by C. M. Palov
Pumped up on adrenaline, the goon thrashed violently, clawing Finn’s wrists with his huge boxer-size paws. Locked in a ferocious embrace, the two of them slammed against the concrete wall.
‘It’s six thirty!’ Kate screamed. ‘You have to stop the experiment!’
Hearing that, Finn spared a quick glance. Kate was yanking on Ivo Uhlemann’s arm, while Aisquith was frantically trying to open the door that led to the Vril Generator.
‘Yes! Yes! It’s happening!’ Uhlemann shouted jubilantly.
Out of the corner of his eye, Finn saw a luminous blue haze surrounding the Grail.
Shit!
Jaw clenched tight, Finn squeezed for all he was worth on the chauffeur’s thick, muscle-roped neck … But it was like squeezing a damned tree trunk.
86
0630 hours
Standing in front of the steel door that led to the Vril Generator, Cædmon turned his head and peered through the plate-glass window.
A blue phosphorescent corona had completely enveloped the Grail.
Christ! The energy fusion has already begun!
Having tried all three of the hacked security codes – with no luck – Cædmon rushed over to Dr Uhlemann.
‘There’s no time to waste! Give me the security code to bypass the lock!’
Ignoring his shouted demand, the German scientist pressed both palms to the glass partition as he gazed through the glass. ‘Soon! Soon! Soon!’ he chanted, his rheumy eyes gleaming with excitement. Obsessed with his creation, he was oblivious to the danger.
Kate, standing on the other side of Dr Uhlemann, urgently tugged on his arm. ‘You have to stop the experiment!’
A loud crackling sound reverberated from the other side of the glass as blue sparks began to fly frenetically off the stone. The crackling was near-deafening, Cædmon afraid that his eardrums were about to burst. A jagged blue streak arced through the air, the stench of ozone filling the chamber, the ambient temperature rapidly escalating.
Cædmon could feel his body vibrate painfully, as though his internal organs were being agitated from within.
‘The generator must be shut down this instant!’ he hollered.
‘No!’
Cædmon spun on his heel and grabbed a wooden-backed chair. Biting back an agonized bellow of pain, he slammed it against the glass partition.
A wasted effort, the safety glass too thick to penetrate.
Just then, the energy fusion produced myriad streamers, each branching out from the Grail into hundreds of thin blue filaments that streaked ominously in every direction.
‘For Christ’s sake!’ Cædmon yelled, barely audible over the shrill cacophony. ‘Give me the code, you bloody contemptible –’
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three gun shots were fired in quick succession, the glass partition immediately shattering.
A split-second later, a ragged blue bolt of current ripped free from the Grail and struck Ivo Uhlemann square in the chest. The force of the blow hurtled him ten feet through the air, the German careening into the concrete block wall at the back of the room.
Cædmon heaved the chair through the open partition – dislodging the Grail from the crystal matrix.
In an instant, all went eerily silent.
‘It’s over,’ he murmured, his shoulders slumping in relief. ‘The experiment has been stopped.’
He turned his head. McGuire stood over the dead Myrmidon, the Ruger clutched in his hand. Gracelessly sprawled on the floor, the bald brute’s neck was bent at an unnatural angle. Grim-faced, the commando charged towards the video camera that was set on a nearby tripod. Grabbing the camera with his free hand, he flung it against the concrete wall, the device smashing on impact.
‘Uhlemann’s buddies were watching the proceedings on a live video feed,’ he said by way of explanation. ‘So we better hustle before they send in the reinforcements.’
‘My God … I feel like I just came through a war zone,’ Kate gasped, a shell-shocked expression on her face.
Indeed, the floor was littered with bodies.
Cædmon glanced dispassionately at the crumpled figure of Ivo Uhlemann.
‘Jaysus,’ McGuire softly swore as he examined the body. ‘Not only did the Vril force blow a gaping hole clean through him, but it carbonized the skin around the wound.’ Stepping away from the dead German, he shook his head in disgust. ‘Although I gotta tell you, I don’t have an ounce to spare for any of ’em.’
