Ancients (event group thriller)

by David L. Golemon

  The most recently designed flag, the symbol of the Third Reich, was not present. The episode in the 1930s and '40s had almost dealt the Coalition a deathblow and the flag had become an embarrassment, especially to the younger and far more radical element now sitting among the old guard.

  "Gentlemen, gentlemen and ladies, this meeting will come to order," said the small man known as Caretaker. He rapped a gavel on his small desk in the rear of the luxuriously appointed room. "We have many items to discuss this evening."

  The twenty-six men and five women who made up the Juliai Coalition, named for the esteemed Roman family that was the precursor to the Caesars, calmed and took their seats. Though many were there for reasons outside that of legacy, they had many things in common. One of these was the fact that they were the richest private citizens in the world. Not one name would ever show up on any registry of the world's richest people, and you would never find the likeness or name of any Coalition member in a gossip column or tabloid. They did not bicker with governments in courts of law over the cornering of markets or the breakups of conglomerates so large that their value could not be computed. The Juliai Coalition answered to no power in the world.

  "We will forgo the reading of the last meeting's minutes to concentrate fully on this first day of initial operational testing."

  There were nods and smiles around the conference table. Then a lone figure at the center stood and chimed a knife against a water glass.

  "The gentleman from Austria, Mr. Zoenfeller, has the floor," announced Caretaker.

  "Before we have the report read to us from operations, I would like to bring to the attention of this council that we have ongoing missions to find the Atlantean Key. Without it, I daresay we will have more episodes like the one this afternoon."

  There were a few nods and words of agreement with the large, gray-haired man, but they were far fewer than the hard looks coming from the younger majority.

  "What was wrong with the initial tests of today?" asked a tall man with a head of boyish blond hair. "This is why we have started with nations that have neighbors who will eventually have to be dealt with. We all agreed that pinpoint strikes were not necessary, so it was effective to start with these locations." He was staring at the Austrian with mild contempt.

  "The young gentleman from America has voiced the standard 'toe the line' opinion of the youth in this room. An opinion, I might add, that rings of dictate and not council."

  Only a few of the older people rapped their knuckles on the polished table to indicate their agreement. With a bemused look, the American Coalitionist took note of those few who sided with the Austrian.

  Nonplussed by the limited agreement, the old man plodded on.

  "I must say, the tests today were reckless and their random destruction will attract attention to our endeavor. Without the Atlantean Key, we have no pinpoint-strike capability. We can and will harm the economies of friendly nations, and that, ladies and gentlemen, will affect most of us in this room directly."

  The aged man from Austria sat down. The tall American watched but remained standing, intent on finishing his statement. Now was the time to hammer home his points against the old guard of the Coalition. As he waited for the murmurings to subside, he decided upon a gentler approach. After all, he really hadn't expected that the circle of destruction would spread so far across the Iranian border in the afternoon strike of Thor's Hammer.

  "My friends, I know many of you have expressed your fear of starting before the Key has been recovered. I must again remind you that many of the economies of our own nations cannot afford the luxury of this wait. The elimination of old thorns must begin now so that new growth can begin. These outlaw and backward nations that we have targeted are a drain on everyone and every government represented in this room. Limited strikes with the Keyless Hammer can lessen some of the pressure of defending against such fools. We need these limited strikes for the time being. When our own people are in place at the head of these governments and our loans negotiated for boosting their economies, you will see the benefit of acting now."

  The man from Austria stood suddenly, slamming his hand on the table-top.

  "We must limit Thor's Hammer to today's strikes only and curtail operations until the Key is recovered. I am sure all here are thrilled at the power achieved in this first test. But, like most of you, I saw today what could happen if we act without knowing the full potential of the weapon, without some form of control."

  "May we inquire as to the progress of the Ethiopian venture, Mr. Cromwell?" asked Caretaker from his seat at the small desk.

