The Prometheus Project: Stranded Part 13

"Wait a minute," said Ryan. "Do you have a listing for White House Security?"

"There are only two White House listings: information and switchboard."

"Switchboard, please. Can you connect me?"

Alyssa and Kelsey looked on in dismay. Ryan turned away from them so that he wouldn't be distracted. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Soon there would be no turning back. What he was about to do was totally insane, but he couldn't think of anything else that could get Carl on the phone as quickly. He had considered asking to speak to President Quinn, telling the switchboard he knew him and that it was important-but he was certain this would get him nowhere. Ryan could only see one way to get the attention he needed.

Another women's voice came over the phone. "White House switchboard. How may I help you?"

Ryan winced. Could he really do this? But even as this question entered his mind, he knew the stakes were too high to back down now. "Can I have White House Security please?" he said. His voice had deepened over the past few years, but he tried to deepen it further. They would take him far less seriously if they thought he was a kid.

"We don't give out that number. You'll need to contact the Secret Service and-"

"Look, lady, here's the deal," barked Ryan, his pulse racing. "I've got a bomb set to blow the president off the planet! I have my finger on the detonator. Now how about putting me through to security!"

"What are you doing, Ryan?" shouted Alyssa from beside him. "You can't threaten the president! It's a crime to even joke about something like that."

Ryan ignored her. A man's voice came on the line. "Who is this?" he roared. "What is this all about?"

"Is this security?"

"You bet it is."

"Good. I know you're tracing this call. If you have a high enough clearance, you'll see that it's coming from a location more cla.s.sified than Area 51. If your computer doesn't show you that, get someone higher up."

"And the bomb?"

"If you verify where I'm calling from, I won't set it off."

Three minutes later a different voice came on the line. "Okay, you're calling from a highly cla.s.sified location. So cla.s.sified that I don't even know what goes on there. So you've got my attention. Why have you threatened the president?"

"Look, President Quinn is the last person I'd ever hurt. I needed for someone like you to take me seriously in a hurry. I'm sorry to do it this way, but I didn't have another choice. I need to speak with Colonel Carl Sharp right away. It's an emergency. I'm guessing you can find a way to reach him."

There was a pause. "I'm looking him up now. But a.s.suming he's for real, he'd better be able to vouch for you."

"He will. When you pull him up on your computer it should show that he has a direct line of authority from President Quinn. So even though he's officially a colonel, he can order around any general he wants. Do you see that?"

"Yes," said the voice with a mixture of amazement and newfound respect for this mystery caller.

"When you get him, tell him Ryan Resnick is on the other line and it's an emergency."

"Roger that," said the voice. "Hold on."

Alyssa and Kelsey had been listening to the entire exchange with their mouths open. "Who are you?" said Alyssa in awe.

No wonder he didn't seem stressed by anything going on in school, thought Alyssa. Here was a kid who had the nerve to threaten to kill the president to get a telephone number. And it was working!

Two minutes later yet another voice came on the phone. Finally, a recognizable voice. "Ryan, it's Carl," he said, and although he was a friend he was now all business. "I understand you're in the Prometheus decoy building. What's your situation?"

"Proact has been taken."

"We know. When security didn't check in on schedule forty minutes ago, the NSA automatically pointed a satellite at your location. They broke me out of my parents' anniversary party. The satellite showed nine guards and thirteen employees at various locations on the Pro-act grounds, all spread-eagle on their stomachs. We have to a.s.sume they're dead."

"They're not," said Ryan. "None of them."

There was a huge sigh of relief on the other end of the line. "Acknowledged," said Carl. "We're currently reading six armed men on site. Can you confirm?"

"That sounds about right," said Ryan. "They're mercenary soldiers."

"Do you know the status of Prometheus?" asked Carl, and he was unable to keep the worry out of his voice.

Everyone in the underground city may have been immobilized by the Enigma Cube, but Ryan was almost certain there were no mercenaries inside. "Prometheus is secure," he replied.

"Acknowledged," said Carl in relief once again. "Other than yourself, do you know of any friendlies within the Proact perimeter that are still active?"

"No," said Ryan, deciding it wasn't the time to tell Carl about Alyssa and Kelsey.

"Understood," said Carl. "We've scrambled a strike force of jet fighters from McGuire Air Force Base in Fort Dix, New Jersey. They're due to arrive within five minutes. I'll give them your location and let them know our people are still alive."

