Ancients (event group thriller)

by David L. Golemon

  Tomlinson did not even look up from his drink as the Austrian spoke his condemning words.

  "We weaken the old enemies, not destroy our own governments. We need them, for the time being!"

  "You gentlemen may need them; we, on the other hand, do not." Tomlinson placed his drink on the polished tabletop and stood, knowing that the camera would stay on him. "This organization made the fatal mistake three times in three hundred years of trusting existing governments to bend to our will, only to have these power-mad individuals balk at our orders and deviate from our hard work and intricately detailed plans. This," he turned and faced the camera lens with steady eyes, "will never happen again. The plan has evolved from our original strike plan and this executive council has overruled the initial strategy in favor of utilizing the drought and flooding in Russia and China and forging ahead. We will bring down those who would eventually stand in our way, just ahead of the schedule we had deliberated upon."

  "Have you all gone completely mad? Who will control these governments when anarchy tears them apart?" Zoenfeller exclaimed, slapping his hand on the conference table. "Russia first, after we have the Atlantean Key. You went against our vote and struck anyway!"

  "May I say a word?" A smallish man stood and buttoned his jacket.

  Tomlinson had coached him on when to talk and what to say. He gestured to the owner of a large consortium of Japanese electronics firms.

  "You are judging our small enclave too harshly. Yes, we have changed small parts of the offensive to take advantage of Russia and China's weaknesses in the present time. The weapon was precise and did no more damage than a natural quake would have caused in the same target area. It was, after all, part of my own nation's coastline that sustained damage by the residual effects of the wave. Yet I am still wholeheartedly onboard this accelerated plan."

  "That does not give you the right to--"

  "Russia, along with China must be out of our way. Let us do it now. This is the moment to act. As soon as the Atlantean Key is in our possession, we can get back on schedule and deal with the western governments. Then, when countries start crumbling from natural disasters, it will be our corporations and leadership worldwide that step in. We will be hailed as deliverers of new hope and then we will all at last have total control. Now is the time for resolve," the Japanese council member waved his hand toward the video screen, "not for timidity. The Juliai and Caesarean Reich will prevail."

  The sixteen council members of the inner circle patted their hands on the conference table in total agreement as the Japanese representative bowed and sat down.

  The next person was an elegant woman from Great Britain who slowly stood and smiled. She looked at Tomlinson and then spoke.

  "Ethnic purification, economic control, and the elimination of formal governments have always been the goal of the Juliai. Regardless of who is struck and when, it cannot help but destabilize the West. As Mr. Tomlinson has stated repeatedly, we have our people ready to step in and take control, but we cannot do so until the destabilization process has begun." Dame Lilith opened her folder and pulled out a sheet of paper. "Germany, Japan, and America must be the first to fall. Therefore, it has been determined that the leadership in these countries must be eliminated, and a timetable within the framework of three weeks is not impossible," she stated in the matter-of-fact way that she would give instructions to one of her servants.

  "Again, this is at least four years ahead of schedule. We must--"

  "Now, to give you gentlemen and lady a dose of faith in what we have planned, I will now inform you on what is currently happening," Tomlinson said, yet again interrupting Zoenfeller. "As you know, the setback that occurred in New York at our study facility was at first worrisome. However, I am very pleased to announce that the fat fool you gentlemen had placed so much trust in many years ago, has been eliminated before he could cause harm to us by any plea bargain he could have eventually made."

  Again, the others on the opposite side of the Atlantic were shocked that death orders had been issued without their conjoined approval.

  "The second fact is that the agent in charge of that raid is now dead, along with his entire team. The material from Westchester has been recovered intact," Tomlinson said, smiling, not even flinching when the small lie flowed from his lips.

  Again, the younger members gathered in Chicago started slapping the table with the news just delivered.

  "Now the good news. Our operative Dahlia has also learned that the location of the plate map that was stolen by Peter Rothman over a hundred years ago has finally been traced to an Ancient in Boston. We will soon have it in our possession."

  "Then why not wait for the recovery of the Key before any more strikes?" the Austrian asked as many of the heads nodded agreement on the other side of the Atlantic. "If you're so sure--"

  Tomlinson cut the Austrian off brutally.

  "The Key is recoverable and will soon be here; that is all you need for the moment. Our efforts are also almost complete in regard to Crete. They broke into the city just hours ago. We will have the location from which we can strike the rest of the world with impunity. After all, how can you trace us to a site that most of the world does not even believe ever existed?"

  The elderly members of the Juliai Coalition looked away from the screen on their side of the Atlantic Ocean. Zoenfeller looked around him for support but found that even the elder membership, for the most part, had been swayed by Tomlinson's arguments and by the audacious actions of their once-junior members.

  Tomlinson straightened his suit jacket and slowly sat down. He looked at the screen and smiled.

  "Our long quest is finally at hand. From the time of the Caesars, through the Templar quest for the burial site of the scrolls while feigning a search for a ridiculous Grail, to our Germanic and Napoleonic attempts, we have learned the hard lesson that the world will not just fall into our hands. Now, with this adjusted plan, the world will actually beg for deliverance. No more foolish ideologies and no more patriotic zeal to stand in the way of an orderly world."

