‘Is everything proceeding as we arranged?’ Joiner said.
Bryant looked uncomfortable and nodded, his sickly smile nowhere to be seen on his annoying face.
‘He doesn’t suspect you are not his man anymore?’ Joiner said.
Bryant’s expression stiffened. ‘No.’
‘It was unwise of you to tell him about the equipment and the military’s involvement. I underestimated your stupidity; have you forgotten our little arrangement so quickly?’
Bryant shook his head. ‘Of course not.’
‘Then why are you here at Steadfast?’
‘The professor asked me to come,’ Bryant said, his voice a pathetic whine. ‘I had no choice. It would have looked suspicious if I’d refused.’
‘If you betray me again the consequences for you will be dire, but for others – fatal,’ Joiner said, eagerly watching as Nathan squirmed in his seat, his fear plain to see. Every man had his price, Joiner knew, and Bryant was no different. ‘So what is he up to, our beloved leader?’
‘He’s making final preparations for the impact; that’s his job, after all.’
‘Don’t get cute with me,’ Joiner said, eyes narrowing, ‘or you’ll find I can make your life quite unbearable.’
Bryant looked at him with hatred and Joiner smiled. That was something else that brought him pleasure; other people’s discomfort and suffering, two things that his job enabled him to revel in on a regular basis.
‘Steiner doesn’t suspect my involvement behind the military’s departure from his control,’ Joiner said, ‘or that the UN Secretary General is acting under my orders?’
‘No, he seems to have his hands full with the military stonewalling him, a Colonel Samson threatening Richard Goodwin and the imminent meteor impact. Quite a lot to keep any man occupied, even one as gifted as the professor.’
‘Excellent. Now, what aren’t you telling me?’ he said, catching Nathan on the hop. Joiner had unnerving powers of perception; he hadn’t reached his position by chance. Secrecy, manipulation and anticipation were just a few of his skills.
‘I don’t know what you mean.’ Nathan sounded unconvincing as Joiner’s gimlet eyes bored into him.
Joiner didn’t say anything, but piled the pressure on Bryant using silence as his weapon.
‘He’s bringing in contractors, private contractors,’ Nathan said at last, breaking under Joiner’s gaze.
‘And?’ he said, pressing him for more.
‘He’s pulled some strings,’ – Nathan, still reluctant to give away his friend’s secrets, paused before continuing – ‘and redirected Darklight to Steadfast.’
Joiner didn’t show his emotions, but inside he seethed with rage. Darklight, the world’s leading private security firm, had huge resources and large numbers of personnel; an army for hire by the highest bidder, which in the current financial landscape meant only one organisation, the GMRC. In the past few years they had been used to spearhead the evacuation of South Africa and other southern African states, not to mention being employed by the Japanese and Chinese governments to protect key resources and projects pertinent to the global subterranean response to the looming disaster. Somehow Steiner had managed to requisition them under the radar; Joiner would have found out eventually, but by then it would have been too late; he knew he had to make counter preparations, and quickly.
Joiner, still distracted by the news, refocused on Bryant. ‘What else?’
‘That’s it, unless you count the fact that he’s very tired at the moment,’ Nathan said, sounding concerned.
‘How caring of you,’ Joiner said with a sneer. ‘Now get out of my sight, but don’t go too far; I might have need of you again.’
After Bryant had scuttled off, Joiner picked up his phone to contact one of the Joint Chiefs. ‘General, we have an imminent Darklight infestation at Steadfast; you know what to do—’ he said, and then promptly hung up. Pleased with the work he’d completed in such a short time, Joiner decided he’d have a swim in the plush Principal Hotel pool and then take afternoon tea, but he had one more quick call to make first. He pressed his intercom button. ‘Operator, put me through to a Colonel Samson.’
