The Traveler Read online

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said as his eyes watched the annunciator above the large elevator rise. “They what? Ma’am, I warned you, the world will find out if we allow this. I will try, Madam.” He closed the cell phone and then looked at his two companions and with just a flick of his eyes they knew they had problems. “Madam is about to be taken into custody by federal authorities.”

  The two men immediately spread out just before the elevator doors opened. The large Julien pulled a nine-millimeter Smith & Wesson from his shoulder holster and waited in front of the doors. They opened just as he cocked the weapon.

  It was empty.

  He felt the brush of cooler air from behind as the pistol cocked. He felt the pressure of the weapon against the back of his head.

  “Now what were you planning to do with this?” the voice said as a hand reached around and removed the nine millimeter from his beefy hand. Will Mendenhall tossed the weapon back to Collins as Henri Farbeaux finished disarming the other two bodyguards.

  “We didn’t have orders to harm you,” Julien said as he was quickly frisked by Will and then pushed over with his two companions.

  Jack looked at the weapon Will had tossed to him and ejected the ammunition clip from its handle, but remained silent.

  “Madam does not deserve this,” Julien said as he lowered his hands when he realized they weren’t going to kill him. “She is one of the greatest women of all time, and you have her arrested?”

  Jack and the others could see the passion these men had for their matriarch and he respected that. He still remained silent as he studied the three men. After all, this Julien fellow seemed very talkative.

  “We were going to ensure the doorway did not fall into government hands. We cannot allow that.”

  At that moment Jenks stepped through the door that led to the stairwell that the others had used to sneak back up to the main floor when Jack’s hackles had risen. He suspected a trap after he had informed Niles to take Moira Mendelsohn into protective custody.

  “Oh, so your guesswork paid off. They were going to plant one in our heads.”

  “No, that is not true. Our orders were to dismantle the laser system, that’s all.”

  Jenks snorted. “Son, it would take their people all of five minutes to design a replacement, a far better one than the original, so what did you hope to accomplish?”

  Jack could see the man was caught off guard. Moira and her cohorts never expected the doorway to be discovered, thus their laziness in dismantling it. Now the question was why they were so determined to not only protect the doorway, but the extent they were willing to go to protect Moira Mendelsohn.

  * * *

  Black sedans and vans of every size and shape burst through the Brooklyn Navy Yard gates simultaneously. The guards at the main entrance off of Flushing Avenue caught the civilian guards completely unaware as their cars skidded to a sliding stop. The same happened at the gates fronting the Sands, Cumberland, Vanderbilt, Clinton, and Clymer streets. The entire Brooklyn Navy Yard was secured in less than three minutes. The buildings on the north side of the yard were evacuated and told by the FBI that a major drug raid was in progress.

  The men heard the cars as they surrounded the building they were in. Jack looked at Mendenhall and then nodded. Will ejected the clips on the two weapons he had taken from the two other bodyguards and then handed the nine millimeters back to them. Jack did the same with Julien’s weapon. His raised brows was the only indication of his confusion.

  “Put those away and keep silent. We don’t wish you or your employer any harm or legal entanglements. We work for the government, but are not the government.”

  Confusion masked the bearded man’s worry.

  The door opened and the civilian security guard was moved into the room ahead of three men in navy blue Windbreakers.

  “Which one of you is Colonel Collins?” the first of the FBI agents asked, pushing by the guard.

  “That would be me,” Jack said, turning away from a startled Julien.

  “Sir, Special-Agent-in-Charge Williamson is outside and needs a word.”

  Jack eyed Will and Henri and then made sure they understood that no one, especially the federal agents, would have access to the lower levels of the building. He moved to follow the agent.

  “Colonel, how are you?” Special Agent Williamson asked as he stood in the rain with an umbrella over his head.

  “Jim, long time,” Jack said as he stepped to the nondescript sedan. “All secured?”

  “For the moment, until some of these tenants start screaming bloody murder to the NYPD. I figure you have about an hour before lengthy explanations are in order.”

  Jack nodded and started to explain. “Allow tenants in every area of the yard to return to work, but everything north of Clinton Avenue belongs to us. How much trouble will you be in over this?”

  “We had a tip on interstate meth exchange with a possible manufacturing point here in Brooklyn, all a false alarm. I figure you can have the northern area for about forty-eight hours before some serious people start frowning.”

  “That’s all we’ll need.”

  “Good, because the bureau would come down pretty hard if they knew who I was really working for.”

  Collins laughed. “It all depends on who you fear more, the President of the United States or Dr. Niles Compton?”

  “Forty-eight hours, Jack.”

  “Got it.”

  Special-Agent-in-Charge James Williamson had been recruited by Jack personally ten years before upon his graduation from Quantico. The agent was just another of the cards Jack and Niles held up their sleeves that no one knew about, not even the president and his constitutionally guaranteed oversight.

  The agent whistled and all fifteen of the securing agents left the area and secured the perimeter a mile around building 117.

  The Wellsian Doorway was now secured and in the hands of Department 5656.

