“This is our punishment. We’ve filled this world with war and greed. Guns and hatred, and we’re being judged for it,” the interviewee spat out.
“You think this is God’s will?” The journalist jabbed the microphone at the frantic lady.
“I don’t know about all that, but I for one welcome whoever is coming for us.” The screen flicked, and it showed the same interviewer talking to a man in a suit.
“What do you think of the Objects?” The Objects. That was the title given by the media. It was as good a moniker as any, I supposed.
“What are you talking about?” The guy held his coffee in one hand, a leather satchel draped over his shoulder.
“The mysterious asteroids heading for Earth,” she informed him.
“I don’t know what you’re saying. I’m more into the Cubs and my work. I’ll let the nerds watch the meteors or whatever.” He walked off, whistling for a taxi.
“As you can see, Bob, there are a variety of reactions to the news of these Objects, but I have a feeling that as word spreads, things will change shortly.”
The image returned to Bob at the anchor desk, and he looked afraid. “Yasmine, I think you’re correct. There are already talks of protests and marches in New York, Paris, London, Moscow, and right here in Chicago this weekend.”
Marcus closed the laptop, and I realized the bartender had already exchanged my empty glass for a full one. I took a sip.
“This is messed up,” Marcus said. “What if the Believers are right?”
I had a hard time accepting that. “The governments must know what they’re doing.”
“You’ve seen evidence to the contrary over the years, haven’t you?”
“Maybe Hunter has a contact in the—”
“In the what?” The billionaire had sneaked up behind us so quietly, no one even noticed. “Military? Homeland? Attorney’s office? Take your pick, I know someone, but what would you have me do? Walk in and tell them aliens are coming, and I might have the only lead on how we can prevent our utter destruction?”
I almost dropped my beer but recovered. “Wait. What did you just say?”
He pulled at a stool to my left, and I slid over, making room. “Why else are we doing this, Rex?”
“I thought you wanted to find this Bridge.”
“The whole purpose is to make contact. It always has been,” Hunter said.
“With whom?” Veronica asked.
“We don’t know, but Hardy had countless theories. He anticipated that we’d been visited by otherworldly beings thousands of years ago. They left us the means to the Bridge, spread apart by such distance that it would be next to impossible to gather them all unless we had the technology, which would indicate a certain intelligence level.”
“Classic concept,” I said. “It makes sense. Only from what I read in my father’s journals, they were each located by ancient civilizations, and almost all of them were revered at some point as artifacts from the stars to the locals.”
Hunter’s hand gripped my wrist at the mention of the journal. “You have his books?”
“I do. At home,” I lied. I’d actually brought them with me, but I didn’t want to let him know that. He’d take them, and I’d lose the connection to my father I’d only just found.
“What do they say?”
“They’re short accounts of him and Clayton obtaining each Token.”
“This is unbelievable. I funded him for years, and he wouldn’t so much as…” Hunter peered at Veronica. “This is important, Rex. I don’t know how much you’ve told our team, but I have a feeling that activating the Bridge is more imperative now than ever. The arrival of the Objects is like a ticking time bomb, and I fear that we’ll be destroyed, should we fail.” Hunter waved down the bartender and ordered Scotch. Neat. A double.
I cleared my throat. “I haven’t told her much, Hunter, but I guess she’s invested now.”
His drink came, and he raised the glass. “To new friends.”
“To new friends,” Veronica said, but her face was whiter than before. The conversation had obviously affected her, and Marcus was tapping his foot on the barstool, his hands fiddling with his beer.
“We’re going to be fine. We have four more stops, and then your guys will decipher the last location,” I told Hunter, but he didn’t appear to agree.
“Rex, I have some bad news on that…”
Marcus’ phone beeped, and he cut Hunter off. “Uhm, bad news.”
“What is it?” I asked, looking across the bar at him.
“I set an alert for local news near the town and airport in Madagascar.” Marcus rotated the phone, and I recited the translation.
