Code to Extinction

by Christopher Cartwright

  “Vernon was then sanctioned and killed in what appeared to be a car accident, removing any verifiable claims to the cataclysmic message hidden within the stone.”

  She nodded. “How did you know?”

  “I met his brother, a man named Dmitri Vernon, in Mount Ararat. The man was one of the remaining Four Horsemen, and a Master Builder. He told me about the stone and about the U.S. government stealing its secrets and destroying any evidence of its existence – including his brother, who appeared to have fallen asleep at the wheel and died in a car accident.”

  The Secretary nodded. “He was the first of many casualties.”

  Sam wanted to argue the morality of any of it. Who decided to play God and pick who lived and who died? But none of that would have helped and he needed more information from her, so he ignored the brutality and continued. “And I take it the Theresa May never sank?”

  “No. It sank all right – it was too risky not to – but the Göbekli Tepe Death Stone was removed first and taken to a remote location in Siberia to be studied. When everything was decoded, it was determined that the stone needed to be destroyed.”

  “But it wasn’t, was it?” Sam asked.

  “No. I worried that we needed to keep the knowledge in case one-day new information would come to light, and a solution might prevail.” She took a deep breath. “I tasked the only person I could trust with keeping it safe, a man named Ryan Balmain.”

  The name seemed familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it. “You ordered the stone recalled to the U.S. after I discovered the information regarding the Nostradamus Equation and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?”

  She nodded.

  “And the Gordoye Dostizheniye sunk in the Bering Strait!”

  “And I lost one of the best men I’d ever known.” Her eyes welled with tears, and Sam guessed that Ryan Balmain had been more to her than a colleague, but her face remained set firm with determination. “You found my shipping container, didn’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why did you keep it a secret from me?”

  “Ryan Balmain left a note. It said that THEY were watching you, and that if we cared about your life or those of the human race we were to remove the stone and take it to an astronomer – not associated with any government – to determine the truth.”

  “I dismissed the spy from my office.”

  “There may be more?”

  “I’ll deal with them, too.” She turned to face him. “Have you made much progress with the stone?”

  “Yes. It’s still being analyzed, but it looks like we’re rapidly approaching our time of reckoning. Billie has some ideas, and we’re meeting up with the astronomer this afternoon to determine the next step.”

  “Good. Now what about the second stone?”

  Sam caught his breath, and his eyes narrowed. “I only know about the Göbekli Tepe Pillar Number 44 – named the Death Stone.”

  “There were two – Pillars numbers 44 and 45. The Master Builders did two things when their astronomers first spotted the asteroid in the sky. The purpose of the first stone was to depict the asteroid’s progress so we could work out when it was going to strike and how to manage the impact…”

  “And the second stone?” Sam asked.

  “Was one of last resort. It was a blueprint of an ancient bunker. A place where some of the human race may ride out the destruction and the subsequent ice age.”

  Sam shook his head at the enormity of the concept. They’d known for some twenty years, but had kept it a secret from the entire population of planet Earth. “Whose idea was it to keep all this a secret?”

  “A long-term friend of the president and an advisor, whose council Congress had always respected. The man had a Harvard degree in geology, and specialized in deep mining. An expert in protecting subterranean structures from the constant movement of tectonic plates. A man who could put together a team who would ensure the permanent survival of the last five thousand human beings for as long as it took for the planet to become habitable again. A man who was old enough to know that he would never take up a place inside the ancient bunker. He was tough and capable, and he quickly proved that he could make the hard decisions that would enable the chosen few to stay alive.”

  “How?”

  “By systematically cutting off every single person who knew anything about the future and might damage the safety of the colony. His ruthless tenacity has already cost the lives of three Senators, more than a dozen good men and women, including Ryan Balmain.” She sighed. “At the time I thought he was doing it all for the vital, yet brutal, protection of the human race – but then you told me about the ancient covenant of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, which the Master Builders had put in place. I contacted him and gave him the information – that’s when more people started to die.”

  “He was systematically removing anyone who knew about the possible solution being stored on the Göbekli Tepe Pillar Number 44!”

  “Exactly. That’s when I realized, for him, it wasn’t just about saving the human race – he wanted to start a new existence, a eugenics experiment filled with a colony based on superior DNA.”

  “But if he knew the truth about Pillar Number 44 from the beginning…”

  “It means he wanted this from the start. He always knew there was a solution, but instead he kept quiet, so he could achieve his dream of producing an all new colony – a perfect race.”

  Sam swore. “Who?”

  “His name was Leo Botkin.”

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Sam left the diamond merchant’s tawdry office and hailed a taxi cab. He’d finished bringing the Secretary of Defense up to date with what they’d discovered about the stone tablet, and what their plan was to locate the four hidden temples that related to the Covenant of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

  He sat quietly, vacantly watching the stream of cars drive by, as his mind crunched the enormity of their betrayal, as well as the task that was set before him. The taxi pulled into LaGuardia Airport and he got out, leaving a decent tip. It might just be the end of days, might as well make the hardworking driver happy.

