“I know it’s a leap,” said Soong. “But after everything we’ve seen, I’m willing to make it. And who’s to say if our dating methods are completely accurate?”
“Why, Dr. Soong, you’re beginning to sound more and more like my father.”
She gave him a sidelong glance. “And that’s a good thing?”
He raised his glass and gave her a wink. “To me, my dear Dr. Soong, the best of things.” He put his drink down. “Now, where is our friend?”
Donovan nodded toward the front of the shop. “He’s been here for ten minutes.”
“What’s he waiting for?” asked Benny.
“He’s sizing us up,” said Zell. “He wants to make sure we are who we say we are.”
“But he knows you and Alan,” said Soong.
“Yes,” Zell answered, “but not you two. And, what with everything we’ve been through, it does no one any good to take chances.”
After a moment, the towering man up front strode to their table, exuding confidence, almost like a prince striding forward to claim his crown. His fierce obsidian eyes seemed to size them up with only a glance. He stopped at the table, peering down at the four of them.
“Hujambo?” he asked Donovan in a bass voice that resonated from deep within his khaki shirt. Are you well?
“Sijambo,” Donovan replied, nodding his head cordially. I am fine.
Suddenly, the man leapt across the table, grabbing Donovan by his shirt with an oak-like arm and yanking him to his feet. Soong jumped out of the way, while Benny stood up, ready to mix it up with this newcomer. At once, the man’s smile broadened, revealing one missing tooth, and he let out a belly laugh that almost shook the glasses on the table. He pulled Donovan close, and the two embraced.
“Your friends are jumpy,” he said, still laughing.
“You would be too, in our shoes,” Donovan said.
The man then turned to Zell. “You still hanging around with this loser?” he asked.
“Depends on which one of us you’re talking to.”
The man laughed even louder, gripping Zell in a massive bear hug. Once Zell was released, he turned to the table.
“Badru,” he said, making the introductions, “this is Anthony Benevisto and Dr. Soong Yang Zi.”
Badru shook hands with the two of them.
“Badru studied at the institute under my father,” Zell explained. “He and Donovan spent years together in some of our African expeditions.”
“We had our share of adventures,” Donovan said. He punched Badru in the shoulder. “Then he decided to get respectable.”
“Well, for me it came down to a simple choice,” Badru said. “More money or more broken bones.” He laughed again and turned to the table. “Donovan has told me about you,” Badru said to Benny and Soong.
“Not everything, I hope,” joked Benny, still a little taken aback by what had just happened.
“What he didn’t tell me, I was able to fill in for myself,” Badru replied, tossing a newspaper onto the table. The group peered at the headline, which was in Swahili.
“What does it say?” asked Benny.
“More of the same from the White House,” said Zell. He read aloud. “‘The President reports that the alien ship represents the greatest discovery in human history, and she thanks the Phoenix team for their incredible service.’” Zell tossed the paper aside. “She goes on to say that, conveniently, further missions will be postponed until a proper analysis of the data recovered from the ship can be made.” He sighed in disgust. “A lovely piece of fiction.”
“So what are you saying?” asked Badru. “That your president knows something she’s not telling the people? Something you also know?”
“That’s exactly it,” Donovan answered.
Badru laughed again. “That’s why I like you, Alan. When you see a tiger trap, you always find the best way to walk right into it. So what are you telling me, my friend?”
“I’m telling you there is no alien ship.”
Badru took a moment to absorb that, then pulled up a chair. “Why do I get the feeling that your presence here might be frowned upon by members of your government?”
“You’ve had those sinking feelings before,” Donovan said, smiling.
“Yes, and they usually led to an extended stay in the hospital,” his friend remarked, grimacing. “So what are you all involved in?”
Badru listened as the group explained everything that had happened in the Ocean of Storms. The ship, Joshua, the devastating future that awaited the world. When they got to the part about the second ship, his eyes flickered with recognition.
“What you’re saying, however incredible it is, is sounding less and less like fiction,” he mused.