♦
Colonel Samson, dressed in civilian clothing, tapped his fingers in impatience as he waited at a private table in one of Steadfast’s swanky hotels. Some spook had requested his presence. It seemed this person had substantial clout within the military as, soon after Samson had refused to meet the man, a call had come through from one of his superiors ordering him to go and give the man a fair hearing.
Wanting to be anywhere else but there, Samson continued to wait, and a little while later a thin, aging man in a suit came and sat down opposite him. A waiter approached and the newcomer ordered some fancy wine, which he then had poured for them both. Samson would have preferred a beer; he sloshed down the wine in a few gulps as the other man watched him, sipping his own drink in slow deliberation.
‘I hear you are a man not to be trifled with,’ the spy said to him, ‘and that you don’t care for civilian leadership.’
‘You have good hearing,’ Samson said, bored out of his mind, ‘and who the fuck are you?’
‘I’m someone not to be fucked with.’ The man handed him a card.
MALCOLM JOINER
Principal Director of National
GMRC Intelligence
‘So you’re some bigwig,’ Samson said. ‘What do you want with me?’ He wasn’t impressed by cards, hotels or titles.
‘I’m just introducing myself. I heard about your situation with Professor Steiner and I thought I would offer you my support.’
‘I don’t need it,’
‘You may have been told by your superiors that Steiner is no longer in full control of the military; however, recently a situation has arisen that may prove … interesting. Have you heard of Darklight?’
‘The security firm?’ Samson said.
‘The same. It seems our beloved professor is bringing them into Steadfast. This is going to cause some problems in the chain of command. I just want to make sure that you are aware that you may be vulnerable to reassignment if Steiner gets his way and that I can protect you.’
‘I don’t need protecting,’ Samson said with a snarl.
‘Of course not, what I meant was that I can prevent your transfer.’
‘And why would you do that?’ Samson looked at the intelligence director suspiciously.
‘I may need your help at a certain point and if I scratch your back—’
‘I’ll do what I want, when I want,’ Samson told him. ‘If you need something that requires my skills we can speak again.’
‘Very well,’ Joiner said, unmoved by the colonel’s animosity, ‘that’s good enough for me.’
‘It’ll have to be,’ Samson said, and got up and left.
♦
Richard Goodwin looked on as the impact countdown timer sank below ten days, signalling the initiation of the Final Protocols. In the Command Centre and around the whole of U.S.S.B. Steadfast EMERGCON (emergency readiness condition) and DEFCON (defence readiness condition) threat alert levels where displayed via screens and signs. The largest readiness display had been built onto the outside of the Command Centre building itself; at some forty feet in height, this provided a real-time visual indicator of current standings to passers-by and for workers in the vicinity.
2011 AG5, or Big Bertha as the professor liked to call it, had its trajectory mapped out in the centre of the display Goodwin now watched. Key Control Centre staff moved around the room as keyboards clicked, finger circlets flicked, voices chattered and phones rang. The implementation of final surface procedures had begun as U.S.S.B. Steadfast cycled towards complete isolated lockdown for the years ahead. This is what they had prepared for; everything was coming together, apart from one major piece of equipment that should have arrived. Goodwin had asked the professor about the back-up water purification machinery and its location, and he’d told Goodwin it would b
e there. Goodwin had pointed out its importance; however, the professor didn’t seem to be worried, a small comfort as Goodwin knew the importance to the programme such a device represented.
He was also concerned that the professor had decided to set up his base of operations at Steadfast instead of U.S.S.B. Sanctuary where he had initially been scheduled to be during impact. It seemed a lot of new people had streamed into Steadfast at a time when he needed calm and familiar faces. He’d also been told by the professor to expect a large and heavily armed contingent from the Darklight security firm. Basic procedure, he had said, but Goodwin wasn’t convinced. Something was going on, but he was far too busy to look into it further; besides, he reasoned, the professor knows what he’s doing … doesn’t he?
