by Alex Lukeman
The two men went inside and got into an elevator. It rose in seconds to the control room below the peak of the pyramid. The doors opened with a soft, pneumatic hiss. The room was brightly lit. Several technicians sat in front of instruments monitoring the status of Tesla's device. A digital clock centered on one wall counted down minutes and seconds and tenths of a second in large, red numbers. It showed just under fifteen minutes. The room smelled of tension and stale sweat.
Yuri Malenkov sat in front of the master control panel. A row of six digital gauges measured fluctuating power levels from Tesla's weapon. A screen above the gauges displayed a changing stream of numbers and coordinates. Yuri rose from his seat as Ogorov and Kaminsky came into the room.
"What is our status?" Ogorov asked.
"We are on schedule, Minister." He gestured at the screen. "I am about to activate the targeting sequence."
He flipped back a safety cover and pressed a red button. Gears whined beneath their feet. Outside, the metal walls of the peak above the control room folded back like the petals of a deadly plant. Yuri pressed another button. A blank monitor came alive with a live video stream from the peak. It showed the crystal amplifier and the targeting array.
"We can watch the beam discharge from here. Our sensors will lock on to ODIN and adjust the direction of the beam. Once we fire, the American satellite will be destroyed instantly."
"Good," Ogorov said. "Good."
They waited for ODIN to come within range.
CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
The rungs of the ladder were slippery with ice, hard to grasp. Korov gave the order for lights as they descended. The roar of the falling water from the river made it difficult to hear. Each man wore a light on the side of his helmet. The lights illuminated concrete walls dark with moisture. They climbed down the ladder.
Nick was soaked with spray. He shivered. "We're nearing bottom," he called. "I see light."
His arms and back ached from the strain. The AK felt heavy on his shoulder. Getting a little old for this stuff. He pushed the thought aside. Keep moving. You'll be all right, just keep moving.
He reached a platform built out from the wall. The ladder continued on into darkness below. The platform opened onto a passageway. The passage ran straight and true for fifty yards or more. The walls were lined with white ceramic material and lit with strips that gave off bluish-white light.
Nick stepped away from the ladder and onto the platform. He took a deep breath, unslung his AK and took a few steps into the passage. He heard a faint buzzing sound. The air was warm. He sniffed.
Ozone.
The smell triggered a memory. Years back he'd been caught in a violent thunderstorm in the high mountains of Colorado. A bolt of lightning had struck the ground, not a hundred yards from where he'd crouched under a rocky overhang. The air had smelled just like this before it hit. Like electricity.
Korov joined him.
"Nick, take the point."
"Ronnie, Lamont, let's go."
They set out along the passage, close to the walls. There was no cover. The corridor was a shooting gallery. Nick had a pounding headache to go with the stiffness in his back.
"I don't like having that guy behind us," Ronnie said. "Ivanesky. This isn't like Texas."
"Yeah." The buzzing noise was louder. "There's a door up there, set back in the wall."
Korov caught up with them. "Nick, come ahead with me. Leave the others." He said something in Russian to his men.
"Wait here," Nick said to Ronnie and Lamont. He walked part way down the passage with Korov.
"We have a problem."
"What problem?"
"Captain Zhukov's chute was sabotaged."
Nick took that in. "You're sure?"
"Yes. Someone killed him." Korov was angry. "It had to be one of my men, or someone in the aircraft crew. I could not tell you before."
"Then we're compromised. What do you want to do?"
"We have two choices. We can abort, or we can continue."
Nick thought about what to say.
"Arkady," he said. "My mission is to destroy this installation. What's yours?"
Korov's face showed his tension. "I will be honest. My orders are to secure the installation, not destroy it. This makes a problem between us, I think."
"AEON knows we're here or Captain Zhukov would still be alive. What do you think they'll do with this after they knock down our satellite? Do you think Russia is safe? The Chinese have launched a network of satellites that can deflect the beam from this device back to earth. Anywhere on earth, including Moscow."
