Legacy (37 page)

Rawlins smiled for the first time since he had seen the drop in attendance.

“Eliminate the driving force? Even though McCabe said it would be a mistake?”

“He’s timid, and what’s most important here is the fact that he is not family. Even more important than that—he’s not a true believer in our cause. His cause is money and survival, not the sanctity of God’s written word. He is a Judas waiting for his reward.”

“And how would we achieve such a plan? You forget, daughter, that our motives are somewhat in accordance with McCabe’s. We’re the real hypocrites here.”

“The Mechanic says he has lost faith in his own cause, but I sense he has not. My plan would involve him, a man of devout beliefs but also a man who has come to doubt those around him. A man who now says he is in it for the money like his boss, McCabe.”

“You believe he has the will and the desire to see that God prevails here?”

“More than that, he sees this as a chance to right his cause. He will do what I ask.” She turned and put her arms around her father. “Chaos will be to our benefit, and it will also place a dear friend in the highest office in the land. At the same time, after the Mechanic has done our bidding, he will continue on as our fall guy.”

“And McCabe?” he asked, knowing Laurel’s answer long before she voiced it.

“I think as soon as his Houston and Cape Canaveral missions are complete, and the second gallery inside the mine is reopened, we’ll allow him to remove any weaponry and technology from the mine. Then he will cease to be an asset to our cause. Just empty baggage that needs to be left on the ground.”

Rawlins smiled and felt better about the events of the day, even more so because his sermon had relaxed him and renewed his own enthusiasm about keeping Operation Columbus under wraps until his corporations could cash in on the technologies discovered so long ago.

“Make your plans and include your offer to our friend the Mechanic. Then we’ll see if he’s a true man of God. Show me something in two days.”

EVENT GROUP COMPLEX, NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, NEVADA

Niles Compton watched the experiment unfold.

The mineral-encrusted rocks recovered from the CIA vaults were in water and the steam they were producing was actually growing in pressure. The test had been running for thirteen hours with a steady increase of heat emanating from the meteorites.

“They are truly remarkable,” Virginia Pollock said as she stood behind the glass with Niles. “If the Chinese and the Russians have samples, they know their capabilities. I suspect that with these small stones alone we could run an entire power generation plant.”

“The long-term effects?” Niles asked, watching as the steam inside the clear glass chamber channeled into a small generator.

“We can’t know that yet,” Virginia said. She watched her boss closely. “What are you thinking?”

Niles turned away from the thick glass separating them from the laboratory and fixed Virginia with a questioning look.

“Meteorites—think about the word, Virginia. They came here as meteorites. That would mean that the space body they once belonged to may not exist today. What if the planetary body they originated from exploded, not because of some interstellar incident, but because this element is so unstable?”

“That would call for too much speculation at this time,” she countered, turning back and watching the needle on the power gauge rise by increments.

“You’re seeing what I’m seeing. No power source actually gains in intensity after expending as much energy as these stones. They’re gaining power, even as we attempt to drain it.”

“It could level off, just like our nuclear fuel, at least to a controllable level,” Virginia countered.

“As you just said, that calls for too much speculation at this time. I want the experiment terminated for the time being.”

“But Niles, we have an opportunity here to—”

“Terminate the experiment, Virginia,” Niles said as an assistant stepped through the observation room doorway and handed him a small piece of paper. Niles hesitated while he made sure Virginia understood her orders.

“Very well, we’ll start a controlled shutdown,” she said, turning for the door.

“Niles.” The president spoke from a secure hookup. “I’ve spoken directly to the German chancellor and he knows the colonel is right in the middle of a frame-up. However, at the moment, with the video evidence and the two claymores found in the U.S. Air Force jet, the chancellor is between a rock and a hard place. He would get crucified if he released the American believed responsible for over a hundred deaths.”

“How soon?”

“The FBI says they can probably come up with something to give the
German
chancellor a reason to free him, at least on bail and as a personal favor to me, in three weeks. Captain Everett is being extradited to Ecuador to face his charges there. Even when Collins is released, the Ecuadorians will be there ready to extradite him also. It’s a big goddamn mess, Niles.”

“I want my two scientists back. Or are they going to charge them too?” Niles asked, his anger at the situation finally cracking his stoic facade.

“They’re being released this afternoon. They haven’t any evidence against them, although my FBI sources tell me they are far more trouble than either Collins or Everett.”

“That I can believe. Has Jack spoken to our envoy in Berlin?”

“He refuses to talk to anyone, other than to pass along a message to you through the embassy. He said to check out the Faith Channel on television tonight. He said all roads lead to the Lord.”

Niles looked away from the small camera and thought a moment.

“I hope you know what the hell that means, because as far as I’m concerned these fundamentalist protesters outside my window are just about all the religion I can handle at the moment.”

“I haven’t the vaguest idea what the colonel means, but I will—”

That was as far as Niles got as a tremendous swaying motion struck his office and alarm bells started jangling. Dust and debris fell from the ceiling and the lights flickered and went out. The overhead fluorescents flashed and then came back on.

“Jesus, I just got this place back together!” Niles shouted as he looked at the camera. “I’ll call you back!”

The monitor went dead.

Compton ran out of his office and saw that the false ceiling in the outer office had caved in. His assistants were struggling to free one of their own from the debris.

“Emergency extraction and fire teams to Level 23, Nuclear Sciences Laboratory 211. This is no drill,” announced the calming voice of Europa.

“Are you handling this?” Niles asked on his way to the elevators.

The three assistants had just pulled the fourth from the soft ceiling tiles and nodded that they had it under control.

“The elevators automatically shut down, sir!” one of them called out, but Niles entered the rounded doors anyway.

