Текст книги "Leviathan"

Автор книги: David Lynn Golemon

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Текущая страница: 20 (всего у книги 28 страниц)

EVENT GROUP CENTER, NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, NEVADA

Pete was sitting at Niles's large desk, his glasses propped up on his forehead. He was having the hardest time of his life keeping his eyes from closing as he studied the duty rosters for the complex, with a minimal security supervisory team given the absence of Everett, Ryan, and Mendenhall.

One of the director's assistants, whom Pete had previously ordered to her quarters for the night, popped her head in through the door. She stepped in and, thinking Golding was finally sleeping, gently laid a pile of folders on his desk. As she started to turn away and leave, not wanting to wake him, Pete opened his eyes.

"What are these?" he asked without moving his left hand away from his head, where it protected his eyes from the glare of the overhead lights.

The young woman's shoulders slumped and she turned.

"The replacement files from Arlington on the vaults on level seventy-three and seventy-four. They faxed us another set."

Pete finally moved. He rubbed his eyes and replaced the glasses to their normal position.

"They may very well be redundant, since we now know what they were trying to hide," he said as he removed the top file from the bunch. As he did, the others slid from the stack and slid across his desk. "Damn," he said.

"Here, I'll just put them on my desk until you have more time to check them off your list," she said, moving forward to relieve Golding's desk of at least some of his workload.

As she did, Pete's eyes locked on a particular file for no other reason than that was where his eyes rested. He blinked, then placed his fingers on the partially obscured file number. He pulled it from the fanned-out stack, looked it over, and let out a small chuckle.

"I've got to get out more often and see the world–or at least the complex," he said as he opened the obscure file. "I never knew we had anything from P. T. Barnum's old New York Museum–better yet, why would we?"

The assistant looked at which file he was perusing and then relaxed.

"Oh, well, Colonel Collins said to include it because it was the vault located directly under the Leviathanenclosure."

Pete looked up, partially closed the file, and then looked into the assistant's innocent countenance.

"Directly under the vault? On level seventy-four? Wasn't that where accelerant was also found?"

"Yes, sir, but the engineers said that could be explained by the liquid seeping through the rocks and falling inside that particular vault."

Golding nodded his head and excused the assistant, then looked at the file in his hands. It wasn't a thick file, and stapled to the inside jacket of the folder was a small notation made by the forensics department stating that the artifact was totally destroyed by the fire. Pete read the first page of description from the report filed by the Event Group back in 1949, when the specimen was discovered in an old repository building in Florida owned by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, The Greatest Show on Earth.

" 'The Mermaid of the Pacific Isles,'" Pete mumbled as he looked at a photograph of something that resembled a jellyfish, and a rather degraded jellyfish at that.

There were enhanced details that had been added by the Group back in '49 that outlined what looked like a pair of legs and small arms. The see-through mass was unlike anything Pete had ever seen before, and by far the most disturbing feature of all was in the next color photo: The damn thing looked as though it had hair. Long, black, and flowing, as it was laid out on a stainless-steel examining table. The whole thing, from head to jellylike, fanned tail, was about four feet long.

Pete flipped over to the next page and read the details of its discovery. The specimen had been one of the only items salvaged from the great fire in midtown Manhattan in 1865 during one of the many draft riots during the Civil War. The P. T. Barnum American Museum, located on Broadway and Ann Streets, burned, with a loss of more than 90 percent of its displayed oddities. It was reported by witnesses that Barnum himself rescued only oneitem from the burning structure, and that was from a locked storage bin in his personal office. That item: the Mermaid of the Pacific.

For many years after, people saw a cheap version of the mermaid (actually made from a torso of a monkey and the tail of a giant black sea bass) on display at the museum Barnum built to replace the one lost. He never gave an explanation of the obviously fake replacement to people who had heard the rumors of a far more delicate and humanlike specimen that gossip said was kept at Barnum's own New York home.

After Barnum's death in 1891, a locked chest was willed to the famous Greatest Show on Earth and then sent to Florida, where it was stored and forgotten. That was where an Event Group field team discovered it in an old warehouse in 1949.

The forensics report was confused for the day; there was absolutely no relationship of the specimen to that of modern-day jellyfish or any vertebrate found in the fossil record. The deterioration of the specimen was so vast that no acceptable biopsy of the material could be conducted.

