The Hidden Reality (Alex Pella, #2)

by Stephen Martino

  “Do you know where it came from?”

  “It originated from a delivery service that stored the artifact for three years before delivering it. What’s odd is that two other packages were sent out from that exact spot from the exact same person of interest—one to you and the other to Alex Pella.”

  “The espionage documents?”

  “You’ve guessed it,” Kevin replied.

  “Do you know what the significance of this shield is?” she asked, admiring its magnificent façade.

  “No,” Kevin responded. “But what’s even stranger is that when the forensics lab ran a brief analysis on it, the results were more than unexpected.”

  “How so?”

  “The lab wanted to do further testing on it before making any concrete conclusions,” Kevin went on to say but was interrupted when the holograph in the center of the room instantly transformed into an image of the Arabian Peninsula. The image began to zoom in on a country at the southeastern portion of this landmass.

  “Intel has just arrived that our two refugees have landed somewhere in Yemen,” Kevin said, listening to the information stream in from an ISA agent on the auricular microchip implanted in his left ear canal. All further concerns regarding the shield became minor afterthoughts.

  She stood up and pointed at the hologram, “They’re going after the Masjid project,” she said alarmed.

  “We have confirmed no such thing as of yet,” Kevin responded calmly.

  “I don’t care!” she said. “Blow the whole damn site. I want that whole area leveled to the sea floor.”

  Myra surmised exactly what they were after and knew immediate, drastic actions needed to be taken.

  “But what about the Masjid project?” Kevin questioned, alarmed at her seemingly rash decision.

  She glowered at him. “It all means nothing as long as both Alex and Jules are still breathing.”

  Chapter_13

  Alex dismounted his aero-bike and looked out upon the vast sandy plateau. Situated between the Arabian Sea and the mountainous city of Nishtun in Yemen, the area had been pockmarked by thousands of holes that created a checkerboard pattern.

  As he took off his helmet, a brief vision of two young men in tunics appeared to run across the plain. He knew it was just a hallucination and shook his head a few times to ensure he did not slip away into another blackout. After blinking his eyes to clear his vision, he shoved a small stake with a silver ball on its top, known as a subatomic disruptor, into the sandy ground.

  They won’t be able see or hear us with this, Alex thought confidently.

  Jules staggered off the aero-bike, attempting to regain his footing. Not one for flying and still in pain from his recent injuries, he was glad to be on solid ground. Now dressed in a similar sleek, black aero-bike jumpsuit that Alex provided before their departure, he turned to his companion and asked, “Any of this still look familiar?”

  Alex extended his palm and a holographic image appeared from a clear disk in his hand. “I grabbed these specs of the area on the flight over here.”

  Jules was impressed. The Masjid project specs were highly classified. Even he, as an executive at The New Reality, would’ve had difficulty acquiring them.

  A hologram appeared before them showing a detailed cross-section of the Masjid Project.

  “Unfortunately,” Alex said, “this area looks completely different than it appeared three years ago when I buried Albert.”

  “Excuses won’t help us find the body my dear boy,” Jules commented. “Tell me what you know.”

  “Patience, my friend,” Alex rebutted, keeping his composure. Though he felt like pushing Jules down one of the holes, he understood they were both under stress and Jules was still most likely still dealing with enormous pain.

  “As you can see,” Alex said, pointing to the hologram, “there are these X-shaped tunnels that lead directly down into the earth and transverse next to the original multileveled, horizontal-shaped bunker system that had been established in this spot.”

  He then gestured both to a large blue oval connected directly to the Aegean Sea that was positioned underneath the vast array of X-shaped tunnels and to the large molten-red river directly below it.

  “Let me show you how this whole project will work.” Alex then explained, “The blue colored reservoir at the bottom of the hologram was recently flooded with water from the Aegean. A volley of sequential explosive charges at the bottom of the X-shaped tunnels are set to detonate sometime tomorrow morning, sending water up from the reservoir and directly to the surface.”

  At the bottom of each X-shaped tunnel a tiny red dot appeared, followed by a rush of water from the reservoir up through the tunnel and to the surface, creating a small lake after the final explosion.

  Jules watched the display. Though he had heard about the project, he had never imagined the enormity of the undertaking.

  “Finally,” Alex said, “a small nuclear explosive will detonate below the blue reservoir, incinerating the crust that separates it from the large pool of magma underneath it.”

  The hologram then depicted a small explosion followed by the magma quickly rising into the reservoir above it.

  “As you know from basic science,” Alex said, “when the magma comes into contact with the water, there will be a chemical reaction, driving the magma through the crust and up to the surface.”

  The magma in the hologram then disintegrated the crust weakened by the X-shaped tunnel, and ascended rapidly to the surface, creating a massive magma lake.

  Jules fully understood the significance of the project. Not only could energy be directly transformed from the heat of the magma, but also water from the Aegean could be piped in to create a massive steam-powered turbine. Ingenious.

  “Though this holographic show piqued my intellectual interest,” Jules said, “it lacked one vital component—the placement of my uncle’s body”.

