Laura 02 The God Code (30 page)

Suddenly Jason’s jet comes up from below, directly behind the helicopter, and the second missile slams into his right wing. The explosion rips off his entire wing and the jet drops to the ground out of control.

Warren says a silent thank you as he sees Jason ejecting. While calling a mayday for his friend, he moves his jet as close as he can to the passenger side of the helicopter in order to verify the sighting of the President. On recognizing the President, he salutes and moves away to take up an escort pattern, flying slightly behind and to the side of the helicopter.

“Base, this is Major Warren, changing mission from intercept to protection of Air Force One.”

There is a few seconds of silence before Base responds. “Roger that, protecting Air Force One, will notify the White House.”

***

Laura sleepily awakes, having had a peaceful rest. Looking at the chair next to the bed, she smiles. The nuns brought her new clothes, a pair of denim pants and a t-shirt. Just as she is about to get up, she notices the two inch cut in her shirt. Baffled as to how it got there, Laura puts her finger through the cut. Scratching her head, she decides that she must have hooked it somewhere without noticing.

The room has its own bathroom, and Laura freshens up, before putting on the new clothes. Looking at herself in the mirror, she bursts out laughing. The shirt is black and have white lettering reading,
The Force is Strong With This One,
on it. Clearly who ever picked it likes Star Wars. If Victor can see her now. Laura grabs the jacket the Pope gave her and goes down to the kitchen where the nuns on duty gladly make her something to eat. After having some fruit and juice, Laura returns to the archives, unaware that Phil is following her, watching her every move.

Chapter 8

Naval secret communication station.

Roberto holds up his hand as the black Hummer 3 slowly approaches the gate. Can people not read the sign at the bottom of the driveway, this is military property and off limits to civilians. The property is nestled on a hill, with an old house built in the middle. The garden is well kept, and was it not for the sign at the bottom of the driveway and the guard at the gate, one would think it to be a normal house. That is until you see the satellite dish in the back yard, hidden behind the house.

Roberto steps closer as the driver’s window slowly rolls down. His hand manages to reach his pistol on his hip before three bullets hit him in the chest from a silenced pistol. All four doors open, and five men quickly get out and climb over the locked steel gate, then silently make their way to the house. Two men go to the front door while three go to the back. All five have bulletproof vests on and carry a silenced 9mm Glock. Staying in contact with field radios and earpieces, they place small explosives on both doors and synchronize their entry, blowing the doors open.

The front of the house is the kitchen, and is empty. The back of the house is where the radio is, and the two military personnel stationed at the radio are caught totally by surprise, each man is shot while still seated in his chair.

Two men each cover a door while the fifth member pulls the operators from their chairs and enters the codes he has written down in a small notebook.

There is a two minute delay, and then a message appears on his monitor, “Send message”. The man pulls out a digital device and activates it. The President’s voice can clearly be heard, giving commands to the submarine to meet a fishing trawler at a given time at specific coordinates, and to take on a team that he needs to transport to a location to be given to him by the team, as a training exercise. The orders were made up by cutting the President’s voice recording, when he read the note while being interrogated.

Another two minutes pass before a message appears on the screen, “Verifying orders”. The men wait impatiently for ten minutes before the screen responds again, “Orders verified, mission accepted”. Satisfied, the men start to move out, but just before leaving they randomly shoot at the electronics, destroying it.

***

Twenty minutes later, Ernest and Victor slowly ride down a road snaking between houses and up a hill. Suddenly both stop as they spot the sign stating that the property belongs to the Navy and no civilians or unauthorized personnel are allowed. Parking their motorcycles in the road, they make their way up the path.

“It seems we are too late,” Ernest comments as he looks at the dead marine by the gate.

“Keep your eyes open, they may still be inside,” Victor replies as he starts climbing the gate. Every muscle in his body is tense, ready for action. Halfway to the house Victor relaxes.

