The Last Election (33 page)

The flames spread outward rapidly. As the flames approached her, she saw the shadowy figure standing directly in front of her. It was Bonsam! His eyes were filled with fire. Soon they were both engulfed in the blazing inferno. She screamed in agony, “Bonsam! Bonsam!”

The others in the room watched helplessly as Ixchel’s entire body began to thrash about. She whipped her head back and forth uncontrollably, her long black hair twisting from side to side. “Bonsam! Bonsam!” she screamed again.

Clark and Holden looked at each other with blank expressions. They did not know what to make of Ixchel’s sudden breakdown. Martineau moved forward to help Daniel restrain Ixchel. She was still shaking incredibly. “Ixchel are you all right?” called out Daniel.

Ixchel continued to scream in horror as the fire spread rapidly through the ancient city of Tikal. The temples, the trees, and the land were all on fire. She saw Bonsam throw his head back as he let out a bloodcurdling scream. An instant later, Ixchel heard the sound of thunderous explosions echoing through the air. The flames that engulfed her turned white and the heat became so intense that she felt her entire being ignite.

Suddenly she awoke from the nightmare. Sweat was pouring down her cheeks and her mouth was frozen open. She turned to the computer screen. “Oh God, I saw it!” she screamed as she pointed to the map. “That is where it will end. That is where the world will end.”

Clark leaned forward. “Ixchel, what do mean? What do you mean when you say, ‘That is where the world will end?’”

“I don’t know, but that is where it will end. I am certain,” said Ixchel excitedly. “I was just there, in Tikal. I heard loud explosions like bombs going off. I saw the world on fire. And Bonsam was there! He was there! It was him!”

Holden spoke softly, trying to get Ixchel to calm down. “Ixchel, if what you are saying is true; that the symbols on the tablet represent the end of the world via nuclear bombs and the symbols on the map point to ancient Maya ruins, then there would be some kind of connection. But it doesn’t make any sense. I assure you there are no nukes in Guatemala.”

“I know, it makes no sense,” Ixchel said.

“Now wait a minute, Mike,” said Clark. “Bonsam still has the football. He could order a nuclear attack on any place in the world, including Guatemala.”

“I don’t see the rationale behind that,” replied Holden.

“We’re talking about Bonsam here, he is not a rational person.”

“You’ve got a point there.”

“Wait!” Martineau cried out. “Listen. It’s not that Bonsam can order an attack
on
any place in the world, it’s that Bonsam can order an attack
from
any place in the world.”

Clark finished her thought, “Including Guatemala!”

The room fell silent. Holden’s mind raced as he considered the idea of Bonsam being in Guatemala. There was a worldwide manhunt for Bonsam taking place, but he was positive that no one was looking in Guatemala. His mind reeled with possible courses of action to search out Bonsam in this unexpected location, but with all the disastrous events occurring in the world and the extreme strains already being placed on the military, he could not come up with a decisive plan at the moment.
 

Daniel minimized the pictures and maximized the webcam image of Professor Jameson. “Are you still there, Professor?”

“Yes Daniel, right here.”

“Professor, Ixchel thinks…”

The professor cut him off. “I heard it all. She may be right. I don’t fully understand what is happening with President Bonsam, but I can tell you that I was drawn to the map by unseen forces. Both the tablet and the map are menacing. There is evil in the air, I can feel it.”

Suddenly the sound of a door slamming could be heard in Jameson’s cabin. Then two gunshots fired in rapid succession cracked from the computer, and Jameson slammed face first onto the table in front of him.

Everyone jumped at the sound of the shots. “Oh my God!” Ixchel screamed. There was mass commotion in the room as the others reacted to the sight of Jameson being shot.

Daniel yelled into the microphone, “Professor Jameson! Professor Jameson!”

Everyone held their breath as they stared at the screen. Daniel watched and waited, but Jameson did not move. “Professor Jameson!” he yelled again.

Everyone was fixated on the image of Jameson lying across the table. Clay leaned in closer and shouted, “Look!” A shadow had fallen across the professor. Slowly a hand came into view from the right side of the screen. It reached forward until it was resting on Jameson’s shoulder, then it gave him a shove. Jameson slid to the left and his arms dragged papers off the table as he collapsed to the floor. The hand then reached over and picked up the stone map, and a deep voice was heard saying, “I’ll take that.”

Seconds later the face of Emmanuel Bonsam leaned in from the right and stared into the webcam. He glared frighteningly as his hand moved slowly toward the camera lens, and before anyone watching had a chance to say something, the screen went blank.

Chapter 79

Everyone was still in shock when suddenly the office door opened and the Air Force Chief of Staff quickly entered the room. He didn’t know what to make of the clamor in the room. Holden looked up and said, “What’s wrong, General?”

“Space Command has just reported that TacSat-3 is falling out of orbit and will hit the atmosphere at any moment!”

“What will that do to our military intelligence gathering?” asked Holden.

“That satellite provides the bulk of our tactical imagery,” said the general as he walked toward Holden. “Its destruction will have ripple effects that will leave us virtually blind.”

“We have lost our ability to see what our enemies are doing?
 
They could be moving against us and we’d have no way of knowing.”

