by Bob Mayer
“Why did he build Eternity Base?”
“You know why from the interrogation of Glaston and Woodson. Bomb shelter. Home away from home until the world cooled off enough for him to return. Because he wanted to and he could.”
“Why the bombs, though?”
The bald man steepled his fingers. “Because he had them. Because Kensington was a man of immense power and he wanted to maintain that power after money no longer mattered. There was a certain paranoiac logic to it all that I find quite fascinating.”
“Was?” Hodges inquired.
The bald man smiled. “Mr. Kensington had an unfortunate helicopter accident earlier today. The exact cause of the crash is still being investigated with the aid of some of the men from my office.”
Hodges ran a nervous tongue over his lips. “The president wants this whole thing buried deep. There can’t be a scandal.”
The bald man leaned back in his seat. “We’re holding Glaston for a while to see if we can find any other operations he may have been involved in. Then he will be terminated. General Woodson, most unfortunately, died of heart failure due to his recent cancer surgery. A terrible shame for a man who gave so much to this organization.”
“What about the reporter from SNN?”
“We’re handling it.”
“How did the North Koreans find out about the base?”
“That’s been taken care of also.”
Hodges stood. “It’s closed then?”
“It’s closed.”
USS KITTY HAWK, SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN
The door swung open and a man in civilian clothes stepped through, immediately closing the door behind him. Conner reached over and tapped Sammy on the shoulder. “We’ve got company.”
Riley’s eyes flickered. Sammy gently shook Riley and he came awake with a grimace. The man stood there looking at the three of them for a little while, then spoke. “We’ve recovered Mr. Devlin’s body. Tentative cause of death is extreme hypothermia.”
The man pulled over one of the plastic chairs and sat down. “We have a problem here that also happens to be your problem. To put it bluntly, the words ‘Eternity Base’ must never be mentioned publicly.”
“What!” Conner exploded. “You’re crazy.”
The man didn’t even blink. “Let me explain the facts to you. First, Eternity Base no longer exists. We’ve landed men there to sterilize what little is left, including the reactor.
“Second, you have no record of the base. The pictures from the Records Center have been taken care of. By the way, I am sure you would not like to see any legal action taken against your sister for breaking her contract with the government by sending you copies of those pictures.” The man looked at Sammy with a cold grin.
“Your equipment disappeared in the explosion and you have nothing. The—”
“Atlanta has copies of my video,” Conner countered.
“As I was just about to say—your headquarters in Atlanta has somehow managed to misplace the two copies of your tape.”
Conner stared at the man and then turned to Sammy and Riley, who had yet to say a word.
The man wasn’t done yet. “As a matter of fact, you might say the circumstances surrounding the deaths of your crew and Mr. Devlin and Mr. Swenson are very murky. We have only your word on that issue. Some might suggest that the three of you had a hand in their deaths, especially Mr. Devlin’s. At the very least you might be found negligent in his death.”
Conner just continued to stare, holding back the angry words that wanted to spew forth. Now was not the time or place to fight.
Riley broke the silence, his voice barely more than a whisper. “What’s the deal?”
The man seemed to relax for the first time. “As I said—no word of Eternity Base.” He looked Conner in the eyes. “I believe you will find that your boss, Mr. Parker, has already agreed to that.”
Conner slumped in her chair. As if sensing that he had her on the ropes, the man offered a handout. “In exchange for your cooperation, we are willing to offer you an exclusive on the ‘real’ story: the dramatic rescue by a joint U.S.-Russian military task force of the survivors of your news team covering an ecological story. We have quite a bit of footage—including shots of the Russian submarine that helped rescue you—enough to make an interesting piece.”
The man stood. “Mr. Parker has also been informed of improved future cooperation between SNN and various agencies of the government. I am quite sure he is very satisfied with the possibility of several exclusive leaks of information. I am certain you will also see the advantages of your cooperation.”
He looked at Sammy. “And I even believe they still have your old
job waiting for you back at the Records Center, perhaps even a promotion.”
He walked to the door and stopped. “I will assume I have your agreement.” He stepped out.
Chapter 34
ISA HEADQUARTERS
SOUTHWEST OF WASHINGTON, D.C.
2 DECEMBER 1996
The bald man looked up from his desk as the investigator walked in. “Everything filed satisfactorily?”
The crash investigator nodded. “The FAA is satisfied it was structural failure.”
“Good.” The bald man looked closely at the young man standing across from him. “What’s wrong?”
The investigator pulled out a briefcase and laid it on the desk. He flipped open the top and extracted a burned piece of metal laced with wires.
“What’s that?” the bald man asked.
“It’s part of a helicopter autopilot relay system. We’ve traced it to a prototype designed by Bell-Boeing.”
The bald man regarded the other with unblinking eyes. “You found two bodies, right?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Their dental charts matched Kensington’s and his pilot’s, didn’t they?”
“Yes, sir.”
“But... ?” the bald man asked, watching the hesitation in his subordinate.