  The countdown against the presidential edict had begun.

  The Event Group now had one hundred hours of undisturbed oversight to complete the most amazing mission in world history before the rest of the American federal agencies became aware of some strange goings-on within the borders of the United States.

  8

  The bodyguard stepped away from the building when he saw the big man move off to confer with the FBI teams that were heavily deployed around not only the building but also the dock area. His eyes easily picked up this man’s companions. They were conferring underneath an umbrella as they talked. The black man turned his way and then back. That was when he quickly brought out his cell phone and punched a number he thought he would never use. It was answered on the first ring.

  “I think Madam’s judgment is in question. Building one-seventeen is—”

  “Yes, I have that information already. If I had relied solely on you I am afraid I would have been caught unawares.”

  “You said this would come about.”

  “I assume the FBI has fabricated some sort of cover story for the raid on Madam’s property?”

  “Yes, I heard drug manufacturing,” Julien said worriedly.

  “That would never hold up to scrutiny,” the man said on the other side of the cell. “I understand they are preparing Madam for transport.”

  “Oh, God, where to? They wouldn’t dare arrest her?”

  “That, I would welcome. No, from our intelligence inside the house, our federal friends are taking her to Brooklyn.”

  “Have the rest been notified about Madam?” Julien asked, lowering his voice when he saw the black man look his way once more. He held the cell closer to his body to protect it from the increasingly violent rain.

  “No, and they must not be. They are only students who don’t understand the dangers of what could happen if the world learns the truth. No, they are not to be notified.”

  “But Madam? What is she and these men up to?”

  “Tell me of these men who confronted you and Madam at the Grenada.�
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  “I don’t have a clear picture of who they are. Two, maybe three look military. The shorter, bear of a man was babbling on in scientific terms, so I can’t really rule out any agency at this point.”

  “That is not what I was hoping to hear. If this is military we could lose the security of the doorway and many, many secrets would be spilled, which is unacceptable as more people other than myself have plenty to lose if this technology is compromised.”

  “Maybe Madam has reasons for sharing the information. Maybe they don’t know what the doorway is.”

  The silence on the other end of the line sent a chill down Julien’s spine. He knew this man and a few others like him did have plenty to lose if a spotlight were shined on them. Maybe even more to lose if Madam had knowledge of what they had been doing. The pay he received to inform on the household goings-on was not enough for this.

  “Listen, stay close to Madam,” the voice said.

  “What are—”

  “Shut up and listen. Stay close, I will have to deal with this myself with outside resources.”

  “I will not allow Madam to be harmed, we would defend her to the—”

  A large hand reached out and gently removed the cell phone from Julien’s hand. The black man was there and he immediately hit redial. He saw the number and noted it. He shut off the glass-faced phone and looked at the very much larger Julien.

  “All information coming and going is to go through either the FBI or one of these fine gentlemen,” he said, indicating Jenks, Henri, and Jack. “Clear?” Will Mendenhall said as he walked away toward the building and then tossed the confiscated cell phone to the man they referred to as the colonel.

  Julien swallowed as he now feared what he might have unleashed in making that call. There were no limits as to how far certain men would go to protect their secrets, and Julien now feared he had unleashed a tornado and placed his beloved madam right in its path.

  EVENT GROUP COMPLEX, NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, NEVADA

  Alice Hamilton stood next to her desk and watched the door to Niles’s office and the conference room. She had her arms crossed over her chest and she tapped her heeled shoe on the carpet. She felt the eyes of the three assistants on her back as the two men and one woman looked on nervously, as they had never seen Alice Hamilton so worked up about anything.

  The pneumatic elevator chimed softly and the doors parted. Alice raised a brow when she saw it was one of the kitchen stewards. He had a tray with a covered dish and coffee cup and carafe. As the steward walked in Alice went to him and quickly relieved him of the tray. She nodded for him to open the director’s door and he did so after a warning look from the female assistant. Alice walked into the office and then instead of waiting for the steward to close the door she reached back with her shoe and closed it for him. With a frown and a worried look the steward left the outer office.

  “Just sit the tray over there, Josh, thank you,” Niles said as he studied an Antarctic field summary. He had a frown on his face at the incompleteness of the report issued through Charlie Ellenshaw’s crypto department.

  Alice turned and placed the tray on the credenza and then removed the cover from the plate containing the egg salad sandwich. She took it and placed it in front of Niles, who looked up when the dish landed a little hard.

  “I know we’re shorthanded, even in food services, but having the director’s assistant delivering meals?” he asked as his smile stayed put, even though he had to swallow as he faced Alice.

  “I’ve been delivering meals to directors around here for over sixty years, I imagine one more won’t kill me,” she said as she sat down in a chair facing his desk. “By the way, I believe your doctor’s prescribed diet doesn’t allow that sandwich. I believe there was a bowl of soup and a salad mysteriously canceled at the last minute.”

  “Nothing has ever gotten by you, has it?” Niles asked as he closed with tired resignation the file Charlie had sent him.