“Three local men found dead.” I read the rest, seeing a brief mention of Haja and Hasin, along with a picture of a third. “That was the man who led us to them at the airport.”
“They know what we have,” Hunter said, downing the Scotch with a tilt of his wrist. “If our guides overheard anything, you can be assured that the Believers know it.”
I tried to remember what we’d said in front of the two men. “I think we’re safe.”
Marcus nodded. “Us too. We didn’t tell Haja anything while you guys were at Tsingy.”
“The Believers will have something to go by. And Hasin saw the Token, right?”
“He did,” I admitted, “but what—”
“They’ll double their efforts. Triple. He’ll want to see this through,” Hunter growled.
“Who? Who is he?”
“The leader. I don’t know who’s in charge any longer, only that he goes by Sovereign.” Hunter said a few words in Japanese, and the bartender returned with the bottle. He left it without another word.
“I can’t believe they’re dead,” Veronica whispered.
“Who’s dead?” Tripp asked as he arrived. I’d noticed him sitting in the bar for the last ten minutes since Hunter arrived, probably trying to determine if there was anyone suspicious in the vicinity. That he was here talking to us meant he felt we were in the clear.
Marcus informed the ex-SEAL of our African guides’ fate, and he flopped on the stool. “Can’t say they were great people, poaching snakes, lizards, and lemurs as they did, but I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. Especially knowing the cult would have interrogated them first.”
I tried not to picture our Madagascar guides tied up at gunpoint. “What do you know about the Believers?” I asked him.
“Only what Hunter’s told me. But from his description, they have powerful allies, and that means they’ve likely recruited people in my line of work. I’ve probably met some of them,” he said.
“What’s next?” Veronica asked.
“We move quickly. Faster than we wanted to. Because we must remain one step ahead of them. They won’t know where we’re going…” Hunter’s words drifted off.
“They seemed to when we went searching for Castro,” Marcus muttered.
“Astute point, son. Keep communication to a minimum. Don’t tell anyone where you are, or why. No chatting to friends at home or trying to date while you’re in Japan, no snooping on your ex-wife’s Christmas plans. We have to stick together and find the last Tokens.” Hunter said this softly, but his words held serious weight.
“We don’t have the sixth, do we? We can’t determine the coordinates,” I said.
Hunter took another drink and passed the bottle across toward Tripp. Veronica grabbed it on the way and splashed some into her empty beer glass. “No. My team cannot determine the location. They think it’s in North America, but can’t be sure.”
“So why do we bother?” Marcus asked.
“Because the Believers might have it already. We can’t trust the Tokens in the wild. We must contain them, thus controlling the Bridge,” Hunter said.
There was a certain logic to it, but my shoulders slumped at the connotations. If I couldn’t secure all six Tokens, we had no means to access the Bridge.
6
“Are you certain
you’ve managed to block the GPS?” Tripp asked Marcus.
“Definitely. It’s not overly complicated,” the younger man told him. “No one will know where we took this baby.”
Veronica sat in the tour helicopter’s pilot seat, and Hunter had chosen the one beside her. The rest of us cramped into the bench in the back, with Marcus taking the middle. “This is almost the same model as the ones I flew in Maui,” she said. “Simple, simple.”
She went over a checklist, her lips moving as soundless words emerged, and soon we were given clearance through the radio. Hunter spoke Japanese to the man on the radio, and Veronica lifted us from the concrete pad. There was room for a dozen other helicopters, with a few of them already departed for an aerial tour of Fuji and the surrounding area. This was big business, and another copter checking out the sites wasn’t conspicuous in the least. My head was foggy from the late-night beers, but mostly from the stress of our revelation at the bar.
It was a clear morning, a contradiction to the crisp evening with light snowfall the night before. The sky was a brilliant blue, and I did my best to spot a single cloud, but failed. Mount Fuji stood straight ahead, a giant and picturesque reminder of how insignificant we were as humans.
