Randall grabbed the bag and lifted it, swimming back to the tunnel. The bag was too small to contain a pony keg of additional breathable air, but he hoped that the scientist had brought other tools that might help him dig his way out. He rummaged through the mesh container and withdrew several small cylindrical metal objects. Randall was stunned when he realized that Dr. Kim had brought underwater explosives into the cavern and wondered if the researcher had accidently killed himself by detonating one within the chamber.
Randall checked his dive watch. He had seven minutes of air left. There was no time to waste, he had to break through the tunnel and hope that the extra tanks were still on the other side. He grabbed the Rosetta Stone and set it on a rocky outcrop directly below the tube. He then swam back into the tunnel and searched for an opening large enough to lodge one of the canisters. He placed the charge and flipped the switch. Unsure of how much time he had until detonation, he slipped back out of the opening and swam to the lowest part of the cave.
He covered his head and waited. The detonation came moments later, sending sound waves and bubbles trailing out of the tube. Randall wasted no time—he retrieved the stone and swam up to the tunnel and shone his light directly into the opening. The gap was littered with smaller fragments of rock and the water was cloudy. Randall glanced at his watch. He had a little more than four minutes of air remaining. He swam into the cloudy water, pushing past the debris. The shaft was larger now, due to the blast. He pushed forward, feeling his way through the murky water, clutching the stone with his free hand.
He swam forward, jamming his hand into a rocky outcrop. He paused momentarily, shaking his injured limb. His hand was badly scraped, but he managed to hold onto the light. The water was clearing, but visibility was still poor. He gingerly groped for the rock he had struck and, finding it, began feeling for a way around it. His hand moved down the jagged face for half a foot and then broke free. There was an opening under the rock. He pushed forward, but the opening was smaller than the rest of the tunnel and his trailing hand caught as he tried to pass through. Backing up, he jammed the stone through the breach and, extending both arms above his head, he slipped through the opening, scraping his arms as he passed through.
Randall found himself in the outer chamber where he had left Rob, but couldn’t find the spare air tanks. He rechecked his watch. Less than two minutes of air. He dove for the spot where they had left them, shining his light to search for the tanks. There was nothing but silt.
Damn it, the cave-in must have buried them.
He dug at the dirt, knowing time was short. He heaved handfuls of grainy sand out of the pit, each time failing to find anything. He reached in again, and again, still finding just dirt.
His air tank was empty. He was out of time.
Randall dug faster, blindly digging through the silt.
More sand, more digging.
He was becoming lightheaded, but had to keep going.
He thrust his hand into the sand and struck something hard, jamming his fingers once again.
There was no time to focus on the pain.
He groped through the sand, feeling for the tank valve. He found it. He unscrewed the regulator from his spent bottle and blindly tried to attach it to the new air supply. His lungs burned from oxygen deprivation. He needed air.
His regulator finally caught on the threads of the new canister. He twisted it until it sealed then opened the air supply, gulping deeply.
Calming himself, Randall slowed his breathing, allowing him to think clearly again. He had to retrieve the stone and find Rob and Jamie. He swapped tanks and began searching for the relic. Finding it, he exited the cave system and began his slow ascent back to the surface, careful not to climb too quickly to prevent decompression sickness.
Finally breaking through the surface of the water, Randall welcomed the sight of the sun sitting high above the horizon. He looked around the ocean surface until he located the dive boat. There was no one on the deck. He kicked his way to the back and climbed the ladder, lifting the stone onto the swim deck. Cautiously, he peered over the stern of the boat, unsure of what he would find. There was no movement or sound coming from the pilot house. He hoisted himself onto the deck and quietly slipped his tank and flippers off.
Searching the entire boat, Randall found no trace of Rob or Jamie. They had vanished. He had to get back to John and the others and hope that whoever had taken his friends needed the stone. It was his only bargaining chip. Randall pulled up the anchor, throttled the motor, and started his long journey back to land.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
John watched a soldier lead Andy over to the man giving orders.
“Where did you obtain this video?”
“From a colleague of yours. I didn’t actually get it, my friend over there brought it to me. He can explain everything,” Andy said, pointing to John.
The soldier guarding John brought him to the elderly soldier dressed in combat fatigues. John recognized his rank as general from the insignia on his lapel. The man was nearly bald, and his face was round with craggy wrinkles. His light blue eyes were sharp and focused, but the bags under them spoke to a man under great stress who had slept very little recently.
“What’s your name, son,” the general asked.
“John Randall. May I ask yours?”
“I’m General Flores, the base commander. Your little stunt put a lot of people on edge.”
“Sorry, we needed to make sure we got your attention.”
“Consider yourself successful and very fortunate you didn’t get killed in the process. Where did you acquire the video? You realize this is classified information and I could easily have you and your friends sent to a federal penitentiary for possessing it,” Flores said.
