The Nostradamus File (28 page)

He turned to General Price.

"General, have the Israelis launched?"

"No, sir. They can see the same thing we do."

Rice decided to gamble. It was a big gamble, if he was wrong. But the news that this wasn't an Israeli strike altered things.

"
President Gorovsky, Chairman Li, we must halt this before it goes any farther. I am ordering our forces to stand down one level. General Price, please go to DEFCON2."

"Sir..."

"DEFCON2, General."

Price was reluctant. "Yes, sir." He took out his phone, spoke into it. "Confirmed, sir."

"Thank you, General."

Gorovsky's voice was tense, but something had changed. "I
will also stand back," he said. They heard him giving the orders.

"We shall do the same." It was Li.

"Gentlemen," Rice said. "Perhaps this time we can forge a new beginning. Let us use this terrible incident to find new ways to rein in these weapons. Now I am going to call the Prime Minister in Israel."

"I will see what I can do with Tehran," Gorovsky said.

"Perhaps a summit in Beijing might be a good idea," Li said. "Neutral ground for Tehran and Jerusalem."

"An excellent idea," Rice said. "Thank you, gentlemen." He ended the call
and turned to Price.

"Keep an eye on those bastards," he said. "I don't trust either one of them. Keep our subs at DEFCON1."

Price looked relieved. "Yes, Mister President."

CHAPTER SEVENTY-T
WO

"It was a rough week," Nick said.

He was sitting in the shrink's office. Milton nodded politely.

"I can't tell you exactly what I did."

Milton waited.

"I was thinking about the last time I was here. You remember what we were talking about?"

"You said you felt helpless. About the grenade."

"Yeah. Well, more than that. It's not just that grenade. What I do...it could happen again."

"I know."

"You do?"

"You carry a gun. You're no longer in the military. I would guess you face situations like that grenade more often than you'd like."

"You saw in the papers, about Israel and Iran?"

"Pretty hard to miss."

"Something else I can't control. Wars other people start."

"How do you feel about it? That incident?"

"They teach you that phrase in shrink school? How do you feel?"

Milton smiled. "First thing. Well, almost. So, how do you feel?"

"The same as with the grenade. Only more general. There's nothing I can do about it if the idiots running the world start throwing nukes at each other."

"Idiots is a harsh word."

"I don't think so. If anything, it's too mild."

Milton was quiet. Then, "How are you doing with the dreams?"

"I've been too tired to dream."

It wasn't true.

"You do anything to relax?"

"Have a drink. Read a book, sometimes."

"You looked pretty stiff when you walked in here."

Stiff was an understatement. He had two broken ribs from the round he'd taken in Maine. His back was tight. His neck was sore.

"It's nothing."

Milton looked at him, waited.

"I'm still having the dream."

Milton nodded.

"It's screwing up my love life."

"Is that all?"

"All what?"

"All that's screwed up?"

"Maybe it's more than just the dream doing it. All I know is I'm tired. I feel like I can't connect with Selena, not like we used to anyway."

"Go back to helpless."

"What do you mean?"

"Remember, you said you felt helpless when the grenade was coming at you."

"So?"

"Helpless about what?"

Nick could feel himself tensing up. "You know what. The grenade."

"The grenade is just a grenade."

...the grenade is coming toward him, turning end over end, a lopsided throw. It will kill him...he starts to move but it's too late...

He became very still. A shudder of energy passed through him. He'd always thought the dream was caused by guilt over killing the child. In that moment of stillness he saw that it wasn't about the child. Not at all. The grenade had made him know he wasn't invincible. That he was no different from anyone else. That he could die a violent, painful death, just like all the others he'd seen die over the years. He'd never admitted it to himself, even after years of war. Never seen the simple truth of it. Suddenly it seemed obvious.

He looked at Milton.

"I could have died."

Milton waited.

"I never let myself...I wouldn't let myself feel it."

Milton nodded. "It's alright," he said. "You don't have to be Captain America
all the time."

After he left Milton's office, Nick sat in his car.
Something had changed. He felt light, as if a weight had been lifted from him. He didn't know why, but he didn't think he'd have the dream again or feel the same way if he did. He realized that he felt relaxed. It was a strange feeling. He hadn't been relaxed like that in a long time.

He thought about Selena and smiled. He took out his phone and called her.

"Hey."

"Where are you?"

"Outside the shrink's office."

She didn't say anything, then "How did it go?"

"Good. It went good." He paused. "What are you doing tonight?"

"Are you asking me out on a date?" He could hear amusement in her voice.

"We never did get to that Indian restaurant."

"No, we didn't."

"I'll meet you outside your building. How about seven?"

"You're sure?" She wasn't asking about the restaurant.

"It's going to be alright," he said.

CHAPTER SEVENTY-
THREE

Nick left his building for his evening run and saw Adam's armored Cadillac waiting for him.
Here we go again,
he thought. He got into the car. The door closed. They pulled away.

The car was still the same inside. Black leather, new and comfortable. Blacked out windows that let nothing through. Black partitions behind the driver and along the middle of the rear compartment. Speaker grill next to his ear.