"Call them off!" said Ryan quickly. "The mercs are set to leave anyway. They said they don't want Proact. I believe them. Nathaniel Smith is behind this. He's the one you need. No one else matters."

"Nathaniel Smith," repeated Carl in dismay. "The shy physicist who works for your father?"

"That's right. He discovered the Enigma Cube controls gravity. And he's learned how to use it as a weapon."

Carl paused to consider this. "Controls gravity? So those bodies we see from the satellite are what ... people who-"

"People who have had their gravity increased," said Ryan. "And are pinned to the ground." Ryan paused to give Carl a few seconds to digest this information. "A mercenary said they set the effect to wear off about three hours from now," he added. "Anyway, if Nathaniel is still here, he can make your jets crash with the push of a b.u.t.ton."

"Understood," said Carl. "I'll be right back." He was on the line a minute later. "I called off the air strike. But while air power is too easy to spot and bring down, a ground a.s.sault still might have a chance. I'm going to land an a.s.sault team about three miles from Proact. They'll move through the woods. They'll take longer to arrive but they'll have the element of surprise. And they'll have a chance of surviving an increase in gravity."

"Sounds good," said Ryan.

"Ryan, I've just pulled into Peterson Air Force Base here in Colorado. They're flying me to Fort Dix and helicoptering me from there to Brewster. Right now I need to get suited up, talk to the pilot, and get the military hunting for Nathaniel Smith. But I need to know how you happen to be where you are and how you came to be the last man standing. I'll call you from the air in twenty-five minutes."

There was a long pause. "Before I go," said Carl worriedly, his tone reflecting the concern and affection he felt for Ryan. "Are you going to be okay? Do you think your position is secure?"

"I think so," said Ryan. "But one way or another, I'm definitely going to find out."

CHAPTER 23.

Starlight and Storm Clouds

Regan once again sat by herself as far away from the adults as she could manage.

Nightfall had come to Isis. But night had not fallen. In some ways the sky seemed brighter now than when the sun was out.

Regan knew that when her brother had become separated from the group he had been very worried about the approaching night. If only someone had remembered to tell them that there was nightfall on Isis, but never darkness.

There wasn't exact agreement as to the number of stars in the Milky Way galaxy. Estimates typically ranged from 100 billion to a trillion. But there was one fact upon which scientists did agree fully: the Milky Way was shaped like an octopus, with a dense center and multiple tentacles spiraling outward from its center like a pinwheel. The Earth was located on one of these arms; a minor arm at the outskirts of the galaxy called Orion. Isis, on the other hand, was located at the center of the galaxy, in a region packed with uncountable stars. If stars were people, Isis would be located in the center of New York City, while the Earth would be located in a small farming community a thousand miles away.

Two or three thousand stars could be seen at night with the naked eye from a single spot on Earth. On Isis this number seemed infinite.

The night sky of Isis was spectacular. Stars crowded together so closely that it was hard to tell where one ended and another began. Regan knew the nearest ones were billions and trillions of miles away, but it almost seemed as though she could reach up and touch them all. The effect was beyond dazzling. As breathtaking as anything Regan had ever seen. But at the same time she was bathed in starlight, she felt as though there was an impenetrable storm cloud above her head.

How could everything have gone so wrong so quickly? She couldn't remember when her spirits had been so low. Ryan was back on Earth, but he could be in more danger there than the rest of them were on Isis. What if he had run into Nathaniel and the Enigma Cube just as he left the zoo building? Her inability to help him, or even know what he was up against, was maddening.

Regan rubbed her arms to warm them. It was getting chilly. When she dressed for the trip she hadn't counted on having to set her only jacket on fire.

Ryan had left a red crystal for them outside the Isis s.h.i.+eld. If he wasn't able to make it back in a day or two with help, she knew she would have to take matters into her own hands. She would have to convince the group to search for a way to cross the river of lava. To make their way to the s.h.i.+eld.

But how would she convince them? At this point, if she told them about her telepathy and that Ryan had escaped and left them a crystal, they would be sure she had lost her mind. Or she could say nothing about Ryan and try to convince them she could get through the s.h.i.+eld without a red crystal. How? By finding a fourth dimensional crack in the barrier. Oh yeah, that would do the trick.

The carnivores outside the s.h.i.+eld seemed tireless. And while only the occasional newcomer would still throw themselves at the s.h.i.+eld, none of the creatures took their eyes off the humans inside for an instant. Their eagerness to get at the members of the expedition had not lessened at all.

