“Yeah,” Tara said, pointing at the screen.
The monitor filled with bars going from left to right, displaying all the different actions the system was running at the same time.
“This computer can process billions of pieces of information and combinations per second.”
“Our last setup was awesome. This one is an upgrade,” Alex said. “Our systems are about six months ahead of about 99 percent of the world.”
“That’s impressive,” Sean said.
“You’re welcome,” Tommy chirped.
Something dinged from the computer, and an image popped up in a new window. It was one of the symbols from the cipher and the letter R.
“See?” Tara asked. “We got a match. Once it goes through the entire Spanish alphabet, we should be able to decode the cipher.”
“When that happens, will the computer give us all the possible combinations for words and sentences as well?” Sean asked. “These things can sometimes be like a jumbled word puzzle.”
The computer dinged again and displayed the letter E at the top.
“Yes,” Tara said. “We will get all of that in the results. Once we have those, it will take a human touch to figure out which one the author intended.”
The lab fell silent, embraced only by the gentle whirring of the computers and the air conditioning pouring through the vents above.
They stood around for several minutes before Tara excused herself to get some coffee. When she returned with a cup for her and Alex, Sean and Tommy noted the flirty smile she offered.
“So…things going well for you guys outside of work?” Tommy asked.
Sean wanted to nudge his friend’s shoulder, but he refrained, hoping that Tommy’s lack of subtlety would be missed.
“Yeah, things are good,” Alex said.
“Same here,” Tara added.
“Good,” Tommy said. “That’s good.” He raised up on his tiptoes and back down a few times, shoving his hands deeper into his pockets.
He couldn’t have been trying to make things more awkward. Fortunately, the kids didn’t seem to get what he was hinting.
“Anything interesting happen lately?” he pressed.
Now Sean didn’t want to nudge his friend. He wanted to push him through a wall.
Alex looked up to the ceiling as he thought for a moment. Then he shook his head. “No, not that I can think of. Been pretty boring around here. Although I did just try the new burger place in the Westside Provisions District. It was really good. The line was out the door, down the stairs, and onto the street.”
“So, the burgers are good?” Sean asked, hoping his question would cut off Tommy’s prying.
“Amazing. One of the best I’ve ever had.”
“Did you go over there by yourself, or did some friends tag along?” Tommy pressed.
“You know what,” Sean cut off Alex before he could answer, “I think we could use a cup of coffee, too. Schultzie, why don’t you come with me? We’ll be right back.”
“I don’t need any coffee,” Tommy said. “Besides, you can carry two cups.”
“Yes, I could, but I don’t know how much milk or cream you want. And I really think you need a cup.”
Tommy was about to ask his friend why he was acting so strangely, but Sean grabbed him by the arm and yanked him away while Alex and Tara continued watching the monitor.
“What is wrong with you?” Tommy asked as Sean dragged him toward the door.
Once the door closed behind them and they were safely in the next hallway, Sean spoke up. “Me? What’s wrong with you, asking all those questions like that? Let those poor kids be.”
“What? I was just seeing how things were going.”
“You were being nosy, probing around for information. You going to a sewing circle later, too?”
“I don’t see the harm in trying to find out if they’re involved romantically. What’s the big deal?”
Sean started walking down the hallway toward the breakroom. “It’s just kind of rude, that’s all.”
Tommy’s social skills weren’t the best in the world. His style of interaction with others was a direct result of spending so many hours absorbed in books and other forms of research.
“I don’t see how it’s rude. Heck, people post their relationship statuses on social media for the whole world to see. So, what’s wrong with just asking?”
Sean’s head turned side to side as he turned into the breakroom with Tommy just behind. “Did you stalk their social media profiles to find out if they’re dating?”
Tommy scowled. “No. What? No, I didn’t. Okay?”
Sean chuckled as he reached the coffee machine and grabbed a paper cup from a stack next to the refrigerator. “You probably should have. At least then they wouldn’t be annoyed with your version of twenty questions.”
“I’m not going to stalk their social media accounts.”
Sean poured a cup of steaming-hot coffee into the cup and scooted it to the side. “Coffee?” he asked.
“No. I already told you I didn’t want any coffee.”
Sean shrugged. “Suit yourself. Just do me a favor, and don’t ask them about their personal life when we get back in there. Okay?”
Tommy made a little hole in his lips as if about to whistle. He blew air out of the opening. “Fine. I won’t ask. I don’t see why wanting to know if your friends are dating or not is an issue.”
“Well, it is,” Sean said as he retreated back to the door. “So, leave them alone about it.”
They returned to the lab and sidled up next to Alex, who was leaning over Tara. Both of them stared at the screen, watching as the bars continued to fill.
“Almost done?” Tommy asked. He looked across his shoulder at Sean. “That okay for me to ask?” he mouthed.
Sean clenched his jaw.
“Yeah, it looks like it,” Tara said.
The computer dinged again, and a green checkmark appeared on the screen.
“And…now it’s done.”
The screen blinked a few times, and then a printer started running on a nearby shelf.
