by J C Ryan
“I’ll offer him another. At least he doesn’t have a wife and kids to uproot, too. It’s important, Mackie.”
“You won’t get any argument from me. But it’s your job to convince them. And I just thought of a good argument. Liam is going to need more schooling than Bly and I can provide soon with our other duties. Tell them they’re needed to homeschool their grandson and his new-found friend, Shane, John and Jennie Ruschin’s boy, and any other kids who come with the trainers to live at Camp Tala for any length of time.
“In fact,” she said, getting more excited, “come to think about Ray, we need someone to establish a horticultural system to produce fresh vegetables and fruit for all the people year-round! Ray would love to do that. And I am sure he will find a very enthusiastic Bly at his side with an undertaking like that.”
“Thanks for the tips, Mackie. Are you sure you don’t want to make these arguments to your family?”
“Nope. You still have to convince them. I’m not touching it.”
“If I must, I’ll kidnap them,” he deadpanned.
***
Even as the Executive Advantage team worked to get everything ready, the Nabateans observed every move. They knew when their information stream dried up the translation project had gone offline, and the flurry of activity in a remote area of Canada that they’d already connected to Carter was too big a coincidence to fool them. They began making plans to raid the place and take possession of the precious library.
What they didn’t know about, because such stealthy precautions had been taken to keep it a secret, was Camp Tala. It had every security device possible guarding it from observation, from trip-wires and infrared motion and heat detectors far from visual range on the perimeter, to trainees on virtual guard duty twenty-four seven. The monitors were never unobserved, and regular patrols made sure the remote surveillance equipment was never down and never interfered with.
Even the airspace was patrolled, as surveillance satellites were tasked with a sweep every few hours to detect “unfriendly” drones.
Chapter 45 -
Where did they go?
Carter was anxious to get back to his research, and once Mackenzie's parents and brother had been persuaded to move to Freydís, he saw no reason not to leave the security in the hands of the experts and continue his research.
The translations had progressed to the point where Carter found a passage that hinted where the giants had gone when they abandoned the City of Lights. It also confirmed that they had indeed abandoned it, rather than surrendering it. That explained the tidiness of the city as it emerged from the sand. Indeed, the sand had preserved it in remarkably pristine condition.
The small ones continue to make advances, and we fear now that they have the means to travel in air, along with fearful weapons of great destructive power. The air machines have been observed more and more often in recent days. Here we have not the devices to disarm or neutralize their weapons, those our informants say harness the power of atoms as we once did, before we discovered less destructive ways to utilize this energy.
At the meeting of the government today, it was decided we will leave, all of us, for the capital. There they have the defensive weapons. Even now, conveyance is being prepared for everyone, and everyone must go with virtually none of their possessions. At dawn, we will set out in a great caravan to the northwest. May the gods look with favor upon our journey.
“Liu, come quickly!” Carter called. “Look, I think I’ve found the answer to the abandonment of the City of Lights.”
Having worked with the language for so long now, Liu quickly checked the original and then the screen with the translation, reading it aloud in almost the same words Carter had chosen.
“They left under threat of attack and went to the northwest. Carter, I wonder if they ever meant to come back?”
“We’ll probably find that answer in a record left wherever they went. Why couldn’t they have just said where that was?” Carter slammed his palm on the table in frustration. “Another damn mystery. One on top of the other.”
“Calm down, Carter. They did say where they were going. They expected whoever read this record to know exactly where the capital was, just as we’d say the same thing in the States and anyone would know we were talking about DC.”
Carter’s frustration melted at Liu’s unperturbed explanation. “Too bad they didn’t know how long it would take for someone to find it. And how ironic it’s ‘the little ones’ who are finally unearthing their secrets. But we could have used some coordinates.”
“Which wouldn’t necessarily have been the same as what we use today,” Liu pointed out.
“Would you quit being so damn reasonable?” Carter said with a smile.
“We just have to keep looking for clues. But we do have one. They went northwest. We need a map and a big red pin to mark the City of Lights,” Liu offered.
“I’ll dig one up or order one online.”
“No, you won’t order it online. Ask James to procure it for you. Remember?”
“Of course, I remember. I remember everything. But it’s d— it’s inconvenient, even though you’re right. Sorry I keep swearing.”
Liu smiled. It seemed Carter wouldn’t be unaffected by the restrictions after all.
Chapter 46 -
The hunt is on
The problem with knowing you have a problem is you then must do something about it. Bill Griffin had more than one problem. Sure, he now knew about the Nabateans and the threat they posed to the US and all other countries of the world. However, it wasn’t ideal that the group was headquartered in Paris, where the woman with the sexy name lived. Graziella. Sounded elegant. And maybe deadly. The intel they had from the Algosaibi laptop gave her address in the 3rd Arrondisement, and based on where it was located, directly above a section of the Parisian catacombs that was probably the headquarters of the whole thing.
