tmp_2e400c932cd646dccd3ec2acdba43a25_mQf9rc.fixed.tidied

by BSmith

  Caleb looked at Simone. Vasco better lift that gag order soon, because it was becoming real torture to not be able to act the way he wanted to around her. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Thanks.” Simone stood up.

  “We’re you going?” Lucien asked.

  “Down to the shooting range. Want to come?”

  “Nu uh. I’m going to take a nap. Nobody tell Uncle Christopher.” Lucien stifled a yawn.

  “I’ll come with you, Simone.” Vasco stood up. “If I’m going to kill six members of the Brotherhood, I should make sure my aim is on point.”

  §

  November 25th, 2012 - 12:22 PM

  Alexandria, VA

  SVT Think Tank

  “The only video cameras on their floor are in front of the elevators.”

  Olivia sat in the passenger seat of a van with heavily tinted windows, looking at the SVT Think Tank building across the street. “That’s very convenient for us. What time do they leave for lunch?”

  “Between twelve-thirty and one. They don’t always go out. Sometimes they use the cafeteria. I hear it’s pretty good,” a SVT agent said.

  Olivia looked down at her watch. She needed the scientists to leave. Their departure would provide her agents with the right opportunity to get inside their lab. Cleverly passing it off as a training exercise, she was able to utilize her SVT office to her own ends. Twenty minutes later, Olivia was smiling as she watched Robert leading two others out of the building.

  “One’s missing,” the agent said, looking down at his portfolio. “Derek Vaughn isn’t with them.”

  Olivia tapped her fingers against her mouth in thought. She’d have to risk it. Reaching up, she touched her ear communicating with the two agents she had waiting to follow the scientists when they left. “Operation Watchtower is a go. And remember, we’re on a time table. Your success in this assignment will heavily influence whether or not I determine I need you on this team.”

  “Roger that, Alpha. We’re following the targets now.”

  Perfect, Olivia thought. She climbed into the back of the van. In order to make Operation Watchtower a success, her agents need only swipe one of the team members’ access cards and bring it to her.

  Thirty minutes later, the back of the van opened, and one of her agents was standing there, dangling Dr. Shirley McDermott’s access card from his fingers. “Well done.” Olivia put a red wig on her head and slipped the colored contacts into her eyes. “Put me in the security system, Ray.”

  When one knew how a system was set up, it wasn’t difficult to hack into it. Five minutes later, Olivia’s retinal signature replaced Shirley’s. “You are good to go, Alpha,” the SVT agent said.

  “Good.” Letting herself out of the van, Olivia slipped her arms into a white lab coat, held the access card casually in her hand, and walked into the building. Lunch time saw a decent flow of traffic in and out of the building, and Olivia took full advantage, merging with a small group of employees as they walked past the security station as if she were a part of it. The group got off the elevator on level two. She slid the card into the slot and pressed the button for the fourth floor. The panel beeped and a computerized voice said, “Good afternoon Doctor. Please identify yourself.” Olivia leaned forward so the retinal scan panel could scan her eye. “Confirmed. Dr. Shirley McDermott. Welcome back,” the computerized voice said as the elevator began moving.

  “Alpha, this is Red.” A voice came through Olivia's earpiece. “I’m in their security system. There is no one in front of the elevators. You are clear.”

  Even better, Olivia thought. The doors slid open, and Olivia stepped out cautiously, pausing to listen. It was quiet. Derek was probably in his office. She walked quickly past the spiral staircase, toward the empty lab. She pressed Shirley’s ID card against the security panel and the door slide open.

  It was obvious from the setup inside the lab that Derek and his team were building something—some sort of device. Olivia walked to one of the cases, and lifted the unlocked lid. She didn’t recognize the device inside, but she guessed it was some sort of weapon. Pulling out her cell phone, she took a picture. Closing the lid on the case, she opened up three more. They contained the same strange weapon, but the fourth made her gasp in surprise. Inside was the mirror image of the crystal rod that Loki had been carrying, that Enlil had been so happy to discover.

  If she brought the rod to Enlil, then she could stop jumping through hoops to win his favor. Decision made, Olivia snapped the case shut and wrapped her fingers around the handle.

  A stern voice sounded behind her: “Don’t move.”

  Olivia went deadly still. Fuck. She never heard the door open. She did hear the click of the gun being cocked and probably pointed at her head. “Easy,” Olivia said. “I work here.”

  “No, you don’t.” The Cadre tipped his chin down towards his shoulder where his radio was attached. “We have a sit—”

  Olivia whirled around smacked the Cadre with the case. He released a startled grunt, and Olivia hit him with the case again, hard against the side of his head. The man hit the floor, but the case opened and the rod spilled out, clattering to the floor and rolling halfway across the room as if it was trying to get away from her.

  The radio on the Cadre’s shoulder echoed out: “Brian, do you copy? We’re coming downstairs.”

