by Nick Thacker
Whittenfield gathered himself. “Gentlemen, we have work to do. Reynolds, get your men ready to travel. I’m going to call in a few favors and see if I can’t get us some help. Mr. Reed, I hate to impose, but it seems that you have a unique… ability… If you’re interested — “
Cole cut him off. “I’m going. There was a girl there — next to where I was held. I’m not sure who she was, but I know she was there against her will. If there’s any way I can do something to help her, I’m all yours.”
Bryce took in Whittenfield’s reaction. He knew dragging a civilian along would only complicate things, and possibly threaten their mission. But he couldn’t deny that if there was something in that journal that might lead them to the substance, they needed Reed with them in order to read it. He gave Whittenfield an almost imperceptible nod.
“I hate to burst your bubble, guys,” Wayne said, “but where the hell are we supposed to go? We have no idea where this Vilocek is…”
Jeff broke out into a wide grin. “I might be able to help with that.”
The others all looked at him.
“When I tackled that gorilla earlier, I didn’t have anything to hit him with. I knew I couldn’t slow him down for long, so I stuck my cell phone into an empty pouch on his equipment belt.”
Wayne grinned, slugging his brother’s shoulder.
“We can use the GPS on the phone to pinpoint their movement, but let’s just hope you don’t get a call anytime soon!”
Whittenfield looked at Bryce. “Let’s get going. We’re already well behind, so we’ll be playing catch-up for a while. I’ll get you a laptop rig for tracking Vilocek’s team. Be ready to lift off in two hours.”
16
6:59 pm - Atlantic Ocean
The main laboratory inside Whittenfield’s large personal jet had been rigged as a communications facility. Whittenfield couldn’t accompany Bryce and his team in person for the more physical portions of the mission, but he wasn’t about to be left out entirely. He would contribute from the airborne lab, where he now sat at a small desk, configuring the numerous modems, cables, and wires that would serve as his command post for the next few days.
The Thompson brothers were asleep in the passenger compartment, reclined in their leather seats and surrounded by duffel bags full of equipment.
The remainder of the group was spread out throughout the plane’s cabin. Bryce Reynolds was planning and organizing his thoughts on a laptop while Cole Reed napped in a seat across the aisle from Bryce. Two new team members sat toward the front of the cabin, keeping mostly to themselves. Sean Bartlinski and Gary McGowan were soldiers-for-hire with connections in Whittenfield’s organization, and though they had been cordial enough when they joined the team at the airport, it was obvious they weren’t here to make new friends. Bryce hoped they were able to follow orders, but judging by their smirks and snide comments he figured they’d be more of a nuisance than an asset. Bryce just prayed they’d know which direction to fire when the shooting started.
The plane was heading toward Barcelona, Spain, for a refuel, followed by a short hop over the Mediterranean to Cairo. Jeff Thompson’s jury-rigged tracking device was working admirably, allowing them to track Vilocek and his men all the way to Egypt. The only problem was that they weren’t sure how much battery life was left in the phone. Or if Beka had figured out that he’d been duped and had just them on a wild goose-chase around the globe.
Cole had been put to work after the briefing, Whittenfield telling him to read through the pages of the journal. Since he alone could read the invisible ink, he’d painstakingly copied down the texts written in invisible ink into another notebook, and when he’d finished the entire journal, Whittenfield had come in with an entire box of his father’s journals and notebooks. Cole spent the rest of the night and into the following morning translating those.
Most of the journals were filled with research regarding other projects and assignments Whittenfield, Sr. had worked on over the course of his long career. Most of the journals had no secret writing inside — they had nothing to do with the strange substance that had consumed his son’s professional life, but they made for fascinating reading nonetheless. Cole read about defense contracts and weapons developments that had never seen the light of day, mostly due to a lack of financial backing. In some cases, however, the projects had been fully funded and the research and consequent prototyping had been completely successful. These projects — about 40 percent, by Cole’s best guess — were simply abandoned for economic or political reasons: the end of a major war, change in administration. It seemed like most of Whittenfield Sr.’s work was groundbreaking and cutting-edge for its time, but it had, for the most part, been all but forgotten.
