The doors opened and John was led through into the area beyond, where a host of FBI agents and another twenty Secret Service personnel thronged the halls.
‘Where’s Ashley?’ John said, as Paul came to meet him. ‘I need to speak to her.’
‘To celebrate with her, I guess,’ Paul said. He slapped John on the shoulder. ‘You did it! The GMRC finally broke. I can’t believe it!’
‘Neither do I,’ John said, wondering how he could get Paul on his own.
His Chief of Staff frowned at the comment. ‘You think it’s a ruse?’
John couldn’t help but glance at the agents around him. ‘No – no, of course not. I meant I couldn’t believe it at first, either.’
‘All the hard work has paid off,’ Paul said. ‘I have to admit, I thought we were fighting a losing battle at one point, but you’ve turned it around. It’s amazing!’
‘It’s that, all right,’ John said, leading Paul down the corridor. He pointed to a room and asked one of his agents if it was safe. The man nodded and John said, ‘Find my wife and bring her here.’
The agent left to do as requested, and John guided a bemused Paul inside the small office. His agents went to follow them in, but John held up a hand. ‘There’re no exits or windows,’ he said. ‘I’m not going anywhere, and no one’s coming in. Just give me a moment, will you?’
The lead agent hesitated and then nodded, allowing John to go inside with only Paul for company.
John closed the door and Paul said, ‘What’s wrong?’
‘There’s no deal. This is all a ruse. The GMRC are wasting our time. This whole conference is a diversion.’
‘What?’ Paul said. ‘Why? A diversion for what?’
John grasped Paul’s shoulders. ‘There’s another asteroid.’
‘What are you talking about? You said it was a false alarm.’
‘I was wrong!’ John glanced behind and lowered his voice. ‘You have to trust me. We’ve got less than three hours until impact.’
‘Three hours … John, what’s gotten into you? This is crazy talk. We’ve just sealed the biggest deal in history. We’ve won! You need to relax and enjoy it.’
‘NO! You need to listen to me; this is happening, this is happening now.’
A noise made John turn, and he saw his Head of Security standing in the doorway.
‘What’s happening now?’ Dante said.
John stared at the man like he was the stranger he now knew him to be.
‘Is there something wrong, sir?’ Dante said.
John continued to stare at him and Paul said, ‘John, maybe you need a break, it’s been hard day.’
Dante’s radio crackled and he pressed a button.
‘Targets sighted,’ an agent was saying. ‘Third floor, all units converge.’
‘You need to return to the conference room, sir,’ Dante said, stepping aside to let John pass. ‘It’s not safe out here.’
‘I’m waiting for Ashley.’
‘I know. I’ll send her to you.’
‘You better go, John,’ Paul said. ‘Dante knows what’s he’s talking about.’
‘Just promise me you’ll look outside,’ John said to Paul, as he gave in to Dante’s demand.
Paul looked at him in concern as the door closed between them.
Dante and his team led John back into the Conference Room and closed the door behind him. A key turned in a lock and through the door, John heard Dante say to one of his men, ‘No one comes in or out, understand?’
John turned away to look at the foreign leaders and their diplomats as they waited, like he did, for the all-clear to be given. John just prayed Paul would do as he asked, or they were all as good as dead.
Chapter One Hundred Ninety-Seven
Professor Steiner ran down the corridor, following Brett, Jessica and Eric.
‘Come on, Professor!’ Jessica said, waving him forward.
‘I can see them!’ Eric pointed past him and Steiner glanced back.
At the far end of the corridor four agents burst through double doors. As they raised their guns, Brett fired hers, and they dived for cover.
As Brett’s gunshots thundered out, Steiner overtook her and then caught sight of Bic looking down at them from one of the screens that dotted the Capitol’s hallways.
‘Take a right and then a left!’ Bic said.
Steiner did as he was told, his breath coming in ragged gasps. ‘I can’t keep this up,’ he said, as they entered a stairwell.
‘You must,’ Brett said, pushing him before her.