The man took his lead. “But, sir, I believe it was a setup. I think the two men inside were dead when the Apache approached. Someone was flying that chopper by remote control. I think the bodies were rigged with false dental work—the whole thing. It’s hard to do, but if you have the money it’s possible.”
“And Kensington had the money,” the bald man concluded. He appeared to think about this scenario for a while. “All right. This is closed. You are to tell no one about it. Do you understand? The president would not be happy to hear this.” He pointed at the report and the wreckage. “Leave that with me.”
The investigator nodded vigorously, glad to be done with the mess.
The bald man waited until the door closed, then picked up his secure phone.
KAUAI, HAWAII.
“Peter here.”
“This is Andrew. The case has been closed.”
Kensington nodded. “Good.”
“Can you tell me why you got the North Koreans involved? You almost caused a damn war.”
“We could use a war,” Kensington said. “Good for business.”
“Well, your business is over. Is that clear?”
Kensington frowned. He didn’t like being talked to in such a manner by a hireling. “Are you threatening me?”
“Jesus Christ—don’t you get it? We’ve had a nuke go off. People killed. Armies on the verge of combat on the Korean peninsula. All you can say is that you played it that way because it would have been good for business? You’re fucking nuts, and I’ve got the goods on you. So you lay low. I don’t want to hear from you again. I’ve covered your ass for the last time. From now on, no amount of money will work.” The phone went dead.
Kensington hung up the phone and went back to surveying his island paradise. The house was built into the side of an extinct volcano, the lush jungle of Hawaii stretching out below it down to the cliffs facing the pounding surf. The view was spectacular and the location was isolated. The old man’s eyes were as sharp as they’d ever been, and he
used them to soak up every detail. “It is over,” he announced.
“How did you know it would work?” The other occupant of the room was seated on a leather divan.
Kensington waited a few moments before answering, as if the question surprised him. “Actually,” he said, “it didn’t work. Optimally, I would have gotten through all this without my name being revealed.”
Kensington picked up a glass and took a drink. “But it really doesn’t matter, does it? With enough power you make things work, and I came out of this alive when they were ready to kill me. I must admit, it worried me when your man was unable to stop the team from discovering the base. Then I knew it had to be destroyed, and I tried to find a way to do that. The North Koreans were very handy.”
The woman shrugged. “Mr. Vickers was the best I could come up with under the short notice. Also, you must remember I didn’t know that Riley would be a factor. Without his influence, it would have been much easier. And weren’t you worried about it getting beyond Antarctica?”
“I was prepared to make a profit out of a bad situation if it got out of Antarctica,” Kensington said.
“How did you know my people wouldn’t succeed in their mission?” she asked. “You helped them by giving me the transponder code for the base, so I could forward it to Kang.”
Now Kensington laughed. “How can anyone succeed unless I let them? When you control the information going to both sides, you can certainly assure that neither side succeeds. You should know that after working for me and North Korea for all these years. SNN was certainly the place to be to both acquire and manipulate information.” He sighed. “There would have been some good profits to be made if your people had succeeded and Orange III had been implemented. We haven’t had a good war for quite a while, but there will be other opportunities.”
He swung his chair so he was directly facing her. “Now, my dear, no more questions.” He picked up a briefcase and put it down on the desktop. “Here is your payment. Your tenure at SNN was most advantageous. I don’t understand why you are going back to your home country. I can find you work that will put your assets to better use.”
Miss Suwon got up and walked over to the desk. She looked at the briefcase, then at Kensington. “I am returning home because money is not everyone’s god.”
Kensington laughed again. “It works for everyone I’ve ever encountered.” He pointed at the briefcase. “You came here for that, didn’t you?”
“No, I didn’t.”
Kensington frowned. “I won’t pay you more.”
“Yes, you will.”
Kensington pressed a button. “I don’t appreciate this. You’re messing with the wrong person.”
Miss Suwon smiled, and Kensington’s confidence slowly dissolved when no guard came rushing in.
“You goddamn ...” he sputtered, then collected himself. “All right. I’ll get you more money.”
“I told you,” Suwon said, “that money is not the issue.”
“But you said you wanted me to pay you more . . .” Kensington’s voice trailed off.
“And you will.” Suwon leaned forward and placed her hand on his.
“Hey!” Kensington yelped, retracting his hand and looking at the back of it. “What was that?”
She turned her hand over. A small needle was cupped between her fingers. “Ricin. A most powerful toxin. You will be dead in a minute.” Suwon picked up the briefcase. “You know, we wanted those nuclear weapons. Many good men died trying to get them.”
“Wait!” Kensington shouted. “You can’t do this!” He grabbed his chest and struggled for air.
“It is already done.”
Epilogue
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
5 DECEMBER 1996
Riley looked over at Sammy and Conner and gave them a weak smile. “Are we having fun yet?” The three were alone for the first time since being flown from the Kitty Hawk by military plane and escorted to this hotel. The government was obviously satisfied that the three had acceded to the demands of its agent. Riley was lying on the bed, his right side swathed in bandages.
The phone rang and they all turned and looked at it. There was only one person who knew they were here—besides the government. Riley picked up the receiver, spoke briefly, then put it back down.