Some of the journals, however, did have references to the mysterious substance. Apparently it was a crystalline solid — like a piece of quartz, the almost perfectly translucent crystal mineral that was found inside geodes and used for things like jewelry and industrial and commercial products. One journal, dated April 1946, described the mineral:
…The substance appears similar in structure to the common mineral quartz. It is solid, sharp at the edges. In the presence of natural and artificial light the rock emits an almost bluish glow, faint but bright enough to be noticeable. It is this particular characteristic of the mineral, though we do not at this time know what it is, that we believe to be the variable that creates the mysterious properties we’ve experienced.
As well, it is through the extraction and attempted duplication of this substance that we have continued the study of the mineral’s properties. Last month, Dr. Enko Vilocek stole the original artifact and disappeared with it. Half of my team left with him, and I am now struggling to recreate my experiments with the duplicate substance, though the properties are not nearly as powerful…
The earlier journals had no mention of the rock, nor did they have any bluish hidden ink at all. Cole explained this to Whittenfield, who had a theory as to why.
“Well, assuming your ability to read this ‘invisible ink’ is related to whatever sort of tests and injections Vilocek subjected you to, I’d wager that it’s also related to whatever they’ve found within that rock. Remember, Vilocek also has had a ‘duplicate synthetic’ copy of the original, and he’s had the original in his possession for many years.”
“So whatever it is that causes this rock to emanate the bluish glow is also what your father extracted from the original mineral?” Cole asked.
“Exactly — and he somehow managed to transfer that property into a liquid — his ‘invisible ink,' except that instead of being visible in light, he made the ink only visible in the presence of the mineral. Knowing that whoever would find the crystal later would want to know more about it and therefore search for his journals, he made sure that they would have to have both the journals and the rock in their possession.”
“…Or in their bloodstream,” Cole added sarcastically.
Bryce chimed in as the plane lurched through some turbulence. “So, we know that Vilocek’s on his way to Egypt, but do we know where exactly?”
“No,” Whittenfield said, “but I ran another trace a moment ago. Jeff’s phone is still transmitting, and their movement has all but stopped somewhere just south of Cairo. I don’t know for sure, but I’d bet they’re heading to the Great Pyramid of Giza.”
“Actually, that makes sense,” Cole said, reaching into the box at his feet and pulling out one of the journals. “I found something here that I couldn’t figure out, and there’s no mention of it anywhere else.” He thumbed through the book, finally stopping near the back.
“At first I thought it was just a random doodle, or something unrelated to the crystal. But the more I thought about it, I realized he wouldn’t have used the invisible ink to write a doodle.”
Whittenfield and Bryce leaned in, looking at the page Cole had opened to.
“It looks like Washington, D.C.,” Bryce said after a moment, “but just the streets and interse
ctions. See, here’s where Whittenfield Research would be.”
“I think you’re right, Bryce,” Whittenfield said. “I can make out Pennsylvania Avenue — this main line running through the center of the image. And there’s where the Capitol Building and the White House would be.”
“But what’s the triangle around it?” Cole asked. “And the circled area at the bottom?”
“It does resemble a pyramid…” Whittenfield said. “Could the Giza pyramid be what my father was intending to get across?”
“But why would he put a map of an American city behind it?”
Whittenfield looked for a moment at the bluish writing on the page, then ran his thumbnail across the bottom edge. There was a small, almost imperceptible fold that subtly interrupted the pattern. He gently flattened out the fold, revealing a string of words directly below the drawing, where the bottom of the pyramid would be.
Potomac River, location of original (Lower Room?)
“The original?” Bryce asked. “Is that the original piece of the rock he’s referring to?”
