“It didn’t happen that way — instead, there was massive destruction in the area despite the fact that there weren’t any fault lines. Windows were shattered over eighty miles away. Needless to say, Faultless didn’t go any further; but I was working with the USGS at that time, and I saw the seismograms of the activity. What happened in Allentown is nearly identical to the activity that happened when the atom bomb was detonated underground.”
“You’re not suggesting that someone detonated atom bombs beneath these four plants?”
Everett sighed. “I’m not sure what I’m suggesting. An atom bomb, no. Something, yes.”
“But couldn’t something else have caused that kind of seismogram?”
“There is other evidence too, Agent Darrow — as I mentioned, the surface deformation left by the quake.
“You see, during a — shall we say normal — earthquake, the ground shifts in a random pattern. As the plates crash against each other, the disruption creates shifts and crevices into the ground — you’ve seen the pictures.
“But in the case of Allentown, and perhaps the other places, I’m not sure — the formation was not random. An entire area of approximately a mile’s radius from the center of the quake looks like it was shoved up. The entire ground, like an island, looks as though it was displaced from beneath.”
Helen’s mind was racing. “Yes, I see. If it were an explosion, the force of the explosion would have blasted a whole chunk of the ground up. Like an abrupt elevator.”
“Indeed. And, if you notice, all around that area, in the last few days, the ground has fallen away, down, sixteen, seventeen feet. Almost like a moat. That is identical to what happened during the Faultless Test.”
“My God.” Helen breathed. Until he said that; until he painted that picture, the possibility that the quakes had been man-made had been farfetched; like something out of a thriller novel. But now … she could picture exactly how it had happened.
And in the other locations …. “They’re all like that! I’ve seen every one of them; they all have that kind of island of ground thrust up from the rest of the land, and then the crevice around it.” She sat back in her chair, pencil dangling from her fingers. “But how?”
10
“Dr. Sayed said you should take at least another two months, Gabe.”
“Dr. Sayed’s just worried about his reputation. I’m damned ready to be back. Three months to lick my wounds is plenty long enough, don’t you think?” Despite his hard words, Gabe MacNeil’s voice was colored with the faint lilt of a West Virginian accent.
Colin Bergstrom settled back in his chair. The man across from him could have been his son if one were considering age and level of intelligence. But where Bergstrom’s Matthew was short like his father, MacNeil was tall and rangy, with close-cropped dark hair that had more than its share of grey edging the sideburns and along the front of his hairline. Colin guessed he must be considered good-looking, if the way all the female admins constantly mooned over him was any indication. And there was, of course, the incident with Rebecca Yves. She hadn’t flickered an eyelash at any of her colleagues until MacNeil came along.
In his mid-thirties, single, dedicated, and sharp as they came, MacNeil was just what Colin needed for this gig. And, since he insisted on returning prematurely from a medical leave of absence, and was thus currently unassigned, he needed an operation he could sink his teeth into while easing back into fieldwork.
Colin wasn’t above keeping his early return a fact between himself, HR, and McNeil — for the time being. He wasn’t going to miss the golden opportunity that had just landed in his lap.
He’d been telling him about the three coincidental earthquakes before he’d looked at the report regarding MacNeil’s return to work, and noticed that the recommendation of Dr. Sayed was that he take another two months. At least. Sayed had put him at approximately 75 % physical capacity, and 85 % mental readiness.
But this little project Colin had in mind was not a demanding operation; and with MacNeil still officially on leave, Colin could utilize him without digging too deeply into tight, well-managed resources.
The fact that he would be putting one of his best officers on the project, under the blind noses of the Powers That Be, gave him only the slightest of hesitations.
“Everything related to those three earthquakes is being investigated, even a mass of flyers that were found blowing about the site in Allentown. You know how it is — everything out of the ordinary is a potential terrorist attack until proven otherwise nowadays.”
“I hardly think an earthquake, or even a series of them, could be considered a terrorist attack. As we know, subtlety is not one of their trademarks.”
“The theory is that it was some kind of underground explosion. Some professor at Princeton who was watching the seismograph at the time recognized the unusual activity — which consisted of several large spikes out of the blue; no other activity before.”
“An underground explosion.” MacNeil’s wheels were obviously turning. His hands were clasped on his chest, the left thumb tapping on top of the right as if in rhythm of his thoughts. “Certainly is a consideration, but how in the hell a bomb was placed twenty feet — or however deep — under these sites, in solid rock, is impossible to fathom.”
“You’re right of course, but the team, led by SA Helen Darrow, has been combing the areas, looking for anything that might indicate that’s what happened — but it’d have to be a cave or some other underground passage that gave them access. And there’s nothing like that in any of these places.”
“Darrow? She’s never handled anything this big before. She’s sharp, but if this is really a terror operation, she might be in over her head. Still. She’s no dumb blonde.”
“I didn’t realize you knew her that well,” Colin said.
MacNeil gave a short nod, along with a thoughtful quirk of his lips. “You could say that.”
“Well, you’re right — she’s sharp. Darrow did find something. And I’ve offered to put you on it.”
The spark of interest was back in MacNeil’s grey eyes; whether it was due to the lovely Ms. Darrow or the case wasn’t clear. But it didn’t matter. In a few moments, MacNeil would be fully engaged. Bergstrom slid a photograph across the desk. “Take a look at this. There were about twenty papers blowing around the Allentown site with this symbol on them.”
MacNeil took the photo. “It’s an odd-looking symbol. There were three other earthquake sites too, right? Were any found there?”
“No. Only Allentown. And that’s the crux of the matter — Darrow doesn’t have the man-power with her own team to follow up on something like this that’s likely unrelated. Yet she’s smart enough to know she can’t take the chance on something slipping through. The police chief told her he thought it was a gang symbol; guess they’ve been having lots of problems with that in the local high schools.”
“So, you got involved how? And you’re putting me on it — why? Because I’ve been away for a few months and I need to be eased back in, chasing around monkey clues? If this is a counter-terrorism investigation, a whole helluva lot has changed in the last few months.”
“This isn’t a Mickey Mouse operation. I happened to see the symbol, just by accident, and I contacted Darrow and told her I had someone who could do the follow up. Actually, I seized the opportunity. Purposely.”
“You know what it is then.”
“Yes.”
Bergstrom opened his mouth to continue, but MacNeil beat him to it. “If this was found at the scene of the quakes, how can you horn in? It’s a Bureau investigation. They’re still pretty touchy about domestic investigations, and I can’t see Darrow bowing out of the way for us.”