Terror Unleashed: Angry Hornets Return

By Sheri McLaughlin

Murder hornets are back! Biologists have lost necessary funding for Asian Giant Hornet research. Trapping methods are becoming ineffective. It will take a multi-National team of experts working together to figure out a viable solution.

Dave Attkoff is a software engineer who also designs drones. One drone, in particular, catches his neighbor by surprise. Dave soon meets Mindy, who moves to Washington to start a new life.

Ransomware attacks are on the rise within the United States. Will the cyber security firm, WCT, be able to protect the interests of two pesticide corporations? The CEO is interested in Mindy's Vessel Max program.

Indian reservations along the low-lying coastal areas are facing real danger, afraid of losing their very existence. Tribal leaders push for legislation to gain back land in order to protect against rising waters.

Sherry Binto witnesses a horrifying event and wants revenge against the murder hornets. Her obsession puts herself and others at risk.

This sequel to "Angry Hornets" unleashes more drama, danger, and suspense. Will the NW United States be able to recover from the mayhem?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sheri McLaughlin
• Release date: Sep 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005854577

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

Preface

Since the novella, Angry Hornets made its debut, murder hornets continue to make unwelcome appearances in Washington. This sequel occurs one year later (in the year 2025). Biologists have discovered colonies of Asian Giant Hornets encroaching into Oregon. Residents in the northwestern United States are being urged to set up baiting traps. Exterminators are discovering the hives are becoming more and more difficult to locate.

Outdated methods are proving inefficient. This species has a unique and effective communication style, able to steer its mates away from potential threats, sacrificing itself for the sake of the hive. With the highly developed sonar warning system alerting others of danger, the rest of the hive avoids the traps. Unfortunately, the Asian Giant Hornets camouflage well. They’ve survived yet another winter, shielding themselves underground.

Oftentimes, these ‘parasitic’ hornets use unsuspecting arachnids or arthropods as superb surrogates for fertilized murder hornet eggs. Of course, it provides the necessary food source for hungry larvae to feed upon - the guts of unsuspecting carriers. Well, it’s no wonder this is considered an invasive species.

The hornets’ vicious attacks on beneficial insects occur quickly, leaving widespread destruction. These intruders must kill adult bees to gain access to the hive and kidnap developing bees to feed young murder hornets. It’s the circle of life that boils down to survival of the fittest.

Dwindling bee populations have become noticeable to beekeepers. Honey and beeswax production is on the decline. American honeybees were already facing its share of obstacles. The last thing it needed was to be on the menu of a vicious predator.

Attack

Hungry from a morning of canoeing on Lake Crescent, two friends returned to the East Beach picnic area for some sustenance. The sun was high above, reflecting on the lake’s rippling motion.

Buster stretched out his tight back muscles and then opened the cooler to pull out a shallow plastic container of raw sirloin patties. He glanced over at Roscoe, who was dumping charcoal briquettes into the grill’s pit, dousing it heavily with lighter fluid. Buster’s focus returned to slicing onions and tomatoes on the cooler’s lid.

Hey, Buster, where’d you hide the lighter?

Buster looked up, In the left side pocket of the backpack!

Roscoe unzipped the pack and unlocked it. Presto! Whomp! Ignition successful!

Roscoe, satisfied with himself, grabbed a cold one from a smaller drink cooler and plopped down on one of the camping chairs.

Moments later, Buzzzzzzzz! Hey, Roscoe, you hear that? Buster was tending burgers on the grill. He looked back at his friend who didn’t respond, nodding his head to a rhythm. Must be engulfed in his music.

Buster slightly tilted his head to the right, scratching the back of his neck. The flames were dancing around; the drippings sizzled. He fanned the smoking grill with a small hand towel that had been tucked in his elastic waistband.

Roscoe’s high-pitched voice sang, Good, good, good, … Good vibrations…

Buzzz! Buzzz!

There was that noise again. Buster looked around to try and pinpoint where it was coming from. When he turned to the right, he saw a dark gray plume emerge from some spruce trees. Squinting his eyes to get a clearer glimpse, he realized it was a swarm of bees darting here and there in unison. The bee cloud eventually moved over Roscoe’s head, but his eyes were focused on the cell phone resting in his lap.

Holding a spatula in his left hand; eyes wide, mouth gaping, Buster’s attention had been captured by the buzzing mass. He didn’t know how to safely alert Roscoe, afraid he might trigger an attack.

Something even more unnerving happened. Decapitated bees began falling from the sky. One by one, bee carcasses dropped like rain. A decapitated one landed onto Roscoe’s phone.

