The Thirteenth Legion (A James Acton Thriller, #15) (James Acton Thrillers) (35 page)

The
Triarii had their money back, so they would survive and thrive when he was
gone.

He sighed.

The
Proconsul had been right. They weren’t ready, though not for the reasons the
old man had thought. They simply had completely misunderstood the power.

Or
maybe we didn’t.

His eyes
widened slightly at the thought. Perhaps they hadn’t misunderstood the power,
perhaps they truly simply weren’t ready. Could the skulls themselves have
withheld the power? There had been no explosion as there should have been. They
had read no power being bled off from the skulls beyond what his ruse had fed
into the system, a ruse he had designed himself, he ever the prudent one. It
was amazing what could be accomplished with enough money and
compartmentalization, nobody knowing what anyone else was doing, having no idea
how their tiny bit fit into the entire picture. One person designed a shunt,
another a piece of code, another a coded failsafe, another yet some additional
piece to the puzzle, that when all put together, created something that would
save the organization he had dedicated his life to, the organization he loved.

“I’m
sorry it had to end this way, my friends, but we die for a purpose. We know the
mission of the Triarii is pure, is for the good of all mankind. We failed here
today not because we have been misguided in our beliefs, but because we were
not ready. Whoever or whatever gave us the gift of the skulls has deemed us not
ready for the secrets they possess.” He smiled, squeezing Annette against him.
“But future generations will be, I am certain of that, and by sacrificing
ourselves here today, we will preserve the wonder that are the skulls, so that
our descendants can fulfill the destiny handed to them two thousand years ago.”

He rose,
the others joining him, and he gazed up at the skulls overhead. He raised his
fist in salute to not only the skulls, but to everyone that had sacrificed for
this day over the millennia, and who would sacrifice themselves for the
millennia to come.

“We are
the Thirteenth Legion! We are the Triarii! We shall know the truth!”

The
others cheered, their fists pumping the air before they clasped their hands
over their hearts.

Then
silence as the lights flickered.

He
lowered his gaze, smiling at those gathered.

“Goodbye,
my friends.”

Vehicle Bay, Denier Installation, Iceland

Acton rushed toward Dawson and the others, relieved to see them, but
there zero time for pleasantries. He pointed at the lights. “The entire place
is rigged to blow the moment they run out of power.”

“How
big?”

Acton
shook his head. “No idea, but it’s meant to destroy the entire facility and
kill anyone inside.”

Dawson
pointed at three SUVs nearby. “Check for keys!”

Niner
raced toward the nearest one, two of Leather’s men the others, all three
roaring to life almost immediately, the keys apparently kept inside.

“Okay,
let’s go!” shouted Dawson. “Professors with me!”

Acton
helped Laura into the backseat of Niner’s SUV then climbed in after her, Dawson
getting in the passenger side, Spock and Atlas taking the third vehicle as
Leather’s team filled the remaining spaces. Niner hit the gas and they rushed
toward the ramp at the far end, the front angling up as they hit it, racing
toward a rapidly approaching exit.

That was
closed.

“How the
hell do we open that thing?”

Acton
tried to remember how they had got in before, when Laura pointed at a fancy garage
door opener clipped to the visor. “Press that!”

Niner
reached up and pressed the button, the doors slowly beginning to part as Dawson
pressed his earpiece.

“Control,
Zero-One! We need evac now! Make sure the choppers don’t travel over the
complex, it’s rigged to blow!”

Off the coast from the Denier Installation, Iceland

“What’s going on?”

Kennedy
shook his head as he peered through his binoculars. What were once bright
lights were now barely visible, the brilliant display a shadow of its former
self. “I don’t know, but the lights are definitely continuing to get dimmer.”

“Maybe
they finished?” suggested Simmons, the excitement clear in his voice. “And
there was no explosion so it must have worked!”

Kennedy
nodded slowly, not willing to give in to the excitement he so desperately
wanted to feel. He believed in the skulls, he believed in their power. Not only
the danger of that power, but the potential. And if Martin Chaney and his
Deniers had indeed succeeded, succeeded in safely harnessing the energy he knew
was within, it was indeed a great day.

