The Traveler (41 page)

“I thought we would see more animal life than we have,” Jack said as he reached over and threw a switch that activated the automated laser defense pod he had just installed. The camp was now ringed with the high-tech weaponry. The six modules were perched on their high posts and were aimed outward. The weapons looked like nothing more than a small black box with a glass ball in its casing. Each pod was capable of firing two thousand high-voltage radar-guided laser bursts. It should be enough to frighten anything that may come upon them in the night.

Master Chief Jenks made sure the doorway was secure inside the last trailer. He would start to build it during the lighted hours of the morning. He hated losing the day but they had no choice if those chickens decided to visit during the night. The camp was efficient. They set up a small cookstove but refrained from putting up their shelters. The tents would only keep them from knowing their surroundings and give them a false sense of security, and Collins wanted them all in one place and alert. The five trailers and tractor had been dispersed so as to give them some sort of cover as they watched the terrain below them. Jack knew the makeshift barrier looked like covered wagons and they were the settlers. He stood at one of these and examined the darkening terrain. To the south the earth rumbled and they could see the glow of Mount Erebus. Every now and then a deep explosive jolt would course through their feet as the great volcano rumbled. As they waited for nightfall the night became cold. Yes, the deep freeze was slowly coming to the last land on the planet to know warm sunlight.

“This place has a decidedly dark edge of doom to it, don't it?” Jenks said as he prepared to send the signal balloons up. He adjusted the strobe light that would flash inside of the white aerial device. He quickly filled the balloon with helium and it shot skyward. As it rose into the air the flashing beacon shone brightly in the night sky like a magical orb.

“There, I hope we attract the attention of Toad and not some monster out of a nightmare,” the master chief said as his eyes watched the round balloon sending out its flashing beacon. “I've noticed that in my time with you people you seem to attract a hell of a lot of monsters,” he said as Henri nodded in agreement. Jenks repeated the process two more times until three of the balloons rose a thousand feet into the air.

“Now look up, Carl,” Jack said mostly to himself as his eyes took in the bright luminescent balloons overhead that blinked their magic against the most brilliant star field they had ever seen. Then the night sky was slowly blotted out as a large ash cloud rolled over the area, cutting off the signal from above.

Five miles distant other eyes were trained on the strange sight that filled the night sky, and the ancient world slowly came alive with menace.

*   *   *

“What in the bloody hell is that?” Henri asked as he spit out the mouthful of food as he attempted the impossible task of not allowing it to touch the inside of his mouth. He figured his tongue and taste buds had already been lost.

Jenks smirked and then spooned his own tasty mouthful.

“Uh, enchilada casserole I believe the package said,” Ellenshaw said as he examined his own MRE packet.

“Beats the hell out of the old C-rations we used to have to force down,” Jenks said as he ate some more of the casserole. “Back in 'Nam we would have sold our souls for this crap. The only good thing the old 'rats had was cheese and crackers.”

“I would gladly take your cheese and crackers over this,” Henri said as he tossed the casserole free of his plastic spoon. He slowly placed the open package into the plastic bag they were using to keep the animal life from snooping around for food. He spit again to clear his mouth and then drank some water.

“We have enough of the damn MREs to last three months,” Jack said as he sniffed his own package of roast beef. He reclosed it and decided to try again later.

A soft tone came from the remote panel Jenks held on his lap. The master chief placed the MRE package down and raised the small plastic console. The holographic map displayed the radar information the portable defense system was acquiring. The first station coordinated with her sister units and that gave Jenks a complete 360-degree view of their surroundings and anything that moved within.

“We have major movement close to the tree line.”

“Which one?” Jack asked as he raised the night-vision scope to his eyes and started scanning the trees to his left no less than three hundred yards away.

“All of them,” Jenks said as he saw multiple targets moving in and out of radar range. He switched over to infrared and his eyes widened. “Targets are too numerous to count.” Jenks leaned over and switched on the main acquisition program on the weapons control. “Laser system is now armed.” He looked up at Collins. The light-colored ash was now falling heavier than a moment before as the skies to the south were a deeper red in the night sky. “What fail-safe point do you want the safeties placed on, Colonel?”

“Zero,” Jack said as he lowered the nightscope. “I don't intend to wait around here and allow something to get close enough for us to identify it.” He turned to a nervous Charlie Ellenshaw. “Doc, you said the odds of the local animal or humanoid life escaping Antarctica's frozen future are a basic zero, right?”

“Yes,” he said as he wondered what Jack was thinking.

“So we won't be altering the destiny of any living species occupying this land?”

“That's just a theory, of course, but the anthropological departments and also natural history concur. Europa reported that all the animal life here at this time will perish.”

“Good. Master Chief, give me a three-hundred-round spread just into the tree line on all sides. Let's see if our visitors' interest in us is a motivated one.”

“Right,” Jenks said with a gruff chuckle.

“Very scientific of you, Colonel,” Henri said as he lowered himself to form a smaller target just behind one of the empty trailers.

Collins raised the glasses once more and saw that the white blurry targets were gradually easing themselves closer to the first line of trees. The jungle floor hid most of their bodies from view.

“Thirty-five three-thousand-watt bursts from each laser should make our chicken friends think better about dropping in on us without calling first.”

“If that's what's out there,” Ellenshaw said as he hunkered next to Farbeaux.

“You just add the most wonderful elements to any discussion, Doctor, you know that?” Henri said, looking at crazy Charlie as if he had lost his mind.

“Ah, you ought to be used to me by now, Colonel.”

“That's what's worrying me—I am.”

“This shouldn't hurt us too much with the system's portable battery. Here goes nothing. Firing sequence—now!”

