by Sean Salazar
“You have a date with a real girl?”
“Oh, shut up. It seems our little double agent Jess Contreras is being tracked by the FBI but she keeps giving them the slip.”
“Is she putting up a fight?”
“Not that I’m aware of, but here’s the kicker. You know the hot assistant, Dr. Zohar?”
“You do not have a date with her?”
Vance shook his head. “We found Dr. Zohar and as a bonus found Dr. Golb too. Unfortunately, someone went medieval on him, chopping him up in a nasty interrogation scene.” He paused and laughed slightly.
“What’s so funny?”
“I don’t know, but Ed shows up and starts talking to Zohar. Then we meet up with Alex and Natalie in a plane and then all hell breaks loose when the SAS shows up and arrests her.” He laughed again, “Shocked the hell out of me and almost pissed on myself.”
“What?”
“Apparently Ed has been tracking her for a while and was just playing her for information. After we left the warehouse and had boarded a chopper, a sniper shot the pilot—which we figured was Jess using Zohar as bait. Fortunately, the weather sucked and we slipped out in another chopper.”
“No shit!”
“Anyway, the FBI just found out that Jess showed up at a bank shortly after that, emptied out a safe deposit box, and our little cross-dressing Brotherhood boys suddenly appeared and shot the place up.
That got Al’s attention. “So the Brotherhood is tracking Jess?”
“That’s what I’m thinking. Ed and Alex suspect Dr. Zohar—oh, by the way, her real name is Ms. Meir—might be working with Contreras.”
Al leaned back, “A little too convenient, don’t you think?”
“Yep,” Vance answered with a prolonged drawl. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”
“That everyone is as confused as we are?”
“Maybe,” Vance replied.
“That’s it?”
“Damn straight. I sat there on the plane completely bewildered while they were going over all this medieval history, the Holy Script writing, and then suddenly arresting Zohar. I was mad as hell and then Ed threw me on a helicopter to come and assist your sorry ass. Those Brits are intense.”
“Yeah,” Al said, “but they seem to know what they’re doing.”
“Whatever. It would have been a little easier and less of a shock if they had filled me in on what they were up to.”
Al pulled out his silver gun. “By the way, I dropped a knight with this. Scared the shit out of them and the other two scattered.”
Vance laughed, “Yeah, I heard. Scared the shit out of the Brits too, and by the way, they went back to ascertain the body and it was gone.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” Al said, and then asked, “Do you have a map?”
Vance pushed the computer station away, swinging it to the side. He pulled out a map from below the seat and handed it to Al. “Ed said that you would want one.”
“I just think better using an old-fashioned regular map.” He placed the map on the floor of the chopper between the seats and clicked on a flashlight. He placed the light and his finger over Washington, D.C. “I suddenly have the feeling that we are on a chase.”
Vance moved over and knelt to the side of the map. He put his finger over Washington, D.C. “So Jess shoots at you here and a bomb goes off.”
“Right,” Al said, moving his finger and light to Georgia. “The knights attacked here.” He took a pen, circled D.C., and then drew a line angling it down to Georgia and drew three X’s. “Attacked the university and Muslim college kids.” He then drew another line from D.C to Jackson Lake in Wyoming. “The SAS have traced the knights here snooping inside a lake and for some strange reason being interested in a rock. But to make matters even stranger, the SAS were already there observing and tracking unknown flying objects coming out of the lake.”
“What the...” Vance uttered.
“Don’t ask me. They wouldn’t really say what they were doing. I just figured they were UFO hunters or something.”
“Oh, that’s it,” Vance said smartly. “I thought you were going to say they were looking for something important.”
“This shit is starting to make sense now. Remember the computer we found and lost at the beginning? Then the bomb that the technician said was not from here?”
“Yeah,” Vance said. “What about the UFO’s?”
“Every time I ask the SAS guys, they continually clam up and switch
to vague mode.” Al paused and then asked, “Where was the bank shot up?” Vance reached down, touched the map, “Here.”
“Burlington,” Al said. “That is not far from here.” He then paused
for a moment. “I’ll bet Jess is on her way here.”
“I think you’re right,” Vance added. “I think she wants to apologize
for shooting you.” At that moment, the pilot yelled back, “Hang on, turbulence.” Vance returned to the seat and swung the computers back in front
of him. “Another question I have,” Al said, refocusing on the map, “is if the FBI is tracking Jess’s movements, then how are the knights tracking her?”
“There has to be a mole somewhere leaking information,” Vance replied. “Well, whatever they’re doing, if they keep shooting places up, tracking them should be easy.”
“But how are they tracking her?”
“Like I said, someone is helping them.”
“But who?”
The pilot yelled back again, “Hang on.”
“Right,” Al answered, glancing at Vance as the chopper bounced about. He felt the pilot increase power to the engines. He stretched, folding his back over the seat, grabbing the overhead bars, and yawning, “I’m getting tired.”
“That’s what coffee’s for.”
