In Virginia, Elizabeth and Selena and Stephanie watched the scene unfold.
"Don't talk to them," Elizabeth said to Selena. "They're a little busy at the moment."
In the control room on top of the pyramid, Yuri watched his readouts. The words TARGET ACQUIRED appeared in red on his screen. Then, LOCKED.
"One minute," he said.
Ogorov and Kaminsky watched the video feed from the peak, waiting for the moment the proton beam would rip into space and vaporize the American satellite. The crystal glowed with blue light.
The floor vibrated. The power meters for the device jumped into the red. Malenkov's face turned white. He had just enough time to think about reaching for his switches.
Nick and the others were almost to the river when the charges detonated. The air rushed away and for an instant there was total silence. Then the top of the pyramid vanished in a burst of blue light. An enormous ball of electric blue energy blossomed and turned the night into day.
The shock wave lifted Nick from his feet and hurled him through the air. He struck hard and felt something give in his shoulder. The sound was unlike anything he'd ever heard, like thunder and lightning and high explosive all combined.
Debris hurtled past. Afterimages of light danced behind his eyelids. A dense cloud of purple, red and white columned into the air and hung like a leprous rose in the air.
Nick raised his head. Where the pyramid had been was nothing. Nothing at all. Only a glowing, cavernous opening in the ground.
"Maybe you used a little too much Semtex," Ronnie said.
CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
The blast had knocked all of them down. They got to their feet. Nick felt like he'd been hit by a truck. His earpiece was filled with static. He pulled it out.
"There's a pier on the river," Korov said. "The boat should be there."
The ground was flat for another hundred yards before it sloped down to the river. There was a gate in the fence and a guard house. A soldier stood outside, staring openmouthed at the glowing cloud behind them. He called out and brought his rifle up. Korov shouted something.
The guard was young, little more than a boy. He hesitated. Korov came up to him, shouting at him in Russian. The youth snapped to attention. When he was close enough, Korov swung his AK and slammed the guard in the side of his head. The boy went down.
"You kill him?" Lamont asked.
"No. He's just a soldier doing his duty. But he will have a very bad headache later."
They went through the gate and hurried down a set of steps to the pier. A boat waited there, a gray shape in the darkness, diesels idling. The snow fell faster. The wooden pier was slippery under their feet.
The boat was a Svetljak class, a hundred and fifty feet of serious business. A forest of antennas and masts rose from the superstructure. 30mm guns were mounted fore and aft. A gangway extended from the deck to the pier.
An officer watched them approach. They went up the gangway and Korov began talking with him. There were crewmen on deck. Nick hoped no one asked him any questions.
The crew took in the gangway. The deck throbbed and the boat pulled away from the pier.
Ronnie said, "That doesn't look good."
He pointed through the falling snow at a second boat coming from the south. Water foamed around the bow as the vessel sped toward them. It was another Svetljak class, with a single 30mm gun aft and a heavier 76mm forward. The boat was still some distance away. A squad of soldiers on deck wore the same black uniforms and red patches as the men AEON had sent against them at the pyramid.
"I thought this was too easy," Lamont said. Now what?"
"It's up to Korov now," Nick said.
Korov saw the boat and said something to the officer. They ran to a door. Nick heard their feet pounding up metal stairs, heading for the bridge.
A warning shot from the 76mm passed overhead. Klaxons sounded and a harsh voice in Russian came through the ship's speakers. The crew ran to their stations. The gun turrets rotated toward the oncoming ship.
The Ob River was wide like the Mississippi, with plenty of room to maneuver. The engines went to full power. The boat heeled over to port and headed for the middle of the river. Nick grabbed the rail to keep his balance. Another round whistled past. The ship's guns fired. Then the boat swung back and headed straight at the other ship.
Nick had never been in a naval battle. He'd never wanted to be in one. He felt helpless, at the mercy of the unseen Captain. He ran forward and watched as the two ships drew near on what looked like a collision course.
Ronnie and Lamont came up beside him.
"Jesus," Lamont said. "Like playing chicken with the Iranians in the Gulf."
Svetljak class boats mounted two torpedo tubes. Two white trails shot from the bow of their ship and bored in a straight line toward the other ship as it began to turn. The 76mm gun boomed. The shell struck behind them on the superstructure. The blast knocked the three of them down. Something tore into Nick's back. Their ship veered away.
The torpedoes ripped into the hull of the attacking boat and detonated in a burst of flame and light. A gigantic spout of water rose in the air. The vessel shuddered and slowed and began to go down by the bow as water poured into the breach.
Nick had time to realize he'd been hit before he lost consciousness.
CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
Three days later they were back in Virginia.
Shrapnel had torn a chunk out of Nick's back by his right shoulder. Six inches to the left and it would have taken his head off. A Russian naval doctor had stitched him up. Vysotsky had gotten them to Chelyabinsk and out of Russia.
Nick's arm was in a sling to discourage him from using it. He'd need some rehab once the stitches healed, but aside from a new scar, he'd been lucky. He was on painkillers. He liked the relief. He didn't like the side effects.
"I wonder how Korov will deal with Vysotsky." Nick tried to get comfortable in the chair. "You were right about him."
"I'm sure the Major will think of something," Harker said.
"He's been promoted to Colonel."
"Oh? That's smart on Vysotsky's part."
"I've said it before. It's too bad Korov isn't one of ours."
"What are we going to do about Foxworth?" Ronnie asked. "We still have him to deal with."
"Where is Foxworth now?" Nick asked her. He rubbed his face. The pills made it feel numb.
"Holed up in London. He's gotten paranoid since you hit him in Italy. When he comes out he's surrounded by bodyguards. He's got a new chief of security who used to work for the Bulgarian secret police."
"Guess we made him nervous," Ronnie said.
"Do we have any idea what he's planning?" Selena asked.
She's looking better, Nick thought. She's recovering. A small piece of his guilt dissolved.
"No. I want everyone to stay alert in case he comes after us again. He'll piece together what happened in Russia. Foxworth seems to take these things personally."
"We have to take him out," Nick said.
"You can't just kill him."
"Why not?"
"You know why not." Harker looked at him.
"No, I don't. Because it's not politically correct?"
"Because we don't assassinate people. Not since the 70s."
"You don't believe that."
"I have to believe that. For the most part, it's true. The Project acts outside the bounds all the time, but we have the evidence we need to act. Rules of engagement. We have to draw a line somewhere, otherwise we're just like Foxworth."
"Foxworth is an evil son of a bitch and he has to be stopped."
"There's a burden of proof we have to meet."