Leviathan(44)

“I've got to get checked out,” he said, moving painfully up the tunnel. Overcome by his own theatrics, he fell into a slight limp. “I don't like the way that felt.”

“Yeah,” Barley said, glancing again at the box. “Do whatever you need to do, man.”

Connor waved, walked away. Wounded.

But he knew now what he needed to know. He had seen the guns, the sandbags – the rest. An entire platoon of heavily armed soldiers moving frantically to throw themselves down with a desperate aim. But they hadn't been aiming up the tunnel, as if to keep something out. They had been aiming dead at the cavern's steel-reinforced door.

To keep something in.

* * *



Connor entered the Ice Station's Communications Center to find Beth angry and concentrated, leaning over a computer panel. Her dark eyes were focused, her mouth grim.

“Beth,” he whispered, “we need to talk. I've got to—”

“Not now, Connor.” She didn't even look up. “Something has happened to the communications link with SAT-COM.” She typed quickly into a computer keyboard: https:\\www.fed.world.gov.

The screen displayed: ACCESS DENIED.

A silent curse twisted her lips. “What is going on here? We can't contact anybody!” She turned to glare at the four assistant civilian dispatchers. “Did any of you perform a systems scan for a viral interface?”

Heads were shaken. Apparently, everyone was as confused as she was. When Beth turned back to the computer screen her mind was visibly racing behind her dark Italian eyes.

“Beth, listen to me for—”

“Just a second, Connor.” She typed quickly: http:\\sat.com.wea-rep.gov.

Reply: ACCESS DENIED.

Beth leaned back, staring down. “This is all wrong. Why can’t we get a National Weather System report? What has hit this system?” A subdued pause. “This is just absolutely not right, Connor.”

“Beth,” he said, reaching out to gently grip her arm, “we have to talk right now!”

A deep, calculating expression that was almost no expression at all settled over her face before she nodded. Then she leaned over the machine again, typing with infinite care: C: DOWNLOAD ALL INCOMING KEYBOARD STROKES FOR SATELLITE RELAY: DURING LAST24HRS.A.B.C

A short pause, then a Clay began blinking continuously. Connor had no idea what she had done. When she turned to Connor she was solid and concentrated, but he still saw a faint flash of fear.

“What's happening, Connor? Somebody or something has shut down the entire Communications Center. We can't talk to anyone. Anywhere. And no one can talk to us. We can't even talk to the cavern.”

Connor leaned forward. “Beth, I think we're all in serious danger. Something is very wrong in the cavern.”

She stared, blinked. “What?”

Because Connor knew she was strong enough to handle almost anything, he said it plainly. “Beth, I think that those idiots have created something down there that is very, very dangerous. And it's out of control. That's why they've shut down the Communications Center. They've probably put some kind of lockout code inside the relay because they're afraid that the ground crew is about to discover what's going on, and one of us will panic and call for help. Then the whole world is going to know what's going on here.”

Beth's teeth gritted as she shook her head. “But . . . but shutting down this Communications Center is stupid, Connor! All the phone lines in the cavern are routed through this place! If someone's tampered with the satellite relay they couldn't help but shut down the—” Without a second's hesitation she snatched up a phone, listening. Set it down again. Her face was almost pale. “It's dead. All the lines are dead.”

Connor glanced over her shoulder to see the assistant dispatchers working without result to clear up the system. His voice was low. “We've got to get off this island, Beth. As fast as we can.”

She glanced out the window of the center, toward the dock. “Can we use one of the boats?”

“No. I've already been down there. The cruisers are being guarded by those MPs, but I managed to get on board with the excuse that the cruisers held dangerous chemicals that needed electrical maintenance. But while I was there I found that the ships have been mechanically disabled. It's simple stuff, really—could probably fix it in an hour. But I can't get an hour. They'll arrest me if I try. And none of my men can fly one of the military choppers.”

“Which leaves us with what?”

“The North Atlantic Sea Patrol,” Connor responded. “They can get here inside two hours if we can contact them. They'll bring a cruiser big enough to get all of us off the island.”

Bowing her head, Beth was motionless for a moment. Then she looked up, dark fire flashing in her eyes. “Then I'm going to try and break this code and send out a distress, Connor. I’m going to contact the Sea Patrol for an emergency airlift of this facility.”