Pete noticed a small notation placed in the margins of the report and had to turn the file on its side to read it.

"The sample of hair was found to be human, and the lone sample of fingernail found was also closely related to man. The brain, made up of clear and bluish material, was thought to be far larger than that of any creature indigenous to the sea in relationship to its size."

Golding turned to the last page for the Group's conclusion.

"Because of the nature of Mr. Barnum's personality, it must be concluded at this time that this is a forgery on a grand scale. Although far more encompassing and impressive than his obviously fake 'Fiji Mermaid,' displayed from 1865-1881, the findings do not support Mr. Barnum's claims of finding the Mermaid of the Pacific off the coast of Venezuela, in the Gulf of Mexico. One item of note, the specimen was found in an enclosure engraved with the seal of the University of Oslo."

Pete laid the file down when he read the last words of the report. Coincidence?he asked himself as he picked up the phone.

"Miss Lange, get me Professor Ellenshaw down in crypto on the phone. Tell him I need some research done ASAP."

He hung up the phone and looked at the file. Could this be what those people wanted to remain hidden from the world instead of the submarine?he asked himself.

Golding looked at the 1949 color picture of the Mermaid of the Pacific. As he did, he noticed for the first time the intense blue eyes of the creature, even in death. Nothing else but the small arms and hands resembled a human. It was the hands that would give him time for pause before sleep. The fingers, he could tell, were long and delicate, and now that he was examining the photo closer, he could swear he could see femalelike breasts. He shook his head and closed his eyes.

The phone finally rang and he picked it up.

"Charlie, thanks for getting back to me so soon."

"No problem, I was just dozing off at my desk."

"I need to ask you something, Charlie. Your department believes in the existence of many, many strange things–"

"Come on, Pete, did you call just to rag on me?"

"Professor, I think you are one of the smartest people in this complex, so knock it off. I need to know your opinion on the existence of mermaids, or something like them?"

The other end of the phone produced nothing but silence for the longest time.

"Charlie?" Pete asked, thinking the connection had been lost.

"Pete, to believe in mermaids is a little far out, even for us. Now, if you're done joking around, I'll get back to dozing and dreaming about the Yeti and–"

"Professor, what would you say if I told you that we've had a specimen of an undersea creature since nineteen forty-nine that could possibly be what sea lore described as a mermaid, and that is what this whole Leviathanthing may be about?"

"Well, I would say that the Event Group was left in the wrong hands."

Pete winced as the phone was slammed down on Ellenshaw's end. He wanted to slam his down also, but instead eased it into the cradle.

He looked at the file in front of him. As he closed it, he knew that Leviathanand this artifact were linked somehow, in some fashion, but also knew he was at a dead end. He couldn't even pass on the information to Jack and Carl.

His new opinion of the events of the past week had just taken a turn toward the Twilight Zone.

SABOO ATOLL, THE MARIANAS

Jack could feel eyes on him, physically and electronically. He looked at Everett and knew he was having the same sensation.

They were standing on the lone dock on the island that was fronted by a small building looking as if it had been constructed during the Second World War. The small hut was boarded up. Phone lines ran from the building to a point one hundred feet from the dock, where they disappeared into the white sand. Ryan and Mendenhall, with Robbins between them, were busy watching the sea.

"Colonel Collins, we are indeed shocked, though pleasantly so, to see you again so soon," a voice said from behind them.

They turned and saw a lone figure standing on the edge of the dock, illuminated only by the stars in the night sky. The voice sounded vaguely familiar to Jack.

"My name is Dr. Warren Trevor, formerly of Her Majesty's Royal Navy, and ship's surgeon for Leviathan. I was sent to greet you in case you needed to see a familiar face."

"You treated me while I was onboard?" Jack asked as he and the others walked toward him.

"Indeed I did," the dark figure answered.

Jack moved his eyes from their host to Ryan, who was busy tapping out an ELF (extremely low frequency) message to Missouri, saying they had made contact.

"Will you have your companions their equipment, Colonel? There will be no need for any outside paraphernalia onboard Leviathan." He gestured toward Ryan. "And young man, I can assure you, the Missourihas indeed left the immediate area; therefore they cannot hear your transmission. My captain would not allow that at any rate."