Korov raised his eyebrows. "I did not know that." China had long been a traditional enemy. It still was, in spite of trade alliances and public assertions of friendship.
"You can bet Vysotsky does. Once it's operational, whoever has this can target anyone, anywhere. Do you think he's just going to hand it over to the Kremlin? All that power?"
Korov remembered something Vysotsky had once said. They'd been in the General's office. Vysotsky had been drinking.
"We are patriots, Arkady, you and I. We believe in the destiny of our nation."
Korov had nodded agreement. General Vysotsky often confided in him when he'd been drinking. Vysotsky had mentored him, even treated him as a friend, but Arkady knew better. He was Vysotsky's subordinate, not his friend, in a system built on rigid obedience to orders.
Vysotsky emptied his glass, filled it again. "Our leaders are fools. I thought we had a strong leader again, but I was wrong. We need someone who is not afraid to act. Someone who will not be cowed by the American hegemony. Someone who understands our power. These men, they have no balls. If I was in charge, things would be different."
He waved his glass in the direction of the Kremlin. Vodka spilled onto his desk.
"No balls," he said again.
The weapon would give Vysotsky the power he longed for. Why hadn't he mentioned the targeting satellites? It came together in Korov's mind. Vysotsky hadn't sent him here because he wanted to hand the weapon over to Russia. Seizing control wasn't for the good of the Motherland, it was for the good of Vysotsky. The realization shook him to the core. It was a betrayal.
Nick was right. Vysotsky was using him.
"Arkady." Nick spoke with quiet urgency. "I know the President. He won't back off. This thing can start the next World War. We have to destroy it. If Zhukov was murdered, AEON knows we're here. There's no way we can get control, much less keep it."
The Russians and the Americans watched Korov and Nick talking. Lamont and Ronnie stood apart from the others. Ivanesky watched them with a cold stare.
"Looks like a serious discussion," Lamont said.
"Yeah. Let's hope it's not an argument."
"Korov is a pretty good guy."
"He's a Russian," Ronnie said, "good guy or not. The question is, what kind of Russian?"
"We're about to find out." Nick and Korov were coming back.
"There is a door ahead," Korov said. "It should lead inside. Bukharin, take the point. Ivanesky, behind him. Once through the door, we will carry out our orders and destroy this thing."
He was speaking English. Nick nodded to himself. He'd been certain all along that the Russians spoke English. They were Spetsnaz, after all. Foreign languages, especially English, were a requirement for all Russian Special Forces. When Korov said they would destroy the pyramid, Nick watched for a reaction. Ivanesky showed a flicker of surprise before his face returned to a mask.
"Yes, sir," Bukharin said. The two moved down the hall. The others followed.
CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
The door was made of the same ceramic material as the walls. Bukharin pulled it open a crack and peered through. The buzzing sound got louder, like the sound of a thousand bees. He opened the door wide. They went through the door and spread out to the sides, weapons ready.
The base of the pyramid was a vast, square chamber. A wide walkway of concrete went around the four sides. Light strips on the wa
lls gave off the same glow that lit the hall. The walls sloped upward for a hundred feet or more to a flat ceiling high overhead. Like the hallway, the walls were lined with white ceramic material.
Nick looked out over what seemed to be a bottomless pit, trying to make sense of what he saw. In the exact center of the chamber was a flat concrete platform surrounded by a low railing. Bridge-like walkways crossed to it from each side of the perimeter. Four massive columns of copper rose from the pit to support the corners of the platform and continued upward, halfway to the ceiling. A constant, crackling discharge of blue-white lightning danced from column to column. Four thick rods of copper projected from the ceiling above the columns. Electricity flowed in four continuous streams between the columns and the rods.
In the middle of the platform was a machine. The buzzing sound came from six giant wheels made of smooth, circular bands of metal. Each was an odd golden color. Each was at least twenty feet high. They turned in a steady blur.
Impossible, Nick thought.
