“Lieutenant McIntire, I am told you were most resourceful in defense of your complex. You have garnered one fan among my crew. Sergeant Tyler tells me you acted in a far more aggressive nature than your geological education would have indicated you were capable.”
Sarah lowered her fork to her plate and dabbed her mouth with her napkin. Then she fixed the captain with her own stare. “I’m a trained soldier first, Captain. Why would that surprise you? However, even the untrained will fight back when attacked.”
Heirthall smiled and continued to study Sarah. “I suspect that you have had special training, perhaps from someone close to you?”
Sarah did not care for the line of questioning. Had she heard about Jack—his death? Was this her way of getting to her, perhaps mocking what she felt for him? She was about to respond when she was stopped by the intercom.
“Captain, this is the conn—ma’am, this is the officer of the deck. We have reached the coordinates for Mark Antony and picked up his transponder.”
Heirthall continued to hold Sarah with her eyes for a moment longer, and then reached out and pushed something under the tabletop hidden to her guests.
“Thank you, Mr. Abercrombie. Order all stop if you please, and order the crew to quiet conditions for the next ten minutes.”
“Aye, Captain. All stop.”
Around the table, they felt the deceleration of the giant submarine as the propulsion system went to low power.
“Commander Samuels, if you’ll do the honors, please,” she said, once more looking toward Virginia.
The first officer nodded, stood from his chair, and approached the far section of hull, which held deeply embedded three-dimensional studies of sea life of every major category. The captain sat silently and watched her guests.
The first officer stood next to a small keypad and entered a code. Suddenly the composite inner hull separated into two pieces, slid apart, and then slipped down, sinking away into the hull. Then everyone saw another protective layer fall away, and then finally another. Triple layers of material separated them from the pressures of the sea. What remained was an illuminated view of the blue ocean. The water was crystal clear, and it seemed you could see forever with the help of the powerful lights outside the hull. Niles and the others stood, walked over to the forty-five-foot by thirty-foot window, and stared at the vastness before them. The captain remained seated as they took in the spectacular view.
“My God,” Alice said as she took Garrison’s hand and squeezed. “It is beautiful.”
Heirthall pushed back her chair and joined them at the window. She placed her hands behind her back and watched the sea beyond the reinforced acrylic.
“We have just moments ago entered the Arctic Circle. Soon we will dive for deep water and make our passing under the ice. I thought first you might like to see just what it is we are protecting in this area of the sea.”
They turned and watched as she flipped a small switch in the same panel that opened the viewing window.
Sarah felt it first, and leaned into Farbeaux as her ears started to ring. The others felt it a moment later. It wasn’t an uncomfortable sound, just penetrating. Strangest of all, it almost felt and sounded familiar, as if an old song remembered.
“The sound you hear has been ingrained in your subconscious. From the dawn of life on this earth you have carried this sound with you. It’s the sound of the very first mammals, the very sound of life and of the sea. The only difference is the fact our cousins here went back to the sea, while we stayed. We are one with them.” She took a step back and looked down the line of Event personnel. “You see, Senator Lee, life can be coldblooded as you stated, but in the sea is found ‘the hottest blood of all.’”
As she spoke the words from the D. H. Lawrence poem, “Whales Weep Not!,” a giant humpback whale swam into view. It swam slowly up to the glass, making everyone but the captain and first officer step back. The huge mouth rubbed up against the acrylic window, and the whale flipped over on its back.
“Excuse me, Colonel Farbeaux,” the captain said as she moved to the center of the window and then slowly raised her elegant hand to the glass. This movement caught the whale’s attention. It moved to the center of the window and started singing its whale song. The elongated flipper seemed to reach out and touch the glass right where Heirthall’s hand was placed. The captain smiled, then closed her eyes.
“Amazing,” Farbeaux said.
As they watched, another humpback came swimming casually through the blue waters and into the illumination of Leviathan’s lights. The captain placed her other hand upon the glass, and the second whale rubbed its giant mouth against the very spot hers was placed.