“What’s it doing now?” Tommy asked.
“Printing out all the possible combinations for the solution to the cipher,” Tara said. She read the results on the screen. “Looks like there are 110 of them.”
“One hundred and ten?” Sean asked Tommy. “Is that normal?”
“It’s a little above average, I’d say. I mean, if there was such a thing as an average for ancient ciphers. Pretty sure there isn’t.”
The other three stared at him like he had a spider crawling on his face. “Okay, yeah, it’s a lot. I suggest we split it up to work faster.”
“Okay,” Alex said, “but how will we know what we’re looking for?”
That was something Tommy had been considering for some time. While the computer was doing its thing, he’d wondered about what the right answer would be. Based on what Alvarado’s diary said about the lost temple, it was a good bet they’d be looking for something in the Yucatan region of Mexico. On top of that, he could only guess.
“Look for anything that has to do with the Mayans,” he blurted. “We’ll narrow it from there.”
Alex stepped over to the printer and grabbed the stack of sheets from the tray. He counted them, divided them, and passed them out to the other three.
Sean pulled up a chair at the big table next to Tara’s workstation and started scouring the lines of text.
Tommy sat across from him and began doing the same. His eyes shifted from left to right over and over again, like watching a tennis match. He was the first to finish his stack and shoved it forward to the center of the table.
“Anything?” Sean asked when he noticed his friend was done.
“No,” Tommy said and shook his head. “You?”
Sean ran his finger along one of the sentences and then skipped down to the next one. “No, not yet.”
He was in the midst of reading when Alex stopped him.
; “I’ve got something,” Alex said, perking up instantly.
Sean and Tommy slid their chairs over to where Alex was working. Tara rolled closer, leaning in over Alex’s shoulder.
“Right here,” he said. “Look at this line.”
Alex pointed to the sentence and waited for the others to read it.
Under the cliff ruins by the sea my journey began.
“Not very specific, huh?” Tara said.
“No,” Alex agreed. “That could be anywhere.”
Tommy frowned and scratched his chin. “Not necessarily.” He thought for a minute, pacing back and forth. “Oh come on. I know this one. Why can’t I think of it?”
Sean started to offer a smart aleck answer, but Tommy cut him off. “Shut up,” Tommy said. His order caused Sean to laugh.
“You two are like an old married couple,” Alex said.
Tommy gave him a glare that said the same thing he’d said to Sean. Then he stopped and looked at the computer. He stepped over to it and started typing.
“What are you doing now?” Sean asked. “Doing an internet search?”
“I thought I knew it, but there’s no sense in wasting time when I could just do a quick search. Right?”
“That was going to be my suggestion,” Tara offered.
Tommy hit the return key and waited. “I didn’t want to cheat,” he said. “I should know the answer to that.”
The results populated on the screen a second later, and he scanned through them.
“It’s Tulum, isn’t it,” Sean said before Tommy could speak.
“Dang it,” Tommy said abruptly. He stood up straight and eyed his friend suspiciously. “You knew that, didn’t you.”
“I like to watch you squirm,” Sean said with a shrug.
Tommy chuckled. “Jerk. Yes, it’s Tulum.”
“What’s Tulum?” Alex asked, appearing a bit lost.
“Well now, Tulum is a resort town on the coast of the Yucatan. Think Cancun but smaller.”
“And with less of a spring break PCB feel to it,” Sean added.
“Right.”
The kids looked more confused than before.
“Wait,” Tara said. “So, we’re looking for a clue to this lost temple in some Mexican resort? Because if that’s the case, I’m packing my bags and coming with you guys.”
“Not exactly,” Tommy said. “Tulum is a resort town, yes, but we’re more interested in the ancient ruins there than anything else.”
“Note the odd comment about it being under the ruins,” Sean said. “Cave of some sort?”
“Maybe. I’d say that all of those places have been well-searched through the years. If this Alvarado guy left us a clue of some kind, it’s probably carved into the rock. If he buried it or tried some other way of hiding it, whatever was there would be long gone by now.”
“Of course, it could already be gone.”
Tommy scoffed at the comment. “We take that risk every time we go after something like this. You know that.”
“True. So, what’s the plan?”
Tommy scratched the thick brown hair on the back of his skull and thought for half a second. “We’re going to Mexico,” he said.
“And we’re coming with?” Alex asked with more than a hint of hopefulness in his voice.
Sean and Tommy twisted their heads and exchanged a knowing glance before turning back to Alex.
“No,” Tommy said.
“Aww, man. I knew you guys weren’t going to let us get out of here and go anywhere fun.”
Tommy’s eyebrows lowered. “You love it here in the lab. You willingly choose to spend most of your time here.”
“He’s got a point,” Tara said. “I mean, sure, a beach trip sounds nice, but then you have to deal with all the sand and the sunburn and we don’t know if the accommodations will be nice.”
“I guess so,” Alex said, doing his best to sound dejected.
“Tell you what,” Tommy said, “when we get back, if you want to go down there for a little vacation time, you’re welcome to.”