“It gets worse. We’re also losing control of the satellites that make up our Strategic Missile Defense system.”

Holden knew that if the military lost control of the space-based weapons systems that protect the
country
from nuclear attack, then there would be nothing to stop Bonsam from dropping a nuke anywhere within the United States. “Tell the chairman I am on my way. Make sure the Joint Chiefs are there.”

“Yes, sir,” said the general as he quickly left the office.

Holden turned to Clark. “Sam, I have to get back to the situation room.”

“I’m coming with you,” replied Clark.

“No, you’re not. You need to go find Bonsam and stop him. We don’t have the time to get a team briefed and up to speed to go searching for Bonsam across Central America.” Holden stopped and looked around the room at the others present. “If we’re lucky, Bonsam didn’t hear what Jameson was saying before he killed him, and then he won’t know where the map leads. But he
will
figure it out sooner or later. You may be able to get to Guatemala before Bonsam does and stop him.”

“Us, really?” said Martineau. “Don’t you think this is a job for the military?”

“The military is in disarray and we’re going to drop to DEFCON 2. There is too much confusion right now,” replied Holden. “You’re the only ones who know about this Maya prophecy. Take Marine One over to Andrews. While you’re in transit I’ll find you a flight to Guatemala. Clay, grab the Secret Service agent outside the door and have him load you up with weapons.”

Clay rushed out the door, with Martineau right behind. Daniel held his arm around Ixchel as he led her out. She was still in shock from seeing Professor Jameson killed. Holden then turned to Clark and gave him a firm handshake. He grabbed Clark’s forearm with his left hand and said, “Sam, I’m counting on you.”

Chapter 80

Lieutenant Colonel Dembe Kybiroa shielded his eyes as Marine One touched down. As he ran toward the helicopter he saw the door begin to open. By the time he arrived, the airstairs had been lowered and the passengers had begun to file out with Clark in the lead.

“Welcome to Andrews Air Force Base, Mr. President,” said Kybiroa as he gave Clark a salute.

“I’m not president yet,” Clark replied, as he looked up at the 6 foot 2 airman.

Kybiroa ignored the comment and called out to the others, “Welcome to Andrews Air Force Base. I know you are in a hurry and so am I. Please follow me.” He turned toward the nearby runway and began taking long, quick strides across the airfield. Clark almost had to run to keep up with him.

“I’m Lieutenant Colonel Dembe Kybiroa, sir. Just call me Kabaka, that’s my call sign.”

“Kabaka?”

“My parents were from Uganda,” explained Kybiroa. “Kabaka is the Bantu word for ‘king.’”

“I like it,” replied Clark as they swiftly made their way to the flight line.

“Thanks. I’m piloting a flight heading to Guatemala. Well, not Guatemala actually, but close enough. We’ll be glad to swing on over and drop you off. You were lucky that you caught us. We were already taxiing to the runway when we got the call saying you needed a lift.”

They rounded the corner of a hangar and stepped onto the flight line. “There’s our ride,” said Kabaka as he headed toward the plane. It was a C-17 cargo jet.

Martineau raced to catch up to Clark and Kabaka. “We’re going to fly there in that?”

“Do you want to get there fast or do you want to get there in comfort, ma’am?” replied Kabaka. “Who knows when there will be another flight going anywhere near Guatemala.” Martineau knew he was right, so she stopped and waited for the others to catch up.

“Kabaka, do you have any idea what is going on up there?” Clark said as he pointed toward the sky.

“Pardon my French, sir, but air traffic control is becoming one big
clusterfuck
,” Kabaka replied. “There are communication problems across the country. Planes trying to take off or land are periodically losing communications with the towers. Same thing is happening to planes in the air. It’s only a matter of time before we start having accidents.”

“Are we
gonna
be safe?” Clark asked. “You really think we should do this?”

“Sir, we have dropped to DEFCON 2. Commercial flights are being stopped so it will only be the military that’s in the air. We’ll be all right.”

Within five minutes everyone had gathered at the base of the rear cargo door, which had been lowered to the tarmac. Clark could see that Martineau still had a look of uncertainty about the aircraft. “Kenna, trust me. I’ve flown on these babies dozens of times. We’ll be fine.” Martineau shook her head in despair knowing that Clark had certainly jinxed them.

Clay and Daniel wheeled their weapons lockers to the base of the door and stood by for further instructions. Clark put his hands on the backs of Martineau and Ixchel and said, “You go first.” As the women climbed the ramp, Clay and Daniel lifted one locker while Clark and Kabaka lifted the other.

Kabaka was surprised by the weight of the locker. “What do you have in here?” he asked Clark.

“Weapons,” Clark replied.

“You planning on invading Guatemala, Mr. President?”

Clark laughed. “No, we just have some important business to take care of.”

“Yes, sir. You’re the president,” said Kabaka as he smiled at Clark, and together they carried the weapons onboard the plane.

Clark and Kabaka made their way to the front of the cargo area where everyone else was already waiting. “Make yourselves comfortable, we’ve got a long flight,” said Kabaka as he reached the stairs to the cockpit and climbed upward.

Once Kabaka reached the top of the stairs, he heard his copilot call out, “Welcome back your highness. ‘Bout time.”