by Sean Salazar
Ed explained to Natalie, “Al suspects a powerful signal is emanating from a giant phoenix they found inside the Teton Mountains.”
Natalie had a confused look.
Alex leaned back, wiped his forehead, and explained, “
Ever since this crisis began, statues of a giant phoenix have been found—one under Iraq, another under Lake Titicaca, and now inside the Tetons.”
Ed crossed his arms. “Satellite Command is now picking up the exact same powerful signal from multiple locations all over the planet.”
Ed allowed Natalie to see the message and she replied, “But the...” she paused and refocused on the message, “...the signals are aimed directly into outer space.”
Ed exchanged glances with Alex and pulled up a page as he tilted his head in semi-approval. “My dear,” he said, always careful how much he shared with the uninformed, “modern astronomers were virtually embarrassed to discover that ancient stargazers from thousands of years ago knew about planets beyond Saturn before they did, and not just that, but the presence of an unknown planet that they are only vaguely aware of even today.”
She glanced at Alex, then back at Ed, and replied, “I don’t understand. What do ancient stargazers have to do with this?”
Ed turned the page so she could read it. “While we were in flight, I was decoding the signal that Al and Major Reeves discovered. The language used is the exact same language that we and archaeologists have been digging up for decades.”
She glanced down and read the message. “This looks Greek to me.”
Ed continued, “I am not finished yet, but I believe it is going to be a message to tell something or someone it is now time to return.”
“Then,” Alex said, “the Brotherhood is going to bring the planet into a final war of Armageddon early so they can return.”
“This is crazy,” Natalie said.
“Yes, it is,” Ed said, “but it’s beginning to make sense.”
“Especially,” Alex said, “if that is an actual message for them to return.”
Ed was about to reply when another message came in on his PDA. He read it and tossed it over to Alex.
He caught it and read the message. He looked up. “This is not good.”
“No, it’s not,” Ed said, immediately shuffling through his papers. He pulled out the map they used earlier and flattened it out on the table.
“Okay, what happened?” Natalie asked urgently.
Ed placed his finger on the map. “I just received a message from Vance that Al Robek is lost and flowing as part of the river they discovered inside the Teton mountain range.”
Alex continued, “It also indicates that Vance and Major Reeves are badly burned.”
“Oh, my God,” Natalie said.
Alex quickly scrolled through the pictures of the map table and zoomed in on a square marker they estimated was in the Teton Mountains.
“Ed, if that message is accurate, you were right about the river channel.”
“The shibboleth,” Natalie added.
“Apparently so,” Ed replied, tracing his finger on the map. “As accurately as I can, I am attempting to determine where this river channel ends.”
“By the looks of it,” Alex said, leaning in close, “it’s a fairly straight path to the Great Salt Lake in Utah and to another marker.”
“Meaning something is most likely underground there,” Ed said.
Natalie leaned in to the map, “But that is hundreds of miles. Could he survive that?”
Ed continued comparing the map and the picture of the table and replied, “If this river is similar to the one we found in Lebanon, then he is traveling bloody fast, but if anyone can survive, Al Robek can.”
Alex placed his finger on the map, “Ed, I have an idea. You go inside the mountain and direct a rescue operation from there. I will head to...” he moved his finger to Salt Lake City... “...to find whatever is beneath there and intercept that river.” He then pointed to the pyramid marker near Mt. Shasta in California, “...because if we don’t, that is his next stop.”
“What about me?” Natalie asked.
Alex continued, “I want you to head back to Gap Mills, and organize an excavation of that cemetery. I have a feeling something fascinating is below it.”
Ed stood up, gathered his papers, and said, “Meanwhile Alex, you need to translate and decipher the writing below the White House lawn. It may help us locate the next bomb.”
Alex reached out and shook Ed and Natalie’s hands. “Time is of the utmost importance. Good hunting.”
Ed and Natalie rapidly gathered their belongings and exited the plane.
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Al could not judge how far he had traveled or how fast he was moving, but keeping his head above water was becoming more of a challenge as his energy drained. The backpack and rope dragging him under was his main concern. There was no way he was letting his pack go, but he had to lighten his burden.
As the minutes passed, he felt himself struggling to keep himself from sliding deeper and deeper under water. He was definitely being dragged down, and had to figure out a way to stop or slow down. As he bobbed along gasping for air in the dark, he reluctantly realized that delaying the inevitable was unfortunately not an option any longer.
He took a deep breath and submerged himself, unstrapped and let go the submachine gun. Next, he pulled off his pack, held tightly onto the strap, and stuffed his 50-cal handgun into the side pocket. He had hoped that his pack would float in the fast-moving water and it thankfully did. The pack seemed to be more buoyant and now acted as a flotation device. As he traveled along, he felt slightly relieved that he would not have to struggle to keep his head above water for now. Fortunately, the water was relatively warm, so hypothermia was also not a concern.
As he gained the rhythm of the flowing current, he angled the pack to the left in hopes of colliding with the sides of the river somehow. As he did, he noticed an orange glow again in the distance, then suddenly out of nowhere he collided with something solid. His head slammed into the pack, injuring his nose again; blood streamed down on his lips and chin. The collision was so sudden that he lost his breath and began choking on the water splashing over him. What the hell did he hit?
