The Denali Deception

by Ernest Dempsey

  "Of course," Porter said. He stood as well. Foster stuck out his hand, and the two shook for a moment. "Pleasure doing business with you, sir."

  Foster nodded and pointed a finger at Porter. "I have to say, I'm a bit surprised. I knew you were a good agent, but I didn't know you had this in you. Well played."

  "Necessity is the mother of invention."

  "Indeed it is."

  Foster picked up a radio from his desk and pressed the button on the side. "Bring the prisoners up to level eight. I have something I want them to see."

  He set the radio back on the desk and looked over at his guest.

  "Something you want them to see?" Porter asked, curious.

  Foster flashed a toothy grin. "You need to see it, too. After all, it's what's provided you with a lifetime of drinks, golf, fast cars, and fancy homes. Come, let me show you."

  The two made their way out of the office and into the giant cavern. They crossed the ground floor and walked down into the pyramid's entrance. Inside, a ramp proceeded down and then another ascended into the upper reaches of the structure. Foster led the way to the one going up, holding onto a wooden rail as he did.

  A long cable hung in the center of the spiraling ramp way, disappearing into a hole below and a similar one above.

  "This is quite the little setup you have here," Porter said as they climbed higher into the pyramid.

  "Yes," Foster said, panting slightly. "It certainly is."

  He didn't say anything else for the rest of their climb. Porter wondered if it was because he was keeping something back or if it was due to the exertion of the hike.

  They reached a room with high angled ceilings that rose toward a single point at the top. A golden square loomed over them. Porter figured it was the underside of the pyramid's gold top.

  The ceiling, however, wasn't the most interesting thing in the room. The same cable that stretched down below also ran down to one of the most spectacular sights Porter had ever seen.

  In the middle of the room—on a wooden platform held up by four legs—was a box made of pure gold. On top of it were two jackals bowing toward the center with long ears pointed at each other, nearly touching over the top of the box.

  "Is that..." Porter struggled to find the words.

  "The Ark of the Covenant?" Foster asked. "No. It isn't the ark Moses carried through the Sinai."

  "But it's one heck of a replica," a new voice said from the other side of the room.

  The two looked over and saw Sean, Tommy, and Yuri along with their guards.

  Sean stared at the shiny yellow object. "I have to say, I'm impressed, Kent. How'd you figure out how to make one of those?"

  Foster took on a smug expression. "Sadly, Sean, we didn't make it. This ark was here when we discovered this pyramid over a hundred years ago. Although my predecessors had no idea how to harness its power. That was my doing."

  "So, you're using static electricity to build your energy empire," Tommy said.

  "Geostatic power, yes. The ancients knew about this sort of thing, as it turns out. They knew there were pools of energy all over the globe. The Egyptians were some of the first to utilize it. Their places of worship were built almost exclusively in such locations so they could use the electrical display as a sort of show for their feebleminded believers. Ordinary citizens didn't understand what was happening, so seeing lightning come out of one of these things looked like the acts of a deity, not some boring scientific experiment."

  "This was what Seward's explorers found," Sean said, still staring at the ark.

  "Correct," Foster said as he sidled up next to Porter. "William Seward and his men understood the gravity of this incredible place. He had the vision to see that this thing could be harnessed for electrical power. That vision was nothing short of remarkable considering electricity was still in its infancy during his lifetime. Of course, the Confederacy wanted the gold to fund the rebellion. Our organization attempted to get them what they wanted, but when the tide of the war turned, we protected our interests and withdrew support. The Confederacy died, and we flourished."

  "Bet on the winning horse, I always say," Sean said.

  Foster almost appeared pleased at the comment. "That's right, Sean. For the last 150 years, the KGC has done just that. And in return we have become one of the most powerful organizations on the planet."

  "All the while manipulating the American public," Tommy sneered.

