America's Galactic Foreign Legion - Book 3: Silent Invasion (17 page)

“Have you actually seen any wolves?” asked
Dr. Smith.

“No,” I admitted. “But I have seen their
tracks. Their feet are huge.”

“I have big feet, too,” said Special Agent
Hobbs. “And I’m going to stick one up your ass if you don’t tell
your legionnaires to stop shooting at wolves on sight. This is not
a hunting trip.”

“That wolf opened the door to the armored
car,” said Corporal Washington. “It tried to eat me!”

“What happened is you fell asleep and got the
crap scared out of you,” said Hobbs. “You fall asleep again on
guard duty, and I’ll give you a lesson about who you really need to
fear around here.”

“The forest is a dangerous place to be
talking so tough,” said Private Wayne. “You might end up here
permanently, if your mouth keeps writing checks your ass can’t
cash.”

“Major Czerinski,” said Hobbs, turning
nervously to me. “Control your spider legionnaires. What are
spiders doing in the Legion anyway?”

“Risking their lives,” I said. “Get used to
it. And don’t upset them. Spiders can be a bit volatile.”

“That spider threatened me,” complained
Hobbs. “That is insubordination. I want him up on charges.”

“I’m sure his true intent was lost in
translation,” I said. “It’s a cultural misunderstanding. Private
Wayne is one of our better recruits.”

“Fuck you,” said Private Wayne, trying to
make his intent more clear. “Fuck you and the glyptodont you rode
in on.”

“See?” I said. “He is not threatening you. He
merely got his greetings mixed up. Happens all the time. Welcome to
the Foreign Legion.”

“What do you mean, the wolf opened the door?”
asked Dr. Smith, frustrated at the lack of focus on important
matters. He now questioned Corporal Washington. “Do you mean you
left the door open, and the wolf was pawing at it?”

“No,” answered Corporal Washington. “The wolf
snuck up on me and pulled the latch down to open the door.”

“And that’s when you woke up?” asked Hobbs.
“I will be reviewing the video. This will not be allowed to happen
again.”

The legionnaires went back to sleep in the
armored cars. Hobbs and the scientists excitedly viewed the video.
When they saw the size of the wolf, they became concerned. It was
the size of a bear. They became more concerned when they saw the
wolf open the tent flap and look inside. Special Agent Hobbs did
not even bother watching the rest of the video. He ran to my
armored car and knocked on the door.

“What?” I asked. “We have a long day ahead of
us and need some sleep.”

“May I sleep inside the armored car?” asked
Hobbs.

“You have got to be kidding.”

“I am a bit concerned that the wolf may come
back,” explained Hobbs. “And he might bring his pack.”

“No,” I said. “There is no room. It’s funky
enough in here as it is.”

“I have to sleep in a more secure place,”
pleaded Hobbs. “General Kalipetsis ordered you to give the CIA your
utmost cooperation. That means keeping me safe.”

“Fine,” I said. “There is plenty of room in
the cabs. Go talk to either Corporal Washington or Private Wayne.
Maybe they will let you in. But you cannot sleep here.”

Special Agent Hobbs went around the armored
car and looked in the driver’s side window. Corporal Washington was
sound asleep again. Hobbs knocked on the window. Corporal
Washington woke up immediately and opened the door.

“Stop trying to sneak up on me,” said
Corporal Washington. “I was not sleeping. We spiders just have a
stoic look at times.”

“Don’t worry about it,” said Hobbs. “I just
wanted to apologize about earlier. I’ll do the same to Private
Wayne later.”

“I accept your apology,” said Corporal
Washington, closing the door. “Don’t let it happen again.”

Hobbs knocked on the door again. When
Corporal Washington opened the door, Hobbs pushed past him. “I’m
sleeping here, Corporal,” announced Special Agent Hobbs. “Get used
to it.”

* * * * *

In the morning, a supply truck brought a
larger cage. Dr. Smith still wanted to capture a wolf for testing,
so he gave Corporal Williams a tranquilizer rifle. Corporal
Williams built a tree platform where he lay in wait with the rifle,
looking out over the camp. The doctor hung a deer carcass by a rope
as bait. He also hoped to lure the wolf in by playing wolf howls
and injured deer sounds on a loud speaker.

At about midnight, the wolf came back.
Corporal Williams shot him. The wolf looked up at Williams,
snarled, and fell over. We dragged the wolf into the new cage.

