And now the world was as lost as she.
‘Let it burn,’ she whispered, as the needle slipped from her limp hand. ‘Let it all burn.’
Sarah stared up at the night skies above and watched the clouds part to reveal a single light that flared bright against the stars around it. An apocalypse approached and darkness closed in, and one of God’s soldiers had fallen. Not a Swiss guard, not a Vatican cardinal, not a lowly monk or even a believer, but a commoner from a Western city who no longer cared if she lived or died. Sarah Morgan closed her eyes and drifted into the realm of the forgotten, for as far as she was concerned, her life was over, and nothing was going to bring it back.
Chapter One Hundred Ninety-One
The Capitol Building
Washington D.C., United States.
Jessica Klein shook her head again. ‘This is your secret? This is what you were keeping from me and Eric? How long do we have, how many hours?’
‘The asteroid hits tonight?’ Eric said, sounding hysterical. ‘Tonight? Oh, mein Gott. Was werden wir machen? Dafür ist keine Zeit. Dafür ist keine Zeit!’
‘There is enough time, Eric,’ Bic said, via the room’s holographic display.
Jessica grasped Eric’s arms. ‘Eric, calm down and breathe. That’s it. That’s it, deep breaths, long ... deep breaths.’ She turned back to the professor, her expression fierce. ‘How long?’
Steiner looked at his watch. ‘It’s almost ten o’clock, and the asteroid is supposed to hit at one forty-four in the morning, give or take twenty seconds or so. So, we have,’ – he made a computation in his head – ‘just over three and three-quarter hours in which to get the president to coordinate a worldwide nuclear strike.’
‘Three hours and forty-five minutes?’ Jessica said. ‘Are you insane?!’
‘Oh, mein Gott,’ Eric said, stunned. The young German went and sat down at the desk and put his head in his hands.
‘Supposed to hit,’ Jessica said. ‘Is it, or isn’t it?’
‘I’ve not been privy to the GMRC’s incremental data shifts,’ Steiner said. ‘It might have been adjusted by a minute or two either way. I doubt it would be much more. We can find out the exact time if and when the president requests information from NORAD and NASA, or if they’re blocked by the GMRC and underground government, then we’ll need to find another way, perhaps using the Pacific or Atlantic fleets to track it.’
‘I should be able to help out with the exact timing needed for the launch, Professor Steiner,’ Bic said. ‘I’ve been working on the mathematical models which simulate the nuclear strike.’
‘Doubt, should, perhaps,’ Jessica said. ‘These aren’t words that I want to hear.’
‘I haven’t even had sex!’ Eric said. ‘I don’t want to die before that!’
‘Don’t look at me,’ Brett said, moving away from him.
Eric made a face, but then seemed to reconsider the notion. His expression turned thoughtful and then he said, ‘Nein. Ich bin nicht so verzweifelt.’
Bic stifled a laugh and Brett frowned.
Jessica pointed at the Ex FBI agent. ‘You knew as well, didn’t you?’
Brett said nothing and Jessica looked at Steiner. ‘You trusted her, over us?’
‘You make it sound like it was easy,’ Steiner said. ‘It wasn’t, trust me.’
‘Trust you!’ It was Jessica’s turn to laugh. ‘Trust you? How can I possibly trust you ever again?’ Her expression changed again. ‘That’s why you gave me and Eric the chance to leave. That’s why you didn’t want us here.’
‘To protect you,’ Steiner said.
Jessica slapped him round the face. ‘How could you lie to us!’ She clenched her fist and shook it in his face. ‘How could you, about THIS!’
It was Steiner’s turn to stay silent.
‘You’re wasting time!’ Bic said. ‘You need to move. The corridor’s now empty. Go into the hall and take a right, go down to the end, then take another right and wait for my instruction.’
‘He’s right.’ Steiner put his earpiece back in. ‘We need to move.’ He cracked open the door and peered into the corridor. It was empty; he waved at the others to follow and then headed off, as Bic had instructed. The hacker was their eyes and ears now.
