Weapon of Atlantis (28 page)

He moved to the edge of the door and listened once more. Only one man could be detected. Apprehension filled his mind. He couldn’t tell which man he was hearing.

“It’s now or never,” he said under his breath.

He shook off his fear and entered the corridor. Holding the scepter in both hands, he headed down the hallway. At the far end, more than a hundred feet away, two large doors marked the rear of the facility. Careful not to make a sound, he darted toward them. With each room he passed, he could feel his heart pound faster with anticipation. Just feet from the end, he moved toward the edge of the right-side door. He waved his hand over the wall and the door’s control panel illuminated.

He scanned the size of the two doors and considered their mass. He wondered about the noise they would create upon opening. Taking a deep breath, he pushed the ‘open’ button on the panel.

Like the smaller doors before, he heard the low grinding of the internal mechanisms at work. Unlike the previous doors, he now began to hear louder mechanism sounding far beyond the wall. In the seconds after pressing the open-button, loud dull rumbling echoed up the corridor toward
the laboratory at the opposite end.

Jack’s plan required stealth. Without it, he realized his plan was rapidly falling apart. Frantically, he pushed the ‘close’ button, hoping to halt
the operation. Even before the mechanisms engaged to reverse the process, the large doors began to open. A large rush of frigid air swept past him, sending a deeper chill through his already cold body. The doors separated from each other by nearly a foot, then began to reverse their movements, closing back up again. Jack squinted inside the room, but saw only blackness.

From behind him he heard a familiar voice.

“
FREEZE!
What the
hell
are you doing?” he heard Wexler shout.

Jack spun around and stood still, frozen in fear. Staring up the corridor, he swallowed hard at the sight of Wexler pointing his gun, two hundred feet away.

“Walk slowly toward me. Don’t make any sudden moves,” he ordered.

Jack’s heart pounded. Dread filled his every step. Moving past several doorways, his mind frantically searched for an escape. Nothing was apparent.

He stepped past an open door and spotted the remains of the corpse he had tested the scepter on. The morbid sight only served to heighten his fears.

“Where’d you get that?” Wexler shouted, now less than a hundred feet away.

“It was in my room,” he responded reluctantly.

Javi heard the noise and leaped from his bed. He poked his head out into the corridor. Seeing the frightening display, he darted back inside.

“Arista, get your ass out here, now!” Wexler shouted.

Javi moved into the hallway. He glanced at the scepter with surprise, then to Jack.

“Both you guys, move this way. Do it now,” Wexler ordered sternly.

Jack’s mind raced. In seconds, he knew Wexler would take the scepter and along with it, any hope of their escape. As Javi walked several feet in front of him, his body momentarily blocked his view of Wexler. On impulse Jack reacted.

Quickly, he swung the scepter up from his side and pointed it forward. He squeezed the handle, controlling his pressure precisely. Instantly, a bolt of energy streamed from the tip. Javi let out a guttural cry, then flung forward, collapsing on the ground in agony. Now applying greater pressure to the handle, the stream of energy continued on. Wexler’s eyes widened in shock, knowing there was nothing he could do. In a split second, the beam of energy struck him squarely in the chest. He cried out in pain. His muscles instantly contracted and he collapsed forward. Writhing on the floor, his body convulsed involuntarily.

Jack dashed forward. He rushed to Wexler and kicked the gun from his hand. It sailed through the air and
skidded far inside the lab.

“I’m betting that hurts like hell, huh?” he gloated.

With his foe unarmed, Jack raced back to Javi’s side. He knelt down and gently rocked him.

“Javi, you alright?” he asked sympathetically. “I’m so sorry. It was the only
thing I could do.”

“Did you get him?” Javi asked through gritted teeth.

Jack looked back to Wexler. He was barely moving.

“Yup, sure did. I cranked up the heat on him. That should hold him for a
long while,” he said confidently.

“Boy that thing really hurts,” Javi commented, slowly regaining his senses.

“I’m really sorry. That guy is CIA and an expert shot. If I had waited for it to become a quick-draw contest between him and me, I’m certain I would’ve lost. With you blocking his view, it was the only way I could get the drop on him.”

Javi only nodded. He groaned some more,
than sat up. He forced a smile inside his mask.

“Forevermore, yo
u walk in front of me,” he said through his pain.

He leaned forward and tried to stand. He wavered slightly. Jack grabbed
the arm of his jacket and steadied him.

“What now? Shooting him won’t save us. The
spacecraft is still tethered,” Javi remarked.

Jack grinned
wryly.

“Remember, this isn’t just a weapon. It’s also a key.”

“You think there’s another spacecraft here?” Javi asked, his expression suddenly turning hopeful.

“If there isn’t, we’re in a whole lot of trouble,” he responded.

“What are we waiting for?” Javi teased, now moving slowly down the corridor.

After several steps, Jack stopped and turned.

“Keep heading to the double doors. I’ll be right back,” he said.

“What’re you up to now?” Javi asked in mild protest.

Jack grinned. “Just a little insurance,” he responded.

