Scourge of the Super-saurs
By C. L. Werner
Part V:
New York
John Latos stared grimly from the window of his penthouse suite in the skyscraper that was MARS' worldwide headquarters. His bull-necked secretary/bodyguard stood at a distance. Easily capable of snapping the old man's neck without breaking a sweat, there was still something about the MARS executive that intimidated the bodyguard. Latos turned away from his musings and snarled at the speaker phone resting inconspicuously on a crystal-topped coffee table.
'This business in San Francisco is about as bad as we could expect,' the old man stated.
'I am very sorry about your son,' the tinny voice came from the phone speaker.
'To Hell with that idiot!' snapped Latos. 'If not for his stupidity, we would not be in the position that we are in! The pollution in San Francisco is not the only fallout from his bungling! The government is searching our holdings with a fine tooth comb. Not so much as a cockroach is going to escape their scrutiny! As if we didn't have enough mud on our face from Vander Van Hise's handling of the Mechani-Kong debacle.'
'Then they have discovered our defenses in New York?' the tinny voice inquired.
'Of course not!' Latos declared. 'The weapon is being kept in a warehouse owned by one of our dummy corporations. There is nothing to link it back to us. New York will be safe enough from this lunatic's creations.' A thought suddenly occurred to Latos.
'Any success in finding this Dr. Mafune?'
'No, sir, he seems to have disappeared from the face of the earth.'
'That is hardly the truth of the matter,' sneered John Latos. 'I want this man found, and I want him found yesterday. You have two weeks to locate him, otherwise I will be forced to dismiss you.' Menace crept into the executive's voice. 'You do know what that means.' Latos cut off the sudden protest being voiced over the speaker. 'Find Mafune, don't bother contacting me again until you do.'
John Latos turned away from the speakerphone and returned his gaze to his towering view of lower Manhattan.
Murakoshi walked into the Interpol building in Tokyo. The tip which had lead him to Salazar had gone nowhere. He was no closer to finding Dr. Mafune now than he had been before he had gone to Colombia. A dark spirit gripped Murakoshi as the police officer made his way toward his chief's office. As he closed the door behind him, Murakoshi met the older Interpol agent's gaze.
'Things went badly in Colombia?' the chief asked. Murakoshi nodded.
'The drug lords might have a few sleepless nights after what happened to Juan Salazar, but I did not find out anything that might lead us to Mafune.'
'I may have something for you then,' the chief smiled. He motioned for Murakoshi to come closer and lowered his voice.
'There is a man here who says that he can help us locate Mafune. He's an American and if my guess is right, probably CIA.'
'CIA?' Murakoshi asked, both startled and puzzled.
'It seems that the CIA may have used Mafune at a bio-weapons research project in Puerto Rico,' the chief replied.
'Why have they been silent until now?'
'The CIA is very secretive, beyond the point of paranoia. Even the American government isn't informed of everything the agency does. My guess is that they were going to deny all association with Dr. Mafune.'
'What changed their mind?'
'Last week Anguirus attacked an American city. Before, Mafune was the rest of the world's problem. Now it is the United States' as well.'
Murakoshi considered that statement for a long time. Finally he nodded his head. 'Okay, where is this American?'
The Dutch freighter slid slowly through the waters of New York's East River. The ship's captain was somewhat jubilant that the long voyage across the North Atlantic was at last at an end. There was a certain young lady in Brooklyn he was eager to see again. The months at sea had been very long, and very lonely.
The freighter suddenly rocked violently. The captain swore a colorful Dutch phrase and glared at his first mate. The man looked back at his captain with an innocent look on his face. They were too far from the waterfront to have struck land, and the mate was certain they had not struck another ship. The freighter shook again, this time spilling the men on the bridge to the deck. As the captain picked himself up, he screamed. Visible through the windows was the cause of the ship's jostling, a cause that was beyond belief!
The huge warty creature trumpeted a gurgling roar as he waded away from the still rocking Dutch ship. Titanosaurus ignored the police launches that closed in upon him, desperately trying to drive him away with small arms fire and concentrated blasts from water cannons. The attacks were less than biting insects to the huge dinosaur, and beyond his notice. The giant beast lumbered onwards towards the teeming metropolis that towered before him, its streets teeming with tiny creatures that were as yet unaware of the doom which threatened them.
'The sea monster?' Latos asked the disembodied voice speaking to him from the speaker. 'I was hoping the lunatic would try and repeat his London strategy. He will find that MARS is ready for him this time. Have Harker in the control room at once. I want Mechatron at full operating readiness before Titanosaurus can trample too much of my city.'
Latos stared out of the window in the direction of the river. He could barely see the monster that was even now emerging onto the streets of the city. Police helicopters could be seen buzzing about, no doubt on their way to engage the beast. It would be some time yet before National Guard and Air Force squadrons arrived. By that time, Latos was certain, MARS would have dealt with this threat. It would go far to healing the black eye suffered by MARS following the San Francisco disaster.
'Oh,' Latos said as an afterthought, ' tell Harker that if Esposito's Deli is harmed, he is fired. It is so hard to find a good pastrami sandwich.'