Ryan closed the small transmitter and tossed it into the pack at his feet.

"Now, gentlemen, if you will follow me. Dr. Robbins, the captain is most anxious to find out if they treated you right."

Robbins looked from Ryan to Mendenhall. They both smiled.

"Our people?" Jack asked.

"They have survived their ordeal, I assure you, Colonel."

Jack and the others watched as the dark figure of the doctor turned away and started for the beach end of the dock. Robbins stepped from the group, shrugging off Ryan's and Will's hands, and quickly started forward, as if he were anxious to be on his way.

"Where are we going, Doctor?" Collins called after the dark figure.

The man stopped and turned once he reached the old shack, and as the moon fully breached sea level, they could see the doctor smiling as he waited.

"Why, to take you to meet the person you came here to meet, of course," he said, and turned to enter the shack. Robbins followed him in without a backward glance.

"Well, let's go meet Captain Nemo, shall we?" Collins said in all seriousness.

Everett, Mendenhall, and Ryan fell into step behind Jack as they made their way to the shack.

The moon rose slowly over Saboo Atoll. There was nothing to indicate that they were about to venture into the very birthplace of Leviathan.

15

Collins and his team stepped into the barren and empty shack at the edge of the dock. The doctor was there, dressed in a navy blue jumpsuit with a matching Windbreaker. The only adornment on his uniform was the two dolphins flanking the L on his breast pocket. The doctor smiled as the interior of the shack was slowly illuminated by the rising moon, revealing itself to be filled with floats, a broken radio, and numerous fishing poles, all with dust on their surfaces. The doctor made sure the door was secure, then said aloud, "Level two."

The flooring broke away from the foundation of the shack and started descending into the sandy beach. Once the small elevator was beyond the wall of the shack, Jack and the others saw they were inside an acrylic shaft. The elevator was being lowered below the water table of the island and into an excavated chamber. Soon they broke free into a cavernous level that housed crates and other bulky materials, and for the first time, as Collins and his men looked into the most amazing man-made cavern in the world, they saw the inhabitants of Saboo Island–children.

The doctor watched the four men and smiled. "Our future–or what we hope our future is," he said, gesturing toward the thirty or so children within view just as the glass door slid aside. He stepped out without worrying about the men being behind him.

The engineering was amazing. Steel beams that were sixty feet thick and hundreds of feet long were supporting the giant cave. The spider-webbing of support rebar snaked in and out of the entire structure–they could see that the engineering was old, possibly pre-Civil War. The base of the cavern was taken up by a two-thousand-foot lagoon with a concrete dock that extended two hundred feet into the water. On the far side of the immense cavern, two massive dry dock facilities rose from the unnatural lagoon. There were cranes and derricks, shops and warehouses. On the small beach around the lagoon, there were tents arrayed, and they spied a few of the children exiting carrying small backpacks.

"Jack, this may have been their home once, but look at these buildings–they haven't been used in years," Everett said, leaning into Collins.

"Gentlemen, may I point out dry dock number one," the doctor said, pointing to the far left of the lagoon, "the very dock that launched the first Leviathanback in the eighteen hundreds. The larger of the two dry docks, number two, as you can see is quite a bit larger. That is the birthplace of the current Leviathan. Forty years for its creation and commissioning."

"It's large enough to launch a supercarrier," Everett observed.

"The children?" Jack inquired.

"As I said, they are our future; you might say the very best of both worlds are standing before you, Colonel. The birthplace and onetime home of Leviathanand the family Heirthall, and these children."

"And just where is your Captain Heirthall, Doctor?"

Gene Robbins stepped up to the railing, smiling. He closed his eyes as the man-made breeze seemed to shift, and there was a minute change in the density of the air. The overhead lights that illuminated the great cave flickered. They saw static electricity actually sparking on the surface of the man-made bay below.

"She's right there, Colonel," the doctor said, pointing at the lagoon. "Gentlemen –Leviathan."

As they watched, great bubbles of released air and fountains of water towered into the interior of the cavern. Then the conning tower of the great submarine slowly and silently broke the roiling surface of the lagoon, announced by the mist and streaks of blue electricity as the composite hull reacted with the humidified air.

