Journey Into the Flame (45 page)

“Did the communication tell you about the current situation?” Valerie asked.

“No,” Chetan said with a mischievous grin. “But I knew something was happening, so I accessed the video recording of the meeting that you had in Washington—one of the privileges of controlling the quantum computer and the data array.”

“I didn’t know that meeting was recorded,” Sylvia said.

Chetan stayed silent and just smiled.

“They’re the WSA. They have eyes everywhere,” Valerie said.

“
We
are
not
the WSA,” Chetan respectfully corrected her. “They just provide the security. The people who work at the Vault are employees of the Nepalese government.” Chetan pointed to the image of the double-pennant red and blue national flag that hung over the doorway of the Maglev car. “Somehow I wasn’t surprised when Sylvia called. I agreed with your assessment at the meeting. Working here, I know that the Vault is the best place to deploy the frequency.” His expression turned solemn. “Is it true that the frequency pulse could kill that many people?”

“Yes,” Valerie said. “That’s why we need to get into the SCC ASAP.”

They stood quietly in the Maglev car as it glided around the Vault, thinking about what the deployment of the pulse would mean. When the car came to a stop at an entrance on the west side of the complex, Chetan led them out and used his security card to open a set of doors. They continued down a hallway and stepped into an elevator.

“Are you sure we can’t get to the Satellite Control Center?”

Chetan swiped his card and pushed the button labeled
SCC
, but it didn’t illuminate. “See,” he said, “my access has been revoked.” He swiped his card again and pushed another button, and the elevator descended.

“I feel like we’re moving, but I can’t hear any gears or machinery,” Logan observed.

“This is the first magnetic-drive elevator in the world,” Chetan said proudly. “Just like the Maglev cars. There are no cables, pulleys, or motors. Everything is done with the use of sequentially placed electrical magnets.”

It wasn’t long before the doors opened and they arrived at the computer facility. Logan, Valerie, and Sylvia were awestruck. The room was the size of a football field, filled with rows of computer workstations. A massive column of light stood at the room’s center, extending upward through an opening in the thirty-five-meter-high ceiling.

Chetan laughed. “We get that reaction a lot. Welcome to the world’s only quantum supercomputer!”

55

If you learn from an idle stone, listen to the stone.

If you learn something from the slow passing of a turtle, listen to the turtle.

If you learn from a silent night, listen to the night.

Care not where truth comes from, care only that it comes.

—THE CHRONICLES OF SATRAYA

DHARAN, NEPAL, 2:56 A.M. LOCAL TIME,

109 MINUTES UNTIL LIBERTY MOMENT

The translucent column Valerie, Logan, and Sylvia had seen on the surface of the Akasha Vault made its way all the way down to this level, four hundred meters underground. It emitted a rhythmic hum as pulses of energy and light rose upward. Chetan led them quickly up a stairway and into a control room that overlooked the facility below, which was relatively empty, with only three workers.

“During the day, this room is quite busy,” Chetan said. “We usually have eighty to ninety people on the floor.”

“So where’s all the additional security?” Valerie asked in a worried voice. “Shouldn’t there be guards at every corner?”

“Yes, I expected the same thing,” Chetan agreed. “Once SETCON Five was declared last evening, I expected to see WSA guards everywhere.”

Valerie’s eyebrows rose.

“Now what?” Logan asked. “We have less than two hours until the attack.”

“Is the SCC the only place where they can control the satellites?” Sylvia asked Chetan.

“Yes, that is correct.” Chetan took a seat in front of a control console. He pointed upward. “All of the satellite control is from the floor one hundred meters above us.”

“Can you access the Vault’s security cameras?” Valerie asked. “In particular, the ones at the main entrance?”

“As part of the lockdown, most of the security control has been transferred to the SCC, but I should be able to get to the cameras.” With a few strokes of his hand, a large glass display came to life in front of them, showing the status of the many subsystems at the Vault. Chetan brought up the video feed and started to fast-forward it. “What are you looking for?”

“I want to see who arrived from AB Control Systems a few hours ago,” Valerie said.

