The Skywalkers: A Thriller (A Rossler Foundation Mystery Book 5)

by JC Ryan

  Lunchtime came and went with no luck. They pushed their normal turnaround time, knowing that if they failed today, it could be a while before they could make another excuse to take several days of vacation. Maybe it was the long shadows of afternoon that did the trick. When they finally headed back by a different route down the mountainside, Roy noticed a shadow that shouldn't have been there, on the slope they were traversing, but above them.

  "Look at that," he said. Salome, walking behind him, looked where he was pointing. "What's making that shadow?"

  She scanned the slope, but couldn't see a protrusion that would have accounted for the shadow. "I don't know."

  "Hurry," Roy said. "We have to get to the end of it and look back, before the light's gone." He lengthened his stride, soon leaving Salome behind by several yards. She was still struggling to catch up when he called out, "Eureka!" It startled a laugh out of Salome. Only Roy...

  "What did you find?" she called back.

  "You've got to see it," he replied, maddeningly she thought. A few minutes later, she was by his side, looking in awe at his discovery. A narrow ledge that had split away from the main bulk of the mountain made an entrance hall of sorts. Fifty yards back in the direction from which they'd come, a deeper shadow, overgrown with bushes and vines, indicated an opening into the mountain itself. Could it be what they were looking for? Or only a tease, too shallow or otherwise unusable. There was only one way to find out.

  "Let's go see," she said.

  "It's going to be dark soon."

  "I know, but we won't have time to come back. We need to at least see if it's a possibility." She started for the cave entrance, but Roy soon caught up and passed her.

  "I don't want you going in first," he said. "Stay back until I see whether it's safe."

  Salome had been an FBI agent for several years when Roy met her, and was fully capable of taking care of herself, but she loved it when Roy went caveman. It was nice to be taken care of, now and then. She was close behind him when Roy reached the opening, which they now realized was bigger than it had looked from the entrance to what she thought of as the hallway.

  It was more of a crack, she thought, than an entrance. About twenty feet high, maybe, and only ten or so wide, with jagged edges that hadn't yet been worn down by time. How long had it been here? Roy was stepping in, shining his little laser-bright flashlight...

  His voice had an echo when he spoke. "I can't see the walls. It must be huge."

  "That's good, I think," she said.

  "It is as long as there aren't any critters in here."

  "Critters?" Salome

  "Bears, or mountain lions," he clarified, from the sound of his voice moving deeper into the cave.

  "Roy, come back here right this minute!" she shrieked. Bears! Mountain lions? Why hadn't she thought about that possibility? She couldn't hear him moving anymore, and now the light disappeared, too. "Roy!"

  Thirty seconds later, which seemed like an eternity to Salome, with her heart hammering hard enough to jump out of her chest, the light reappeared. Thank heaven!

  "You're gonna love it, Sal," Roy called.

  "Love it why?" she called back.

  "It's big enough. More than. We could hole up an army in here."

  Chapter 20 - Five important things

  Roy and Salome arrived at the Rossler Foundation headquarters building to localized pandemonium on Monday morning. Luke was on hand to greet Salome when she walked into her office, surprising her. They had left it that if nothing major happened while she was gone, Luke would simply leave her a memo.

  His presence meant something major had happened, which concerned her but her concern was soon put to rest when she and Luke started talking.

  “Salome don’t worry you are not in any trouble at all, on the contrary. But before I brief you, tell me about your week in the wilderness? Did you find what you were looking for?”

  Salome relaxed. To pay him back for scaring her, decided to have some fun with him. “Well Luke, we discovered five important things.” Holding up one finger, she said, “Roy and I knew nothing about camping before this week but discovered if you can read instructions you can be an experienced camper in a week.” With each successive point, she added another finger. “Two, we discovered that an open air bath in a hot spring can be an exhilarating and soothing experience. Three, bears don’t come in herds.”

  By now Luke was smiling. Salome had never shown him, or many other people, her playful side, but she was about to send him a zinger. She continued with a straight face, holding up her pinky finger. “Four, we discovered you CAN make love in a tent.”

