Ancients (event group thriller)

by David L. Golemon

  The same could not be said as the ground shook in Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan. Older buildings first started losing their facades, then glass started breaking throughout the city. As displacement waves hit the air, the people on the streets became disoriented, and most could not keep their feet. The Empire State Building received the first real jolt of an earthquake in its long history, but the old girl stood firm.

  Then the third swing of Thor's Hammer hit, only this time it traveled east, toward the suburbs of Nassau and Suffolk counties. Long Island was under attack.

  For fifty miles up and down the Long Island coastline, older houses started to collapse. The seas were rising into the streets; the surf table was up by 50 percent of normal. The streets of the coastal towns were flooding, hampering police and fire-department responses.

  The five boroughs of New York, along with Long Island, started to crumble and burn.

  THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON, D.C.

  Niles listened to the reports that were coming in from New York. Then they heard that the Wave had started in both China and Russia. The two countries were now saying that Crete had to be destroyed no matter the cost.

  With the evacuation of the civilian population still far from complete, they were all in a tight spot. Which population was worth more than any other? they wondered.

  "Give Colonel Collins time, Mr. President; he doesn't know how to quit!" Niles said, gritting his teeth.

  The president just looked at his friend without saying anything. Then he nodded in affirmation that he would give Collins this one chance.

  However, as Niles felt the relief hit him, the first tremble was felt through the flooring of the Oval Office.

  19

  ATLANTIS

  The giant staircase had been chipped out of the surrounding stone by the hands of thousands of slaves. It was the grandest staircase, the likes of which the world had never seen. The entire company could traverse the stairs side by side and still have room on both sides.

  "What do you think, Colonel?" the SEAL lieutenant asked.

  "If it goes up, we go with it," he said as he looked at Sarah. "You sure you think we're below the main city?"

  "Positive, Colonel. This is the Wave chamber that used to sit below the capital, and up there is the Coalition and the Wave equipment. I would bet my life on it."

  "You just did, Lieutenant, yours and about half the population of the planet." Collins looked around. "Mr. Everett, you and the SEALs take the lead, and don't bump into anything blindly until we know what we have to face. The taking out of the Wave hardware is priority one." He looked from face to face. "Repeat: priority one. This is where I give you the old speech about we are all expendable to that one goal. Well, after you, navy boys."

  The SEALs and Carl started out first at a brisk pace. Collins watched them disappear into the steam that escaped from the walls and then looked at the young faces of the marines around him.

  "Lock and load; we may not have any time when we arrive on-site. I don't have to tell you what's at stake here. You are marines, you know the story and the drill, and this is one army-type asshole that's glad you're here. Let's go, Major. I'll take the first platoon and the rest of my people; you bring up the rear with the other three and heavy stuff."

  "Yes, sir. Gunny, saddle up, and let's do something about this place, I hear they don't like marines," he shouted, making Jack cringe just a bit. But he let them cheer themselves. After all, he thought, if they succeed or don't succeed, no one will ever even know they were here.

  Tomlinson smiled as the generators were holding up far better than anticipated. After the initial assault on everyone's senses, the effects had calmed and allowed everyone on the large platform to enjoy the moment. The diamond chamber was being cooled by a steady flow of liquid nitrogen to keep the titanium-reinforced module from melting because of the tremendous friction of the spinning Atlantean Key. One of the by-products of the tone grooves cut into the diamond was the fact that no one could get closer than ten feet because of the miniwave produced by the tremendous amount of air that passed over and around the diamond. It felt as if your head would explode if you attempted it.

  Little did they know that with every revolution of the diamond, excess energy wasn't being bled off; instead it was absorbed by the blue diamond. The earth's rarest mineral was now acting as a battery, only it was now the most efficient storage element in the history of the world.

  "We are receiving firsthand reports that New York is experiencing distress from the Wave," Engvall said above the noise and piercing scream of the large centrifuge that spun the giant diamond.

  " 'Distress'? Must we be so formal, Professor? You may say what it really is. Thor's Hammer has struck and the world is feeling it!"

  "The Wave will travel east at five times the speed of sound and strike our old enemies, with Russia feeling it first, then China, to the east."

  "Very good. Inform your technicians they have nothing to fear from above; the Americans have failed in their attempts to reopen the excavation. Soon, with practice, we can send the Wave directly at their offshore efforts and warships, and we need not fear reprisal."

  Engvall looked from the confident face of Tomlinson to the rock-hard and emotionless face of Caretaker, and then to the scared countenances of Dame Lilith and the eighteen other Coalition board members. He walked away, hoping that this surreal nightmare would soon be at an end.

  THE ATLANTEAN TUNNEL

  The giant passageway and staircase were immense. Giant stalactites grew unchecked in the thousands of years of darkness, dampness, and disrepair. Huge fissures rent throughout the broken stairs. Thousands of feet below, the flowing lava that the Ancients had used for power generation ran free in a never-ending ribbon of hell's water.

  Everett and the SEALs had been fifteen minutes ahead as Jack and the marine contingent followed. The climb was arduous in the extreme heat, but they all felt the pressure and the mugginess sliding away the closer to the top they got.