Regaining his bearing from his blood loss, and with water splashing over him, he realized that he wasn’t moving, at least not much. The dim orange glow was a ways off to his left but everything else was in total darkness. Now he sensed the pack was beginning to slide off what it had collided with, so he reached around to feel what it was.
It was a wall, or was it the river edge? He couldn’t tell in the dark, but considering the circumstances, he didn’t dare turn on his light. He held onto the pack and swung his arm off to the right, reaching as high as he could. His fingers reached the edge. “Perfect,” he whispered, relieved, “it’s the river’s edge.” The next question would be how to climb out. The difference now would be that the water was not pulling directly on him, but instead was pushing at him, which he could now use to his advantage. With his right hand on the edge, he gripped his pack, threw it up on top and pushed it in. Next, he grabbed the edge with both hands and pulled himself out, the water pressure actually assisting him up. After a few seconds of lying in the dark, he realized what had happened. He remembered the hand-drawn map of the river and how it changed direction. Fortunately for him, he must have collided with the edge as the rushing water followed along its new path. The backpack created enough of a drag along the edge that it prevented him from being taken away with the current. Lucky him.
He carefully rolled over, retrieved his special handgun, and listened. It took a moment for the water to clear his ears, but once it did, he zeroed in on the sounds in the dark.
A rhythmic sound echoed around him. He looked in the direction of the glow. Once his eyes focused, he could almost make out movement and it wasn’t his eyes playing tricks on him. Something was moving out there.
Staying on his belly,
he slid over to the edge, dragging his pack. If they, or whoever, spotted him he would fall back into the water, taking his chances on the unknown instead of being shot. It was a horrible option, but it was the only one he had. While keeping his eyes on the glow, he gripped the edge of the channel and pulled himself closer to the sound. The water splashed directly below him as he reached the spot where the water channel changed direction.
He was now directly adjacent to the glow which meant that if he wasn’t careful they would spot him. Then suddenly he heard the sounds getting louder and it wasn’t because he got closer. The sounds were coming at him and they were very distinct marching sounds like hundreds of combat boots hitting the pavement or stone deck. How could that be? Then he saw it. The movement he saw a minute ago appeared to be a sea of black with dancing orange lights above it. He angled himself perpendicular to the water channel, pulled his pack to the side, and focused.
There before him was an unmistakable row of large men dressed in shiny silver helmets and holding flaming torches. The light from the fires gave an eerie sight of men marching. The marching echoed all around him as the sounds bounced off the walls. As they got closer, he could now make out that he wasn’t watching a single row of men, but an army of knights! There were hundreds of them marching, and each one held a torch.
It’s an invasion!
To make matters worse, the glow from the torches now lit up his position. He glanced around to get his bearings now that the area was lit up. A large stone wall behind him had several dark door-like openings. His immediate options were making a dash to one of the openings, or drop back into the water. If he chose the former, he would risk being spotted and if so, would they blow him to pieces? Would there be more knights inside? He glanced back at the knights realizing that if Vance survived the inferno, a rescue operation would be under way and coming soon. Dear God, he thought. He now knew what he had to do.
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Perimeter of Jackson Hole Airport
Leaning on the hood of a car, Jess Contreras, her hair tied back, peered through high-powered binoculars at the British SAS plane that had just landed. After it parked, two black helicopters landed a short distance away. She had tracked Al Robek to this region and mountain range but lost his tracks right away. Earlier, she had intercepted police radio traffic of hunters shooting at armored knights and concluded that she was in the right location after all. If the Brotherhood and Al were here, then something important must be in those mountains. Since she lost him, her plan was to stake out the local airport and see who showed up. Her patient plan worked. The final proof would be if Ed Collins was on that SAS plane.
She looked up at the spiky mountain peaks and saw two black dots in the sky that she recognized as helicopters. This indicated that activity definitely had picked up. She refocused on the plane as several armed soldiers surrounded it and ground crew pushed metal stairs up to the door. The helicopters’ rotors were still turning, waiting for whoever was on that plane.
After several minutes, she felt victorious when she spotted Ed and another woman exit and hurry down the steps. She looked closer and recognized the woman as the college girl from Washington, D.C. Why is she with them now? Jess wondered.
Ed and the woman separated and went in opposite directions. Jess kept her gaze on Ed. He carried his usual worn leather bag, and he went straight to one of the choppers, climbed in, and it lifted off. She saw the other one lift off with the woman.
Jess lowered the binoculars and pulled out her cell phone. She pressed the send button of a prepared message that would send her assault team into the mountains to destroy whatever they discovered. Within the next few hours, the Brotherhood and her men would fight it out—turning these mountains into a flaming inferno.
Cast of Characters
CIA file
Valerie Churchill: CIA director
Status: active
Location: Washington, D.C.
Mr. Burkholder: U.S. President
Location: Washington, D.C.
Al Robek: agent Status: active
Location: Washington, D.C.
Mr. Oppenheimer: Secretary of Defense
Status: active
Location: Washington, D.C.