  Foster chuckled. "Tommy, of course we have. Someone is going to manipulate them. If it wasn't us, it would be the government. Oh, sure, they do their best to control things to suit the needs of those in power, but behind the scenes we are pulling all the strings."

  "How many?" Sean asked. "How many of you are there? These secret societies usually have a high council or something." He pried for the information, not really expecting an answer. He was surprised when Foster responded.

  "Our hierarchy has many members, though I'm not at liberty to tell you how many or who they are. That, my friend, will remain a secret for all time. Only members of the circle can know those things. I'm afraid I'm sworn to secrecy in that regard."

  Foster shifted his feet, inching a little closer to Porter.

  "And what does he get out of this?" Tommy asked, pointing at Porter. "A seat at the table?"

  Foster was a little surprised by the question, as evidenced by the wrinkles on his forehead. "Agent Porter? Oh goodness, no. He'll be getting a reward, nothing more."

  "Thirty pieces of silver," Sean said through clenched teeth.

  "That's right," Porter said. "If you were smart, you would have gotten yours a long time ago as well."

  Sean noticed Foster's movement. The secretary was trying to be subtle. Porter didn't notice; at least he didn't seem to. Sean, however, anticipated the politician was about to do something. What it was, he didn't know yet, but he focused his senses on the guard behind him.

  "So, the KGC killed Abraham Lincoln and attempted to kill Seward—all so they could claim power for themselves?" Tommy asked, pressing the conversation. He was doing his best to stall what he believed would be their inevitable execution.

  Meanwhile, Yuri just listened, staring fiercely at the two men opposite them. Like Sean, he was waiting for a chance to make his move.

  "Don't be so judgmental, Tommy. Look at history. This is how things have always been done. Ancient Rome, Greece, even Egypt all embraced assassination to bring about change for those seeking power. Besides, it isn't like we're running some evil empire here. Look around you." He put his arms out wide. "We are providing clean, renewable energy to the country and perhaps someday, the entire world. Transcorp will lead everyone into a new golden age of power without relying on fossil fuels. This! This is good for the people of America. This is good for the world!"

  "Of course, the bottom line is good for you, isn't it?" Sean asked.

  "Obviously, Sean. And why is that so bad? After all, we're providing something of incredible value. We will reduce the average energy costs and carbon footprint per household fourfold, maybe even more."

  Foster turned his gaze to Yuri. "As for you," he said, "I suppose you've been sent here by your president to claim what is rightfully yours."

  Yuri was a little surprised at the sudden comment, but he kept his icy stare in place. "That's right. Your government promised us the gold you have down in the basement of this place. It's rightfully ours."

  "Well, that may be, comrade. And I apologize for the actions we had to take in order to make all this happen. If it makes you feel better, you're about to die, so there's that."

  "So, you kill us and continue to spread Transcorp's tentacles across the globe?" Sean said, still trying to squeeze every drop of information out of their captor.

  "Funny you should say that, Sean. I tried for years to get Dawkins to break apart the Tennessee Valley Authority. Their stranglehold on the power supply to the Southeastern United States is corrupt and un-American. He wouldn't listen. So we had to take matters
into our own hands. You may have temporarily interfered with my plan, but we have other ways of getting what we want."

  "He knows about you. He knows you're behind the assassination attempt. Right now there's a nationwide manhunt going on, and they're looking for you, Mr. Secretary. If you turn yourself in, maybe they'll show you mercy."

  Foster snorted. "Mercy? I doubt the president knows anything. I closed off all your connections to the government. In fact, right now there are police in over two dozen cities across the country looking for you two in connection with the assassination attempt. So, don't kid yourselves. I don't lose."

  He put his hand on Porter's shoulder and gripped it tight. Foster's knuckles whitened, and his jaw clenched.

  "What should we do with these people who dare threaten me, Agent Porter?"

  Porter's lips creased. "I'd kill anyone who threatened me, sir."

  Foster nodded. "I completely agree."

