Babylon Prophecy

by Sean Salazar

  “Oh yeah? How many?”

  “Three of them.”

  “How did you track them?”

  He handed Al a bag of gear and said, “I’ll tell you as we go.” He turned and moved quickly towards the woods and Al followed slowly, being careful not to run into anything in the dark.

  Once they reached the tree line, all three men slowed, readied their weapons and spread out as if they were in hunting mode. Al clued in and removed his new 50-caliber handgun, and clicked off the safety. He then stayed close to Major Reeves.

  The major began whispering, “I need you to put this on.”

  “What?” Al asked as the major handed over something.

  Al grabbed it and noticed it was a one-piece uniform. Instead of more questions, he slipped off his boots and put on the uniform. As he was re-tying his boots, he asked, “What is this?”

  “It’s a thermo-infrared-blocking uniform.”

  “Compliments of the SAS,” Al asked.

  “Yes sir.”

  “Thought so,” Al said, reaching into the bag. He felt around for a pair of night-vision goggles, found them and strapped them on. It was the single-eye type. He tightened the headband, powered it up, and clicked it down over his right eye. He looked around and then back to Major Reeves, “How did you guys get here so fast?”

  “We were already here.”

  “What?”

  “Commander Collins stationed us here.”

  “You mean Ed?” Al could tell that his questions were crossing the line by the major’s short answers.

  “Yes.”

  “Why did he station you guys here?”

  “Monitoring unusual activity.”

  “The knights?”

  “Possibly.”

  “What do you mean by unusual activity?” Al pried. He wasn’t letting him off that easy.

  Reeves seemed to hesitate before answering. “We have been monitoring objects of unknown technology entering and exiting the lake near here.”

  “How long have you been here?”

  “Eleventh company has been posted here for months.”

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  He didn’t respond so Al continued his interrogation, “You’re not coordinating with the CIA, I take it.’

  “Negative.”

  As the night-vision eye came to life, the black forest around him illuminated into a green hue outlining trees, branches, and bushes. Al changed the subject to give the major a break from his questioning, “You said the knights are here?”

  “Right,” he responded, relieved. “We believe they are part of the same group that executed the Muslim students and shot up the university in Georgia.”

  One of the other men spoke up, “This group of knights appears to be of a more hardened ground-pounder type and heavily armored.”

  Al noticed their weapons were standard assault-style submachine guns. “And what do you plan on doing to them considering your little guns?”

  “Our orders have changed. The three knights are on the northeast shore of the lake aiming some type of beam into the water.”

  “Beam?” Al asked.

  “Yes, a stealthy one at that. We wouldn’t have noticed except for the fact that we were using enhanced visualization devices to observe objects going into and exiting the lake.”

  “What kind of objects?” Al asked and then added smartly, “You brought it up.”

  The major remained silent for a moment. “I am not instructed to give you operational details of our earlier mission.”

  “Goddamn it,” Al whispered, getting closer to the major. “Ask Commander Ed to give you instructions to tell me everything.”

  Major Reeves remained silent, glancing back to his men. He turned back to Al.

  “All right, never mind,” Al said, going back to the issue at hand. “Why would the knights be aiming beams into the lake?”

  “According to the site map,” Reeves said, “the only thing they could possibly be attempting is to trigger a beacon perhaps. Other than that, we don’t know. It’s rather puzzling.”

  “Maybe they are looking for your little unknown objects,” Al said.

  Major Reeves motioned to one of the men to approach. He scooted his way closer and placed a black bag on the ground.

  Al opened the bag, aimed his light inside and recognized the equipment immediately. “This is scuba gear?”

  “Yes, tactical scuba.”

  “Your team has performed operations in the lake?”

  The major seemed uncomfortable again with the question. He then answered, “We have been installing hidden stealth monitors in lakes on every continent.”

  Al waited a moment to let him finish. He didn’t, so Al prodded him to continue.

  “Unknown objects have been entering and exiting bodies of water all over the world for years.”

  “And your mission?”

  “Observe and report.”

  “Report what?”

  “Patterns.”

  “Is this old Cold War stuff or are we talking UFO crap?”

  The major remained silent.

  “Fuck,” Al whispered. He only mentioned flying saucers as a joke. Again another verbal stand-off.

  Al figured he was pushing his luck and treading beyond his security level. He didn’t want to have to kick the major’s ass or have him break any rules so he changed the subject again. “How many men do you have observing the knights?”

  “Five. The three here to fetch you and two observing.”

  “So you’re telling me the only thing the knights are doing is shooting beams into the lake?”

  “At this moment, yes.”

  “And you want someone to go into the lake to investigate?”

  “That is an option we recently considered, sir.”

  Al then realized what was going on. “And I bet that’s my job, eh?”

  “Commander Collins directed us to assist you.”

  “Why me? You’re the ones chasing the so-called unknown objects.”

  In an almost humorous tone, the major continued, “He said you would be more prepared as to what he was searching for than my men.”

  “Then don’t you think you had better tell me what the objects are you’re chasing, just in case I innocently bump into one?”

