The God Complex: A Thriller

by Murray Mcdonald

  “And the aircraft in your hangar?”

  “You recognized some didn’t you?’ asked Thalia with a smile.

  Sophie nodded, a few vaguely but one in particular.

  “Working prototypes, using the scale and design from the drawings and artifacts that have been found around the world.”

  “Working?” asked Sophie.

  Thalia nodded. “Fully working, yes!”

  “Holy shit!” Sophie said, thinking back to the discussion with Cash. How did the different civilizations all know about pyramids?

  “But how can we not know about all this?” Sophie asked Thalia. “How can the world be in the dark about what happened in our past?”

  “Are we? If you were to read some passages in ancient texts, the Torah, the bible, many of the oldest documented writings, there are numerous references to gods coming down from the sky in fiery clouds. In many of the ancient artifacts, there are rocket type drawings and symbols. The hieroglyphs have many examples of rocket type drawings. Heaven itself… what is heaven? When we talk of heaven we look to the sky.”

  “What are you saying, that the gods were aliens?” asked Travis.

  “I’m not saying that, I’m saying there’s more than one way to read what was written. I mean, if you lived two thousand years ago and saw a spaceship, how would you describe it, if you’ve not seen anything like it before and no words exist to describe it?”

  “But what you’re suggesting is that God actually existed as flesh and blood,” said Sophie.

  Thalia shrugged. “All I can give you is what we can decipher from the clues that have been left to us.”

  “So the prototypes could be lucky coincidences?”

  “They could be. There are many more that didn’t work. Although one thing to consider is that nowhere in nature does a flying bird have a vertical tail, something that is a must for us to be able to fly. Many, many examples from across the sites have vertical tails. If they were trying to symbolize birds why turn their tails through ninety degrees?”

  Travis got up. “I’m sorry guys but I need to head back to Washington. Keep in touch,” he said, looking at Cash in particular, before gesturing for the Senator to follow him into the corridor.

  “Travis?”

  “Why in the hell is this work not part of Area 51? They’re doing work that you and your committee closed down ten years ago!”

  “We believed the nature of the work was a little too controversial for mainstream—”

  “So you keep it from everyone? They’re working on stuff that could be helping Area 51 develop God alone knows what.”

  “Area 51, about which in 2013 your agency published a paper to explain its purpose? That Area 51?” asked the Senator, raising his voice with each word.

  “We’re talking about impacts on religion, the perception of our origins, we’re talking about real knowledge of potential alien intervention. Do you think the public needs that? Do you think the government wants that? Or the church, the Vatican, the Muslims, the Jews? Can you imagine a world where religions were categorically disproved? The moral code, the ethics which drive people, order, control of the masses, belief in a purpose. As Karl Marx famously said ‘religion is the opium of the people.’ Well imagine seven billion people suddenly going cold turkey. A world without any of these would be a world plunged into chaos.

  “But you can’t just create your own secret agency!”

  “And why the hell not! My committee members and I have been elected into our positions by the people of the United States of America to look after their interests. And that’s exactly what we’re doing.”

  The Senator turned and reentered the AV room, leaving a speechless Travis Davies behind. Travis had every intention of marching back in to give him hell but it was pointless. The man thought he was beyond reproach, untouchable. Travis rushed back to the hangar. He was already running late.

  ***

  “In your research, have you found any detail about the end of the world?” asked Sophie.

  “We’ve seen a few references to that but to be honest,” Thalia replied, “the date we’ve calculated is so far off that we’ve left it and moved on to other areas.”

  “Thanks,” said Sophie, although it hadn’t helped. They were still in the dark as to why the guardians were so keen to protect a secret that was potentially millions of years in the future.

  “If we’re finished here, we can grab some food and then you can take a look at some of our prototypes,” Thalia suggested.

  “Sounds good,” said Cash.

  “You coming?” asked Cash when everyone started to move away except for Rigs, who sat transfixed on a photo of the pyramid.

  Rigs waited until it was only the two of them alone in the room. “We’re missing something,” he said, his eyes not moving away from the screen. “Something really big!”

  Cash looked at the image. A few people were visible like ants at the base of the structure, putting the scale of the pyramid into perspective. It was huge, far bigger than Cash had appreciated.

  “We’re not dealing with humans,” said Rigs standing up.

  “So, what? Aliens?” asked Cash.

  “I don’t know but we didn’t build that,” said Rigs.

  The lights blinked once and the room filled with an ear-bursting pulsating of a klaxon in full flow.

  Through it all, Cash heard a scream. Sophie. He ran.

  Chapter 53

  The recorded history of the Sicarii Order was as old as the bible itself. However, their history stretched back into the depths of the Jewish faith. They were trained killers with one goal: to protect the faith at any cost. Through history, their links to the Jewish faith had lessened but their expertise and training in killing had grown. The art of killing had become a lucrative and profitable business. Failure was not an option to the Sicarii. If they took on a job, the honor of each of the twenty-strong order was on the line.