“I can tell you that,” Chetan said. “Usually, Miko and Ledan from AB Control do all the maintenance work. They are good men.” Chetan slowed the video down to normal speed. “See, there they are.”

“Looks like they’re not alone,” Valerie observed. In the image were the two men Chetan pointed out as Miko and Ledan. But three more men and two women were with them.

“Usually, it’s just Miko and Ledan,” Chetan said. He paused the video and zoomed in on a stocky woman with short brown hair. “I’ve seen this young woman before. Her name is Gretchen. She works for the WSA.”

“The WSA?” Valerie repeated gravely.

“She’s the one we saw from the airport security footage,” Sylvia said. “You say she works for the WSA?”

“Yes,” Chetan answered. “I have never seen these others before.”

“We have,” Logan said solemnly. “They are the ones we’ve been looking for.” Logan pointed to Andrea in her signature crimson
hood and a long black fitted raincoat. And to Lucius, clad entirely in black.

“We have to let someone know,” Sylvia said.

“Let
who
know?” Valerie asked. “Whom do we trust at this point? Clearly, not the WSA. Their agents are granting them access to the facility.” She shook her head and turned. “I need to call Burke.” She walked away and placed the call.

“Are there any cameras on the SCC level?” Sylvia asked Chetan.

“There are.” He swiped his hands over the controls and attempted to bring up video feeds from the SCC level. “Why is it asking for a security code? These cameras have never been coded before.”

“Looks like someone doesn’t want us to see what’s going on up there,” Logan said.

Chetan slid his chair over to another display and brought up a security log. “Let us see what kind of games are being played . . .”

“You have the access codes for all of the security cameras?” Logan asked, as he observed the lists Chetan was bringing up. “Why?”

“Why, because I wrote the software for them,” Chetan said with satisfaction. “There,” he said, eyeing the log. “Someone added a security code to the cameras three hours ago.”

“That’s about the time they got here,” Sylvia said.

“I wonder what other access they changed,” Chetan grumbled as he slid back to the camera control console and entered the new codes. Soon the images from the cameras were displaying long and empty hallways of the Satellite Control level of the complex.

“Doesn’t look like too much is happening up there,” Logan observed.

Valerie looked grim as she walked back over. “We may be on our own for a while,” she said. “If the WSA is involved, we can’t let them know we’re here. Burke doesn’t trust Ramplet, and he doesn’t want to alert Joint Command at this point—Ramplet has their ear. He’s going to dispatch a WCF team, but it may take a few hours for them to get here.”

“None of us may be alive in a few hours,” Logan said.

“We’re authorized to use any force necessary to secure the facility,” Valerie said in a steely voice.

Chetan was still focused on the video feeds from the SCC. “Where is everyone? There should be at least ten people up there. Let’s see what is happening in the control room.” He swiped his hand, and a new set of video images came up.

“Looks like we found them,” Valerie said. The bloodied bodies of four people had been shoved into a corner. Three other people, alive, sat tied up on the floor next to them. The rest of the SCC staffers were manning their stations at gunpoint. “All right, Chetan, how do we get up there?”

He did not answer immediately. “I just spoke to a few of them earlier this evening,” he mumbled. “Where are Miko and Ledan? I don’t see . . .” Chetan’s voice trailed off.

“You have to stay with us here,” Sylvia said sternly. She grabbed Chetan’s arm and shook it. “You have to help us get into the SCC.”

Looking stunned, Chetan walked to the window that looked out over the computer facility and tried to regain his composure. “The cooling tubes,” he whispered. “You can use the cooling tubes.” He rushed back to the control panel and brought up an image of the facility. “There are pipes that deliver water from the surface all the way down to the quantum core and the Tesla coils. That is how we are able to keep the core cool. Every hour, water rushes through these shafts, and the resulting steam is then vented out of these air locks.” Chetan pointed to the massive pipes on the east and west sides of the floor. “There are ladders in the tubes that allow service people to climb from level to level. In theory, you could use these ladders to access the floor above.”

“There has to be an easier way,” Logan said hopefully.