  The major remained silent.

  Al just shook his head, conceded his interrogation had failed, and figured he would just make Ed confess later. He closed the scuba gear bag and thought about the situation. He really did not want to go diving into a frigid lake, but the major was right. After the lengthy time spent in Lake Titicaca searching for hidden tunnels and chambers, he knew exactly what Ed wanted. “Okay. Let’s do it.”

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Georgia

  Vance’s chopper bounced around in the turbulence as it was clear that the weather sucked. He had no idea where Al’s chopper took off to; hopefully not in this mess. Vance laughed, maybe worse.

  He felt the chopper begin its descent meaning that getting soaked was in his immediate future, and he wasn’t looking forward to that. They soon landed on what appeared to him to be a grassy field. The rain pelted the skin of the chopper so hard that it sounded like someone was playing the drums. He opened the door and two police officers in full rain gear waved for him to come out and follow them. One of them had an umbrella that looked to be almost coming apart in the wind. Vance jumped out and when his shoes hit the ground, he sank into the soft muddy grass almost soaking his feet. The suction on his shoes caught him off-guard and he held back his usual profane expletives. “Lead the way, boys.”

  As they mucked through the grass, they appeared to be heading in the direction of a brick church-like structure. As he got closer, Vance noticed partially boarded-up windows with green moss and vines growing up and around the outside walls. When they reached the door, he concluded this building was severely neglected and most likely abandoned. Once he entered, a man in a trench coat walked up and greeted him. “Agent Mah
oney?”

  Vance leaned against the brick wall with his hand, kicked the mud off his shoes, and answered, “At your service.” He glanced around at the dilapidated hallway. There was a strong smell of rotten wood and rat shit. Wires were protruding from the brick ceiling where light fixtures once were and the wood floor looked like it was about to cave in.

  “I’m Captain Sadusky. I’ve been given direct orders to hand this case over to you.” He turned, began walking down the hallway and added, “Honestly, you can have it, and I wouldn’t worry about tracking mud inside.”

  Vance stomped his feet one more time but realized he was right. He figured that he had to behave himself with as few wisecracks as possible. That was a virtual impossibility, but he tried anyway, “This case is sensitive, Captain; I appreciate your cooperation,” he said with as much police-style professionalism as he could muster. They proceeded down a short corridor. The only light inside the building came from outside rays of light filtering through the partially boarded up windows. It wasn’t much but it was just enough to navigate by.

  They joined two more plainclothes officers drinking coffee and standing where the walkway opened up to a larger area. As they noticed him approaching, they greeted him with brief eye contact and a simple nod. That to Vance was not a good sign, considering the eye contact was a bit scornful. He then realized that this wasn’t a church at all but more like an abandoned brick warehouse. Something else caught his attention. He heard someone crying directly diagonally from where he was standing. He ignored the two officers and focused on where the sobbing was coming from.

  He found Dr. Zohar sitting on a wood crate against the wall. Her face was in her hands and she was crying. One of the officers had draped a coat over her shoulders. From where he was standing, he could clearly tell that she had been somewhat roughed up. The last time he saw her she was an elegant muscular woman wearing a white lab coat with her name neatly embroidered over the pocket.

  Now, another man was standing near her reading something out loud and she didn’t appear to be listening.

  “Over there,” Captain Sadusky said.

  Vance glanced at him and saw that he was pointing in another direction. “There is a body over there.”

  “Ah, great,” Vance grumbled under his breath. No one told him he was investigating a murder; all he knew was he was to talk to Dr. Zohar. She had not seen him yet so he continued in the direction the Captain indicated. He didn’t get far when he saw the devastating sight.

  The remnants of a naked body lay face up on a bare, blood-soaked floor. As Vance stepped closer, the realization of what happened became obvious. Both arms and legs were ripped off, and lay inches from the shoulder and hip joints in an extended X shape. The blood still looked wet and it spilled in and filled up the grooves on the wood floor. He could see large rusty metal spikes nailed into the shoulders and hips still attached to the torso. “Yuck,” Vance said disgusted.

  “Obviously,” Captain Sadusky said, “I don’t have to explain to you that this is a torture scene.

  Not liking this at all, Vance swallowed hard and pulled out his pack of cigarettes. He always kept a pack on him regardless of how beat up they often got. He tapped the pack on its side and fished one out with his lips. He cupped his hands to block the slight breeze slipping in from the dozens of boarded-up windows, and flicked his lighter. It took several times to get it to stay lit. Eventually it caught and he asked, “When did this take place?”

  Captain Sadusky, who had patiently and politely waited throughout the cigarette lighting ritual, slowly answered, “I would estimate less than two hours ago.”

  “And her?” Vance motioned to Dr. Zohar.

  “She was here when we arrived.”

  “Has she said anything?”

  “We were not to proceed with any questioning without you.”

  “Okay then, how the fuck did you find her?”

  That caught Captain Sadusky by surprise. He obviously was not used to someone being straight with him or maybe was accustomed to everyone kissing his ass. “I’m sorry— I thought you knew,” he said.