Shit! Roscoe’s phone dropped onto the ground between his knees that had been comfortably separated. He yanked his earbuds out of his ears and jumped out of his seat, looking over at Buster. Is this some sort of prank?

Buster pointed at the space above his friend’s head. He watched Roscoe look up and then back away slowly.

Hovering around the smoking grill for protection, they watched, unable to assist the helpless bees. The other swarm of angry hornets descended upon the bees, violently attacking. In less than a half hour, the eusocial culprits left the scene of the crime. In their wake, decapitated honeybees laid around the area where Roscoe had been sitting.

Roscoe edged closer to the pile of dead bee carcasses. What the hell? He went to retrieve his phone, but jumped back when he witnessed one giant Asian murder hornet tasting beer that had pooled around the lid’s crevice. Buster, you’re not gonna believe this…

Perhaps the carnivorous insect was rewarding itself for getting the job done.

Chapter 1 - Mindy Cook

Mindy Cook’s move to Washington had been a well-considered plan. After a tough break-up with her boyfriend of three years, a change of pace was in order. The smog and traffic volumes in Los Angeles cemented her final decision.

As a newly single woman with a degree in Computer Science, she worked as a junior software engineer for over twelve years at a small tech firm named CROW (Consulting Research and Operations World). She’d been passed over for several promotions, but was too shy to approach her superiors about a raise.

Finding a great job didn’t take long with her credentials. She bought a three-bedroom, two-story home in Thornwood, Washington. She always dreamed of having a view of the Cascade Mountains in the distance. During this whole process, Mindy made a promise to herself. From now on, I am the one in charge of my life!

Mindy smiled, contemplating the next chapter of her life. Freedom from her lousy ex-boyfriend and unappreciative former boss never felt so good. Now I have full reign over my life, under my terms. Since the new position did not begin for another week, she decided to take her time unpacking.

Chapter 2 - Washington Biologists

Ever since its emergence within the United States in 2019, biologists at Washington State University have been studying these murder hornets. Ronald Phoenix; David Ritz; and Penny Alto had been running into political roadblocks, perturbed with the government’s reduction in research funding. Current methods of containing and eliminating the Asian Giant Hornets (AGH) were sporadic and ridiculously time consuming.

Dr. Alto had been thinking of her Japanese friend, Dr. Yamamoto. Last year, he supplied her with a humorous idea. His initial preternatural suggestion had not been taken seriously.

Penny never even bothered to mention it to her colleagues. They’d probably think I was crazy for suggesting it. Designating enormous blocks of time researching Japanese honeybees and unique communication methods, she wondered if it might be possible. It’s a long shot, no guarantee it’d ever work. Getting past the government’s red tape will be difficult. She was aware of negative consequences with allowing foreign species to enter the United States.

Dr. Alto’s request one month ago to import Japanese bees to study in a lab setting, had been turned down. She felt backed up against a wall. Dr. Yamamoto’s suggestion replayed in her mind, Maybe we could send some of our Asian honeybees over there to help teach the American honeybees how to cook. She wasn’t ready to throw in the towel yet. Her tenacious personality wouldn’t let it go.

She knew the risks involved. The two most likely scenarios crossed her mind and both involved American bees being killed. Japanese bees, more than likely, will kill our bees. Training our bees seems like a fairytale.

*****

It was Ronald Phoenix’s day off and he needed a break from long days at the lab. His team had just spent the last six months failing to develop a successful plan to locate murder hornet hives. It was past 11 o’clock and he’d just rolled out of bed to brew some coffee. Mesmerized by the low-lying fog in his back yard, he daydreamed about traveling to Hawaii.

BEEP! BEEP! The coffee was ready.

Although it was a tantalizing thought, he quickly returned to reality as he inhaled the fresh aroma and sipped the hot liquid. Who am I kidding? He jiggled his stomach with his hand. Nobody wants to see this in a Speedo.

He recognized the mail truck’s loud muffler. Time to go get the mail. Setting down the cup, he slid on his hard-bottomed slippers and ventured outside. Ducking out of the way, something buzzed by his head. Shit, what the heck was that! The first thing that popped into his mind was murder hornets.

When he discovered it was a tiny drone, he breathed a sigh of relief. Not wanting to start a war with his new neighbor, Ronald politely waved. Good afternoon, whatcha got there?

Oh, just a little something I’ve been working on in my spare time. Dave proudly boasted about it, explaining every detail.