  "The report filed this afternoon describes a disappointing end to one of our scout teams in Ethiopia, who it seems conflicted with a group of Americans that were conducting an unrelated dig nearby and were eliminated. The details are rather sketchy at the moment, but nonetheless cannot help but have the adverse effect of setting us behind in our search for the Atlantean Key, at least until another team can be dispatched from the Sudan." The Englishman sat after giving his brief report.

  "I take it these Americans have no idea these mercenaries were working for us?" the Austrian asked, nodding toward the American. "Mr. Tomlinson?"

  "I and the two other Americans in this room can hardly control the actions of every agency in our country. The identity of this agency is still unknown. How could the Americans have received any valuable information if the men we sent into Ethiopia had none to offer? However, I promise to use all of our influence and resources to discover who interfered, and those people will be dealt with."

  "Even more ruthlessness?" Zoenfeller asked loudly.

  "We are ranging far off the subject. The two strikes were a success. North Korea is hurt and hurt badly and is liable to strike out at any time. Iran will not soon recover, at least in the near future."

  "What we have done, and all we have done, on the Korean peninsula is angered an old and weary tiger that is now wounded and fearful for its life. The weapon was weak in Korea and too powerful in Iran, and we ended up hurting Iraq!" Zoenfeller said as he tried to bring his point home. "And now the Middle East ally many of us, including your own country, have created in the past ten years has also been hurt beyond measure, now requiring even more funding from us in the near future, all because the weapon didn't have a particular enemy in mind." Zoenfeller was unhappy to see that only a very small percentage of members were nodding in agreement with his words.

  Coalitionists who seemed to be losing their nerve were noted.

  "Regardless, the next set of strikes will go forward. The Atlantean Key will be recovered before we start hitting government assets in our own nations and those of our allies. As for old enemies, we must continue to lay the groundwork. The last few years of drought have crippled the Russians, and the flooding in China has weakened an already flagging support base for their leadership. The time to hit them is now, not later," said Tomlinson, with so much calm that it froze the blood of the elder element of the council.

  "You are suggesting that we advance our carefully planned timetable for the elimination of those two powers by four years? Am I correct?"

  "Yes. Most here are so very tired of the Juliai Coalition's timidity when it comes to dealing with these two backward powers. The fear of these toothless tigers in the East has been so greatly exaggerated that it sickens those of us who have had to stand here in this room and hear tales of terror of how dangerous these nations are, when in fact it would take but a single nudge to send them both toppling over. This is not the fifties; it is now."

  "And neither nation will react the way Kim Jong Il has? I guarantee you, instead of folding like a shoddy house of cards, they will fight to stay their power over their people. What if nations start believing North Korean claims of the disaster not being a natural occurrence? Silly as he seems to most, what if Kim's wild accusations cause other, more levelheaded people to start investigating your not-very-well-disguised laying of the sound amplifiers in North Korean waters? Russia and Chi
na are capable, my young friend, of doing the unexpected."

  "That is your opinion of them. They are weak and they will fall. Their economies cannot withstand a natural disaster on the scale we plan. And the intelligence Kim has only shows oil exploration that was cleared far in advance by international treaty," Tomlinson said.

  He looked around the room and smiled. A soft gesture coldly calculated to ease the minds of the elders.

  "Due to our efforts in America, the grain and other foodstuffs that are needed by these nations just won't be available. They are already looking to the West and the United States in particular with a large degree of mistrust. The new president is having a hard time convincing them that he is not using food as a weapon to alter their national policies against rogue elements, like Georgia and Taiwan. A limited confrontation between East and West is an ally to our cause."

  "I agree. The timetable must be adjusted to take advantage of these elements that can only have a positive effect on our plans," said the man from France. "We must accelerate."

  More than 80 percent of the people in the room felt the same as they rapped their knuckles on the table before them. However, Tomlinson, ever the politician, felt he needed the support, at least for the moment, of the older members.

