Free The Colony: A Novel by A. J. Colucci

have a lethal sting. They multiply by the millions. They feed at night and will attack anything that moves. Their diet consists of rats and human flesh.”
    “Just rats and people?” Pat Dempsey asked, amused.
    “We believe they were developed to be an urban weapon,” General Dawson replied. “Kill off people and leave most other creatures alone.”
    “New York’s a long crawl from Bolivia,” Pat said. “How did they get under our city?”
    “It was Dr. Laredo, the project leader. We believe he escaped the fire and took off with a Siafu Moto queen.”
    Cameron added, “The FBI has been tracking him since the raid. We found nothing until a month ago. A photo of a dead man resembling Laredo was taken by NYPD just days after the fire in Bolivia. He was found in Riverside Park. Shot himself in the head.”
    Kendra grimaced.
    Garrett said, “If Laredo released that queen before killing himself, it’s possible she has produced millions of ants, as well as her clones, which would have started their own colonies all over the city. There may be a trillion ants under Manhattan.”
    “That’s insane,” said Pat.
    “Maybe,” Garrett replied. “Maybe not.”
    Paul spoke with a renewed sense of hope. “We’ll need every speck of research you recovered from the lab. All the genetic modifications, the tests and findings.”
    “Didn’t you hear the general?” Garrett said. “The facility was destroyed. All the scientists are dead. I can’t give you anything.”
    “You didn’t collect any documents?” Paul said tersely. “I find that hard to believe.”
    “Like he said,” the general cut in, “there are no records. Aside from the president of the United States and the faces you see in this room, there are less than fifty individuals in the world who even know about these ants. Let me make this clear; any information regarding the Siafu Moto is proprietary to the United States military. As a matter of national security, there will be no communication beyond this bunker.” He glanced around the table. “You cannot speak to anyone about this. Not your families and certainly not the media.”
    His words were met with nervous stares among the group, except for the White House representatives, who sat rigid.
    Then the general turned almost apologetic. “Of course, the United States Army takes full responsibility for this disaster. Both the raid and destruction of the facility were tactical errors.”
    Colonel Garrett showed no remorse. “The problem will be contained. There is no doubt about that.”
    “A trillion ants. I still don’t believe it,” insisted Pat. “What, are they invisible? We’ve had just a handful of attacks.”
    Kendra was pondering the same question. “He’s right. And there would be other signs as well. Fire ants create enormous tunnels. A large colony can loosen soil to the point of road collapse. They’re attracted to electrical fields, constantly causing power outages and cable damage. In Texas, ants are the leading cause of traffic light failures. A trillion could black out this city.”
    The room fell silent and everyone stared dumbly at Kendra. The mayor cleared his throat and turned to his staff with an accusing tone. “I guess that would explain our rash of subway outages. Sixteen road cave-ins this year. Con Ed is nearly out of their minds with shortages.”
    “Not to mention the missing rat population,” Pat muttered. Then he added, “Still, there must be some kind of bug spray we could dump on them.”
    The mayor called attention to three men sitting around the table in identical pinstriped suits. “These gentlemen are representatives from the largest chemical companies in the world.”
    Kendra scrutinized the men. All three were beaming with pride, as if they were superheroes flown in to save the planet. She recognized the tall one from Cytex, the largest global manufacturer of insecticides. He was an irritating man named Preston something-or-other, who tried to