"Hello, Nick."

The distorted electronic voice was the same. Nothing ever seemed to change inside this car except his future.

"Adam."

"I hope you hadn't planned anything for this evening."

This was new. "Nothing special."

"Good. Please give me your cell phone and your gun." A drawer slid open in the partition. "You can have them back later."

Something else that was new. Adam had never made the request before. Nick had a small Colt .380 he took on his runs. With hollow points, it had enough hydrostatic shock potential to stop almost anyone.

He stalled. "Why do you want them?"

"It's a condition. I'm sorry, but it's necessary. As I said, you will get them back."

The gun and phone were useless inside the car anyway. Nick put them in the tray. It slid shut.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see. Good work with the ark."

That Adam knew what had happened didn't surprise Nick at all. He always seemed to know what Nick had been doing.

"McKenzie got away," Nick said.

"We know where he is. It's not important at the moment."

We
.

"Director Harker thinks others were involved with Harrison," Nick said. "In his secret society."

"They were. That also doesn't matter at the moment."

Nick wondered what did matter. He was out of small talk. The speaker was silent.

He guessed they'd been riding for about a half hour when the car came to a smooth halt. There was a pause, then the car moved forward again and stopped. Nick waited for the door to unlock. He heard the click. He got out and stood by the car.

He was inside a large hanger or warehouse. It was mostly dark. The floor was cement.
The car was parked under a bright light. The air was cool. The building smelled faintly of dust and construction.

Ahead of him was a dimly lit gallery set off by a partition of glass. He could make out the seated silhouettes of seven people behind the glass. One of them was a woman. It was impossible to make out the features of
the people sitting there. A speaker grill was set in the wall under the partition. Adam's voice came through the grill.

"I apologize for the dramatics, Nick, but it's better this way. You cannot identify us. It has been decided you should know more about who we are."

"And you're going to tell me?" All his senses were on full alert. His ear was quiet.

Adam chuckled. "In a general sense. We
are the Guardians."

You have got to be kidding,
Nick thought.
Guardians of what?

Adam continued. "
Our organization goes back to the time of the Templars. I am our spokesman."

"You're Templars?"

"There have always been Templars dedicated to our task. When the Order was forced to go underground, our group was formed."

Nick was at a loss for words. Finally, he said, "For what purpose?"

"To guard the Ark. To preserve what is good in the world against the forces that would overwhelm it."

"That's a tall order," Nick said. "Why are you telling me this? What's the point of this meeting?"

He was getting angry. He wasn't sure why. Maybe because of the cloak and dagger set up. Or maybe he was tired of being manipulated by forces he couldn't control. He thought of the shrink, Milton. He'd probably approve of that thought.

"AEON is the point of this meeting," Adam said.

Nick knew about AEON. It was a centuries-old conspiracy that spanned the globe, an organization dedicated to dominating the world. Because of AEON, Selena had almost been killed. Because of AEON, the world had almost tipped into nuclear war.

Adam's voice sounded deep and metallic through the speaker. "We are the counterbalance to AEON. You and your group have been effective in helping us block them. We want you to inform Director Harker of our existence and establish a communication protocol. It is a precaution, in case a time should arise when it is not
possible to meet with you as I have done in the past."

Meaning if I get killed,
Nick thought,
or he does. There has to be a reason for the armored car.
Adam had established trust with Nick. Now he wanted Nick to set up contact with Harker, something that would never happen without that trust.

"
Why reveal yourselves to me now? What's changed?"

"The world is approaching a turning point," Adam said. "AEON must not succeed in their plans for control and domination.
The events in Russia were a disaster for them. It set off an internal struggle for control of the organization. That has now been resolved and they are renewing their agenda. There is a certain amount of danger involved for me. We felt that revealing our existence at this point would give more weight to our request and prepare you if a new connection must be made."

That didn't sound good. From what he'd seen, Nick thought Adam was well protected. If he was worried, something bad was in the wind.

Nick needed time to think. He changed the subject. "The Ark Harrison had in Maine was a forgery, a replica. Did you know that?"

"Yes. We have the genuine one. We have kept it safe since the Order found it concealed on the Temple Mount."

Nick had trouble taking that in. "The Ark still exists? You have it?"

"
Yes."

"Where is it?"

"I want your word that you will not speak of what I am going to show you."

"
I give you my word."

"Look to your
left, Nick."

Nick turned to his
left. A bank of lights came on, illuminating a raised dais covered with a blue cloth. Upon it, the true Ark of the Covenant shone golden under the bright lights. Seeing it, Nick realized the copy had been only a pale imitation. He took a deep breath. Something unseen emanated from the Ark, a sensation of radiant warmth that washed over him. A sense of subtle power. He wasn't a religious man, but he had an almost overwhelming urge to fall to his knees. He gazed on it for what seemed like a long time.

The lights went out. Nick turned back to the gallery. Something had
just happened, with the sight of the Ark. Something important. He couldn't put his finger on what it was, exactly. Maybe it would become clear once there was time to think about it.