And, though there had been plenty of times when his organization had needed to do it before, it really wasn’t nice to spy in a friendly country. Nor was it easy. Just as it hadn’t been easy to cut off the ready flow of information from the CIA and indeed all sensitive government agencies to the Nabateans. Even less easy was getting close enough to the Nabateans to gather information while dodging the attention of all European spy agencies. It would be slow and tedious.
They would have to rely on some old but effective tradecraft to elude the sophisticated technology of the Nabateans, too. It was like walking a tightrope in a high wind with a thunderstorm raging. And no safety net.
In fact, they were certain there was no way to spy on Graziella or get close to her home. But they did have hope they could get to her son. It was a start, at least. While it was true that Swiss banks had strong security technology, there was reason to believe it wasn’t necessarily superior to the CIA’s infiltration techniques. So, the delicate task of trapping this spider without getting caught in the web would begin in Zürich.
The Spider in question, Mathieu Nabati, had just about reached his breaking point when it came to controlling his temper. His mother was the Ice Queen, but Mathieu had a passionate side from his late father that occasionally made him impulsive and often caused him to act based on emotion rather than the cold calculation his mother employed.
A child could have predicted the CIA, NSA, and a host of other alphabet-soup agencies would be coming after the Council of the Covenant of Nabatea. Their cover was blown, and they knew the CIA knew of both their existence and their extensive infiltration of all those agencies. Not to mention the myriad other infiltrations that had given them virtual control of the major countries and industries of the globe. That they hadn’t chosen to exercise it except in limited operations was irrelevant. They couldn’t be allowed to continue, and they accepted that. There was no way they wouldn’t be hunted down and stopped now that they were no longer undercover. Even their power couldn’t prevent it; so, they’d have to do as their ancestors had done in 106 AD — disappear.
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Most of their secrets would go underground with them, to be employed when the time was right.
Mathieu accepted the decision, but he didn’t have to like it. He exacted one concession from the rest of the Council. It had been his operation, and he was due some revenge. Along with that, his plan would send a message to the agencies that dared to pursue them about their reach and power.
Thus, it was that Perrin Durand, while under the protection of the US Marshall Service’s Witness Protection Program, managed to throw himself off a bridge. But not before he’d also stabbed himself in the back seven times. Mathieu’s enjoyment of American movies provided the detail that would leave no doubt the “suicide” was in fact murder, and who had committed it.
It was a spine-chillingly clear message to everyone about the reach of the Council of the Covenant of Nabatea.
That detail taken care of, the Council soon found evidence they hoped would allow them to take similar revenge on the man who was the biggest thorn in their flesh and the sole barrier in the way of getting their hands on the library of the giants. Carter Devereux. Within days, they had information regarding which satellites overflew Devereux’s Canadian property and to whom those satellites belonged. With the schedules in hand, they pulled silk strings with their Chinese contacts and obtained their own satellite time to surveil Freydís.
Each member of the Council who were compromised then made his or her own arrangements to effectively disappear from their former lives. While the world would think them gone, they would blend with their surroundings, while secretly staying in touch to continue carefully chosen operations. But for the time being their grand scheme was on hold.
Chapter 47 -
A new expedition in the cards
Six weeks after Durand’s untimely and unlikely death, the group at Freydís had settled into a routine that, while acknowledging their vulnerability, didn’t dwell on it. Camp Tala had been fully operational for a couple of weeks, and the combat training that Carter and Mackenzie had interrupted for their trip to the States resumed.
Liam was in heaven with not only Ahote but his grandpa to take him fishing and on other adventures, teaching him everything his little body and quick mind could handle. Carter participated in some of the activities, too, bonding with his father-in-law as never before, while silently admiring his son. What a man the little guy would become!
Beth enjoyed similar quality time with the women of the extended family and was thoroughly spoiled by all the Executive Advantage team, both the security details and the trainees. It was clear she would become a beauty like her mom, and like Mackenzie, she had every man in the vicinity wrapped around her little finger. Except Dylan, of course, who was wrapped around Liu’s. He was very fond of Beth, too, though, and secretly hoped his and Liu’s first child would be a little girl as engaging as Beth. The son to follow in his footsteps couldn’t come soon enough, either.
The research, along with the translation of the library, continued with all due speed. Each day while Carter spent time with his children or the men, Liu and Mackenzie would search for a couple of hours in the library and in other resources Mackenzie had obtained over the years for any mention of respirocytes or anything that could be construed to mean the same thing.
The rest of the time was dedicated to locating information about the ancient nukes. They were the most urgent of the dangers to put to rest. While other tantalizing mentions had been found here and there, Carter’s conviction that the bulk of the answer would be found in the giants’ capital city seemed more and more likely to be correct. Accordingly, he spent most of this time poring over maps and texts for clues to its location. Everything he could find added to his sense that it was probably located in an area that was now underwater, in what was known currently as the Alboran Sea.
When he could no longer keep his speculation to himself, he called everyone together for a discussion.
“I can’t believe no one has done anything about this yet,” he began, turning all the eager looks around the table to bewilderment. Noticing the puzzled faces, he started again.