  "I have assets in Ethiopia that are standing by to find the buried Key. In the States, my best intelligence person is close to tracing its whereabouts by finding the hiding place of the plate map stolen in 1875 by Peter Rothman. She has already learned it was sent to our brothers and sisters of the Ancients. Now is not the time to lose your nerve, ladies and gentlemen--not with your own governments in your control as the prize for rising above any timidity."

  "The timidity we show, Mr. Tomlinson, is due to the fact that we only agreed to the tests in Iran and Korea. We did this because you guaranteed we could test the weapon without the Key."

  "This argument is getting very tiresome. Now if you will excuse us ..."

  The man from Austria shook his head. Events were moving too fast and the elder statesmen of the Juliai were worried. Maybe it was because the memory of another, even more zealous renegade was fresher in their minds than in those of the younger men and women. Adolph Hitler had once defied the Coalition and nearly destroyed them. Now it was happening again, and they were helpless to stop it. Tomlinson was bringing on the Fourth Reich his way.

  The young lions had taken control of the most influential entity in the history of the world. It had happened once before, in the time of Julius Caesar, and that had ended in the splintering of the first family of man.

  The young members of the Coalition were now in a state of near rebellion and the elders feared that the result could well mean the devastation of the planet itself.

  EVENT GROUP CENTER NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, NEVADA

  Second Lieutenant Sarah McIntire sat with Collins and Everett in the cafeteria. She acted as if she were somewhere else as the two men spoke while eating. Then Collins looked over at the diminutive geology professor and nudged her out of her trance.

  "All right, what's up?" he asked.

  Sarah looked from Jack to Carl and set her fork onto her plate. "There's a rumor going around that you guys had one hell of a fishing trip."

  "Nah, nothing special, didn't catch a thing," Carl said, straight-faced.

  "Will had a nice commissioning party, that's all that happened. So, what are you up to?" Jack asked.

  "My department's been running a little slow. A lot of people out on leave, like most of the complex. I have what's left of the Geology Department teaming with earth sciences and we're going over these earthquakes just as a training exercise. Everyone seems to be stumped."

  "Stumped about what? That Korea was hit with a megaquake? It is on the Pacific Rim, you know. It's the old ring-of-fire thing. In addition, Iraq and Iran aren't exactly on stable terrain either. Shit happens," Carl said as he swallowed some water.

  "Yes, they are all unstable. But there hasn't been one aftershock in either location since the main shaking stopped."

  "Is that normal?" Jack asked as he tossed his napkin onto his plate.

  "Jack--" Sarah caught herself and hoped that no one had heard her address him in the familiar sense. "Colonel, there are always aftershocks. It's just like a long-distance runner cooling down after the main shock of a race. There are always tremors, and this is so unnatural it's raising eyebrows across academic circles. And it's not just because of the wild claims by North Korea."

  "Well, I'm sure the eggheads will--"

  Will Colonel Collins and Captain Everett please report to the computer center. Colonel Collins and Captain Everett to the comp center, please.

  The computerized female voice cut short the academic question of Sarah's point as she watched the two officers reach for their dinner trays and stand. Jack looked at Sarah and she smiled. As she watched the two officers leave, Sarah remembered the very first time Jack had smiled at her and the butterflies she'd gotten in her stomach, making her feel like a schoolgirl. She smiled inwardly at the warming thought. She knew that her love for Jack had become common knowledge among their closest associates like Carl, Mendenhall, and even Director Compton, but the secret had to remain intact because Jack was a stickler for military protocol. Soon a decision would have to be made, and she knew that it would be hers to make.

  The main computer center was set up like a theater. Desks were arranged on the upper level, each with a monitor, and they looked down on the main floor, where technicians worked at other stations for direct access into the Cray system known as Europa. This system was the most powerful computing apparatus known in the world and there were only four in existence. However, the Event Group's system was special. It had the ability to "talk" its way into any computer in the world, bypassing security mainframes of most governments, universities, and companies.

  Jack and Carl made their way down to the main floor and saw the man who had called them in. Professor Pete Golding, director of operations of the center, greeted the two men.