The reptilian behemoth stomped his way through the narrow streets of the city, crushing the metal chariots of Detroit beneath his feet. Sirens blared from the tops of buildings, the unfamiliar mechanical shriek heralding the monster's advance as surely as Titanosaurus' own trumpeting bellows. Fires burned where the dinosaur's footfalls had ruptured gas mains or chanced to ignite the petrol tanks of service stations. Screaming mobs of humanity scattered at the monster's approach, crushing countless hundreds in the press so great was the panic. A police helicopter drew too close to Titanosaurus, its heavy machine gun making enough noise to annoy the towering beast. Titanosaurus blasted it from the sky with a cyclonic gale from his mouth, smashing the vehicle's remains into the upper floors of a glass-faced skyscraper.
The monster's rampage continued unchecked. Nothing, it seemed, could save Manhattan. It would take some time for the US military to mobilize and combat the horrific beast, precious minutes which meant the difference between life and death for countless New Yorkers.
Titanosaurus bellowed again, a sound of triumph, like the echo of the primordial past resurgent. The sound rattled windows and caused grown men to clamp their hands to their ears to defend against the awful sound. But Titanosaurus' cry did not go unanswered.
The warehouse building's roof exploded as the titan it had housed rose from its slumber. The red and white metal gleamed dully in the smoggy sunlight as the giant machine sat upright and began to rise. Panicked shrieks sounded from the mob that had retreated in the direction of the warehouse, desperately looking for a new avenue of escape, a path away from both Titanosaurus and the adversary that had appeared to confront the dinosaur.
The robot gained its feet and slowly lumbered toward Titanosaurus, smashing through the walls of the warehouse. It was like a demented general's vision of the future, a tank given human form. The robot's torso was a dull red, box like, its armored surface angled to deflect shells and projectiles. The robot's body was supported by two thick, rectangular legs, rising from the ground like trees of steel. Massive rectangular arms hung from either shoulder, each terminating in a long-barreled cannon. An array of missile tubes rose from either shoulder. In the very center of the robot's chest, a crackling field of electricity danced across a black rectangle of brightly polished metal. The robot's head was also a thing of angles, utterly devoid of nature's handiwork. A slit-like visor acted as the robot's eyes, two antenna at either side of its wedge-shaped head acting as ears.
Far away, in the very bowels of the MARS corporation's New York headquarters, the robot's operator sat, his body encased in a tight-fitting bodyglove called a neuro-suit. Electrical receptors in the suit fed Harker's movements to the robot while a visor worn over the man's head duplicated the video imaging system mounted on the robot, providing both man and machine a view of the battlefield. Harker allowed himself a smile. After so many years, it was time to finally put the technology to its ultimate test. It was time to give Mechatron his baptism of fire.
Titanosaurus stared at the towering robot, his simple reptilian brain trying to decide if the machine was friend or foe. By nature a peaceful creature, the dinosaur's lack of aggression left the opening move to the machine. Mechatron was not slow in seizing the opportunity. The robot's massive cannons rose, taking aim at the green and red amphibian. Flame roared from the cannons as shells larger than those fired by any battleship struck Titanosaurus. The dinosaur howled in pain as the round exploded against his thick scaly hide. Two hideous wounds wept from the monster's sides. For a moment, Titanosaurus began to back away. But the urge would not be denied.
Mechatron's guns sounded again, gouging fresh wounds in Titanosaurus. The giant dinosaur waded through the fusillade, his blood drenching the streets. The dinosaur roared again, blasting the huge robot with his gale-force cyclone attack. The robot did not move, though all about it, men and cars were sent flying, some even striking Mechatron, leaving dents and stains on its armor. The robot replied with a salvo of missiles. The projectiles slammed into Titanosaurus, but had less effect than the huge cannons. It was an error in tactics which the dinosaur exploited.
Titanosaurus slammed his long powerful tail into Mechatron, forcing the robot to give ground to the huge dinosaur. Mechatron's mammoth feet pulverized asphalt and concrete with every step, leaving holes large enough to swallow school busses with every step the robot took. The dinosaur's tail continued to batter the machine. But it only took Mechatron's controller a few moments to react to his mistake, and to correct it.
From the top of Mechatron's head, from a small prism-like device, a beam of light lashed out at the monster. An improved Tesla Ray, the laser sliced through the flesh of Titanosaurus' tail, severing its tip. The dinosaur shrieked again in pain, retreating away from this new weapon of his futuristic foe. The robot followed after him, its targeting arrays already sending further blasts to slice into the dinosaur's legs and chest. Titanosaurus bellowed again, trying once more to blast his mechanical enemy with his cyclonic breath. Again, the massive robot was unfazed by the tremendous winds.
In the control room, Harker gloated at Mechatron's power, at the robot's absolute control over the conflict. If he pressed his attack with the Tesla Ray, the dinosaur would surely fall. But the robot's controller was more interested in testing his machine than besting his enemy. Harker decided that he would test Mechatron's sonic field to see what manner of effect it would have upon the fading dinosaur.