  "What of the claims now circulating by that fool in North Korea?" Zoenfeller asked in a last-ditch effort to regain some control.

  "There is not one entity in service to any government on this planet that can discover what it is we are attempting. There is no hard evidence to back those claims. Just follow our lead and we will soon inherit the earth much sooner than the original plan called for."

  THE WHITE HOUSE

  WASHINGTON, D.C.

  The new president was late for a briefing downstairs in the Situation Room but the last-minute restructuring of departments was of a higher priority, due to North Korea's absurd claims that country's ills had been manmade. He had to start with the very department he had visited just the day before.

  "I'm sorry, Director Compton, for your losses, but I can't concern myself with this matter at the moment. Am I clear as to the staffing requirements I have outlined?"

  The phone line went quiet for a moment and then Niles Compton said, "Mr. President, giving you my earth-science departments is not a problem. But if you take one hundred percent of our computer sciences, we have no way of tracking who hit my warehouse this morning in New York."

  "That matter will be turned over to the FBI and local law-enforcement authority. Is that clear?"

  "You're breaking apart the best chance we have at finding out what's happening here. My people are capable of multitasking beyond anything and any entity in the world. They work as a team and separating them is a mistake. It takes away their ability to think together. Something is wrong here and you are condemning my Group to facing the deaths of many of their colleagues without a chance to find out why."

  "Mr. Director, I assume you are on a speakerphone?"

  Niles looked around his office. Virginia and Alice were the only ones present.

  "Yes, sir."

  "Please pick up the phone. I wish to speak to you in private."

  Niles leaned over and picked
up the receiver. Niles listened, his eyes intentionally focused on the top of his desk. The conversation was one-sided as Virginia and Alice exchanged curious looks.

  "Yes, sir," Niles answered, and then reached out and punched a button, placing the call back into conference mode.

  "Dr. Compton, who is your assistant director?" the president asked.

  "Professor Virginia Pollock, Mr. President," Niles answered as he looked at Alice and shrugged.

  "Professor, are you listening?"

  Niles stood and then sat on the edge of his desk and looked at Virginia and nodded. The tall woman with dark hair and sharp features stood and walked closer to the speakerphone.

  "Yes, Mr. President?"

  "Professor, I have ordered Dr. Compton to Washington for direct consultations with me. I am placing you in temporary command of Department 5656. I am ordering you to transfer control of your Group's science departments over to my national security Adviser. You are also ordered to utilize your agency's superior computing power to help discover if the allegations put forth by the Koreans have any validity. Is this order understood?"

  "All but me reporting to your adviser Mr. President, because according to our agency charter, the national security Adviser is not a cabinet posting, therefore he cannot have knowledge of our department, and as we are--"

  Niles cleared his throat, interrupting Virginia. She looked up and he shook his head.

  "Excuse me, sir. All departments are standing by to assist in any way we can."

  Niles nodded and then walked behind his desk and sat down.

  "Very well. Dr. Compton is hereby ordered to stand down and to report to Washington for consultation with my science adviser, and to act as liaison between myself and your Group. He is to be on a plane in the next half an hour. Is this order clear?"

  "Yes--"

  Virginia stopped short when she realized that she was speaking into a dead phone.

  The president set the phone down and looked over at the initial casualty report from the artillery exchange in Korea. Then he removed the top page and looked at the estimates of the damage suffered by the two carrier groups in the Sea of Japan because of the earthquake.

  The squadrons onboard both Nimitz-class carriers were down to 53 percent on the George Washington and 68 percent on the John F. Kennedy. There had been a loss of life of more than two hundred when the last vestiges of the tsunamis struck the two groups' smaller escort vessels.

  The secretary of defense opened the door and stepped in. He looked subdued as he handed the president a note.

  "The North Koreans informed us through the Chinese government that any attempt to reenforce ground or air forces by NATO or any of her factions will be construed as an imminent attack on North Korean forces and they will be forced to defend themselves."

  "Jesus. What are the Russians and Chinese saying?"

  "Nothing other than they support the North Koreans in the defense of the border and have asked us to show good faith and recall the task force heading for the Sea of Japan."

  "Dammit, that's not exactly saying nothing." The president turned away, examined the note again, then tossed it onto his desk. "We have freedom of the sea here and I am not going to allow a buildup on the border to go unchecked. I can't," he said as he turned and faced his adviser. "The task forces continue. I'm not leaving those boys without naval support. Send a message to the Koreans that it is in their hands. Get away from the border. Allow relief efforts in and then we can talk."

  He watched the secretary leave and then looked out at the clouded sky through the window. He shook his head as he was beginning to wonder if there was a serious attempt by an outside or otherworldly influence out to thwart his every move toward peace. He knew that he needed help from someone he trusted beyond any other in assessing all that was happening. He hoped he had it coming from Nevada.