  Alex seemed more exhilarated than annoyed by Jules’ comment. “Take a look at this one tunnel all the way here to the left.”

  The hologram image transformed back into the original picture and it then began to zoom in on the tunnel.

  Taking advantage of his photographic memory, Alex said, “This exact spot is where I remember burying Albert. If you look closely next to this particular tunnel, you can almost make out parts of the original bunker system. Where the two overlap is where we will find Albert.”

  “So where, pray tell, is this golden tunnel,” Jules asked.

  “You’re standing next to it,” Alex answered.

  Jules turned to the left and saw a large hole with a mining drone situated at its top. There were a number of these robots remaining at the site. Left to be destroyed in the pending magma destruction, they each contained a long cylindrical body with an enormous conical drill attached to their front and four paired mechanical legs along their sides.

  Alex walked over to the mining drone and pulled down a door along its side. “We’d better get into this thing before The New Reality’s able to hone in on our flight path.”

  Jules joined him at the drone’s side. “An elevator would seem much more apropos at the moment,” he commented. “Don’t you think?”

  “All power is out here now except for a few selected areas,” Alex said, climbing into the drone. “And the elevator down this shaft isn’t on the list.” He waved in his direction, “Now less talking and more moving.”

  Jules begrudgingly complied.

  Alex closed the door behind, leaving them in an expansive yet dark interior. Not meant for human transport, the robot’s only source of light emanated from a small control panel located along its front.

  “Hold on,” Alex commented as began to manipulate the control panel with his pocketeer.

  The two were then thrown to the side. Jules winced as his ribs smashed against the hard metal surface, sending a shock of intense pain through his body. He would have made a snide comment, but the discomfort took his breath away.

&nbs
p; The mining drone began to lumber over and into position next to tunnel. After the initial jolt, the ride proved rather smooth.

  The robot then attached its legs to a long conveyor belt at the top of the tunnel that activated upon contact. Driven by the mining drone’s own electrical source, the conveyer did not rely on an external power source to work.

  The mining drone descended rapidly, and as they plunged deeper into the earth, the temperature began to rise in their enclosed space.

  The heat within the robot’s body became almost unbearable. Even the air seemed too thick to breathe. They gasped, forcing themselves to inhale.

  After about two minutes, their decent halted abruptly, sending them flying once again to the side.

  Jules attempted to ask if this is where the trip ended but found the air much too heavy to utter even a single syllable.

  The inside of the drone went dark as the control panel’s lights unexpectedly turned off. They then heard an eerie squeaking noise as one by one, each of the drone’s legs detached from the conveyor belt.

  With the foreboding clank of the last leg detaching, they were sent plunging down the tunnel.

  With only one thought on their minds, both Alex and Jules drew the obvious conclusion.

  They were discovered.

  Chapter_14

  “We’ve powered down all nonessential equipment and every remaining drone at the site,” Kevin said, looking at an aerial holographic view of the Arabian plain.

  “I don’t care about any nonessential electricity,” insisted Myra. “I want the site nuked at this very moment.”

  “What about the Masjid Project—all the time and energy that went into constructing it?” Kevin said, trying to bring some reason into her decision. “Plus, we have a few people yet to be evacuated from the site.”

  “I don’t care,” she insisted, pointing to the hologram. “I just know those two bastards are in there somewhere, hiding from us.”

  She walked over to the hologram and began to enlarge or shrink certain portions of it, hoping to find either Alex or Jules in the process.

  “I have my ISA team surveying the entire site at this moment,” Kevin said. “Whatever technology Alex Pella is using to cloak himself is regrettably far superior to the instruments we have.” He stopped talking for a moment as he listened to his auricular microchip. He looked up at the hologram, “We have an incoming message.”

  A fuzzy image appeared in place of the holographic picture of the Masjid project. The man’s face was barely visible and illuminated by only a small handheld flashlight.

  “It is impossible to simply detonate the nuclear explosive,” the man said in an Indian accent. “It just can’t be done. It can’t.”

  “Excuse me Mrs. President,” Kevin said formally. “This is the foreman of the plant, Arjun Shah.”

  “The nuclear warhead is only set to detonate,” the continued, “after all the other explosives discharge. I designed it myself to work in such a precise manner to ensure the process works successfully.”

  “Well,” Myra demanded, “redesign it. I want that entire site nuclear in less than a minute.”

  “Excuse me Mr. Shah,” Kevin said, muting their communication. He then turned to Myra and asked, “Before we commence something that we may later regret, I must insist as head of the ISA that you inform me why you feel so strongly that Alex and Jules are at this particular site. We still haven’t made any visual or quantum confirmation of their position. In fact, they may be in Oman, Qatar, or even Saudi Arabia at the moment.”

  Myra would have dismissed anyone else instantly for their insubordination. Luckily for him, her respect for Kevin went far beyond their working relationship. She also understood that without him, she would have been fired or possibly incarcerated years ago. Always covering up for her mistakes, disposing of incriminatory criminal evidence against her, manipulating the courts, and handling her other dirty work, he never led her astray.

  “I tracked Alex to this site three years ago when he buried Albert Rosenberg,” she finally admitted. “I never told you.”