  His cell phone rang. The caller ID said Elise. “What have you got for me?” he said without a preamble.

  She was used to it, and immediately said, “I’ve got some answers about the guy who attacked you, but not all, unfortunately.”

  “Who is he?”

  “That’s the part I don’t know yet.”

  “What do you know?”

  Elise answered. “The seaplane was rented by a proxy corporation. I’ve hacked the company’s background, and it has led to three other proxies, which eventually lead to a defunct company, which was bought with fifty million in cash.”

  “So, your trail ran dry?”

  “No. So, I dug some more, and found a withdrawal for fifty million registered from an account with the Bank of America in Manhattan. You want to know what company withdrew the money?”

  “Go on.”

  “Prometheus Diamonds! It’s a large diamond cartel that’s expanded into rare commodities all around the world.”

  “Let me guess, the CEO is one Leo Botkin?”

  “Hey, how did you know?” Elise asked.

  “It’s a long story. What about the employee who rented the seaplane?”

  “I tracked the employee down, but it’s unlikely he was using his real name.”

  “What was it?”

  “Fred Flintstone.”

  “Yeah, all right, we can scratch that name off the list.” Sam stepped into the airport and looked up at the flight numbers. He still had another five minutes until he’d need to go through security. “What about the photo of my attacker? You got the security footage from the bar, didn’t you? Was there a usable image of him?”

  “Oh, yes, a crystal-clear image of his face.”

  Sam grinned. It was finally something tangible. “That’s great! So?”

  “So, my facial recognition softwar
e can’t find him on any database anywhere. He doesn’t exist.”

  Sam deflated as quickly as he’d been encouraged. “What the hell? He must have a passport. A driver’s license? Something, surely.”

  “Afraid not. It genuinely looks like he’s a ghost.”

  “Yeah, well if that’s so, he’s the first ghost to nearly get me killed.”

  “There’s something else about the Prometheus Diamond Corporation you’re gonna want to hear about…” Elise’s voice sounded excited.

  “What?”

  “Two days ago, the company started to sell off all its assets – at prices no sane person would even consider. Not unless they already knew that the company would be worthless in a few months…”

  “Oh shit, they’re getting ready for something big. Are there any other major companies following suit?”

  “I already checked.” Elise paused for breath.

  “And?” This was killing him.

  “More than a hundred leaders around the world are trying to surreptitiously sell everything they own. Dumping stocks at unprecedented rates. The financial markets are crashing, but no one can fathom what’s driving the bear market. You know what this means, don’t you?”

  Sam sat back. Now the other penny had dropped, he could see where Elise had been leading him all along. His impatience vanished. “We’re closer to the final date of the event. Someone out there knows what’s going on. They’re selling companies and buildings that will soon be under the world’s oceans, concentrating their cash into gold. Preparing for the new world.”

  “Thought you’d be interested,” she said, as though it were merely a new tip about the stock market.

  “Thanks, Elise. Keep digging, and keep me in the loop.”

  Sam considered his next move. This was bigger than the guy trying to kill him. Forget about him. Sam wanted his boss, or bosses. If Elise couldn’t find them, no one could. But he had a job to do as well. He dialed a number that only a few people had.

  “What is it, Sam?” answered the Secretary of Defense.

  “It’s begun.”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Phoiki Hot Pond – Big Island, Hawaii

  Airlie Chapman stared at the ancient world around her through dark brown, intelligent eyes, as she crept through the dense forest. She was tall and lissome, and moved with the decisive gait of someone much younger than her thirty-five years of age, as she made her way through the path that tracked upward and deeper into the jungle. She wore a bikini underneath a pair of denim shorts and a dark tank top. Her light brown hair was tied back in a French braid.

  In the twilight before dawn, the mist from the various hot springs rose above the ancient forest, like something out of the Jurassic period. She left the coast of Isaac Hale Beach, in the Puna District, and headed further into the forest. Despite it being early, there was a warmth to the air that made everything feel comfortable.

  She watched as her boyfriend, Adrian, jumped across the various volcanic rocks, trying to spur her to move faster.

  “Come on,” he said. “We have to reach the hot springs before sunlight.”

  “Why the rush?” she asked. “I’m on my first vacation in four years since I started my damned PhD. No one’s going to make me hurry.”

  “I want to beat the crowds and be the first one in the water!”

  He had a confident and engaging smile. With his good-natured attitude, and those boyish good looks typical of an athlete still moving toward his prime, he was fun and immature at the same time, but kind and generous – willing to do anything to please her. Not at all like the academics she tended to go for. When he’d asked her out, she surprised herself by saying yes. That was five weeks ago, and since then, Airlie had discovered that he’d brought a unique and pleasant aspect to her otherwise cumbersome and perfect little life.

  “You go ahead. I’ll meet you there soon,” she said.

  He made a face like a wounded puppy, and then smiled. “Okay.”

  She watched him disappear over the next set of volcanic rocks that formed a small ridge. Airlie increased her stride. Thirty seconds later, she passed a large rock and came face to face with him. He kissed her on her lips. She opened her mouth and met his tongue with an eagerness that few men in her life had ever instilled in her.