“I would like to introduce you to Antony and Cleopatra. They and their pod are friends of ours.”
Sarah smiled as she saw twenty whales come forth out of the waters surrounding Leviathan. She heard them singing, almost as if they were happy.
“It’s as if they are saying hello,” she said.
“They are, Lieutenant, they are saying exactly that. You see, once you have the fundamental mathematics down, you get the gist of what they are trying to vocalize—maybe one word in three.”
“Are you telling me that you can understand what they are singing?” Niles asked as he looked from the whales to the captain.
She had her eyes closed and was leaning into the glass, allowing the whales to get as close as possible. They seemed hesitant at first; Heirthall had to open her eyes and coax them, almost looking concerned for the briefest of moments, but then Antony rubbed his snout against the glass in a gesture that made clear his nature toward the captain.
“The series of songs and clicks, like that of dolphins, is a mathematical form of communication, Doctor. It took my great-great-grandfather years to decipher their meaning, and we still haven’t learned but a fraction of their language. Perhaps five percent—basically hello, good-bye, and”—she opened her eyes and looked at Antony, who was singing sadly—“dead.”
The mood was solemn, and the captain attempted to lighten it somewhat.
“There are other words also, for instance, baby, or newborn, happy, sad, man, and woman. We still have many years ahead of us,” she said, stepping away from the window, and as she did, the whales moved back into the abyss.
At that moment, Yeoman Alvera stepped into the lounge and handed the captain a piece of paper.
“The damage assessment for the strike, Captain,” she said as she looked toward the glass.
“Thank you, Yeoman, you are excused,” the captain said, seeming to wince. She folded the report and it crumpled in her hand as she again was hit with pain.
Yeoman Alvera looked concerned for the captain. She looked from her to the Event Group, then half-bowed and left the compartment.
The captain pulled down at the edges of her coat and swallowed, looking at the men and women around her. That was when they noticed that the captain’s facial features seemed to droop. Gone was the fresh face of a beautiful woman; in its place was a new one that looked tired, and the eyes actually drooped down at the corners.
At that moment Sergeant Tyler opened one of the hatchways and entered. He didn’t approach the group standing at the large viewing window, but stood just inside the compartment looking at Heirthall, who only glanced his way.
“I will not lie to you. The time is past for the options I have given the world. Far past. You are here to answer questions about what your Group knows about Leviathan and her origins. That will be the duty of Sergeant Tyler; he will get the answers I need.”
The complete turnaround from hospitable host to captor caught even the suspicious Lee off guard. They looked from the captain to her first mate. He momentarily looked as confused as they at the suddenness of the change, but recovered far more quickly.
“You will still have freedom of Leviathan until such time when security will have need of you. Answer the sergeant’s questions truthfully, and you may survive your visit. Lie, and you’ll
find Leviathan can be a very cold place to be.”
They watched the captain as she rubbed her temples and then lowered her head. She paced to the large double hatchways, and the two guards opened them.
“Until you are needed you will not be interfered with, as you have the run of my home.”
Niles stepped away from the window.
“Captain, we know nothing about you or any part of your existence other than the relic we had stored in our vaults.”
Sergeant Tyler smiled as he held the hatchway for Heirthall. His look told the group he was looking forward to confirming what Niles had stated.
The captain paused at the hatch and half-turned. Instead of commenting on Niles’s denial of knowledge, she said, “If any of you were wondering, whales usually do not travel in pods this large. You see, they are sick, frightened, and without hope. They don’t understand what is happening to them; their birth rate is down to near zero. In addition, I honestly don’t know how to tell them that it’s my own kind that is doing this evil thing to them. There is even greater, more brilliant, and far more ancient life that it may be too late to save.” After making this mysterious comment she walked out with her guards.
Tyler again turned to the Group, smiled, and then followed the captain out of the compartment.