U.S.S.B. Steadfast was being sealed indefinitely. Surface deployment could only be sanctioned under special conditions authorised by the Joint Chiefs, Professor Steiner or the President himself. While according to predictions AG5’s impact wouldn’t be apocalyptic, it did represent a severe threat, as it posed a multitude of scenarios that a subterranean base was designed to combat. These scenarios included unforeseen fallout due to unidentifiable parameters, atmospheric ignition triggered by the impact detonation and microbial contagions piggy backing in on the meteor’s surface or within its structure.
Steadfast also helped to preserve plant life and protect U.S. command structure against possible nuclear or biological attack by a hostile nation during the potential chaos following the asteroid’s arrival. The U.S.S.B. programme was a crucial and pivotal component in defending the United States; however, it also had offensive capabilities hence the civilian and military collaboration. Certain doomsayers within the subterranean base community said the meteor could be the prelude to a war with the Chinese. Goodwin doubted this; he knew people liked to imagine the worst to bring some excitement into their lives, as he’d done the same in his youth and even occasionally in later life. This train of thought, he theorised, was perhaps an unfortunate mental aberration in the human psyche in response to modern day life and all the rules and controls it brought with it. He had to admit to his older self, however, that he’d been getting excited as the asteroid drew closer. He shouldn’t, he knew, because people’s lives would be in danger even though mass evacuations had been made in Africa and beyond.
Goodwin had also noticed the change and buzz that circulated in and around the base as Impact Day grew ever closer, which was inevitable, really, since everyone had geared up for its arrival for so long. And despite the many years of preparations by virtually every nation on Earth, such a huge global event would spark worldwide panic, especially when the dust cloud brought with it an eternal night. It was said the younger generations would deal with the darkness better since they were biologically more resilient. They had also grown up knowing the impact would happen, what would ensue and how it would affect their lives. It had been ingrained into their education and very existence, whereas the majority of the adult population were set in their ways and used to a normal life, not the horror of a world without sunlight.
Goodwin told one of the analysts to bring up the nuclear reactors’ live data feed.
‘All reactors are operating within parameters, sir.’
‘Air regeneration systems?’ Goodwin said.
The analyst brought up more data. ‘Five by five, sir.’
‘Water?’
‘Seventy five per cent efficiency.’
‘Control systems?’
‘One hundred per cent in the green.’
‘Population anxiety levels?’ Goodwin said. All underground citizens, civilian and military, had bio readers implanted under the skin, enabling numerous psychological and physical checks on whole or specific groups throughout the base. This was an extremely useful tool in the event of an emergency or to identify potential flash points. Population management in Steadfast, and for all U.S.S.B.s, played an integral role in the smooth running of a modern day subterranean facility.
‘We have a few anxiety spikes, sir, mainly due to the EMERGCON and DEFCON display and sign activation, since it coincides with the time they went live around the base.’
‘Very good,’ Goodwin said, satisfied everything proceeded as planned.
♦
Professor Steiner had managed to set up his global response centre using some of the disaster recovery rooms he had visited earlier. They had full GMRC database access, enormous screens and a plethora of workstations. Those of his personnel that had been destined for U.S.S.B. Sanctuary had been flown in from other locations, and communication networks had been rerouted to his new operational hub.
Sophie, Steiner’s primary aide, stood by his side as images of various people appeared on a large grid live on screen.
‘We have full connectivity, Professor,’ Sophie told him. ‘Shen Zhǔ Rèn is waiting to speak to you.’
Shen Zhǔ Rèn, or Director Shen, had been selected by the Chinese to run their meteor response programme and he had also been on the shortlist to co-ordinate the planetary response on behalf of the GMRC, the very position now held by Steiner himself. Typically relations between the United States and China were frosty at best, especially considering China’s dominance in the fierce economic battle that had seen the U.S. increase its population twofold in the last twenty years in an attempt to keep pace. Such radical growth had been gained by opening the borders to the United States, plus the roll out of highly lucrative government incentives for couples who had five or more children. Both of these schemes proved extremely controversial and initially had caused the U.S. economy to stall; in the last five years, however, it had regained its power and closed the gap with its rival.