  "Jack, we've reached a dead end here," Carl said as he backtracked to the main group.

  Collins doubled his speed and caught up with the SEALs. Sure enough, as he looked around all he could see were the rough-hewn rock strata around them. The staircase dwindled to only fifteen feet across and abruptly ended.

  "There's a loose panel of marble flooring above," the SEAL lieutenant said as he stepped up to Jack and Carl. "The sounds of machinery, engine noises, are easily coming through. Thought I would wait until you came back to open the door."

  Jack walked past the SEAL team and looked at the section of flooring above him. He looked at Carl and they both crouched to get as low as possible and used their legs and hands to push up on the panel. It moved easily, and as it did so, bright light poured into the shaft from above. This startled the two men and they lowered it back down momentarily until just a few inches were left open. Collins ventured a look around and saw that it was a large chamber of some kind. Marble pillars lay everywhere, and there was a general look of destruction, which was becoming a common site for the Backdoor team. As Jack looked out, a pair of boots stepped directly into his line of sight and he froze.

  As Jack watched, he pointed up at Carl, who nodded. Collins held up one finger and then sliced that finger over his throat. Normally they would have waited this person out, but they were preciously low on time; they had to get above this subterranean level. Jack braced himself and looked at Carl. The ex-SEAL had his combat knife out and had the large blade clamped between his teeth and was looking directly at the marble flooring.

  Five steps below, the marine major and SEAL lieutenant exchanged questioning looks.

  Jack nodded and pushed up with all his might and in that split second of bright light Everett reached through and grabbed the unseen person's boots and pulled his feet out from under him, making the person fall flat on his face with just the sound of a thud in return. Then Everett used all his weight and dragged the person through the opening just as Jac
k let the floor marble fall easily back into place. It was if a trapdoor spider had plucked an insect from the surface.

  As the SEAL lieutenant jumped in to help hold the shocked and stunned person in place, Everett brought the knife to his throat and then was shocked to see that it was a woman guard. Her eyes were wide and staring.

  "Speak English?" Everett asked easily and slowly.

  The blond woman's head bobbed up and down. The SEAL's hand was still placed hard over her mouth, and then he slowly removed it after placing a 9-millimeter to her temple.

  "Nationality?" Everett asked.

  "A ... A ... American," the woman said, looking around at the three faces staring down at her.

  "What's above us?"

  Jack just watched from his perch on the highest step.

  The woman just shook her head.

  "One time, and one time only: what is directly above us?" Everett persisted, his cold eyes staring a hole through the mercenary.

  As she watched with wide eyes, she saw Everett reach out and take the 9-millimeter from the lieutenant's hand and then reach out again and take something from the man who had opened the piece of flooring she had been pulled through. Then her eyes went to the pistol as the large blond man attached the silencer. Then he quickly pointed it at her knee. The SEAL and the marine major were shocked when he didn't hesitate a split second before loosing a round into her kneecap. The SEAL clamped his hand down hard onto her mouth to cut off her scream.

  "Knee number two goes when the question isn't answered the second time," Everett said as he shifted the silenced pistol to her undamaged leg.

  The woman shook her head from side to side again and Everett nodded at the lieutenant, who eased his hold on her mouth.

  "The Empirium Chamber," she groaned.

  "Guards?" Jack asked from above them.

  "All ... out at ... their ... posts," she moaned in pain.

  "Bring up Lieutenant McIntire," Carl said, anticipating Jack.

  Sarah came forward and saw the woman, but her eyes held no sympathy.

  "What surrounds this Empirium Chamber?"

  "It's the central government building; all other buildings radiate out from this one."

  "Not much help," Jack said. "Mr. Everett, assist our guest with her pain."

  Everett nodded and then moved the pistol to her forehead.

  The woman was in a panic as she moved her head vigorously until the SEAL's hand was shaken free.

  "No. There's a lava mount directly behind the Empirium. It rises above the emplaced gun positions, and you can at least observe the city unseen from there. Please don't kill me. There's also an old aqueduct that rises three hundred feet above all the buildings."

  "Mercenaries have changed somewhat," Everett said as he moved the pistol from her forehead.

  "I was a part of the Fourth Infantry Division. I--"

  Everett cut off her sob story before it could begin. He slugged her with his fist, knocking her unconscious.

  "Yeah, and I bet they're real proud at how you turned out," he said as he stood and looked at Jack. "I guess we better have a look-see, huh, Jack?"

  "After you, swabby," Collins said as he once again eased up the flooring.

  As Jack moved the flooring aside, Everett slid through the opening and followed, and Sarah was right on their heels.

  "Who are those guys? Do you know them?" the marine major asked the SEAL lieutenant once more.

  "They're a little unorthodox, but they sure do know how to treat a lady, don't they, Major?"

  The chamber was a mess. The klieg lights cast long shadows across the devastation. The great circular table, where thousands of years before the fate of the world had been decided by fools who wouldn't be around to see that fate, was broken in many places by fallen pillars of marble. A giant headless statue was at the center of the room as the team of Jack, Sarah, Carl, and the SEAL leader and the marine major advanced through with their MP-5s raised in readiness.