‘Keep going,’ Bic said, through Steiner’s earpiece. ‘I’ve found a place to hide you.’
Steiner clattered down the stairs and burst out into another corridor.
‘Over here!’ Eric said, disappearing into another room.
Jessica followed him inside and Steiner stumbled along after them, with Brett bringing up the rear.
♦
The door closed behind the four fugitives and soon after, two agents emerged from the stairwell.
‘We’ve found them,’ one said into his radio.
‘Wrong,’ said a deep voice. ‘I’ve found you.’
The agents looked at each other in surprise and then swung round, guns raised.
♦
Steiner listened as gunshots sounded outside the door, followed by two screams, which ended in silence.
‘What the hell was that?’ Eric whispered, from his hiding place under a desk.
Brett stood by the door, her gun at the ready. She put her finger to her lips in a request for silence.
Steiner held his breath as she cracked open the door. ‘It’s clear,’ Brett said. ‘Let’s move.’
Steiner wiped sweat from his brow and followed her back into the hall. Distant shouting grew closer and Bic reappeared on another screen nearby. ‘Go to the end of the hall, there’s access to a crawl space above the conference room. It’ll buy you more time.’
‘More time for what?’ Jessica said, as they set off again. ‘We’ll never make it out of here alive!’
♦
As the small band of fugitives set off once more, Ophion Nexus dropped back down to the floor of the corridor, his catlike grace meaning he made little sound. He watched Steiner and his companions disappear around a distant corner. He pressed some buttons on his armoured suit, which he’d collected from the room he’d been directed to on his release by the president’s Head of Security. It still wasn’t clear if Agent Dante had known who he’d been helping, or why, but it made no difference to Ophion, his pseudonym, Gerhard Beck, was forgotten and only S.I.L.V.E.R.’s leader remained.
The discordant clamour of FBI agents rattling down the nearby staircase didn’t distract Ophion from his focus, nor did the assault team approaching from the east, two corridors back. His heart rate slowed even further and he closed his eyes in preparation.
‘Why do you wait, Ophion Nexus?’
‘Because I choose who lives and dies, not you.’ Ophion opened his eyes and looked at the screen on the wall and the image of the dark-haired man.
‘I’m not choosing for you,’ Bic said. ‘I’m just assisting your search.’
The FBI agents closed on Ophion’s position, and he said, ‘Why do you seek Professor’s Steiner’s death, when it hastens your own?’
Bic’s smile faded. ‘Because I must.’
The assassin closed the visor on his helmet and activated the cloaking mechanism on his armour, his large frame melting into the background.
FBI agents burst from the stairwell, their automatic weapons raised to shoot.
‘Clear,’ said one of the team.
‘Where’s Delta One?’ said another. ‘They should be here.’
‘They were,’ said a voice from the ether.
The FBI agents whirled round as they searched for its source.
‘But, don’t worry.’ Ophion re-materialised in their midst, his swords a blur of motion. ‘You’ll soon be joining them.’
; Two decapitated FBI agents fell to the floor, dead, and then the gunfire and screams began.
Chapter One Hundred Ninety-Eight
Eric cocked his head. ‘Did you hear that?’
‘Hear what?’ Jessica said.
‘It sounded like screaming.’
‘It’s gunfire,’ Brett said, checking how many rounds she had left in her gun. ‘The assassin is close.’
Professor Steiner looked down at the hole in the floor Bic wanted them to enter. ‘And you’re sure this will work?’
‘The president is directly beneath us,’ Bic said, his image now on a large wallscreen in a room lined with books. ‘This crawl space leads to a ventilation shaft, which I’m hoping will work its way down to the next floor.’
‘And a room full of Secret Service agents,’ Jessica said.
‘You’re hoping?’ Steiner said, glancing behind as Brett kept watch.
‘Yes,’ Bic said. ‘I’m having to improvise.’
Eric sniffed his clothes and made a face. ‘Like you did with the sewer system?’