Chapter One Hundred Ninety-Two
‘Keep going, Professor,’ Bic said, his image appearing on a screen hanging from the ceiling, the display usually providing information to those who spent their days in Congress.
Steiner did as he was bid, his eyes searching for signs of danger from every direction, while Brett strode along at his side and Eric and Jessica hurried along behind, each turning to look back the way they’d come in fear of being seen.
The sound of voices approached ahead and Steiner slowed his advance.
‘Keep going, Professor,’ Bic said, via his earpiece. ‘Trust me!’
‘What are you doing?!’ Jessica said, as Steiner pressed ahead and the voices grew ever closer.
‘Go through the door on your right,’ Bic said. ‘Quickly!’
Steiner yanked open the door and motioned the others inside. ‘Go,’ he said, his voice a forced whisper. ‘Go!’
Brett, Eric and Jessica rushed inside and Steiner glimpsed people turning into the corridor, just as he slipped inside the room and closed the door behind them.
Steiner leaned against the door, listening as the gaggle of people walked past and then let out his breath as their voices faded away.
He looked around and saw they were in a bland-looking office.
A holographic screen powered up in the corner of the room and Bic reappeared. ‘Stay here for two minutes,’ he said, ‘then carry on down the same hallway.’
‘Three hours and forty-five minutes,’ Eric said, shaking his head, still in shock at the task they now faced.
‘You thought I’d betrayed you,’ Brett said to Steiner. ‘Before, at security. Why? I was sticking to the plan. The only way to get through was to get caught, you said it yourself.’
‘The other secret you were keeping from us,’ Jessica said, pushing past him to listen at the door.
‘To my shame,’ Steiner said. ‘It was the only way to get to see the president. If they’d imprisoned us, they’d have found out who we were and then John Henry would have come to us.’
‘In theory,’ Brett said.
Steiner glared at Bic’s screen. ‘Why did you tell me Brett was sabotaging our plan?’
‘Because she was,’ Bic said. ‘Weren’t you, Agent Taylor? You still want back into the FBI.’
Steiner looked at Brett and recalled her distress at the FBI Director’s death. Had she been hoping to speak to him about a return to her position? he wondered.
‘How could I be sabotaging it?’ Brett said, her face flushing with anger.
Or is it flushing with guilt? Steiner thought.
‘I was doing exactly as we agreed,’ Brett continued. ‘We got caught, didn’t we?’
Bic’s eyes narrowed as he held Brett’s gaze, and Steiner didn’t know what to think as he looked from Bic, to Brett and then back to the hacker.
‘He’s trying to divide us,’ Brett said. ‘Can’t you see?’
‘What about your calls to the Secret Service?’ Bic said. ‘Do you think I’m stupid, Agent Taylor?’
‘Stop calling me that,’ Brett said, and switched off Bic’s screen. The hacker promptly appeared on another.
‘What’s he talking about?’ Jessica said to Brett.
Brett glared at Bic. ‘He’s lying.’
‘Why would he do that?’ Jessica said. ‘It makes no sense.’
‘Because she still thinks I’m evil, don’t you, Agent Taylor? Because of the Secret Service agents I killed.’
‘Murdered,’ Brett said.
‘I’ve never trusted her,’ Eric said to Steiner. ‘She’s always looking for an angle, some way back to her old life. Once a cop, always a cop.’
‘I could say the same about you, about all of you.’ Brett turned her
gaze on Eric. ‘Once a criminal, always a criminal.’
‘You’re so stupid,’ Eric said. ‘When will you realise, it’s gone. All our old lives are gone and they’re never coming back. This is our reality.’ He tapped his temple. ‘Stop being blind.’
‘Did you contact the Secret Service?’ Steiner said.
Brett looked at him. ‘Only to try and speak to Dante.’
‘I knew it!’ Eric said, and pointed at her. ‘Traitor!’
‘I was trying to get his help,’ Brett said. ‘It was part of the plan. I didn’t say, because I knew you would react like this.’
Steiner sighed. He didn’t know what to think.
‘Your two minutes is up,’ Bic said. ‘You need to go.’