The six long poles with their strange little black boxes affixed to their tops activated and started tracking the closest moving targets inside the tree lines on all sides of the camp. As one target was picked by one weapons system its sister tracked the next in line and then the next, all the while feeding their own targeting information to the base system controlled by Jenks. The targets were then prioritized as to threat and all of this happened in less than a microsecond. The lasers started their silent destruction. The sound of a small battery-powered generator fired, giving the laser its umph. Small pinpoint beams of light burst from each weapon with an audible pop as the argon laser cleared the glass apertures of the black boxes. The shots were faster than the speed of light and the green dot of burning energy was hard to pick up in the glow from the south. But soon the pace of fire was so rapid that it looked like a science fiction war. Beads of light struck trees and other things that cried out in the night. Like tracers from low-caliber weaponry, the lasers punctured the initial line of trees and jungle. Then all was silent with the exception of the animal cries in the jungle beyond.

Jack examined the black boxes housing the lasers. They were hot but looked as if they had operated as designed. He leaned over and looked at the battery drainage from the light assault. Down only two percent.

“My God, they sound like the screams of children,” Charlie said with horror written across his features.

As much as Henri didn't want to agree with Charlie, he was right. The wounded animals sounded like children and it was damn-well unnerving to the Frenchman.

“I hope we didn't screw the pooch here, Colonel,” Jenks said as he laid the targeting hologram down. Jack looked and nodded at the device. “All activity with the exception of a few blips have all gone. Listen, the cries are fading. So at least we know one thing.”

“What's that, Master Chief?” Charlie asked, but it was Jack who answered with a concerned look.

“Whatever they are, they carry off their wounded.” Collins looked at the darkened and quiet tree line. He then faced the men. “Doesn't sound like an animal to me.” The colonel raised his M-4 and made sure the weapon was charged and safed. “Okay, two on, two off. Fifty percent alert. Charlie, you're with me. Jenks, you and Henri get some rest, we have a hell of a lot of work to do tomorrow.”

With that note, the camp had a very lousy sleep.

 

17

BROOKLYN NAVY YARD

As Ryan held the door for the unwelcome visitors, his radio crackled to life.

“One, this is main gate, the six vehicles have turned off the main drive and have gone beyond my view. We've lost them, Commander.”

“Roger, make your way back to building one-seventeen, consolidate what we have.” Ryan lowered the radio and saw that the small group was waiting on him inside the old reception area.

“Problems?” the Russian asked with a mockingly concerned look on his face.

“None at all.” Ryan again raised the radio to his lips. “Five, this is one, copy?”

“Copy,” Will said from outside.

“Inform the local authorities we may have a security concern.”

“Roger,” came Mendenhall's reply, and then the radio was silent.

“A wise precaution, my friend. Wise indeed.”

“You know, I've always noted the comic book ways you guys talk, a much more precise language, trying to be more sophisticated than you are, when in the end you are nothing more than those pathetically depicted comic book villains.”

The smile faltered for the briefest of moments and Jason could see that his words had angered the Russian. He smiled and gestured that they should follow him.

Joshua Jodle directed the first Explorer in line to the south side of the navy yard toward the original building 114. The windows of the building were dark as all of the activity had shifted to building 117 a quarter of a mile away.

“The tunnel better be there.”

The small man looked over at the brute who was wearing a black leather jacket that didn't do much to hide the small automatic weapon he held.

“Of course it's there. I supervised the construction myself,” he lied. “How do you think we could move about from one building to the other while reengineering the doorway without being noticed by the navy yard staff? It's there, it goes directly to the subbasement of building one-seventeen.”

The man nodded and then opened the door. He removed the Israeli-made Uzi from his jacket and then waited for his fifteen men to join him.

“Remember, once we are in, there is to be no firing of weapons. I am informed that there is some very delicate equipment inside that does not react well to gunfire.”

The other men nodded and Jodle cringed as he saw the explosive firepower of the Russian mob firsthand.

The former concentration camp survivor moved the men into the darkened building where the first doorway had allowed much more honorable men to invade the heart of Nazi Germany not many years before.

But tonight his task was not so noble and he felt guilty as the men made their way to the basement and the tunnel that would lead them to the time machine.

*   *   *

Sergeant Hernandez stepped in front of Director Compton when he tried in vain to move past him and the meeting just outside the observation room.

“Step aside, Sergeant,” Niles ordered as calm as he could.

“No, sir, can't. Commander's orders, sorry,” Hernandez said, and truly felt bad. He realized he just told the man in charge of Department 5656 and secretly one of the most influential men in the world that he couldn't do something. “After the reaming we took from the colonel … I mean … can't you see we're on thin ice here?” The sergeant looked for help from the only other person in the observation room, Moira Mendelsohn, but she only shook her head.
No help there,
he thought.

“Sergeant, the bite of Colonel Collins is nothing compared to mine. I swallow military personnel whole, now open that door,” Niles said so calmly that the large army sergeant took an involuntary step back. After all, he had never once spoken to the kind, scholarly man before. And now here was that same kindly and scholarly gentleman threatening to swallow him whole. He reached out and opened the door—as far as the sergeant was concerned it would be a pleasure to get court-martialed by Ryan. At least he didn't have to look into the scary one-eyed visage of the small director. Compton took the wheelchair's handles and bypassed the battery system of Madam's chair and they left the office together.

*   *   *

“Ah, there she is,” the Russian said as Niles limped behind the chair and both he and Moira entered the reception area where the ghosts of World War II secretaries gossiped over the latest Cary Grant film sixty-five years before.

Virginia looked angry as she took in Niles. She should have known he would pull something like this. The man hated being told what to do. This Group had spoiled their own boss too damn much. The assistant director wanted to throttle the man.

“I was just telling this asshole here that this is a private concern and that he can go fuck himself. Do you have anything to add, Doctor?” she said as her eyes bored into Compton's only good one.