  He shoved Porter hard and took a step back. The sudden force against his shoulder threw Porter off balance. He stumbled sideways toward the ark only a few feet away.

  Instinctively, Porter put out his hands to catch himself. His palms pressed against the side of the ark, and suddenly his body stiffened and started gyrating. He screamed as electricity coursed through him. Everyone else took a horrified step back, including the guards.

  Smoke started seeping from Porter's clothes and hair. The screaming stopped, and suddenly his body hurled through the air and smacked into the wall fifteen feet away. He dropped to the floor in a heap.

  The second Porter's body was thrown clear of the ark, Sean knew it was his only chance.

  In a flash, he bent at the hips and put his hands on the floor, kicking out his right foot behind him and snapping it up with his hamstring. His heel struck the guard's gun just as the man squeezed the trigger.

  The muzzle popped loudly as the weapon rode up from the force of Sean's kick. Sean pushed himself back up and jumped, hurling himself through the air and striking the guard in the chest with his boot, driving the man backward until the back of his head struck the angled wall.

  Yuri saw Sean's move. He twisted his head around in time to see the guard behind him spinning around to point his weapon at the American.

  Yuri snapped his heel back and kicked the guard in the groin, pivoting as the man doubled over and then driving his knee into the guard's nose.

  Sean's guard fell to the floor while Sean took an exaggerated step and kicked him in the side of the head as he would an American football.

  Yuri whirled around with a roundhouse to his guard's face.

  Meanwhile, Tommy tracked the chaos taking place around him. The guard behind him turned his head one way and the other as if trying to decide who to help first. The man's confusion cost him.

  Tommy rushed him before he could aim his gun. The guard tried to swing the weapon around, but Tommy grabbed the guy by the shirt and punched him square in the teeth. Over and over Tommy pulled with one hand and punched with the other until the guard collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

  Tommy bent down and picked up the weapon lying next to the man. Sean and Yuri did the same, stealing the guns from their guards.

  They all turned to face Foster, intent on dispensing justice.

  But Foster was nowhere to be seen.

  Sean's eyes flashed across the room. He stepped around to the other side of the ark and saw a coat flap and then disappear as his quarry hurried down the ramps toward the ground floor.

  "There he is!" Sean said, pointing down below.

  The three of them took off, hurtling down the ramps, using the railing to balance their descent.

  Yuri stuck his weapon over the edge and fired a shot at the secretary of state as he wrapped around the final leg of the ramp. Rounds pinged off the ancient stone, sending sparks and debris flying.

  Foster sprinted out the pyramid's entrance, yelling for his other guards.

  "They'll have this place surrounded in a minute," Sean said. "Then there won't be any other way out."

  "There might be," Yuri said.

  "What are you talking about?" Tommy asked, turning to face their Russian friend.

  "Down below, where they're keeping the gold, there was an opening underneath the platform. I think we can fit between the wood and the hole. It might be a way out."

  "A way out or a deathtrap," Tommy said.

  "If we stick around here, we're going to be dead or trapped anyway," Sean said. "And we can't win a shootout with these guys. We've only got one magazine each. They'll have dozens. Not to mention when Foster calls in reinforcements."

  Tommy sighed. "Show us the way, Yuri."

  Chapter 38

  Denali

  The three men raced to the bottom of the pyramid. They skidded to a stop when they reached the mound of gold resting atop the wooden platform.

  "See?" Yuri said, pointing at a narrow space under the wood.

  "That's going to be a tight squeeze," Tommy said.

  "Good thing you lost so much weight, eh, buddy?" Sean slapped him on the back.

  "What is it? Looks like some kind of ventilation."

  "Doesn't matter what it is right now," Sean said. "At the moment, it's our only way out."

  "It matters if there's a hundred-foot drop down there."

  Yuri was already on his belly, crawling under to look down into the darkness. He'd grabbed one of the floodlights from the floor and positioned it over the edge of the cavity so he could see what waited for them in the abyss.