“Could be — maybe his team found the crystal at the bottom of the river. The reference to the Lower Room fits the description of one of Giza’s inner sanctums. Maybe that’s where Vilocek’s headed now, thinking that’s where the pure crystal, the original original substance is hidden there.” Whittenfield stressed the first “original,” as if implying that the ‘original material’ Vilocek and Whittenfield, Sr. had been in contact with was a small part of a larger crystal.
“So,” Bryce said, “we go to Giza. Follow Vilocek into the Great Pyramid, and figure out what he’s looking for. We get it before Vilocek does, and get out alive — all while dodging the Egyptian authorities and a couple of thousand tourists.” Bryce’s assessment didn’t seem overly optimistic.
“Exactly,” Whittenfield said. “Like I said, we have our work cut out for us.”
17
7:19 pm - Giza, Egypt
Karn scanned the area below him through the scope of the Vortex Tactical Range Finder binocular/camera system. He had the tripod set up southeast of the Giza necropolis, on a ridge overlooking the dunes that formed natural sand moats around each of the three large pyramids. His lookout point was far enough away to deter detection, and the kit allowed him to peruse the surrounding grounds, zoomed in so close and so accurately it was as if he was walking around among the scattered guards.
Beka and another of Vilocek’s men, Rogers, were with Karn. Corinne and her uncle, Professor Andrews, were lying in the sand behind them. They had waited there for almost an hour, until the sun was about to set — waiting for the guards to change shifts.
Karn noticed that there a lot of men milling about the premises, all of them well-armed.
It’s a good thing Vilocek has connections.
Vilocek radioed in and ordered Karn’s team to wait on the rise until right before sundown while he called in a few favors. He didn’t want to take any chances. Getting out of the area would be a hellish affair if they had to fight off the guards and the Ministry of the Interior troops.
Plus, one of his men had found a cell phone in his pocket when they’d arrived in Egypt, so Vilocek knew Whittenfield’s team would be right on their heels.
Vilocek dialed the number from his hotel room in downtown Giza. Madu Jabari answered almost immediately, speaking in an even, collected tone of voice. Many years of service in the political sector had allowed Madu time to perfect his balanced, non-biased voice. “Jabari speaking.”
“Madu, you old fiend — what are you doing awake at this hour?” Vilocek knew Jabari worked irregular hours and didn’t get much sleep, and his sarcastic tone was not lost upon the Egyptian.
“Dr. Vilocek, my friend! You know we Egyptians work harder than you lazy Americans, so perhaps I should be asking you that question! I also know you do not call me unless there is a favor to ask — just like a good friend,” he chuckled.
“Listen, Madu,” Vilocek said, cutting off the pleasantries. “I’ve gotten to a turning point in my research, and I believe there’s another piece to the mystery hidden in your country. I’d like to snoop around a bit, and I already have a team assembled.”
“I assume you are looking for access to one of the ancient sites, yes?”
Vilocek hesitated for a moment. “Giza, the Great Pyramid, actually.”
“My friend, you know that place is as good as empty — there are no more artifacts inside.”
“I understand — still, I’m compelled to see for myself. It would just be for a short while, and my men won’t create a scene. We can be finished in a few hours, but listen — we’re going to need to hurry. One of my found a tracking device, which leads us to believe we’re being followed by another force, only a few hours behind. If we can gain access before nightfall, I give you my word that we’ll be gone before midnight.”
“I trust you will share your findings with me, as always?” Jabari asked.
“Absolutely.”
Jabari paused briefly, letting Vilocek squirm just a bit. “Then I suppose I can open it to you until dawn tomorrow.”
“Madu, I cannot thank you enough. You’ll be hearing from me soon. Take care, my friend,” Vilocek hung up the phone. If everything went according to schedule, he wouldn’t even need all the time Jabari had given him. Going over the plan once more in his head, he left the hotel. Rather than calling Karn, he thought he might tag along for this trip. No sense watching the fun from a distance.