The front door is blown open, the chance of there being anyone around is slim, yet he does not take chances. Dropping down, he quickly runs to the front door and presses himself against the wall, waiting for Ernest to join him. Signaling to Ernest that he will go around the back and Ernest must take the front, he then proceeds to the back. Both men stealthily make their way through the house, meeting in the back room where the radios are situated.

“It does not look like we are going to be able to send any messages.” Victor is busy checking the pulse of the marines on the floor as he speaks.

“Uuhhh,” comes a moan from one of the men.

“Take it easy, we’re here to help,” Ernest says as he bends down next to the man. Clearly the man has only minutes left to live. With effort, he points to a panel near the ground, locked with a digital combination. As Ernest moves towards it, the man writes the combination on the floor in his own blood. Quickly Ernest opens the door and to his surprise looks at the inside of the radio. There are wires and computer boards all over the place. He is about to ask the man what he is looking for, but as he turns around, his heart sinks. The man is dead.

Ernest looks again at the computer system. Why did the man have him open the panel when there is no hope of fixing the system?

“This is not going to work, how are we going to fix the system?” he asks Victor who is bending down next to him by the open panel.

Victor looks back at the dead man, then again into the mess of wires and boards before responding. “The man wrote the combination of the panel with his blood and last breath. It must be important.”

Without another word, he starts ripping the wires and computer boards out, kicking some to pieces that are stuck. When he has cleared a good portion of the opening, he asks, “Can you please get me a star screwdriver?” then continues to rip the system apart.

“Left or right hand?” Ernest sarcastically replies as he looks around the room, finding a small computer toolkit inside a steel cabinet in the corner.

“Smart ass,” Victor replies as he takes the screwdriver from Ernest and proceeds to crawl halfway into the opening. There are a few sparks followed by a “Shit” which makes Ernest laugh. Slowly Victor crawls out, and holds up a computer hard drive.

“I think this is what he wanted us to find.”

Ernest takes the drive, turning it over a few times before commenting. “We need to get this to the White House as soon as possible.”

“Agreed, let’s burn some rubber,” Victor replies, getting up and following Ernest though the front door.

***

Inside the secret archives Laura is staring at a small notebook written by a bishop. It is dated only two years prior. She found the notebook by accident, while looking for another document and mixing up the shelf numbers.

Laura gasps. The notebook mentions that a complete translation of the language used on the scrolls was made and written down. If she can find that manuscript, she will be able to decipher the scrolls. Slowly she returns to the computer, still reading the notebook. She cannot find any name for the manuscript in the notebook, but there are dates mentioned and people who were involved in the writing of the manuscript.

***

Deep below the icy Baltic waters, the crew of the Pegasus prepares to take on a Seal team as the submarine makes its way to the coordinates given. The submarine is busy undergoing a three months secret sea trial, and now she is to be tested in deploying a Seal team, a vital role for modern stealth submarines.

Captain Lawrence Rinehart stands at the chart table, reading the decoded orders again. Original, using a fishing trawler to ferry the men to the location given. Lawrence looks at the map again where the coordinates given are marked. I can only imagine the seas and cold the men have to endure to get to the location, it must be one hell of a training mission for the Seal team. Those Seals must be preparing for one tough mission if this is part of their training. Lawrence looks at his watch, he intends to reach his target three hours ahead of schedule, and then lie and wait, see what shows up.

***

Victor and Ernest bring their bikes to a standstill in front of the gates to the White House with tires squealing, making drag marks on the ground. Adrenaline is pumping strongly through their veins from the high speed ride. Victor flips his visor open and addresses the two Secret Service agents guarding the gate. “Open the gate, the President is expecting us.”

Both Ernest and Victor expect them to immediately open the gates as surely the President would have informed them they may be expected. Victor takes his jacket off and hangs it over the handlebars as he is getting hot, forgetting about the pistol he has in the front of his pants.

Secret Service agent Fred Cooper immediately pulls his service weapon and yells, “Hands in the air!”