A high-pitched warble sounded from Mechatron's chest. The sound was at once a low-frequency dirge beyond human hearing, and an eerie shriek of shredding metal. The sonic attack was designed to slaughter human infantry that thought to attack the mechanized soldier. Its effect on the huge dinosaur was nothing less than tortuous. Titanosaurus fell as if pole-axed, writhing on the ground in agony, crashing into buildings in his painful spasm.
In the control room, Harker noted the sonic attack's extreme effectiveness. But he had other weapons systems to test. He ceased the hideous whine emanating from Mechatron, instead readying the crackling energy weapon housed in the robot's chest.
As soon as the sonic wail ended, the wounded dinosaur stopped thrashing. Titanosaurus did not rise, but scuttled away on all fours, scrambling away from his robotic adversary. Pain throbbed in each of the monster's many nerve centers, flooding his primitive brain with agony. The huge robot pursed the fleeing dinosaur, but Mechatron could not match the frenzied pace of the injured dinosaur. Pain had overcome Mafune's command, and Titanosaurus fled back toward the water, associating the cool Atlantic depths with the soothing of his suffering.
The giant dinosaur reached the bank of the river, leaping into it like a gigantic frog. Mechatron's energy beam burned the waters just as Titanosaurus sank beneath the surface, sending a column of steam to join the smoggy clouds high above the city. Harker was distressed that the monster had not remained to field test the robot's other weapons. Still, Mechatron had performed admirably; a fact which even John Latos would be forced to admit.
The robot stood silent, facing the bubbling, boiling water of the East River, before turning and slowly, carefully, negotiating its way back into the city.
Dr. Mafune glared down into the huge crater which served as lair to his giant creations. He could see Titanosaurus, licking painfully at his many wounds. The healing process had begun. Inside a week, Mafune's monster would be back into fighting shape. It was not the monster's injuries which upset the scientist. It was the monster's failure.
'Think they can stop me, do they?' the scientist raged. 'They think their machines can save them? Hah, they are only machines, what can they really do!' Mafune stared at his four 'children' and a maniacal smile spread across his face. 'I'll show them what you can really do!' Mafune let his eyes linger on Titanosaurus and the gaping wounds in the monster's scaly flesh.
'We will just let Titanosaurus heal from his battle,' the scientist said, almost affectionately. 'Then, I will send all of you. We'll attack their headquarters in Tokyo, let those fools in New York know what is going to happen to them! We'll see how safe they feel after you're through!' The scientist began laughing, drawing the momentary attention of Baragon. Hisses from the scaly throats of Anguirus and Gorosaurus caused the ravenous predator to settle down.
'Heal quickly!' Mafune told Titanosaurus. 'Your work is almost complete!'
Titanosaurus let his long purple tongue caress the edge of a wound in his left arm.
Rodan sat atop the dormant volcano, his beak probing the pockmark scar left by one of the quills fired by Anguirus. The giant pterosaur cackled, a low, menacing sound. There was an almost human quality to the monster's uttering, a promise of retribution and revenge. It was a sound which did not go unheard. Standing on the shore of Ogasawara Island, like a black mountain, the moonlight shining off his wet scales, Godzilla turned his eyes to the volcano and the disturbing sounds uttered by his most unnatural 'brother'. A low growl rumbled in Godzilla's throat as he listened to Rodan's fury more with his mind than with his ears. Linked psychically, the two monsters could understand what one another was feeling. It was a rude form of communication, built from emotions rather than words or thoughts. Still, for the two radioactive monsters, it was enough.
Godzilla stared at one of the long white spines Rodan had plucked from his flesh and discarded on the beach. The titan lowered his head toward the sands, sniffing the quill, taking in its scent, the lingering essence of the creature that had injured Rodan.
In the command center, deep underground, a troubled Miki Saegusa spoke with Dr. Otani.
'I think you should request that the UNGCC and perhaps GARD as well deploy some forces around Ogasawara,' the young psychic told the scientist. Dr. Otani met her tremulous gaze with a look of alarm and concern.
'Is something going to happen? You feel something?' the head of the Ogasawara project asked.
'Something is going to happen, I know,' Miki Saegusa looked all around the command center, as if trying to catch some vision of coming events in the lifeless terminals and monitors. 'Ever since Rodan returned to the island, I have felt the tremendous rage emanating from him.'
'Rodan could hardly be called a welcome guest in the best of times,' Dr. Otani said, trying to lighten the mood. 'Maybe this will keep him from straying away again.' Even as he said it, Dr. Otani knew he was just expressing blatantly wishful thinking.
'No, if anything, it will cause him to leave again, to seek out Anguirus. What is troubling me is that Godzilla is connected to Rodan, psychically they are brothers. Some of Rodan's rage is feeding into Godzilla.'
A dark look came over Dr. Otani's face.
'And we all know what happens when Godzilla gets angry,' he said, letting the words linger. As if to punctuate his comment, the sound of Rodan's cackle sounded from a nearby speaker.