After a short drive, he pulled his rented black Suburban to the curb and stepped out. The hill where his team was waiting was directly ahead, and from where he stood he could just make out the upper section of the Great Pyramid.
As he climbed the hill, Karn spotted him and raised a hand in greeting.
“I wouldn’t miss this for anything,” Vilocek said. Karn didn’t have a weapon for Vilocek to use, so he handed over his own sidearm.
“Everything’s in order, then?”
“Everything’s in order, yes. We’ve been granted access until dawn, but we shouldn’t need that much time. Beka, help Karn secure the entrance. I’ll keep an eye on them,” he said, glancing toward Jensen and Corinne. The two nodded, then silently moved off down the opposite side of the hill, toward the main gates. Vilocek took over Karn’s post and scanned the area with the military binoculars.
Beka and Karn were an ominous pair, both large, hulking men wearing all black clothing and body armor. Beka’s rifle was slung over his shoulder, while Karn held his loosely at his side. As they neared the gates, two guards ran over and barked a halt order in Arabic, the chain-link fence the only barrier between them.
Beka spoke in English. One of the men inside the fence, clearly understanding, came closer. Vilocek and his two captives couldn’t hear the exchange, but eventually the two guards relaxed and the gates swung inward. Beka entered and followed the two guards toward the main facility, but Karn held back, just inside the gate. He withdrew a small object from his shirt pocket and fastened it on the gate’s locking mechanism. Satisfied, he stepped away and turned to follow Beka.
Vilocek watched the entire scene unfold, zooming out a bit with the binoculars to capture the whole panorama. No more than five seconds passed before Beka sprang into action. Drawing his pistol, he dropped to one knee and fired two shots in rapid succession. Both guards crumpled and fell, gaping holes smoking in the backs of their heads.
Vilocek smiled. So far, so good.
Beka’s shots were more meant to draw attention than to eliminate the guards.
Two other roaming guards and a few from the surrounding buildings were running in the direction of the gunshots. Too far to get an accurate shot, Beka retreated about twenty paces back toward the gate while Karn covered him.
Two more men burst from behind a building to the left. Beka quickly fired on each of them, moving from one to the next with machine-like efficiency. Another guard ran toward Beka from behind, but Karn whipped his combat knife from his boot s
heath and threw it. It landed with a sickening thud in the man’s throat, severing his windpipe and dropping him in his tracks. The man pawed helplessly at the knife, but lost consciousness before he could pull it out.
Finally the rest of the guards in the complex began running toward the chaos near the main gate. There was a great deal of shouting as the remaining eleven men closed in on Beka on three sides, their guns raised but all of them waiting for someone else to take charge. Karn had moved, unnoticed, to the side, partially concealed near the corner of a small building.
One of the guards finally stepped toward Beka and yelled again. Assuming the man wanted him to drop his weapon, Beka complied and threw his pistol to the ground. The man wasn’t satisfied however, and motioned for Beka to lose his rifle as well.
Beka shrugged nonchalantly and set his rifle on the ground at his feet. Then he turned toward the gate and raised his hands behind his head.
Now facing Karn, Beka paused for a moment and then fell forward. At the same instant, Karn fired his rifle toward the group of guards.
An electronic whirring sound emanated from Karn’s weapon, and a line of pulsating energy sprang toward the group. Narrowly missing Beka, it hit the first few guards and spread outward, jumping from one man to the next like a crazed wildfire in a forest of dried-out trees. Within a second and a half, all of the men were frozen in place, their eyes unblinking, their guns still drawn and pointing in Beka’s direction. Some of the guards had their mouths open in shock.
Vilocek watched the rifle — one of their newest developments — work its magic. None of his scientists had any idea how the electromagnetic field was able to spread and solidify the gases found in the atmosphere, but it made for a devastatingly useful weapon. The pulse would reach out until it came into contact with anything that “broke” the gas field — namely, solids or liquids — then paralyzed those molecules in place.