“I don’t believe you want to do that, sir. I can explain, but I’d feel better if my friends weren’t held at gunpoint.”
Flores turned to look at the soldiers guarding the rest of the group. He nodded and the soldiers lowered their weapons.
“Thanks. Would it be possible to speak inside?” John asked.
“Captain, escort our guests into my office.”
The general’s office was the perfect confluence of high tech and old world charm. The walls were decorated with photographs of the general with various high-ranking government officials from both the United States and international allies. John stopped counting when he reached the fourth picture of Flores with a former president. The man was obviously well connected.
The general held a chair for Sam and then for Gabby and motioned to two other leather-bound chairs for John and Andy while his captain stood watch at the door, scowling at them. Flores walked around his mahogany desk and sat down in his high-back executive chair. Resting on his desktop were several pictures of a beautiful older woman with short brown hair and a gleaming smile. Alongside the woman were two strapping young men. One was in combat fatigues, the other in civilian attire.
“My wife and sons,” Flores commented, watching John as he studied the pictures. “I met her when I was the base commander at the Air Force Academy. She was a civilian lecturer for a series of classes on abnormal psychology. The one on the left is Michael, he’s stationed at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, and the one on the right is Anthony, he followed his mother’s lead and teaches psychology at Vassar.”
John smiled. “You must be very proud of them.”
Flores nodded. “Now about the video: I need to know how it came into your possession. There are only three copies of it. I have one and just spoke with the owner of the second copy. That leaves one possible source.”
“Colonel Shaw gave this copy to my father. We were being held captive at your Cooper Island facility when it came under attack. Shaw gave it to us for protection and told us to make contact with you.”
“And what became of Colonel Shaw?”
“He’s dead, but I think you already know that.”
Flores studied John. “Do you know who attacked the ba
se?”
“Francis Dumond. He’s the owner of an energy consortium who had a previous run-in with my father. He’s a ruthless killer and he wants the serum that Jacob and I created.”
Flores raised an eyebrow. “How did he hear about the serum?”
“He tortured and nearly killed me, shortly after your men tried to kidnap me.” John paused before continuing, wanting to see Flores’ reaction.
The General’s face remained emotionless. “You say Shaw gave the video to your father. Where is he right now and why didn’t he bring it to me?”
“My father is looking for the tablet that Dr. Vernon described in the video. Once he has it, he’ll contact us.”
“Was your father alone or were there others with him looking for the tablet?”
John gripped the arm of his chair and set his jaw. “Why do you ask? I’m not sure I want to answer any more of your questions, but just to make myself clear, your men tried to kidnap and kill me, then they took my family and friends hostage. When Dumond tried to destroy your base, Colonel Shaw gave my father a flash drive with the video and told us to find you because you needed to know what had happened. We came here to help you and now I feel like I’m being interrogated. With all due respect, my father better be safe right now because if your men have done anything to him, I’ll find a way to make your life a living hell.” John leaned forward in his seat.
Remaining calm, the general turned away from John and typed into his keyboard. He rotated his desktop monitor for John and the others to see.
“This video was taken from an aerial drone near the cave site. After losing Dr. Kim, we keep constant surveillance on the area. You can see a dive boat pull up here.” Flores pointed to the screen. “There are three people on board. I’m assuming this is your father and friends. Two enter the water and while they’re diving, another ship arrives on the scene. You can see that the second vessel carries armed individuals, who board the dive boat. They then detonate a small, underwater charge while the two divers are still submerged. A short time later, a single diver surfaces and is captured by the armed men, who take your two friends with them, at gunpoint, and depart the area.”
“My God. Can you tell who the two hostages are?” John asked.
“Captain Keane, can the video be enhanced?”
“This was an aerial based platform, we could only get overhead shots and couldn’t get facial recognition. We have confirmed that one hostage was female, and one was male,” Keane replied.
“Do you know who took them? Are there any identifying marks on the second ship?”
“We believe the kidnappers were part of the Red Dragon brigade, a faction of the People’s Liberation Army. We have reason to believe they’re seeking the tablet as well.”
“The PLA? How did the Chinese army know about the tablet?”
“Unfortunately, we discovered a mole in our operation who was feeding information to the Dragons and helped them get information about the tablet and most of your research.”
“Why do they care about my research?”
“We have reason to believe that a small bloc within the Chinese government is trying to develop a mind control drug based on the secretions retrieved at Roswell. We also have reliable intelligence that the Red Dragon Brigade is actively seeking what we believe is an alien base in the Antarctic.”
John’s mouth fell open. “A base?”
“Correct. Drs. Vernon and Kim were trying to locate the tablet, which we believe holds the key to finding that base. If the Chinese find the base first, they’ll attack and try to take a creature alive to get the secretions. If they’re successful, we believe they’ll try to synthetically reproduce the drug, possibly in aerosol form.”