Dr. Smith put a collar on the wolf. The
collar carried a tracking device and a video camera transmitter.
When the sun came up, the wolf awoke. He pulled at the collar and
tested the cage by smashing against it. The cage easily held. Dr.
Smith and the other scientists spent all day testing the wolf. They
gave the wolf food, but it refused to eat. They tried word
association, hoping to build a vocabulary, but the wolf only
snarled. One scientist showed the wolf flash cards, but was
ignored. They even coaxed Corporal Washington to rattle the wolf’s
cage, but the wolf reacted the same as with the humans. At
dinnertime, the wolf began howling at the moon. Late that night,
the howl was answered by a far-off wolf scout.

“I always say be careful what you wish for,
you just might get it.” I listened to the far off howl. “Your
wolves are coming. Now what?”

“We should be safe in the armored cars,” said
Dr. Smith. “We will observe pack behavior from the safety of the
gun turrets.”

“Then I get to mow the wolves down with the
machine gun,” said Captain Lopez. “It will be fun.”

“I know you are just trying to get my goat,”
said Dr. Smith. “I do not expect simple legionnaires to understand
the importance of my work. But the highest echelons of the United
States Galactic Federation are watching us and are expecting
positive results. I will not let them down.”

“El lobo isn’t a dog that you can train,”
said Captain Lopez. “These wolves are wild animals. And they hate
you. At least, that wolf in the cage hates you. Look at his
eyes.”

“I hope you are correct,” said Dr. Smith.
“Hate is a sign of abstract thought. It’s a sign of intelligence.
If that wolf can hold a grudge, then maybe it can do much more.
Perhaps it can also love.”

“That wolf would love to eat you,” I
added.

“Do you want the wolves to be your slaves?”
asked Captain Lopez. “Do you plan to train wolves to jump through
hoops, like in a circus?”

“The CIA wants to know if the wolves can be
partners with humanity against the spiders,” answered Dr. Smith.
“Can the wolves be a form of pest control? I am tasked with finding
an answer to that question and more.”

“Is that true?” I asked Agent Hobbs. “Do you
really want a wolf protecting your back?”

“I was sent here to get answers,” explained
Special Agent Hobbs. “Don’t be so surprised. It was your report
that started this whole thing. It’s better that we do the research
first. For all we know, the spiders are already recruiting the
wolves to fight us.”

“That will not happen,” said Private Wayne.
“We spiders will never be compatible with any of your hideous Earth
monsters.”

“Even that statement is a positive,” said Dr.
Smith, scribbling notes on a pad. “The Legion sees the value of
exploring these possibilities. Didn’t your General Kalipetsis
declare the wolves a protected species? He implemented that
executive order long before the CIA or I took an interest in the
wolves of New Colorado. General Kalipetsis saw their military
value.”

“You messed with the wolves’ DNA, didn’t
you?” I asked. “That is why you are here. You want to see if
Frankenstein can be put back into its test tube.”

“That is not true,” said Dr. Smith. “Rumors
like that are spread by the ignorant.”

“You scientists once claimed Czechoslovakian
wolf dogs were a myth and a figment of the public’s imagination,
too,” I said. “But they were real.”

“It will not work,” insisted Private Wayne.
“The wolves will not partner with humanity.”

“Why not?” asked Special Agent Hobbs. “What
would a spider like you know about it? Humans and wolves are from
Earth. We have a shared history. Dogs are man’s best friend.”

“I have studied your literature,” said
Private Wayne. “Have you not read Little Red Riding Hood? I thought
it was mandatory reading for your babies. Your own literature says
a wolf cannot be trusted. You teach that to your young.”

We all laughed. Private Wayne got more
agitated. “I have also read about the Three Little Pigs!” he
added.

We laughed louder.

“I am serious!”

“Did you read about the Boy Who Cried Wolf?”
asked Guido, still laughing. “Or about Lupa raising Romulus and
Remus?”

“A sentient species that does not retain or
value the lessons recorded in its literature is doomed to repeat
its mistakes,” fumed Private Wayne as he left to sleep in the cab
of his armored car. “I have nothing more to say to you human
pestilence on this matter.”

* * * * *

“Satellite reconnaissance shows there are
still forest fires caused by the nuclear explosion east of
Finisterra,” said the Intelligence Officer. “There is interesting
Legion activity just east of the blast site. Images show two
armored cars and about two dozen legionnaires.”