General Bill Burke: retired U.S. Army general and former commanding officer of Al Robek during the war on terror. Currently providing logistical support to the President and CIA director.
Status: active
Location: Washington, D.C.
General Holland: Commander, Special Operations command Status: active Location: Washington, D.C. Rear Admiral Fenton: close advisor to the President
Status: active
Location: Washington, D.C.
Admiral Kline: Commander, U.S. Pacific
Jess Contreras: Agent. Suspected affiliation with an emerging rogue group within the Vatican. Location and status unknown.
Agent Phillips: killed in action, Iraq
Agent Smith: Baghdad station chief
Status: active
Vance Mahoney: agent
Status: active
Location: Washington, D.C.
Akmad: presumed deceased Captain McCoumb: USMC
Status: active
Location: Washington, D.C.
Sgt. Blanco: killed in action. Body not found.
Hector Gomez: agent. aka, skull smasher. Drug interdiction.
Status: active
Location: South America
Agent Joseph: long term undercover mission
Location: Tuxpan, Mexico.
General Kenessa: Swiss army Natalie Sikorsky: graduate student. Currently being recruited into MI-5.
Status: active.
Location: Washington, D.C.
MI-5 file
Ed Collins: MI-5 operative. World War II veteran. Investigating the Brotherhood since 1946.
Alex Pike: MI-5 operative. World War II veteran.
Betty: MI-5 operative. Logistics specialist, currently in hiding following the attack in London.
Wayne Ngyuen: MI-5 operative. Ancient language translator. Killed in action during London attack.
Saif: Former Egyptian army officer. Independent informant for the CIA, MI-5, and SAS.
Also:
Monsignor Koenig: unknown, suspected 19th degree Mason.
Ricardo Calvino: suspected uncle of Agent Jess Contreras. Past chairman of Banco Ambrosiano. Discovered hanging under the Blackfriar Bridge in 1982.
Dr. Quigly: confirmed Brotherhood member and suspected association with the Vatican.
Information transfer from Ed Collins to the CIA on the Brother-hood’s history is currently being investigated.
Masonic Degrees Al Robek has discovered thus far in his adventure.
1st Degree- Entered Apprentice
2nd Degree- Fellow Craft
Discovered locations:
Subterranean complex, Ur, Iraq: Initial impact zone and the apparent instigator of the current crisis. Estimated 20 percent investigated. Further exploration delayed due to jurisdiction dispute and recent chemical gas exposure deemed an accident.
Subterranean complex, Damascus, Syria: Appears to be remnants of ancient Roman/Greek-style city. Syrian government conducting full investigation.
Subterranean complex, Colima, Mexico: Reported to have been deliberately imploded. Further investigations delayed.
Subterranean complex, Bolivia/Lake Titicaca: Discovered treasure being secretly investigated. Suspected biological lab currently being investigated. Lake Titicaca suspected of being a massive ancient mine. Further investigations pending.
Underground road and abandoned storage facility, Basel, Switzerland: Swiss government investigating.
Complex below the Temple of Jupiter, Baalbek, Lebanon: Believed to be the Crest of Zaphon of ancient lore and the location of the tower of Babel and secret rooms of human history. Special interest is the presence of a large rocket and rooms full of unknown American history.
Standard time: zero with the birth o
f Jesus.
Hebrew time:
Holy Script time: 3113, exact reason unknown at this time.
Findings:
Holy Script: first discovered in the United States in the early 1820’s. Originally thought to be a lost language of the American Indians, and was forgotten about. Rediscovered in Romania by the German Army during World War II, and then again in the Sinai Peninsula and Israel during the Arab-Israeli wars.
Holy Script found in Bolivia. Further investigation pending.
Holy Script engraved onto a gold plate given to Al Robek by a Mason. Translated.
Crest of Zaphon: believed to be Baalbek,Lebanon.
Revelations of Da Vinci’s “Last Supper” painting. Not to be revealed
at this time.
19th Masonic degree: One of the Scottish rite degrees denoting the beginning and the end. The number 1 is the beginning and the number 9 is the end. All numbers are repeated from that point. The 19th degree mission is to prevent Armageddon. Further instruction will be revealed at a later date.
Muslim and Christian massacres are occurring all over the world, except North and South America.
Chinese military maneuvers in the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico are currently being watched closely.
Nuclear weapons of unknown origin: Extensive worldwide investigations continuing.
Operation Eye for an Eye: A top secret mission encompassing ten of the best snipers from the US Military. Used as lone wolf operators to rapidly bring an end to the war on terror. Al Robek is the only surviving member.
About the Author
Sean Salazar dates his fascination with Middle Eastern culture and Biblical teachings all the way back to age nine. Today, that interest— coupled with studies of philosophy, ancient languages, and military tactics—has fueled a fertile imagination to create his first novel, The Babylon Prophecy, a spine-tingling saga of nine volumes. Book One—Countdown to Doomsday—ended with an exciting, but puzzling, climax. Here, in Book Two—Beneath the Temple—Salazar picks up the action and keeps the reader guessing right up to the last page—and perhaps even beyond. A U.S. Navy veteran, Sean is a doctor of chiropractic medicine, specializing in sports injury.