Angry Hornets

By Sheri McLaughlin

Local beekeepers quickly learn about a murder hornet species and its deadly impact on local honey production. With a spike in the Asian Giant Hornet population, attacks increase within the United States.

Residents in the Whatcom County area of Washington state are putting pressure on local politicians to eradicate this problem. Biologists frantically search for information on the Asian Giant Hornet’s DNA. They send samples of the specimens to a Japanese biologist who is familiar with this type of insect.

Americans must put aside their differences and unite to eliminate this invasive species. Experts are questioning how this insect arrived on U.S. soil. Could a foreign enemy’s involvement be behind these deadly attacks?

An entomologist considers a new career, partaking in a lucrative side business.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sheri McLaughlin
• Release date: May 14, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005447120

Sheri McLaughlin

When the pandemic caused the world to retreat into isolation, McLaughlin discovered a new passion - writing fiction stories. She enjoys creating new adventures adding action, drama, and mystery.Other fiction titles include: “Lovers Fall in Arcticville”, "Frozen Isolation", “A New Adventure on the Escuadrón Polar”, “Whispering Angels”, “Vanishing Author”, “Angry Hornets”, “Terror Unleashed: Angry Hornets Return”, “Presidential Mercy”, and “Mercy on the Trail”. She is currently working on her tenth novel, “Quantum Mercy” which will complete her Mercy Trilogy.

Book preview

Angry Hornets

Sheri McLaughlin

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Angry Hornets

U. S. Copyright ©2020 Sheri McLaughlin

Printed in the United States of America

The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. Thank you for supporting the author’s rights.

More books by Sheri McLaughlin:

Lovers Fall in Arcticville

Presidential Mercy

Frozen Isolation

A New Adventure on the Escuadrón Polar

Whispering Angels

Vanishing Author

Disclaimer

This is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any group, politician, or elected official. Any content provided by the author is of her opinion and is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, anyone, or anything.

Special Thanks

Special thanks to God, my family and friends. Your patience, understanding, love and support have been paramount in this writing endeavor. Sheryl McCoy, thanks for planting the seed from which this fictional story grew.

Prologue

In Wuhan, Professor Li Wei just finished injecting the test subjects in Group Study B with a cocktail of genetic components. The Asian Giant Hornets were commonly found all over Asia, but Dr. Wei received a large shipment of hornets from the low mountainous regions of Japan. Prior to the study’s completion, another biologist working on the modifications mysteriously disappeared, taking a batch of genetically altered eggs and larvae with him.

In Japan, the Asian Giant Hornet was considered a lucrative side business. The hornets’ contribution to an expensive liquor with a venomous buzz. Just one shot of this liquor could fetch 2,000 yen (around $20.00). Middle-aged men were acquiring this well sought-after liquor to increase potency.

Chapter 1 - Whiskey Distillery

Ever since 1920, Bold Barrel Distillery in northwestern Washington State, specialized in making their signature whiskey in small batches. Believing that the rye needed to be hand-pulled to avoid reducing the value of the next crop, the attention to detail was quite remarkable.

Harold Partier, successful owner of the distillery, had a small group of hired hands to help him run the day-to-day whiskey business. Learning how to make whiskey from his grandfather, he carried on the family tradition.

Oliver Flask has worked in the rye fields for over ten years. As a former Marine and a large stockholder in the business, he never minded the hard work that went into turning a profit. He needed to clear away some old branches and weeds, at the back of the property, to allow for the planting of new rye seed. With a machete in his right hand, he quickly got to work. Swinging the machete’s blade through the stubborn mass of old limbs and offshoots was grueling work.

He stopped for a minute when he felt something bump into his face. Casually swatting it away, he continued clearing the patch of land.

It wasn’t until Oliver felt the first painful burning sensation that he realized, he was under a vicious attack. The hornets’ stings felt like sharp knives penetrating his flesh. His long-sleeved shirt and jeans did nothing to repel the Asian Giant Hornets.

Showing no mercy, the hornets joined forces and swarmed together, issuing multiple doses of poisonous venom. Oliver was waving his machete in the air, screaming in agony. His flesh endured thousands of venomous pricks within minutes. The angry frenzy of hornets unleashed their fury on the intruder in an attempt to protect its queen.

Oliver Flask’s wife was devastated when his body was discovered by police later that evening. She’d reported him missing when he didn’t come home from work. It wasn’t like him to miss his favorite meal that she had prepared for him. She knew something was wrong when he didn’t answer her calls.

The hornets were underground sleeping when the police arrived at the scene of the accident. The hornets’ nest was deep inside a previously dug rodent’s hole. They were far enough below the earth that the flashlights and commotion did not disturb them.

Harold Partier was shocked when he discovered there was a nest of ‘murder hornets’ lurking in the back quadrant of his property.

The next day, after Mr. Partier expressed his deepest sympathies to Mrs. Flask, he contacted an exterminator to help locate and destroy the nest of hornets that killed his friend and co-worker.

Joji Wasabi, exterminator from No More Pesky Bugs, met with Mr. Partier at the distillery. Hello, you can call me Joji.

Joji Wasabi was looking around the distillery; he was very interested in the entire whiskey operation. He even bragged about making some of his own homemade liquor when he lived in Japan.

I’m sorry. Did I hear you correctly, you say you made your own whiskey? Harold Partier had assumed the subject was whiskey.

"No, not whiskey… It was a popular liquor