"You don't understand, do you?" he asked excitedly. "I had a feeling it was something like this!"
Pencak frowned. "What are you talking about?"
His answer was cut off as a noise came from the opposite direction. The skimmer appeared and settled down about a hundred feet away. They all stared in amazement as the door slid up, and the opening beckoned.
"Let's go!" Hawkins yelled. "Hurry up!"
Fran hustled forward as Hawkins took the lead, and they headed toward the skimmer. They clambered up the ramp and Hawkins helped them on board. As they settled on the benches, Fran looked around and then stood. "Where's Don?"
Hawkins shrugged off the duffel bag, dropping it on the floor. He counted heads and then looked out the door, back the way they'd come. The two bodies lay there, but there was no sign of the geologist. "Wasn't he with you when you got on board?"
"No. I lost track of him in all the confusion."
Hawkins started to step out on the ramp, but at that moment it started to pull back in and he hurriedly got out of the way as the door slid down. "Where the hell did he go, then?" Hawkins demanded. He turned to the others as the skimmer lifted and banked. "Did anyone see Don?"
"We were over at the wall when the craft came. I thought he was behind me," Pencak offered. "But I can't be sure."
"Well, he couldn't have just disappeared!" Hawkins said.
"Then where is he?" Fran asked.
Hawkins looked at Tuskin. "Did you see anything?"
"No. I thought we had everyone." The skimmer settled with a slight bump and the door reopened. They were in the same room as last time and the same door beckoned on the near wall.
"Maybe they'll know where Don is," Hawkins said as he stepped out. They filed across the floor and into the elevator.
Lamb knew his ranting and raving would make no difference in what had happened, but at least it made him feel a little better. Captain Tomkins was standing at stiff attention like a West Point plebe on the other side of Lamb's desk, his eyes focused on a spot about six inches above the other man's head. "Why didn't you inform me when all of them gathered down there?"
"I didn't have any orders to, sir," Tomkins replied. "They were authorized to be there-just not to go through."
"Jesus Christ, man! This is the second time someone has gone through without my permission."
"Yes, sir."
"No one, I mean no one, even goes down there now without my explicit permission. Is that clear?"
"Yes, sir." "Get the hell out of here." After Tomkins had scuttled out, Lamb swiveled his seat around and looked at the SATCOM radio/video that linked him with the President. He shook his head. This was one piece of bad news he was not going to relay. Not only did he know nothing more than the last time he'd talked to the Old Man, but he'd also lost the marine squad and now the members of the team along with Pencak. Goddamn Hawkins! Lamb pounded a fist on the desktop.
"Sir?"
Lamb turned back to the entrance. His intelligence analyst stood there. "What?"
"We've got some strange imagery from Tunguska." He hustled forward and laid out a series of colored photos. "These are the thermals, hot off the down link from the INTELSAT."
"What am I looking for?" Lamb demanded, staring at the confusing array of color.
The agent pointed. "The dark blue here is the eastern edge of the target, where there's snow. No heat signature. These dark red splotches here are engines running-probably generators. This, with the haze of red coming off it, must be a stove, and the smoke that's coming out of it and cooling in the air."
"Yes, so?" Lamb said testily.
"Here, sir." The agent tapped groups of red circles. "These are people." He slid another photo in front of Lamb. "Here is the weird thing, sir. See these here?" His pointer skipped over several computer generated figures. "These are people too. Except note that they are a different shade from these other ones."
Lamb nodded. "All right. What does that mean?"
"They're dead, sir. Those are fresh bodies and their body temperature is dropping quickly due to the subfreezing temperatures there in Siberia. The computer estimates they died about ten minutes before this picture was taken."
Lamb leaned forward and looked at the photos. "How many bodies?"
"Seven."
"The marines?"
The agent considered the question for a moment. "No, sir, I don't think that's our marines. There were ten of them and that lieutenant had his finger on the trigger when he went through. There should be a bunch of dead Russians, too, if the marines came out in Tunguska. Not enough bodies."
"Who is it, then?"
"Maybe the Russians also had some people go through who they didn't want to go through," the agent offered. "Or try to go through. Or someone came out that they didn't like."
Lamb rubbed his forehead. "Keep monitoring that. Let me know if there's anything more. Is that it?"
"No, sir." The agent slid another photo across his desk. It showed the flat deck of a large naval ship. "That's the Minsk-a Kiev-class V/STOL carrier. It's the flagship of the Russian fleet off the south coast." He used his pointer to indicate several aircraft on the deck. "Those are KA25 helicopters-code-named Hormone by NATO. My analysts believe they're being outfitted for a long-range flight. Those round objects next to them are external fuel tanks-not normally used. We've also picked up photos of some Spetsnatz commandos test-firing weapons off the deck of the Minsk.
"There's only one possible target for them from the south coast of Australia," he added unnecessarily.
"Tell Tolliver to double his security tonight," Lamb ordered. "I want more surveillance put on the Russian fleet. If those helicopters launch, I want to know immediately. Alert the Eisenhower to be prepared to launch a protective air cover on a five-minute notice."
"What about the Australians, sir?"
"Don't worry about that. I'll take care of them."
"Yes, sir."
"Anything further on Hawkins, Levy, or Pencak's background?"
"No, sir."
"How about Volkers or Batson?"
"Nothing suspicious, sir."
"There's got to be some connection! Find it!"
"Yes, sir."
THE OFFER
The row of chairs beckoned and Hawkins, Tuskin, and Levy quickly took their places, followed more slowly by Pencak, Fran, and Batson. The arms swung in and Hawkins again felt that slight prick on the back of his right hand. The room darkened and the three points of light appeared. The center one immediately expanded and a voice filled Hawkins's head. "We will listen."
Hawkins spoke first. "We have returned with an offer of goodwill."
"Is it goodwill that there is violence at one of our relays and we are forced to close it off?"
Surprisingly, it was Pencak who answered. "Let us be honest with each other. Our governments are not designed to react quickly-especially to the most astonishing development in the history of our species. They are still grappling with how to respond. We are here to show you that as a people we are worthy of being protected for the time being and that we have the seeds to develop into a race that will be worthy of membership in the Coalition."
"How will you show us?"
"We will recover the stolen nuclear weapon." Hawkins said. "The twin of the one that destroyed your relay at Vredefort Dome. You said the fact that that bomb was missing was significant. Recovery of that bomb ought to be significant also, then."
The red and the blue lights suddenly expanded and pulsed. It seemed as if they were communicating, yet nothing was heard until the side ones returned to their original state and the Speaker replied. "The Defender is not impressed. The Defender points out that your various factions have thousands of nuclear weapons-all capable of interfering with our defense system."