“Full vacation pay?” Alex asked, suddenly hopeful again.
Tommy sighed. “Of course.”
Chapter 7
Washington
“Shut it down.”
The president turned his head, shifting his gaze from one person to another until he’d met every eye in the boardroom.
“Sir, we can’t just—” one of the men at the table started to say.
“You can and you will. It’s not like it hasn’t been done before.”
“Yes, but when it was done before, it was due to other factors, not an ongoing murder investigation.” The wrinkled, white-headed man put both hands out with palms up as if that would help solidify his point.
“He’s right, Mr. President. Not to mention that shutting down the Capitol will put everyone into a state of panic.”
President Dawkins sighed. He’d faced more than enough challenges in his term as the leader of the free world. Most of the time they were of the international variety: hostage situation, another country invades a neighbor, or threats from potential enemies. Through the duration of his first term and into the second, he’d managed to get through every trial that was thrown his way.
This, however, was different.
“Two members of the United States Congress have been murdered,” Dawkins said. “I’m not talking about shutting down the government for an extended period of time. Just a day or two until we can increase security and everyone has done a thorough evaluation of their personal security details. That’s all.”
The guy with white hair seemed to accept the explanation. The blowhard from South Carolina—a guy named Steve Morrison—sitting next to him wasn’t so accommodating.
“Sir, if we shut down now, it will show significant weakness, not only to the murderer but to the entire world. Our enemies will see how easy it is to throw our government into a panic. Besides, the police haven’t called Monroe’s death a murder. For all we know, she killed herself.”
Both were points the president had considered. He’d called the meeting to make a suggestion since ordering the government shutdown would require official channels. He figured the men in the room would agree—for the most part—with him and spread the word to the members of the House and the Senate that precautions needed to be taken. In regards to the comment on Monroe’s possible suicide, he decided not to say anything.
“Then tell your people to keep it quiet,” Dawkins said. “No talking to the media, no leaking information about what’s going on. All I’m asking for is twenty-four hours to make sure everyone is safe. That’s it.”
Morrison sighed. “That’s a lot of lips to keep tight. Besides, the media is already speculating on the very thing you’re asking us to do.”
“He’s right,” a middle-aged woman with dark blonde hair said from across the table.
Her name was Sandra Cummings. She was a senator from the hills of Wyoming. Growing up on a bison ranch had hardened her, made her a strong person Dawkins knew he could trust. He also knew that strength made her extremely opinionated.
“No way we can keep everyone quiet,” she added.
“Fine,” Dawkins relented. “What do you suggest we do? Keep going on with business as usual? How many people have to be murdered before we take this seriously enough to do something?”
“What’s going on with the police? Do they have any suspects, any leads? How’s the investigation progressing?” Morrison asked.
Dawkins took a deep breath and exhaled through his nose. He kept his fingers folded atop the desk in a contemplative gesture. “The investigation is ongoing, but as of yet they have no suspects and very few leads.”
“How can they not have any leads? Isn’t that their job?” Mr. Blowhard roared, startling some of the sleepier people at the table. “What about our guys?”
“The FBI has done all they can to help,” Dawkins reassured. “Whoever the killer is—and I believe we’re dealing with t
he same person here—they’re very good. They haven’t left a shred of condemning evidence. And they’ve circumnavigated security details and cameras in the process.”
“What’s your plan, then?” the white-haired man asked.
“I’ve called in a favor. I figured the authorities could use all the help they can get.”
“Who?”
“Just know that I’m doing everything in my power to help bring the killer to justice. That’s all I can tell you right now.”
The woman from Wyoming frowned. “So, you won’t tell us these additional measures you’re taking? If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you think this might have been an inside job. Do you think it was one of us?”
The president looked down at his table and then back up at her. “I don’t know who it is. I wouldn’t dream of accusing any of you. The fact, however, is that everything about this case makes it look like whoever is behind it has insider knowledge and probably access to all our security measures. Think about it. How did they distort the camera views in the Capitol? They’d have to have known the wiring schematics, where the cameras were positioned, where the feeds went. And they’d have known the exact hours they could find their targets, and where.”
Dawkins shook his head as he considered it all. “Yes, I think it’s an inside job, but I don’t know who or why. No one does yet.”
Everyone around the table went silent. An uncomfortable suspense filled the room.
“Again,” Dawkins reiterated, “I do not want a witch hunt to ensue over this. So, don’t start looking at each other, wondering if this person or that person might be the killer. That’s partly why I want to shut things down for a day. It will give everyone a chance to take care of themselves and keep things from escalating.”
Morrison let out a dramatic exhale. “Fine, Mr. President. We’ll shut things down for twenty-four hours. I hope whatever backup plan you’ve put into place can help us figure out just what is going on. Before someone else dies.”
The president dismissed the meeting and waited around until everyone had left. Morrison waited around at the door, saying his goodbyes until he and the president were alone with one of his guards.
“Need something, Steve?” Dawkins asked.
The Fourth Prophecy Page 6