  EVENT GROUP CENTER

  NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, NEVADA

  Niles attempted to smile but failed. He removed his thick glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

  "What are your immediate orders to the Group, Virginia?" he asked, finally looking up at the two women. "It's all over the news about that listening post in the Sea of Japan picking up those strange signals just before the quake hit. So that crazy bastard may have reason to believe the stuff he's spouting."

  A knock sounded at the door and one of the secretaries stepped in and offered Niles a note.

  "The president just sent this over, sir."

  Niles took the offered note and excused the assistant.

  Virginia calmly took a seat and then looked Niles straight in the eye.

  "Thirty-two people, Niles--that's what we lost this morning in New York. Compared with the nation's losses in Korea and those two carrier battle groups, and all those poor souls in Korea, a very small number. I will follow orders of course and do what I'm ordered to do. But I refuse to just forget about our own people in New York."

  Niles waved his hand for her to continue. He was still looking at the president's note.

  "The science departments will be put to work finding out if this ridiculous claim by the Koreans could be true in the fact that the earthquake that struck there was manmade and intentional. But computer sciences will be allowed to have fifty percent of the computing power of Europa to help find the killers of our people, and to find out how they could have known about us, and why those artifacts recovered from Westchester were so important."

  "Thank you, Virginia," Niles said as he replaced his glasses.

  "It's not for you, or me, or even the Group. I just don't want to be the one to explain to Jack why we're not looking for these murdering bastards."

  "My thoughts exactly," he said. Then he looked at Virginia closely and slid the note over to her. "But the priority here is no longer finding the murderers of our people. Keep that segment of research small."

  "Why?" Virginia asked as she picked up the note and started to read.

  "Because now we don't just have North Korea claiming this stuff; it seems the Russians also picked up a strange signal seconds before another quake. This one happened just an hour ago and explains the president's mood.

  "What is it?" Alice asked.

  "The Russian port of Vladivostok has just been wiped off the map."

  The shipment of artifacts and maps had finally arrived and been transferred down to the sciences level to be carefully cataloged and photographed.

  Sarah McIntire had been there at the dock to greet Jack, Carl, and Mendenhall and to offer her condolences on the loss of Lance Corporal Sanchez and the other members of the Group at the New York warehouse. Being secret lovers with the colonel, had not prevented Sarah from getting an icy and distant look at first from Jack as she looked into his eyes. After a moment, he had come around and nodded his head and then lightly touched her right shoulder before moving off to report to Niles. Sarah had started to tell Jack that Niles had been ordered to Washington, but then she'd thought it would be better if Virginia informed him. After speaking with Carl for only a moment her curiosity had gotten the better of her and she'd taken the elevator down to level thirty-two to see the wonders that had been recovered in Westchester for herself.

  Ten minutes later, Sarah was watching the Cataloging Department as they lifted items out of their transport crates. Others had joined her and were oohing and ahing at some of the more brilliant pieces. Soon the overhead speakers called most away, as the individual departments were receiving their new assignments, per the president's orders.

  As a geologist there was one artifact in particular that Sarah spied that made her pulse race. Two men had lifted a large, framed maplike parchment from an art sleeve. As she stepped closer to the thick glass, she saw that it was a rough rendering of the world, as an ancient society would have painted it. The colorful scope of Europe, the Mediterranean, Africa, and Asia was almost as she knew them today, except for the strange ring of islands in the center of the Med. Depictions of North and South America looked
as if the mapmaker had drawn them after looking into a fun-house mirror. They were wobbly and misshapen, as if a child had drawn them.

  What really caught her eye and gave her the feeling that she should recognize something on the strange, ancient atlas were the lines that coursed through it. They seemed familiar to her somehow.

  Sarah tapped on the thick glass and got the technicians' attention. The white-gloved navy specialist waved when he looked up and saw that it was Sarah. He knew her from Saturday-night poker. Sarah pointed at the eight-foot-by-five-foot map and waved for the two technicians to bring it closer to the glass. The men exchanged looks, shrugged their shoulders, then hefted the heavy frame closer so that Sarah could view it better. Then the man Sarah knew hit the intercom.

  "I know what you're looking at. It's that strange island in the middle of the Med, isn't it?"

  Sarah did not respond. She took in the strange lines, wondering where she had seen them before. Then she smiled thinly and looked at the man through the glass.

  "What's that, Smitty?"

  "That's what I'm saying, the island with the rings around it."

  "No. I mean, yeah, that's a little strange, but I'm interested in the lines going through this weird world more than the ringed islands."

  "Maybe some sort of latitude and longitude markings. They're a little screwed up, but that may be what they are." The tech looked from Sarah to the map he was helping to balance in front of the glass.

  "Yes, they are latitude and longitude markings, but the thicker lines running beneath them--they zigzag crazily throughout all the continents and all the oceans. What in the hell are they supposed to be?"

  The techs shrugged, and then as they saw their supervisor coming and they shooed Sarah away and lifted the large map over to a table where the photographer was at work.

  As McIntire walked away, she could not help but feel that she knew exactly what those strange lines were. She tried to concentrate but the wisp of memory flickered just at the edges of her mind.