“I knew you were going to say that,” Al answered, letting go of the bars. The cold metal seat was penetrating into his suit, freezing his butt. He pulled the map over to the side of his legs and yelled over to the pilot, “You done yet?”
Chapter Forty-Seven
The chopper landed midday near the forest and Vance commented, “Who’s your buddy?”
Al laughed as he opened the door, “Yeah, I know, you got my back; now get outta here.” He jumped out, slid the door shut, and got out of the way as the chopper lifted off. As it did, Al looked around and saw Major Reeves crouching by the trees. He was fully covered in the protective suit.
Al went to him and the major asked politely, “How was your briefing, sir?”
“Confusing as usual,” Al answered.
The major inspected him, which Al figured was obvious heat signature violations the Brotherhood could see, so he put on his facemask and slipped his hood on. “You’re good. This way,” he said, turning around.
“Lead the way.”
“We have a several hours’ hike. You’re up for it?” the major asked.
“Like I have a choice, but thanks for caring,” Al replied, following him.
They moved through the forest and up a large ravine, gaining altitude as they went. As they did, Al stopped periodically, getting a view of the dozens of sharp, spiky mountaintops highlighted by the sun reflecting off the snow-capped peaks. After another long hike, the major stopped and crouched down.
Al joined him, looking around. After a few minutes, Al whispered, “What’s up?”
Reeves motioned with his head and answered, “The entrance to our clubhouse is under that tree.”
“Ah,” Al answered, looking at the tree. It was not a tree at all but a giant mangled black tree stump. It reminded him of a Hobbit house. He leaned in and asked, “Where’s the chimney?”
Major Reeves didn’t respond, obviously not getting the humor. Al continued to observe the giant tree root and as he did, he began to notice several well-camouflaged antennae winding up the root and over to the next tree. He followed it up and was a little surprised to make out an entire antenna dish ten feet in diameter, which fully
blended in with the tree making it virtually impossible to see. As his eyes scanned the tree canopy he spotted two more dishes. He tapped the major’s shoulder, “What the hell operation you running under there?”
“You will see shortly.”
They waited there silently for a few hours until sunset and then Al finally spoke up, “Exactly what is your definition of shortly?”
The major rolled over and looked around. “It’s clear, let’s go.” He got up, made the few steps to the stump and disappeared. Al, right behind him, found himself descending a steep slope under the tree stump. It was dark and he almost tripped going inside. He reached the major and when he did, the door opened and they both stepped inside. Reeves immediately closed the door and removed his hood and face mask.
Al also removed his hood, face mask and the first thing he saw was three men sitting in a row off to the left. They clearly were three very fit men and oddly looked to all be in their forties and fifties. They were stationed in front of computer stations, glaring at screens with flashing images. The man in the middle, who looked to be the youngest, was speaking into a lip microphone as if an active operation was in progress. Al wondered if these men may have been the others he met in the woods. He couldn’t tell since he never did get to see any of their faces. The space was an obvious tunnel about ten to twelve feet wide and extending for a short distance. The major motioned for Al to follow him deeper inside the tunnel. They came to another communication station and the major pointed to a stool. Al sat down and leaned against the table next to it.
At that moment, Al felt a strong vibration as if there was an earthquake. It continued for a few seconds then stopped. He noticed the other men didn’t react to it, so he didn’t either and continued leaning against the table. Major Reeves was busy standing behind one of the seated men who was pointing at the monitor. He reached down and hit a key and the man sitting handed him the headset. The major spoke into it and then handed it back. He backed up and came over to Al.
The major sat across from him, wiped his face with an almost-nervous gesture. He easily looked to be in his early fifties and had one of the squarest jaws Al had ever seen. “Welcome aboard,” he said.
“What’s going on?” Al asked.
The major cleared his throat, “Oh, nothing. We’re in the process of tracking our favorite customers.” He paused, glancing back at the computer stations. “At least I would bloody hope so.”
“And how is that working out for you?” Al replied with a smirk.
He turned back to Al, “We seem to lose these elusive fellows over and over for no apparent reason.”
Al couldn’t tell if the major was being funny or not, but it made him smile, “I see.”
“But what I would really like to know is what in bloody hell were they doing aiming laser beams into that damn lake?” For a change, Al knew something and proudly pulled out his PDA and flipped to the pictures. He settled on the ones he took underwater, “This is what I think the beams were aimed at.” He handed the PDA to the major.
Reeves turned the device around to several different angles, “A rock?”
“Kind of,” Al answered, “but if you look in the center of the next picture, an inscription is on top.” He showed him the appropriate button to push to flip to the next picture.
“I see it, but is the rock glowing or was that the flash?”
“Nope, it was glowing.”
“You did not observe the beams?” the major asked, studying the picture.
“Yes,” Al answered, “that rock was the target.”
One of the men yelled back, “Major.”
“Yes?”
“Commander Ed Collins is requesting a video word with the two of you.”
“Thank you, patch him in.”
The monitor next to the table came on and Ed’s face appeared. The captain pressed a button next to the screen and said, “Hello, Commander.”
“Hey there, gentlemen; how is my CIA friend doing?”