“What the hell for?” responds Ernest.

“Your friend is shot and he has a weapon on him.”

Victor looks down at his left side. His shirt is stained with blood.

“That yours?” Ernest asks.

“Yes, I was nicked in the shootout on the highway. Only a scrape, looks worse than it is,” Victor responds, pulling his shirt up to inspect the wound.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Ernest asks.

“The mission is more important than a little discomfort. Besides, I trust the President’s doctor more than the ones in the hospital.”

“Take your helmets off and get off your bikes, slowly!” Fred is slightly annoyed by the two men who are flatly ignoring him.

“What is it with you people that you are so uptight?” Victor responds, removing his helmet slowly, placing it over the bike’s side mirror before continuing. “Okay, look buddy, I am going to slowly reach into my pants pocket and remove a piece of paper, just keep calm.” Victor slowly drops his right hand to his pants pocket, and pulls out the paper the President gave him. Holding the paper out, he continues, “Call the number on here.”

“What for?”

“So that they can tell you to open the gate.”

“Fred, stay where you are, it’s a trap,” the second guard responds.

“Okay, tell you what, I will call the number out to you, and you dial it on your cell phone, how about that? You have nothing to lose.”

Thinking for a moment, Fred nods his head and removes his cell phone from his belt holster, keeping the gun trained on Victor with one hand. Victor starts to call the numbers out, and Fred punches it into his phone.

“So?” Victor asks as he gives the last digit.

“Ringing,” Fred responds, putting the call on speaker.

“This is the President, who is this?” Both guards almost come to attention when they hear the President’s voice.

“Mr. President, this is Ernest and Victor. We need authorization to enter the White House grounds,” Ernest quickly answers, fearing Victor will make a smart ass comment.

“Thank GOD you two made it back, put the guard on the phone.”

“This is Special Agent Fred Cooper Mr. President, you are on speaker.”

“Fred, open the gate immediately, that is an order. Victor, Ernest, I will have someone meet you at the building’s entrance, come see me immediately.” The call is cut off as the President puts the receiver down.

“Well, are you going to open the gate or do you want me to ring the Pope as well?” Victor says, causing the two guards to jump to get the gate open.

“You have the Pope’s personal number as well?” Ernest asks, playing along.

“Of course,” Victor responds as he replaces his helmet and jacket, then makes a doughnut on the ground with the back wheel of the bike and leaves a black mark on the driveway as he burns the back tire by pulling away hard. The two guards shake their heads as they close the gate again after Ernest passes through, entering less dramatically than Victor.

“Did you just do a doughnut at the entrance?” Ernest rather states than asks when they stop at the front entrance of the White House.

“Yes, didn’t you?” Victor is climbing off his bike as he speaks, and then gives the bike’s keys to a young gardener standing to one side at the door, before continuing, “A wash and wax please.” The stunned man is taken aback, and bows his head as he walks to move the bike out of the way, while the other gardeners and security guards laugh at him.

“Do you ever show some respect?” Ernest shoots at Victor angrily.

Victor stops at the door before replying, “What do you mean, I do so all the time, and to whom should I show respect, the guards at the gate?”

“Yes! But more to the President, making donuts in the White House driveway!”

“I do respect the President, I risked my ass saving his, and I gave the guards at the gate something to tell their friends and family, they can add it to the story of how the President landed in a police helicopter in the White House garden after being kidnapped. They can maybe even write a book about it or sell the story to the news.”

“You have a strange way of showing respect.”

“And you are a prisoner of fearing what people think. I have been living outside the rules and regulations of society for 15 years, and you expect me to change? Only by living outside those rules can I do my job and get the people that also live outside the rules. Furthermore, people are just people, no matter whether they clean the streets or are Presidents, they are all just people. If you kill the President, another will take his place. We all die someday, stop treating people for their positions that they may lose tomorrow, and treat them for the people they are inside.