"Jesus," Mendenhall mumbled. His skin turned ice cold watching the behemoth rise from the water.

The sweptback structure kept rising, breeching higher out of the blue water, and finally her conning tower planes broke free as would a giant's palm shedding the sea.

As Collins watched, the small children, dressed in blue shorts and blue shirts, all stood as one and watched the mother of all vessels rise from the abyss. The two tail fins rose six hundred feet back from the conning tower; the anti-collision lights glowed bright red. Finally, the sleek, black hull of Leviathanherself followed the towering tail fins.

"My God," Everett said, standing next to Jack.

"Close, Captain," Robbins said as he leaned back and felt the false breeze the arrival of the giant ship created.

The submarine continued to rise from the water, all eleven hundred feet of her. The great rounded bow broke free of the water as giant bubbles broke the surface, signaling the final release of all of the air in her ballast tanks. As they watched, the giant screens protecting the viewing windows started to part. The windows covered the entire bow section, and gleamed in the overhead lighting of the cavern. Jack could see the separation of compartments and decks through the thick glass.

The huge bow-planes started to retract into the hull, causing a large ripple in the calming waters. They were all startled when tremendous geysers of water shot from both sides of the submarine that now towered a hundred and fifty feet into the air. The water spouts rose high, creating a rainbow effect that circled the middle section of Leviathan. All was silent for the briefest of moments. Then the cavern lights dimmed, and giant floodlights illuminated the wetness that covered the black, violet, and blue skin of the giant monster.

"Now that is something," Ryan said looking from the lagoon to Mendenhall who stood silent, watching the spectacle.

"Okay, Doctor, you can relay to your captain, we were adequately impressed."

Before the doctor could respond to Collins, the thirty-two children ran forward on the concrete dock, silently, but looking excited as they gathered up their small belongings, backpacks, books, and other small treasures of their young lives. There were black children and white, yellow and brown, every race known to the planet, and as varied as the bright rainbow colors that were only now fading in the false light of the cavern.

As the doctor led the way down from the elevator platform, six of the small children passed them on their way down to the dock. One of them, a small girl, bumped into Mendenhall, and he reached out to steady her. She only looked up at the much taller man and smiled. As she started to pull away from Mendenhall, she reached up and placed her small hand on his enormous one. Then the small girl turned and skipped her way down the scaffold to the dock below.

With one last look at the buildings built right into the coral-and-lava rock strata of the cave, Jack and the others followed Dr. Trevor and a very excited Robbins down to Leviathan.

As the six men reached the broad opening of the quay, the doctor took Jack by the arm, halting him and the others from advancing farther. Collins looked from the surgeon to Leviathanas the lower escape trunk hatch on the conning tower opened at its base. At first there was no one there, but then several midshipmen walked out to greet the youngsters as they swarmed the sleek black deck. The submarine was so large that the children looked like ants upon the beached carcass of a prehistoric whale.

"Are they related, Doctor?" Carl asked.

As the groups met and hugged, a few even jumped for joy. It was as if they were reunited for the first time in years.

The doctor only smiled, looking from the children to Everett. The two groups of young people started entering the conning tower with the older ones holding the hands of the younger, two at a time until the deck was clear. Then the adult personnel that had been left on the island to watch over the children started loading crates and other materials being evacuated from Leviathan's former home.

"The older age group is Leviathan's midshipmen. As to your question, they are all orphans, Captain Everett. They are the Heirthall children. They are not relations–that is yet to come for the children. Now, if you will follow me, into the belly of the beast." He turned, smiling. "So to speak."

Collins stopped once they stepped onto the expanse of deck. About twenty-five men came up through one of the many deck hatches aft of the conning tower and started repairing minor damage to the composite material that made up the hull of Leviathan. Several men wearing scuba gear, and some without, lowered themselves into the water with canvas bags holding tools and repair materials.

"We sustained some minor damage to our outer hull. We underestimated the tenacity and luck of one of your American subs, Missouri. I'm sure her captain bragged to you about it." The doctor looked at each man in turn. "I assure you, that mistake won't be repeated by the captain. Follow me, please."