‘Shen Zhǔ Rèn, ni qi se bu cuo,’ the professor said in flawless Chinese.
‘Professor Steiner, I am very well, thank you,’ the Chinese Director replied. ‘I notice you are at U.S.S.B. Steadfast rather than Sanctuary; is there any reason for this late change to your plans?’
Steiner glanced round to see the large Steadfast insignia on the wall behind him. ‘You’re very observant, Zhǔ Rèn,’ Steiner said without a hint of sarcasm. ‘No, there is nothing to be concerned about, we have just a few issues to smooth out here and it seemed better for all concerned if I stayed onsite rather than moving on to Sanctuary.’
‘Can we assist you in any way?’ Shen Zhǔ Rèn asked politely.
‘No, thank you. How are your final preparations? I was told that you were experiencing rioting in a few of your larger cities.’
‘That is being dealt with as we speak, Professor,’ Shen said, radiating confidence. ‘I think you should be more concerned with the EU’s Australian base, which seems to have experienced a breach to one of its chambers due to a gas explosion. Apparently it may have affected their water and air systems, although we haven’t been able to confirm this directly. We did warn the Europeans against gas infrastructure, but we were ignored as usual.’
Steiner detected Shen seemed quite pleased that the Chinese advice had proved correct, although that might have been to do with the fact that it was the Germans’ and the Italians’ final votes that had ensured Steiner had received the position of GMRC Director General over Shen himself.
An image of a large, heavyset man appeared on the screen, the EU’s Representative, Dr. Daniel Sidwell.
‘Ah, Daniel, so nice to see you,’ Steiner said, as Zhǔ Rèn’s image grew smaller, indicating Steiner now conversed with another person, a situation mimicked on Shen’s own screen in China.
‘Professor, I hope you are well,’ Dr. Sidwell said, giving him a warm smile. ‘Director Shen’s information is correct, but the issue has already been resolved so we won’t be requiring assistance. Perhaps the Chinese should be ensuring their own ship is in order before criticising someone else’s.’
Steiner knew Daniel well from a research project they had run together many years ago, but he wasn’t about to start taking sides as it was his job to pull people together, not push them apart. ‘I’m gl
ad you’ve contained the problem, Daniel,’ he said diplomatically. ‘How are the satellite relays operating from your end? We read green across the board here.’
‘There is some interference on a couple of frequencies, but nothing too serious. It’s been caused by some small space debris from an old Russian rocket, robotic repairs are already underway.’
‘These things are sent to try us,’ Steiner said.
‘We’d be out of a job if they didn’t,’ Daniel replied.
Steiner smiled. ‘We’ll talk again at the holo-conference tomorrow,’ he said, before logging off the feed.
Sophie passed him an itinerary for the rest of the week just as Malcolm Joiner entered the room with Nathan at his side.
‘Thank you, Sophie,’ Steiner said, as the two men approached.
Sophie bobbed her head and moved off to speak to a couple of technicians who were busy installing a secure military network connection for Steiner’s new command post.
‘Gentlemen,’ Steiner said in greeting.
Nathan nodded his head in acknowledgment.
‘Professor,’ Joiner said, before gazing around at Steiner’s new hub of operations. ‘So you’ve decided against Sanctuary?’
‘I have, there was an equipment problem and I have a little issue with the military at the moment. You don’t happen to know why, do you, Malcolm? You are head of intelligence, after all.’
‘I’ve heard you may have fallen out of favour with the Joint Chiefs,’ Joiner said, unfazed by the question. ‘Did you want me to speak to them about it on your behalf?’
‘If I thought it would do any good I’d have asked you already,’ Steiner said as he studied Joiner’s deadpan face, which – as usual – revealed nothing.
Revelations Page 9
