Weapon

 

                                                                   Prolog

Sound is: “(a) Oscillation in pressure, stress, particle displacement, particle velocity, etc., propagated in a medium with internal forces (e.g., elastic or viscous), or the superposition of such propagated oscillation; (b) Auditory sensation evoked by the oscillation described in (a).

            Sound can be viewed as a wave motion in air or other elastic media. In this case, sound is a stimulus. Sound can also be viewed as an excitation of the hearing mechanism that results in the perception of sound. In this case, sound is a sensation.” – Wikipedia definition.

Sound is also a powerful tool that is formidable enough to shatter glass and delicate enough to look into our bodies and allow pictures of an unborn child to be viewed. To date there is no small portable weapon that uses sound waves to disable or destroy an adversary, or is there?

 

Chapter 1

 

It started again! I can only describe the sound as somewhere between a whooshing sound similar to what a seashell makes when placed next to one’s ear and the static noise a person with Tinnitus experiences. Not everyone at the embassy is affected by the phenomenon, just key security and upper echelon personnel. Once it begins there is nowhere to hide, no way to deaden the din. I’ve even tried taking shelter in the SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility) but, although the noise is dampened somewhat, it doesn’t dissipate completely. As head of security for the facility, it’s my job to locate the source of the disturbance and eliminate it by whatever means necessary.

When I first received the posting to this backwater country I needed Google to show me where it was located. Mayoruna, named after its inhabitants, is only 500 square miles in mass and located in the most inaccessible region of the Amazon rain forest. Why would the U.S., Russia, China, and several other world stage players place embassies here? Answer, Iridium. As fate would have it, this mini-country has the world’s largest deposit of pure Iridium. Almost overnight the poor inhabitants of this tiny country evolved into power-brokers on the world stage. So we’re all here trying to secure our piece of the mineral pie, and maybe a little of the other guy’s piece as well.

“Hunter, the ambassador needs you right now” my secretary announced over the intercom.