  Now she laughed aloud as Luke blushed. Finally, holding her thumb up, she delivered the punch line. “Oh, and by the way, we discovered a cave system that could easily hold hundred and fifty or more people. How’s that for a productive week?”

  Luke blew out a puff of air, and quipped, “I’m glad you didn’t discover anything else. Not sure my heart could take it.”

  Salome laughed again. “You deserved that, for scaring me. Okay, what’s been going on here?”

  Well, first I need to tell you that JR and Robert have returned from their trip, with an artifact Raj is certain is a data storage system. The three of them are probably accosting Roy in his lab right now, to see if he can shed any light on whether and how data is stored on what they found.”

  “How exciting! Tell me all about it.”

  “In a minute. Before we get into it, I need to tell you that I stole your thunder with Daniel. I’m sorry, but I didn’t feel it could wait until you returned.”

  “Oh, Luke, I wish you hadn’t done that. I wanted to explain to him, once I told him, why I hadn’t brought it up earlier.”

  “Don’t worry, I covered that. He was a bit shocked to begin with, as I’m sure you anticipated. But I smoothed it over; told him it wasn’t a trust issue, but that you wanted to be sure first, and then have a solution. He’s waiting for you to come and discuss it with him. You should be receiving a page any minute.”

  Right on schedule, the intercom chimed. It was Daniel. “I’d like you to attend an emergency meeting we’re having in the small conference room,” he said. “If Luke’s with you, bring him along.”

  ***

  Roy, unaware of the goings-on, had gone straight to his lab, where he found JR Rossler, Robert Cartwright, Stephen Matthews, Nicholas Rossler and Sinclair O'Reilly waiting for him. He blinked rapidly, searching for what to ask first. Finally, he said, "What's going on?"

  "Let's go, we're late," answered JR. This cryptic response bewildered Roy even further. Late for what? He hadn't forgotten a staff meeting had he? Even if he had, why would this crowd need to escort him there?

  As soon as they arrived at the conference room door and he saw his wife inside, Roy's alarm grew even greater. Had they done something wrong?

  Daniel stood as Roy walked in, and immediately drove all thought of possible wrongdoing out of their heads. "You two are never going to guess what happened while you were gone. We're sure glad to have you back."

  Roy walked around the table and took the seat next to Salome.

  "What's up, boss? All this drama..."

  "It's big, Roy. And you're the key. Salome, I take it Luke has already briefed you on what’s been happening here the past week, but let’s discuss the Canyon expedition first and get that show on the road. And then, you and Luke and I can meet in my office to discuss other matters."

  Roy was intrigued. He was the key? How so? He was about to ask, when Daniel produced a metal box from a locked case and placed it on the table.

  "Roy, Salome, this is an artifact from the Grand Canyon site that JR and Robert reached while you were away. They got back on Friday afternoon, and we've been waiting with as much patience as we could for you two to get back."

  "Why wait for us?" Salome asked.

  "Because, we think Roy's the only person we've got that can examine it without potentially damaging it." He opened the box,
and, with the greatest care, tweezed out the first sheet in the side nearest him. He held it up, where everyone could see the multi-colored swirl of colors in the circle. He'd known after Nicholas handled the foils to grasp it by a corner. The object shimmered in the light, almost as if it were alive. Everyone in the room but Roy and Salome had seen it the first time, but even they gasped in appreciation. For a mundane object like a square piece of metal, it held an otherworldly beauty in the rainbow of the circle.

  Roy gazed at it curiously. "What is that?"

  "We think it's for data storage. We've been calling these things foils." He tipped the box so that Roy could see the packed leaves inside it. "There are hundreds of them, near as we can tell. But we can't be sure until they're examined, and we don't know what might damage them if there is data. Do you have any instruments that you're fairly confident won't hurt them?"