“What are you complaining about? You climbed down a dumbwaiter shaft,” Valerie said, turning to Logan with a slight smile. “Except this time, we’re going up.”

Logan nodded, the vision of Valerie’s funeral flashing in his mind. He couldn’t return her smile.

“We will have to time it properly,” Chetan said as he looked at the clock. “You don’t want to be in there when the water is released. We should play it safe and wait until after the next delivery, which is going to take place at 4:00
A.M
.”

“That’s still twelve minutes out,” Valerie said. “There’re only fifty-seven minutes until they activate the pulse. We have to go
now
.”

The four of them raced from the operations center to the water-cooling tube at the west side of the facility.

“Chetan, once we are in, go back to the control room,” Valerie instructed. “You need to be our eyes and ears.”

“Certainly.” Chetan opened the access door to the tube with the swipe of his security card. “You have to hurry. Once you climb up about one hundred meters, you will see another access pad like this one. Swipe my card, and the door will open.” He gave his card to Valerie. “You will have thirty seconds for all of you to pass through the door before the alarm is activated. You must have the door closed prior to the water cycle, or the alarm will also sound. If the alarm goes off, they will know that you are there.”

“Anything else?” Valerie said sarcastically, as she entered the dark shaft, followed by Sylvia.

“Would you like to leave your backpack here?” Chetan asked Logan.

“Nope.” Logan secured it tightly over his shoulders and entered the shaft.

“Good luck, then. The water will drop in about ten minutes,” Chetan said, closing the door behind them.

56

Contrary to what you may have been told, the little things that bother you do matter. For who has the authority to judge what is significant or insignificant in your life?

Only you can make that declaration.

—THE CHRONICLES OF SATRAYA

DHARAN, NEPAL, 3:51 A.M. LOCAL TIME,

54 MINUTES UNTIL LIBERTY MOMENT

Logan’s heart raced, and his muscles ached, as he struggled to keep up with Valerie and Sylvia. The tube was at most three meters in diameter, and the rungs of the ladder were wet.

“Be careful,” Valerie warned, her voice echoing down the shaft. “The ladder’s slippery.” The shaft was almost pitch-black; Valerie’s only reference point was a spot of light coming from above, which she presumed was the access door to the SCC level.

It was a tough, long climb, and Logan couldn’t stop thinking about the cascade of water that was about to shoot through the tube at any minute. Fear propelled him forward. But as he adjusted his backpack on his shoulders, his foot slipped. Logan cried out as his hands slid down the sides of the wet ladder as he frantically tried to place his feet on a ladder rung.

“Logan!” Valerie yelled.

Regaining his grip on the ladder, he felt his heart pounding. “I’m OK,” he said.

After several more minutes of arduous climbing, his head hit the bottom of Sylvia’s shoes. She had stopped.

“We’re at the door,” Valerie’s voice echoed from above. She swiped Chetan’s security card, but the door did not open. Instead, the numeric keypad lit up, requesting an access code. “We need some sort of code!”

Logan looked at his PCD. “We have exactly three minutes to get in there before the water comes down, and judging by how long it took to get up here, we don’t have enough time to climb back down.”

Sylvia took out her PCD and awkwardly placed a call to Chetan, while maintaining her hold on the ladder. “Chetan!” she said urgently. “We need an access code. The keypad wants a code.”

“Two minutes thirty seconds,” Logan announced.

“He’s looking in the security logs,” Sylvia said.

“Tell him to hurry up!” Valerie said frantically. The keypad dimmed and went idle again.

Logan attempted to peek past Sylvia. He saw the light coming from above the access door. He could see Valerie’s shadowed face and the access card in her hand. He looked at his PCD. “Just under two,” he said. He couldn’t help but think about the two visions where he had seen Valerie dead. The water was about to flood the pipes.

“Try one-four-five-five!” Sylvia called.

Valerie swiped the card again, and again the keyboard lit up, asking for a code. She entered the sequence; to her relief, the red light turned to green. Then the door opened, and Valerie climbed through, followed by Sylvia and Logan. She shut the door behind them, and seconds later, they could hear the sound of water rushing by.