  To everyone's surprise, including Yuri's, he sounded positive.

  "It's not that bad. The drop is about three meters. We can hang from the edge and lower ourselves down."

  "Shh," Sean said, holding up a hand. "I hear something."

  A second later, the sound of footsteps pounding the stone of the ramp echoed down into the chamber.

  "Are they going up or coming down?" Tommy whispered.

  "Doesn't matter. We're going down the shaft."

  Sean got on his belly and started inching his way toward the hole.

  Tommy looked up at the ramp. The footsteps were getting louder. Even though he'd lost a ton of weight over the last few months, he was still thicker than his friend, and far larger than the skinny Russian.

  He got down on his hands and knees and put his face close to the ground. If he could get through, it would be by less than two inches.

  Yuri had already dropped down into the hole and switched on the light attached to his weapon.

  Sean swung his legs over and let himself hang for a moment to make sure Yuri was out of the way.

  Tommy struggled to worm his way to the edge. He shimmied and wiggled, grinding his cheek on the hard stone more than a few times. He finally reached the edge and scooted his legs over the lip of the shaft. Then he pushed himself backward until he was hanging on by his fingernails and let himself fall to the ground.

  Sean and Yuri were waiting with their gun lights on. Yuri was staring ahead into another passageway.

  "See?" Yuri said. "This corridor goes somewhere."

  "Could be a dead end," Tommy hissed.

  "Be positive," Sean said and took off into the tunnel.

  Yuri followed close behind while Tommy reluctantly brought up the rear.

  They rushed ahead, barreling their way forward up the slow incline. The narrow corridor was different than the mine shaft they'd walked through on the way in. It was cut smooth from the rock with laser precision, unlike the rough-hewn walls of the mine.

  The tunnel turned left after they'd been running for a minute. The grade increased to a steeper angle before it leveled off and turned right.

  "I hope this doesn't lead to a dead end," Yuri said as he rounded another corner.

  "It was going to be a dead end back there," Sean said between breaths. "This way, at least it might be faster."

  A few minutes in, the tunnel made a sharp left and then flattened out again. The men slowed to a walk as they made their way forw
ard, their flashlight beams dancing along the ground several feet ahead.

  "The air's cooler up here," Tommy said. His breath was coming quickly but not like it would have a year prior.

  "Yeah, I was wondering if I felt that right," Sean said. "We must be closer to the surface."

  "Or the main tunnel coming into the mine," Yuri said. "Listen."

  The sound of men shouting orders echoed into their secret passage.

  "Keep going," Sean said. "Put your palms over the top of the lights so the beams stay on the ground. Last thing we want to do is give up the element of surprise."

  The others did as instructed and pushed ahead. The sounds of footsteps grew louder for a moment and then faded away. Probably reinforcements heading either to the gate or down below. If it was the latter, that would mean Foster had more men aboveground. Sean hoped it was the former.

  He and the other two slowed down as their lights cast a faint glow on something obstructing the path ahead.

  "This passage must be one of the ones that was blocked off," Sean said in a hushed tone.

  No sooner had he gotten the words through his lips than the three heard a new sound. It was an engine—like a motorcycle.

  Suddenly, lights danced on the wall beyond the barricade.

  "It's a four-wheeler," Sean said.

  "How do you know that?" Yuri asked.

  "He's got a thing with motorbikes," Tommy explained.

  Sean waited for a moment until the ATV was close. The engine roared and the lights grew brighter. From the sound, Sean could hear it pass by, and the second it did he charged forward, breaking through the old boards like a dump truck through a stack of matchsticks.

  He turned to his left first to make sure no one else was coming and then spun to the right, aiming his weapon up the gradual ascent.

  The four-wheeler was speeding toward the mine's entrance.

  Sean took aim and squeezed the trigger.

  The submachine gun fired round after round, forcing the muzzle upward. Sean's muscles tensed, fighting to keep the weapon steady.