“Colonel Pike is here,” he announced. Conner and Sammy relaxed. A few minutes later there was a knock on the door and Sammy let Pike in, giving him a big hug as soon as the door was closed.
After Sammy let him go, Pike walked over to Riley. “Thanks for helping me when I asked you, Dave.”
“No problem, sir.”
“How’s the wound?”
“Healing,” Riley said. He knew Pike had information for them, and he waited as the colonel introduced himself to Conner and talked for a few minutes.
Finally, Pike looked at all three of them. “Well, what now?”
Conner rubbed a hand through the tangle of her dark hair. “Do you think we have any options?”
Pike shrugged. “Not really. The government’s covered it’s tracks. Not only that, they hold a few hammers over your heads. If you say anything, Sammy will lose her job. I checked in Atlanta—SNN doesn’t have any tapes. So you don’t have any evidence. You’ll probably be fired too,” he nodded at Conner, “if you make waves.”
“Sammy and Riley were there,” Conner said. “They’ll back me up.”
Riley coughed, which made him wince. He shifted position very slowly. “My word isn’t worth much. They also have a thing or two they can hold over my head.”
Sammy sat in the chair next to the bed and studied Riley with her green eyes. “What about Kerns and Vickers and Lallo and Swenson and Devlin? Are we going to write them off?”
“The government has already issued a cover story to explain their disappearance,” Pike said.
Sammy didn’t seem to hear the colonel. She continued talking, her voice cracking with emotion. “I didn’t ask what the powers-that-be are doing. I asked what we are going to do.” She looked at Riley. “Are we—you and I and Conner—going to forget about them?”
“You need to drop this and get on with your life,” Riley said. “You need to forget about the dead.”
Sammy poked her finger at him. “That’s pretty good advice from a man who can’t erase his own ghosts.”
Riley regarded her for a long time without saying a word.
Pike cleared his throat, regaining their attention. “I have some more information that will interest you.” He reached into the small briefcase he’d carried with him and pulled out a folder. “Do you recognize any of these men?” He laid out a half-dozen photos on the bed next to Riley. They were all black and white pictures of young men in uniform.
“That one,” Riley immediately said, tapping a photo. “He’s the body we found in Eternity Base.”
Sammy and Conner nodded their agreement.
Pike picked up the photo and looked at the back. “Sergeant Michael Palmer. A member of Command and Control, Military Assistance Command, Studies and Observation Group.”
“MACV-SOG,” Sammy said. “Same as dad.”
“Same as your dad,” Pike confirmed. He paused, and his lined face seemed to grow even older. “I did some arm twisting in DC before I left, using what you’d told me over the phone. There’s lots of butts on the line because of this Eternity Base incident, so I got some of my contacts to talk more than they normally would have—people are trying to cover their ass.
“This whole operation in Antarctica was started by a civilian—my sources wouldn’t give me a name—but it was supported by the forerunner of the present Intelligence Support Agency, a secret group with a large budget that runs most of the covert operations for the Pentagon.
“Because this organization could cut orders and use the resources of the military, they often used personnel and units without those people being aware they were participating in a covert operation or knowing what the mission was. A good example is the engineer co
mpany that was diverted from Vietnam to construct Eternity Base.”
Pike held up the picture. “Another example is Sergeant Palmer, here. He was used to escort the nuclear weapons down to Eternity Base. For maintaining the security of the base and the fact that the bombs were there, he was killed.”
“So we have another of the piece of the puzzle,” Sammy said. “We can find more.”
“That’s not why I’m telling you this,” Pike cut in. “I’m telling you this because through the same source I also received another photo.” He reached into his shirt pocket, pulled out a small picture, and handed it to Sammy.
“Dad” was her only comment as she cradled the photo in her hands.
“What happened to him?” Conner asked, tenderly taking the picture from her sister and looking at it.
“Killed in a plane crash in South Korea on 5 January 1972,” Pike replied.
“South Korea?” Sammy said. “But he was MIA in Vietnam.”
“He was in Vietnam,” Pike confirmed, “but he got sent on a mission to Korea, and that’s where he died. Since they couldn’t report that, they made up the MIA story.”
“What mission?” Sammy demanded.
Pike looked at her and shook his head. “I don’t know, and we aren’t going to find out. Trust me on that. I cared about your father too—and many other men who disappeared—but. . .” Pike paused. “It was a dark world we were all in back then, and your father knew the risks of what he did for a living. I was given this information so that you would know that he’s dead. That’s it.”
“But what about Michael Palmer?” Sammy asked. “Does his family know how he died? Helping build Eternity Base for somebody who could pull the strings to get it built? And getting shot in the back for doing his duty?”
Pike had no answer to that.
Riley suddenly spoke. “All right, Sammy. I’m with you. What are you going to do?”
Sammy blinked to hold back the tears as she looked at the photo of her dad one more time. “I’m going to fight them.”
Riley winced again as he adjusted his position slightly. “They have all the cards. They’ll crush you. But I’m with you regardless.”