The wheels weren't attached to anything. They floated in the air without visible support, spinning above a curved cradle of silvery metal placed between two large, free-standing flat sheets of metal bolted to the concrete. A faint, blue haze shimmered over everything.
The air stank with the scent of ozone. The metal of his AK felt warm and gave little shocks to the touch. Static sparks jumped from Nick's clothes as he moved. His hair stirred in restless movement.
On the far side of the pyramid was a door. A thick ledge extended out over the pit, supporting an elevator shaft. The shaft rose to the ceiling and whatever was above. The wall on the right side of the pit had a closed set of double doors.
Lamont stared at the impossible wheels. "It looks like something out of a sci-fi movie."
"The Matrix," Ronnie said, "or Stargate."
"Listen up," Nick said.
"The control room will be up there." Korov pointed toward the ceiling. "This is the heart of it. We take this out. Nick, you and I will plant charges. Ronnie, Lamont, you cover the elevator and the doors. Bukharin, Ivanesky, stay here and cover the passageway."
Korov and Nick walked to the machine. Nick went to the cradle under the spinning wheels. His body tingled with electricity. He knelt on one knee and placed charges at the base of the cradle. He inserted detonators and hoped the random electricity didn't set them off. Then he went to one of the flat metal sheets and began there. Nothing on the platform would survive. Korov was busy at the copper columns.
Nick heard two clicks in his tiny earpiece, then Selena's voice.
"Nick, can you hear me?" The transmission crackled with static.
He coughed.
"Twenty minutes ago a helicopter brought someone in. A second one just landed. It's a troop transport."
In Virginia, Selena watched glowing green figures emerge from the aircraft like a stream of ants. The stream formed up into three orderly lines.
"30 men. They're getting ready to go inside."
"Shit," Nick said.
"What?" Korov looked up from where he was placing a detonator in a block of Semtex next to one of the columns.
"Assault troops, outside. We're about to have company." He stood and spoke into his headset. "Ronnie, Lamont. Get back over here."
Korov didn't ask how Nick knew. He reached for a timer.
"Stop what you are doing, Colonel. You, American. Tell your men to drop their weapons."
The voice came from behind them. They turned. Bukharin had his AK-47 leveled at them. Nick saw Ivanesky's body lying on the floor by the hall entry. Across the way, Ronnie and Lamont froze.
Korov's voice was calm, but his face betrayed his anger.
"Traitor. You killed Zhukov, didn't you? I wasn't sure. I thought perhaps one of the airmen."
Bukharin's face was expressionless. "The Lubyanka is a good place to consider treachery. You will..."
He never finished whatever he was going to say. A shot from across the way stopped him mid-sentence. Nick felt the burn of the bullet passing his cheek. The round took Bukharin in the throat. Blood gushed from his mouth. He stumbled backward against the platform railing and over it. The body fell away into the pit. Across the way, Lamont lowered his rifle.
Nick looked at him. "Nice shot. Kind of close, though."
"Didn't hit you, did I? You Jarheads aren't the only ones who can shoot."
"Time to leave. You'd better get over here." Nick turned to Korov. "I thought it would be Ivanesky."
Korov shook his head. "Bukharin was smarter than Ivanesky." He knelt down again. "Set the timers for eight minutes."
"Not much time," Nick said.
"Eight minutes."
They set the timers. Korov stood. "We boogie now, yes?".
"Da, now we boogie."
They hurried to the passage entrance. Ronnie and Lamont were already waiting. They stepped through the door.
The entry doors burst open. Troops in black uniforms with red patches on their shoulders began firing across the pit. Bullets chipped pieces from the wall. Nick slammed the door shut. Rounds hammered the other side.
"Those aren't our soldiers," Korov said. "I don't recognize those uniforms."
They ran down the passage. The door flew open behind them. Nick had a grenade out and ready. He turned and hurled it with everything he had and ran after the others.
The explosion slapped at his eardrums. He was outside the kill zone, but the men coming through the door hadn't been that lucky. Someone was screaming. Nick didn't look back.