“The captain is ill, Mr. Samuels. I don’t know if you noticed or not,” Alice said, looking at the man and waiting for a reaction.
Samuels looked as if he were going to answer, but instead turned and left.
“I don’t know if all of you noticed or not,” Lee said as he picked a roll off the table and placed it in his coat pocket, then followed that with another. “But that little lady is mad as a hatter.”
They all looked at him.
“As insane as Lizzie Borden.” The senator looked around the interior of the salon. “And she has one hell of a little hatchet to play with—it’s called Leviathan. And now she wants to ask a few questions after showing us that ax.”
“Captain?” Samuels said, nodding for the security element to step aside. They looked at Alexandria, and when she nodded it was all right, they moved away, all with the exception of Tyler.
Heirthall leaned against the composite hull and lowered her head. Samuels reached out and took the captain’s arm.
“Please, Commander, I am all right, just tired,” she said as she shrugged off his support.
“Ma’am, I have studied the files on these people. You can ask them anything you want, but if they don’t wish it, they won’t tell you a thing.” He looked at Tyler, who watched Samuels with steely eyes. “Unless you plan to torture them.”
“If I have to, I will. The captain wants to know what these people know about her and … her family, I will get the answers she wants.”
“For what? What possible harm can this Group, or anyone for that matter, cause us or Leviathan? We are invulnerable. Once the world knows of the plight of the endangered species in the gulf, I believe they can actually assist in its survival. Bringing them aboard was a mistake, but a mistake they don’t have to pay for with their lives.”
“Commander, for the second time in a twenty-four-hour period you have questioned my orders. This can never happen again. Am I clear on that point?” Heirthall didn’t wait for the answer. She turned and made her way down the companionway.
Tyler stepped up to Samuels and looked the smaller man over.
“Listen to the captain, Mr. Samuels; don’t make me have to question your loyalty.”
The first officer of Leviathan watched the head of security turn away and follow Heirthall. He slumped against the bulkhead and closed his eyes. He knew something was happening that he knew nothing about, and if Tyler knew, that something couldn’t be good. And what was worse, his captain was changing right before his eyes.
EVENT GROUP COMPLEX,
NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, NEVADA
Dr. Gene Robbins was staring a hole through Carl Everett. The captain returned the glare and added a bit more of his own.
“You cannot question Europa in the manner in which you have been, Captain. Do you think she responds to your anger? She probes other computers for back doors into their systems, bypassing any corporate or company security program added after that particular computer’s manufacture and programming.”
“I understand that, Doc, but you cannot sit here and wait. We have a tight time frame to get a handle on what we’re dealing with. Professor Ellenshaw gave us a good starting point with this theory of his, and he gave us a name, so damn it, let’s start there.”
“I think we should verify the professor’s findings first—that way we don’t waste the time if he’s wrong in his research.”
“Listen, Professor Ellenshaw has proven to everyone in this complex that his work is viable. He’s not a nutcase—that man is brilliant, and the sooner you get ahold of that fact, the better off you’ll be. Start with his findings,” Everett said angrily.
“Europa, do you have information regarding the research for a Professor Francis Heirthall—University of Oslo—say eighteen thirty-five on?” Robbins asked, not liking the lecture from Carl.
At that moment, Jack walked into the room pulling on rubber gloves. Robbins shook his head but continued to write on his notepad.
“Hope you don’t mind. I need some quiet time while Pete arranges for transport to the Pacific for us,” Jack said as he pulled out a chair and sat to the right of Carl.
“So we are going with Professor Ellenshaw’s hunch?” Everett asked.
“I believe he said quiet time, Captain. May we continue? Colonel Collins, we are not using Europa clean-room protocols; you may discard the gloves.”
