Babylon Prophecy

by Sean Salazar

  “So no ride up,” Al said. “Correct, choppers would be spotted by the Brotherhood, and this is the last thing we need.”

  “Even though I don’t have orders,” the major said, not looking over, “your relationship with Commander Ed Collins places me in the situation of a village store clerk.”

  “And what the hell is that supposed to mean?’

  “I’m handing out candy to little kids who have no money.”

  “Okay, I get it,” Al answered. “I’m hungry, so dish it out.”

  The major laughed and pushed himself away from the computer station. “You have obviously heard of the infamous Men in Black?”

  “Ah shit!” Al was caught off-guard with that question. After realizing the major was obviously serious, he asked, “You’re not going to tell me that’s you and your gang?”

  The serious expression vanished and was replaced by a laugh, “We don’t have the exclusive rights to that title, but what you should know, before we go any further, is that the Old Russian intelligence community learned that we—meaning the West—had been acquiring advanced technology.”

  Al shook his head slightly in disbelief, “Russians?”

  “It was, in a sense, an out-of-this-world technology race.”

  “And the Russians were not going to be left behind,” Al added.

  “In a way, yes,” the major answered. “Not only did the Americans have their men in black, so did we and the Russians.” He paused a moment and continued, “Try stomping around the old Soviet Union during the Cold War.”

  Al turned and faced him, knowing exactly what he was alluding to. He decided it was time for a full interrogation, crossed his arms, and asked, “So, what was that thing that exited the lake?”

  Major Reeves ignored his question and said, “Get ready to go.”

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Into the mountains 3:45 am

  After suiting up and with gear in hand, Al and the whole crew exited the Hobbit hole in total darkness. They wore the usual thermo image-blocking jumpsuits and facemasks. Each carried night vision goggles, weapons, ammo, climbing gear, and lots of rope. Ed had sent the exact coordinates that he believed would be the most probable entrance point into the mountain, if there was one.

  The major expected to reach the target destination in roughly sixteen hours. The only thing Al worried about was how his ankle would hold up. Then he thought about his knees, hip and lower back. Oh, well, I can’t think about that now, he said to himself, and just trudged along.

  He periodically checked his GPS coordinates and before he knew it, they had hiked several miles. So far, the trek consisted of steep hills, but as the sun came up it became clear that the hills were transitioning into treacherous-looking cliffs.

  The first cliff was not too difficult and ropes were not required, but the second and third were a different story. The SAS boys hardly spoke a word the entire day, even during breaks—which were not many. In general, Al found it harder and harder to keep up with the four Brits, especially as darkness grew closer. This was their territory and he could tell that they obviously knew it well.

  Eventually, the sun settled and the temperature dropped significantly, especially when they reached snow-covered ground. Al found the jumpsuit very warm but not enough to make him sweat. The only part of the suit he did not like was the facemask. Fortunately, his ankle and other joints were not screaming at him yet. During the hike, especially at night, he discovered that the night vision goggles helped on semi-smooth ground, but traversing the rocky terrain was becoming dangerous. He almost tripped several times because it was almost impossible to decipher the black shadows on the surface until he was right upon them.

  “Hold,” one of the men whispered. Sergeant Harrison was staring at a small device in his hand. “I have the signal,” he said, slowly waving the device side to side. After several minutes he pointed, “That direction.”

  The major stepped over and whispered to him.

  Al could not hear what they were saying so he clicked up his night vision eye piece and glanced back. It was extremely dark except for the slightest hint of light reflecting from the stars and moon onto the snow. He clicked the eye piece back over his eye and waited.

  Major Reeves patted Harrison on his back and then stepped over to Al. “He believes the signal is coming from near the top of that ridge.”

  “Can he determine what it is yet?” Al asked.

  “Not yet. He thinks the signal is being partially scrambled so it’s difficult to get a direct fix on it.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We’re using satellite and ground triangulation technology, which works perfectly in the real world, but,” he paused and glanced up in the direction of the ridge, “this signal has a virtual mirror image reflecting from the other two ridges to the East and West of us.”

  “How does he know its direction or what ridge it is?”

  “He doesn’t. It’s just an educated guess.” The major pointed to the ridge, “These three ridges, especially that one, have never been explored on foot before.”

  “Except by you guys, right?”

  “No, not even us, but there is always a first time.”

  Al looked up at the ridge, his mind registering what the major had just said—no, they had not climbed it. He knew helicopters could not be used because the Brotherhood, if they were up there, would spot it or, even worse, shoot it down.

  The ridge the major pointed to was a long, high, black, pointy shadow that clearly stood out against the night sky. He estimated they still had a two-hour climb ahead of them before reaching its base.

  They continued trudging along until Harrison stopped and knelt down. He adjusted the dials on the device and waved over the major. Al stepped closer this time to listen in.

  “I have a better read on the signal now,” he said, showing the major.

  “The signal is coming from inside that part of the mountain.”

  The major looked up at it. “I see what you’re saying. Can you get an estimate on the drop of it?”

  Al did not know what he meant by that and waited for the answer.

