'Knee number two goes when the question isn't answered the second time,' Everett said as he shifted the silenced pistol to her undamaged leg.
The woman shook her head from side to side again and Everett nodded at the lieutenant, who eased his hold on her mouth.
'The Empirium Chamber,' she groaned.
'Guards?' Jack asked from above them.
'All ... out at ... their ... posts,' she moaned in pain.
'Bring up Lieutenant McIntire,' Carl said, anticipating Jack.
Sarah came forward and saw the woman, but her eyes held no sympathy.
'What surrounds this Empirium Chamber?'
'It's the central government building; all other buildings radiate out from this one.'
'Not much help,' Jack said. 'Mr. Everett, assist our guest with her pain.'
Everett nodded and then moved the pistol to her forehead.
The woman was in a panic as she moved her head vigorously until the SEAL's hand was shaken free.
'No. There's a lava mount directly behind the Empirium. It rises above the emplaced gun positions, and you can at least observe the city unseen from there. Please don't kill me. There's also an old aqueduct that rises three hundred feet above all the buildings.'
'Mercenaries have changed somewhat,' Everett said as he moved the pistol from her forehead.
'I was a part of the Fourth Infantry Division. I--'
Everett cut off her sob story before it could begin. He slugged her with his fist, knocking her unconscious.
'Yeah, and I bet they're real proud at how you turned out,' he said as he stood and looked at Jack. 'I guess we better have a look-see, huh, Jack?'
'After you, swabby,' Collins said as he once again eased up the flooring.
As Jack moved the flooring aside, Everett slid through the opening and followed, and Sarah was right on their heels.
'Who are those guys? Do you know them?' the marine major asked the SEAL lieutenant once more.
'They're a little unorthodox, but they sure do know how to treat a lady, don't they, Major?'
The chamber was a mess. The klieg lights cast long shadows across the devastation. The great circular table, where thousands of years before the fate of the world had been decided by fools who wouldn't be around to see that fate, was broken in many places by fallen pillars of marble. A giant headless statue was at the center of the room as the team of Jack, Sarah, Carl, and the SEAL leader and the marine major advanced through with their MP-5s raised in readiness.
Collins paused and listened as the sound of the generators penetrated the chamber. Shouting voices and loudspeakers signaled a large contingent around them. As he listened, he verified that all the noise was coming from his far right, nothing to the left. He headed in that direction.
Slowly, one and two at a time, the marines followed.
Collins saw a large opening in the back and saw beyond that the black and gray rise of lava rock. He poked his head the opening and looked up. What he saw was an amazing sight. A wall of lava rose a thousand feet into the air. Sarah joined him and her mouth was open as she saw the curvature of the great Crystal Dome above them.
'Jesus, Jack, how that dome withstood the forces of a trillion tons of earth and water is beyond our engineering. This lava wall erupted from beneath and cooled as the island sank. The seafloor and landmass must have covered the dome as the strata beneath the island collapsed.'
'I have to hand it to you, shorty, you have an eye for detail. But for right now, take a mental picture for one of your classes, and I'll be sure to take it in. For now, let's get above this mess and see what we can do to stop these madmen.'
As Jack started using the large ripples of the ancient lava flow for cover, the entire marine company followed, not knowing they were outnumbered ten to one.
Something was wrong and Tomlinson could see it. Professor Engvall was running from technician to technician, throwing switches and yelling something. The other Coalition members were watching the same frightening scene below them on the bottom of the ancient dry lake. Tomlinson picked up a bullhorn.
'What is the problem down there?' he asked.
Engvall did not answer at first. Then Tomlinson heard the generators start to power down.
'What do you think you're doing?'
'We have problems!' the professor shouted back. 'Shut down the centrifuge immediately!'
As men and women started to move, the pitch of the Atlantean Key became shrill-sounding as the diamond began to spin even faster. There was near panic as several men ran to the large steel carriage where the blue diamond was housed. As they drew near, their legs weakened and they went to their knees, and then as one, the three men collapsed.
'The centrifuge is being fed by stored energy from the diamond and it's attacking faults and plates that aren't targeted!'
'What in the bloody hell is he talking about?' Dame Lilith asked as she grabbed Tomlinson's arm.
He roughly shrugged off her grip and used the bullhorn again.
'Explain yourself!'
Engvall stopped running for a moment and looked up at the raised platform.
'The damn Key is far too powerful; it's increasing the power to the amplifiers. The tones are out of control. Somehow the fault lines of every sector must be connected. It's not just the power of the diamond or the accuracy of the tone grooves. The fault and plate diagram of the Ancients was inaccurate, and now our monitors are picking up seismic stresses as far away as Africa, the Middle East, and Europe!'
Tomlinson still did not grasp what was happening.
'Are the tones working against our main targets?'
'Yes, they are! But they're also attacking the plates of every continent on the planet! The strata information on the chart was incorrect: the Key with its increased power output is tearing apart less dense rock and stone that make up the tectonic plates. The Ancients made mistakes in their calculations of density; that, coupled with the diamond storing and increasing power, is shattering the crust of the planet!'
As if for added emphasis, the stone flooring beneath them started to vibrate, and then rumbling sounds fed upward from below Atlantis.
'This cursed science was never meant to be used!' Engvall screamed.
Tomlinson just stared at him.
Jack and Everett, along with the two other marine team leaders, watched the activity below them. The ground was starting to move in small jerks and the remaining buildings of Atlantis were starting to move almost imperceptibly.
Jack and the others used their night-vision goggles in the semidarkness around them. Arrayed around the city were machine-gun teams and what looked like mortar positions. There were even four artillery pieces, all aimed at the excavation opening that was now sealed.
'Well, we have the element of surprise, and, boys and girls, that's all we have,' Jack said as he lowered his goggles.
'That's something, at least. Maybe we could--'
Everett's words were cut off as the porous rock around them started to shake.
'Do you get the feeling that something may have screwed up down there?' Sarah asked.
Jack looked around hurriedly. 'We have to move now. I want the two mortar positions set up, with priority on their counterparts below. Then I need those howitzers taken out. Major, they're your men, get them into place. I'll need the three assault platoons for hitting that lake bed below. The third will assist with the mortar teams. Mr. Everett, you and the SEALs take out that platform and shut that equipment down; follow our lead, we'll make room. It's a plan on the fly, but as you can feel, things are starting to get a little dicey around here. I'm taking a fire team up the slope and getting on top of that aqueduct; we can cover everyone from there.'
Everett looked at his watch. 'I suggest we give the two mortar teams five minutes and then we go in exactly five minutes and thirty seconds.'
