“What is this place?” Jabez whispered.
Sean stopped for a moment, scanning the room meticulously. He turned to the left and stepped over to the nearest metal cabinet. It looked much like a filing cabinet with four drawers. He reached out and grabbed the frigid metal handle. The drawer opened easily, sliding out from the cabinet on chrome rails. On the rack were sheets of glass, each about an eighth of an inch thick, and each with an image etched into the top.
He warily pulled up one of the panes and examined it. The glass was perfectly clear, with a yellowish piece in the center. Sean recognized it immediately. Amber. But he couldn’t make out what the two blots were inside of it.
“This is amber,” he stated. “But I’m not sure what this stuff is.”
The others huddled around, gazing at the artifact. Sean looked back up at the top. The image was an odd looking animal. He placed the glass back in its space, and pulled out another one. It was exactly like the last pane, except that at the top a different animal’s image had been engraved into the surface. Again, there was amber in the middle with two distinct blobs locked within the hardened residue.
“Is that what I think it is?” Firth spoke up.
The other three turned to him with questioning faces. “It can’t be. They didn’t have the technology or the knowledge to do that back then. How would they have known?”
“Doc,” Sean cut into the one-person conversation Firth was having with himself. “What are you saying?”
The professor moved closer to the opened drawer and withdrew a plate. He put it back and repeated with the next one in the line, and again.
He turned back to the other three. “This is it,” he said, astonished. “I can’t believe it.”
“Professor,” Sean pleaded. “What is it?”
Firth’s eyes were staring off beyond his three companions for a moment before coming back to the present.
“Don’t you see? This is a genetic storage facility.” He took a few steps over to another drawer and pulled on the shiny metal handle. The cabinet’s contents were similar to the first’s. “They must have taken a sample from every animal on the planet and stored it here.”
“Why would they do that?” Adriana wondered.
“They made a backup,” Sean realized. “Just like backing up a hard drive. To ensure the survival of every species, they must have taken these specimens and stored them here.”
“It is magnificent,” Jabez said as he stared in wonder at the ancient facility. “But how is it powered? And how did they have the technology to do something like this?”
Sean smiled. “I don’t know. I’ll leave that up to the scientists.”
Despite reveling in what would surely be the greatest archaeological discovery in history, Firth still found a way to appear disappointed.
Sean noticed his demeanor. “What’s the matter, Doc? You should be thrilled right now. You’ve just helped make the discovery of a lifetime.”
“I guess the tree of life isn’t here,” he said solemnly.
Sean put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s probably just as well, Doc. I don’t know anyone on this planet that should live forever.” As soon as the words passed his lips, he remembered that Biosure was still in possession of the super virus.
“We need to get back to the surface,” he said urgently.
Chapter 55
“The situation has been neutralized,” Emily said through the speaker on Sean’s satellite phone. “I called in a favor with the director of the CIA, explained to him what Jenny had discovered, and he called in the cavalry. Every Biosure facility in the country is locked down, and research teams are going in to extract samples.”
“Nice,” Sean was impressed.
“Well, the guy owed me one for saving his boy when no one else would.”
“Yeah. I’m starting to think I owe you a few myself.”
There was a momentary pause before Emily spoke up again. “Well, you could erase that debt by coming back to work for Axis.”
She was so predictable. He knew that request was coming.
“I don’t know, Em. I kinda got the crap beat out of me earlier. I think I’m losing a step or two.”
She laughed. “Nothing a little re-training couldn’t fix.”
He refocused the conversation. Both of them knew he wasn’t going back to work for the government.
“Are Joe and Helen okay?”
Another laugh came through the line. “Oh, those two are fine. In fact, if you won’t come back to work for me, I may just have to persuade the two of them to sign up.” He didn’t know what exactly she meant by that, but he had a feeling he would be hearing all about it when they arrived back in Atlanta.
“Thanks again, Em. You realize you saved the world today?”
She let out a deep sigh on the other end of the line. “It’s why we’re here, buddy. I’ll catch you when you come back stateside.”
“See you then.”
He ended the call turned around, surprised to find Adriana standing right behind him. She gazed up into his gray eyes with her chocolate brown ones. The sky was perfectly clear, a warm sun beating down on them from high above. She drew closer, putting her hands on his arms.
“Are you sure there is nothing going on with you and your friend, Emily?” she asked playfully. A sly grin swept across her full lips.
“Positive,” he replied, putting his hands on her shoulders.
Inside his head, he heard the voice again. He’d been ignoring it for too long. He remembered the pool in high school, and every other chance he’d never taken in life. As he leaned forward and pressed his lips into hers, he could still hear Tommy yelling at him.
“Jump.”
Chapter 56
Sean had been packing up things in his office for the last hour. He tried not to be sentimental about it, but the years working for IAA had given him a lot of great memories. He picked up a picture of him and Tommy on a boat off the coast of Italy. They’d been there a few years prior, investigating a sunken ship speculated to date back to the time of the Trojan War. He smiled as he gazed at the image.
“You sure you want to leave, buddy,” a familiar voice asked through the doorway.
Sean turned around and found Tommy standing there. His arm was in a sling, and he had several little bandages on his face.
“I’m sure, pal. I’ve seen too much action for five lifetimes.”
Tommy stepped into the room and helped himself to a seat. “Well, now I know how Emily feels,” he joked. Both of them shared a quick laugh at the comment. “But I understand.”
Sean placed the picture frame in one of the boxes and leaned against his desk, crossing his arms as he did.
“So, you’re off to Destin, huh?” Tommy asked.
“For now,” Sean nodded. “I plan on spending a little time there first while my cabin is being built over in Blue Ridge. Don’t get all sentimental on me. I’ll be back plenty. And I expect you to come visit me at the beach. We can do a little ocean kayaking together.”
Tommy smiled, letting out a deep sigh. “Sounds good, brother.” He paused for a few seconds before speaking up again. “Sean, I just wanted to say thank you…for everything. You’ve been just like a brother to me…ever since mom and dad died. And if you ever need anything—”
“I told you not to get sentimental,” Sean stopped him. “But thanks. I will call you if the need arises.” He waited for a few seconds before speaking again. “I thought you were going to die.”
Tommy nodded and stood up. “I know. I would have thought the same thing. But we’re okay, buddy. And I can’t thank you enough for watching out for me. If you hadn’t been there, I might have died.” The two stepped towards each other and embraced for a few seconds in firm hug. When they let go, both had watery eyes.