  “No, I pretty much hear and know most everything.”

  Niles felt the twinge of his headache returning and he took a breath and waited for what he knew was once more coming his way.

  “You just missed Mr. Ryan,” Niles said as he ignored the headache as best as he could and reached for his sandwich. He started to take a bite and thought better and placed it back on the plate and looked at Alice. “With the report that Charlie just delivered, if and when we send a team in they are more than likely going to be confronted with wildlife that has been extinct for a minimum of ten thousand years.”

  Alice waited patiently as Niles had to think every comment out carefully before committing to an answer about anything. It would take the average man more than just a few minutes to coordinate this in his head, but for Niles it was milliseconds. She reached over and set the saucer that was covering Compton’s coffee off to the side and she slid the China cup closer to the director. All the while her eyes never left his.

  “In other words, Alice, we just don’t know what will be waiting for them when, and if, they get there.”

  “These two Group members deserve to go, not only for their personal connection to the mission, but because they are qualified to go. You see, Niles, I’ve been conducting my own research and it clearly indicates the need for Sarah’s expertise in geology. The world they will be traveling to is most likely on the verge of destroying itself due to what we know is an historical eruption of Mount Erebus. Sarah will be able to give a precise time frame of that event if she is there to witness the conditions. She is needed.”

  Niles stirred sugar into his black coffee and patiently listened to his conscience as she spoke. “And Anya? I don’t know of any situation in Antarctica’s past that would justify sending in an intelligence agent with the mission team. Do you?” he asked as he eyed Alice over the cup of coffee he sipped from.

  “Nothing, other than the fact that she’s good with a gun.” Alice finally committed fully to her guilt-driven attack. “And for the deal you had me make with General Shamni and his Mossad offices.”

  Niles placed the cup of coffee down and shook his head, angry that this was going to be Alice’s arguing point. She was feeling guilty for the secret pact between him and the head of the Mossad.

  “What I offered was a deal to assist us in getting a very valuable member of this Group home again. I would have signed away my own mother to get that done. After all of these years in this facility and the deals that you and Garrison brokered to protect your people, you now have the gall to question what it is I’m willing to do?”

  Alice lowered her head. She knew that the remark was too much and was hard on Niles. After all, it was true, she had done far worse to protect their people in the past. Maybe she was finally too damn old for the intrigue of today’s “game.”

  “So we send her off on a mission that has a very low rate of probable success, just so she can possibly die with Carl. That’s her reward? No, the mission roster is set.” He sipped his coffee but kept his good eye on Alice. “I would warn you about sentiment, but then again that would make me out to be a liar, something I’ve never done. Sentiment is exactly why we are attempting to do the impossible. But that same factor can get my people killed and thus I can’t allow it to interfere with Jack’s mission plans. Sorry.”

  Alice nodded her head and stood.

  “And tell Dr. Morales, nice try. But I’ve been doing this for years now, and I have learned a few things over those years and I learned from the best, Pete Golding.”

  “You knew we would ask before he even decided to help us, didn’t you?”

  “Yeah, Alice, because it’s exactly what both Pete and I would have done.”

  Alice started to turn and leave, defeated for the first time since her arguments with Garrison Lee. Just as she closed on the double doors Niles stopped her. He was busy writing something and when finished held it out to Alice. She read it.

  “I take it you heard from Jack?” she asked as her mind went into preparation mode immediately u
pon reading the action order.

  “Yes, our one-hundred-hour window has been opened and we have to go through it very soon or we’ll get it slammed down on us.”

  “I’ll call it.”

  All thoughts of mission team members went out the window as Alice was now in full Event mode as she hurried from the office. Niles turned and watched the doors close and then he grimaced as if his coffee was bad. He shook his head and wondered if he was doing the right thing. He had traded Anya Korvesky for the mere chance of getting the file on this Traveler, and now he refused to even allow her a chance at seeing the man she loved one last time. He felt the guilt as it coursed like the bitter coffee down his throat.

  He heard the tones that sounded loudly throughout the massive complex. His people were going to do what they did best—fight the impossible odds.

  * * *

  Alert tones sounded throughout the Event Group facility and sixteen departments, totaling 512 civilian men and women, with their military contingent of 212, went into action.

  The Group had just declared an Event.

  BROOKLYN NAVY YARD

  Jack stood over a map spread out on a desk in the upstairs office area that once fronted as a furniture repair warehouse after the Department of the Navy had started selling off the property in 1966.

  “Okay, when our people get here, we secure the inside of the building and the FBI the exterior and surrounding grounds.” He looked at Mendenhall, who was taking notes on the electronic pad he had been issued for this particular op. “No one who isn’t Group gets inside for the duration of our time on station.”

  “Yes, sir. I’ll coordinate with Mr. Ryan when he arrives with Assistant Director Pollock and her nuclear sciences team.”

  “Good.” He looked at the master chief, who turned somewhat pale when he heard that Virginia would soon be on station. “You okay, Master Chief?”