Since her brother had left to get help the fighting within the group had only gotten worse. There were now basically five factions. Donna, Bob, and Eric were each their own faction and were now spread out as far from each other as they could get. If not, a fistfight would surely have broken out by now. Miguel and Cam formed a fourth, neutral faction-the severely wounded. And the remaining three members of the Resnick family formed the fifth. All five factions had staked out their own territory within the portable s.h.i.+eld. Regan had temporarily left the Resnick faction because her parents were busy arguing.

Regan wasn't sure who would tear the group to pieces first; the hostile wildlife or the group itself. It appeared to be a race. If Ryan couldn't send help, she had no idea how she could convince any of them-including her parents-to follow her to the Isis s.h.i.+eld.

Regan saw her father from the corner of her eye separate from her mother and walk slowly in her direction carrying a blue, woolen blanket. He draped it over her shoulders and then sat down beside her, putting his arm around her.

"Thanks, Dad," she whispered.

"Are you okay, Sweetheart?" he asked warmly.

Regan attempted a half-hearted smile without success. "Yeah, Dad. Who wouldn't be?"

"You're doing great," he said sincerely. "Better than any of us, in fact. You saved all of our lives in the rainforest and you've been incredibly strong. I couldn't be prouder."

"Thanks, Dad," she said.

Her father looked away and a profound sadness came over his face. Regan guessed he was thinking about Ryan. She was the only one who knew he was no longer on this lethal planet.

"I'm so sorry that I got you into this mess," he said, lowering his eyes.

Regan shook her head. "You didn't. No one could have seen this coming."

Her father didn't reply for some time. It was his job to keep his kids safe and he knew he had failed miserably. He should never have allowed them to join the expedition. A primitive alien planet was unpredictable and inherently dangerous. He wanted to scream in agony over the almost certain loss of his son. He wanted to lie down and sob and beat himself up for everything that happened, and for being so helpless to protect his wife and daughter from the nightmare to come. But he didn't. Instead he tightened both his jaw and his resolve. He would not give in to despair. He would find a way to stay calm, and strong, for his daughter. This was the least he could do. "Well, I'm sorry anyway," he said at last. "I should have been more prepared."

They sat in silence for several minutes. Regan settled in against her father and appreciated his warmth, both emotionally and physically.

Mr. Resnick sighed. "I hate to do this, Regan, but I'm afraid I have more bad news. I need to ask you to be even stronger than before."

"What now, Dad?" asked Regan wearily.

"The portable force-field generator is running out of juice. The lava did more damage to it than I thought. It's losing power faster than it should. And the hand-crank doesn't work."

"How much time do we have?"

"Three hours. Maybe less. When the s.h.i.+eld gets low on power, I designed it to begin shrinking rather than failing. The perimeter has already moved in a few feet. I'm surprised no one has noticed. But they will. And soon."

Mr. Resnick stood. "Move in from the edge of the barrier, Sweetheart."

He held out his hand and pulled her up to a standing position. He looked more tired than she had ever seen him.

"I have to go tell all the others now," he said. "And they won't be happy, to say the least. We'll have to build a circle of fire around the center of the s.h.i.+eld-the last part to go. We'll wait to start the fires until just before the force-field is gone so they will last as long as possible. Once the generator goes completely, I'll try to repair it. The trouble is in the low-tech part of the device, so I'm confident I'll be able to," he lied.

"What if you can't, Dad?"

Her father forced a smile onto his face, one of the most difficult things he had ever done. "Are you doubting my repair skills?" he said, trying to sound light-hearted. "Don't worry, Regan, even if I can't fix it for some reason, I have other tricks up my sleeve. We'll be okay."

Regan nodded, trying to pretend that she believed him, even though her father was a terrible liar. It was easy for her to guess the truths he was trying to hide: that getting the generator to work again was far from a sure thing, and that without the force-field they wouldn't last until morning. "That's great, Dad," she said. She tried to fake a smile of her own but failed.

Without saying another word, Mr. Resnick hugged his daughter and then slowly walked away to tell the others the bad news.

CHAPTER 24.

Secrets

Ryan took a deep breath and turned to Alyssa and Kelsey Cooper. They had probably saved his life in the woods. Their mother was being held hostage by a psycho. They had a right to know what was going on.