The Revelation Chronicles: Evolution

by Eric Burney

I grabbed her arm and gently pulled her to her feet. She wasn't wobbly or anything, so that was a plus.

  “We should keep moving. There's bound to be more Evolution cronies looking for us out here.”

  I should have kept my big mouth shut, because at that almost exact moment, a sniper appeared on the rooftop of an adjacent building. I knew because I could see the infrared laser beam from his rifle dancing on Kara’s chest. I jumped in front of her out of pure instinct, hoping to intercept the gunman’s bullet. But fortunately, it was a bullet that never came. The building beneath him was struck by a rocket and the entire thing went up in an enormous explosion. My surprised eyes traced the rocket’s smoke trail back to its point of origin. Not more than a hundred yards away, Agent Simmons stood tall with a FIM-92 Stinger missile launcher hoisted on his shoulder. He wasn't alone either. A cadre of helicopters landed nearby, and several uniformed soldiers egressed the sides. I'd never been so happy to see a law enforcement officer in my life.

  Agent Simmons handed the launcher to one of the soldiers and approached me with a thin smile on his hardened face.

  “It's good to see you again,” I said, beaming from ear to ear.

  “Damn good to see you too, Charlie.” He switched his gaze. “Kara, nice to see you as well.”

  “Who are these guys?” I asked, watching as the soldiers wearing maroon-colored berets fanned out around us. They kicked in doors and swept each building before moving on.

  “I called in a favor. Probably the last one I have left. I'm about as popular as you are right now in government circles. Luckily, I still have a few friends. These are some of my old Air Force buddies. It didn't take much convincing to bring them aboard.

  “Great. We can definitely use their help. This place is like a fortress. How did you find us by the way?”

  “We were monitoring radio chatter when some UFO nutjob phoned into a 911 dispatch. He went on and on about seeing something that resembled a man flying over his farm about twenty miles back. Wasn't hard after that,” he said with a subtle wink.

  “Well, we're grateful for your help,” Kara said.

  “I owed it to Charlie,” Agent Simmons replied with conviction. “I needed to make that right.”

  “We're definitely square,” I said, holding out my hand to shake. When he took it, I pulled him in tight and wrapped my left hand around his shoulder, slapping his back a few times. The bro hug. I know, it was cliché, but he deserved it.

  “Did you find anything on the Secretary and who he's been working with?”

  “I did, but it can wait for now. This takes priority. What's the next move?”

  “We find whatever rock Cain is hiding under and we kick it over.”

  Chapter 72

  With the help of Agent Simmons and his Air Force buddies, we were able to make it through to the center of the base without much further incident. So far, all attempts to reach Jasmine on my suit communicator were unsuccessful. Inwardly I was concerned for Michael and Nick. How had they fared in the mission to rescue Vice President Palmer?

  “Do you have a radio I could borrow?” Kara asked over the sound of light gunfire nearby.

  Agent Simmons unclipped the digital radio from his belt and tossed it to her.

  “I may be able to reach her with this if I can reprogram it and find the right frequency.”

  “It’s definitely worth a shot,” I said. Funny how less and less it bothered me that we were so in-synch telepathically.

  “Love the suit, by the way,” she said, adding a seductive smile that made my face and cheeks flush a deep shade of red, like one of those Saturday morning cartoon characters with steam coming from the ears. It didn’t help matters when she gently bit the corner of her bottom lip, an obviously intentional move. The woman was driving me crazy!

  “What? I can’t help if your new outfit makes you look hot. Blame your tailor, Jasmine.”

  Or thank her was more like it.

  “Any luck with that radio?” Agent Simmons wanted to know. “Need me to give it a shot?”

  “No, thanks. I think I almost have it—I think.”

  Kara punched the numerical pad on the radio and keyed the push-to-talk button.

  “Destiny, Destiny. This is Fallen Angel. How do you read?”

  Fallen Angel? Destiny?

  “Call signs? Really? We’re doing that now?”

  “Yeah. Where have you been?” Kara asked, then chuckled.