“And if they do…”
“They’ll have the ability to deliver it in mass quantities, thereby controlling huge portions of any population. This would be a game changer. If they utilize it against our troops in battle, we won’t stand a chance. We can’t let that happen,” Flores said, switching off his monitor.
John sat speechless, trying to comprehend what the General had shared. “They could start an interspecies war,” John commented.
Flores nodded in agreement.
“John, I’m sorry about Jacob and the incidents with you and your family, but I think you can understand why we took the course of action that we did. We needed your research to help create an antidote to the mind control substance. We had to prepare for the worst case scenario in case the Chinese contingent successfully synthesized the secretions.”
“You only showed the Chinese taking two people hostage, do you know what happened to the other diver? Did he make it out alive?” John asked.
“I apologize, but we don’t know. Once the two hostages were taken, we re-tasked the drone to follow the Chinese vessel.”
“Can you send a satellite overhead or have another drone fly by the area to check it again?”
“Captain Keane, how long before we get eyes on the cave area?” Flores said, revealing that he had already had the same thought.
Keane turned and spoke into a hidden microphone as they waited.
“Sir, we will have a live video feed in forty-three minutes.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
The wait was interminable as the Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) made its way from Tyndall Air Force Base near Panama City, Florida southwest to the underwater cave system. Complicating the situation further, the most direct route involved flying the drone through Mexican airspace. Not wanting to cause a flap with his neighbors to the south, Flores had to route the vehicle in an indirect manner.
Still technically in the testing phase, the UAV had been developed for the United States Navy as a surveillance aircraft under the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) program. The system was intended to fly real-time intelligence reconnaissance missions (ISR) over vast ocean and coastal regions, providing continuous maritime surveillance, as well as assisting with search and rescue missions. As such, it seemed like the perfect tool to use to search for the dive boat.
“Sir, live feed coming online from the drone.”
“Put it on the screen.”
The clarity of the video was amazing as the open expanse of turquoise water filled the screen. The boat, however, was nowhere to be seen.
“Have we confirmed the coordinates of the last known location of the craft?” Flores asked the technician.
“Affirmative, sir. The area in view is the last known position of the diving boat.”
“Widen the field of view and search for traces of wreckage.”
Speaking into his headset, the technician relayed the general’s command to the drone pilot, and the UAV began utilizing its full sensor suite to detect signs of the dive boat or possible wreckage.
“Sir, still no sign of the dive boat or any wreckage. Should we begin a grid search?”
“Yes, plot probable courses based on known variables and begin the search. Report back to me when you have an update.”
Flores turned to the group, who sat in stunned silence. Flores plopped down behind his desk and massaged his temples, closing his eyes as he contemplated his next steps.
“I’m sorry about your father and friends, but we have to assume that they’re either dead or will be soon. We also have to assume that the Chinese have the tablet. We’ll continue to search for the dive boat as long as we can, but we need to develop a contingency plan based on worst case scenarios.”
“I just can’t believe this is happening. Dad’s survived so many close calls over the years, especially in Peru last year with Sam. To think he might be trapped in that underwater cave…”
“I know this is difficult, but there are even more lives at stake. In fact, if the Red Dragons have possession of the tablet and are able to find the base and extract the mind-control substance, the entire free world is in jeopardy. I can’t allow that to happen. Please excuse me.” General Flores stood up from his desk and disappeared from the o
ffice.
Gabby placed her hand on John’s. “I’m really sorry about your dad. Maybe he found a way out.”
John looked up at her and glanced over at Sam, who was white as a sheet. Her eyes were red, tears forming in the corners.
They all sat quietly for some time until Gabby finally spoke again. “What do we do now?”
“I guess we wait to hear what General Flores has in mind,” John said quietly.
Time passed slowly as the group sat in the office waiting for more news. A somber mood had settled over them, fueled by a lack of sleep and the letdown the body feels after being in a heightened state for too long.
Finally, Flores rejoined the group.
“We’re going to relocate you to temporary quarters while we determine our next steps. I’ll have Captain Keane escort you. Again, my deepest sympathies to all of you,” Flores said, nodding to his captain, who stood and opened the door to his office.
They exited the building in single file, shuffling along in silence. As John stepped into the bright sunlight, his phone began to beep as it found a cell signal. At first, the sound didn’t register with John, who was still in a state of shock.
“John, check your phone,” Gabby said.
John looked at Gabby and then at his phone. The expression on his face turned from numbness to anticipation as life resurfaced in his dark brown eyes.
“It’s dad, he’s alive! He tried calling but couldn’t reach me so he texted me. He’s on his way to Dulce and he has the tablet! Captain Keane, we need to speak with General Flores!”
Keane spoke into his headset, then said, “Follow me, the General’s in his office.”
They scrambled back inside.
“General, my father is alive and he has the tablet. He’s on his way to Dulce now and said he’ll call when he arrives.”
The Bermuda Connection (A Nick Randall Novel Book 2) Page 16