Ronald yawned and glanced at his watch, realizing an hour had already passed. He kindly excused himself from the one-sided conversation and returned to his quiet abode. He was looking forward to decompressing after spending long hours at the lab.

Half-watching some game show reruns while surfing the net on his phone, the coffee finally kicked in. Dr. Phoenix suddenly sat upright on his sofa. Of course!

*****

Dave Attkoff had grown tired of his small apartment in the city. No longer wanting to share walls with noisy neighbors, he’d upgraded to a larger home in the suburbs.

After speaking to Ronald Phoenix, he returned to his home. He needed to tweak the drone so it would fly quieter. He had big ideas, anticipating that the military might one day hire him for his drone creations to spy on other countries. He hoped to develop the tiniest drone in the world, fantasizing about becoming rich and famous.

Working with leftover metal components, he designed these lightweight masterpieces. Stumbling upon this new hobby about two years ago, it bordered on an obsession. He even joined an online chat group to engage with other drone lovers.

Dave’s distraction gave him a purpose. His work at WCT hadn’t really changed in over eight years. Providing security software for large corporations was his specialty.

*****

Dr. David Ritz was working late at the lab, studying the genetic makeup of dead murder hornets. Grasping one of the subjects with a pair of tweezers, he closely examined it under a microscope.

Recently discovering there were hundreds of queens per nest, he concentrated his efforts on sterilization. It seemed like the next logical step in annihilating the colonies.

Amazing, really… Genetic components within different colonies are similar, but not identical. The DNA samples we took proved there were mutations. It could mean these changes are occurring rapidly, enabling the species to thrive. That’s certainly bad news for us! We’ll need to find a better long-term solution.

Penny understood her colleague’s dilemma all too well. She suspected mutations were occurring. I keep thinking maybe instead of going after the murder hornets, we could work on equipping our honeybees to handle themselves better.

Dr. Ritz sat back from the microscope and pulled his spectacles off to focus on what Dr. Alto was saying. Perhaps I’ve spent too much time analyzing insect carcasses; what exactly do you mean, Penny?

It was actually Dr. Yamamoto’s idea. Although, I think he was half joking when he said it. Dr. Alto was carefully skirting around the question. She did not want to present too many details before adequately researching it first.

I see. Well, let me know how that works out. Our lab’s funding is the real joke here. How do they expect us to find answers? At the rate we’re going, it will take us years to figure this out. By then, we’ll have a deadly invasion on our hands! Dr. Ritz rubbed his temples and slid on his glasses.

Glancing at the clipboard, Dr. Ritz read the notations about the AGH’s living arrangements. He developed a theory about why they may have settled in this region. Penny, I noticed something else about our troublemakers. They seem to prefer living in low mountains and forests. Every nest we’ve discovered, so far, has met one of these criterion.

So are you saying they won’t migrate to other areas if given the chance? Penny wasn’t so sure about that.

Who knows what the future holds, Penny. It just seems to be a preference right now. For all we know, they can exist anywhere there are food sources.

Chapter 3 - Birthday Celebration - 2025

Maureen was born in the Republic of Korea (South Korea). She was only 17 years old when she first met Private Ross Scotch. Ross was one of the first black American recruits for the Montford Point Marines. After the fighting ended on July 27, 1953, Maureen married her American-born hero and moved to Washington. Ross worked as a chemical engineer at Soy in Eden, Inc. for over 40 years, retiring in 1994.

As a bi-racial couple, they faced adversities together during times of forced segregation. Rising above those hardships wasn’t easy amidst injustices. They never wanted their daughters to experience the unfairness they endured, encouraging Veronica and Tracy to embrace difficulties and seize every moment.

Ross lost his fight with lung cancer more than ten years ago. She often spoke about the Korean War; wanting her granddaughters to understand its complexities. The freedom enjoyed today wasn’t free; it cost too many lives. Your grandfather helped fight for that freedom.

*****

Maureen Scotch celebrated her ninetieth birthday under a large gazebo near a pristine pool on the grounds of the Hotel Daphne near Bellingham. It was a surprise gathering of twenty close family and friends.

She was proud to have reached this milestone in her life. I’m a Nonagenarian now! Her brown eyes lit up and she twirled around every time she repeated the phrase.

Both of Maureen’s daughters went through nasty divorces about ten years ago. Preferring to remain single, they pursued careers in nursing. Veronica and Tracy rearranged busy nursing schedules to celebrate their mother’s special day.

Attending the event was Carl Scotch. He was Ross’s youngest brother. At the age of 88, Uncle Carl benefited from his nieces’ medical expertise. They