Weapon of Atlantis (14 page)

A second later,
Price squeezed the trigger. The fifty caliber rifle barked a loud sharp clap that echoed through the cabin. Staring through his scope, he watched the bear continue its advance, indicating a miss. As he waited on his partner’s report, he reloaded the chamber with another round.

“Center, one click left,” Hammond instructed
confidently.

Price took careful aim, exhaled, then squeezed the trigger. A sardonic smile crossed his face as he stared through the scope.

----- ----- ----- -----

Jack and Javi stared in disbelief. Fifteen feet from them lay the nearly decapitated body of the dead polar bear. Disgust filled their minds as they watched the white ground turn a crimson red.

“What the Hell! Why’d they do that? They could’ve just hovered over the damn thing. I’m sure it would’ve scared it off,” Jack shouted in anger. “Freakin’ Neanderthals!”

“Apparently they didn’t want to take the risk,” Javi retorted. Although he still felt frightened, he couldn’t help but feel sympathy for the lifeless beast. “It’s a real shame. This is a sad day,” he added, shaking his head in grief.

Jack turned toward the approaching helicopter now only a hundred feet away. He shot them a scornful look.

“Who the hell are they anyway?” he growled.

Javi raised his arm to his face as the helicopter’s rotor wash blew large gusts in their direction. He watched it land as he scanned it for identifying marks.

“I’m thinking U.S. Air Force,” he said, guessing.

“Definitely military,” Jack responded. “I don’t see any markings, but the gray paint looks like standard military issue.”

As the two holstered their handguns, they watched two men leap from the helicopter’s side door even before the rotor blades
slowed to a stop. The two men had dark mirrored sunglasses and dressed in casual clothes. Jack immediately recognized them as the two men he saw from the Nord Station airfield.

“Well well, guess who’s come to pay us a visit?” he said sarcastically to Javi.

Javi stared momentarily, then nodded.

“Ole Slatz was right: definitely military,” he responded. “Check out the sunglasses and boots. I wonder what they want.”

“I’ll give you one guess,” Jack shot back.

“Spacecraft,” Javi replied
simply.

“It certainly explains the late night visit,” he added.

Javi only nodded.

As Special Agent’s Price and Hammond stepped forward, their faces looked warm and friendly. Mere steps from Jack and Javi, the two men extended their hands in greeting.

“Glad to see you two are alright. That was a close one,” Price stated. “Polar bears aren’t the easiest animal to bring down.
“Who are you guys,” Jack asked bluntly.

Price waited on Jack to except his handshake, then introduced the both of them.

“We’re from the CIA. I’m Special Agent Byron Price and this is Special Agent Alex Hammond,” he responded.

Both men flipped open their credentials, then placed them back in their pockets.

“The CIA? What are you guys doing up here?” Javi asked suspiciously.

Price smirked, then replied, “We were sent up here to protect your interests. After the trouble you two guys had at Poseidon’s pyramid and then
again at Zeus’ pyramid, the director at the CIA felt your latest announcement regarding the alien spacecraft would probably attract more trouble. We’ve been watching you guys right after you arrived.”

“Yeah, we noticed,
” Jack responded bluntly.

“So that’s it: you were just sent here to be our personal body guards?” Javi asked. “With no other ulterior motive?”

Price shifted uncomfortably in his stance, then replied, “You two are intelligent men. I’m sure you can figure out the reason why the “higher-ups” found it necessary to protect you.”

“You mean protect
the spacecraft,” Jack shot back in brusque tone.

Hammond stared at Jack coldly. Although his mirrored sunglasses hid his icy eyes, his hard expression left little doubt about his character.

“The spacecraft is our prime…”

Price held up his hand to his partner in a diplomatic gesture, cutting him off in mid-sentence.

“What my colleague is trying to say is, your discovery has been deemed of significant importance, not just to the archeological society, but quite possibly to the safety and stability of the entire world. Technology this advance could be used for the betterment of mankind.” He paused a moment while his facial expression became dark and alarming. “It could also be used, in the hands of less responsible men, to ultimately destroy mankind. Your safety is obviously important to us, but also is the safety of seven billion others here on Earth. I’m sure you can understand our position,” he finished, hoping his words would be well received.

Jack glanced at Javi, then back to the men.

“So were you the guys snooping around here last night?” he asked, an edge still in his voice.

Almost before
Jack could finish his words, Hammond shook his head in denial. “Our helicopter just arrived here about an hour ago. We came here to introduce ourselves almost immediately right after that,” he said.

“You had visitors already?” Price asked in surprise.

Jack and Javi both nodded.

“It wasn’t the CIA?” Javi asked, now growing concerned.

“No, it wasn’t… and this is exactly what we’ve feared since your first announcement,” Price answered.

Jack stared at Javi with apprehension.

“Crap, not again?” he blurted in disgust. “Is all archeology like this: filled with mystery and danger? It’d sure be nice if everyone just minded their own freakin’ business and let us work in peace.”

