“Thanks. You’re not so bad yourself.” She winked at me, and I laughed.
We finished all three badges and helped Beverly with the robes. The entire operation took longer than expected, and Saul called me as we packed up the business center.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Meet in my room. Number three fourteen. You’ll want to see this.” The call ended.
“Bev, do you want to take the kids into town?” I raised my eyebrows, glancing past her to the door.
“Sure. They were asking about a toy store,” she told me.
Veronica folded the robes in a garbage bag, and I carried the sewing machine, stopping to make sure Bev had cash. Saul had given her more than enough, on the off chance they were ever separated. Carson ran ahead, already excited to be getting outside after being cooped up all morning.
“Was that Saul?” Veronica asked.
We strolled to the rooms, and I stopped at my door first. “Are we okay?” I asked quietly.
She chuckled and shook her head. “Rex, don’t stress out. This is a tough time, and we have to focus for the next couple of days. We both felt last night was coming.”
I smiled. “We did?”
Saul and Evan hurried from the other end of the hall, and the big man waved us to follow into his room. Evan’s cheeks were red from the cold, and he looked dumbfounded.
“What the hell did you guys find?” I asked, setting the machine on the floor near the closet.
“It’s better if we show you,” he grunted.
Evan had the laptop open in a second, and he plugged the drone into it. His jacket smelled like stale cigarettes.
“I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t seen it. I’d suspected it would be unsettling, but this…” Evan’s finger tapped on the mouse, and a video player sprang onto the screen. “It’s an hour’s drive just to see the peaks. We stopped near the trailhead. Well, a couple of turnoffs past it, in case there were people filing toward the gathering. Guess we didn’t need to do that.”
The drone rose, the footage blinking on and off twice before stabilizing. It climbed high through the trees, moving up and west at the same time. It went for some distance, and all I saw was forest with veins of winding rivers between it. The area was undeveloped, with gaping valleys and enormous mountains. From above it was majestic and awe-inspiring.
“Here’s where things pick up.” Saul’s big forearms bunched as he crossed his arms.
“That’s Long’s Peak?” Veronica asked.
“Not quite.” Evan paused the video. “There.” He zoomed, showing us what I thought was a river at first.
“Is that a road?”
“Apparently. I don’t know if it was an old logger’s trail or what, but it’s been expanded recently. This doesn’t show up on any of the public mapping systems,” Evan said. “Even the FBI doesn’t have access to imagery with the current changes.”
“Are you saying someone has the power to add roads from the Seven into this mountain peak, without documentation?” I asked.
“I guess that’s what I’m saying.” Evan continued to let it play. I saw the trucks coming in, the line of buses and convoy of black utility vans.
The drone hovered directly above the operation, and it took me a second to gather my thoughts. “This is huge.”
“And there.” Saul pointed at the screen. “We think that’s the entrance.”
“To what?”
“Their base.” His finger stopped at a snow-peaked image.
“In the mountain?” I asked.
“That’s correct.”
“How would this stay off-grid?” Veronica asked.
Evan paused it and flipped to a web browser, bringing up a starred web page. “Turns out they shut the entire region down for the last two years, under the guise of animal preservation and an unsafe landslide possibility. There was even discussion of a toxic spill. That was their excuse for having all the vehicles coming in and out over the last twenty-four months. A no-fly zone.”
“Damn. They’re powerful enough to build a hideout in a mountain,” I whispered.
“Evan, can’t you use this? Tell the FBI about the captives?” Veronica stared at me as she asked the question.
“Saul, you want to take this one?” the special agent asked.
Saul didn’t make eye contact. “You guys have no idea how deep these bastards go. They’ve been infiltrating everything. The military, the government, and by that, I mean municipal, state, federal. They have control at the Federal Reserve, the CIA, the FBI, hell, the IRS. Homeland Security, FEMA? Yep. We’re on our own.”
“Why didn’t you tell us how bad it was before?” I stepped closer to him, not letting his size intimidate me.
“Would you have done it all if you thought there was no chance of winning?” he asked.
I poked him in the chest. “That’s why you were so quick to stay with my sister in Portugal. You’re scared.”
Saul peered at my finger, not budging. “I stayed because I owed it to your father.” He glanced at Veronica. “And yours too.”
“Why did you let us search for the seventh Token if it was so impossible?” I was at my wit’s end. Bus after bus stopped on the video feed as Evan closed the other window.
“Because you’d already done more than most could have. I thought if anyone had a shot, it was you and your team,” he told me.
“And if we failed, it was no skin off your ass, right?”
“That’s not fair.” He kept his voice low as we heard kids laughing in the hallway as they walked by. “I’m here now, aren’t I?”
“He’s not wrong, Rex. Saul’s not the enemy.” Veronica tugged me away.
“How do we find them inside there? There have to be a thousand people arriving,” I said.
“I’d say twice that,” Evan told me.
“Great.”
Veronica took a different approach. “Two thousand is a lot easier to sneak among than twenty. In a manner of speaking, our job just got easier.”
“Actually, our plan got trickier.” Saul looked at Veronica, clamming her up.
“What now?”