“What is so interesting about that?” asked
the Special Forces Commander. “The area is well within the Legion
zone of control.”

“They have caught and caged a large wolf,”
said the Intelligence Officer. “Some of the human pestilence do not
carry weapons. I suspect they are civilian scientists studying the
wolves.”

“I want to know more about what they are
doing,” said the Special Forces Commander. “Keep an eye in the sky
on them. Drop a team in if you think it will help. What kind of
research are we doing on wolves?”

“None,” said the Intelligence Officer. “We
have offered a bounty on wolf pelts and shoot them on sight. There
are requests from industry in the North to exterminate the wolf
population with nerve agent, but you have denied those
requests.”

“The new Treaty forbids severe ecological
damage,” said the Special Forces Commander. “The human pestilence
specifically cited wolves as an important protected species in
their fight against invasive pests.”

“Then the humans are violating the Treaty by
trapping that wolf,” said the Intelligence Officer. “I think the
humans want to make strategic use of the wolves and are doing
military research along those lines. Remember the North
Massacre?”

“Rumors blow wolf attacks way out of
proportion every time they are retold,” said the Special Forces
Commander. “It is treason to repeat rumors that flame
defeatism.”

“I am your Intelligence Officer. I have the
numbers at my claw tip,” said the Intelligence Officer. “What if
the human pestilence are trying to coordinate and train wolf
attacks against us? What if it is already happening?”

“I would use the nerve gas, but it kills
everything else, too,” said the Special Forces Commander. “The deer
hunters and the Arthropodan Rifle Association would be pissed. Did
you know the new Emperor is an ARA member?”

“I propose we start our own wolf research
department,” said the Intelligence Officer. “I can start catching
wolves immediately.”

“Do it,” said the Special Forces Commander.
“I do not want Arthropoda to fall behind on wolf research. If
monitor dragons can be trained for the military, why not
wolves?”

* * * * *

I set a folding field chair in front of the
wolf cage. The wolf growled and backed away from the bars and wire
mesh. I offered it a bone shaped dog biscuit. The wolf refused,
even though it looked hungry. I put the dog biscuit back in my
pocket.

Bored, I got up and strolled to the forest’s
edge and relieved myself. I saw sudden movement to my right, and
drew my pistol. As I turned to take aim, I tripped on the uneven
ground and fell onto my back. I lay there in the ferns, listening.
I could hear something approaching, but did not dare move for fear
of being noticed. I gripped my pistol in both hands, combat style,
holding it close to my chest.

Two wolves converged on me from each side.
One of the wolves stepped on my chest, pinning me to the ground and
taking by breath away. The other wolf grabbed my wrist in its jaws,
causing me to drop my pistol. I was led by the wrist into the
forest. With my free hand I pressed my radio microphone to call for
help. The sound of the radio squelch startled the wolf gripping my
wrist, and he tightened his hold. I groaned and let go of the
microphone. Captain Lopez answered, asking for my location. The
other wolf ripped the microphone speaker cord off my shoulder.

After walking about a mile, we stopped at an
outcropping of rocks. The wolf let go of my wrist. I sat down on a
rock, rubbing out the pain. Both wolves stood guard as we waited.
Other wolves came by to take a look at me and to get a sniff. Some
growled, but most were silent.

I took the dog biscuit out of my pocket and
offered it to one of my guards. The wolf refused. I then made a
show of taking a bite of the biscuit and pretending it tasted good.
“Yum, yum,” I said. “See Fido, it’s not poisoned. It tastes great.
It’s light but not filling. This biscuit tastes much better than I
would. It’s full of vitamins and is more nutritious, too.”

Again I offered the dog biscuit to the
wolves. Again they refused. I rose to stand and stretch my legs,
wanting to test their reaction. Both wolves growled and advanced on
me. I sat back down on my rock to make them happy.
Happy wolves
are good wolves,
I thought to myself. A large wolf came by and
stared at me. The two guards backed away, respecting its size and
status in the pack. The large wolf had old scars about its face and
eyes, and had a chewed up ear. He lorded over me, pressing ever
closer. I leaned back, not wanting his jaws to get too close to my
face. I slowly reached behind my back and gripped my large jagged
combat knife tucked inside my belt. Before I could strike, the wolf
deftly snatched my cap off my head, and was gone.