Stranded (A stand-alone SF thriller) (The Prometheus Project Book 3)

by Richards, Douglas E

  Sure enough, when they arrived at the entrance to Prometheus, Carl was facing a group of about twenty soldiers, issuing orders. Each was wearing full commando gear and carrying assault rifles. Although Carl was in civilian clothes, he carried himself with such confident grace and easy authority he had the instant respect of the soldiers. If not for the streaks of silver in his hair, no one would have guessed he was in his fifties. When he had finished giving orders the soldiers quickly dispersed to carry them out.

  “Ryan!” said Carl warmly upon seeing him, his eyes lighting up. “Boy am I glad you’re okay.” He clapped Ryan on the back affectionately and turned to his two companions. “And you must be Alyssa and Kelsey.” He leaned forward and shook each of their hands. “I’m Colonel Carl Sharp. But please call me Carl.”

  The girls shook his hand and said hello.

  “Good timing,” said Carl. “I just entered the city a minute ago. I need to reset electronic security down here. Follow me.”

  Carl began walking toward the security headquarters building that was very near the entrance to the city. The building projected a different holographic image around itself every day so it never looked the same twice. Today it was white and shaped like a tear-drop.

  “I’m relieved you made it down here before your unexpected company came calling,” said Carl as they walked. “Where did you go?”

  “We stopped off at the zoo planet,” replied Ryan.

  Carl nodded. “I thought as much. Hoping the expedition somehow made it across the lava. I assume you didn’t see them waiting just outside the shield or they’d be with you.”

  “No. I’m afraid not.” The corners of Ryan’s mouth turned up into a slight smile. “But I’m glad I went anyway. I have the feeling they’ll be just fine when we finally get to them.”

  They had entered the security headquarters and now stood in front of Carl’s office. He had kept it locked during his trip to Colorado and now entered a code into a touch-pad nearby. Several dead-bolt locks disengaged and they entered.

  Carl motioned for the trio of kids to have a seat around a large oak roundtable in the middle of his office. They plopped into three of the four cushioned black chairs surrounding it. Carl sat behind his desk a few yards away and began entering commands on his computer, rebooting all security protocols.

  Once he was done, Carl turned toward Alyssa and Kelsey. “Do you know about your mother?” he asked grimly.

  “Yes, she’s a hostage,” said Alyssa.

  “You have to get her back,” insisted Kelsey.

  “Believe me,” said Carl. “If we have any chance to do so we’ll take it.” He frowned. “But I won’t lie to you. Her odds are not good.”

  “But there has to be something you can do,” pleaded Alyssa. “If you find this Nathaniel, can’t you just give him what he wants to let her go?”

  “I wish we could, but our hands are tied. Nathaniel has been classified as a terrorist,” explained Carl. He shook his head somberly. “America has a firm policy of not negotiating with terrorists.”

  Both girls were stunned. They couldn’t believe what they were hearing. This Nathaniel could announce he was killing their mother and no one would lift a finger to stop him. How could this be?

  “I can’t tell you how sorry I am this has happened,” continued Carl earnestly. “Your mother is a valuable member of our team, and her safety is my responsibility, which I take very seriously. If I could trade places with her, I would. But I’m afraid her best bet is if Nathaniel realizes a hostage won’t do him any good and decides to let her go.”

  “What are the odds of that happening,” spat Kelsey in frustration and despair. “Even if he doesn’t want her as a hostage anymore, he’ll probably just kill her, won’t he?”

  Carl lowered his eyes and nodded. “Maybe,” he said. “I could sugar-coat this, but I won’t. I don’t think that would be fair to you.” He paused. “As long as your mother is still alive there is always hope,” he added. “I only wish I could offer you more than just this.”

  There was silence in the room for several long seconds. Both girls were horrified at their mother’s slim chances of survival and angry with Carl that he couldn’t—or wouldn’t—do more to save her.

  “Any problems retaking Proact?” asked Ryan, deciding to change the subject.

  “None,” said Carl. “The mercs who were closing in on you must have realized you were out of reach almost immediately. They were gone when the assault team arrived.”