  Harrison continued as he examined the device, “I think if I was to guess, it would be in that direction.” He looked up and pointed.

  The major nodded, glanced back, and motioned with his head to continue in that direction.

  They continued hiking along for another hour, up and over several small rocky ridges until reaching what looked like a giant black wall. Al looked up at it, “Now I see why no one bothered to climb this.”

  “It’s a beast,” the major added.

  Harrison walked back and forth several meters, constantly observing the device. He stopped and said, “It appears to be within range either way for ten meters.”

  As soon as he said that—and without waiting for orders—two of the SAS men pulled out line blasters and shot up spikes to a narrow rocky overhang. The small wires shot straight up and penetrated the mountain. They tested both lines and, appearing tight, they then tied on two ropes and pulled them up. Al watched as they efficiently worked as a team. When they finished securing the ropes, Major Reeves tested it, motioned to one man to stay behind, and began climbing first.

  Al watched the major climb skillfully upward. The two men stepped out of the way, indicating that he was next. Al attached the ropes to the clips on his belt and began climbing. Halfway up to where the ropes attached, he now realized that the tight-fitting, thermo-blocking suit was perfect for climbing. It was flexible and protected his knees with extra padding when he collided with rocky sections of the cliff. When he neared the first ledge, he reached up and pulled himself over it. The edge appeared to be a few feet wide leading to a second cliff that protruded outward several feet, which concerned him. He then carefully leaned over to the edge and looked down. The next man was already climbing. The night vision capabilities of the device he was wearing had its limits but the last thing he wanted to do was misjudge a distance; that
would be deadly no matter how skilled a climber he was.

  The major was already climbing towards the overhanging section, a bit of a surprise to Al because of its complexity. Overhangs were especially dangerous because the center of gravity of the climber was a risky outward free hang. Al watched Major Reeves’s every motion as he free-climbed up and over the overhang. Then suddenly he stopped, let go of one hand and then dangled there. He reached into his belt, pulled out his line blaster, aimed it up, and pulled the trigger.

  The light pop echoed repeatedly in the distance.

  The major was performing a feat Al had never seen done before. Suspended with only one hand, holding his entire body weight and all his gear, Major Reeves secured and tied on his rope and scaled the overhang. Watching him, Al reflected on his early climbing days. For the first ten climbs, he was so exhausted that he thought his heart was going to burst out of his chest. Then, suddenly, climbing became easy and he wasn’t sure what changed in him, but it just did. He always assumed his innate self accepted the fact that he could do it, like adopting the mind-over-mountain mindset. Most people gave up on climbing because they never gave themselves the chance to reach that maximum limit. Watching the major do what he just did made Al realize that he still had much to accomplish. “Damn,” Al quietly cursed as the major’s rope dangled next to him. He continued climbing.

  Once they all were up, they now faced the third cliff. They repeated the procedure and climbed to the next level. When they reached it, they secured themselves on the edge and Harrison checked his device. After a few seconds, he whispered, “Major, I’m getting some unusual signals.”

  Al and the major made their way over to him.

  “What is it?”

  He stared at the screen of the device for a few moments and then handed it over for the major to see. After several seconds, he handed it back. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes sir. I triple-checked the coordinates. It could not have been coming from any other direction.”

  “Well then,” the major said, looking at Al, “it would appear that our signal is definitely coming from inside the mountain. Unfortunately, it is coming from below us.”

  Al leaned over and glanced at the screen. He knew something was strange when he saw Holy Script characters on the computer monitor earlier but had decided not to inquire. He just assumed they already knew what they were. Now it was time to speak up. “Hey, when I saw the screen where you were first picking up on the signal, I saw the writing that Ed has been translating.”

  “You recognized the codes on the screen?”

  “Ah shit,” Al said. “You mean you didn’t?”

  The major changed his grip on the rope and glanced at Harrison. He then asked, “What is he talking about?”

  At that moment, a strong gust of wind hit the ledge, causing everyone to brace themselves. Harrison answered from behind his mask as his hood whipped from the wind, “I thought those signals were encrypted codes. You knew what they were?”

  “I thought you boys were on top of this shit,” Al said over the noise of the wind.

  A momentary silence from the men endured as the wind picked up intensity and seemed to swirl onto the small ledge. The major leaned over, “Okay, you are privy to intelligence we don’t have.”

  Al loved these types of opportunities when dealing with other agents. “First,” he said, “you tell me what in the hell those things were coming out of the lake.”

  “My mission,” the major said, with a hint of anger, “is to track and identify the movements of unidentified submersible objects.”

  “And they are?”

  “Exactly that— unidentified.”

  “And?”

  The major shook his head, “We... have identified three main types from this region that seem to come and go fully cloaked from human eyes.” The major paused as the wind gust subsided. “It took several years, but we have marked all three types and can now track them.”

  Sergeant Harrison spoke up, “Hopefully without them knowing.”

  “Track them where?”

  Harrison pointed up.

