‘The bunker’s compromised. You’re no use to anyone dead, Mr President.’
‘They wouldn’t nuke Washington, would they?’
‘Maybe, maybe not,’ Steiner said, ‘but with Malcolm Joiner at the helm, do you want to take that chance?’
Images of a nuclear explosion erupting over the capital filled John’s mind. ‘Then we need to send a message for our forces to go to ground. We need to preserve as much of our military as we can, or everything we’ve achieved will be for nothing.’
Steiner hesitated, nodded, then moved to the command console and sent a message to U.S. forces on the surface and any other militaries and governments that were now under siege. ‘It’s done, the message is out. Now, let’s go!’ Steiner clapped his hands together to get Jessica and Eric moving. The Chinese premier hurried after them and Steiner grasped John’s arm, as he remained torn between staying and fleeing for his life.
‘There’s nothing else we can do here,’ Steiner said, ‘but we can fight another day.’
It was John’s turn to nod. He gave one last look back at the command screen and then followed Liang Junhui out of the nuclear bunker and into the corridor beyond.
♦
Professor Steiner hurried after John Henry, but as he reached the blast door a voice over the bunker’s speaker system made him pause.
‘Professor,’ said a man’s voice. ‘Can you hear me? Professor?!’
‘Goodwin?’ Steiner said. ‘Richard?’ He raced back to the console.
‘Professor, if you can hear me, it’s Richard Goodwin. I’m not sure how long we can keep this channel open. We’re still alive and have made a home in Sanctuary Proper, but there’s something down here with us and it doesn’t like company. Professor, I don’t know if—’
The speakers crackled and Steiner grasped a headset. ‘Richard, can you hear me!? Richard?!!’
A fearsome roar echoed over the speakers and the hairs on the back of Steiner’s neck bristled.
‘Richard?’ Steiner whispered into the silence, before a strange clicking noise emanated into the bunker.
The audio crackled and a deep guttural growl made Steiner shudder before the feed cut off to silence. It was a noise he’d long prayed he would never hear again.
‘Pharos,’ he whispered, his worst fears realised.
‘Professor?’
Steiner looked round to see Jessica standing at the ruined remains of the blast door.
‘Are you coming?’ she said, looking scared.
Steiner nodded and ran back to the entrance to rejoin the others, who waited for him outside, alongside a unit of U.S. Marines.
‘We’ve swept the entire complex,’ an officer was saying to John Henry. ‘Everything’s secure.’
‘We need to relocate the president to a safe zone,’ Steiner said. ‘A strike might be imminent.’
‘Sir?’ the officer said to John Henry.
‘Do as he says, Sergeant.’
The man saluted and led the way down the corridor, with Steiner striding alongside.
‘What was that noise?’ Eric said, hurrying to keep up.
‘What noise?’ Steiner followed the marine as he turned left down another hallway.
‘It sounded weird, like a lion,’ Eric said, ‘or a bear.’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ Steiner stopped at a locked door, as the army sergeant tapped in a number and opened it.
Steiner entered a dark tunnel, which lit up with lights as he strode along it.
Five marines ran past to secure the area ahead, while Jessica, John, Eric and the Chinese premier keep pace behind. A thousand thoughts buzzed around Steiner’s head as he led his party of five away from the White House, located high above them. They’d been betrayed. The next world war had begun and it wasn’t between nations, as many had anticipated, but between the surface and the underground realm, a realm that many had long hailed as the New World Order – or, as had already been revealed to him, the organisation simply known as the Committee. A war with the subterranean bases was the one scenario he’d hoped to avoid, but the nightmare was upon them and the surface would need to fight to survive. But as ever, where there was hope, there was a way. He just prayed the damage Bic had inflicted wasn’t terminal. The Subterranean Programme had more soldiers than the surface, plus the best equipment and state-of-the-art weapons systems. They also had the low ground, which in any other circumstance would have been a disadvantage, but when that ground was sealed beneath thousands of feet of the Earth’s crust, they might as well have been on the moon. They held all the cards. It had been designed to be so, but as long as the surface let them be, they would show restraint and an assault on the remaining asteroids might still be a possibility. This, at least, was the silver lining in an otherwise blackest of clouds. As long as Joiner doesn’t press for a pre-emptive nuclear strike, Steiner thought, the idea terrifying.