Veronica took us on the normal path, heading around the city and toward Fuji. Below, lines of tour buses and private cars drove for the summit, and I spotted hikers moving for the base of the mountain as we veered off, heading west.
Veronica lowered, and I heard her voice through the headset. “Always wanted to see the Shiraito Falls.”
They were spectacular, dozens of waterfalls dropping like silk into a crystal lake.
“If we’re done ogling the sites, do you think we could move on to the target?” Tripp asked, making Veronica crane her neck to frown at the man behind Hunter.
“Smell the roses, Tripp.”
We continued on, the journey taking a short time. The ground was snow-covered the farther north we traveled, and I stared out the window, seeing Fuji in the east, the presence of the mountain a constant in this region.
“I’ve rented the entire facility for the day,” Hunter told us.
His money was good for a lot of things, including feigning private functions at places like the ice caves. Veronica found a safe spot to land, just on the outer edge of the empty parking lot. The entire complex was surrounded by thick forest, and I saw a single car in the lot near the entrance to the tunnels.
A woman ran toward us, her hair flying wildly in the wind. Veronica powered off the helicopter, and we exited, Hunter walking to the frenzied lady. She waved her arms around, obviously not thrilled with our choice of transportation. I couldn’t hear their conversation, but eventually, she nodded before leaving in her car.
The blades slowed, and soon we were surrounded by a crisp silence. “Lava tubes? Dirk had some imagination,” Tripp said.
“You’re certain we’re alone?” I asked Hunter.
“You’d be surprised how difficult it was to convince them to shut this down on such short notice.” He smiled despite his complaints. “But it’s done. Come. Destiny awaits.”
The entrance was marked at the edge of the forest, dipping below a yard of earth. Tree roots broke through the ceiling, and I glanced up as we descended a handful of steps, gripping bamboo railing to steady myself. Veronica was hurrying, and Marcus chased after her.
I took a moment before entering to double check the GPS and saw the indicator close by. The coordinates were specific, but we’d still have some work to do to locate the Token once inside.
“Are you coming?” Hunter asked, and I looked around, realizing the others were long gone.
“Sure.”
“Is there something on your mind?” he asked. It was strange seeing Hunter in jeans and an orange puffy jacket. He wore earmuffs, his hands adorned with thin leather gloves.
“There’s a lot on my mind, but we’ll have time to discuss that after we secure this Token.” I patted him on the back and walked inside, careful on the wooden planks. It was quiet in the ice tube’s entrance, eerily so, and Tripp was distributing hard hats. He was the only one of us to carry a pack, and I could guess what was inside it.
“Everyone stay safe. The ceilings are short, and it’ll get chilly inside,” Tripp said. “We don’t have far to walk. These old lava tubes were created by Fuji a long time ago.”
“This seems too busy a tourist location to leave one of the Tokens,” Veronica said.
I didn’t have the heart to mention where we were off to next. She probably wouldn’t believe me. Hunter took the lead, ducking under a low-lying cavern opening, and we started down the manmade walkways. It was musty, and Marcus sneezed a couple of times. The sound was muted in the dense cavern. Metal railing lined the center of the passageway as we rounded a bend, and my helmet struck the rock.
Marcus laughed, but the distraction caused him to do the same, which made him laugh even louder.
“I’m glad this is amusing to you,” Hunter said. “We’re on the precipice of finding the second Token, and yet you’re able to express your mirth.”
For a second, I thought he was reprimanding Marcus, but his smile was genuine. He looked younger today and appeared happy to be part of the team as we explored the lava tubes. We continued on, and the air grew colder with each passing minute.
“The ice,” Veronica said, pointing to the right, and I saw it. Thick frozen walls rose along the cavern stone, and the facility had placed fences around it, running the entire length of this passageway to prevent patrons from touching it. Lights shone from the ground every few yards, guiding the path.
We kept moving, but I stopped as I glanced at the GPS. We’d been inside for only a few minutes, but I noticed we were already heading in the wrong direction. “Guys. It’s the other way.”