‘Nor I,’ Cædmon seconded.
‘Me, three,’ Kate whispered.
McGuire checked his watch. ‘We still need to stick to the game plan and destroy the Vril Generator. And we don’t have a whole helluva lot of time to do it.’
‘I’ll climb through the partition and retrieve the Grail,’ Cædmon informed him.
The commando clamped a hand on his left shoulder, stopping him in mid-stride. ‘No way are we taking that stone with us,’ he bluntly informed Cædmon, a determined look in his eyes. ‘I don’t want to be running this same op again next year. If the Grail does what everyone claims it can do, every military in the world will be vying for it. Hell, look what it did Ivo Meister.’
‘I’ll make certain that it’s safeguarded.’
‘You’re good, buddy, but you’re just one man. Trust me. You won’t be able to safeguard that damned thing once the Powers-That-Be catch wind of it. The gold will melt in the explosion.’
Rendering the Grail worthless.
Cædmon turned and stared at the legendary stone gleaming on the concrete floor. Beckoning. Parzival’s Lapis Exillis. The same stone sought by the Knights Templar.
And the scientists of the Third Reich.
Knowing that McGuire spoke the truth, Cædmon nodded his head in resignation. ‘Right. Let’s destroy the chamber and get the bloody hell out of here.’
‘You also have to destroy the CTC device,’ Kate informed them.
In unison, both he and McGuire swung their heads in her direction.
‘What?’ they jointly exclaimed.
‘It’s the working prototype for the Seven’s time machine. Doctor Uhlemann showed it to me. While I’m not a scientist, I’m fairly certain that it will work!’
‘Provided you have the Vril force to power it.’ Cædmon nodded at the crystal matrix. ‘Which will be impossible to create without a functioning generator.’
‘The crystal matrix is just one way to generate the Vril force,’ Kate countered. ‘What if there are multiple ways to create it?’
Cædmon turned to the commando. ‘She has a valid point.’
‘Okay,’ McGuire said, persuaded. ‘I’ve got enough pipe bombs to destroy both the Vril Generator and this CTC device. Where’s the time machine located?’
‘Upstairs on the third floor. The laboratory is two doors down from the library.’
‘Gotcha.’
Kate’s brows suddenly knitted together. ‘But you’re not going to be able to get into the lab.’
‘Why not!?’ Both Cædmon and McGuire again exclaimed in unison.
‘The door to the laboratory is secured with a biometric device. It requires a fingerprint scan to unlock the door. And Doctor Uhlemann is no longer –’
‘Which finger?’ the commando interjected.
‘Right index.’
‘Then I’d better retrieve my KA-BAR knife.’ Without a backward glance, McGuire charged over to the door that led to the maintenance engineering room, propping it open with a chair.
Belatedly realizing what the commando intended to do, Kate’s eyes opened wide, a horrified expression on her face. ‘Oh, my God! We can’t let him –’
‘I can assure you that Doctor Uhlemann won’t feel a thing.’ Moreover, the bastard has it coming.
A few moments later, McGuire returned to the viewing chamber, his Go Bag slung over his shoulder and a business-like knife gripped in his right hand. ‘This is the plan: I’ll toss three bombs through the partition then run upstairs to the third floor. I’ll wai
t to enter the lab until the two of you are clear and free of the mezzanine.’
Kate placed a hand on McGuire’s chest. ‘Finn, please be –’
‘Don’t worry, Katie. I’ll be just fine,’ he said reassuringly. ‘I’m doing what I was put on this earth to do. Improvise, utilize, then haul ass.’ His lips curved in a cocky grin. ‘It’s what I do best.’
‘Second best,’ Kate whispered. Going up on her tiptoes, she lovingly kissed him full on the lips.
Wrapping an arm around her waist, McGuire pulled her close. Suddenly feeling like an unwanted intruder, Cædmon discreetly turned his head.
‘Aisquith’s a stand-up guy. He’ll get you out of here,’ McGuire said a few moments later.