‘Entering the sewers enabled you to avoid the authorities for as long as you have, Eric. Would you have preferred to get caught?’
Eric muttered something and Jessica said, ‘Hello? What about the Secret Service?’
‘I have a plan,’ Bic said.
Jessica’s eyes narrowed. ‘What sort of plan?’
‘A diversionary tactic.’
‘And do you care to tell us what that tactic is?’ Jessica said, as Eric lowered himself into the crawl space.
Bic remained silent.
‘Jessica, come on.’ Eric waved her down.
She gave Bic one last look of distrust and then followed her German friend into the hole.
‘You’re next,’ Steiner said to Brett.
Brett hesitated, then gave him a nod and dropped down after Jessica and Eric, who were both now out of sight.
Steiner was about to follow when Bic spoke again. ‘Professor, wait!’
Steiner paused and looked up. ‘Why? What’s wrong?’
Bic waved him closer. ‘I need you to do something for me first.’
‘Professor, come on!’ Eric said from below.
Steiner moved nearer to Bic’s screen and said, ‘And what’s that?’
Bic’s gaze switched to the door. ‘I’m sorry, Professor ...’
Steiner turned to see a chrome-clad figure standing in the entrance.
‘... but I need you to die.’
♦
Ophion Nexus raised his weapon and fired, and Professor Steiner fell to the floor with a thud, his lifeblood pooling around him.
Brett screamed in fury. She raised her weapon and bullets ricocheted off Ophion’s armour.
Unfazed, the assassin turned towards his attacker and kicked shut the trapdoor, sealing those beneath in their readymade tomb.
Ophion turned his gaze back to his victim, who stared up at his killer in shock, his breath coming in laboured gasps as he struggled to stay alive.
Ophion had seen death many times and he knew Professor Steiner’s was but moments away.
‘This could have been achieved much quicker,’ Bic said, ‘if you had followed my instructions.’
‘Helping me will not change my mind.’ Ophion looked at Bic’s image. ‘After I have killed John Henry, you will be next, Da Muss Ich.’
‘I shall await your arrival,’ Bic said, ‘with bated breath.’
Shouting and banging emanated from below as those Ophion had just trapped, tried to break free.
The trapdoor rose an inch, but there was no way they were getting out; the latch was too strong.
Ophion switched his attention back to Professor Steiner; he saw his eyes close and heard a sigh as his final breath was expelled from his lungs.
Ophion pressed a button on his breastplate and his visor display flickered. He paused to run a quick diagnostic. Satisfied everything was as it should be, he pressed the button again and a few seconds later an image of Selene Dubois appeared on his visor. ‘Target one has been liquidated, switching to target two.’
Selene smiled and nodded in satisfaction.
Ophion Nexus cut the connection and reactivated his armour.
He was death, killer of kings.
♦
‘Keep pushing!’ Eric said.
‘I am!’ Brett turned round, put her back against the trapdoor and pushed up. ‘The latch has dropped down!’
The door creaked, gave an inch and then stopped.
‘That’s as far as it’ll go,’ Brett said, giving up in exhaustion.
‘He can’t be dead,’ Eric said, distraught. ‘He can’t be!’
Jessica pushed Brett aside and held up the trapdoor, allowing the inch of movement to reveal a gap around its edge. She peered through the opening and could just see the tops of Steiner’s legs, where he lay unmoving on the floor.
‘Target one has been liquidated,’ she heard the assassin say. ‘Switching to target two.’
‘We need to go,’ Jessica whispered.
‘Go,’ Brett said. ‘Go where? The hacker has deceived us all. This is probably a dead end.’ She looked at Eric. ‘And you thought I couldn’t be trusted.’
‘Da Muss Ich wouldn’t do this,’ Eric said, almost in tears. ‘He wouldn’t!’
‘We have to try and complete the mission,’ Jessica said. ‘The Professor would want us to.’
Brett nodded. ‘She’s right. We need to carry on.’