He reached the shaft leading to the surface. Lamont and Ronnie had already started up the rungs. Korov stood to the side and fired down the corridor.
"Go on," he said.
Nick began climbing. He felt like he had the strength of lions. When those charges blew, he wanted to be as far from the pyramid if possible. He climbed as if demons were behind him.
It was a long way back to the surface. Going down had been hard. Going up was worse. He focused on a steady rhythm. Reach, step, reach, step, over and over. One rung at a time, one after the other. In his mind, eight minutes was counting down. Then he was at the top. Ronnie grabbed his hand and boosted him up and out into the night. Korov tumbled out of the shaft after him. It had started to snow. They ran for the river, where their escape boat waited.
In Virginia, Elizabeth and Selena and Stephanie watched the scene unfold.
"Don't talk to them," Elizabeth said to Selena. "They're a little busy at the moment."
In the control room on top of the pyramid, Yuri watched his readouts. The words TARGET ACQUIRED appeared in red on his screen. Then, LOCKED.
"One minute," he said.
Ogorov and Kaminsky watched the video feed from the peak, waiting for the moment the proton beam would rip into space and vaporize the American satellite. The crystal glowed with blue light.
The floor vibrated. The power meters for the device jumped into the red. Malenkov's face turned white. He had just enough time to think about reaching for his switches.
Nick and the others were almost to the river when the charges detonated. The air rushed away and for an instant there was total silence. Then the top of the pyramid vanished in a burst of blue light. An enormous ball of electric blue energy blossomed and turned the night into day.
The shock wave lifted Nick from his feet and hurled him through the air. He struck hard and felt something give in his shoulder. The sound was unlike anything he'd ever heard, like thunder and lightning and high explosive all combined.
Debris hurtled past. Afterimages of light danced behind his eyelids. A dense cloud of purple, red and white columned into the air and hung like a leprous rose in the air.
Nick raised his head. Where the pyramid had been was nothing. Nothing at all. Only a glowing, cavernous opening in the ground.
"Maybe you used a little too much Semtex," Ronnie said.
CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
The blast had knocked all of them down. They got to their feet. N
ick felt like he'd been hit by a truck. His earpiece was filled with static. He pulled it out.
"There's a pier on the river," Korov said. "The boat should be there."
The ground was flat for another hundred yards before it sloped down to the river. There was a gate in the fence and a guard house. A soldier stood outside, staring openmouthed at the glowing cloud behind them. He called out and brought his rifle up. Korov shouted something.
The guard was young, little more than a boy. He hesitated. Korov came up to him, shouting at him in Russian. The youth snapped to attention. When he was close enough, Korov swung his AK and slammed the guard in the side of his head. The boy went down.
"You kill him?" Lamont asked.
"No. He's just a soldier doing his duty. But he will have a very bad headache later."
They went through the gate and hurried down a set of steps to the pier. A boat waited there, a gray shape in the darkness, diesels idling. The snow fell faster. The wooden pier was slippery under their feet.
The boat was a Svetljak class, a hundred and fifty feet of serious business. A forest of antennas and masts rose from the superstructure. 30mm guns were mounted fore and aft. A gangway extended from the deck to the pier.
An officer watched them approach. They went up the gangway and Korov began talking with him. There were crewmen on deck. Nick hoped no one asked him any questions.
The crew took in the gangway. The deck throbbed and the boat pulled away from the pier.
Ronnie said, "That doesn't look good."
He pointed through the falling snow at a second boat coming from the south. Water foamed around the bow as the vessel sped toward them. It was another Svetljak class, with a single 30mm gun aft and a heavier 76mm forward. The boat was still some distance away. A squad of soldiers on deck wore the same black uniforms and red patches as the men AEON had sent against them at the pyramid.
"I thought this was too easy," Lamont said. Now what?"
"It's up to Korov now," Nick said.
Korov saw the boat and said something to the officer. They ran to a door. Nick heard their feet pounding up metal stairs, heading for the bridge.
