The EU president glanced at someone out of shot, as if thrown by John’s aggression.
If she’d been expecting him to bow under pressure, she was going to be disappointed.
‘Our meeting is still scheduled for tomorrow,’ the EU president said. ‘Perhaps we should take the opportunity to broaden its scope.’
John suppressed his surprise. ‘You still want to go ahead?’
The EU president took a step towards the camera. ‘Is it not a politician’s duty to avert war?’
‘And you’re still willing to negotiate the GMRC’s global mandate?’
‘I’m willing to listen and discuss. Negotiations take time, Mr President. You know this.’
John nodded. He was impressed. This woman was willing to put her job on the line, and her life, for the good of her people.
Paul touched John’s arm and whispered, ‘Don’t forget the abduction.’
John wondered what his Chief of Staff was talking about, before recalling the threat delivered by the elusive terrorist known as Professor Steiner: ‘We’ll come to you,’ the professor had said, meaning Camp David, where the meeting with the EU and Chinese leaders had been due to take place. Paul knew, as John did, they couldn’t afford for the EU president to get hurt, or worse, killed, while in the U.S. under a flag of peace, which meant Camp David was a bust. John still wondered if that’s what his abductors had wanted all along, but like it or not the threat couldn’t be ignored. Which left only one option, as Paul had suggested in a previous conversation.
‘The conference will not be postponed,’ John said, getting the thumbs up from Paul, who’d moved back out of view of the EU president. ‘But we’ll be moving the location to Capitol Hill.’
‘Not Camp David?’ the EU president said.
‘No, I think it’s best if we keep things out in the open, and where better than at the heart of the free world?’
The EU president nodded and thankfully refrained from pointing out that the U.S. under martial law was anything but free. It was something John didn’t want reminding of, at least not now.
‘I will liaise with the Chinese,’ the EU president said. ‘I have been in talks with their premier for some weeks and I believe he will also want to commit to the new location.’
John raised his eyebrows. To bag the Chinese premier’s attendance as well as the EU leader’s was a massive bonus. It increased his chances of securing some kind of deal twofold.
‘We will await confirmation,’ John said. ‘And my team will make the necessary arrangements for your arrival.’
‘Until tomorrow, then,’ the EU leader said, mustering a smile.
John nodded. ‘Until tomorrow.’ He gestured to Paul, who cut the transmission.
‘Well,’ John said, ‘how about that?’
‘Well done, Mr President,’ said the Secretary of Defense.
‘Yes, good work, Mr President.’ General Andrews shook John’s hand.
After preparations had been hammered out for the fast-approaching meeting, Paul showed the two men out and then returned to John’s side.
‘Congratulations,’ he said, ‘that was excellent, outstanding stuff.’
John gave a wry smile. ‘Makes a nice change – something going right for once.’
‘Definitely,’ Paul said. ‘Well, I don’t know about you,’ – he yawned – ‘but I really need some shut eye, so I’ll leave you in peace.’ He walked away and then paused at the door. ‘You should get some rest, too, you deserve it.’
Feeling pleased with himself, John watched his friend leave and savoured the moment of his success, before realising the job wasn’t even half done. Not by a long shot. An array of problems remained, not least the continuing water problem, the standoff in the Atlantic, the GMRC, Ashley, and the recent spates of disappearances and terrorist suicide bombings. It seemed he was destined never to be bored, which in any other circumstances would have been a blessing, but right about now he could have done with some boredom, and lots of it.
Deciding his work for that day was done, he retired to his bedroom to find Ashley sitting up in bed watching a host of media streams on the wallscreen.
‘Could you at least put some clothes on,’ he said, trying not to stare at her naked torso.
Ashley looked at him and suppressed a smile. She knew it drove him crazy, but did it anyway.
He sat on the bed, turning his back to her, and removed his shirt. A moment later he felt her arms encircle his waist.
‘How did the conversation with the EU president go?’
‘I thought you were watching TV?’
She kissed his ear, and his neck prickled with goosebumps. ‘I was.’
She undid his belt and he grasped her hand. ‘What are we doing?’
She continued to undress him. ‘What does it look like?’
‘Not that, with us? With what’s happened?’
‘I thought we’d sorted that out?’ She slid out of bed and stood before him, her naked body close enough to touch.
He looked away and she moved closer.
‘What’s wrong, don’t you want to?’
He looked into her eyes and she bent down and kissed him. He reached out and slid his hand up her thigh, and not long after that they were entwined in each other’s embrace.
John closed his eyes, as he kissed his wife, the past forgotten, while unseen on the wallscreen a news report showed pictures of a mysterious light in the night sky.
Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Four
It was the day of the meeting with the EU and Chinese leaders, and John woke early to find Ashley once more watching a number of media streams.
‘Have you seen this?’ She gestured at the wallscreen. ‘The Mona Lisa is a fake.’
‘What?’ He rubbed his eyes and tried to focus on the blurry image.
‘The Mona Lisa is a fake, they found out a week ago, or maybe two. I don’t know. Anyway, it’s fake and they can’t find the original.’
