“Well, it looks like you got beat up.”
“Yeah, but I think I intimidated the hell out of the other guys.”
A small smile spread across Caesare’s face. “Based on how bad you look, they must have been shaking in their boots.”
“I wish you could have been there.”
This time, Caesare laughed. “Gee, thanks.” He rounded the bed and dropped his large frame into the chair. “So what did happen?”
“I found Wei’s daughter, Li Na.”
“She was alive then?”
“Yes. Wei saved her life by injecting her with the bacterium from the plants.”
“Where is she now?”
Clay stared at him, still trying to piece his memory back together. No doubt made worse by the medication he was on. “I think she escaped.”
“Great.” Caesare leaned back. The room became silent before he took a breath and spoke again. “It’s gone, John. The whole thing is gone.”
“The vault?”
Caesare nodded. “They dropped a bomb and melted the whole damn top of that mountain. We survived by luck. And nothing more.”
“The Brazilians?”
“No.” Caesare shook his head. “The Chinese.”
“The Chinese?”
Caesare nodded with his eyes transfixed. “I guess if they couldn’t have it, they decided no one would.”
Clay was shocked. He gazed back out through the window, shaking his head. “How are the others?”
“Alive,” Caesare said. “Chris and Tiewater are both in the hospital. DeeAnn’s fine, but I’m sure she’s out –– this time, for good. If she was on the fence before, that fence doesn’t even exist anymore.”
Clay looked at Alison, now standing at the foot of his bed. “I guess we can’t blame her.”
“No,” Caesare said absently. “No, we can’t.”
Clay noticed Alison glance back at the door. It was the second time she had done it. “What’s wrong?”
“Me? Nothing.”
He watched Alison glance subtly at Caesare. They knew something he didn’t.
“What?”
The Queen’s Medical Center, still commonly referred to as Queen’s Hospital, was the largest in the state of Hawaii. Long since expanded beyond the hospital’s original footprint, the facility had grown to over 500 beds, 3,600 employees, and now served as the largest trauma center in the Pacific Basin.
On the bottom floor, beneath the light-green roof of the hospital’s main entrance, two automatic double doors promptly slid open as Admiral Langford and Secretary of Defense Miller strode in out of the warm, humid Hawaiian air. Both were dressed in casual clothes and walked purposefully toward the elevators. Behind them, three more individuals followed.
Langford slowed as he passed the large waiting room, noticing the feed on the giant television. It was an aerial shot of Transocean’s rig “Valant” in the mid-Atlantic. Onscreen, words overlaid the live video feed and read “Transocean loses millions to prevent disaster.”
With a bemused grin, Langford continued. He had to admit, between their two public relations teams, the story being fed to the public sounded downright heroic. The “disaster” portion was a stretch. The company hadn’t actually replaced the rig sooner than planned, nor was there a malfunction forcing the old rig to be stopped where it was. In truth, the incident was little more than a detour on the way to the scrapyard. The important thing was that it allowed the public to praise Transocean Ltd. on being proactive…before promptly forgetting the incident. Even more importantly, it provided the perfect excuse to now position an unused oil rig directly over Alison Shaw’s discovery for the next twelve months, accompanied, of course, by the U.S.S. Pathfinder.
It was the same story that had been circulated throughout each of the U.S. military’s five service branches.
When the door to Clay’s room opened next, he was surprised to see both Langford and Miller walk in, followed by Neely Lawton, Wil Borger, and to Caesare’s complete shock, a serious-looking DeeAnn Draper.
Together they looked down at Clay with concern, after which Neely exchanged a quick smile with Caesare as Langford began to speak.
“How are you, John?”
“Uh…surprised, sir.”
Langford grinned and glanced to his left. “How about you, Steve?”
Next to Clay, Caesare watched Langford with a cautious expression. “I’m fine.”
The admiral motioned to the others around him. “I know this is a little unexpected.”
“Just a tad.”
Langford frowned at Caesare. “I wanted to have you all in the same room. And since Clay isn’t going anywhere soon, I decided we could all do with a bit of warm air and sunshine.”
Clay gave a playful but questioning look at Alison, who only shrugged and smiled. Both he and Caesare watched Langford with curiosity.
“Let me start by commending you all. You did a hell of a job under the circumstances.” Langford glanced at the others. “I’m not sure if I’ve ever been more impressed with a group of individuals. It’s people like you who remind me what this country is supposed to be about. What it used to be about. And perhaps what it might someday be again. But until then, what has happened in the last few weeks, or in the last year, has been nothing short of earth-shaking. I’m sure you would all agree.” Langford straightened and put his hands behind himself. “Which is also why it must be protected. At all costs. By all of you.”
Both Clay and Caesare raised their eyebrows simultaneously.
“Sir?”
“What I’m about to say may come as a surprise. Yet it’s something on which Defense Secretary Miller and I both agree. And that is the decision to form a new classified team, composed of the members in this room. A team that reports exclusively to Secretary Miller and myself, and no one else.”