  “I think that’s actually a good idea,” Agent Simmons interjected. “You guys are pretty high profile, and code names or call signs will help you maintain a level of anonymity.”

  “So what’s my call sign?”

  “Wouldn’t you like to know,” Kara said, acting all mysterious with another sly smile. Someone was definitely in good spirits.

  “Fallen Angel, this is Destiny.” Jasmine’s voice crackled over the radio. “It’s so good to hear from you! Are you with Icarus?”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I muttered. “Icarus? If I remember correctly, things didn’t turn out too well for him in the end.”

  “He’s here,” Kara responded, ignoring my complaints. “His suit communicator is down.”

  “I assumed as much. I’ve been trying to raise him.”

  “Everything OK, Destiny?” I asked, leaning towards the radio. It felt a little on the weird side using code names, but I figured I’d go along with it for the moment.

  “The Vice President is safe and sound, but we have a bigger problem: His abduction was a decoy. Plans were found on site that suggests Evolution is planning to launch another Orion device. I’ve tried running thermal scans of the area, but I haven’t found anything. My guess is they are using the nuclear launch facility to house and deploy the weapon.”

  The situation was much worse than I thought. I glanced at Agent Simmons, who seemed to share my grave sentiment.

  “We need to get in there now,” he said sternly, reminding me of Robert and his general authoritarian demeanor.

  “I couldn’t agree more,” I said. “There’s bound to be tons of security protocols in place. Jazz—I mean… Destiny, can you help us?”

  “Of course. Find the hatch and radio me when you’re in place. Also, the other two members of your team, Speed and Inferno, should be arriving soon.”

  I didn’t know whether to laugh or be encouraged. At least the names fit.

  “Thanks, Destiny. We’ll let you know when we’re in place,” I replied affirmatively.

  So, now we all had cool names. But would we each live up to them and embrace the role of a hero?

  We were about to find out.

  Chapter 73

  “We’re here, Destiny,” Kara said into the radio. We were all huddled around the hatch that led to the underground nuclear launch facility. The Air Force squad maintained a 360 degree perimeter around us.

  Agent Simmons frowned, his expression grim while he peered through a pair of high-tech binoculars, observing the activity in the distance. Robert and his team had arrived minutes earlier and joined the main contingent of the Air Force cadre. They were actively engaged in fierce fighting with Evolution’s ground forces. Evolution had regrouped, and proved to be more formidable than originally thought. They were not going down without a fight. Skirmishes had broken out all over the base. So far, it was hard to tell who had the upper hand.

  Michael and Nick had joined our party as well and gave a brief rundown on what happened at the junkyard. And, of course, Nick’s version of the story in no way matched up with Michael’s account of events. Not even close. The way he’d described it, he had taken on the entire might of Evolution without so much as breaking a sweat. His damaged suit, however, told a much different story.

  “Standby, let me pull up the archived blueprints,” Jasmine’s voice crackled. Radio silence followed while she worked her magic on the other end.

  “I still can’t believe just hours ago, I was hunting all of you. And now, here I am helping you,” Agent Simmons said, low
ering the binoculars.

  “Yeah, and you weren’t doing too good a job of that if I recall correctly,” said Michael. He eyed the FBI agent with scorn. He still didn’t trust him. Couldn’t say that I blamed him. He hadn’t witnessed Agent Simmons come to our aid so willingly before he and Nick had arrived. He had no idea what Agent Simmons had sacrificed in the past two days—all for us.

  “Look, I know you don’t like me. And you don’t trust me. But we have a common enemy here and a common goal. What do you say we put aside our differences and save the world? Or would you like to settle this here and now?”

  Kara took a step forward to intervene, but I reached out and caught her arm.

  No. Let them figure this out. It needs to be done.

  Are you sure that’s such a good idea?

  I hope so. We can’t really afford to lose either one of them.

  Agent Simmons had unholstered his sidearm earlier in the conversation, and now it was pressed tightly behind his upper right thigh, just in case. Michael’s fists were clenched and the lights along the front of his suit began to flicker and illuminate. He wasn’t backing down at all. It appeared the beef between the two was about to be cooked on an open flame right then and there over the missile facility hatch.

