“I will be praying for you. Stay under the cover of darkness when you can, and remember to keep praying without ceasing, just as we were commanded in Scripture.”
After nodding in agreement, Amanda stood up, walked around the car, and slipped off into the storm.
Philippe stood and watched his friend make her way across the field. At one point she disappeared, but a few seconds later, he saw her silhouette moving through the construction site near the road.
The pastor prayed fervently that the Lord would guide her. When he had finished praying, he felt a release. Whether it was confirmation that she was truly embracing her calling or just that the Lord was going to protect her, he couldn’t say.
As he dropped down on one knee again, a number of questions continued to swirl around in his head. What if she were taken by those men who were plotting evil things? But the thought of a young Hebrew boy who had answered the call to face his giant made Philippe smile. That giant was every bit as real as the one the young American girl was going to face.
Suddenly Philippe felt a strange urge to look up into the sky. As he lifted his head, he noticed the steel-gray clouds that stretched in every direction, as far as the eye could see. The opaque covering completely blotted out the stars that had been twinkling in the sky only hours before.
And then it hit him. Beyond those clouds, in a place the Bible called the second heaven, there were doors. Some called them stargates, others called them portals. But one thing was abundantly clear: they were doors that were never supposed to be opened by man.
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
“With only four people, do you really think it’s best to split up?” Carmen asked.
Zane had just finished laying out his plans to breach the facility. He and Skinner would initiate a ruse that he hoped would bring out one or both of the guards at the entrance and thereby allow the operatives to gain entry. At the same time, Carmen and Reid would backtrack through the woods to the far end and enter the parking deck. From there, they would look for an entrance, in case Zane and Skinner were unsuccessful. They would also perform reconnaissance through the windows of the control center. Skinner’s Internet search indicated the control room had windows facing the parking deck.
“I do think so,” Zane replied. “We’re running low on time, and to limit ourselves to one point of entry would be foolish. Time is of the essence, and we need a Plan B if Skinner and I can’t get in.”
Reid looked at Zane. “Something tells me the far end near the parking deck and control room is going to be the most heavily guarded. I wouldn’t count on us getting in down there unless we shoot our way in.”
“You might be surprised,” Zane said. “We don’t know how many men Mironov has at his disposal, and we don’t know how well he knows the layout of the building. I want the two of you to perform a little recon. We need to know what we’re going to run into down at the control room.”
Skinner nodded. “I agree. Who knows what you might find out? For example, where is VanGelder, and is he still alive?”
“I doubt they’ve killed him already,” Reid replied. “He’s here for a reason and is probably safe until they’ve finished whatever it is they came here to do.”
“Well, unfortunately we don’t have any more time to debate,” Zane said. “Let’s go live on our mics.” Everyone reached down and turned on their transmitters. “Brett, do you read?”
There was a short pause before a voice crackled through everyone’s earbuds. “Yes, I’m here.” Zane filled Brett in on their plan.
“Okay, let’s move, everybody,” Zane said. Looking at Carmen and Reid, he used two fingers to point back the way they had come. The two departed through the trees.
Once they were gone, Zane motioned for Skinner to draw close. He then methodically laid out how they were going to draw out the two guards and then enter the world’s largest particle physics control center.
It took Carmen and Reid seven minutes to travel back through the woods to a point opposite the parking deck. With the blizzard providing cover, they were able to jog or sprint for most of the distance.
Upon arrival, they positioned themselves behind two large pines at the edge of the woods. Carmen examined the parking deck in front of them. It was the typical concrete construction, with three levels and stairwells at each corner.
A little to their right and across the street from the parking deck was the building that housed the control center. It was impossible to see through the windows from that angle, but there was light spilling out of all six.
The Italian lifted her arm and spoke into her wrist. “Petrosino here. Can you read? Over.”
“Copy that,” was Zane’s response in her earpiece.
“There are no vehicles on first level of the parking deck, so we’re going to enter and perform recon on levels two and three.”
“Copy that. We are about to initiate on our end, so let’s go dead for the next twenty minutes.”
Carmen crept over to where Reid was kneeling behind the pine trunk. Reid had his monocular trained on the parking deck and didn’t turn around. “See anything?” she asked.
“I can just barely see the back end of a vehicle on level two. SUV. Black Mercedes.”
“I thought that’s probably where they were parked.” Carmen knelt down next to him. “Okay here’s what we’re going to do. There are stairs on this end.” She pointed toward the corner of the structure. “We’ll move up them together. I’m going to get out on the second level, clear it, and then set up between the cars so I can have a look-see into the building. That level will afford a perfect angle to see into the windows.
“I want you to continue to the third level and make sure there are no tangos up top. Once you’ve cleared it, you can remain if you have a good view through the windows, or you can come join me on the second. Oh, and one other thing… let’s go to red filters.”
The operatives snapped red filters over the front of their flashlights. The dull beam would allow them to use the devices without drawing attention.
With everything in place, Carmen looked around one last time. Except for the driving snow, there appeared to be no movement in either direction. Using two fingers, she pointed toward the deck, and Reid nodded.
Carmen drew her Beretta, chambered one round, and then sprinted off through the deepening powder. Reid waited three seconds and then took off after her. As soon as they arrived at the deck, they lifted their weapons and cleared the surrounding area.
Other than an elevator shaft in the center, the first level was completely empty. Confident that all was clear, Carmen led Reid up two flights of stairs to the second level. As Reid disappeared up the stairs, she stepped quietly to the open door that led out into the parking area. Just as expected, there was a row of vehicles in front of her. All were black Mercedes of various models, a sure indication that CERN's visitors were not college professors or physicists.
The Italian counted to thirty before walking over to the vehicles in order to let her eyes adjust to the darkness inside the concrete structure.
Seeing no movement, she walked quietly over to the line of vehicles and slid in between two of the SUVs. She crept up to the front and kneeled behind the concrete wall at the edge.
Rising up a bit, Carmen pulled out her monocular and focused it on the windows of the building across the street. The room was lighted, but only dimly, and it was therefore difficult to make out any detail. Carmen could see cubicle walls and a few people standing behind one of them, but she had no way of telling who they were or what they were doing.