Chaney nods. “Like Marvin said, another thirty-eight of these things were discharged from that alien vessel over the last five nights. So far, none has detonated.”

Mick recalls Guardian’s words. The activation of the Nephilim array will forestall the end, but only the destruction of Tezcatilpoca and the Black Road can prevent our enemy from passing through to your world.

“We’ve compiled a list of the drones that haven’t detonated. Gabriel, are you listening?”

“Huh? Sorry. You say these things are drones?”

“That’s what our scientists are calling them. The Air Force equates them to an alien version of our Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.”

“Each of these drones are essentially pure-fusion weapons with wings,” Marvin explains. “Like our own UAVs, the drones are remotely controlled, linked by some sort of radio signal to their control center—”

“The vessel in the Gulf?”

“Yes. Once the drone lands in its pretargeted area, a radio signal is dispersed, arming the explosive. Situated on the creature’s tail assembly are rows of bizarre-looking sensors that we believe are high-powered photovoltaic cells. The triggering mechanism uses solar power to detonate the explosive at sunrise.”

“Which explains why these things are always released at night,” Chaney adds. “Seven drones detonated prior to the activation of this array, all seven dispersing west after exiting the vessel in the Gulf. The airspeed of the drones matched the Earth’s rotation, keeping them in darkness until they reached their targeted areas.”

“You said another thirty-eight of these drones have been released?”

“Show him the list, Marvin.” The exobiologist searches his briefcase, producing a computer printout.

DRONE TARGETS

AUSTRALIA

Nullarbor Plain [D]

ASIA

Malaysia [D] Irian Jaya [D] Papua New Guinea [D] Yunnan Province. China [D] Vilyui Basin. Russia [D] Kugitangtau Ridge. Turkmenistan [D]

AFRICA

Algeria Botswana Egypt Ivory Coast Israel Libya Madagascar Morocco [Atlas Mountains] Niger Nigeria Saudi Arabia Sudan Tunisia

EUROPE

Austria Bosnia-Herz. Bulgaria Croatia Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Spain

NORTH AMERICA

Canada: Montreal

Cuba

USA: Arecibo [Puerto Rico] Appalachian Valley Colorado Florida [Central & Southeast] Georgia Kentucky Indiana [Southern] Ozark Mountains New Mexico Texas [Northwest]

SOUTH AMERICA

Salvador [Brazil]

CENTRAL AMERICA

Honduras Chichén Itza [Yucatan]

Mick scans the list, pausing at the name of the last site. “A drone landed in Chichén Itza?”

“Enough of this nonsense,” Chaney snaps. “Gabriel, I need some answers, and I need them now. While you’ve been lying here asleep, the world’s lost its collective mind. Religious fanatics are claiming these drones to be part of the Apocalyptic prophecies predicted for the new millennium. The world’s economy has ground to a halt. Terrified masses are preparing for Armageddon. Mobs are hoarding supplies and ammunition and boarding themselves up in their homes. We’ve had to institute dusk-to-dawn curfews. And what’s fueling these fires more than anything is our own inability to ease the public’s concern.”