  “You don’t want to do this, kid,” Agent Simmons warned. “I was just doing my job. When I realized the situation was more complex than I’d been led to believe, I made Charlie a promise I would get to the bottom of it. You and your friends are no longer the threat I once believed you to be. But, as I said before, we can settle this here and now. The ball is in your court.”

  Michael’s eyes burned with malice and ill intent. I had no doubt, if looks could kill, Agent Simmons would no longer have been among the living.

  “Do you trust this man?” Michael asked warily, cutting his eyes toward me.

  I looked at Agent Simmons, who appeared to be just as anxious to hear my response.

  “I do,” I said without hesitation. “He’s one of us now.”

  Michael continued to give Agent Simmons the thousand-yard stare and neither of them flinched. Then, Michael dropped the tension in his shoulders and relaxed.

  “Alright. If Charlie trusts you, then you’re good with me.” The lights along his suit began to fade and I heaved a mental sigh of relief.

  That was a close one.

  You’re telling me! I thought this coalition was doomed before the start.

  My eyes met Kara’s and we held each other’s gaze a moment, briefly, but just long enough.

  “Guys,” Jasmine’s tinny voice came over the radio, “I think I was able to crack the security algorithms in place. Nick, reach into your utility belt—left pouch. You should find a thumb drive.”

  Nick looked confused but didn’t question her, fumbling in the small pouch before producing a drive barely two inches in length.

  “You never cease to amaze me, Jazz,” I said, leaning over Kara’s shoulder to speak through the radio. “Excuse me. Destiny. Is there anything you don’t think of?”

  “I have my moments. Now, place the drive into the slot on the hatch.”

  Nick did as instructed. The display on the hatch began to run through a series of numbers. Within a minute, the security code was identified, and the hatch was unlocked.

  “Well, here goes nothing,” I said, turning the large crank wheel and pulling the hatch open. I felt as if we were a bunch of cat burglars about to attempt a daring jewel heist. Visibility was minimal at best, and I couldn’t make out anything past the first flight of metal stairs that extended below. I had no idea what we were about to walk into.

  Chapter 74

  “Hold on a sec, Agent Simmons said, motioning for one of his Air Force buddies. “You guys aren't the only ones with cool toys. This is SSgt. Foster.”

  He introduced the Airman who grinned and nodded while he unsnapped a hardened black case. Inside was a small remote-controlled hover drone.

  “Hey, I've seen these things on the internet before,” Nick remarked with a wave of excitement.

  “Not like this, I can guarantee you,” SSgt. Foster said, donning the pair of gloves in the kit. He then pressed a button inside the case and an LED screen lit up. He stood and slowly, raised his gloved hands, and the drone lifted off the ground. With each movement or twitch of a finger, the drone responded accordingly. With skill and expertise, SSgt. Foster guided the hover drone down through the opening and into the poorly lit tunnels below. We all watched in awe as the LED display switched to infrared and began to pick up on the heat signatures of Evolution’s forces scattered about below. The display kept an accurate track of all the signatures and their locations, marking them with blue dots while the hover drone hummed along, quietly continuing its aerial surveillance without detection.

  Nick watched, his mouth slack, eyes wide with amazement. “You were right,” he finally conceded, “I've never seen anything like this.”

  “There.” Agent Simmons pointed to a location on the screen. “That stairwell leads to the launch control center.”

  “It's heavily guarded. I won't be able to get the drone past this point,” SSgt. Foster said.

  “That's OK,” I said. “Can you continue down that corridor?” I indicated a larger opening off to the right. SSgt. Foster obliged by twisting the thumb and index fingers of both hands simultaneously. The drone responded accordingly, sending back the footage of a long tunnel at least four hundred feet in length. At the end of it were two incredibly large blast doors.

  “Do I need to state the obvious?” Michael asked. “We'll be fish in a barrel if we don't get those doors open.”

  “He's right,” Agent Simmons said. “That's a choke point we don't want to find ourselves in.”