“The roads are too unpredictable. We’re going to be driving in, pretending we belong, but the exit will need to be fast,” Saul said.
“Are you saying you need a killer pilot to extract everyone?” Veronica asked, unable to hold the smirk from her face.
“See. You get me,” Saul told her. “Evan spoke to a local HeliSki company, and we’ve managed to procure a chopper for tomorrow.”
“Fine by me. I wish I could be in there with you guys.” Fire burned in her eyes, and I could tell she meant it. Remembering the desperation in Marcus’ text, and the dream my father had sent me, I felt rejuvenated. I was prepared for anything, if it meant I had the chance to free them all. Part of me was glad Veronica wasn’t coming into their nest with us. It was one less person to feel responsible for. As long as she and my sister were okay, I could live with anything that happened tomorrow.
“At least we know the layout,” Evan said. “I also have an idea.”
“Now’s the time to share your thoughts with the class,” I told him.
“Have you ever made a fire with the flue closed?” he asked.
I thought I understood what he was implying. “You’re far too pleased with yourself.”
5
This was the day everything was going to change. I’d woken early because I couldn’t sleep if my life depended on it. The sun hadn’t risen yet, and I showered, getting dressed before walking to the lobby. Saul was sipping a cup of coffee, and he had an extra to-go cup with him.
He passed it to me. “Here.”
“How’d you know I was coming?” I asked.
“I’ve watched you. You’re just like him. Your old man.” Saul’s beard was shaved into a goatee, and he’d applied a store-bought dye.
“That so?” I took a drink. Black coffee. Exactly what I needed.
“I met him on a dig
in South America. Peru, actually. He was young, maybe twenty-seven, with a cocksure attitude and a kind of gravitational pull to him. The dig assistants all went to him for guidance, even though he wasn’t the primary in charge.” Saul peered out the window as he spoke. Snow fell lightly.
“What were you doing there?”
“I spent a couple years in the military, straight out of school. These guys were hiring experienced soldiers to protect their teams, and I was one of them. A few years younger than your dad.”
“How old are you?” I asked him, thinking he couldn’t be over sixty-five.
“Seventy-three,” he said.
He was still in great shape, his body sculpted by decades of dedication. “I’d hate to have seen you thirty years ago. How did you guys become friends?”
“We were out one night, local bar after a few successful days of scouring the jungle. Clayton was there, fresh-faced cheeks and so much optimism for the start of his career. He was on cloud nine and drank too many beers. He hit on some local woman and got decked in the face. Dirk and I intervened, and he came to Clayton’s aid even faster than I could. He moved like a snake and didn’t think twice over his own safety. Not when it came to his buddy. That’s when I knew he was a great man. We bonded over the experience, all three of us, and they brought me in, introducing me to Brian.”
“Hardy must have been an interesting character,” I said. When I’d met him, he’d been only semi-lucid, an old man on his way out.
“He was brilliant, but also nuts. I didn’t buy in to any of his stories, but once Hunter Madison became involved, I changed my mind,” Saul said.
“Why?”
“He was… Hunter was polarizing. One minute you wanted to punch him; the next he was drawing you in with a tale of different worlds. Like he’d been there. He claimed it was all speculation, but mentioned a few of his dreams.”
I almost dropped my cup. “Dreams?”
“He came up with these elaborate ideas. Visions of another planet, with cities in the clouds, beings able to speak through their minds instead of their lips. He told us he invited them.” Saul shook his head like it was all a big hoax.
“Wait. You’re saying Hunter invited someone here?” I considered what that meant. The device we’d found in his basement was clearly alien, belonging to the Unknowns. There were too many confusing pieces to this mystery. I couldn’t stitch them together.
“That’s what he said. They would come. He thought that he’d linked with one, and he told them we were ready.”
“Ready for what?”
“First contact.”
“Was it the Unknowns he was speaking with?” I asked.
“I don’t think he was speaking with anyone. He was delusional.”
The words sent shivers down my spine. I swallowed warm coffee to shake the feeling. “So you didn’t believe him?”
“Hunter? Brian Hardy was sure Hunter was mad. But he paid for our adventures. Hunter also claimed the Believers were going to mess everything up, and they sent me in. Once I infiltrated them, I couldn’t leave. I’d seen too much.” His jaw bunched, and he stared hard into my eyes. “They aren’t going to go down without a fight, Rex.”
“Can we pull this off today?”
“Keep your eyes on the prize and stay quiet. When they gather is when we advance,” he said.
“And they’re waiting until today?” I asked, wondering where his intel came from.
“Yes. I have someone on the inside feeding me information,” he said.
“You do? Why didn’t you divulge that before? I’m tired of being left out—”
He cut me off. “Are you saying you’ve told me everything?”
I hadn’t mentioned the device from Hunter’s yet, or the fact that Dirk and Clayton had been speaking the aliens’ tongue. “Okay, fair enough.”
“They also think I’m still with them. Working in Porto. Waiting for you to return,” Saul said.
“Good. And if they discover you today?”
“Then I’ll be in trouble.” Saul crumpled his coffee cup, bringing it to a trash can. “Let’s wake the gang. Time to go.”
I caught up to him in the hallway. “Saul?”
