The World After (14 page)

“To be honest with you I only guessed in what direction humanity was going to develop. However, all indications were there that what has already happened was going to. I started work there in 1980 and decided to put this virus in in 1984, two years before I left. Before working for NASA, I was hired to develop a CIA project, a special project for their Bureau of Human Behavior and Analysis. I don't know if you're aware of that; but, even before I was born, way back in 1946, the government of the USA gave the green light for brain electrodes to be put in newborn babies by their doctors without the knowledge of their parents. However, the results of this experiment were not very satisfying and the experiment was frozen until it suddenly became of great interest fifteen years later.”

“In 1973,” Ademar Gamejro said.

“I see you know what I'm talking about.”

“Yes, that was the year in which the influential Bilderberg Club initiated the creation of the Trilateral Commission. Only a month later, the prime minister of Sweden at that time, Olof Padme, ordered two thousand Swedish prisoners to be chipped and brain implants to be placed in their heads. So in 1974, the first brain implants were officially activated and placed inside humans. In fact, the project saw more than three thousand prisoners being chipped as the operation took place simultaneously in Stockholm, Sweden, and Ohio, USA.”

“I see you know your history very well, Minister. However, there was another project going on at that same time, and for it, I was asked to make the software. CIA's project
Phoenix
was launched during 1974, and basically the whole idea was to experiment with miniature brain implants on agents, soldiers and other people of interest. Basically, the idea was that, through signals sent via these implants, people from a distance would be able to control and change the brain functions of the objects. The successful tracking of where they were was only the tip of the iceberg. The main interest for the ones in charge of this secret experiment was to find out what the possibilities were to control and change the mood and behavior of the objects, and how far they could push. This was when I foresaw what lay in the future for all of us. It simply took me ten years before I was brave enough to try and do something about it.”

“That sounds awful. I can't believe how we all allowed it to happen right under our noses.”

“Well, you just needed a push from your daughter to see what kind of life you were leading for the past several years, so you'll be surprised how skillful and effective the methods used by all these agencies are.” Akio Fukuzawa added, “At the end of the day, I couldn't predict in '84 if I would even be alive forty years later, and the virus I created would become active only if certain commands at certain times are given, so I didn't see any harm in doing that back then.”

Masterson spent the last few minutes listening to a broadcast from the Indian Army to see if there was news about Jinhun and Taylor, but now he switched off the radio and, in a decisive tone, said, “Okay, now we cleared the air of all the ifs and buts. I think it's time to look in detail at the plan of action over the course of the next week or so. We have so much to do and we shouldn't…”

At that moment his words were lost as a red lamp over their heads lit up and a deafening siren filled the air. Everyone instinctively put their hands over their ears, while Hans Grossmayer shouted, “We're under attack!”

Shimi Levy was sitting in the passenger area of the Agency's plane. It had landed in Itanagar about two hours earlier. The eight companions the director took from Hong Kong also arrived with him, but now they were out on their first field mission. Shimi Levy was alone and he liked that.

The director of the Agency for Tracking the Untraceables looked ancient to all of his colleagues and operative agents. Many wondered how he was preserving his vitality and ability to control everything and everyone. At the age of seventy-eight, he was nearing retirement even with the advanced medicine of the twenty-first century. The doors were locked and Shimi Levy knew he was alone, but if someone was able to see him at this moment, they would find out his secret of the past fifteen years.

The left sleeve of his shirt was rolled up and the ugly pale skin of his arm had been revealed. The veins running near its surface were easily visible and many red dots on them hinted at abuse. In his right hand, Shimi Levy held an elongated syringe holding the secret of his physical and mental strength at such an advanced age. Doctor Yao had prepared this cocktail of steroids, blood plasma and adrenalin especially for him, and for more than a decade, the director of the Agency was addicted to it.

He stabbed his arm and released the thick liquid inside his vein with a sigh. After he cleaned his skin of a little blood, he rolled down his sleeve and put the empty syringe in the ice bag containing nine other full syringes. Feeling much better after his daily dose, he walked to the minibar of the plane and poured himself a generous amount of wine. Then, with a perky leap, he sat on the little sofa, tasted the alcohol and, with a command from his brain, switched on the big TV screen in front of him.

Soon a grainy picture appeared. He was looking at two 'Predators' and the partly cloudy sky behind them. The two military helicopters with the archangels and Lucifer flew from Itanagar about twenty minutes earlier. They were heading towards the swamps of the National Park. Shimi Levy gave all the orders needed for this mission to be rushed forward without any further notification to the local authorities. He was convinced after the latest events that the Yuyuan's mysterious base was situated somewhere in the swamps. An opportunistic person like him immediately saw the potential in this to test the young men upgraded and modified for this kind of operation. For once, he rushed things without examining the area or the possible resistance carefully.