  Kevin looked both hurt and stunned by the revelation. “Why would you hold back on such important information?”

  “This was before the ISA was even created,” she explained, “and I certainly couldn’t trust any of our security forces with the information.” She walked over to him. “It could have led to outright civil war.”

  “You believe Albert was buried with the key?”

  Myra nodded her head in agreement.

  “As do most of the top brass here at The New Reality,” she said. “And if anyone gets ahold of that key, especially Alex Pella or Jules Windsor, they have the potential to gain control over the entire New Reality if they determine how to activate it.”

  Kevin turned back to the hologram, unmuting it in the process. He, too, suddenly felt the urgency of Myra’s original request. “Mr. Shah, is there any way whatsoever to detonate the nuclear explosive at this very minute.”

  His grainy image became even dimmer as the man shook his head no. “The best I can do under these highly unusual circumstances is immediately begin detonating the tunnels. The entire sequence is perfectly timed to assure maximum effect. It will take exactly 14 minutes before the final explosive detonates, which then will trigger the warhead to go nuclear.”

  “Make it so,” Kevin said

  “But sir,” Arjun explained. “I cannot assure you the desired outcome will be achieved if we begin the process immediately. I may at best only guarantee you a 70 percent chance of success.”

  “Will the nuclear detonation destroy all the tunnels?”

  “Yes it will. But—” Arjun tried to explain.

  “Then that’s exactly the success I’m looking to achieve,” Kevin answered. “Begin the countdown now.”

  “Yes, sir,” Arjun replied, ending their conversation and returning the holographic image back to that of the Masjid project.

  Kevin took the glass of scotch from Myra’s hand. Raising an eyebrow, he said, “Shall I ready your stratoskimmer?”

  In tune with him, Myra responded, “All of a sudden I feel a need to visit Neurono-Tek. It seems there is a third package that might be of some interest. In the meantime, see what else the forensics lab can learn about the shield.”

  Chapter_15

  Neither Alex nor Jules cared about personal injury as they both clamored to open the side hatch. They felt suffocation was imminent if they remained in the mining drone’s interior another second. Fortunately, the drone had been less than 10 feet from the bottom of the tunnel when it fell, and the fall, though frightening, only proved to cause some minor bruises.

  The door opened, and fresh, cool air poured into the men’s lungs, lifting the pressure from their chests.

  Alex’s eyes felt irritated and blurry after the ride, and the dim, red light in the cavern made them begin to tear up.

  “It feels as if the light is burning my retina,” Jules, commented, attempting to stand.

  Must be some auxiliary lights, Alex thought.

  The robot had deposited them in a vast cavern the length of a football field and at least 15 feet in height. Wires and tubes covered every inch of the walls and roof, creating an atmosphere similar to that of a space station.

  “Do you recognize anything around here?” Jules asked, overwhelmed by the complexity and size of the cavern. “Is this place at all familiar?”

  Alex immediately recognized the cavern. Though now covered with space age decor, he realized they were in the correct tunnel. “This is it,” he responded, attempting to gain his bearings in this almost foreign landscape.

  A low rumble suddenly shook the cavern. Though the sound was muffled, both knew what had just occurred.

  “We better get started,” Alex said, walking close to the wall and inspecting every inch along the way. “We have less than 14 minutes now before this cavern explodes and is inundated with sea water.”

  Jules followed behind nonchalantly. “
What exactly are we looking for? Some sort of secret passage or must we find a shovel and dig the old man up ourselves?”

  “There’s a master control panel in here,” Alex answered. “This cavern was once a massive maintenance room for the original bunker system and contained backup controls that could operate every computer or machine throughout the complex. It has to still be here somewhere.”

  Alex pulled up the specs of the room on his left vedere lens, which displayed them holographically in his line of sight, while he continued to inspect the wall for any sign of the control panel.

  Jules also began to scrutinize the area, hoping to find anything that resembled a control panel.

  Alex stood next to a wall covered in wires and other electrical equipment. Though the space was apparently similar to every other inch of the complex, he knew that he had found the correct spot.

  Another few rumbles rattled the cave. Each new echo sounded just a bit louder than the last, and the cavern shook harder with each successive blast.

  Alex grabbed a handle along the wall and a screen surrounded by a large digital display at its bottom flipped open—the writing was in Arabic.

  “Good show,” Jules said with some amazement. “That was like finding a proverbial needle in a haystack.”

  It didn’t matter to Alex what language the console had been written in. The display was self-explanatory and would take only a few moments to decipher. Plus, the schematics on the screen needed no explanations.

  Alex’s fingers danced across the console, changing the diagrams on its screen every few seconds. “I didn’t really bury Albert’s body,” he then went on to explain. “I actually lowered it in a small tunnel beneath the floor and then masked any traces of it with a small battery-powered cloaking-type device that could last 200 years. I thought it a more apropos burial for a man of his stature than just throwing dirt on him.”

  Ingenious, Jules thought.

  Another rumble shook the cavern. This time a long pipe fell from the roof and landed on the ground with a crash. A few wires sparked, and some water began seeping in through the floor.