Leviathan(65)

“What?”

Frank gasped. “Once Leviathan ruptured the containment cavern, GEO initiated a countdown!”

Even without asking, Connor knew.

“A countdown?” he snarled. “A countdown?”

“Twenty-four hours!” the scientist shouted. “If Leviathan is still alive and loose in this facility in twenty-four hours, GEO is going to initiate the fail-safe anyway! There's no way to stop it!”

With a curse Connor threw the scientist back. “You're crazy!” he snarled again, turning with wild hostility toward Chesterton. “You're both crazy! You put the lives of my family in danger, and you never told us about any of this!” His voice grew colder. “I should kill both of you.”

“Don't make me pull rank on you, Connor,” Chesterton replied, turning full into him. “This is still a military operation.”

“Don't even try it, Chesterton.” Connor walked away.

“Where are you going?”

Connor turned back.

“You heard him, Colonel. We've got twenty-four hours to kill that thing. That's exactly what we're gonna do.”

* * *





Chapter 15



Chaos and frantic cries for assistance dominated the spot-lit camp as Thor rode through the unmanned gate on Tanngrisner. It was obvious that some catastrophic event had shattered the usually peaceful and relaxed atmosphere of the facility.

Grabbing his hunting rifle, Thor dismounted and walked purposefully toward the men at the elevator shaft. As Thor neared the entrance they turned together, staring at him. There were no Army personnel.

“What has happened?” Thor rumbled.

Speaking at once, they stumbled over one another. Maybe a cave-in, a natural gas explosion, a volcanic eruption ... The cavern's vault had shut, locking everyone underground . . . They had lost all communication ... And the only way to reach the cavern was to make the dangerous 1,000-foot climb down through the elevator shaft ...

Thor asked, but he knew. “Where is Connor?”

A burly electrician, the one Thor had lifted during the wrestling match, Tom Blankenship, spoke nervously. “He went down into the cavern about four hours ago, Thor. And that crazy colonel came up and got Beth and Jordan earlier in the day. They're all down there, and there ain't no way to get to them! There ain't no way out!”

Thor stared down the elevator shaft; the darkness was complete. He picked up an industrial flashlight and angled the beam downward. Heavily greased elevator beams and cables gleamed black in the piercing light. Long, evenly spaced drill lines were visible in the walls.

Leaning back, Thor slung the rifle around his shoulder, cinching the strap tight to keep it snug against the battle-ax. Then he looped the flashlight strap around his shoulder and neck, hanging the light at his ribs.

“Where does this shaft end?” he growled. “Does it go to the heart of the cavern?”

Blankenship stared in horror.

“Tom!” Thor shouted and Blankenship jumped back. “Where does the elevator shaft end? What is down there?”

Blankenship wildly shook his head. “There ain't nothin' down there, Thor! The elevator shaft ends at the entrance of the cavern, and there's a steel vault that's shut down like an anvil! Even if you reach the bottom of the shaft, you'll be staring at a hundred tons of burn-resistant steel! And there ain't no other way to enter the cavern!”

Thor frowned. Wind and white flakes froze over him while blackened, flesh-scented tendrils of smoke drifted up the shaft. “How is it that the smoke finds a way past the vault, escaping the cavern?” he asked.

Blankenship seemed scared to tell him.

“Tom!” Thor roared. “How does the smoke escape the cavern?”

“It's probably coming through the ventilation shaft!” Blankenship shouted. “It's a shaft located to the left of the vault!”

“And is this ventilation shaft wide enough for a man to crawl through?” Thor asked.

Blankenship stared widely. “Man, I don't know if you could get through it or not, Thor. I mean, you might be able to. But that thing is pretty tight where it hits the cavern. And there's a steel rebar-grate over the entrance. It would take a bulldozer to pull that thing out of the wall!”

Thor stared at the cables and girders. A large, double-sided steel beam descended into the darkness, but everything was coated in thin oil, exceedingly thin, to prevent freezing. Climbing down on the slick-coated steel would be difficult, if not impossible.

“Do you have enough rope to reach the bottom of the shaft?” Thor rumbled.

“No, Thor.” Blankenship seemed astonished by the question. “We don't even have enough rope to go even halfway. We never figured on anything like this.”