Ancients

Virginia frowned and placed the letter back into the file folder and started to stand. She was playing this out like an experienced trial lawyer.

'You are clear,' Dahlia said before Virginia could stand.

'Good.' She removed the letter once again and slid it over to the woman. 'Now, the sooner you answer a few questions from my two colleagues here, the sooner you can sign this and then take that much-needed shower and change of clothes you're desperate for.'

Collins walked over behind Dahlia and removed her right handcuff.

'Where is he?' he asked, still standing behind her.

Dahlia looked at the document in front of her and then up at Virginia, avoiding Jack as much as she could.

'Crete.'

'Why Crete?'

'Because that's where the Coalition will make their final assault.'

'How many?' Jack asked, finally turning around.

'Far more than you can handle. I believe your armed forces have far more pressing issues in Korea at the moment, as per Tomlinson's plan.'

'How many?' Jack persisted.

'Two thousand defensive troops; I don't really know.'

'Equipment?'

'I don't know.'

'Again, why Crete?'

'You won't be able to get to them there. He's deep underground,' she answered, finally looking Collins in the eyes, and then she smirked.

'Why?'

'To use the Wave, complete with Atlantean Key. He will attack Russia and China. That is everything I know.'

Virginia placed the pen on the presidential decree. 'Sign it.'

Dahlia scribbled her name, never looking away from Collins.

Carl walked over and took the pen, then undid the other cuff. He helped her to her feet and pulled her toward the door.

'Come on, petunia, let's get you to a bar of soap. You're a little ripe.'

Before Everett could pull her through the door, Dahlia stopped and turned to Jack.

'I can't resist, Colonel. I do have one more piece of information. Why Crete, you asked,' she said, starting to laugh. 'Tomlinson is in a city that sank fifteen thousand years ago. Good luck assaulting Atlantis, Colonel.'

Everett pulled Dahlia away, but her laughter lingered.

EVENT GROUP CENTER

NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, NEVADA

Sarah was in the examination room, deep in thought as she perused one of the ancient scrolls as one of the professors from the Ancient Languages Department sat beside her, explaining a strange design pattern.

'How they even knew about the North and South American continents is anyone's guess. They must have had exploration vessels that at the very minimum rivaled the Vikings' ship design.'

Sarah was only half listening as the small memory of the Wave pattern still flickered just beyond her grasp.

'Now, this particular pattern here, according to Europa, is a close match for the continental plate that North America sits on. I say 'resembles' because the fault lines listed by these swirls and valleys are not accurate, nor the ones here, closest to Russia. I really don't know what they are. Without some understanding of their science, we may never know.'

Sarah turned to the professor. 'Excuse me?'

'Without some understanding of--'

'No, not that. You say Europa didn't recognize the fault lines on the scroll the Ancients created?'

'No, she didn't. The blue swirls listed are accurate faults, but the thicker red lines are a mystery. So either the Atlanteans knew something we didn't and placed faults and plates that we can't see today, or--'

Sarah jumped up and ran out of the clean room. She took the elevator down to the engineering lab, where Pete Golding was still studying the plate and its hologram. Sarah ran right into the middle of the floating map and started looking for a design she had seen earlier.

'Sarah, what's the matter?' Pete asked.

Sarah finally found the design she had seen during the demonstration. It was a Key they hadn't recognized earlier. As she examined it, Pete started looking over her shoulder.

'This fault pattern here, Europa has confirmed it is accurate. This line here beneath it is the continental plate, the same here in Europe and Asia. I didn't recognize patterns in the shape of the continents earlier--only the North and South American plates, because of their unique shape. What's confusing me is that this same pattern is on the map Jack recovered from Westchester. Now that I see it on the hologram, I can tell it runs under both the faults and the tectonic plates. Now look at this,' she said to Pete as her fingers traced a series of lines that led from one plate to the next, to the next, and so on. Some of the lines branched out and dwindled to nothing, like the branches of a tree, while the thicker, stronger lines connected the tectonic plates of the world by underground magma veins.

'What are you saying?'

'Somehow, the Atlantean scientists found a way to map what we can't do today. They found out that all the continents and the plates they sit on are in actuality connected.'

Pete looked closer at the design, then his eyes widened as he finally pieced together what Sarah was driving at.

'Any massive assault on one tectonic plate could trigger a chain reaction around the world.'

'Wouldn't the Coalition ... wouldn't they have seen this?' Pete asked.

'Not without this three-dimensional design they wouldn't. They didn't have the plate map, so they could never have known about it.'

'Oh, Sarah, if they use this device on any of these major plates--'

'They could either shift entire continents ... or blow the planet to hell.'

THE WHITE HOUSE

WASHINGTON, D.C.

The most important meeting in the long and storied history of the Event Group was about to begin. The president's National Security Council was about to be formally introduced to several of the Event Group members. The Group's background would remain hidden from them, as the council thought they were to be briefed by Compton's secret think tank. Nevada and Ethiopia could see the council via video link.

'Ladies and gentlemen, we are very short of time here. The briefings will be short and to the point. Questions will be relayed to me and I will ask them,' Niles said, sitting at the head of the table next to the president.

'Secretary of Defense Johnson, if you please.'

'As of this moment, the situation in Korea, while not yet stable, has cooled somewhat. We have pulled back all defensive troops from the border and have entrenched around Seoul. The armored divisions of Kim Jong Il have not made any threatening gestures as of yet, but CIA reports there is tension between Kim and at least one of his generals in the field. We will get more on that in the next few hours. On reinforcing, we have deployed the Hundred and First and Eighty-second Airborne to act as rapid deployment out of Japan.'

As everyone watched, pictures started flashing on monitors in Washington, Nevada, and Addis Abba.

'The Chinese and Russians are massing heavy bomber and fighter forces at their Pacific bases. They are not lowering their defense status even with the Coalition evidence we have provided them. We have the Eisenhower and Nimitz carrier groups steaming for the Sea of Japan, but it will take at least five more days to deploy them defensively.' The secretary paused and removed his glasses. 'We are spread thin. If anything outside of Korea erupts, we will be desperate to cover it.'

Niles nodded in thanks. Then he turned to the head of the FBI. 'Any word on the forensics end from