“What are you getting at?” asked Donovan.
“Two years ago,” said Badru, “men began coming through here. Men with trucks, helicopters, making a lot of noise. They set up camp out on the crater.”
“Crater?” asked Benny.
“The Ngorongoro Crater,” said Donovan. “Based on the input you’ve given us, I’m pretty sure it’s where the second ship lies.”
“These men,” Badru continued, “they moved my people off our land, telling them there was a plague that would soon kill off the wildlife and plants in the area.”
“That’s a raw deal,” muttered Benny.
“Not as bad as you may think,” Badru said. “My people are Maasai. One of the oldest and, at one time, most powerful tribes in Africa. We are seminomadic, moving with the changing seasons. Besides, we are used to being shuttled from one place to another by someone’s government. We are the last tribe to resist such requests to adopt a more sedentary lifestyle. As a result, we’re not all too popular with most people. Except tourists, of course.”
“And this plague they told you about?” Zell asked.
“Most people can’t get near the crater, but my university credentials have gotten me close enough.”
“Close enough for what?”
“Close enough to snap these shots.” He put a handful of pictures on the table and leaned in. “Close enough to see that there’s no plague, no pestilence, no wildlife left dead or dying.”
Donovan looked at the images. Although blurry, he could make out machinery, tents, people running back and forth.
Badru spoke again: “If there’s a plague, where are the hazmat suits? Where are the clean rooms? There’s not even a surgical tent.” Badru leaned in. “Alan, I’ve been an archeologist for more years than I can remember, so I know what I’m looking at.” He paused. “Those men are digging for something.”
September 9
National Naval Medical Center
Bethesda, Maryland
7:08 p.m.
Franklin Wilson shifted uncomfortably in his bed. The healing of his shattered leg was going slower than he would have liked. While the makeshift splint he had employed on the Moon had probably ensured that he would walk again, it had also allowed some of the bones to fuse in a less-than-perfect fashion. As a result, doctors had been forced to rebreak the leg and start from scratch. At best, he was looking at a return to active duty within a year. The good news was, thanks to his part in the Phoenix mission, he could write his own ticket. While many believed he would return to the marines, those who knew him best saw a different kind of flicker in his eyes.
At present, he was propped up in bed, his laptop open. The door clicked open, and Wilson looked up to see Aaron Stein stroll in, his face looking more nervous and pinched than usual. Reflexively, Wilson closed his laptop.
“Colonel Wilson,” Stein said, extending his hand.
“Nice to see you again, Mr. Stein,” Wilson answered, gripping it firmly.
“How’s the leg?”
“It only hurts ninety-five percent of the time now,” said Wilson. “So I’m feeling pretty good.”
“Good to hear it,” Stein replied, shuffling through some papers. He pulled a chair up next to Wilson’s bed. “Now, Colonel, I need to t
alk with you about your shipmates on the Phoenix mission. As you may or may not have heard, all of them, with the exception of Dr. Yeoh, have gone missing. We’ve checked with Interpol and the Chinese government—nothing. Might you have any idea as to their whereabouts?”
“Not a clue, sir,” Wilson said, his eyes fixed.
Stein settled back in his seat, taking off his glasses and chewing on them thoughtfully. “We know Zell called you three days ago, just before his plane took off from Dulles. He must have said something.”
“He merely said he was returning to the institute.”
Stein eyed Wilson a moment, then leaned forward, his tone more serious. “I know your record, Colonel. I know you’re an honorable man, the kind of man who wouldn’t betray his friends. I also know you’re a man who knows the rules.” He leaned in even more. “The kind of man who knows the penalty for obstructing a federal investigation.”
“I wasn’t aware there was an investigation, Mr. Stein,” Wilson answered, his voice remaining even.
“In the NSA, Lieutenant Colonel,” he said, chuckling, “there is always an investigation.” He paused, shifting his voice to a “Let’s be pals” delivery. “You’ve got a bright future ahead of you, Frank. You’re on the fast track to the top. Maybe all the way. Are you really willing to see that derailed by a couple of loose cannons?”