Her grey-blue eyes glistening with unshed tears, Kate rushed out of the viewing chamber. Just as Cædmon was about to follow her, McGuire grabbed hold of his left arm, preventing him from leaving.
‘You get her out of here safely or you die trying.’
Cædmon put a hand on the other man’s shoulder. ‘You have my word.’
‘If I don’t make it out alive, I want you to take care of Kate,’ McGuire told him in a gruff, emotion-laden voice. ‘And if you don’t, I will seriously haunt your ass.’
‘Consider it done.’
McGuire smiled, visibly relieved. ‘Good. Now get the hell out of here. I got work to do.’
87
Cædmon yanked open the door at the top of the steps, motioning for Kate to precede him.
‘Ladies first,’ he said, his lips twisted in a semblance of a smile.
Kate wasn’t fooled for a minute – he was in a tremendous amount of pain. The bandage on his head was completely saturated with blood and his right jacket sleeve had a large bloody splotch. She had no idea how Cædmon had come by his wounds, but it was obvious that he needed immediate medical attention.
Free and clear of the stairwell, the two of them sprinted across the low-lit mezzanine. Two shadows charging through the penumbra.
Heart pounding, Kate pushed herself to keep up with Cædmon’s long-legged stride. Although the temperature inside the atrium was downright frigid, she was heated from the exertion. Stress, combined with lack of food and sleep, was sapping what little energy she had left. To prevent herself from stumbling, she focused on keeping her arms and legs coordinated.
Worried that Finn might run into trouble, she spared a quick glance over her shoulder. She hoped to God that Dr Uhlemann’s associates didn’t send armed reinforcements to ambush him. She didn’t know a lot about pipe bombs other than the fact that they were incredibly volatile and dangerous to handle. If he got caught in a firefight, it might trigger an unintended explosion.
As if to prove that very point, a loud blast suddenly thundered in the level below them, Kate feeling the reverberations in her spinal column. A few seconds later, a second bomb detonated. And then a third.
‘Excellent!’ Cædmon exclaimed. ‘McGuire has ignited the first three bombs.’
A few moments later, they arrived at the exit door, both of them slightly out of breath.
‘Bloody hell! Who puts a security lock on both sides of the door?’ Cædmon gestured to the numeric pad affixed to the right side of the door jamb. ‘Luckily, I have the access code.’
He keyed in a six-digit number.
‘Damn … I must have mis-keyed.’ He tried again, slower this time.
When nothing happened, Kate asked the obvious question. ‘Why isn’t the door unlocking?’
‘I have no idea. Not to fear.’ Cædmon absently patted her arm. ‘I have two other codes. I’m sure one of them will work.’
Despite his assurance, she literally crossed her fingers as she watched him carefully key in a second numeric code.
Six attempts later, Cædmon turned to her and delivered the bad news. ‘It would appear that we’re locked in.’
Kate gasped. Swayed. Saw spots in front of her eyes.
They were trapped inside the facility!
88
Like he was a launched ballistic missile, Finn charged out of the third-floor stairwell, hung a Louie, and ran towards the library.
‘The laboratory is two doors down from the library.’
‘Two Doors Down’ – one of his favourite Dolly Parton songs.
Finn smiled, everything going according to plan. Soon it would all be over. And when he’d completed the mission, he planned on sweeping little Katie right off her feet.
His smile widened. He wasn’t supposed to let his emotions flare during a mission. But what the hell? This was his last op. Once he cleared himself of the murder charges, he was going to put in for a transfer to Fort Bragg. Get himself a cushy position as a Delta Force training instructor. And while he didn’t want to get ahead of himself, he was feeling pretty confident that Kate would sign up for the move.
Arriving at the second door, Finn peered at the mezzanine below – Aisquith and Kate were already at the exit, about to make good their escape. Perfect.
Ripping open the flap on his cargo pants, he removed Uhlemann’s severed index finger, using the hem of his T-shirt to wipe off the excess blood. That done, he placed the fleshy tip on to the biometric reader.
A white light flared. An instant later, the bolt on the door popped open.