Silence fell over the room as everyone looked back and forth, curiously.
“Sir, I don’t understand,” said Clay. “Why form a team when the mission is over?”
Langford chuckled. “And what makes you think things are over?”
“Uh, well, the hidden vault is gone, sir. We recovered the last of Wei’s infused bacteria, and Alison has found the new source of plants. It seems to me we’re largely done. Except for finding Wei’s daughter.”
Langford glanced at Clay. “I have to admit, I had a similar thought. Until these three decided to enlighten me.” He turned again to face Neely, Wil, and DeeAnn. “Mr. Borger, perhaps you would like to start?”
Borger slowly nodded and stepped forward, clearing his voice. “Uh…well, it kinda has to do with Alison’s discovery near Trinidad. You see, the vault that was on top of the mountain in Guyana had to have been built…by someone. Someone who traveled here.” He nodded to Caesare. “I explained to Steve a few weeks ago that coming here to do that likely meant it was a one-way trip. Primarily due to distance, speed, and the amount of energy needed.” Borger inhaled and looked around the room. “So when you couple that with all the material involved, it’s likely they needed something to make the journey. Like a ship. And that seems to be exactly what Alison has discovered. Which leads us back to the vault.”
Caesare furrowed his brow. “The vault was destroyed, Wil.”
“I know. But I’ve been thinking.” He took another deep breath. “See, if it were me…and I had to travel all that way…I wouldn’t just build one.”
“What?”
“I said I wouldn’t build just one.”
“But what does that mean?” Caesare asked.
Borger replied with a hint of excitement. “So, think about it. Whoever it was had to travel an awful long way. Remember, Palin and his people can create portals, but there’s a catch. Distance. He explained that the farther the distance, the greater the energy required, becoming exponential. So at a certain distance, the resources available to create enough energy would be exhausted, which is exactly what was happening to them. He told us they were running out.”
&nb
sp; Caesare nodded. “So if whoever built that vault traveled by ship…”
“It means they were likely coming from much further away, from a distance they simply couldn’t create a portal from. This is part of why I think it was a one-way trip. But here’s the thing, if they did travel all that way to create a safe place for their DNA, it means they’d have to be sure it would survive, right?”
“Right.”
“Which also means it would have to be on a planet with a climate compatible with their own DNA…”
Clay stared at Borger. “So you’re talking about redundancy.”
“Exactly! If they came all this way, why would they build just one vault?”
Borger continued, faster. “Our planet is covered in tectonic plates which affect everything, including things like volcanos, storms, and tsunamis. You name it. The conditions are constantly changing. So they had to build their vault where it would be safe.”
“But given enough time, nothing is safe,” Clay replied.
“That’s right! Which means you’d need redundancy. Another, in case one was lost. A backup.”
“Or a Plan B.”
Borger smiled at Caesare. “A Plan B.”
“But we’re just theorizing at this point.”
“Not necessarily,” replied Borger. “Think about us humans. We build redundancy into almost everything around us, especially our technology. Even a simple DVD disk arranges data in a way that protects it against damage like scratches. It’s called Reed-Solomon and the code is used in a host of other technologies. Like memory sticks. Or electrical circuits. Even our cars all carry a spare tire. Life is unpredictable, and if we know that, then whoever built that vault did too. And it was supposed to be here for a long time.”
“Okay,” Caesare said. “So the argument then changes from could they have built another to…did they?”
This time, Borger didn’t reply. Instead he turned to the admiral, who in turn looked to Neely. “Commander Lawton?”
With arms folded, she stepped forward. “There’s something else.” She smiled at Alison. “A little more than a week ago, when Ali told me about what had happened at her lab with that young girl, we took blood samples from Dirk and Sally. What we’ve noticed has to do with a number of genetic markers that are common between humans and dolphins when it comes to brain makeup.
“In fact, a paper published a few years ago by a researcher at the Center of Molecular Medicine has identified a commonality among certain large-brained animals called the big brain trio. The similarities strongly suggest a convergent evolution among three very specific animals: dolphins, humans, and gorillas. Similarities in brain size and functionality are more than evident when you image them.
“In other words, a long time ago, something appears to have caused our three brains to evolve in a very similar way. Not exactly the same, but similar.”
“You mean some kind of intervention.” Caesare leaned back again in his chair.
“That’s right,” smiled Neely. “And given the genetic influence of what we found, both in Guyana and now under the water near Trinidad, this substance could very well be the catalyst responsible for our similar brain evolution.”
“Hold on,” interjected Clay. “If what’s in the water really did influence the development of a dolphin’s brain, it doesn’t necessarily mean it affected either gorillas or humans. The other two-thirds of the big brain trio.”
Now DeeAnn stepped forward. “You’re right. It wouldn’t explain why our brains developed very similarly.” She turned to Borger. “Unless…”
“Unless there is a second vault,” Borger added.