“Yep.”
“Is my father the same man?”
“Dirk? Sure. He’s your dad. He’s just been through a lot.”
“And Clay?”
Saul stopped. “He’s… not himself.” With that, he was off, leaving me to wonder what dreams Hunter had experienced, and exactly what Saul was insinuating about Clay.
____________
We dropped Veronica at the tour company, making sure they had the chopper ready for her before we left. She kissed me quickly near the van, taking a handgun with her. “Bring them out alive,” she whispered. “And yourself too.”
“I will,” I assured her.
Saul drove us, and we pulled over a couple miles from town, changing into our robes. We held our own badges, and I was nervous whether they’d pass any kind of inspection.
My gun sat inside my pants, the safety on. Saul didn’t seem concerned with a pat-down or metal detector, but I had my doubts about bringing a weapon into the caverns.
“We have three hours before the local PD does a fly-by,” Evan said, and we each set our phone timers, making sure the alarm was on vibrate. “It was the best I could get from the department. It won’t do much but scare them. I told my contact there were some poachers in the area.”
“Nice work. We all know what to do,” Saul said as he pulled back onto the highway. Snow gathered at the road’s shoulders, and the surface was slick from the dropping precipitation. The drive was stressful with the comprehension that we were heading straight for the Believers’ event. We’d be surrounded by a couple thousand of them, and any wrong move could get us killed. I pictured the dream my father had shared with me, and used it to steel my nerves. Saul had assured me Dirk didn’t back down when it came to his allies, and I was going to follow his lead.
We’re coming for you, Marcus. I wished I could talk to him, and I hoped he’d seen my message from the other day.
We finally found the access road, and the gate was closed, a sentry standing there with a park ranger uniform on. Saul pulled over with his cowl up.
The guy smiled and walked to the window. “Greetings. You guys lost?”
“I believe we’re in the right location, friend.” Saul’s inflection of the word made the guard nod.
“Late, aren’t you?” He peered at Evan, then past Saul at me. I rested my hand on the gun underneath the robe.
“Ran into a delay out of LaGuardia,” Saul told him.
“Isn’t that always the case?” The park ranger rapped on the van door with his knuckles and walked away, lifting and dragging the gate outward. “Have a good day.” He smiled, and Saul thanked him as he rolled the window up.
We drove on, this side access already covered in snow.
Evan watched behind us as the ranger shut the gate. “That was close.”
“Looks like it’ll be hell getting out of here after. Glad you decided on the airlift,” I told Saul.
“They don’t like leaving things to chance. Hold on tight; this road isn’t the smoothest.” The van slid as he drove over the narrow path. It climbed in elevation, making our trip even slower. The tires spun occasionally but always caught. The farther we made it toward the mountains, the thicker the snowfall was.
The drive was around sixteen miles, and at this speed, it was going to take us a good thirty minutes. I texted Veronica, notifying her we’d made it through the first checkpoint, and she advised me she was landed on the far side of the peak, ready for movement on our word.
Twenty minutes of tense driving passed, and we finally saw the first signs of the Believers. Yellow school buses were parked on the edge of the road, a parking lot created from a section of cleared trees. I suspected these had transported their new recruits from around the country.
Next we found the various vans, SUVS, limou
sines, and cars. The mountain filled the windshield straight ahead, and Saul drove us as far as he could before pulling to the side, making his own spot, and he killed the engine.
He looked at Evan, then at me. “You guys ready for this?”
“Yes,” we both said, overlapping the word.
Saul watched the agent. “Mr. FBI, remember we’re not here for your wife, okay?”
“I know,” Evan growled. “Grab your friends and move out, hopefully with this Token. But if I see her, I’m bringing her.”
“Fine. Just do your job. Stick to the plan.” Saul was the first out of the van, and we followed. We had to walk close to a mile from here, but the pathway had been recently cleaned with a snow blower. I spotted movement from my left, and I glanced from under my robe’s cowl to see a man holding an automatic weapon. I shifted my gaze to the other side, and as expected, another sentry was posted.
I walked with purpose and a hint of arrogance, pretending to be important, and in a hurry for the event. Saul let me lead, holding Evan back, and we trudged up the incline, through the dense spruce trees, and into the mountainside. Huge boulders sat along the entrance, and my breaths came in quick puffs of air, the vapor dancing in front of my face in the chilled morning.
The door was a ten-foot-high archway carved in the base’s edge, and I imagined how much work it must have been to excavate this place. The Believers didn’t spare time or expense; that was clear.
Two more armed sentries were posted here, and they stepped together, blocking our passage. I watched the ground, not showing my face. They weren’t in robes. Instead, they matched the uniforms of the military men that had tried to kill us in Antarctica and Porto. These were Saul’s people.
“IDs,” The bigger of the two barked.
I pulled my badge from my pocket, silently praying to anyone listening that it would pass muster. The guy examined the laminated paper, staring blankly for a second before giving it back. They stepped aside. “Sorry for the delay, sir.”
“No problem,” I said quietly. Apparently, Grayson’s badge held some influence in their ranking system. That was good to know.
Lost Time (The Bridge Sequence Book Two) Page 16