Chapter Four
"Shit, we've got an aircraft approaching, Jared. Stay here and keep your eye on it, mate. I've got to find James."
Jared nodded silently and took the spyglass from his friend. Placing the smaller end against his eye, he focused on the object nearly ten miles away. It was an olive green helijet. His heart began to pound as he watched Zo descend the mountain.
"James!" Zo cried. "James, where are you?" Soon he saw James running along the beach full-speed. "James, quickly!" When his friend skidded to a halt in the sand next to him, Zo pointed up into the sky.
Squinting his eyes, James tried to get a good look at what was only a dot on the horizon to the naked eye. "Did you use the spyglass?"
"Yeah. Standard warrior issue. Army color."
"I'll bet they followed Tracy, however he got here. Dammit! Where's Jared?"
"Top of the mountain."
"Get him, but quick. We've got to get back to the bunker."
Zo nodded and sped to the base of the mountain, calling Jared's name as he went. James headed for the silo, and began to climb down the ladder. The helijet was drawing nearer. He could already hear the distant whine of its engines. "Shit!" he cursed. "Shit, shit, shit!"
Chien placed the headphones next to one ear and listened intently before turning to his boss. "Comm reports no further communications on the old IR frequency."
Belah set his jaw in determination. Through the cockpit windows he could see the jagged rock of what used to be Tracy Island ahead. "I would know that voice anywhere," he said quietly.
"But how can he be alive? You said you'd killed him."
"I did!" Belah snapped. What dark magick has brought you to me now, Jefferson Tracy? Or perhaps...what white magick?
"Orders, Sir?" the pilot asked when they were less than two miles out.
"Circle over it. If you see any signs of life, open fire."
"Yes, Sir."
"My old friend," Belah whispered. "Are you really there?"
James was nearly halfway down the silo. He opened his mouth to call out to Dana, but was interrupted by the sound of automatic weapons firing above-ground. "Oh, God. Jared. Zo."
That's when he heard them scream.
"No!" he cried. Sparing but one look downward, he fought between continuing his descent so at the very least he could warn Dana, and heading back up to the surface to help his oldest and dearest friends. In the end, he knew he couldn't leave Jared and Zo up there to die without trying to help them. With any luck,he thought as he propelled himself back up the ladder, they'll appear above me now.He continued climbing, and continued hearing the weapons fire.
He looked up. Now.
No. They still weren't there.
"Come on, Zo. Come on."
Now.
Not a sign of them.
At last he reached the top of the silo. He could hear the helijet, but it was on the other side of the mountain, completely out of his range of vision. Then he noticed movement. About eight feet from the base of the mountain, Jared was half-carrying, half-dragging Zo down, stumbling and nearly falling three times before they hit the sand on hands and knees.
James sprang into action, running full-out toward his friends. Jared looked up, saw him, and smiled. James was coming. They'd soon be safe.
Dana heard a strange echo coming from the monorail tunnel. Glancing at her still-sleeping charge, she rose to her feet, palmed the gun James had given her and headed for the tunnel entrance. "James?" she called out. "Zo? Jared?" She heard nothing but echoes of her own voice in response. Looking back at Jeff once more, she decided to investigate further, and left him behind.
When she reached the bottom of the silo, it took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the sunlight pouring in from above. Blinking, she realized there was a shadow above her. "James?" Receiving no response, she was horrified when the sound of weapons firing wafted down to her. "Oh, God! James!"
Tucking the gun between her back and the waistband of her ragged jeans, Dana raced up the ladder, climbing it faster than she ever had before. "James!" she kept calling, over and over again. "Oh, why don't you answer, goddammit? James!" She neared the halfway point in record time and passed it, hand over hand...foot over foot. The helijet's engines were a sound she recognized immediately as she drew closer to the surface.
Please let them be okay. God, please.
At last she neared the top of the silo. Cautiously she reached behind and grabbed the gun, then moved up one rung to peek over the side. Halfway between her and the base of the mountain were Jared and James pulling an unconscious Zo up between them.
"James!"
His head whipped up, a look of fear crossing his face as the helijet swooped in from above. "No! Dana, get back! Get back down!"
"No!" she cried, vaulting up onto the rock and scrambling down the small hill. "James!"
"Fuck, Dana, get back! Now!"
They ran as fast as they could. She was almost upon them. Suddenly they heard a sound that chilled them to the bone. Dana looked up in horror as the helijet fired a small missile. "Incoming!" she screamed.
But it was too late. The missile raced toward them and for a moment that seemed to last an eternity, James' eyes met hers. She stumbled backwards as the missile hit, as it slammed right into Jared's back. Dana screamed as the force of the blast threw her back into the small rock hill. Sand rained down on her like sharp little pieces of glass as she struggled to catch her breath. Dazed, she could hear the helijet moving away as she pushed herself up into a sitting position.
"No!" she cried when she took in the carnage before her. There was very little left of James, Zo and Jared. And what was there was barely recognizable as human. "No!" Dana wailed, tears streaming down her face. "God! No!"
She turned toward the sound of the helijet approaching from behind her. I don't want to live, James, she thought, struggling to her feet. Not alone. Not without you.
But then as she looked toward the silo, she remembered that she wasn't alone. "Jeff Tracy," she breathed as the helijet came nearer. She looked back once more at the blood and bits of flesh and bone that littered the beach, letting out a choked sob. She could've sworn she could hear her lover's voice whispering in her ear.
You have to protect him, Dana. He may be our only hope.
Dana made her decision. Picking her gun up from the ground, she climbed the hill and went over the edge onto the ladder. She descended almost as quickly as she had come up, slowing only once or twice to wipe the tear tracks from her face. Adrenaline coursed through her veins as she shoved the sight she'd just seen away. There would be time for grief later. Now, she had to get back to Mr. Tracy.
Goodbye, James.
"Scott! I may have found something!" Gordon said as he jogged into the Lounge. Scott looked up from his dad's computer as Gordon ran to his side.
"What is it?"
"Look here, I just printed this article from the London Chronicle's site," he said excitedly, shoving the paper into Scott's hands. "Read it."
Scott focused on the print and noticed the article was dated nearly a year earlier. He began to read aloud. "There is still no news on Chief Science Officer Dudley Barnes' strange disappearance from the former United States Naval Base in Ruislip. Barnes was a high-ranking official in the World Navy, but he's best known for his scientific research into creating high-output phase converters in the Navy's continued efforts to lower the use of atomic energy for their vast fleet of ships." Scott's eyes widened as he looked up at his brother.
"Keep reading," Gordon prompted.
"CSO Barnes disappeared last Friday, but the World Navy kept it a secret until the London Chronicle gained an exclusive interview with a Naval insider. According to this source, Barnes was working on construction of his newest phase converter, a machine that could theoretically increase energy output by nearly thirty percent. The last anyone saw of him was when our source spoke with him in his laboratory two hours before he was discovered missing. The World Navy refused official comment, and Barnes' family could not be reached."
Scott let the printout fall to the desk as his eyes met Gordon's. "Is CSO Barnes' wife still alive?" he asked.
"No," Gordon shook his head. "She died seven months after he disappeared."
"Children?"
"Haven't located them yet."
"Damn." Scott looked down at the article again. "Brains' converter had an output over twenty percent greater than this one," he mused.
"I'm going to keep looking. Maybe I can dig something else up," Gordon said as he headed for the den.
"Thanks, Gordo." Scott sighed and leaned back in his father's chair, elbows on the arms, hands steepled in front of his face. Forcing the fear that kept nagging at him away, his mind raced. "He was working on a phase converter, and he disappeared," he whispered. "Where did you go, Barnes? And where's my father?"