As they stepped over the hatch jam, they were inside the lowest portion of the hundred-fifty-foot shark-finlike conning tower. The interior of the submarine was deathly silent; there was not even the sound of the children that had come aboard before them.

"Captain Everett, if you and Lieutenants Ryan and Mendenhall will accompany me, I will take you to your director. Colonel, Captain Heirthall has requested you join her in the conning observation suite. The door will open momentarily; just wait here."

Before the others moved off down the companionway, a large elevator arrived from the bowels of the submarine and the doors parted. Collins and his men were staring at ten soldiers in the same black Nomexlike clothing made from seaweed that was found on the attackers of their complex. The man standing to the front of this group looked at Leviathan'sguests. A better term was that he was in the process of examining them. He gestured for several of his men to advance. They started unceremoniously frisking and searching Collins and his men.

"They were scanned inside the shack, there is nothing in their clothing–is the captain aware you are doing this?" the doctor demanded, stepping up to the larger of the men. "You'll have to pardon Sergeant Tyler, Colonel; his etiquette has been lacking for quite some time." He stepped closer to Tyler just inside the elevator and whispered, "Do you insist on attracting attention to yourself? You are becoming overly aggressive, Sergeant. It was my understanding that Yeoman Alvera explained this to you."

Tyler didn't answer. He simply reached down, picked up a large satchel, and advanced into the companionway.

"Make it a thorough search," he said to four of his men.

"My apologies again, Colonel," the doctor said.

Collins didn't respond, he only turned and locked eyes with Sergeant Tyler.

Tyler held Jack's glare, raised his left brow, and broke the moment by gesturing for his men to go ahead of him as he finally spoke to Collins.

"Because of men like you, I am on my way to destroy the only home that we have ever known," he said, stopping in front of Collins. "I was against rescuing you in the Mediterranean, Colonel; I think you should know that." He looked from Collins to the other three men, and continued in his Irish-accented voice. "If it were up to me, I would leave you all here on Saboo, to be destroyed right along with it."

"Well, why don't you just set those bags down and show us the way, cowboy. I guarantee you better bring your lunch," Ryan said, taking a menacing step forward before Everett and Will grabbed him.

"At ease, Mr. Ryan," Jack said calmly, still looking at Tyler.

Tyler smirked at Ryan. He abruptly threw the large black satchel over his shoulder, turned, and left, stepping through the escape trunk and onto the deck.

The doctor nodded for Robbins to go into the elevator first, then he gestured for Everett and the others to follow. He nodded toward the door Collins was supposed to step through.

Jack turned and saw that the hatch behind him had opened without a sound. He cautiously stepped up to the hatchway and looked into the darkened chamber. The giant bubble windows were closed, their clamshell covers in place, allowing no light into the suite. There was only the large chair sitting upon its pedestal and the light from the few computers lining the far bulkhead.

Jack stepped into the large suite and the hatch closed behind him with a soft thrum of noise. He wasn't startled as he turned that way, only curious. Then another hatch opened. He saw a small figure step through, but he couldn't see any details before the light from the outside corridor was cut off. Collins waited.

Slowly the interior lights came up, casting a soft blue glow to the room. Jack saw the figure standing just inside the door, looking around. He smiled slow and wide for the first time in what seemed like years.

"Hello, Short Stuff," he said, almost too low for Sarah to hear, but loud enough to startle her.

As Sarah McIntire turned, she saw the man standing next to the raised command platform. He was thinner and tired looking, but she recognized Jack immediately. She slowly started forward and then almost lost her footing as her legs weakened. Collins stepped up and immediately took her into his arms and held her. Nothing else; he just held on to her. He could feel her soft sobbing and he held her even tighter.

"Was I missed?"

There was no answer from Sarah as she wrapped her own arms around Jack. She just held him tightly and cried.

In her sparse private quarters, Alexandria switched off the monitor that showed the reunion between Jack and Sarah. She swallowed and fought back tears of her own. She knew that a person like her could never have something like what she had just witnessed. Heirthall had chosen her path, and that would never allow anyone into her world. It would cause hesitation, doubt, even lead to a lack of vision. If she lost that, then her world would be lost forever.