  “I see,” Al said smartly. He still was not satisfied with the response and explained, “Commander Collins has translated an ancient language that accidentally hooked me into this freaking crisis. I saw that writing on the screen and assumed that you boys knew what it was.”

  “No,” Major Reeves responded. “Other than tracking unidentified submersible objects, our mission suddenly changed to tracking the Brotherhood and assisting you. We have other teams dedicated to tracking the Brotherhood exclusively that we sometimes work with.”

  Al repositioned his grip on another rock and said jokingly, “What we have here is a failure to communicate.”

  The major focused on Harrison, “You have never seen that language before?”

  “No, sir.”

  “Now,” Al leaned in to the major and said over the wind, “here is a twist for you guys. The Brotherhood is viciously tracking and hunting for codes written in that ancient language. If the Brotherhood is around here...”

  “They could be tracking the same signal,” Major Reeves finished for him.

  “You betcha,” Al added.

  As the wind picked up in velocity, the major reached up and grabbed a small, rocky ledge. He repositioned his other hand on the rock face and looked up. He was about to give further instructions when Al saw something on the rock directly to the side where the major had put his hand.

  “Wait,” he said. Al scooted over hand-over-hand and looked closer at the spot. He clicked up the night-vision eye piece and pulled out his light. With his hand over the lens, blocking most of the light, he turned it on. “No freaking way.”

  “What is it?” the major asked.

  Al turned to Harrison and asked, “What are you getting on the signal?”

  “We are very close,” he answered.

  “Like how close?”

  “Very close or right above it.”

  Major Reeves ran his hand along what Al had found. “What is this?”

  “Did anyone bring any beer?” Al asked.

  “Excuse me?” Reeves responded.

  Al laughed and explained, “Ed Collins—or, should I say, Commander Ed Collins—directed us to this cliff face because of a hunch he had.”

  The major seemed to sense something important had been found. He glanced back at the ledge near his hands, “Okay, keep explaining.”

  Al moved closer. “When Ed and I were in Baalbek, Lebanon, we uncovered a giant underground complex thousands of years old. And,” he pointed to the symbols, “these exact symbols were carved into the rock where we found the entrance.”

  The major lifted his eye piece and Al re-aimed the light at the spot. He opened his fingers, allowing more light through and illuminating the raised symbols. “A crescent moon, a sun, and a cross,” Al explained.

  “The rest of the writing below it, my furry SAS friends, is Ed’s ancient writing: Holy Script.”

  “And you saw that on the screen when the signal was coming through?”

  “Yep.”

  “Okay,” Major Reeves said, reloading a charge for the spike. “You sold me.”

  Al turned his light off, “Don’t ask me to read any of it though.”

  “That makes sense now,” Harrison said. “Commander Collins sent us the software that gave us the ability to capture this signal, but it was never explained what the symbols meant.”

  Major Reeves shifted the eye piece back over his eye, scooted over to the edge of the cliff, and looked down. He then looked out into the distance, then up. “The question I have now is who is on whose ass now?”

  “That is probably what I was going to ask next,” Al said. “If we and the Brotherhood are both tracking the same signal, assuming they can also detect it, are we going to collide?”

  The major leaned over to one of his men, “You go back down, join Sergeant Green, guard the base of this cliff, and stay hidden.”

  �
�Yes, sir,” he answered. He then shot a hook into the rock, threw his rope over the edge, and began descending into the darkness below.

  The major looked around and asked, “Since you recognize this special spot, what do you suggest next?”

  Al looked above and below the inscriptions, “It’s hard to say. I would guess if there is an entrance it would be nearby.”

  The major readied his weapon. “If that signal is coming from inside this mountain, then we are going to figure a way inside.” He arched back, aiming his line blaster upwards, and pulled the trigger.

  The line went up and the spike snagged. The major tugged on the line, strung up his rope, and began climbing to the next level.

  Al took a quick picture of the inscription and began climbing. Once he reached the next level, he found it difficult to find a footing. The spike lodged into a crack in the face and he was still a short distance from the next ledge. The major was now free-climbing up and angling to the right, following what looked like a large crack. Al found a section to hold onto and unclipped the rope from his belt, so the next man could start climbing. He watched the rope swing off to the left. That was his only lifeline so now his climbing skills were going to be tested. He found it odd that the SAS team didn’t bother to inquire about his ability to perform this extremely dangerous climbing mission and simply assumed he was a skilled climber. Not just that, a skilled night climber!

  He held tight and assessed his situation. The next rock to grab was a bit beyond his reach, actually several inches. He glanced up at the major who was now cruising along, grip by grip. He attempted to reach the crack and he felt his other hand slipping so he pulled back. He felt a wave of anger well up inside of him. Or was it suddenly self-doubt? What was he doing? This is insane scaling a flat vertical rock at an angle at night.

  Several hundred feet high in a moderately strong wind, and the slightest slip, misjudged grip, or loose rock could send him falling to his death. He glanced down to his left and suddenly became nervous. He then quickly looked up, stupidly knowing that he shouldn’t do that, because one way to lose your confidence is to show your mind that a fall is imminent. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.