  Roy reached for the foil, but then drew his hand back. Good idea Daniel had, to handle it with tweezers. As near as he could tell, if there were data, it would be in the circle, but the corners of the square were empty of color. "I can think of a couple I could try, if I knew what that material is. Any ideas?" Here, he looked at Robert. The stuff looked metallic. Maybe Robert knew what metal.

  Robert shook his head. "No, mate, you need a chemist for that. And the tests are destructive. We can't risk it."

  "What about a sliver of one of those corners? If there's any data on that thing, it's probably in the circles," Roy said. Others were nodding in agreement. Daniel looked dubious.

  "I mean, I may be able to see something under a Tenth Cycle electron microscope, without damage. Definitely without damage. What I could possibly see is another question. I don't suppose that box came with a user manual," he joked.

  Salome cracked the rest of them up when she retorted, "You wouldn't read it even if it had."

  Roy's sheepish grin cut the tension. "Yeah, one of the things Salome and I learned this past week - when all else fails, read the manual."

  Daniel smiled too, and handed the box over. "Don't hesitate to ask for anything you need. And Roy, this is top secret. We're not even supposed to have it, so don't talk about it to anyone other than those in this room right now, and even then, not any place you could be overheard."

  Roy flushed. "I'll remember."

  "Roy, that box is top priority. Okay, team let’s get out and do it to them before they do it to us.”

  To Luke and Salome he said, “Let’s go and grab ourselves a good cup of coffee in the canteen and take it with us to my office.”

  As they walked out Salome in the front, Luke with a big smile on his face grabbed Daniel’s arm and whispered something in his ear. Daniel blushed, looked away from Salome’s retreating backside and cuffed Luke on the arm. “TMI”

  Chapter 21 - Enigma

  By the time they’d obtained their coffee and made their way back to Daniel’s office, Luke’s revelation had stopped making Daniel uncomfortable, and he decided to have some fun with Salome.

  In a mock-serious tone, he began, “So, Mrs. James before we get into it I am very interested in the five most important things you discovered this last week.”

  Salome’s jaw dropped as she turned an accusing glare on Luke, who shrugged. Luke Clarke I will get you for this. Amusement got the better of her indignation that Luke had spoken out of turn, and she quickly regrouped. Her tone was clipped and professional as she shot back, “Mr. Rossler four of the five things have to be experienced in person to be fully understood, but the most important thing is that we found the ideal secluded site for a large number of people.”

  With that, Daniel knew the fun was over, and signaled Luke to summarize for everyone what each pair had discussed, so they’d all be on the same page. Salome confirmed for Daniel what Luke had conveyed, and also that they’d looked at the data this morning and she agreed with his analysis.

  “Salome, I want you to know I appreciate your alertness and the work you’ve been doing on your own initiative. I wish, though that you’d have felt comfortable coming to me with your concerns. Please don’t feel you’re in any hot water, at all. I just want you to know that I’ve been thinking something’s going seriously wrong with our society myself. Maybe I would have had something to contribute.”

  “I’m sorry, Daniel. I’ve been in a strictly hierarchical agency too long, I guess. In the FBI, you have to dot all your I’s and cross your T’s before you say a word.”

  “No apology necessary. I can tell you, though, that what Luke’s been feeding me has me turned into a total insomniac. I don’t think I’ve slept in three days.

  ”Would you like to see it for yourself, Daniel?” Salome asked. “Luke may have been able to glean some superficial information from it, in fact, apparently did. But I’m the virtuoso. I can show both of you things that will curl your toenails.”

  “Absolutely!” Daniel replied, thoughtfully considering his feet and hoping she wasn’t being literal. He couldn’t think of anything much more uncomfortable than curled toenails.

  Half an hour later, he was convince, not only that she was right, but that he agreed there wasn’t much they could do to stop it. With the revelation that the president himself was the beneficiary of some of the schemes. There was no one to whom to report that they could be sure wasn’t already compromised. Nothing the major players were doing was strictly speaking illegal, anyway. It was a nightmare.

