It was the same story that had been circulated throughout each of the U.S. military’s five service branches.
When the door to Clay’s room opened next, he was surprised to see both Langford and Miller walk in, followed by Neely Lawton, Wil Borger, and to Caesare’s complete shock, a serious-looking DeeAnn Draper.
Together they looked down at Clay with concern, after which Neely exchanged a quick smile with Caesare as Langford began to speak.
“How are you, John?”
“Uh…surprised, sir.”
Langford grinned and glanced to his left. “How about you, Steve?”
Next to Clay, Caesare watched Langford with a cautious expression. “I’m fine.”
The admiral motioned to the others around him. “I know this is a little unexpected.”
“Just a tad.”
Langford frowned at Caesare. “I wanted to have you all in the same room. And since Clay isn’t going anywhere soon, I decided we could all do with a bit of warm air and sunshine.”
Clay gave a playful but questioning look at Alison, who only shrugged and smiled. Both he and Caesare watched Langford with curiosity.
“Let me start by commending you all. You did a hell of a job under the circumstances.” Langford glanced at the others. “I’m not sure if I’ve ever been more impressed with a group of individuals. It’s people like you who remind me what this country is supposed to be about. What it used to be about. And perhaps what it might someday be again. But until then, what has happened in the last few weeks, or in the last year, has been nothing short of earth-shaking. I’m sure you would all agree.” Langford straightened and put his hands behind himself. “Which is also why it must be protected. At all costs. By all of you.”
Both Clay and Caesare raised their eyebrows simultaneously.
“Sir?”
“What I’m about to say may come as a surprise. Yet it’s something on which Defense Secretary Miller and I both agree. And that is the decision to form a new classified team, composed of the members in this room. A team that reports exclusively to Secretary Miller and myself, and no one else.”
Silence fell over the room as everyone looked back and forth, curiously.
“Sir, I don’t understand,” said Clay. “Why form a team when the mission is over?”
Langford chuckled. “And what makes you think things are over?”
“Uh, well, the hidden vault is gone, sir. We recovered the last of Wei’s infused bacteria, and Alison has found the new source of plants. It seems to me we’re largely done. Except for finding Wei’s daughter.”
Langford glanced at Clay. “I have to admit, I had a similar thought. Until these three decided to enlighten me.” He turned again to face Neely, Wil, and DeeAnn. “Mr. Borger, perhaps you would like to start?”
Borger slowly nodded and stepped forward, clearing his voice. “Uh…well, it kinda has to do with Alison’s discovery near Trinidad. You see, the vault that was on top of the mountain in Guyana had to have been built…by someone. Someone who traveled here.” He nodded to Caesare. “I explained to Steve a few weeks ago that coming here to do that likely meant it was a one-way trip. Primarily due to distance, speed, and the amount of energy needed.” Borger inhaled and looked around the room. “So when you couple that with all the material involved, it’s likely they needed something to make the journey. Like a ship. And that seems to be exactly what Alison has discovered. Which leads us back to the vault.”
Caesare furrowed his brow. “The vault was destroyed, Wil.”
“I know. But I’ve been thinking.” He took another deep breath. “See, if it were me…and I had to travel all that way…I wouldn’t just build one.”
“What?”
“I said I wouldn’t build just one.”
“But what does that mean?” Caesare asked.
Borger replied with a hint of excitement. “So, think about it. Whoever it was had to travel an awful long way. Remember, Palin and his people can create portals, but there’s a catch. Distance. He explained that the farther the distance, the greater the energy required, becoming exponential. So at a certain distance, the resources available to create enough energy would be exhausted, which is exactly what was happening to them. He told us they were running out.”
Caesare nodded. “So if whoever built that vault traveled by ship…”
“It means they were likely coming from much further away, from a distance they simply couldn’t create a portal from. This is part of why I think it was a one-way trip. But here’s the thing, if they did travel all that way to create a safe place for their DNA, it means they’d have to be sure it would survive, right?”