‘The Mona Lisa?’ John propped himself up on his elbow.
‘And that’s not all,’ Ashley said, sounding excited, ‘they found loads more fakes in museums throughout France, some are saying it could be the biggest heist anywhere ... ever. There’s a major investigation underway.’
John grunted a reply. Who cared about paintings? He was trying to stop a war. Today was the day of the meeting with the EU president and – he looked at his security notices – the Chinese premier had confirmed, as well. Everything was proceeding as he’d hoped. By this time tomorrow, he could have the GMRC backpedalling like never before. As regardless of what the EU president had said, John was sure he could convince these two newly elected leaders to help him. At the very least they could rein in the GMRC’s stranglehold on the world’s resources, and at best, garner support for triggering a clause that would see the Response Council dismantled by the same protocols it used to oppress every nation on Earth.
How poetic that would be, he thought, relishing the idea.
He stood up and stretched, yawned, and when he opened his eyes he saw Ashley taunting him again, as she sat on the edge of their bed wearing nothing but his tie.
She waggled the accessory at him suggestively.
It was like they’d never been arguing, which would have been fine if the reasons behind it hadn’t been monumental.
He walked over to her and held out his hand. ‘Give it to me.’
‘I think that should be me saying that,’ she said, with a smirk.
He made a grab for it, but she pulled it out of his grasp. He grappled with her for a moment, his mood souring before she laughed and relinquished her prize.
She kissed him and he found himself drawing her to him, her flesh soft against his. As they kissed, he caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye and he stopped his foreplay to look.
‘Don’t stop,’ Ashley said, pulling him closer.
He pushed her aside.
‘What’s wrong with you?’ she said, growing angry.
‘Shut up,’ he said, and turned the volume up on the wallscreen.
‘What did you just say?!’
‘I said, shut up.’ Right now he only had eyes for the screen and he pushed her away again as she tried to rekindle the passion.
Stamping her foot in fury, Ashley stormed from the room like a petulant child.
John barely heard her tantrum as she crashed around the dressing room in a show of displeasure. The news programme appeared to be a re-run of one aired the night before.
He turned up the volume to drown out Ashley’s noise.
‘—and how long have you been tracking this phenomenon?’ said a female reporter.
The man being interviewed shrugged and adjusted his baseball cap against the glare of the camera’s lights, the steady chewing motion of his mouth a giveaway to the stick of gum within. He looked up at the night sky and then said, ‘About a week, I guess.’
‘Some people are saying you’re out of your mind. What do you say to that?’
The interviewee continued to chew as he thought about the question. ‘Everyone’s entitled to their opinion.’
‘And that doesn’t anger you?’
The man shrugged again and put his hand on his telescope, which he’d set up in his backyard. ‘Nope.’
John expanded the little-known media channel from the others that surrounded it until it filled the screen, the caption that had caught his attention now clearly visible in big bold text:
LIGHT IN SKY:
Don’t panic, it’s already happened!
Man claims small asteroid heading for Earth ...
‘Many are saying what you’re trying to do is dangerous and could cause mass hysteria. Some are even calling for the army to have you imprisoned.’
The amateur astronomer kept on chewing and then said, ‘I don’t know about that, all I know is what I see.’
‘And what do you see?’
‘An asteroid.’
‘Can you show it to us?’
The man turned and pointed up into the night sky and the camera zoomed in on the light in question.
John squinted as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. The light was small, smaller than he remembered AG5 being before it hit. He couldn’t recall many images of its final approach being shown on mainstream media at that time, which seemed strange in itself, now that he thought about it. They’d shown unending scenes from space, and when AG5 had entered the atmosphere, but very few of how it had looked from the surface.
The light he was seeing now looked more like a star, and was almost indistinguishable from those around it – except it was double the size and twice as bright.
‘Why do you think no one else has noticed it?’ said the reporter.
The man looked straight at the camera. ‘Because they don’t want us to know.’
‘Who don’t?’
‘The government.’
‘A lot of asteroids fly right past; don’t you think you’re being paranoid? The danger has gone, and we’ve had lots of false alarms both before and after AG5 impacted, your claim is just one of many. Tell our viewers why we should believe you over them.’
‘Because I’m telling the truth.’
The reporter gave a nervous laugh, as if embarrassed by the answer. ‘Okay, say it’s true, it’s small, and if it did hit, it might hit anywhere, right?’
The man shook his head. ‘It’ll hit somewhere close.’
‘How close?’
The man shrugged. ‘New Mexico.’ He thought for a moment. ‘Or maybe, Texas.’
The reporter laughed again, but this time with good humour. ‘That’s very specific. Although I have some bad news for you; the asteroid is actually a planet, the planet Venus, to be precise.’
‘No, ma’am.’ The man shook his head. ‘It’s not Venus.’
‘Well, that’s what the astronomers at Kitt Peak National Observatory are telling us.’ The reporter smirked at the camera. ‘And I think they should know.’
‘They’re lying.’
‘And why would they do that?’
‘Because they don’t want us to know.’