The Tenth Protocol’s ultimate purpose – to protect the Subterranean Programme and all those who resided within at all costs – had been fulfilled. Only time would tell whether the same protocol would lay waste to the entire surface. So far, nuclear weapons had only been used against the asteroid, but if people gathered in big enough numbers outside the bases’ surface entry points, then it could become a different matter.
The sound of footsteps echoed in the tunnel around him and Steiner’s thoughts turned to the amazing contact he’d just received. Richard is alive! He was overjoyed by the news, but dismayed by the presence of the creature he’d always known stalked Sanctuary’s abandoned halls. When he’d sent Goodwin there he’d known the risks, but Sanctuary was humanity’s lifeboat, a world within a world, and it needed a guiding hand that was as incorruptible as it was strong. Goodwin had always been that man. It had been no coincidence he’d been posted at Steadfast, the closest USSB to Sanctuary. Steiner had wanted to make his transition problem-free, but it had turned out anything but. Except he’s still alive, he thought. But for how long? That was the question. In some ways he wished he’d never heard his communication, as it was now something else to worry about.
As Steiner’s mind continued to race, their small party reached an underground transport hub and boarded a tracked people mover, which headed in a steep incline up towards the surface. After a short journey, they left the vehicle behind and emerged via a cleverly concealed doorway into a dimly lit foyer. It was still dark outside and John Henry said, ‘Where are we? This looks familiar.’
‘It’s the last place they’ll look for you,’ said a voice.
‘Colonel,’ the sergeant said, saluting.
Colonel Samson emerged from the darkness with two more marines and stopped before them, his cold eyes gleaming dully in the gloom.
‘It’s the GMRC’s D.C. headquarters,’ Steiner said, recognising the layout.
‘It’s also the only building for a hundred miles that can withstand a nuclear blast.’ Samson adjusted his grip on his rifle.
‘Only at its core,’ Steiner said. ‘And it won’t protect against a direct hit.’
‘I want to see it,’ John said, moving to an elevator.
‘See what?’ Steiner said confused.
John looked back at him as the elevator doors opened with a ping. ‘The attack.’
The president entered and Samson joined him and spoke into his radio, ‘We’re on our way up.’
Steiner shook his head and hurried after them. ‘That’s a bad idea!’
♦
John Henry left the elevator car behind and emerged onto the roof of the GMRC’s high-rise tower. Darkness filled the night and the distant rumble of detonations punctuated the quiet.
John walked towards the edge of the building and gazed out across the capital city. Fires glowed in the black, the result of the asteroid shower that had fallen shortly before.
A dazzling light lit up the sky, followed by a rumbling boom that shook the skyscraper.
‘There goes the Pentagon,’ Samson said, the fireball refl
ecting in his shattered visor.
John turned his gaze skyward to see more rockets on final approach.
‘We shouldn’t be out here,’ Steiner said, looking up with nervous eyes.
‘I need to see this,’ John said. ‘I have to see this.’
The sky flickered like lightning as another explosion thundered through the night, followed by a second and a third.
John shook his head as the onslaught continued.
A crippled jet fighter spiralled down and crashed into the Washington Monument, the obelisk collapsing in a cloud of debris. A second later, Capitol Hill disappeared in a blinding flash.
‘My God,’ John said.
‘They’ll also target military installations across the nation and beyond,’ Steiner said. ‘Those they deem the greatest threat.’
John shook his head. ‘There’ll be nothing left.’
‘Have you seen enough?’ Steiner said, still looking up in fear.
John felt ill at the sight unfolding before him. A final rocket tore into the White House, but the detonation sounded a second later as the projectile exploded below ground. The earth bulged upwards and then collapsed down into a growing hole, which swallowed the White House in its gaping maw.