“Those ‘loose cannons’ risked their lives for this country,” Wilson said.
“That may be,” Stein replied, “but they’ve decided to take this matter into their own hands, and in doing so have risked causing an international incident.”
“An international incident?” Wilson raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
Stein’s lips thinned as he stood up. “If you hear anything, you know where to find me.”
“Of course.”
“Good evening, Colonel,” Stein said, turning on his heel and leaving the room.
Wilson watched him leave, then looked out the window.
Whatever you’re looking for, guys, you better find it quick.
September 10
The White House
Washington, DC
10:45 a.m.
“What do you mean, you can’t find them?”
The President did not raise her voice often. For years she had used to her political advantage the fact that she had a remarkable ability to hide her emotions. This wasn’t to say that she wasn’t a passionate woman—far from it. Still, few legislators could ever gauge her feelings on any particularly controversial bill. On Capitol Hill they even had a nickname for her: the Poker-Faced President. However, upon hearing that the survivors of the Moon mission had just up and disappeared, her usual restraint had evaporated.
John Dieckman and General McKenna eyed each other cautiously as they sat before the President’s desk in the Oval Office. They had been the ones in charge of keeping the crew on a tight leash, at least the American ones.
“All we know for a fact is that Lieutenant Commander Benevisto is AWOL,” McKenna explained. “And that he was last seen visiting the Watergate Hotel, where Donovan and Zell were staying. They checked out and Benevisto hasn’t been seen since.”
The President leaned back in her chair and folded her arms. “What about the Chinese crew members?”
“Dr. Yeoh took a flight out to Taiwan about the same time,” Dieckman noted. “It seems he’s got a fiancée there and wanted to see how she was holding up after the recent activities.”
“And Dr. Soong?”
McKenna grimaced. “Missing too. And she was last seen with Zell.”
“Well, that’s just terrific,” the President said, slapping her desk. “All they need to do is shoot their mouths off once, and the whole arrangement with the Chinese is out the window.”
“I don’t know about that, ma’am,” Deke added. “The NSA people were pretty clear about the fact that their discoveries were top secret.”
The President glanced at Dieckman, her voice level. “You sound like you don’t approve, Deke.”
“Truthfully, Madam President, I don’t. These people are heroes. I know it’s not politically correct to throw that word around these days, but they are. And we’ve essentially—”
Dieckman’s thought was interrupted by a knock at the door, followed by the entrance of the secretary of defense, Aaron Stein.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, Madam President, but—”
“Have some good news for me, Aaron.”
Stein glanced around him at the other people in the room. Seeing that it was okay to speak, he did so. “We’ve found them, ma’am. They boarded Zell’s private jet at Dulles International shortly after they checked out of the Watergate. All of them—Zell, Donovan, Soong, and Benevisto.”
“Where the hell did they go?” McKenna demanded. “Back to Zell’s institute in England?”
“That’s what we thought at first,” Stein said as he skimmed some papers in his hand through his half-moon reading glasses. “But according to the FAA, the plane refueled at Heathrow and immediately took off again. This time only Donovan and Benevisto were on board. It seems that the larger group split up in London but all arrived at the same destination.”
“And that destination was?” the President asked irritably.
“Dar es Salaam.”
“Tanzania?” Deke said, looking at Stein. “Why would they be going there?”
“A good question,” the President mused. “Do we have an answer?”
“If they’re all together, my guess is that it’s something to do with the Moon mission,” McKenna added. “Deke, did you find anything in the Astraeus’s records to suggest—”
Stein shot the President a look, then turned back to Dieckman and McKenna, eyebrows raised.
“Well?” the President wondered. “Do you know, Aaron?”
“I can take a guess, Madam President,” Stein began slowly, “but I’m not sure you’re going to like it.”