An
incredible day.

The
world would forever be changed from this moment forward. An unlimited, clean,
free power source, provided to mankind by the gods, humanity finally ready to
receive the gift bestowed upon it untold millennia ago.

He
thought of Ananias and his prophecies, and how he had suggested he was the last
of a long line of keepers, a line that had succeeded those before them, and it
made him wonder for just how long these skulls had kept their secrets hidden.

And how
one bold, brash move, by a younger generation, had finally unlocked them.

He owed
Chaney an apology, apparently, though there was no excuse for the blood spilled
to get to this moment in history.

The sky
suddenly lit up, a fireball racing toward the heavens, it unlike anything he
had ever seen before. He rushed to the deck to get a better view, the explosion
rapidly retreating in on itself, the light of the flames dying as he peered
through the lenses. He turned to the Captain, still on the bridge and pointed
at the Denier facility.

“Get in
there! Now!”

The
engine roared to life and within moments they were racing toward the fading
fires, fires suggesting not only that he had been right to fear what Chaney had
attempted, but that mankind was still not ready for the secrets of the skulls
to be revealed.

Route 1 Ring Road, Iceland

Acton gripped the handhold as Niner raced toward the rock wall
blocking their access to the road. He pressed the button overhead but nothing
happened.

“We’re
getting a little close,” commented Dawson, his voice straining to remain calm.

“Patience,
my dear, there’s another button.” Niner pressed it and the rock in front of
them quickly lowered into the ground, their SUV bouncing as the tires hit the
top, it not having had a chance to recede completely. “See, nothing to worry
about.” Niner cranked the wheel to the right, sending Laura sliding into Acton.
He helped her back to her side.

“Get
your seatbelt on.”

She
reached for it, her hands shaking as she tried to push it into the buckle.
Acton reached over and put his hands on hers, steadying them, allowing her to
finally insert the tongue with a click. He pulled his own on as he was pressed
into his seat, Niner stomping on the accelerator.

Dawson
pointed to a bend in the road ahead. “We need to get around that bend! That’ll
put the hill between us and the blast!”

Acton
turned in his seat, staring back at the complex, the garage door they had
exited still visible, a dim light inside flickering.

Then
nothing.

“It’s
too late!”

A
massive fireball shot into the night sky and outward, racing toward them. Acton
grabbed Laura and pushed her down, undoing his seatbelt as he threw himself
over her, his only thought now of saving her. He felt Niner press harder on the
accelerator, the engine protesting.

Then
everything changed.

He
turned his head to see what was happening, sounds muffled, a screech of evil
unleashed surrounding them. The entire vehicle glowed as flames licked at the
windows.

And
there was heat.

Something
popped and suddenly they jerked to the right.

Heading
straight off the highway.

He
gripped Laura tighter, regretting he had ever agreed to come along.

Operations Center 2, CIA Headquarters, Langley, Virginia

“Oh my God!”

Leroux
dropped into his chair as Sonya’s outburst turned to whimpers, the entire op
center in shock as the satellite feed showed a mushrooming eruption of fire and
rage filling the entire screen in an eerie green and black. They had just
spotted three vehicles turning onto the road but they were nowhere to be seen
now, the fireball having almost immediately overtaken them.

Nobody
could survive that!

He felt
his chest tighten as he thought of the brave men he had dealt with on various
ops in the past, of the professors he had never met yet felt he knew, and of
his friend Kane, who had just lost comrades-in-arms he had fought and shed
blood with on countless deployments.

He’s
going to take this hard.

He
pushed himself out of his seat, watching the explosion quickly dissipate. He
turned to Child. “Get the choppers back there, now! We need to know if there
are any survivors.”

“Yes,
sir.” Child was unusually subdued. Leroux wasn’t sure if his newest team member
had ever watched a friendly die before, and he felt for him. He remembered his
first time.

He’d
never forget it.

Don’t
give up.

He
activated his comm. “Zero-One, Control. Come in, over.”

Nothing.

“This is
Control to any Bravo Team member. Do you read, over?”

Again,
nothing.

Nothing
but the static of dead air.