Jessica wiped a tear from her eye and tried to concentrate on completing a mission which lay in ruins. Their greatest ally was now their sworn enemy, the once all-powerful Director General of the GMRC’s Subterranean Programme was dead, and if they couldn’t reach him in time, John Henry was next.
Untitled
TERMINOLOGY
USSB – United States Subterranean Base
GMRC – Global Meteor Response Council, aka the Council
The Committee – Secret organisation / society
Darklight – World’s largest private security contractor
Terra Force – Special Forces Subterranean Detachment (SFSD)
S.I.L.V.E.R. – Elite military unit available to the highest bidder
Deep Reach – Special survey team working within the SED
SED – Sanctuary Exploration Division
Sanctuary – Ancient underground structure
USSB Sanctuary – A man-made base built within the Anakim creation, from which the U.S. Subterranean Base took its name
Anakim – an extinct species of Hominid, Homo giganthropsis
—————
Swiss Guard – Catholic military unit based in Vatican City
Holy See – Government of the Roman Catholic Church
Vatican City – Independent city state located in Rome, Italy
The Vatican – Informal term for the Holy See, or Vatican City
Knights of the Apocalypse – Catholic fundamentalists
[For ease of reference this page is duplicated in the final Appendix]
Chapter One Hundred Ninety-Nine
Mongolian plateau, Central Asia.
Cardinal Avery Cantrell watched as the Swiss Guard prepared to leave the camp, the soldiers gathering up the expedition’s belongings and securing anything from the dig site deemed worthy of returning to Vatican City.
‘The helicopter will arrive in an hour,’ Cardinal Zinetti said, coming to stand by his fellow clergyman. ‘It’ll take us direct to a Sabre passenger jet, which awaits us at the airport. If we hurry, we’ll reach the Vatican three hours before impact. Just enough time before the chaos begins.’
Avery looked up at clear blue skies. ‘Everything is lost. Our last hope was in that tunnel.’
‘Then we source another excavator,’ Zinetti said. ‘Dig out what was destroyed.’
Avery shook his head. ‘You know as well as I, most of the tunnel system collapsed. It would take months, years, to clear it.’
‘We should at least
try,’ Zinetti said, sounding distraught. ‘Too much is at stake. A well-provisioned military unit could work here, undetected, on the surface, safe from the developed world as it rips itself apart. They could then return to an underground base to avoid the biggest impacts.’
Avery sighed and shook his head. ‘No. If we’re to succeed in our mission, the time is now; all the signs are aligned. The key remains with Ms Morgan.’
‘And she’s refusing to talk,’ Zinetti said. ‘The drugs have addled her mind.’ His expression turned accusatory. ‘The last batch was too strong, the addiction has taken hold. She’s of no use to anyone now.’
‘As long as she keeps taking them, she’ll be fine,’ Avery said. ‘And her mind will be sharper than you think. After a certain length of exposure, the body adapts.’
‘You still think she knows something?’ said a voice from behind.
Avery and Zinetti turned to see Ruben standing there, the cowl of his brown monk’s habit casting his face in shadow.
Avery swapped a look with Zinetti and then said to Ruben, ‘You were there. You saw the bodies. The previous expedition had found another way inside.’
‘And if Morgan was responsible for their deaths,’ Zinetti said, ‘she may have found it, too.’
Ruben surveyed the dig site as another tent was taken down. ‘And yet we’re leaving.’
‘Our time is nearly up,’ Avery said, looking up at the sky once more. ‘We’ll have to inform the Holy Father we have failed in our mission. Unless ...’
‘Unless?’ Ruben said. ‘Unless what?’
Avery hesitated, reluctant to say what needed to be said.
Zinetti muttered a curse. ‘Whatever is controlling her,’ he said, giving his Irish counterpart a withering look, ‘knows what we seek. And since you and Morgan have an affinity for each other, you are our best chance at unlocking what’s locked in her sin-laden mind.’
Ancient Origins: Books 4 - 6 (Ancient Origins Boxset Book 2) Page 105