“It doesn’t matter if I like it, Aaron.”
“Well, ma’am,” he said, pulling his glasses from his face, “what do you know of the Ngorongoro Crater?”
Chapter 19
September 10
The Hotel Harrington
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
6:45 p.m.
After dinner Badru and Donovan left the hotel in search of transportation to the Ngorongoro Crater. Both Soong and Benny were bothered by Donovan being mysterious in not permitting them to tag along. Knowing Donovan as he did, Zell did his best to ease tensions by offering them both a drink in his room while they waited. The day had been too hot to be dragging themselves across the city anyway, he decided. With the end of the dry season, the air was heavy and thick, made worse by the smell of garbage and automobile exhaust. To Zell’s mind, such weather served as the perfect excuse for relaxation before their long journey.
Zell poured some scotch for Soong and Benny and lit a cigar. Soong immediately went over to the hotel-room window and opened it wide, hoping to draw some cleaner air into her lungs. Unable to find any outside, she sat back in the window seat, watching the ceiling fan twirl and begrudgingly accepting her fate. Zell smiled and continued to puff away as he eased himself into a nearby rocking chair.
Benny was in the corner, idly flipping through a Tanzania travel guide. “Wait a minute,” he said, sitting up. “This Ngoron . . . goro . . . whatever you call it . . .”
“Ngorongoro Crater,” Zell said.
“Yeah,” Benny said, “it’s actually a collapsed volcano?”
“That it is,” Zell said with a grin. “The world’s largest unflooded and unbroken caldera, as a matter of fact.”
“English, please.”
“Essentially a crater with a diameter considerably wider than the volcanic vent which created it,” Zell answered through a haze of blue-gray smoke. “The volcano’s center usually collapses in an enormous explosion of some kind. In this case, two and a half million years ago, the lava inside formed a lid over the crater. But when the magma su
bsided, this lid collapsed the entire volcano, leaving behind an extremely large and unbroken rock wall.”
“At least that’s the theory,” Soong said.
“You sound as if you don’t believe it, Dr. Soong,” Zell answered with a grin.
“It’s just that in our line of work, we theorize so much about a subject that such theories often become biblical truths,” Soong said. “I for one have many times seen evidence which disputes even the most highly held theories.”
“I agree—no one knows for certain how it collapsed,” Zell replied. “But volcanologists believe that the volcano once rivaled Kilimanjaro in size.”
“I’m not disputing the fact that it was a volcano, Dr. Zell,” Soong noted. “It’s just that I’ve been mulling over a theory.” Soong sat forward in her seat, pressing her thin elbows into the knees of her khaki pants. “We estimate that the Astraeus crashed on the Moon roughly two million years ago and that her sister ship crashed in Africa around the same time. Now, if we buy into Dr. Yeoh’s notion that time travel acts as a river, bringing objects to the same point in time—”
“Then the second ship could’ve caused the collapse of the volcano.” Zell took another drag and smiled through the smoke. “That’s a leap of faith worthy of Alan Donovan. Or my father. I didn’t think you had it in you, Yang Zi.”
Soong smiled. “Let’s say my ability to jump to far-fetched conclusions has increased somewhat recently.”
“But still, entirely plausible.” Zell got up from his chair and rustled through the backpack on his bed and pulled out a map. He set it on the table near Benny. “See here,” Zell said, pointing at the map. “That’s the Ngorongoro Crater, six hundred meters deep, with a diameter of about nineteen kilometers.”
Benny rubbed his chin. “Well now, that’s a big goddamn hole in the ground.”
“And an important one, if those coordinates you downloaded from the Astraeus prove accurate. The whole area is a treasure trove of fossils, but I can’t imagine anyone has ever found a fossil like the one we’re going in search of.”
“But how do we get to it?” Soong approached the map and leaned over it, tucking a black strand of hair behind her ear as she did. “If the village is here, outside the crater, but the main roads are blocked to visitors because of this supposed outbreak, how do we get to it?”
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