‘Wait.’ Jessica held up a hand. ‘If the plan was to get caught, how do we get to speak to the president now? They’ll shoot us on sight.’
Steiner knew she was right, but there was nothing else he could do, other than lead them into the unknown. ‘I’ll think of something.’ He opened the door and stepped back into the hall, then murmured to himself, ‘I hope.’
♦
A Secret Service agent opened the office door and peered inside. There was no sign of his boss, which was strange, as he’d only just left him there a few minutes ago. ‘This is Echo Six,’ he said into his radio. ‘Anyone have eyes on the Chief?’
‘Negative, Echo Six. Wasn’t he with you?’
A banging noise made the agent pause and he raised his gun and entered the room. ‘Who’s there?’ he said, and then realised the noise was coming from one of the lockers.
He opened the door and stepped back in shock as the Head of Security, Special Agent Dante, struggled out.
‘Sir?’ he said. ‘What’s going on?’
Dante stood up and grasped the agent’s shirt; he dragged him close. ‘Tell anyone about this and it’ll be your badge.’
The agent swallowed and nodded.
Dante moved to another locker and opened it and the other agent swore. ‘It’s the FBI Director.’
Dante removed his radio and put it to his mouth. ‘This is Agent Dante, four of the detainees have escaped. We have a code five breach. I repeat. We have a code five breach. Sound the alarm!’
A second later a siren wailed through the corridor outside, triggering others, the noise cascading through the building in a wave. Dante held out his hand. ‘Weapon.’
The agent gave him his sidearm. ‘Sir, what happened?’
‘They killed Director Flynn,’ Dante said. He cocked the pistol. ‘Tell the FBI to lock down the building. No one gets in or out, until they’re found.’
The Secret Service agent bobbed his head in confirmation and rushed off to carry out the order, while Dante pressed another button on his radio. ‘Tell the president, we have a situation.’
♦
Professor Steiner paused in his advance down another empty hallway. He could hear people approaching and he held up a hand.
‘Professor?’ Jessica said.
Steiner gave a shake of his head. ‘Shhh, listen.’
‘Stay where you are,’ Bic said, through the professor’s earpiece. ‘Something’s happening.’
‘Something’s wrong,’ Steiner said.
Eric moved alongside him. ‘What? What’s wrong?’
‘I don’t know, I—’
A wail of noise shattered the silence and everyone covered their ears.
‘What is that?!’ Eric said.
The alarm continued its deafening cacophony and Jessica said. ‘What now?!’
‘We need a new plan!’ Steiner looked at her, his eyes wide and then waved everyone forward. ‘RUN!’
Chapter One Hundred Ninety-Three
President of the United States and Commander in Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces, John Harrison Henry, sat at the head of the enormous table in the Capitol Building’s Senate Conference Room. Around him sat various advisors, two interpreters, the Secretary of State and the Chief of Staff of the Army, General Andrews. The woman who John had spoken to the day before, and who also happened to be the president of the European Union, sat halfway down the polished table on his right, the same woman who was responsible for the attendance of the man who sat opposite her, the Chinese Premier, Liang Junhui.
John considered his Asian counterpart. It was the first time they’d met, but John knew of him by reputation. He was an unflappable figure, and ruthless when it came to making difficult decisions. John thought about the current state of martial law and wondered if Liang Junhui thought the same about him.
Whatever the case, all was now calm in the Conference Room. It had been some time since the alarm had sounded and John was yet to hear about the suspected GMRC operatives who’d tried to gatecrash this most important of meetings.
Despite the threat, which he’d been told was small, talks between the three world leaders had continued; the meeting was too important to reschedule, and too sensitive to move. And, what was more, the initial volley of political manoeuvring had gone as well as John could have hoped, considering the tense circumstances in which they found themselves.
