Einstein Must Die! (Fate of Nations Book 1) (29 page)

“Hanscom is…what, a hundred miles northeast?”

Savannah nodded. “About that.”

“Then we shall have time along the way to determine Beowulf’s readiness. I’m sure we’ll come across some British forces, yes?” said Tesla.

“Wouldn’t bet against it,” agreed George.

Sophia and Nicholas nodded, but Tesla could tell they’d be fine with having an uneventful trip. He understood their hesitation. A life of theory and experimentation in a lab did nothing to prepare one for possible combat. He liked the idea no better than they did, but put on a brave face and bluffed through it.

“We’ll be fine. How about you, Madelaine?” he asked. “Think you can get us to Hanscom?”

She laughed, but the pitch was a touch manic. Tesla suddenly remembered he was inside a hideously powerful weapon of war, controlled by a twelve-year-old girl. The thought was sobering. But these were the cards he had been dealt, so he would play them out.

“Nikola…I don’t even know how to move. Or open the big doors. I could barely handle the cameras. I have no idea what I’m doing! This isn’t fair! I can’t do this. Papa was the one for this.”

“He was,” agreed Savannah. “But now you are. We have no idea what’s out there. You’re our best chance to get out of here in one piece.”

“I know,” she whined, “but—”

“But nothing,” her mother interrupted. “We’re together, and we’re going to do this together. Right, honey?”

Madelaine paused, but could find no other reason to object. “OK, Mom.”

Savannah smiled, for the first time in hours. “That’s my girl. Now find the door access codes.”

Madelaine thought about the codes, not knowing what she was looking for. Slowly, her mind’s eye showed her a vast, deep blue ocean.
Is that my memory?
It’s huge. How can I find anything in there?

“There’s too much,” she said.

“Maddy, your memory is very large,” said Tesla. “But the actual input and output of data is handled by lower level processes. You don’t have to do it yourself.”

“Then how can I get what I want?” He could almost see her, standing there pouting and throwing her arms down in protest.

“You need to concentrate on
having
the data you want. Your subroutines will notice the desire, and step in to fulfill it. Just relax and let them work for you.”

She sighed, but said, “OK, I’m trying again.”

She stood at the edge of the blue ocean again and tried not to think of how big it was.
It’s just a bucket. And I need a drop from the bucket. I need the door codes that—

And there they were. She had what she needed, without knowing how.

“I have them!” she yelled. “I have the door codes. Now what?”

“Now, you need to radio them to the door control. Again, just think about the reaction you want.”

“I want the doors open,” she said.

“And you have the keys to open them,” Tesla encouraged her.

A moment went by, then the access lights over the huge doors flared. The doors cracked open and slid away.

“I did it!” Madelaine squealed. “They’re opening!”

Savannah smiled in pride at her daughter’s accomplishment. No matter the circumstances, a mother always enjoyed seeing her child succeed.

“You did it, honey,” she said.

Even Edison felt the need to say something. “Well done, little one,” he offered.

“Think you can drive us out of here?” asked Tesla.

“I know I want to try. Let me think…”

The huge treads surged forward, grinding gashes into the lab wall with a horrendous shriek.

“Shit!” she yelled, and the tank ground to a sudden stop. Everyone found something sturdy to hang on to.

“That’s OK,” said Savannah. “We were pushed into the wall. Just steer us away from it, then through the tunnel.”

“Right, sorry,” said Madelaine. She focused again, and realized she could see the lab around her, but not only in the normal way. She had the ability to see through walls if she wanted to. That confused her, though, so she shut that ability out and concentrated on moving slowly away from the wall.

Her treads ground to life again, but she added just a touch more power to the one on the left. The tank lumbered forward, and again there was the terrible shrieking of grinding concrete, but after a few seconds, the sound went away. She had cleared the wall.

“Good, good,” said Tesla.

She added more power, just a little bit. The massive tank rolled forward, approaching the open door. She told her left tread to slow, and her right one to go faster. The tank turned smoothly until she was aligned with the tunnel’s entrance. She balanced out the power to the treads again, and they moved forward, heading into the tunnel.

“That’s great!” yelled Tesla. “Just keep—”

CRASH
!

Beowulf hadn’t been lined up perfectly, and her right front corner slammed into the tunnel wall. They stopped instantly, everyone clinging to a handhold to stay standing.

“Dammit!” she yelled. “Sorry, guys.” She backed them up ten feet, straightened up, and tried again. This time she cleared both sides of the tunnel.

“And we are on our way,” said Tesla.

“You’re doing great, honey,” Savannah said.

“Thanks, Mom,” she said, trying to monitor their progress and not swing into the wall again. The tank weaved slightly, at times coming within three feet of the tunnel wall, but she kept adjusting, coaxing the steel monster back on a straight path toward the outer doors.

As they approached, she again thought of having the door codes. They came again, but she realized she’d drifted off course. With eight inches to spare, she jerked the tank back to the center of the path. No one said anything, so she kept that little mistake to herself.

She closed to within twenty yards of the outer doors and slowed to a stop.
Better to take things one at a time
. She sent the codes and smiled inwardly when they too obeyed her and opened wide.

She drove them through the outer doors and came to a stop just outside, in the valley’s floor. She told the doors to close behind her, and they did so.

I have no idea where to go. Where’s north? How do I get out of here? Can I climb those walls?

“OK, guys, now what?” she asked. George walked over to a view port, and slid the steel panel aside. A thick slit of sunlight shone into the cabin, and everyone cheered at the welcome sight.