  “What is your team doing now?” asked Ryan.

  “A thorough security sweep of Prometheus. I want an exact inventory of everyone who is pinned down by the Enigma Cube. If you’re right, the effect should wear off in an hour or so. I also need to be certain there are no mercenaries still hiding down here. Next we’ll do the same for Proact.”

  Carl had recalled seven of his men who had been off duty on this particular Friday evening. He had also drawn from the thirty special forces troops that were part of Prometheus security but were always stationed outside the alien city. Because they were stationed outside of Prometheus, if the city were taken, these commandoes would be available to move in at a moment’s notice, not having to obtain security clearance or be brought up to speed on this highly classified project.

  “Any news on Dr. Harris?” asked Ryan.

  “Yes,” said Carl, brightening. “He’s in the hospital. They think he’s going to be okay. I’m sure our miracle medical device had a lot to do with that.”

  The landline on Carl’s desk rang and he snatched the receiver from its cradle. He listened intently for a long while, interjecting a question or two every so often. He seemed excited but at the same time extremely troubled.

  “Prepare for an action along the lines that we spoke about earlier,” said Carl into the receiver. “Call me back when you’re in position.” With that he ended the call.

  Carl stared at the three kids around his table for several seconds and rubbed his chin in thought. Finally, reaching a decision, he turned away and used a walkie-talkie to summon the nearest member of his team.

  “I need to confer with Ryan alone,” explained Carl apologetically to Alyssa and Kelsey.

  The man he had called, Lieutenant Chris Malcolm, arrived two minutes later and entered the office.

  “Chris,” said Carl, “can you escort these two young women upstairs to the decoy building and stay with them.”

  Alyssa and Kelsey stood up and said goodbye. Ryan caught Alyssa’s eye. “I’ll be up as soon as I can,” he said reassuringly. This seemed to lift her spirits immediately. Seconds later they and the lieutenant were gone.

  “You’ve fallen for Alyssa Cooper pretty hard in the past few hours, haven’t you,” said Carl.

  Ryan winced. “I didn’t realize it was that obvious,” he said. Then, with a sigh he added, “Actually, I’ve liked her for a few months. She’s pretty and smart, but there’s a lot more to her than just that. I mean, she’s really incredible.”

  “And she likes you back,” said Carl. “That’s obvious to me too.” He frowned deeply. “Which is only going to make this harder than it already is.”

  Ryan was instantly on alert. “What’s going on, Carl?” he said guardedly.

  “Thanks to you, we knew to look for Nathaniel.” Carl walked over and sat at the table across from Ryan. “And I put several plans of action into place in case we found him.”

  Carl seemed reluctant to continue.

  “And?” prompted Ryan impatiently.

  “Well, I just got the call. We found him. We fed the coordinates of his face into the computer grid and a traffic camera found a match. We tracked him from there with satellites. He ditched the original SUV and now he’s in another one. Different make, model and color. He’s in the passenger’s seat. The driver is a well known mercenary. We couldn’t identify anyone else in the car.”

  “Okay,” said Ryan cautiously. “That sounds like fantastic news. So what am I missing?”

  “
I just put one of our contingency plans in motion. I’ve decided I can’t afford to wait until he’s totally isolated to take him out.”

  Ryan thought about this. “So you’re saying some innocent people might be caught in the way?”

  “He’s driving through fairly rural country,” said Carl, “and we’ll do everything we possibly can to avoid this. But there are no guarantees.” He locked his eyes onto Ryan’s. “Here’s the problem. If Michelle Cooper is still a hostage, she could well be in that car.” He pursed his lips and shook his head grimly. “If she is …”

  Carl stopped, not really needing to finish the thought.

  “So that’s why you asked the girls to leave,” said Ryan in outrage. “Because you’re planning a strike that will probably kill their mom.”

  Carl frowned deeply. “Ryan, this is the toughest call I’ve ever had to make,” he said, and his eyes revealed such a depth of pain that Ryan had no doubt that it was true. “But Nathaniel will be traveling through an unpopulated area in about ten minutes and this is the best time to strike.” He sighed. “We just have to hope that Michelle isn’t with him.”