Clay and Caesare looked at each other. “And where would that be?”
“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “But if someone came here to build not just one, but two vaults, I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t put them next to each other. In fact, I suspect they would put them as far away from one another as possible.” Borger smiled. “Maybe even on another continent.”
“There’s only seven,” said DeeAnn. “And one of them, we already know, is where gorillas and humans originated.”
“Africa!” whispered Alison.
DeeAnn nodded. “Africa.”
The room grew quiet. Finally Langford spoke to Clay. “As you can see, John, it’s not over. Not only do we have a ship to dissect and a bacterium sample to study, but it seems we may also have a second vault to find.”
Secretary Miller spoke up in a deep voice. “Hence the need for a very small and very secret team.”
Caesare looked at Miller. “Who else would know about this team?”
“No one. Just the admiral and I. There would be no official records and no official funding. Whatever you need, we will find a way to provide it. Which shouldn’t be hard given what a mess our current budget is.”
“True,” Langford replied. “Fortunately, the federal budget is designed for hiding things.”
Caesare looked dubious. “If only you two know about this team, what happens when the two of you…retire?”
Miller crossed his arms. “In the event that both of us leave our posts, for whatever reason, it’s over. The team dissolves immediately, and Mr. Borger erases every trace.”
Caesare nodded and looked at the others. “So I guess the question now is…who’s in?”
“I am,” answered Neely.
Borger grinned. “Same here.”
Caesare looked to DeeAnn. “Dee?”
She took a deep breath. “I’m more surprised than anyone to be saying this, but I’m in. After seeing what they did to that mountain, what the stakes are, I get it. I see just how far some people are willing to go over this.”
Caesare was stunned.
She smiled at him. “Besides, I’ve always wanted to see Africa.”
Clay looked up at Alison. “Ali?”
Without a word, she displayed a wide smile.
Epilogue
I
The rusted red steel of the aging oil rig stood in sharp contrast against the Caribbean’s emerald-blue water. The Valant, one of the first deep ocean production rigs, was small in comparison to the newer and more powerful mobile rigs. Yet it still dwarfed the Pathfinder, anchored just a quarter mile from the Valant’s pillars, which towered high above the ocean surface.
Transocean’s skeleton crew had already been evacuated once the rig was securely in place, replaced by an even smaller Navy crew. A crew comprised almost entirely of engineers, most of who were transferred directly from Captain Emerson’s ship.
The group of eight stood in line atop the Valant’s upper platform. They watched as the Sea King helicopter slowed and approached the helipad in front of them, clearly marked by a bright-red painted circle.
With only a wisp of a breeze, the Sea King landed smoothly with a gentle bounce, followed by the sound of the rotor’s decelerating.
The door slid open and a younger man jumped down onto the deck. Beneath the wind from the spinning blades, he trotted across the small pad, wheeled a small set of stairs back to the chopper, and placed them in position. The second person out was older, in his sixties, carrying a black duffle bag in each hand.
He descended the stairs, and upon reaching the bottom, dropped the bags at a safe distance. He continued across the pad to where Captain Emerson was waiting.
Emerson moved forward and extended his hand, which the man accepted with a firm shake. They spoke briefly, but could not be heard above the helicopter. Instead, they turned toward the men and waited.
“Gentlemen,” Emerson finally announced in a loud voice. “I’d like you to meet Mr. Les Gorski. He’s one of the best commercial divers on the planet, and the man who is going to do his damndest to turn all of you into bona fide divers. In case you have any doubts, it may help you to know that Mr. Gorski works extensively, training both Delta Force and SEAL teams. He is uniquely suited for this as he not only knows a great deal about deepwater diving, he invented some of the equipment you will be using.”
Several of the men smiled at Emerson’s last comment but quickly realized there was no trace of humor on the captain’s face. They watched as he turned to Gorski and nodded.
At roughly six feet tall, Les Gorski examined the group of men with his steely eyes, set behind a pair of dark framed glasses. His face was weathered and hardened against years of sun and wind. He kept himself from shaking his head. The men he was used to dealing with were very different from those standing in front of him.
He turned and glanced back at his two seasoned team members, methodically unloading heavy bags of diving equipment. “All right men,” he said, turning back. “Listen up!”
II
Lee sat quietly in the observation room, staring at the glass tank as if in a trance. On the other side of the glass, Dirk and Sally were as quiet as he was. They kept moving around the tank with the same slow, dour feeling as Lee and the others.
It had been just over a week since Juan’s funeral service, held at the church he’d attended since he was born. His parents were there, listening to the sermon but never really hearing it. His father stared at the floor, unmoving and devastated. But it was Juan’s little sister that completely tore Lee’s heart out. Her small figure leaned against her mother and never stopped crying.
Catalyst (Breakthrough Book 3) Page 37