  And then he pulled away.

  She went to kiss him again, but he pulled back, farther. “What?”

  He was grinning at her.

  She tried to kiss him a third time, but he simply smiled and started running along the path. “You’ll need to catch me if you want to kiss me.”

  Airlie laughed. This was the price she was going to have to pay for dating a younger man. “All right.” She started to make her way quickly through the forest.

  Eighty feet along the path and it opened to a large jellybean-shaped hot spring. Formed from a collapsed lava tube, its volcanic base was nearly fifteen feet deep and provided a startling green shade to the blue water. Steam rose invitingly from its surface. Airlie had never seen it before, but the sight took her breath away.

  She turned to meet Adrian, as he kissed her again. When he stopped, she found herself smiling. The sight was stunning, but it was more than that. She found herself feeling a type of joy and contentment that no other man had been able to provide her.

  “Beautiful isn’t it?”

  “Magic,” she admitted.

  “I thought you’d like it.” He smiled with genuine joy. “I was looking forward to seeing your response when you saw it. There’s something terribly endearing about the way your eyes light up in wonder. I’d like to spend a lifetime doing such simple things with you and traveling the world. What do you say, should we get married?”

  “Sure,” she said, assuming he was just speaking without any conviction.

  Then he got down on one knee and revealed a diamond ring.

  She swore. “My God! You’re serious!”

  He looked at her with a slightly confused and pained face. “I am.”

  She shook her head in disbelief and kissed him again. This time he pulled back and she stopped. She stared at him.

  “Well?” he asked.

  “Well what?”

  “Will you marry me?”

  She beamed. “Yes!”

  He kissed her again and then said, “Let’s jump in the water.”

  She glanced at the water. The steam seemed to be glowing off its surface, like some sort of bubbling primordial pool. “Shouldn’t you test the water or something, first?”

  Adrian shrugged his shoulders. “Why?”

  “It looks pretty hot. The sign before said that the temperature can fluctuate.”

  “You think it’s going to burn me?” he asked, with an incredulous grin.

  “It might.”

  Adrian laughed. “There’s only one way to find out.”

  He took a giant run and jumped into the deepest part at the center of the hot spring. His head dipped under the water and he disappeared.

  Airlie stepped to the water’s edge and watched. She felt her heart race. She stood up and chided herself. It was irrational. Her fiancé was just playing a trick. There was no reason he should simply disappear into a small hot spring.

  But she found herself holding her breath.

  Then Adrian surfaced. “Ah it burns! It burns… help! Quick, throw me a branch…”

  Airlie, already taut with concern, reacted immediately. She ran to the edge of the hot spring, where a large vine dangled close to the water. She pulled on it, using all her weight, and the vine snapped fifteen odd feet above her.

  She took the edge of the vine and threw it into the boiling water. Adrian caught it on her first throw. She quickly dragged him toward the edge, pulling it hand over hand, like a rope.

  He screamed loudly.

  “Give me your hand,” she shouted.

  He grabbed her right hand and pulled her into the water.

  It was lukewarm and felt delicious under the rising sun. She surfaced fro
m the water, and started to scream.

  “You bastard! I should kill you myself.”

  Adrian was laughing uncontrollably now. He went to grab her and she shook her head. He caught his breath. “I’m sorry, but you should have seen your face.”

  “You bastard!” Her heart was still racing. “Don’t you ever do that to me again.”

  He grabbed her and kissed her again. “I’m sorry.”

  She relaxed in the water for a few minutes and then climbed out, resting on the warm volcanic rocks that lined the edge of the hot spring.

  Airlie watched her now fiancé play in the water, seemingly unable to tire of playing in the crystal-clear spring. So, this was the man I’m going to spend the rest of my life with. The thought made her happy. His carefree and playful life was almost a polar opposite to her lifetime of research and academia. Adrian would provide the balance that she needed.

  She stood up and looked at the green radiating off the blue water. A small bubble surfaced, followed by another one. Her eyes narrowed, and she studied the slight change in the water. She tried to get Adrian’s attention, but he was dipping under the water, swimming to the bottom and searching for different colored stones to show her.

  The bubbles started to surface quickly – one after another – and she felt the irrational agitation of fear rising in her throat. “Adrian!”

  He didn’t hear her as he dived down again.

  She quickly walked to the opposite side of the hot spring, carefully jumping across the volcanic stones, racing to get his attention when he surfaced.

  Bubbles more than a foot wide were now surfacing with the speed of a rapid-fire machinegun. She watched Adrian’s head break the surface.

  “Get out of there!” she shouted.

  Adrian turned to face her. “Hey, there’s an opening down here! It looks like the entrance to a tunnel or something that leads even deeper!”

  She screamed, “Get out! Something’s not right!”

  He glanced at the bubbles, making their way to the surface next to him. The last one was nearly five feet in diameter. His eyes widened. “Yeah, I think you’re right!”