  “All I was told was that she was found, now be a sweetheart and explain to me how the hell you found her.”

  “No need to bust my butt. We got the call an hour ago to head here as fast as we could, lock the place down, and wait for you.” He innocently shrugged his shoulders, “That’s it.”

  “Okay then,” Vance said. He pulled out his PDA from his pocket and slowly walked one revolution around the body snapping pictures. When he reached the head area he almost lost his lunch when he saw the eyes were lying next to the ears. “Okay, that just about ruined my lovely mood.” He turned his head to clear that image from his mind and walked over to Dr. Zohar. He decided there was no need to investigate the bloody conglomerate on the floor just yet. “Beat it,” he said to the officer standing next to her.

  The officer returned a mean look, walked off without saying a word, and Vance knelt down in front of her. Her hair was mangled and dirty as if someone had dragged her through the mud.

  She slowly looked up. Her face was muddy and her eyes were swollen and red. An obvious red mark on her right cheek told Vance that she had collided with something.

  He simply watched her for a moment, sad for her situation. Normally, he could give a rat’s ass about guys that were pounded to a pulp because most of the time they deserved it. But a woman, no way. Even if they were guilty, he could never ever justify abusing women; except, of course, if the abuse came from another woman. He shook the thought off and took a deep breath. “Now just start from the beginning.” He could tell that she was pleased to see him, if only slightly.

  “Please,” she said, “please, I had no... I had no idea.”

  Vance had to know but was not sure how to ask, but did anyway, “Is that Dr, Golb?”

  She nodded and let her face fall into her hands, sobbing again.

  “Was he already dead when you got here?”

  She shook her head from side to side. “He... He...called me on my cell... and told me to come here.”

  Vance had to play it cool, not showing his sensitivity. “Did they take what you brought?”

  She glanced up, and gave him the ‘how did you know?’ look.

  Before she answered, he said, “We found the hidden space behind the bookshelf.”

  Her face and composure relaxed as if a heavy burden had lifted from her. “Yes, they took it,” she answered.

  “What was it?”

  “The copper scroll translations.”

  “Why did they want it?”

  She shook her head, “I don’t know...but they were different from the pictures of the knights that attacked the school.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “They were big guys dressed in black and they...” she began crying again.

  Vance cut her off. “Start from the beginning.”

  She sat up straighter, took a breath, and glanced at the area where the police were standing. “I came in through that door and they grabbed me as soon as I stepped in.”

  “You had the papers with you?”

  “Yes,” she said, lowering her head.

  Vance glanced back at the body. “So why did they kill the Doc if they got what they came for?”

  “They wanted more. I mean there is something else.”

  “What?”

  She lifted her head and looked in the direction of the doctor’s body for the first time. Vance could tell that she was resisting it.

  “I only know a little bit,” she glanced back down, “but the writing on the scroll described some type of hidden city or treasure or something.” She looked directly into Vance’s eyes.

  He held her gaze for a moment and asked, “And they tortured him for it? Did they get it?”

  “I think so.”

  “Did you hear where it was?”

  “No.”

  “But they spared you.”

  Her eyes swelled up and she started
to cry again. “I don’t know why.”

  Vance knew he was scoring high marks in the horrible and stupid interrogation tactics department, but he didn’t know any other way. He thought about allowing Sadusky to ask her because he obviously had more experience questioning people. He decided not to, and gently put his hand on her shoulder and said, “It’s okay, you’re safe now, but you must remember.”

  “He yelled out Teton several times,” she said between sobs. “Then they killed him.”

  Vance stood up, and walked over to the body. He was wondering about what she just said.

  So, Vance thought. How far along in the task of ripping his limbs off before he talked?. Was it one arm and one leg; or was it two arms and one eye? No, it had to be one spike through the hip, one eye, and one arm. No, no, it had to be one spike through the shoulder joint, one arm, on the same side and then the opposite leg. What the fuck, wouldn’t most average unassuming professors simply pass out when they hammered large spikes into their joints? To top it off, by the looks of the stringy stuff coming out of the joint sockets and the limbs, they were ripped off, not chopped. Fucking ouch!

  This situation was bad, very bad, he concluded, but something wasn’t adding up. Either they tortured him slowly until he talked and then did the ugly deed, or she is lying. He stepped over to Captain Sadusky, who had just knelt down to take measurements and analyze the area around the body with two other men. “Did she say anything when you guys got here?” Vance asked.

  Sadusky looked up, and in a sarcastic tone, replied, “Due to the delicate nature of the matter and of the threat of the Feds stomping on us little people, we opted not to interrogate the woman. I’m thinking now that we should have.”

  “No, I’m just wondering if she said anything earlier. Something is not adding up.”

  “Do you think she is lying to you?”

  “I don’t know.” Vance looked over at the body.

  Sadusky stood up and pointed down. “Look, there’s not a single mark or footprint in the blood or anywhere around him. Either these killers were methodical in their methods or got lucky.” He stepped back, “She did mention that big men in black robes and masks killed him.”