  Growling, Olivia kicked the fallen solider in the stomach, then touched her earpiece. “Red, do you read me? Set off the fire alarms, now. Hurry.” She jerked her eyes over to the crystal, just as the Cadre groaned and started coming out of his daze. She wanted to run over and grab it, but she couldn’t risk getting caught. She would have to leave it. She rushed out of the lab room to the sound of heavy footsteps coming down the spiral staircase, and pulled the gun from her back. She lifted the weapon and started firing towards the stairs, the bullets striking metal and sending off sparks, the noise of gunfire halting the Cadre coming to check on their comrade. Olivia squeezed the trigger a few more times as she slammed her shoulder into the stairwell door, pushing through it. Just as she got there, the fire alarm went off, an insanely loud, annoying noise. She tore off down the stairs, and people started filing in with her. She hid the gun back under her lab coat, ducked her head down, and blended in with the crowd.

  Once outside, Olivia broke past the crowd just as fire trucks screeched to a halt in front of the building. She was at the van when she heard the shout for her to stop, and saw the Cadre running towards her.

  Smirking, she fired a few rounds in their direction before she closed the door, snapping at the agent in the driver’s seat. “What are you waiting for? Go!”

  The young man looked startled at the live gunfire but peeled out, tires squealing. Olivia ripped off her wig, and climbed into the passenger seat. She patted the man’s arm comfortingly. “Well done, Agent.”

  “That looked a very real, ma’am.” The Agent shot Olivia a sideways glance.

  Olivia smiled “It’s supposed to. How else will I determine how well you can react under duress? Take us back to the office.” She needed to get in touch with Dominic.

  §

  November 25, 2012 - 3:33 PM

  Alcyone Island

  Dion Corporation Headquarters

  “Someone broke into SVT Think Tank.”

  Vasco sat behind his desk and arched a sharp brow at Caleb. “Continue.”

  “They didn’t steal anything. Luckily, one of the Cadre assigned to Robert caught the woman as she was trying to take the crystal.”

  “Anyone hurt?”

  “No, nothing serious. She got away, though, and we can’t make out her face on the security cameras.”

  Vasco clucked his tongue thoughtfully. “All right. I want the whole operation moved to the Compound. Do it quietly, very quietly.”

  “Yes, Mr. President.” Caleb turned to leave, but paused. He looked back at Vasco. “Sir, about the gag order.”

  A subtle smile touched Vasco’s mouth. “I imagine it must get
harder every day.”

  Caleb matched Vasco’s smile. “Yes, sir, it does.”

  “Soon, Caleb. A few days more soon. Let me know once our braniac team is at the compound.”

  Hope and anticipation flared hotly in Caleb's gut. “Yes, sir.”

  §

  November 30, 2012 - 9:12 PM

  MIEC

  The Octopus

  “I was right in my assumption. The crystal has made ELMINT stronger.”

  Alex smiled as he and Enlil waited for the underwater train to arrive. “That’s good news, my Lord.” Fucking Anunnaki, Alex thought. There had been a two hundred year period the Anunnaki had left the planet, and put sole control in the hands of the Brotherhood. The Anunnaki had had matters on their home planet to attend to, and they wanted to explore the inside of the Moon. Earth’s moon was a giant space vessel built specifically to monitor the planet. At some point in the galaxy’s history, it had come under attack, as visible by the many craters on its surface. Whatever race had built it had vanished without a trace, but the technology they left behind was of some curiosity to the Anunnaki.

  On Earth, during the time that the Anunnaki were gone, seven different alien races came to visit, and a few attempted to assist humanity in breaking loose of some of its chains. It was also while the Anunnaki were gone that the Brotherhood began to disagree with itself on how to handle the masses. A united core of thirteen split into three separate camps, and their internal battle lasted for seven decades. When the Anunnaki returned, humanity was breaking free, the Brotherhood was losing control, and it seemed the Ascension was finally imminent. It was because of Enlil’s skill as both a general and a leader that the attempt was thwarted, and the Brotherhood was put back together. Those were considered the dark days for the Brotherhood; several of the elite bluebloods were killed, entire families removed and replaced with the next waiting to be chosen worthy. It was because of the Brotherhood’s errors that Enlil had realized that the Anunnaki needed to be more effective at handling leaks of information. The public had suddenly known too much, and the only way to combat that was to give them alternative versions of the same story from seemingly credible sources. It had gotten to the point that they needed to control not just conspiracy theorists, but spiritualists, too.

  “It is. Everything is right on point.” Enlil stepped into the luxurious train cabin first, and Alex followed obediently behind him. Underneath the Statue of Liberty—which was a tribute to Isis, the wife of Enlil who died during one of The Great Wars—was the entrance to the underwater tunnel that connected the United States and Australia. It went straight to the Military Industrial Extra-terrestrial Complex, classified as a D2, called The Octopus.

  The Octopus was one of five M.I.E.C.’s on Earth. Anunnaki and Zeta scientists worked alongside select, mind-controlled, and cult conditioned humans. Contrary to conspiracy theorists’ beliefs, Dulce was no longer a joint alien/human base. After a group of rebellious Zetas and humans tried to burn it down, the Brotherhood and Anunnaki Council decided to keep all such bases underwater. The Octopus had two main objectives. The first was to perfect the Programmable Life Forms. Known as PLFs, they were robots with organic parts. The second base objective was mind control through channeling and false mystical experiences.