As Javi continued on, Jack ran to Wexler. Still lying on the floor, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his satellite phone. Next, he rushed through the lab and entered the spacecraft.
Relying on his heavy artic parka to block the camera’s view, he grabbed wires leading to the radio transmitter and pulled hard, ripping them from their connection. Moments later, he rejoined Javi as he neared the end of the corridor.

“Everything ok?”
Javi asked, nearly recovered from his pain.

“We’ll know shortly,”
Jack responded.

The two stepped to the control panel of the large double doors. Jack waved his hand over it and illuminated the buttons. He pressed the ‘open’ button and waited.

“Keep your fingers crossed,” he joked.

Javi ignored the comment and concentrated on the doors. As the sound of mechanisms grew louder, lights inside the darkened room suddenly lit. In seconds, the doors rushed open, fully exposing the contents inside.

Both men smiled in relief. At the far right side of the loading bay, a spacecraft sat identical to their own.

“
Yesss
!” Jack exclaimed. “We scored big!”

Javi grinned at his comment, then said, “Let’s not congratulate ourselves just yet. We don’t even know if it’ll fly… or if you can fly it.”

“If that other ship survived inside an icy grave for seven thousand years, I’m sure this one fared much better,” he replied confidently.

Suddenly, a shot rang out and an exit door dented. Javi and Jack spun on their heels. They stared in shock as they watched Wexler leaning against a wall, slowly moving toward them from the opposite end. In his hand, he pointed his weapon.

“Get down,” Jack shouted, grabbing Javi and pulling him away from the entrance.

Another shout rang out and struck the same exit door.

“Dammit! I forgot to take that idiot’s gun,” Jack said in frightened tone.

“Quickly, let’s get out of here,” Javi responded, ignoring the comment.

Jack nodded. Helping Javi to his feet, the two rushed to the spacecraft. Jack waved the scepter near the door’s control panel, causing it to illuminate. He pressed the ‘open’ button and instantly, the doors slid apart. Both men hurried inside and took their seats.

“So this is what they looked like,” Jack said, rubbing his hand over an armrest.

Javi glared sternly and responded, “Cut the blasé crap, Jack. Just get us out of here.”

Jack inserted the crystal scepter into its diamond-shaped keyhole and pressed down hard. Instantly, all lights illuminated inside the cockpit. As the hologram projected its menu onto the round table, he quickly maneuvered through it.

“Departure sequence, Jack! Select that one,” Javi shouted, pointing to the menu heading.

Jack rubbed his finger over the program. Instantly, the doors to the spacecraft closed. He reached for another option when another shot rang out inside the loading bay. Leaning at the entrance to the double doors, Wexler pointed his weapon and fired once more. Both bullets entered the outer skin of the spacecraft.

“Jack, get us the
hell
out of here,” Javi shouted frantically.

“Working at it,” he shot back.

He flicked his fingers over several buttons. The large double doors to the loading bay quickly shut. Wexler fired again, hitting the glass window of the spacecraft, barely leaving a nick on the outer surface.

“I hope he hasn’t compromised our structure… else this is going to be a
real
short trip,” Jack said in ominous tone.

Wexler aimed his weapon. A sardonic grin spread across his face.

“That miserable son of a bitch is enjoying this,” Jack blurted in anger.

He flicked a button inside the hologram marked ‘evacuation’. Instantly, the loading bay began to flood. In seconds, the level of near freezing water rushed over Wexler’s body. He gasped for
a breath as the cold stripped him of air. He tried to lift his weapon to fire, but the flood of water knocked him off his feet. Moments later, as the water rose to the ceiling, Jack and Javi watched in horror as Wexler fought to stay alive under the water. A moment later, his body imploded as the pressure inside the loading bay was equalized with water from the outside.

“Wow, that was horrible,” Javi comment, shaking his head in shock.

Jack only nodded.

“
Let’s get out of here,” he said simply.

He pressed another button inside the hologram, the spacecraft’s engine hummed to life. Both men watched the
ir hologram’s buttons automatically activate as part of the auto-departure sequence. The vehicle slowly spun around and faced the outer doors. Seconds later, it moved silently through the water toward the black-looking sea outside. As it exited the structure, it slowed to a stop and waited on inputs from the pilot.

“I guess it’
s all up to you now,” Javi said nervously.

“Talk about scary,”
Jack mumbled inside his facemask.

“Take you
r time. Don’t rush it,” Javi added.

Ja
ck stared at the image of the spacecraft hovering inside the hologram. He reached in and gently put his hand around it. Instantly, the craft moved toward the right. He moved it back left, stopping the movement. He lifted up on the hologram. Suddenly, they felt the weight of their bodies being pushed down into the seats.

“Too fast, Jack. We’re rising too fast,” Javi blurted in panicked tone.

Jack instantly released the hologram. The craft slowed its ascent, then hovered in the blackness.

“How high did we go?” Javi asked.

Jack scanned the instruments. He shook his head in disbelief.

“We just climbed two thousand feet. Unbelievable,” he said.

“Be real gentle, Jack. We don’t want to end up in outer space,” Javi responded in worried tone.