‘In like Finn,’ he chortled, riding a little happy high. He flung the butchered finger aside and opened the door. ‘I love it when the op goes without a hitch.’
Stepping across the threshold, he hit the light switch. A row of fluorescent bulbs washed the laboratory in antiseptic bright light.
‘There it is, the Flux Capacitor.’ But unlike the DeLorean time machine from the Back to the Future movie, this was the real deal. Not some contrived Hollywood invention.
He strode over to the glass enclosure. The remaining pipe bombs will definitely do the trick.
In a big-ass hurry, Finn went down on bent knee in front of the enclosure. He then carefully removed the last three bombs from his Go Bag and lined them up directly in front of the heavy-duty glass. Retrieving the cigarette lighter from his breast pocket, he quickly lit all three fuses.
Okay, boys and girls. ‘It’s home from work we go.’
Lurching to his feet, he rushed over to the door … Only to draw up short an instant later.
Seeing the metal security panel attached to the side of the doorframe, Finn’s heart skidded. Full stop. Little Katie forgot to mention that there was a biometric security lock on both sides of the laboratory door, Uhlemann’s severed finger now on the other side of the locked door.
Ah, shit.
89
Refusing to surrender, Cædmon glared at the numeric keypad, the locked door an unforeseen wrinkle in the plan.
‘If we can’t exit the facility, Finn won’t be able to get out either,’ Kate anxiously informed him. Visibly shaking, her concern had already leapfrogged from moderate to acute.
‘Not to worry. I’ll call for help.’ Cædmon removed his cell phone from his jacket pocket and flipped it open, relieved that Uhlemann’s bald-headed minion had lacked the foresight to confiscate it.
Damn!
Bewildered, he showed Kate the dark screen. ‘It’s completely dead. I don’t understand … the battery was fully charged.’
‘I’m guessing the Vril force emitted an electromagnetic pulse that somehow disabled it.’
He shoved the phone back in his pocket. ‘Do you recall seeing a fire alarm anywhere in the research facility? If so, I could trigger it, alerting the guards in the lobby.’
Kate’s brow furrowed. ‘No, I …’ She shook her head dejectedly. ‘I’m sorry, Cædmon, but I can’t –’
‘It’s not your fault.’ He hesitated, worried that if he shouted for help, an armed interloper might answer the summons.
Bugger it.
Cupping his hands to his mouth, Cædmon stepped away from the door and bellowed, ‘McGuire! Where are you? We need your assistance!’
Ears still ringing from the first three bomb
blasts, he cocked his head to one side and listened attentively.
Not so much as a pin. Damn.
He walked back to the exit door. ‘Doctor Uhlemann’s postmortem revenge, I daresay. Not only are we in the stocks, but we’re unable to communicate with the outside world. Only one thing left to do.’ Although his right arm ached and his head throbbed ferociously, Cædmon forcefully beat on the steel door with his balled fist in the hope that someone might be on the other side.
The painful shock waves that pounded his body in the aftermath were for naught. No one replied.
‘Wait!’ Wide-eyed, Kate clutched his forearm. ‘Didn’t Dolf key in a security code to gain entry to the viewing chamber?’
Cædmon replayed the scene in his mind’s eye. ‘He did, but I didn’t take note of the code.’
‘Um … let me think a minute …’ Closing her eyes, Kate raised her right hand. She then took several deep breaths before her fingers moved across an imaginary keypad. An instant later, her eyes popped open. ‘Three, eight, two, five, six, three. Try it.’
He hurriedly keyed in the code.
Hearing the lock click open, Cædmon sagged against the door jamb. Although he wasn’t a church-going man, he offered up a grateful prayer.
‘What a relief,’ Kate murmured. ‘We need to wait here until –’
Just then, a blast detonated on the upper level of the atrium. The force of the explosion blew out an entire bank of frosted glass, strafing the mezzanine with thousands of white shards. A deadly snowfall. A second later, the next blast detonated, hurling a section of railing through the air.
‘Finn! Where are you?!’ Kate screamed over the third and final bomb blast.
90
Washington, DC