‘We got out just in time,’ Jessica said from nearby.
The sight of his nation’s most iconic buildings being destroyed in quick succession made John realise the world would never be the same again. One way or another, for better or for worse, change was coming. There was no going back now.
Chapter Two Hundred Seventy-Six
The resonating throb of rotor blades filled the air, and Professor Steiner tore his gaze away from the ruins of Washington D.C. to see Marine One arriving to hover over the skyscraper’s vast roof.
‘I thought you might need some transport,’ Samson shouted, over the noise.
‘You thought right!’ Steiner said, as the aircraft touched down.
Steiner drew the colonel to one side and they exchanged some hurried words. He then guided John towards his helicopter.
‘Where are we going?’ John said, looking disorientated.
‘We need to find somewhere to coordinate your presidency,’ Steiner said. ‘Your country needs a leader, now more than ever.’
‘How can they trust me?’ John said, aghast. ‘We’re at war. The United States is being torn apart and more asteroids are on their way!’
‘And that’s why they need you, whether they know it or not. You’re their greatest chance of staying alive. We can still stop the other asteroids.’ Steiner steeled himself. ‘Regardless of what he’s done, Bic was right about that. He always was.’
John waited as Jessica, Eric and then Liang Junhui boarded the aircraft. He then stepped up into Marine One himself. ‘You’re not coming?’ he said, as the professor remained standing on the roof.
Steiner gestured to where Colonel Samson spoke to the pilot. ‘I need to speak to the colonel first, and then I’ll rejoin you later.’
‘Professor?’ Jessica said, moving to the doorway, with Eric close behind her. ‘What are you doing?’
‘I’ll be following you later.’ He took her hand and squeezed it and looked to Eric. ‘Look after her for me.’
Eric’s expression grew determined. ‘You can count on me, Professor.’
‘What about my family?’ Jessica said. ‘With Bic gone, they’re all alone.’
‘I’ll see what I can do,’ Steiner said. ‘I promise.’
Jessica nodded, her distraught expression making him wish he could guarantee their safety. The problem was, no one was safe anymore.
He gave her his best reassuring smile and her hand a final squeeze before letting go, then turned and gave a nod to John Henry, who slid shut the door.
The helicopter’s rotors whirled faster and Marine One’s jet engines roared loud.
Steiner retreated to a safe distance as the aircraft lifted off, but he couldn’t help but watch in distress as Jessica and Eric gazed back at him through the passenger window. He’d been with them both so long, he couldn’t bear to lose them, like he had Brett. However, it was beyond his control now – that, at least, he was certain of.
‘Did the pilot understand?’ Steiner said.
Colonel Samson stopped by his side. ‘He won’t answer to anyone except us.’
‘Even if the president requests him to?’
‘Yes,’ Samson said. ‘It’s as you asked.’
‘And it’s for the best,’ Steiner said. ‘We need to keep him alive, which means he needs to be outside the United States. It’s not safe for him here anymore.’
‘You’re in charge,’ Samson said.
Steiner gave the colonel a sidelong look. ‘Can I trust you, Colonel?’
Samson tuned his steely gaze on him. ‘Who else have you got?’
There wasn’t much Steiner could say to that. It was a statement of fact. And yet, despite the Colonel’s past and the bad blood that existed between them, he’d come good when it mattered. Steiner didn’t know how Samson had come to be in exactly the right place at exactly the right time. He didn’t even know how he was still alive, given the forces arrayed against him, but here he was, standing beside Steiner as the world crumbled around them. Whatever the answer, he wouldn’t second guess it. It was what it was. He was just pleased to have something go his way for once, especially considering how badly things had gone. From the high of stopping the asteroid to the low of Bic’s betrayal, it had been a roller coaster ride from start to finish – and it wasn’t over yet, far from it.
The lights from Marine One finally disappeared from view and Steiner turned to go back inside, but Samson remained where he was.