  “You can’t do this, Carl.”

  “Believe me, I wish there were some other way. This decision will haunt me the rest of my life,” he added, and anguish and guilt were written all over his face—but only for a moment. All evidence of his internal ethical struggles soon vanished as his leadership instincts took over. He didn’t have the luxury of coming across as anything but strong and decisive during a crisis. “But I don’t have a choice,” he continued firmly. “This guy is a psychopath. He now has the most dangerous weapon the world has ever seen, and has already used it. He boasted about ruling the world. If we wait to attack, and he somehow slips the noose, we might never get another chance. He could kill hundreds before this is through. Millions.”

  “He hasn’t yet,” argued Ryan. “And he could have. Easily.”

  “He shot Dr. Harris and left him for dead. He stranded all of you on Isis. You’re the only one of us who heard his letter, so you tell me. Did he write that he just wanted to borrow the Enigma Cube and no one would get hurt? Or did he sound like a power mad psychopath who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals?”

  Ryan said nothing, but his defeated expression was answer enough.

  “We can’t risk him getting away. Yes, there is a great risk Alyssa and Kelsey will lose their mother. It makes me sick to even think about. And I’m going to have to go upstairs afterwards and look them in the eye. But if we don’t stop him now, he could orphan more kids than we could ever count.”

  Ryan was horrified, but he knew Carl was right. What if you could kill an Adolph Hitler, but it would cost an innocent life? Should you do it? For Ryan at least, the answer had to be yes. Ryan also knew that Carl could have reminded him that Michelle Cooper had very little hope of survival even if he didn’t strike. But he hadn’t. Probably because it would have sounded like he was trying to rationalize his decision; like he was trying to take the easy way out, which wasn’t Carl’s style. He took full responsibility for his actions.

  “Does President Quinn know about this?” asked Ryan.

  “Yes. He has authorized me to do whatever I believe is necessary to stop this threat.”

  “If she is in that SUV, is there any chance she’ll survive an attack on Nathaniel?”

  Carl frowned and shook his head. “None. This guy controls gravity. In a twenty mile radius according to what you told me. We’ve already seen the power of this weapon. With it, as you said earlier, there is no doubt he could destroy jets at the touch of a button. He could ground tanks and entire armies. So we have no choice but to go for broke.”

  “What does that mean, go for broke?”

  “It means high explosive missiles. The most potent we have that aren’t nuclear. We’ve scrambled a jet that will fly straight above him, but at a high enough altitude that he won’t see or hear it. We’re lucky, because he can’t possibly have any idea we’re on to him already. When I give the word we’ll launch three missiles straight down. It’s possible he won’t be able to react before they hit, but if he does see them in time and increases their gravity, they’ll just fall faster. Or implode. We’re modifying them so that an implosion will also prove fatal to anyone beneath them.”

  “What if he reduces the gravity on the missiles to zero?”

  “It won’t help him. Even at zero gravity they’re being steered downward by rockets.” Carl shook his head miserably. “If we thought anything short of this type of attack would work, we would try it.”

  They sat in silence for several minutes, dreading a call that could come at any moment. A call informing Carl that the missiles had been prepared and the jet was in place.

  “There may be another way,” said Ryan suddenly, breaking the long silence. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a red crystal. “I just had an idea. I think this crystal might make you immune to the effects of the Enigma Cube. Counteract it.”

  Carl knew better than to take Ryan’s ideas lightly. “I’m listening,” he said.

  “We know that gravity is a change in the shape of space-time.”

  Carl stared at him blankly. “I sure didn’t,” he admitted. “But I’ll take your word for it.” He paused. “What exactly is space-time, anyway?”

  “I’m not positive. I guess space and time rolled into one. The important thing is that gravity indents space.” Ryan paused. “In higher dimensions, though, it might not have the same effect, and I think this crystal has something to do with higher dimensions.”

  “You’ve totally lost me, Ryan.”

  “It’s complicated, and I don’t understand much of it either. But I think there’s a chance the crystal could make you immune to the gravity effect.”