  Collins paused and listened as the sound of the generators penetrated the chamber. Shouting voices and loudspeakers signaled a large contingent around them. As he listened, he verified that all the noise was coming from his far right, nothing to the left. He headed in that direction.

  Slowly, one and two at a time, the marines followed.

  Collins saw a large opening in the back and saw beyond that the black and gray rise of lava rock. He poked his head the opening and looked up. What he saw was an amazing sight. A wall of lava rose a thousand feet into the air. Sarah joined him and her mouth was open as she saw the curvature of the great Crystal Dome above them.

  "Jesus, Jack, how that dome withstood the forces of a trillion tons of earth and water is beyond our engineering. This lava wall erupted from beneath and cooled as the island sank. The seafloor and landmass must have covered the dome as the strata beneath the island collapsed."

  "I have to hand it to you, shorty, you have an eye for detail. But for right now, take a mental picture for one of your classes, and I'll be sure to take it in. For now, let's get above this mess and see what we can do to stop these madmen."

  As Jack started using the large ripples of the ancient lava flow for cover, the entire marine company followed, not knowing they were outnumbered ten to one.

  Something was wrong and Tomlinson could see it. Professor Engvall was running from technician to technician, throwing switches and yelling something. The other Coalition members were watching the same frightening scene below them on the bottom of the ancient dry lake. Tomlinson picked up a bullhorn.

  "What is the problem down there?" he asked.

  Engvall did not answer at first. Then Tomlinson heard the generators start to power down.

  "What do you think you're doing?"

  "We have problems!" the professor shouted back. "Shut down the centrifuge immediately!"

  As men and women started to move, the pitch of the Atlantean Key became shrill-sounding as the diamond began to spin even faster. There was near panic as several men ran to the large steel carriage where the blue diamond was housed. As they drew near, their legs weakened and they went to their knees, and then as one, the three men collapsed.

  "The centrifuge is being fed by stored energy from the diamond and it's attacking faults and plates that aren't targeted!"

  "What in the bloody hell is he talking about?" Dame Lilith asked as she grabbed Tomlinson's arm.

  He roughly shrugged off her grip and used the bullhorn again.

  "Explain yourself!"

  Engvall stopped running for a moment and looked up at the raised platform.

  "The damn Key is far too powerful; it's increasing the power to the amplifiers. The tones are out of control. Somehow the fault lines of every sector must be connected. It's not just the power of the diamond or the accuracy of the tone grooves. The fault and plate diagram of the Ancients was inaccurate, and now our monitors are picking up seismic stresses as far away as Africa, the Middle East, and Europe!"

  Tomlinson still did not grasp what was happening.

  "Are the tones working against our main targets?"

  "Yes, they are! But they're also attacking the plates of every continent on the planet! The strata information on the chart was incorrect: the Key with its increased power output is tearing apart less dense rock and stone that make up the tectonic plates. The Ancients made mistakes in their calculations of density; that, coupled with the diamond storing and increasing power, is shattering the crust of the planet!"

  As if for added emphasis, the stone flooring beneath them started to vibrate, and then rumbling sounds fed upward from below Atlantis.

  "This cursed science was never meant to be used!" Engvall screamed.

  Tomlinson just stared at him.

  Jack and Everett, along with the two other marine team leaders, watched the activity below them. The ground was starting to move in small jerks and the remaining buildings of Atlantis were starting to move almost imperceptibly.

  Jack and the others used th
eir night-vision goggles in the semidarkness around them. Arrayed around the city were machine-gun teams and what looked like mortar positions. There were even four artillery pieces, all aimed at the excavation opening that was now sealed.

  "Well, we have the element of surprise, and, boys and girls, that's all we have," Jack said as he lowered his goggles.

  "That's something, at least. Maybe we could--"

  Everett's words were cut off as the porous rock around them started to shake.

  "Do you get the feeling that something may have screwed up down there?" Sarah asked.

  Jack looked around hurriedly. "We have to move now. I want the two mortar positions set up, with priority on their counterparts below. Then I need those howitzers taken out. Major, they're your men, get them into place. I'll need the three assault platoons for hitting that lake bed below. The third will assist with the mortar teams. Mr. Everett, you and the SEALs take out that platform and shut that equipment down; follow our lead, we'll make room. It's a plan on the fly, but as you can feel, things are starting to get a little dicey around here. I'm taking a fire team up the slope and getting on top of that aqueduct; we can cover everyone from there."

  Everett looked at his watch. "I suggest we give the two mortar teams five minutes and then we go in exactly five minutes and thirty seconds."

  "Check. Okay, Major, get your element ready. And remember, the first rounds you send out there have to be accurate as hell, that's your job. If they turn those mortars and artillery pieces against our men, we'll be cut to ribbons."

  "Yes, sir, the corps won't let you down."

  "Well, it won't be me as much as the entire world, son. Good luck."