19
The giant staircase had been chipped out of the surrounding stone by the hands of thousands of slaves. It was the grandest staircase, the likes of which the world had never seen. The entire company could traverse the stairs side by side and still have room on both sides.
'What do you think, Colonel?' the SEAL lieutenant asked.
'If it goes up, we go with it,' he said as he looked at Sarah. 'You sure you think we're below the main city?'
'Positive, Colonel. This is the Wave chamber that used to sit below the capital, and up there is the Coalition and the Wave equipment. I would bet my life on it.'
'You just did, Lieutenant, yours and about half the population of the planet.' Collins looked around. 'Mr. Everett, you and the SEALs take the lead, and don't bump into anything blindly until we know what we have to face. The taking out of the Wave hardware is priority one.' He looked from face to face. 'Repeat:
The SEALs and Carl started out first at a brisk pace. Collins watched them disappear into the steam that escaped from the walls and then looked at the young faces of the marines around him.
'Lock and load; we may not have any time when we arrive on-site. I don't have to tell you what's at stake here. You are marines, you know the story and the drill, and this is one army-type asshole that's glad you're here. Let's go, Major. I'll take the first platoon and the rest of my people; you bring up the rear with the other three and heavy stuff.'
'Yes, sir. Gunny, saddle up, and let's do something about this place, I hear they don't like marines,' he shouted, making Jack cringe just a bit. But he let them cheer themselves.
Tomlinson smiled as the generators were holding up far better than anticipated. After the initial assault on everyone's senses, the effects had calmed and allowed everyone on the large platform to enjoy the moment. The diamond chamber was being cooled by a steady flow of liquid nitrogen to keep the titanium-reinforced module from melting because of the tremendous friction of the spinning Atlantean Key. One of the by-products of the tone grooves cut into the diamond was the fact that no one could get closer than ten feet because of the miniwave produced by the tremendous amount of air that passed over and around the diamond. It felt as if your head would explode if you attempted it.
Little did they know that with every revolution of the diamond, excess energy wasn't being bled off; instead it was absorbed by the blue diamond. The earth's rarest mineral was now acting as a battery, only it was now the most efficient storage element in the history of the world.
'We are receiving firsthand reports that New York is experiencing distress from the Wave,' Engvall said above the noise and piercing scream of the large centrifuge that spun the giant diamond.
' 'Distress'? Must we be so formal, Professor? You may say what it really is. Thor's Hammer has struck and the world is feeling it!'
'The Wave will travel east at five times the speed of sound and strike our old enemies, with Russia feeling it first, then China, to the east.'
'Very good. Inform your technicians they have nothing to fear from above; the Americans have failed in their attempts to reopen the excavation. Soon, with practice, we can send the Wave directly at their offshore efforts and warships, and we need not fear reprisal.'
Engvall looked from the confident face of Tomlinson to the rock-hard and emotionless face of Caretaker, and then to the scared countenances of Dame Lilith and the eighteen other Coalition board members. He walked away, hoping that this surreal nightmare would soon be at an end.
The giant passageway and staircase were immense. Giant stalactites grew unchecked in the thousands of years of darkness, dampness, and disrepair. Huge fissures rent throughout the broken stairs. Thousands of feet below, the flowing lava that the Ancients had used for power generation ran free in a never-ending ribbon of hell's water.
Everett and the SEALs had been fifteen minutes ahead as Jack and the marine contingent followed. The climb was arduous in the extreme heat, but they all felt the pressure and the mugginess sliding away the closer to the top they got.
'Jack, we've reached a dead end here,' Carl said as he backtracked to the main group.
Collins doubled his speed and caught up with the SEALs. Sure enough, as he looked around all he could see were the rough-hewn rock strata around them. The staircase dwindled to only fifteen feet across and abruptly ended.
'There's a loose panel of marble flooring above,' the SEAL lieutenant said as he stepped up to Jack and Carl. 'The sounds of machinery, engine noises, are easily coming through. Thought I would wait until you came back to open the door.'
Jack walked past the SEAL team and looked at the section of flooring above him. He looked at Carl and they both crouched to get as low as possible and used their legs and hands to push up on the panel. It moved easily, and as it did so, bright light poured into the shaft from above. This startled the two men and they lowered it back down momentarily until just a few inches were left open. Collins ventured a look around and saw that it was a large chamber of some kind. Marble pillars lay everywhere, and there was a general look of destruction, which was becoming a common site for the Backdoor team. As Jack looked out, a pair of boots stepped directly into his line of sight and he froze.
As Jack watched, he pointed up at Carl, who nodded. Collins held up one finger and then sliced that finger over his throat. Normally they would have waited this person out, but they were preciously low on time; they had to get above this subterranean level. Jack braced himself and looked at Carl. The ex-SEAL had his combat knife out and had the large blade clamped between his teeth and was looking directly at the marble flooring.
Five steps below, the marine major and SEAL lieutenant exchanged questioning looks.
Jack nodded and pushed up with all his might and in that split second of bright light Everett reached through and grabbed the unseen person's boots and pulled his feet out from under him, making the person fall flat on his face with just the sound of a thud in return. Then Everett used all his weight and dragged the person through the opening just as Jack let the floor marble fall easily back into place. It was if a trapdoor spider had plucked an insect from the surface.
As the SEAL lieutenant jumped in to help hold the shocked and stunned person in place, Everett brought the knife to his throat and then was shocked to see that it was a woman guard. Her eyes were wide and staring.
'Speak English?' Everett asked easily and slowly.
The blond woman's head bobbed up and down. The SEAL's hand was still placed hard over her mouth, and then he slowly removed it after placing a 9-millimeter to her temple.
'Nationality?' Everett asked.
'A ... A ... American,' the woman said, looking around at the three faces staring down at her.
'What's above us?'
Jack just watched from his perch on the highest step.
The woman just shook her head.
'One time, and one time only: what is directly above us?' Everett persisted, his cold eyes staring a hole through the mercenary.
As she watched with wide eyes, she saw Everett reach out and take the 9-millimeter from the lieutenant's hand and then reach out again and take something from the man who had opened the piece of flooring she had been pulled through. Then her eyes went to the pistol as the large blond man attached the silencer. Then he quickly pointed it at her knee. The SEAL and the marine major were shocked when he didn't hesitate a split second before loosing a round into her kneecap. The SEAL clamped his hand down hard onto her mouth to cut off her scream.