Shimi Levy leaned back watching the steadily advancing Predators. He emptied his glass and refilled it with another pleasant sigh. He felt his heart leaping; the cocktail of drugs must have reached it. Levy's face broadened into a smile.

Using the intercom connecting him with the helicopters, he said, “I don't want the choppers to alert our little birds out there. Once you reach the periphery of the swamps, land and use the wings to search the area.”

“Roger that,” was all Lucifer's pleasant voice answered.

The wings Shimi Levy was talking about were one of the latest military prototypes developed by the combined efforts of scientists from four different countries. These were skin-like wings, which were fitted to a soldier's back and had sleeves to his hands. The big breakthrough with them was that they were big enough to be able to carry airborne a normal size man for hours. Their completely silent fuel tanks were very light and economical, plus every time the winds were favorable, one could simply turn them off and use what nature provided.

The two helicopters reached the edge of the swamp area, and Lucifer tapped the pilot's shoulder to point to him where he wanted them to land. A small hill guaranteed that the green surface wouldn't be covering treacherous water or soft mud, and soon the two experienced pilots landed the machines close to each other. The eight tall and somehow similar looking men gathered to one side to discuss something. The men that flew them here knew better than to interfere.

After several minutes, they got back to the choppers and started equipping themselves with the wings. This latest military innovation was not known to the pilots, and they looked with curiosity as the men in front of them were putting their hands into the sockets that were going to control the spread and direction of the black wings. Inside the sockets, there were also buttons for manual control of the fuel tanks. The person using this ingenious invention was in charge when to use it.

Once everyone on the small grassy field looked like real archangels, Lucifer gave his orders. “Gabriel, Michael and Rafael are coming with me. We'll search the area west of here, and you four,” he faced the other archangels, “search carefully the area to the east. Split the ground in sectors and don't miss anything. If you find something, don't take any action until I come to evaluate the situation.”

The archangels nodded. Without any further discussion, they all ran downhill for a dozen steps, spread their artificial wings and rose up in the air. The two pilots stood motionless with mouths wide open. They saw the two groups of four splitting in opposite directions about fifty feet above their heads.

Back on the plane Shimi Levy filled his glass with what was left in the wine bottle and made contact with the commander of the Indian Army in Arunachal Pradesh. He listened to a short and to-the-point report from the man and, without making any comment, cut the line dead and lit a cigar.

The director of the ATU had no doubt in his mind that Taylor Swansea and his Chinese friend were trying to reach the swamps. This time he was here and he was determined not to make any mistakes. He closed his eyes and imagined the pleasure he would feel once the man that escaped from his grasp so many times knelt in front of him.

Shimi Levy was very confident, and he knew that things were much different. In the past year, he was tempted many times to go to Hong Kong and take from Yao the young men for whose creation he had made many sacrifices. Now this was done, and before he was to leave this fucking, decaying world, he was going to leave with new order and new leaders, leaders he started to work on many decades ago.

He sat back in the comfort of the leather chair, drank from the wine and put the cigar to his mouth. Life was good. He couldn't wait for Lucifer to contact him with the news.

The four archangels that headed east didn't have much luck with their search. Despite Barachiel's ability to see through surfaces, they couldn't find any trace of the Yuyuan base. The four of them searched area by area for over an hour, but still there were no results.

Their brothers that headed to the other end of the swamps didn't have much luck either, or Lucifer would have called them using his telepathic abilities. The two search parties paid special attention to every small cluster of mangrove woods, thinking that any kind of entrance to an underground level was likely to be found there, but there was nothing.

Finally, a breakthrough was made when in one of the clusters of trees Selaphiel spotted movement. He was the other member gifted with telekinetic abilities. After withdrawing to a safe distance, their group contacted Lucifer and the others. While waiting for their brothers to join them, the four archangels split, and very soon their closer inspection confirmed that three armed men were hidden inside the trees.

Just as they gathered on a piece of ground hidden from the three men by very tall grass, they were joined by Lucifer and his companions.

“Well,” the tall, handsome man said. After hearing the report, he looked at each and every one of his seven brothers. “Bring them to me, alive.”

Lucifer was supposed to contact Shimi Levy the moment they had a hit, but he deliberately ignored that and, with anticipation, waited. He didn't have to do that for too long, as it turned out. Once Gabriel and Michael came down over the surprised men from the sky, it took them less than a minute to disarm them and tie their hands.

Lucifer landed gently right next to the three horrified prisoners. His soft smile could hardly warm them as his eyes remained expressionless and stone cold.

“Anything?” he asked.

“Not here. They must be only out on watch, but this means that the entrance must be close by,” Uriel answered. “They're not talking.”