The reporter smiled. ‘Let me guess, it’s the government, right?’
The man adjusted his cap again. ‘Yup.’
‘And there you have it, folks,’ the reporter said, turning from the man to face the camera. ‘An asteroid is going to hit a Southern state near you. If you haven’t done so already, it might be time to buy an asteroid shelter, and now that twenty-forty has come and gone, discounts are through the roof – although similar nuclear shelters are skyrocketing in price, as rumours of a standoff between U.S. and European warships in the Atlantic are spreading like wildfire.
‘So, if you’re like my friend here,’ – the reporter gestured to the man who continued to chew his gum – ‘and you think an asteroid is heading our way – again – you’d do well to invest your hard-earned cash in something that’ll keep you and your family alive.’
An advert for asteroid shelters appeared on John’s wallscreen, next to the media stream.
‘Just one more thing,’ the woman said, turning back to the amateur astronomer. ‘If you believe this asteroid is going to impact close to your home, possibly very close, why are you still here?’
The man looked up at the asteroid as he considered the question. ‘We’ve all gotta go sometime.’
The reporter looked at the camera and mouthed ‘wow’ in a show of disbelief, but as she was about to sign off her broadcast, the man tugged on her arm.
‘Yes?’ she said, looking annoyed.
The man looked at her and said, ‘You got one thing wrong.’
‘And what’s that?’ she said, frowning in irritation.
‘I never said it was small.’
The reporter made a face at the camera as she shared a look with her viewers and colleagues back in the studio, a look that said, ‘Can you believe this idiot?’
‘This has been Emma Llewellyn reporting live from Phoenix, Arizona. Back to you in the studio.’
John listened to the next report, while his mind worked furiously to compute what he’d just seen. An asteroid was heading for Earth, another asteroid. Could the dire warning given by his abductors actually have been true? The words of the man who’d delivered that warning returned from the ether, as John transported himself back to that fateful day:
‘A year after the asteroid AG5 was found,’ the professor had told him, ‘the DSDA, as it’s known, produced an image which told us the first asteroid was not the only threat to this planet. Another asteroid followed in its wake, and even as we speak, this rock is heading straight for the continental United States.’
John remembered being unable to contain his laughter at the time, despite being held hostage. It wasn’t so funny now.
He shook his head. The national observatory said it was the planet Venus, he reminded himself. The guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Who are you going to believe, the professionals, or an amateur?
More words spoken by the mysterious professor reared their ugly head: ‘—you may hear talk of people going missing, of fake artwork found in major museums, or sightings of a strange light in the sky.’
John’s stomach sank. The Mona Lisa. Ashley had just been telling him about it minutes before, and he’d seen the vanishings for himself on the news yesterday. It was too much of a coincidence, wasn’t it?
How could he make such predictions unless what he said was true? he asked himself. Because he could have been behind the artwork heist, or known of people behind it. He’s a terrorist, and Da Muss Ich has access to all manner of criminals. It would be easy to manipulate the stories for their own ends, especially if they had prior knowledge of the GMRC spiriting people away, which, thinking about it, John reasoned, might be a ploy to undermine my administration. Remove high-ranking officials and prominent public figures. It was like something out of the cold war era, or worse, like something out of Nazi Germany. The only problem was they’d end u
p blaming him and his martial law, instead of the real culprits, the GMRC. That must be the GMRC’s plan, he thought, it must be!
Besides, it’s just another hoax. The reporter said it herself, there have been so many scare stories for so many years, it’s hard to take any of them seriously.
And yet, despite his sound reasoning, John couldn’t shake what he’d just seen. A light in the sky. Such was the legacy of the build-up and subsequent fallout of AG5’s impact, which had spanned decades as the world prepared for its arrival, anything to do with asteroids heightened anxiety and focused the mind and he realised that was exactly what the terrorists had been counting on. He had moved the meeting from Camp David. There was no going back now. By that evening, the EU president and Chinese premier were bound for Washington D.C. and the nation’s seat of power, Capitol Hill.
John stopped his pacing and sat on the bed. I’ve fallen right into their trap. What have I done?
But what if the terrorists were telling the truth? Or a version of the truth, as even a small impact could tip the world over the edge. Tensions are on a knife edge. Any number of things could set off a chain of events no one would be able to stop. He thought about what might unfold and knew the result would be nothing short of the end of civilisation itself.
And what about the water shortage? John asked himself, as he continued to doubt his own mind. And the depleted food stocks? The professor had also warned him the underground bases that had supposedly been built would siphon off all the surface’s resources prior to the second asteroid impact. Is that a coincidence, too?
What else could it be? he thought, his inner voice getting firmer. How could the GMRC possibly hide a second asteroid from the whole world? He thought back to the vanishings, that every other nation except the U.S. seemed oblivious to.
John’s chest tightened and he called to Ashley.
When she didn’t answer he went to find her in the dressing room.
‘Have you seen any reports about lights in the sky?’ he said, knowing she liked to surf the media as a matter of course.
Ancient Origins: Books 4 - 6 (Ancient Origins Boxset Book 2) Page 84