“There is no other way, Rex.” Tripp leaned over me, trying to see the device. “See?” He tapped the screen and then jabbed a finger at the wall behind us. “There’s no route through.”
Marcus had a flashlight and exited the trail, climbing past the fence. “Careful,” I warned him, but he was already heading away from our group. With a sigh, I followed him.
“Just what I thought. There’s an opening,” he called from around a corner.
“Stay where you are. We’re coming.” Water dripped from above, down my helmet and in front of my face. The ice was thicker, with long icicles stretching from floor to rocky ceiling, making them eight feet high as we arrived at Marcus’ side. I checked the GPS and saw it was close, maybe three hundred yards in this direction.
“It’s on the other side of here.” Coordinates were only accurate to a certain distance, but it was clear the Token had to be across the tunnel. Unfortunately, our journey was blocked by thick pieces of ice.
Tripp set his pack down with a thump and unzipped it.
“Did you bring a hair dryer?” Veronica asked him, but he didn’t reply. He pulled two ice picks out and tossed one my way. He handed Veronica a fine-toothed saw and assessed the obstruction before us.
“They’re going to freak out when they encounter the damage,” Marcus mumbled.
“Not if we’re careful. They won’t even notice until far later, and by then, we’ll be gone,” Hunter said as he set a gloved hand on the fourth icicle in. “This one. It’ll give us space to slip through while still blocking the others, unless they walk all the way past the fence to look for damage.” He glanced about, shining a light toward the fence we’d sneaked through. “Something tells me this area doesn’t see a lot of foot traffic.”
Tripp started at the top, swinging his pickaxe with surprising accuracy. It dug in, and he struck it a few more times before stepping aside. “You want to give it a go, Walker?”
I rolled my shoulders and swung, the pick slipping off target and striking the wrong icicle. I didn’t let it dissuade me and tried again, this time sending a chunk of ice free. Once I built up a sweat, he took over, and in a few minutes, we had the top and bottom of the
giant ice crystal severed. Veronica used the saw to finish the job, acting more delicately for the finishing touches, and it fell to the rocky ground, crashing into three large sections.
Marcus shone his light through, and his eyes lit up. “We did it.” He was the first in, sliding between the remaining lengths of frozen water, and I slipped in after him. The room was cold, and my breath shot out in hurried misty puffs. His beam hit, the light reflecting wildly off the sheer formations. The Token was in here somewhere.
The room was small with all of us pressed inside, and Veronica stood close, her hips touching mine. “Where is it?”
It had been left here intentionally to be unearthed by the right person. That meant there had to be a sign, a label of sorts. The first one had been secured under a tree, growing where it shouldn’t have been, so I sought an indicator similar in nature. I scoured the floor, with ice crystals over the rough tube surface, but found nothing.
I looked up, peering at the ceiling. It only took a few moments to see the etching, high enough to avoid being frozen and covered. It was directly above another corridor, one almost invisible until you were at the right angle. The mark was an ancient Mayan emblem, and I smiled, imagining Clayton or my father sketching the picture and handing it to Luis to use when he ditched the Token.
I was the first one through, the stone passageway pushing tight against my ribcage as I pressed between the walls, breaking free after an agonizing moment. My helmet’s light guided me in the dark space, and I saw that the crevasse ran for another fifty yards or so, narrowly descending at every footstep.
“Stay back if you’re claustrophobic,” I called to the others, and no one else joined me.
It was so cold, ice crystals had formed along the rocky ceiling. The passage slimmed even more, and I sank to my knees, crawling over the stone floor for the end of the tunnel. By the time I reached the finishing point, my teeth chattered and my fingertips were numb.
“Where are you?” I asked out loud, but the Token didn’t answer. My light illuminated the cramped area, but there was little more than lava rock coated in a layer of ice.
Lost Contact (The Bridge Sequence Book One) Page 18