“Oh, really.” Lucifer's smile disappeared. With a lightning quick jump, he landed right behind the middle man and, with a quick twist, broke his neck. The body of the Indian boy in his late teens collapsed to the ground immediately.

“Let's try again.” He stood in front of the oldest of the captured men. “Where's the entrance to your base?”

“I'd rather die than tell you that.”

“Your wish.” In the space of only a few seconds, Lucifer broke the necks of the two remaining men, and suddenly three dead bodies lay at his feet.

Gabriel looked at him critically and, with a firm voice, said, “We could have read their minds to find the answers we need. You know that.”

“Are you questioning my methods or authority?”

“No, I just…”

“Then shut up.” Lucifer drew a hand through his soft blond hair. “I know where their base is. The first boy I killed glanced numerous times at the big lake over there; he was waiting for help. Now follow me.”

The eight flying figures glided close to the blue surface below and, once they reached the approximate center of the lake, they changed direction. Using the little fuel left in their wings, they rose high above the water and looked at the surrounding area carefully.

Lucifer looked down for a full minute and, in a very calm voice, said, “We found them.”

The archangels waited to hear what he was going to order next. Lucifer sighed and, in a booming voice that echoed for miles around, said, “Brothers, the time for our rise to the positions we are destined to take has finally come. The only obstacle in our way is the people below us. These rebels and their organization must disappear from the face of the planet, our planet. I don't want anyone to show mercy, brothers. We're here to rule the humans, not to sympathize with them.”

The seven figures around him gave a short shout, then Lucifer gave his orders, “Gabriel, Michael, Jegudiel and Barachiel will go down and attack the city. The rest of us will wait here, and if you need us just call. I'm sure you are more than capable of penetrating their fortress.”

Bringing the wings close to their bodies, the four named archangels dropped like stones towards the water's surface. They showed enviable flying ability when hitting the brakes of their engines to stop right above it. The short-muzzle machine guns strapped across their backs were in their hands now. Using his extraterrestrial abilities to unlock all kind of doors, Jegudiel concentrated, and after a minute, the panel just under the water surface clicked. Doors opened up, revealing a staircase that was leading down.

The deafening sound of an alarm spread all over the area. The four men didn't waste time and, with their guns ready, stormed inside, disappearing out of sight of their four brothers watching from above. In seconds, gunshots, panicked human cries and pounding feet joined the piercing siren.

* * *

Jinhun was leading Taylor through the chaos of the swamps with confidence and at a very fast pace. They had made good ground since descending from the mountain, and the Chinaman was confident that by now the Indian militaries had lost their trail.

Something else bothered Jinhun much more. Every time a clearing towards the lake opened, he stared hard at the four big figures of unknown origin hovering right above their base.

Suddenly, something made Jinhun stop in his tracks. Thick smoke started rising up into the sky from pretty much where the entrance of the underground city was.

“Someone's attacking out city,” he said and sprang forward.

Taylor followed him only to shout while pulling his shoulder back, “Stop!”

Jinhun turned to face him. On his face, one could see a strange mixture of surprise and anger, “What do you mean?”

“Think for a minute. You have tens of thousands of people in your Base. If they can't deal with whoever the attackers are, how can we two do that?”

“I must say there's reason in what you're saying, but I can't just sit here and watch as my friends are killed one by one.”

“I never suggested such a thing, but we need a plan.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“First, tell me what we were going to use to reach the city? You mentioned earlier that we're very close to our transport.”

“It's a catamaran, genius development of our engineers and scientists. It's a two-seat, amphibian-type boat that can move both on and under water.”

“That sounds great. How far it is?”

“Just over there, in the tall grass.” Jinhun pointed left, a short distance from where they were. After that his eyes narrowed as, coming from the lake, the smoke became darker and thicker.

Taylor dragged him back from his worrying thoughts. “Okay, then our first goal is to make it to this catamaran of yours. Come on, let's speed things up.” He led the way. Left with no choice or time, Jinhun simply followed.

They walked carefully through the few open areas they had to cross and talked quietly.

“Who do you think found us?” Jinhun asked.

“It's very likely to be the Indians, but unfortunately my instinct tells me that it's more likely to be a much fiercer and ruthless enemy.”

“ATU,” Jinhun said with dread in his voice.

“Maybe, but we must focus on our actions and not think about possibilities. Are there other entrances or exits from the underground city?”

“There is only this entrance from the lake, but in the lowest level there are evacuation tunnels.”

“Where do they lead to?” The two of them stopped at that point to observe the last big patch of open land before they reached the hidden catamaran. Jinhun kept talking as they sat motionless and looked around.

“They split in four but only two lead to safety. The other two we made only to slow down any possible pursuers. They actually lead to dead ends even deeper underground. The two exits of the evacuation tunnels are in the east and west end of the swamps.”

“And we're approaching the lake from the north.” Taylor stated the obvious.