“Something is stinging me,” she said.
What is that? It’s like mosquito bites, but all over everywhere at once.

“Stinging?” asked Tesla.

“One second,” said George. He turned and flipped off the cover of a crate. Rooting around inside, he found a small yellow and black device. He brought it over to the open view port and flipped the switch. Instantly, the needle jumped into the red. An audible clicking sound rose and fell in speed.

“Damn!” he yelled and slammed the view port shut. The clicking sound grew much fainter, but was still audible.

“Radiation,” said Tesla.

George nodded. “A high dose outside. That last bomb was radiological.”

Edison leaped from his chair. His experiments with Dally into X-rays had taught him to fear and respect the invisible particles.

“How much dosage in here?”

George frowned, watching the needle as he swung the Geiger counter around. “This armor is pretty good shielding, actually. But we should leave the area as soon as possible.”

Savannah spoke to Madelaine. “Darling, that stinging you feel is your radiation sensors. It won’t hurt you, but we need to get moving now, OK?”

Madelaine heard the undercurrent of worry in her mother’s voice. “OK, which way?”

Savannah closed her eyes, visualizing the layout of the valley. “Turn to your left, and go fast. After a bit you’ll see the valley walls get less steep. Then you can climb us out of here. I think the left side will be easier, but I’m not sure.”

“Got it,” she said, even as Beowulf spun and accelerated. They reached cruising speed quickly. Beowulf’s suspension was designed for navigating most terrains, not necessarily for crew comfort. The five crash chairs were quickly filled, and Tesla volunteered to stand. He braced himself like an
X
, with his arms up and wide, grabbing the overhead railing and letting his legs absorb the bumps and sways.

After a few minutes, Madelaine announced they’d reached an area where the valley walls leveled out.

“There’s something else,” she told them. “I can see the marks from where Papa went up this slope already.”

Savannah smiled warmly and felt a tear form, pooling in the corner of her eye. “Follow his trail, honey.”

Madelaine steered toward the twin tread marks and followed them precisely, enjoying the knowledge that she was following in his footsteps.

ON TO BOSTON

LONDON, ENGLAND

“A tank as big as a house?” asked Einstein, looking up from the report. “That lives somehow? Is this to be believed?”

“Apparently so,” said Churchill, trimming the end from a fresh cigar. “That major was well regarded by the king. And I know the staff sergeant who corroborated the story. We both fought in Eastern India. I believe them.”

“So the major using one of my bombs on that base…”

“Was a prime example of the quick thinking we need in the field. If he’d pushed that up through channels, some overcautious bureaucrat would have dismissed it. And we’d have never known of this. I’ve already promoted him to lieutenant colonel.”

“I see,” said Einstein.

Churchill struck a match, then saw the musing expression on Einstein’s face. He blew out the match.

“What are you thinking? That the promotion was a mistake?”

“Hmm? Oh no,” he replied, waving his hand. “I’m sure the major deserves it, and more.” He frowned at the report. “I’m just wondering who was behind this. The technical challenges are immense.”

“I’ve made enquiries about that. Our people in the States say Nikola Tesla was in that base.”

“Tesla?” exclaimed Einstein. “Ah yes, that would be about right.”

“Did you know the man?” he asked, relighting his cigar.

“Not well. But we had dinner once after a conference in Vienna. Brilliant man. Eccentric. Visionary, even.”

Churchill nodded. “Fits the bill, I would say.”

Einstein grew silent. “I’m sorry to hear he was killed. He had a very fine mind.”

“Good men die in war. It is a shame, though. One of those truths that never change, I’m afraid.”

Churchill opened a wooden box on his desk and tossed a cigar to Einstein. “Here, try one of these. You’ll feel better.”

Einstein caught the cigar and smiled, but slid it into his jacket pocket. “Thank you. I’ll save it for later.”

***

When news of his promotion reached Major Thomas, he was in his office with his staff, reviewing plans for moving the men out of New Haven and marching on Boston. His original force of seven hundred had grown considerably as the reinforcements were off-loaded from their ships. His garrison had swelled to four thousand, two hundred men, a full brigade.

He had five captains to serve under him, managing the force, but he’d been wondering when a colonel would be sent out to replace him, as no major had ever led such a large group.

And then, welcome news.

With the higher rank, he was now directed to lead the force north to Boston and take the city, something he’d been eager for since leaving Portsmouth.

But more than that, he realized, the promotion meant his report had been believed and valued. Maybe the damage from Savannah’s betrayal was fading? The thought was heartening, and he felt a brief flash of guilt for her death.

The grizzled staff sergeant appeared in his doorway, carrying a thick book. “I have the inventories, sir,” he said, and the major forgot his guilt.

“Excellent,” he said, taking the book and thumbing through the pages, skimming the numbers. “We’re in good shape.”

“That we are, sir. It’s a three-day march to Boston, and we’ll be well supplied to attack the city and hold it.”

“Perfect.”

Colonel Thomas looked at the five officers around his table. “Get your men prepared. We march in two hours.”

LEAVING THE NEST

Beowulf cruised forward, following the trail left by the colonel. As they cleared the top of the valley, Madelaine swung northeast, carrying them away from the ruined base. She ground over hard-packed earth roads at about a horse’s gallop. She came upon farmers hauling carts, groups of civilians walking together, and the occasional Model T automobile. Each time she slowed and hugged the side of the road, allowing them to pass by. The gaping mouths and wide eyes that tracked her movements made her chuckle inside.