported task force movements appeared at his side. He looked on the verge of utter panic—not a good sign in a general. "Communications are out—the virus, or whatever it is, was coded to shut us down. The Phalanx is holding it out, but everything went offline for now"

Keller interrupted him. "What d'you mean, 'shut us down'?"

The general swallowed. "It tried to corrupt the entire operat-ing system while hiding itself from view. We thought it had been quarantined, but it was in the background all the time. It's tried to use our own network to both spread right through the secure government web and jump to the public.But the Phalanx blocked it, but it still has effetcs of a It's a global blackout—anything involved with advanced communications is blocked. Satellite and landlines are close to dead. Internet is also shut down. At the moment, we have zero communication, both internationally and domestic."

While a suited man approaches Keller, lead in by admiral Bingham, the man had a titanium briefcase cuffed to his wrist.

Admiral Bingham said to John,"Sir, this Tom Banachek from the White House. Prime Directive to DW & HODs"

Banachek flashes his high clearance badge and said,"Mr. Secretary: I'm with Sector Seven Advanced Research Division."

Keller was angry, but controled it on hearing about Sector Seven and said,"I have been waiting for your division to show up."

Banachek was suprised hearing this and questioned,"You know about us?"

John nodded and answered,"Yes, I knew about your group for sometime now. I was waiting for you to show up, after the alien attack on our systems. Also I know about the NASA JPL lost the Beagle 2 Mars Rover to a unknown cybernetic alien."

Banachek was in slight shock, while John said,"I know more, we have invasion in on our hands and I need you to be open about everything."

Banachek hesitates, but nodded and said,"Okay secretary, we will soon make out way to Sector Seven and talk in detail. Also I need to know about how you got all this information."

John hummed and replied," I will, but I need to bring by advisors with me, since he has come in contact with one of these robots and he has more information than anything you have,so you will have to bring him too."

Banacheck was shocked hearing this, but since Secretary approved of this particular robot, he nodded and replied,"Okay, also we intercepted the message from your Special Ops team. These things can be hurt by our weapons and now they know it. That's why the virus shut us down. So we can't coordinate against their next attack, which I would bet my ridiculous government salary is coming very soon."

John turned to Bingham and ordered,"Get word to our fleet commanders over the National Guard frequency. It's a shortwave radio channel. It might be still working. Tell them to turn their ships around and come home. ASAP. And inform all commands to prepare for- imminent attack."

While Alexander was discussing things with Optimus Prime, he felt his phone alarm warning about perimeter breach, Alexander took out his phone and saw black Sue's rushing towards his direction, he yelled at Autobots,"Everyone hide, don't come back until I give the signal."

Autobots were slightly confused, but they quickly made there way to forest behind his home.

While Mikaela questioned,"What is happening?"

Alexander started walking to the front of his home answered,"Sector Seven is coming."

Maggie has seen Sector Seven on the data stolen, so she knew this were about to get dowm.

Alexander opened the front door and many black Sue's arrived and out of it came sfull of men and women. Some wore dark suits and busied themselves using strange instruments started running to frosnt yards and started scanning their immediate surroundings.

Others carried even more peculiar devices whose readouts occupied their full attention. Standing by himself on the porch and facing Alexander was a tall, skinny, erodedlooking individual who bore an air of seriousness around him like a thick fog. "Alexander Morozova?" he asked straightforwardly. Briefly, he flashed an impressively garish badge embossed with an insignia Alexander did necognize it. "Name's Simmons. With the government. Sector Seven."

Alexander nodded taking out Level 8 clearance and questioned,"What do you want?"

Simmons was slightly suprised, but since the other part was close to Secretary of Defense, he slowly understood and was patient. "We have been informed by Secretary of Defense that you have come in contact with N.B.E's, and have very important information about them.So we are required to take you back with us. This is a matter national security matter. So please reveal the location of N.B.E's?"

Alexander shook his head and answered"Nope, can't do that until I can trust you with it."

Simmons was slightly annoyed, a part of him told him not to push the boy. But another said he is questioning your authority, so Simmons went with the latter.

"We got massive hits," one agent called toward the porch, indicating the distinctive instrument he was wielding.

Simmons looked back at him, nodding as if the observation was no more than he had expected. "Get a sample and readings."

"Since you are not cooperating" Reaching into a pocket, Simmons withdrew a small cylindrical device. Leaning over, he passed it across the face of Alexander. "Fourteen on the counter. Bingo. Tag and bag 'em." Straightening, he turned and gestured. From out of nowhere, agents seemed to pour into the room from every direction.Strong hands came down on everyone else. Wrestled, manhandled, and hustled, Maggie were shoved roughly out of the house into the front yard, out and into a waiting black SUV. Trapped amid half a dozen other silent agents, Alexander and Mikaela disappeared into the one in front of it.

One by one the line of cars and SUVs pulled smoothly out into the street, accelerating in the direction of the nearest freeway onramp. As the last sped off, the place descended once more into the calm of late-night silence. From behind the house and among a cluster of trees, five pairs of deeply perceptive alien lenses stared out to follow the course of the departing vehicles.