She sat on the edge of her small bed, closed her deep blue eyes, and brought her right hand up to her mouth. She took the tablets the doctor had given her and then rubbed her aching legs. The pain was growing more acute in both her legs and her head. According to the doctor, her mobility would soon be threatened.

She slowly reached out and turned the monitor back on. As the pain increased in her head, she found herself becoming angry at the scene before her. She knew it was she who had set up the reunion, but now as she watched, she was becoming enraged. Before she had a chance to reach out and turn the monitor off, she felt a trickle at her left ear. She reached up and swiped at it, and her hand came away with blood. Before she could react, her vision started to cloud. Soon, without her knowing it, she would not be Alexandria Heirthall any longer. She would be Octavian's great-great-granddaughter, and her hate would fill the world.

The doctor opened the door to the forward observation lounge three decks down, stepped aside, and allowed Carl, Jason, and Will to step through.

"Gentlemen, I have duties to attend to, so I will excuse myself for now."

Everett watched Dr. Trevor leave. He then heard Mendenhall and Ryan greeted boisterously inside the lounge. He turned to see the smiling faces of Niles, Alice, the senator, and Virginia hugging his two lieutenants and patting them on the back. Director Compton stepped forward after shaking hands with Ryan and Will and greeted Everett.

"Captain, it's good to see you," Niles said, taking his hand as Virginia stepped up beside him.

"Boss, it's good to see you're all still functioning in this crazy, mixed-up world." After he released Niles's hand, he turned serious. "They separated us from the colonel," he said as his eyes slowly moved to Virginia Pollock.

"Then he really is alive?" Niles asked.

"Yes, sir, he is most definitely. Dr. Pollock, how are you doing?"

"I guess you'll have to tell me, Captain.... Just how am I doing?"

Everett smiled to ease the woman's mind.

"You mean, do we believe you're a traitor?"

Niles turned and looked at the two of them.

"No, we don't. We found the real culprit, and even brought the little bastard along for the ride."

"Who?" Niles asked.

"Dr. Gene Robbins," he said, taking Virginia's hand.

Niles found the closest chair and sat down.

Virginia was as shocked as Niles. She took Carl by the hand and pulled him to her. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Son, how in the hell are you?" Senator Lee asked, stepping in and breaking up Everett's awkward moment.

Carl winked at Virginia and then turned to face the senator.

"Well, sir, we've found out quite a bit, but it seems the more history we uncover, the more mysterious this mess gets," Carl said as he shook Lee's hand.

Garrison Lee leaned on his cane and gestured to the many chairs around the long table.

"Well, Captain, we seem to have time on our hands at the moment. Enthrall us as to who this Captain Heirthall really is. We've guessed at a lot, but let's hear the Event Group version."

"You're not going to believe it," was all Everett said, hugging Alice.

"A riddle wrapped in an enigma," Mendenhall said as he poured himself a glass of water.

"Or maybe a nut wrapped up in a shell," Ryan countered.

Sarah led Jack into the observation area without the normal security escort. She watched as Niles, Lee, Virginia, and Alice greeted Jack like a long-lost son and brother.

"Well, I see you didn't bring the cavalry along with you, Jack," Lee said, smiling and clapping the colonel on the shoulder.

"We decided to wait and make sure the cavalry would have a fighting chance before committing them."

"You should have brought them anyway," Lee mumbled as Alice took his free arm.

"If they're needed, they're only a phone call away," Jack said, looking around the observation deck. Sarah silently went to Everett, placed her arms around his waist, and hugged him. Carl kissed the top of her head, and then Sarah sat down silently next to Virginia and Niles to watch Jack reunite with the people he had come to know and respect. She smiled, just taking in his form and face. Virginia reached out, took her hand, and smiled at her.

"I'm happy for you," she whispered.

Sarah looked at the assistant director and became serious.

"It's all for nothing if we don't get the hell off this boat. Every naval vessel in the world is going to try to track us down. The odds of us getting out of here are a little bleak."

Virginia kept smiling and patted her hand. "I think our odds at that survival just went up by at least four percent," she said, looking at the four men before them.

Captain Heirthall finally left her cabin and took the elevator down to deck ten. Once there, she slowly walked through the wide companionway, looking at none of the crew as they greeted her. She didn't even notice First Officer Samuels as he caught up with her. She nodded without really looking at him.