  "Colonel, Captain, good of you to come." He turned to a small monitor attached to the plastic wall of the center and waved a hand across its face. That activated the screen, and as they watched, the face of Niles Compton appeared. "Okay, they're here, Niles. Shall we start?"

  Compton nodded and watched on his own monitor in his office.

  "Okay, the cell phone you came back from Africa with was damaged beyond repair. But the idiot who thought just disabling it never learned the fact that a cell phone is nothing but a small computer. It has a nonvolatile memory and this is what's used to store information. You know, it's amazing when you think--"

  "Pete, listening to you is like having your teeth drilled into. Would you get to the point, please?" Niles said, rubbing his temples.

  Pete looked hurt. Red-faced, he shoved his glasses back onto his nose.

  "What did you learn, Pete?" Jack asked, to get things back on track.

  "Well, the cell was used to call only one number. Europa tracked the owner of this number and we gave it to the Group's contact at the FBI for investigation."

  They watched as Pete switched on another monitor and then they were looking into the young face of special Agent William Monroe. He was at his home in Long Island, New York.

  "Bill, how are you?" Jack asked.

  "Good evening, Colonel and Captain. Pete has passed on to me your information and we have tracked a rather shady individual right here in the U.S. As a matter of fact, he's in my own home state."

  "Fortuitous," Niles said.

  "As I was saying, our friend is an investment banker and commodities broker who has an estate in Westchester County. A small burg called Katonah. Our friend had over twenty-seven calls into this mercenary's cell phone, and after checking his phone records we've learned that he had numerous other calls to Africa, not only on this cell but many others--thirty-five to be exact."

  "Talk about reach out and touch someone," Everett said.

  "Also our friend has a bl
ack area that falls in line with this whole mess. He's a collector, anything and everything, from Greece to China. Under-the-table dealings mostly, very few are reported, thus he makes for an interesting entry in the books of the FBI and the IRS."

  "What do you think, Bill--can we get into this man's humble abode without your bosses in D.C. getting wise?" Jack asked.

  "Yeah; I have enough to get a search warrant. How you cover yourselves will have to be the key here. No one on my side of the fence can get even a hint I let someone pull a raid in my backyard."

  "I think we can manage that. Can you have a few of your boys standing by in the wings for recovery purposes?"

  "You got it, Jack. Just let me know and I'll have the warrant ready," Monroe said, then signed off.

  "Well, Mr. Director, do we have a 'go' to get out to New York?" Collins asked.

  Niles looked into the monitor and nodded. "You have a go, but remember, the main reason for bringing this guy down is the fact that he at the very least ordered the murders of innocent college kids and their professors, and for what, some shards of pottery? Yes, Colonel, you have a go."

  Jack nodded.

  "But it would be nice to know what it was they were looking for. I mean, if ten- to fifteen-thousand-year-old artifacts didn't interest them, just what does? That's the main reason we're handling this instead of the regular authorities," Niles said before he signed off.

  Jack looked from the darkened monitor to the face of a grinning Everett.

  "You packed yet?" he asked.

  "Been packed. Let's go."

  As they turned to leave the computer center, they heard Pete Golding behind them as they climbed the stairs.

  "Does my voice grate on people like a dentist drilling teeth?"

  "Don't worry, Pete, it only happens when you talk," Everett said as they reached the door and left.

  KATONAH WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NEW YORK

  The mansion was surrounded by immense manicured lawns and gardens, which belied the fact that hidden among imported shrubs and trees was the most sophisticated security system ever installed within the confines of a private estate. It had taken Special Agent Monroe only hours, with the help of his Europa link, to track the owner's business expenses, and the discovery of the advanced security system told the agent that the man had something to hide within the walls of the estate. The eight-million-dollar system had drawn scrutiny and been cross-referenced with the owner's identity. From there it had been only a matter of digging a little further to find the truth behind the wealthy world traveler.