“Europa, Director Override 1 Alpha. Activate Elevator 3, Level 23.” he said calmly, placing his entire hand on the security glass next to the door to have it scanned.

“Yes, Director Compton,” came the reply as the doors slid closed. “Director Override 1 Alpha accepted.” The elevator started moving downward at a dizzying speed.

“Are the emergency teams responding?”

“Security, fire, and rescue teams are currently arriving on station.”

Niles leaned against the far wall of the elevator. “Cave-in or explosion?” he asked, already knowing the answer.

“Explosion was detected by a higher than normal rise in laboratory temperature and vibratory analysis. This was confirmed by on-site personnel at 2210 and 13 seconds.”

The elevator came to a stop and before the doors opened Niles could hear the alarms and the shouts of rescue workers; he braced himself for the worst. The doors slid open and the car was inundated with smoke and heat. Niles placed a handkerchief to his mouth and nose, and then stepped out into the chaos that was the long, curving hallway. He grabbed the first man he came to, whom he recognized as Sergeant Gomez, a Marine attached to Jack’s security department and the on-duty security chief this afternoon.

“Report, Sergeant?” Niles asked, while holding the man’s arm.

“Not clear yet, sir. We have a lot of people down and a situation in the lab that’s out of control.”

“Okay, first off, let’s get these damn alarms shut off, so we can hear.” The director slapped the sergeant on the back.

Niles turned and made his way to the lab doors, which had been blown off their reinforced hinges. Compton had just left this lab twenty minutes before and now nothing was recognizable. He saw two paramedics working on someone in the observation room, which was still smoldering from the blast. His eyes widened when he saw it was Virginia Pollock. She lay on her back with blood coursing down her face. She was fighting with the men trying to work on her, slapping at the hands that were attempting to give her oxygen. Niles ran to her side and kneeled down.

“What happened?” he asked. He became worried when he saw that Virginia’s left eye was severely swollen shut and that she had at least a ten-inch gash along her scalp. Virginia slapped away the oxygen mask and tried to fix on Niles with her good eye.

“Reroute … the nuclear core mud to … the lab, we … have … to … drown it … concrete, through … the pipes. Out … of … control, energy … still … building.” Virginia grabbed Niles by the shirt collar.

“I understand, treat it as a reactor meltdown, correct?” he asked, worried his friend and the assistant director for the Event Group wasn’t going to make it.

Virginia could only nod her head once before she passed out. The paramedics lifted her onto a gurney and started on their way to the elevators. Niles watched her for a moment and then stepped into the destroyed lab. He saw men with fire hoses and the complex’s engineering corps as they tried to see into the intense burning in the center of the room. As Compton looked on he saw numerous men and women who had been slammed into the walls and furniture by the blast. He found the Corps of Engineers captain who oversaw the Event complex, including its levels and nuclear reactors.

“We’re going to a priority scramble of the core reactor on Level 120. We can’t operate the system because we have to take the redundant safety equipment off-line there and pump it up here. Start mixing the mud and the concrete. We have to bury this lab before those damn rocks eat their way through to our own power plant. We could end up blowing half of Las Vegas away.”

“Yes, treat it as a reactor meltdown,” the engineer said loudly. “It will take twenty minutes to reroute the piping.”

“Get to it!” Niles said, but the engineer had already left, grabbing some of his people as he did.

Compton looked around and knew this lab would be buried forever in a cocoon of mud and concrete. That was the only way he could think of to cut the oxygen off from the meteorites. As he looked around, he saw the broken bodies. He ran to a young woman pinned under a large lab table. Niles flipped it over but he could see she was far past helping. He fell to his knees and lifted the girl up. He struggled to carry her out of the smoldering lab, cursing his shortsightedness for the disaster that had claimed more of the Event Group staff.

JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, HOUSTON, TEXAS

Sarah had just finished up with the six geologists who had been chosen for the three flights. They knew what to look for and how to recover samples if they had to, but what was more important, they had learned how
not
to handle the specimens. No water, no oxygen.

Sarah left the classroom sporting the blue coveralls that came complete with the new mission patch on the left shoulder—an eagle holding three rockets in its talons, with the words “Dark Star” emblazoned in gold lettering. Sarah saw Ryan and Mendenhall walking toward her. Ryan looked distraught and Will looked as if he were trying to console him.

“Hey guys, what’s up,” Sarah asked.

Will stopped and Ryan was so preoccupied he ran into him. Then he looked up and raised his chin in recognition of Sarah.

“Oh, Mr. I-Can-Fly-Anything crashed the lunar lander sim again. He killed us all for the thirtieth time. The thing he doesn’t realize is that he’s only the backup pilot on a mission that’s a backup to two other missions.” Will turned to face Ryan. “It just doesn’t matter. We won’t leave the space station. Can you get that through your head?”

“It’s not that,” said Ryan. “If those Air Force jocks can land that damn thing, I sure as hell can.”

Sarah smiled and slapped Ryan on the back. “They’ve been at the simulator for the last three years, Jason. You’ve had less than a week. I think you’ll do in a pinch. Besides, Will’s right. Our team is third in line. Odds are we get a nice trip to the International Space Station and that’s it. A nice view for a few days and then a shuttle ride home.”

“Forget it,” Ryan said to get a change of subject. “What’s the word on the colonel and Mr. Everett?”

Sarah lost her smile. “The last we heard, Jack was in jail in Berlin, Carl is being extradited back to Ecuador, and there’s not a damn thing that Niles or the president can do about it.”

“Jesus, we’re stuck here training for something that will never happen and we lose both our commanding officers in two friendly countries. What in the hell is going on?” Mendenhall said as he turned. “Come on, Jason, we have emergency procedures to run with Captain Harwell.”