With the EU fleets still occupying the mid-Atlantic, by order of the GMRC Directorate, and China consolidating its military led expansion into neighbouring nations, the fate of the world rested on a knife edge. Couple that with the GMRC being locked down in the United States by John’s executive orders, and the resulting state of martial law, and it was fair to say the world had never seen a crisis like it – perhaps not even when faced with the imminent arrival of the asteroid AG5, two years before. John was just relieved that the latest asteroid threat, which he’d been tricked into believing, was as fake as the news report which had ignited his anxiety. He dreaded to think what would have happened if another impact did occur. It didn’t even bear thinking about.
As everyone took a short break, John’s gaze drifted to the formidable protection details which had accompanied the two foreign leaders. Dark glasses and automatic weapons abounded. He then looked to his own Secret Service agents, who stood close by, and was relieved Dante was fit enough for duty and his team had got John’s back.
A door opened off to the right and Paul, his Chief of Staff, re-entered the room and made a beeline for John.
‘What news on the GMRC operatives?’ John said. ‘Have they found them yet?’
‘Not yet,’ Paul said, keeping his voice low so their guests couldn’t overhear. ‘Dante’s conducting a sweep of the entire building, alongside the FBI and special response teams. Don’t worry, though. Security to this room has been tripled, so there’s no way they can cause any kind of disruption, if that’s their plan.’
‘How can they not have found them yet?’
‘The Capitol is large, with multiple floors, and Dante suspects they’re getting help. The cameras are down and they’re having to go room to room. If you’re being thorough, it makes for a big job.’
‘Let me guess,’ John said. ‘Da Muss Ich.’
‘Cyber units are working on it, but it is likely Bic has taken an interest in us. Just the sheer scale of the military presence would attract his attention, let alone the influx of White House staff and our foreign friends.’
John threw a look at the Chinese delegation and noticed some of their security operatives looking right back.
‘I forgot to ask you,’ Paul said. ‘What did you find out at the observatory?’
‘Nothing, false alarm. I’m sorry for giving you such a headache. I was a fool.’
‘Don’t worry; and what have I said about apologising? You’re the president, which also means you need to let them know you’re in charge. If we want to deal the GMRC a fatal blow, we need you at your best, not doubting yourself.’
John nodded as the EU president returned to her seat.
‘Are we ready to resume?’ she said, speaking into her table mounted microphone.
The Chinese Premier nodded and Paul whispered to John, ‘Good luck,’ as the international conference began agai
n.
♦
‘President Henry,’ said Liang Junhui, the Chinese leader’s speech instantly translated into English as he spoke. ‘The GMRC’s Directorate experienced a recent terror attack. All but two of its directors were replaced, as a result. It seems to have happened in your territory. Do you care to explain?’
‘I am aware of the incident,’ John said. ‘The full details are yet to be determined. The GMRC is keeping its cards close to its chest.’
‘What you say is true,’ said the Chinese Premier. ‘We’re unsure of the number of fatalities, but what’s most worrying is that some sources lay the blame at your door. You must recognise that you’ve been openly hostile to the Directorate for years, blaming them for many of your country’s woes. Are we just to take your word for it that you were not behind this atrocity?’
John didn’t know what to say. It was difficult to defend against such criticism when he’d openly declared war on the GMRC. Under his orders, many of its officials had been hauled off the streets and into prison cells, while he’d branded those holed up in GMRC complexes around the nation as enemies of the state.
‘We’ve been informed by the president’s Chief of Staff,’ the EU leader said, her harsh German accent and grim expression mirroring her austere appearance, ‘that investigations are ongoing, and as such we should avoid jumping to any conclusions. Isn’t that so, President Henry?’
John remembered now why he liked the EU leader. She might have acted on behalf of the GMRC when she’d sent their fleets into the Atlantic, but she wasn’t ready to continue stoking the fires of war, not yet, anyway. Once again, he cursed his trip to the Naval Observatory. His preparation had been all but nonexistent and he’d already been corrected by his advisors on numerous occasions during the previous session. However, it seemed the EU leader had taken pity on him, which – while not affirming the image of himself as the powerful in-control leader he wanted to present – did foster a burgeoning relationship with at least one of his adversaries.
Ancient Origins: Books 4 - 6 (Ancient Origins Boxset Book 2) Page 103
