It was represented on the screen as large and black. “They’ve got imaging sensors in the hole, obviously. And that sucker is showing up.”
“How big do you reckon that is?” asked Decker.
“If I had to thumbnail it, based on the scales I’m used to, I’d say it’s about fifty feet square.”
“So about the size of an average house?”
“About, yeah. Wait, you don’t think there’s a house down there?”
“No. But it’s a big space and you have to wonder what’s in it. And the All-American Energy Company is obviously curious because, from the screen, it looks like they’ve drilled right into it.” He indicated a spot on the screen. “Do you see where it shows one of the walls being pierced?”
“Decker!” exclaimed Jamison. “The biochem weapons!”
“The what?” barked Baker.
“I think we found them,” said Decker. “And so did they.” He glanced out the window of the trailer. “And why do I think that whatever is down there is an airborne weapon? And that right this minute it’s being brought to the surface through that pipe?”
“Holy shit,” said Baker.
“Stan, how do we stop that from happening? As fast as possible?” Baker ran outside and they followed. He rushed over to the drill site and stopped dead. “That’s odd as hell. They’ve got the vent pipe directly attached to the drill hole.”
Decker barked, “It’s not odd if that’s how they’re bringing this shit to the surface. It’ll cover the whole area, maybe the whole state.”
“But how are they bringing it up here?” said Jamison. “It’s not like oil, and the pressure makes it move up into the pipe and to the surface like Stan described to us.”
“Do you hear that?” said Baker.
“What?” said Decker.
“That low hum from somewhere. If I had to guess they’ve got some sort of vacuum system built into their equipment. That must be how they’re bringing whatever is down there up here. They’re creating a suction line.”
“Can we turn it off?” said Decker.
Baker shook his head. “Take too long to find it and figure out how to do it. And if the suction has already been deployed, it might not matter if we turn it off. It’ll be like a siphon hose into a gas tank.”
Jamison exclaimed, “But if they stored that shit down there all those decades ago, won’t it be like in bottles or some other containers and on shelves or even in some sort of secure vault? It’s not like gas sitting in a tank that’ll just be free to come up once a suction is started.”
Baker snapped his fingers. “But it might if they sent a detonator down there first and blew everything up. That would smash whatever containers they’re in and also create pressure vacuums within that bunker. Once pierced, the stuff, if it is airborne, would seek the point of least resistance to get out. And that would be this pipe. At least we have to assume it would be.”
Baker quickly examined the roughly twelve-foot-tall pipe and then pulled out his phone.
“Rick, this is Stan. I need a concrete pumper at the All-American Energy Company site. Yeah, I know that’s not our job. Just do it and tell them to move their ass. We got a pumper all loaded and ready to go over there. I want it here in ten minutes. Five would be better. Do it!”
“Guys!”
Jamison had gone back into the trailer and now appeared in the doorway.
They ran back inside. She was pointing to the screen. “Isn’t that the pressure indicator you showed us back at your trailer, Stan?”
“Yeah,” said Baker.
“Well it just spiked.”
“What does that mean?” said Decker anxiously.
Baker said, “It means whatever the hell is down there is coming up here. And fast.”
“Oh, shit!” Jamison exclaimed.