  “What I don’t get is what they’re after,” he remarked. “They have virtually everything they need to take over, literally the entire world. Why haven’t they done so?

  “Probably because of the military, or whatever security forces each country has. They have no need to get involved in a war of resistance, when they’ve been so careful up until now. No doubt they’re waiting to infiltrate, obtain power through political influence, or find a way to cripple the troops,” Luke had given it some thought, and was ready with the answer almost before Daniel had asked it.

  “Then, I assume we have some time to prepare,” Daniel responded.

  “I’m sure Luke is right,” said Salome. “But, remember how much of the nanotech information got leaked during the Sword of Cyrus crisis. We could be looking at anything from individually-programmed nano-poisons to enough nano-sized anthrax spores to wipe out entire countries. We have to work as quickly as we can.”

  Luke spoke up. “So, you’re thinking that the doomsday clock has advanced?”

  “I’m thinking we were wrong when we estimated five minutes to twelve. It’s probably more like one minute.”

  Daniel cleared his throat, gaining the attention of the other two, who were staring at each other in horror. “All right, here’s what we’re going to do. Luke, I’m afraid I have to draft you back into service. We need someone minding the store while our plans are developed and implemented. Work it out between you, but let’s get a response drawn up. It will need to stay among the three of us for now. Luke, tell Sally whatever you need to, as long as she understands not to talk about it with anyone, not even Sarah’s mom. Top secret, eyes only, and all that. No written communications, nothing on the phone or internet, as paranoid as Raj, Luke. Remember back in the day? Like that, only tighter.”

  “We should have a code name for it,” Salome said. “So we can refer to it with others hearing, if necessary, but not understanding.”

  “Enigma,” said Luke. “After the German encryption machine. If Turing hadn’t already had his idea for a computing machine, it would never have been cracked.”

  “Let’s hope this enigma goes un-cracked as well,” said Daniel. “Enigma it is.

  Luke lightened the mood with his final shot. “You won’t need to prepare a place for me, because I’ll be a dead man as soon as Sally figures out I’m back in the game.”

  Daniel and Salome laughed as if it would be their last chance for a long, long time. Finally, Daniel taunted him.

  “Luke, I can’t believe you’re afraid of a woman half your size.”

  “Dynam
ite comes in small packages, Daniel. If you don’t believe me, you go and tell her you drafted me.

  Daniel quickly backpedalled. “Oh, no. That’s up to you. Dismissed.” He gave a mock salute, the signal for the others to leave and get to work.

  Chapter 22 - Only one way to test it

  While his wife was getting her thoughts in order to create the Enigma plan, Roy had been examining one of the foils from the box under a Tenth Cycle version of an electron microscope to determine whether the circles of color visible to the naked eye had a structure that could carry information, and what type of information it might be. Improvements made since the second Rossler expedition to Antarctica, when the same type of instrument had been used to help crack the viral code of the Ninth Cycle virus included a mechanism to translate electromagnetic data into sound.

  Roy was certain that what was on the foils was data. What else could it be? However, there were many forms it could take. From grooves, like on an old-fashioned phonograph record, to binary data in the form of positive and negative ions, and anything in between. But attempting to 'play' the data with some of those methods could destroy it, if it were the wrong method.

  His first task would be to determine how stable this metal might be, and then attempt to determine how the data was recorded. For now, he was examining the outside corners, where the circle of color didn't extend, to attempt to see the molecular structure of the metal. But, he wasn't having much luck. He couldn't see any physical indication of what was making the colors. He needed quantitative chemical analysis. And that was destructive.

  As Roy tried to reconcile the challenges he faced, he wondered if every foil in the box contained data. If he could find one that appeared blank, perhaps determine that there was no data to destroy, maybe Daniel would allow it to be analyzed as to alloy composition. One thing he was virtually certain of; unless this had been left by aliens of some sort, the metal had to be one of the ninety-one or so elements familiar to Earth. He suspected that at least one of the elements was one that produced a magnetic field, because handling the foils caused them to sway toward other metals.