  Using an advanced form of HAARP, the Brotherhood frequently made NSA selected individuals believe they were channeling some mystical being. The target thought he or she was communing with angels or benevolent aliens, when in truth, they were talking to someone in the base who was literally reading a script. What kind of person was targeted and what information was fed to them was the responsibility of the Tavistock Institute and RAND Corporation. History proved how exceptional they were at it.

  Now that martial law had been declared nearly worldwide, the Brotherhood would need these machines much less. Alex looked out the window, watching the underwater tunnel blur by as the high speed train traveled at 1500 mph towards The Octopus. Alex often marveled at the things human beings were capable of; especially when he looked at things like the Octopus. Its design had come from human ingenuity. Alien technology made it possible. It was a huge dome, with six separate arms extending out from it, each housing a different function of the base. At this depth, the sun’s rays didn’t penetrate the ocean, making windows pointless. The only light that emanated from the dome was a dull blue glow that pulsed rhythmically from the roof.

  “Tell me, have there been any improvements in the escalation of violence because of martial law?” Enlil asked.

  Alex shook his head and feigned annoyance. “No. It’s all gone, surprisingly, very peacefully, and we don’t understand it. The amount of violent outbreaks has been extremely low. Even in the camps, people are not combative. They’re angry, but they’re peaceful, forgiving almost. It’s very strange.”

  Enlil growled. “Damn this ascension. It won’t happen. I’ll be dead before I let it happen.”

  “Of course it won’t, my God. It’s impossible. Wait until after the winter solstice. The people will change their tune then.” Alex assured him.

  “Yes. Yes, they will,” Enlil promised with malevolent intent. “I’ve decided to move up the attack on Terenzio.”

  Alex didn’t miss a beat. “If you think that’s best. May I ask why, my God?”

  “Olivia confirmed that they have the second crystal. They are also building what sounds to me like one of Tesla weapons. I knew Stefano stole one, I just could not locate it.”

  “Good idea, then. Who did you send?”

  “Family against family. Except one side is going to have a little help.” Enlil smiled coldly. “After killing a few thousand humans, we’ve finally gotten the new PLF’s operational. They’re going to get their first test run against the Terenzios.”

  Chapter 14

  “To put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right.”

  - Confucius

  December 1st, 2012 - 10:11 PM

  Alcyone Island

  Phoenix Resort Hotel

  *They were twenty days away. Twenty days from the end of this war, and the undeniable fact that someone would be proven right. It came down to a very simple, startling duality; the Ascension would happen, or it wouldn’t. There was no in between. No more walking the line for humanity, a choice had to be made. Even with that tension hanging in the air, the family decided to celebrate. Isabella had insisted. The triplets were thrown a birthday party, day of. And the elders of the family had spared no expense on the young heirs, the ballroom of the Phoenix Resort Hotel turned into a private, festive celebration that spilled out onto the beach. The majority of the family was there, except Amadeo and Olivia, but their absence didn’t surprise anyone.

  Security was on high alert for obvious reasons, and the area was patrol with Dion security, military police, and the Omega Cadre themselves standing in the shadows, against walls, and on either side of the open doorways. They prowled between the crowds of people on the dance floor, or out on the beach, watching the party-goers taking advantage of the free liquor, and doing the occasional drug. Every thirty minutes or so, the distant hum of a helicopter tainted the noise of the party goers, the music that thundered from the wireless speakers, and the steel drums and bongos played by the bohemians near the bonfire-lined ocean.

  Caleb was armed, but not dressed in the uniform of Dion security with the Phoenix symbol and company words bled in red on the right hand side of black suit jackets. He wore the fitted tuxedo Lucien had taken him to get hours earlier. His ear piece was in place, but it stayed silent. It was for emergencies only. Period. It wasn’t just Terenzio’s night for celebration.

  Caleb moved as fluidly as a Terenzio, but with his own unique style; the easy arrogance of the fighter pilot he had once been and the hint of charm that bled off a southern gentlemen; the confident way his bod
y smoothly maneuvered through the crowd, because of who he was now; deceptively languid, but on complete alert. He was a man on a mission, a man who had bar¬ely taken his eyes off of Simone Terenzio, who was dancing with her older brother.

  At Simone's request Vasco had pulled himself from his corner of solitude and taken her out onto the dance floor. "You're not allowed to ask me again for a week. I promise I'm fine."

  Simone smirked softly, setting one hand in Vasco's and placing the other on his shoulder. "You've heard that tired old cliché, haven't you? About what 'fine' really stands for?"

  Vasco chuckled lightly, shaking his head. "That doesn't apply here. I'm just not colorful enough to use any other adjective." He led Simone into the simple step dictated by the rhythm of the music, but did confess something a moment after. "I miss her. That's all."