Jack half-smiled as Everett turned back to face Robbins, but did not say anything. Collins walked to the trash bin and tossed his gloves inside. He noticed something under the discarded pair he had just thrown in. He reached in and picked up another glove coated in a silvery substance that looked familiar to him. He shrugged and almost tossed it back inside the waste bin, but instead wrapped it inside of one of his own gloves and pocketed both.
“Dr. Robbins, Europa has formulated the text of several verified experiments conducted by Professor F. Heirthall, University of Oslo, eighteen thirty-six to eighteen forty-three. List is as follows:
“ ‘The utilization of electrical current derived from reciprocating engine (steam).’
“ ‘Copper usage in the flow-through aspects of electrical current.’
“ ‘Hydrodynamic tolerances and depth degradation of oxygen filled platforms.’
“ ‘Oxygen purification—carbon monoxide poisoning.’”
As they watched the words appear and listened to Europa, they didn’t realize at first that the list was complete.
“Europa, what do you have on the professor after eighteen forty-three?” Everett asked.
“Information extracted from the Oslo Herald, June third, eighteen forty-three, reported the death of Francis Heirthall in a University of Oslo laboratory fire.”
“Being a navy man as I am, based on this list I would say the professor was working on systems that are consistent with submarine design,” Carl said as he looked at Jack.
“I think you’re right, Captain,” Jack said as he leaned toward his microphone. “Europa, was the professor married?”
Europa placed one more program by robotic arm.
“Oslo census reports Dame Alexandria Heirthall, eighteen twenty to eighteen fifty-one, listed as spouse at the time of the professor’s death. Son: Octavian Heirthall.”
“Is there any newspaper account of the Heirthall family listed in historical records other than the accomplishments and research records of Professor Heirthall?” Robbins asked.
Europa started loading more programs.
“We may be barking up the wrong tree here, Doc,” Everett said.
“Possibly, but let’s go ahead and cut this tree down at any rate so we can move on with a clear conscience.”
“One newspaper account f
rom France dated September nineteenth, eighteen forty-six, is the only mention of the Heirthall name after the eighteen forty-three obituary for Professor Francis Heirthall,” Europa said in her female voice, at the same time typing out the script on the large monitor.
“What was the gist of this French news story?” Jack asked without much hope in finding anything worthwhile.
“Headline reads as follows: NORWEGIAN ROYALTY BATTERS FRENCH AUTHOR IN CIVIL COURT.”
“Okay, what sort of suit was brought against this author?” Everett asked.
“I don’t see how this is connected—”
“The lawsuit brought by Dame Alexandria and Octavian Heirthall was in reference to libel and defamation of her husband’s character,” Europa answered, cutting Robbins’s protest short.
“Come on, Europa, for crying out loud, who was the author?” Everett asked angrily, tired of this slow line of questioning and starting to think Robbins was right.
“The defendant in said case is listed only as A. Dumas, Paris, France. Occupation: novelist.”
Jack sat up straight. “Europa, what was written about Heirthall? I mean, was it a book?”
Robbins shook his head in reference to the way Collins was asking questions.
“The item was listed as a manuscript not yet in book form that was sent to the family for comment.”
“What was the title of the manuscript?” Jack asked.
“Holy shit,” Carl said when the answer appeared.
Collins shook his head when it was apparent Europa had finished her research. He watched silently as the last words typed out blinked in a greenish hue on the big screen, and Europa verbally answered.
“Title of novel: The Count of Monte Cristo.”
10
LEVIATHAN, 420 MILES NORTHEAST
OF THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
(THE POLAR ICE CAP)
Niles thought it the best course for Alice and the senator to act as one team, he and Virginia another, and because Sarah seemed to tolerate Farbeaux far better than any of them, they would comprise the third team. The idea was that as they toured the ship in teams, they could cover more ground, and at least keep the eyes that would surely be upon them far busier tracking three groups than they planned. Niles stressed the fact that they were prisoners, not guests. Their task now was to find some way off this seagoing prison.
Leviathan: An Event Group Thriller Page 21