“Cold and wet,” Al answered.
“Ah, are my men taking good care of you?”
“Yes, sir,” Al said, then asked, “Did you get my pictures?”
“Oh, yes indeed. The inscription on the stone is written in Egyptian hieroglyphics.” Ed held up a hand-drawn picture of three characters, which meant nothing to Al.
“That was the first picture, but I would like to ask what you saw when you were near this.” Ed glanced to the side and nodded to someone. The image on the screen changed to one of Al’s pictures.
“It was the picture of the ridge,” Al said. “I took that picture because I accidentally pulled off a piece of the top and it looked like something metal was exposed underneath. I could not tell for certain what it was because there was virtually no light. Instead of trying to figure out what it was, I just took a picture and continued on to the target.”
“Sometimes I wonder about you,” Ed said. “Look here.” On the screen, Al could make out the missing section of the ridge, but could not see what Ed was referring to.
“Not only that,” Ed continued. “Look to the right side of the picture.”
Al looked at the hazy picture. Silt and floating particles obscured the image. He saw a very light and hazy image of a silver thin rod going up at an angle with several horizontal silver rods going across it. “Okay, yeah I see it. It looks like an old-fashioned TV antenna you would see on rooftops.”
“That is precisely what I likened it to,” Ed said as the screen flashed back to him. “You didn’t by chance observe anything else while you were down there, eh?”
“No,” Al answered, “I didn’t even see the antenna, just black water.”
“Al,” Ed continued, “what is your assessment?”
“Honestly?”
“Please.”
“I have no idea.” Al said. He knew what Ed was asking and added, “Although something went by me in a big hurry when I was down there.”
“You didn’t see what it was?” Ed asked.
“No, but I felt it go by. Other than that, that’s it.” Al paused a moment and asked, “What do the hieroglyphics mean?”
Ed glanced down at the picture, “Do you remember the Gateway of the Sun outside Lake Titicaca in Peru?”
“Yeah, that’s how you figured out the chamber was below the lake.” Al then realized what he had just said. “You’re not going to tell me that this lake was once an ancient mine or something.”
Ed held up the picture and pointed at the first character on the left, “The hieroglyphic characters consist of a star, a bird, and an open box with a half circle above it. Do you recall what we learned about ancient symbols of open boxes?”
“Yeah,” Al reluctantly answered. Little by little, he was being forced to learn ancient language crap that he really had no interest in. “It means that an underground complex is there? And...”
Ed continued, “I have done a thorough examination of the pictures and mountain range and found something interesting.” The screen flashed to a satellite view from above. He could not tell what it was exactly but Ed continued explaining, “There is a suspicious area that looks to be the remnants of an ancient mining operation in the mountain range near where you are now.”
“You suspect something is there?” Al asked.
“Yes, I believe so,” Ed answered. “The map table you found in Gap Mills indicated something is there. Meanwhile, I want you to hold tight and get some rest because I know you need it. I will have a coordinated path after I have analyzed the area further.”
“Sounds good to me,” Al said.
“I will regain contact in a few hours,” Ed said, and the screen went blank.
Suddenly, the younger of the men yelled out, “I got it.”
Al watched the major hurry over and stand behind the man who had called.
“What frequency?” the major asked loudly.
“Commander Collins just sent over a general location to focus on and once I got the antennae aimed, I picked
it up immediately. They are using that code.”
“But are they communicating?”
Al stepped over and listened in.
“It’s hard to say, sir.”
The major patted the man on the shoulder, “Good work, Sergeant Harrison, triangulate what you can.”
The sergeant leaned forward and continued working. The major then glanced over to Al, “For years we have been tracking these blokes and have always had a difficult if not impossible time monitoring them; but with all the recent activity we have been searching out how they communicate and...”
“You got it,” Al interrupted, leaning in to the screen.
“I believe we have it with Commander Collins’ new location.”
“If this is it,” Harrison said, “they are receiving messages that are coming from,” he paused, analyzing the screen, “two locations west of us.” Al leaned over behind him, “Can you read their transmissions?”
“Not yet,” he responded, “the codes are very complicated.” Al watched the screen carefully as several lines of symbols began flashing across the screen. He recognized several characters of Holy Script but on the next screen he saw what looked like a reddish-green glowing image lift out of the lake. He quietly watched the image, thinking about the object that supposedly flew by him. He decided that waiting before inquiring about it was his best option now.
The man sitting at the next station spoke up, “I have a general location of the closest signal.” The major stepped past Al and to the station and demanded, “Where?” The man tapped the screen, “The middle of these two peaks somewhere.” Al checked his watch and asked, “What’s your plan?”
“No problem.” Al glanced up, not understanding the British officer’s response. Major Reeves put his hand on Al’s shoulder, “We have to hike up there.”
“Are you serious?” Al thought about the dozens of extra-sharp cliffs that were all over these hills.
The major glanced back at the screen, leaning in to see it. The bright hue lit up the front half of his face. “That area is a no man’s land. The ridges there are virtual death traps.”