  Katya’s failure to secure Senator Bertie Noble and keep him safe for the Nobles had resulted in two additional Sicarii being sent to assist her in the hunt to find him. Their Jewish links allowed them access to one of the most extensive and resourceful intelligence agencies in the world. The Mossad and their Sayanim, the Jewish helpers, who, when called upon by the State of Israel, would help where possible. Although not linked to the Mossad or part of the Israeli Government, the Sicarii were at their disposal whenever needed and never at any cost. In return, when the Sicarii requested assistance, the Mossad delivered without question. The only caveat was that they couldn’t harm the state of Israel, something they knew the Sicarii would never do anyway.

  It had taken two days for the first hit. A Sayanim pilot employed by the CIA had reported that the Senator had boarded his aircraft, but the destination was sketchy, somewhere in upstate Montana.

  It had been enough for Katya. She had secured a private jet, the fastest they could get, and headed out west, loading every piece of kit they might possibly need. She wasn’t missing an opportunity to secure her target. The New Citation X was being pushed to its limits as Katya raced across the country. The new destination had come in right before they arrived in Montana. The pilot reprogrammed the new destination for Nevada, where they arrived to find nothing.

  They frantically checked the coordinates and their dials. There was nothing below except for dark desert floor surrounded by mountains.

  “There’s nothing there,” insisted the pilot.

  A beep on her phone signaled a new message, forwarded from the Sayanim. ‘Landed on dark runway disguised as ground. Hangar and facility in mountain, runway only visible through night vision goggles.’

  Katya looked at her two colleagues.

  “Jump?” she asked.

  Both nodded. They were as keen to secure the Senator as Katya. Five minutes later, the three highly trained killers were parachuting from the Citation preparing their weapons on their drift down to the desert floor below. A fast jog after disposing of their parachutes had them
standing on the well disguised runway. Their major problem was getting into the actual facility. There wasn’t even a hint of seam where they could blow a door to gain entry.

  “We could be setting off motion sensors and God knows what out here,” said Mika, the younger of the two Sicarii who had joined Katya.

  “Katya, I have to agree, we’ve been a little hasty here,” said Levi, one of the older and more experienced Sicarii. He was next in line to lead the order. It was a very simple hierarchy. The most experienced Sicarii led the order, upholding the traditions as they had been followed since the order began.

  Katya was about to agree when the groaning sounds began. The mountain was lifting. There were no seams to be seen because there weren’t any, the mountain rose from the ground, sliding up into itself. A darkened hangar sat open before them, a full five minutes had passed for the mountain to open. A small jet taxied out of the hangar and out onto the runway. Its engines were already screaming by the time it reached the end of the runway. It shot across the darkened floor in front of them. They lay prone where they had stood, off to the side of the runway. Not a soul was in sight as the aircraft leaped into the sky. The groan sounded again; the mountain was closing.

  “I don’t like it,” said Levi. “We’ve no idea what we’re up against in there.”

  Katya felt the responsibility of her previous failure mentally and physically. Her wound stung like a bitch. She got up to a crouch and ran towards the hangar. Mika looked at Levi, the senior member of the team.

  “Go!” he said.

  The Sicarii always stuck together.

  Katya had her MP7 up and ready when she entered the hangar, sweeping the area in front of her; Mika and Levi were doing the same on either side of her. Between them they were covering the full arc of the hangar.

  Mika had been right. They had triggered a silent alarm. Air Force Security personnel rushed towards them from a small watch room at the back of the hangar. Katya, Levi and Mika opened fire. Their silenced MP7 Heckler and Koch submachine guns sent spit after deadly spit, sending the security forces crashing to the floor. Ten airmen were dead before they even knew it wasn’t a drill.

  With the hangar secure, they reached the door to the facility; it was a solid steel mass. The alarm klaxon began to wind up, its pulses pounding the ear drums with an aim of disorientating attackers. The Sicarii barely noticed it. Their training covered noise, flashes, tasers. They were desensitized to the normal distractions deployed to debilitate people.

  Levi placed a charge and motioned for his colleagues to step back. It blew, the door held. He placed another charge, slightly larger. It blew, the door held.

  He placed a larger charge, motioning for his colleagues to step well back. It blew, and the door finally gave way.

  ***

  Sophie screamed when the door at the end of the corridor buckled and then gave way, her ears aching from the klaxons’ constant and monotonous pulse. Before she knew why, she was being propelled down the length of the corridor at speed. She whipped her head around to see Cash had her by the arm, her feet were hardly making contact with ground. The Senator was behind her, with Rigs ushering him from behind. Thalia was leading the way, responding to something Cash was shouting at her.

  “Armory,” she finally understood.

  A group of airmen rushed past them towards the door, armed in full riot gear. The sounds of gunfire escaped between pulses.

  Sophie found herself being thrown into the armory. The klaxon finally died. Everybody obviously knew they were under attack.

  “Grab whatever you need,” said Thalia needlessly. Cash and Rigs were already filling their pockets with ammo and every other piece of kit they thought could conceivably help, after having grabbed a couple of HK416s and Berretta 9mms.

  “How many security personnel?” asked Cash.

  “Twenty and from what I heard from the men rushing past us, ten are already down.”

  “Layout?”

  “One long corridor with rooms off it. It’s effectively one long half mile tunnel in the mountain. One way in and one way out.”