Hammond shot his partner a condescending stare, then turned toward Jack. “Mr. Roberts, that’s a very naive view of the world. It’s that kind of thinking that could get you killed. There are nation’s out there that will stop at nothing to obtain this kind of technology.”

“I was being sarcastic,” Jack shot back, mildly offended.

“Your sarcasm implies a lack of seriousness. I’
ll be quite blunt with you,” Hammond responded, “If you two are still alive by the end of the week, I’ll be surprised.”

Jack’s and Javi’s faces both drained of all expression. The agent’s words resonated deep within them. In the previous two years, they had experienced life threatening attacks while engaged in excavations of lessor technological importance. Now, with the discovery of the spacecraft and the reality of its greater value, both men knew their lives were at risk once more.

“So what do you propose?” Javi asked in resignation.

Price smiled and said simply, “Cooperation.”

“What kind of cooperation?” Jack asked suspiciously.

“We’ll work behind the scenes, insuring your safety and the safety of the spacecraft. All we really ask is that you keep us in
formed of your discoveries,” Price stated simply.

“What about the government of Greenland? Don’t you think they might object to your presence?” Javi asked.

“We have an arrangement with the Danish government over the use of the Nord Station airfield. As far as they know, we’re here conducting science experiments. We’ll continue to classify our presence that way,” Hammond answered.

“So you’re
lying to obtain your objective?” Jack asked bluntly.

“Not exactly,”
Price replied. “With any ultra-sensitive operation, there’re always the elements of trouble. Some can be satisfied with non-combative methods, others require armed personal to insure the success and safety of the mission. All governments know this. The Danish government is no different and as such, we don’t need to explain every detail of our actions… as long as we stay under the radar, that is.”

“Out of sight, out of mind, huh?” Javi responded.

“Something like that,” Price replied.

Javi turned to Jack. His face appeared accepting.

“If they were here earlier, we wouldn’t have had visitors and we wouldn’t have been out here tracking their footsteps. The bear would still be alive right now,” Javi reasoned. “If I’m going to have someone guard me, I suppose the United States government might be a fairly reasonable choice.”

Jack only shrugged his shoulders in acquiescence.

“I hate the idea of being guarded, but I hate the idea of being dead even more,” Javi replied dryly.

Price nodded agreeably.
“Well gentlemen, looks like we have an arrangement. Need a lift back to camp?” he asked with a satisfied smile.

“What a
bout the poor bear?” Javi asked sympathetically.

“Don’t worry, we’ll report it to the Danish governme
nt and bury it respectfully,” Price assured.

Javi nodded in thanks, then followed Jack to the helicopter.

As the two walked past, Price extended his arm, holding back his partner. With Jack and Javi out of listening distance, he turned back toward the dead animal.

“Dump it in the ocean,” he said coldly.

Hammond nodded in understanding.

“I was going to turn it into a rug,” he joked.

Both men grinned.

“By the way, the foot prints were a nice
touch. Worked like a charm,” Hammond said in congratulatory tone.

“Figured it would,”
Price responded, smugly. “Nothing like a good ole case of paranoia to get the job done.”

Hammond grinned and asked, “So what’s next on the lineup?”

“Blackmail,” he responded coldly.

----- ----- ----- -----

Javi and Jack stood excitedly at the rim of the excavated cavity and watched as the Boeing CH-47 Chinook Heavy Lift Helicopter hoisted the alien spacecraft from its icy home. As it rose up out of the hole and into sunshine, every person stood in awe at the extraordinary sight.

Hovering fifty feet above
the ground, the helicopter moved the spacecraft to a makeshift stand a hundred feet away. As it lowered it to its new resting place, workers rushed in and unhooked the hoisting straps. Now fully thawed and in full sunlight, all eyes inspected its design.

“Incredible,” Jack said, as he crawled under the craft. “Javi, you’ve got to see this,” he shouted excitedly.

Javi knelt down in the snow and examined the underside of the spacecraft.

“How very strange,” he said in amazement. “I see a few maneuvering thrusters at the bottom, but nothing large like the exhaust port of an engine. What
is
powering this thing?”

“Shall we venture back inside and find out?”

“Maybe we should wait till the team from NASA gets here. They’re the experts. I’d hate to get in there and disrupt things. It’ll just make their jobs that much harder.”

“Javi, I
am
an engineer, you know. It’s not like I can’t figure things out,” Jack responded mildly insulted.

“Yeah, but have you ever worked on an alien spacecraft?”

“Has anyone? I know they asked us to leave it in an untampered state, but I think it would be ok if we had a look around again,” Jack rationalized.

Javi rolled his eyes. “The things I let you get me into,” he joked.

Minutes later, using the crystal scepter to open the door to the front of the craft, the two entered the cockpit while others watched from the outside windows. Moving through the narrow walkway between the missing seats, they headed past a bulkhead, into the rear of the ship.

With flashlights in hand, the two lit up the confined area and studied its contents. In the middle of the ten by ten by eight foot high compartment, sat a large metallic structure. Several levers and switches decorated its outside blocky
appearance and was capped by what seemed to be a glass dome.