“I think I know where the giants went. Where their capital city was.” Various expressions of surprise went around the table, but the loudest was Liu.
“And how is it you haven’t said a word to me?” she all but screeched.
Carter made a quelling motion with his hands, and the others settled down. Liu, however looked as if she might chew nails. Or perhaps Carter, if she could cut him into small enough pieces. He gulped and hastened to explain.
“We know they went northwest, because they said so. I’ve been combing the translations for anything more specific, but when I ran out of material, I had to concede that if it’s in the library, it hasn’t been translated yet.
“So, I went to other sources. And I could kick myself, because I’ve known about these sites. An undersea wall off the coast of Morocco has stones, some of which are the size of 2-story houses. How could a normal human, even with our current machines, maneuver such a thing? Had to be giants. There’s a temple in Lebanon with similar stones in its foundation. But there’s more under the Alboran Sea.”
Carter paused at Mackenzie’s tilted head. “That’s between the Iberian Peninsula consisting of Spain, Portugal, and Gibraltar on the one side and Africa on the other, at the west end of the Mediterranean. In other words, when you go from the Atlantic Ocean through the strait of Gibraltar you enter the Alboran Sea.
"I don’t think it’s a coincidence that many of the legends about Atlantis have it located in that area. There are numerous documented ruins under the sea in that area, but not only there, it can be found along the coastlines of almost all landmasses, on the continental shelves. Mean sea level has risen and fallen many times with climate changes, from ice ages to melt-offs. Right now, it’s at one of the highest levels ever determined, and you’ve all heard the political debate over global warming. Never mind whether humans and their activity have contributed to it; the climate changes in both directions and has always done so.
“What makes it interesting is that over the past few centuries, it happened rapidly enough that we have ancient maps showing just how much of the coastlines, especially along the Mediterranean and the Atlantic coastlines of Spain and Morocco, have been inundated by rising sea levels. People used to live in cities that are now underwater. Explorers and archaeologists have observed giant relics of cities, and the Bible has mentioned giants, as we’ve seen before, so why hasn’t anyone put it together before? Giants lived in those giant relics.
“And I’ve got one site in mind where I think the capital city could have been. I want to take an expedition to make a more thorough exploration of that site, and if I’m right, we’ll find the rest of the answers we’ve been looking for.”
Pandemonium erupted among the participants. From Mackenzie, who wasn’t on board with letting Carter out of her sight while they were all still in danger from the Nabateans, to Rick, who had always been a believer in Atlantis, to Liu, who was terrified of water, or at least of being underwater — everyone had an opinion.
Gradually the noise died down and Carter continued, “Obviously, I’m going to need a crew. But I’ll choose who goes and which of you stays. Don’t worry, Liu. I do need you, but I don’t need you to dive. Mackie, I understand your concern, but I’ll be fine. Dylan, I trust you can round up some of your people who have underwater experience. It’s only a matter of time before someone does put all this together. I don’t want them to interrupt my investigations. We have an expedition to mount.”
Out of respect for Carter, everyone had heard him out during the mini-lecture, until he mentioned the expedition. His calming words after he’d dropped that bomb on them served to focus their minds on both the truth he’d stated about the urgency and what would need to be done before an expedition could be ready. Underwater meant a boat as a base of operations.
Remote control mini-subs would be best for the initial site survey, and Rick immediately vol
unteered to man the computers that would take the data from the subs and create a map. Carter himself was the most qualified to interpret the images the sub would record and decide where would be the most productive areas to dive. But he would need a team of divers. The quicker they got in, drew their conclusions, and got out, the less likelihood they would come to the attention of people they didn’t want to invite. Like pirates, or Nabateans.
Carter accepted the need for his bodyguards and other security professionals to go along, and in fact welcomed them. No matter what uninvited guests might show up, the Executive Advantage folks would take care of it, he trusted. Naturally, they’d do all they could to keep the preparations and the expedition itself a secret. But with a project of this complexity, it would be a challenge.
They couldn’t just fly into Morocco, hire a boat, and start diving. Too many eyes and ears in that part of the world. The best course of action would be to fly to Casablanca and from there make their way to the coast. With such a large group of people to transport, it would have to be done a few at a time and with care. They had to have trusted allies to gather the supplies for the boat. There were a million details.
This was going to take a while.
Chapter 48 -
Giantese
While the planning and staging of the expedition went forward, Mackenzie distracted herself from the danger Carter intended to walk into by throwing herself even more intensely into her research. But with Liu fully involved in the expedition planning, Mackenzie often found herself handicapped by the temporary loss of her translator.
The solution was to redouble the efforts of the coders to improve the software, and it fell to Samantha to visit Freydís regularly to update the code and the algorithms with the latest requirements. On one such visit, she had been invited to stay the weekend and relax a bit on the beautiful property, which she eagerly accepted. Finishing her work early on a Friday afternoon, Samantha felt guilty about starting her weekend early.