  “Senator, you’re looking nervous, any idea who these guys are?”

  “There’s more than one?!” he gasped.

  “I think I heard three,” said Cash.

  “They’re assassins, the one that kidnapped me killed eight men and disappeared.”

  “The same people from Santa Cruz?”

  “God no, those guys were amateurs in comparison. Have you heard of the Sicarii?”

  Cash shook his head.

  “Very few people live to know their name.”

  “You know it.”

  “I wish I didn’t.”

  Cash looked at Rigs, who shrugged, unimpressed.

  “I’ll take you guys further into the mountain,” Cash said. “Rigs will wait here and come at them from behind. Thalia, you lead the way, I’ll bring up the rear.”

  Sophie was ushered to the door by Cash. She looked around to say goodbye to Rigs but he was nowhere to be seen.

  Gunfire echoed from up the corridor. The airmen’s machine gun fire seemed relentless, until it just stopped.

  “Go!” Cash urged Thalia. The silence from behind was not a comforting one. Thalia raced past door after door, the end of the corridor coming into view. A few gunshots rang out behind them, all were quickly silenced.

  “What’s down here?”

  “The last door leads to the plant room, generators, air conditioning equipment…”

  “In there,” instructed Cash. He had an idea, which he shared quickly with Thalia before closing the door.

  “Don’t open this unless I knock the signal!” Cash turned. It was time to hunt the hunters.

  ***

  When the door blew, Levi, Mika and Katya were already moving, their weapons up and at the ready, as heads popped though doors. One of them was already on a target and took it out. One shot, clean kill.

  While Levi watched the corridor, Mika and Katya cleared the rooms. The first room was nothing more than a small reception room, empty. The second room, an image of a pyramid projected on the wall, empty.

  Bullets rained down when Levi ran to join them in the second room.

  “Five heavily armed, coming our way,” he called, diving into the room for cover.

  The deafening noise of the automatic rifles continued as the security team neared the room. Bullet after bullet pounded the door frame, uselessly expending bullets for no reason other than to pin the Sicarii in situ. As long as the bullets rained they knew not to worry.

  A brief pause was all Katya and Levi needed. They signaled to Mika. He pulled the door open and he and Levi dived out at foot level into the onrushing security team, their MP7s firing accurately as they rolled across the corridor. By the time they were in the crouch position, the five security men were lying dead.

  “Amateurs,” exhaled Katya, waving for Mika to join them.

  The next few rooms mopped up the last of the security team. Four rooms and another five dead security men.

  Katya watched the corridor while Mika and Levi cleared the armory. Mika burst in with Levi at his back. They swept the room, empty.

  ***

  Cash ran back towards the armory. The sound of gunfire had already died. The last of the security team must have been taken out. It was only as he ran back he realized the incline in the floor, a slight upward slope towards the entrance. He stopped. They were above him, their line of sight was above his, they had the advantage.

  Cash crouched and fired down the corridor.

  The lights went out, plunging the facility into a darkness only possible buried deep in a mountain, with no residual light from any source to give even the tiniest detail of the surroundings.

  ***

  “What was that?” said Katya, using her ears to replace her eyes.

  “What?” asked Levi.

  “That sucking noise?” she asked

  The lights came back on. Mika was on the floor, his throat sli
t cleanly, silently gasping for air his lungs were never going to get.

  “I thought you cleared the armory,” Katya said. Her mind had already moved on from her fallen comrade. He was dead. His mind just hadn’t accepted it yet.

  Levi rushed back with his MP7 at the ready. A ceiling tile was missing.

  “He was behind us, he must have gone back towards the entrance,” said Katya, her MP7 trying to cover both directions.

  “How do you know they’ve not all played the trick?”

  “Did you hear him?”

  “No,” said Levi.

  “Exactly. Trust me, we’d have heard the Senator.”

  Gunfire rang out again, the same two shots, three, one, then two.

  The lights went out, plunging them into darkness again.

  Katya spun round. She heard a shuffling and fired a round.

  “That’s me!” screeched Levi.

  Ten seconds turned to twenty, then thirty.

  Katya was spinning, tuning in to every tiny noise. Mika’s body was still gurgling at their feet.

  Levi’s breathing was becoming heavier, the darkness was unnerving. Mika’s dying body wasn’t helping them.

  Thirty became thirty five. “We’re letting them hunt us,” said Levi, infuriated at how easily the tide had turned against them.

  Forty seconds. The lights came on. A face appeared in front of him; it was a face he recognized, a face he had been sent to hunt at an ancient site. He raised his MP7 to fire, but it wouldn’t move. A vice like grip held its muzzle aimed at his own foot. Rigs smiled and slashed the knife cleanly across Levi’s throat, silencing his dying scream.

  Katya’s vision wasn’t dissimilar, only she had no idea who the man was that was less than an inch from her face when the lights came on. Her MP7 also didn’t move. She let go of it and moved with lightning speed to her waistband, retrieving a knife and thrusting it into her attacker. Unfortunately, the thrusting motion was what her mind had intended for her body to do, a body that had already been effectively severed from her mind when a 9mm bullet tore through her spinal cord.