Steiner opened his mouth to speak and then thought better of it and left the colonel to his thoughts. He had something he had to do and it couldn’t wait. Not a moment longer.
♦
Colonel Samson heard the professor walk away and he looked back towards the building’s edge, where the city’s skyline glowed with the flickering flames of fire. He removed his battle-worn helmet and stared into its cracked screen.
It wasn’t all for nothing, you know, said the voice in his head.
‘What wasn’t?’ Samson said.
You’re thinking you made no difference. You’re thinking because you couldn’t save her, that you failed.
‘I did fail.’
You helped stop the asteroid. You saved the president’s life, along with the man you know is the key to everyone’s survival.
‘Steiner doesn’t need my help.’
Of course he does.
‘He stole her from me. Why should I help him?’
Shouldn’t you be asking yourself, why you ARE helping him?
‘I thought you were the hacker.’ Samson held up his helmet and knew the internal speakers no longer functioned. The voice in his head was not coming from anywhere but from within.
Maybe I was working through the hacker. Does it matter how I speak to you?
Samson considered the question. ‘Who are you?’
I am that I am.
‘And that means what?’
I think you know.
Samson turned to look around to make sure no one was there.
The building’s roof remained devoid of life, the sounds of distant explosions and the wail of sirens a mournful backdrop to the darkness of night.
‘Why would God speak to me?’
Why wouldn’t he?
‘I’m a killer.’
You mean you were a killer. You’re not killing anyone now, are you?
‘I’m going to hell. I’ve always known it.’
What if I told you there is no hell? Only the one of your own making.
‘I’d say you were a liar.’
No, you’d say I was a damn liar.
Samson grunted.
Look, said the voice. There is no devil, there is no hell. Anyone who thinks there is just trying to create a reality in which they do. The problem is, there’s one cru
cial thing they don’t know, understand, or refuse to accept.
‘And what’s that?’
You cannot create what is not.
‘What?’
You cannot create what is not. It’s quite simple. There are universal laws and one of them is that there is no hell.
‘Then what is there?’
Only heaven, followed by the next life you choose to embody.
‘I don’t buy it and I don’t buy you. If you’re God, prove it.’
I already have, by speaking to you. In fact, I’ve been speaking to you every second of every day since you were born, as I do with all my children.
‘Then how come I didn’t hear you?’
You weren’t listening.
Samson considered the voice’s words. ‘Say I believe you.’
You do believe me, deep down, you see these words and you know them to be truth. In fact, there is no way you cannot. It is who you are.
‘Why do you allow people to kill, maim and destroy?’
Because it’s your choice to do so. You have free will and create your own reality.
Samson remained silent. Am I losing my mind? he wondered. He knew the drugs Joiner had forced upon him the previous year had sent him over the edge and he’d been hearing voices ever since: Joiner’s, the hacker’s and many more besides. But this voice was different. It sounded different – more powerful – feminine and masculine, like a woman’s voice enmeshed in a man’s.
That’s because I have no gender and both. I am all.
Samson frowned and wandered over to the building’s edge and gazed out at the nightmarish vision that had become Washington D.C. ‘There’s no hell?’
It changes things, doesn’t it?
‘It means I can do what I want without fear of divine retribution.’
Yes. It does. So, what do you choose to do?
Samson thought about it. ‘I’ve already chosen.’
I know you have, said the voice in his head. And that’s why you must listen to me. War is upon you. A war that mankind has collectively wished for in its subconscious and the time has come for it to awaken, or regress. Your way of life is corrupt. You breed disease because you fear the death of those you love. And the more you fear, the harder you fight disease wherever you find it, the more disease becomes your reality and the more death you store up for future generations. You can only ever postpone death, it never goes away. You cannot cheat death, you know that is truth. Your institutions know the majority of their drugs and procedures only treat and suppress the symptoms of disease, when your dis-ease is only cured by addressing the cause.
Ancient Origins: Books 4 - 6 (Ancient Origins Boxset Book 2) Page 138