  Carl considered. “Can I assume you’ve been carrying the crystal since you returned from Isis?”

  Ryan nodded.

  “Did you inspect anyone who was hit with the Enigma Cube?”

  “Yes. Several of them.”

  “And when you were standing or kneeling over them, did the crystal counteract their higher gravity?”

  Ryan frowned. Carl had a point. He would have made a great scientist. “Maybe you have to be holding it when the wave hits,” said Ryan. Or else have had your mind opened to the possibilities of the fourth dimension, thought Ryan.

  “I’m sorry, Ryan,” said Carl earnestly. “More sorry than you’ll ever know. But I can’t risk Nathaniel getting away on the hope that the crystal will work. On an untested theory.”

  Ryan pursed his lips together in frustration and shook his head sadly. There was nothing to say. He hated what Carl was doing. Carl hated what Carl was doing. But Ryan knew the security chief had no other choice. And while Carl would have to face Alyssa and Kelsey, so would he. Ryan had promised them their mom would be okay. While Carl had given them nothing but the truth, Ryan had given them false hope; a fantasy.

  The phone rang. Carl took a deep breath and picked it up.

  Ryan’s eyes widened!

  At just that instant he realized what he had been missing. What his sister had broadcast that had made him uneasy. It was just before he left Isis to rejoin Alyssa and Kelsey at the zoo building.

  Regan had told him she was glad being on Earth had brought him back to his senses.

  That was it! Returning to Earth had cured him. Almost instantly.

  But returning to Earth hadn’t cured Carl.

  It had taken Ryan’s mom about twenty minutes to find a Med-Pen. Yet Carl’s emotional state had not improved during that time.

  What did this mean? Had Carl’s emotional state been worse even than Ryan’s? Was it somehow of a different quality? And if so, why?

  And if a Med-Pen had never been used on Carl, would the negative emotional effects of Isis have ever worn off?

  Ryan’s every instinct told him the answers to these questions were vitally important. As Carl discussed strategy and tactics with the pilot of a jet fighte
r flying many miles above Nathaniel Smith—and Michelle Cooper—Ryan’s mind raced.

  His mouth dropped open as he came to a startling conclusion. Could it really be true? He needed to think it through. Be absolutely sure he was right.

  “Alright, Captain McGann,” said Carl. “Arm the missiles. Wait until he’s clear of cars and farmhouses and then commence firing. I repeat, you have a green light to engage. Do you copy?”

  “Copy that, sir,” said the captain.

  “Stop!” screamed Ryan. “Call it off.”

  “Ryan, we’ve been through this,” said Carl irritably, his ear still pressed against the phone. “My decision has been made.”

  “No. You don’t understand. Nathaniel isn’t the one behind this.”

  Ryan leaned forward intently. “You’re about to bomb the wrong person.”

  CHAPTER 30

  Decoy

  “Have you lost your mind?” said Carl.

  Ryan stared at the security chief with a blazing intensity. “Carl, if you’ve ever trusted me before,” he said evenly, “trust me now. You’re about to make a terrible mistake.”

  Colonel Carl Sharp looked deep into Ryan’s green eyes and saw nothing but certainty. Ryan and his sister had shown themselves to possess excellent instincts time and again. He made up his mind in an instant.

  “Abort, abort, abort!” Carl barked into the receiver. “Stand down, Captain McGann. I repeat, stand down. Do you copy?”

  “Copy that, sir. Standing down.”

  “Hold position and await further instructions,” said Carl. He reached over and hit the mute button on the phone so the captain couldn’t hear their conversation. “Only because it’s you, Ryan. Only because it’s you. You had better make your points quickly.”

  “Nathaniel is a decoy,” said Ryan breathlessly. “Michelle Cooper isn’t his hostage. Nathaniel is her hostage.”

  Carl tilted his head in confusion. “What?”

  “I told you the wildlife of Isis was relentlessly hostile to our expedition. You and I discussed why that might have happened. Well I figured it out. They can receive and transmit a kind of telepathic energy that hits the emotional centers of human brains. It drives us into a rage. Our emotional energy does the same to them.”