“This is it,” Eli exclaimed, setting his lantern down close to the sealed chamber entrance and dropping his backpack.
The entrance to the ancient crypt was about three feet in diameter. Sealed for the centuries by a flat chiseled piece of limestone, the Ichthus symbol on the cover stone was now clearly visible since Eli had treated it earlier that day with a mild acid solution.
“It looks like the centuries of natural settlement have fashioned a tight seal around the cover stone. We’ll have to chisel it out carefully,” Maria said.
“We’ll take turns chipping away at the natural rock that surrounds the cover stone so we don’t damage it,” Eli said to Maria as he pulled the tools from his pack.
“Fine by me, Dr. Turner,” Maria replied, digging out the digital camera from her pack. “I’ll start taking some photos.”
“You gentlemen might as well get comfortable,” Eli said to Captain Saune and the private, who looked and felt somewhat out of place inside this volcanic lava chamber.
“We’ll stand watch over there,” the captain said, pointing to a recently vacated burial chamber because it commanded a view of the pathway leading back to the entrance.
Leaving the two archaeologists, the soldiers walked to the empty chamber. Climbing in, they slumped down against a wall and switched off their lights.
“Okay, Maria, let’s get started,” Eli said as he started to chip away at the basalt rock. “It’s going to be a long night.”
After fifteen minutes, Maria took over the task. This routine continued for more than two hours before the last of the basalt rock surrounding the cover stone was finally removed, freeing it from its earthen lock. By then, both Maria and Eli were coated in perspiration from the work, causing them to be chilled by the cave’s cool interior. Putting the tools away, Eli stared for a long moment at the freed stone, his mind wondering as to what could lay beyond the seal in front of them.
He glanced over to where Captain Saune and his subordinate sat silently in the darkness of their chamber, their presence made known only by the glowing embers of their cigarettes in the surrounding blackness.
Outside the cave, the two guardsmen chatted silently about their upcoming leave after this assignment, completely unaware their lives were about to end. As they quietly conversed, silent forms stealthily approached them in the blackness. A light falling rain hissed as tiny droplets hit the red-hot embers of their campfire.
6
Yashiro Fuiruchirudo slowly inched his way through the Bishamon facility’s main utility shaft. The narrow, steel corridor ran the entire length of the complex. It carried the complex’s power, communication cables, and, the building’s fresh water supply, which was fed from a gravity tank located outside of the building. Though cramped and covered with dust, it was large enough for a man to traverse safely.
Yashiro ceased his crawling every ten feet or so to catch his breath or to wait in stark terror as people passed directly below him in the corridor that ran parallel to the shaft. His heart pounding in his chest, he moved closer to the end of the darkened passageway that ended abruptly over the supply and refuse storage room at the far end of the facility. The room contained the refuse bins that would be lowered down to the excavated lava tube below the complex.
A helipad was constructed on a level surface just below the outer entrance to the lava tube. Yashiro knew the Sikorsky CH-53K heavy-lift helicopter was due in the morning to re-supply the facility and take out refuse.
If all goes well, I’ll be long gone by then, he thought as he reached one of the ventilator grates that offered a view of the corridor below. Yashiro held no doubt that his plan was a long shot at best, but fear had overcome reason at this point. He knew in his heart that if he remained, he would surely die.
Seeing no one below, he inched carefully toward the final grate that would ultimately lead to his freedom. As he crawled onward, he vividly recounted in his mind the encounter he had with Yagato Osama earlier that day. There was no doubt now in his mind as to the awful plans he and Robert Pencor had in store for millions of unsuspecting people in the United States.
Yashiro had been at his workstation monitoring EM levels as usual that morning when one of the guards came to his desk and ordered him to follow. The two went down the corridor to the stairway that led to the complex’s second level, which housed the suites, security, and conference rooms. Walking up the stairway, they approached the door of the suite belonging to Yagato Osama.
This is it, I’m a dead man, Yashiro thought in terror as they entered the room. He saw Osama sitting at his desk, sipping a cup of tea. He then smiled an evil, knowing grin that caused Yashiro’s stomach to convulse.
“Good morning, Yashiro,” Osama said in an animated voice. “I’m so glad you could join me.”
“Good morning, Mr. Osama,” Yashiro replied as he nervously looked around the room.
“Leave us,” he barked to the guard, “and wait outside the door.”
After the guard obediently left the room and closed the door behind him, Osama gestured for Yashiro to sit in one of the three chairs that were conspicuously placed in the center of the room.“Yashiro, you have been part of our project since its inception and have done great service to our planned success. That is why it pains me to discover that you want to leave our little project before its completion,” Osama said. “I want to know if anyone else in the facility shares your sentiment.”
“No one that I am aware of, Mr. Osama,” Yashiro said as Osama stared coldly at him.
“As one of our more astute scientists, I’m sure you are aware of our plan and know that we are close to its final stages.”
“Yes, I know of your plan, but I don’t understand. Why would you want to kill millions of innocent people?” Yashiro asked bravely, knowing it mattered little since he had been found out.
“It’s not your business to understand why our benefactor, Mr. Pencor, wants to use our expensive toys,” Osama hissed. “The Scalar Interferometer wave is on schedule thanks to your diligent work and we can go to optimum EM levels in two days. I am willing to forgive your poor lapse in judgment, but you must realize that you cannot remain here. With Pencor arriving here today, the final plans will proceed and I want no mistakes. ”
“Pencor is coming here?” Yashiro asked in surprise.
“Yes, that is why I have a special assignment for you. I am sending you on tomorrow morning’s helicopter supply flight to Pencor’s plant in Morocco. You will be taking over the production of the Zero Point Generators that he has been manufacturing for shipment. You are versed in the technology of Zero Point energy, are you not?”
“I have studied the research of nuclear scientists working on the process in the United States and the use of Scalar weapons,” Yashiro said. “They have had minor success in developing a test device in a laboratory setting only. I know the device produces an output that exceeds the level of its energy input, thus, creating a self-sustaining supply of energy.” Yashiro remembered how amazed he had been after discovering the fully operational Zero Point Generator located in the lower level of the facility. “Basically,” Yashiro continued, “it’s free magnetic energy, which can be replenished indefinitely from the vacuum of everything around us. If Pencor has succeeded in this quest to mass produce the ZPGs, why wouldn’t he want to share it with the world instead of devastating the entire eastern seaboard of the United States?”
“The opportunity for unbounded wealth and absolute power,” Osama replied. “In the wake of a massive natural catastrophe, can you think of a better way to control a country than by having a strangle-hold on its power needs? With the money Pencor paid us for the development of our Scalar weapon technology, we provided Pencor the means to consummate his mad quest for vengeance while reaping vast profits as well. From our share of the profits in the Zero Point Generator deployment worldwide, the Yakuza will posture itself in not only becoming a dominant political force in Japan, but also a major player in the geopolitical arena. What that madman Pencor does is of no concern to me as long as the Yakuza reap the benefits. So, it is settled; you will leave in the morning,” Osama said flatly.