  “I'm looking over the old schematics, guys,” Jasmine added. “It seems the controls for the blast doors are located in the launch control center. The control center itself is separated into two floors. If you can gain access to the central hub though, I may be able to walk you through how to disable the device remotely. There would be no need to open the blast doors.”

  “This is a lot of space to cover,” I said. “Agent Simmons, you head out with Michael and Kara for the launch control center. Get inside and get Jasmine the access she needs.

  “And what about us?” Nick asked. “What are we going to do?”

  “We're going to draw as much heat as we can from the others. Do what we do best.”

  “Now that's a plan I can appreciate!” he said, nodding his head up and down vehemently.

  SSgt. Foster recalled the drone and packed it back in its case.

  “Hey, uh… excuse me, Sarge,” Nick said, pulling him to the side. “Any chance I can get my hands on one of those?”

  “This is government property. So, I'd say there's pretty much no chance,” SSgt. Foster answered, closing the case.

  “OK, well, you can't blame a guy for trying.”

  “Are we all ready to do this?” I asked, searching the group for any sign of questions or doubt. We were at the point of no return now.

  “Let’s do it,” Michael said.

  Chapter 75

  “So, now what?” Nick whispered, pressing his body against the wall next to me. We had carefully and quietly descended the stairwell into the nuclear facility. If the drone footage was accurate, a roving patrol was just on the other side of the wall.

  “I don't want them to know we're here just yet. Kara, you're up.”

  She closed her eyes and concentrated, reaching out with her mind. Then she opened them.

  “They're coming,” she said quietly. “I convinced them they should investigate a noise near the hatch.”

  I nodded to Agent Simmons who moved into position next to me.

  “We'll take them out at the same time.”

  As soon as the first of the guards on patrol rounded the corner, I surprised him, lifting the man off his feet and pressing his body against the wall. Agent Simmons grabbed the other guard, placing a hand firmly
over his mouth while using the other arm to perform a chokehold. Both men were incapacitated in seconds.

  “So far, so good,” Kara said taking a deep breath.

  “OK. Stay here until you get the signal to move. Nick and I will draw the rest of the guards to us.”

  “What signal?” Agent Simmons asked.

  “You'll know when the time comes,” I said with a grin.

  I cupped Kara’s face and leaned in until our lips were just beyond touching.

  “Stay safe. I don't want to make a habit of saving you.”

  She smiled wryly and showed her cute little dimples.

  “Sometimes a girl likes playing the damsel in distress.”

  I smiled and brushed my lips against hers, feeling a spark of energy from the contact. I hadn't got used to that yet. And I probably never would.

  “Waiting on you, Romeo,” Nick said, chomping at the bit to see some action.

  I touched my forehead to Kara’s before letting her go. Then I turned to Michael.

  “Keep an eye on her for me.”

  “I got your back. Don't worry.”

  I nodded to Agent Simmons. I didn't have to tell him to watch out for my team—my family. Somehow, I just knew he would.

  “So, ready to see who's the fastest once and for all?”

  Nicks jaw nearly hit the floor he was so excited.

  “Hell yeah! Let's do it!”

  We both took off down the corridor at a blinding rate of speed, ready to take on all comers.

  Chapter 76

  Nick and I were shoulder-to-shoulder as we sped down the corridor. I didn't actually have super-speed like he possessed, though. Not even close. I had the ability to anticipate things and react to them with hyper increased reflexes, such as a speeding bullet I could stop with telekinesis. It was an ability I first became aware of when a gun was shoved in my face. That’s how Robert had introduced himself, back when I was kidnapped and brought into the middle of all this. It seemed so long ago. The ability was one I hadn't quite mastered yet, but I was proficient enough. By anticipating Nick’s movements and where he'd be, I could essentially keep up with him, even stay a step ahead. It was also a form of precognition, along with a heightened version of the feeling you get when you're nervous or scared and the hair along your arms and neck begin to stand at attention. The fight-or-flight response is the scientific term for it. Ever wondered about the story of the mother who was able to lift a car to save her child? It's grounded in fact. The sympathetic nervous system is the basis for the phenomenon. But, unlike your average human, I was able to channel the ability at will.