“That doesn’t look the slightest bit like the bomb we saw on Matua Island,” said Mitchell.
“So they did build one!” exclaimed Cypher. “I always wondered about that.”
“It was only about three-quarters complete.”
“Fascinating. I would have loved to see the original bomb.”
“I can take you to it if you like,”
Cypher smiled. “I bet you’d like that. Now, Mister Mitchell, please allow me to show you the instrument of your Armageddon.”
With that, Mitchell, surrounded by three of Cypher’s well-armed goons, walked to the rig.
“Hey, you, sit up straight,” called out Jackson to his son who was hunched over, playing a game on an iPad.
“Dad!” yelled out Daniel Jackson. Tossing the iPad down on the table, Daniel leapt up onto his feet and ran over to his father.
Jackson grabbed his son in his arms and, with tears in the corners of his eyes, gave him a tight bear hug.
Daniel couldn’t respond in kind as his hands had been handcuffed to prevent him from escaping.
“I’m sorry, Dad. I’m real sorry that I got you into this mess,” said Daniel, overjoyed that his father had come for him.
“It’s not your fault, Dan. These people down here are to blame, not you.”
“Are we gonna be leaving soon?”
“Soon. We still have some business to conclude. Once that’s done, we can both go home and see your mother. She’s probably going out of her mind, worrying about where you are.”
Jackson and Daniel took a seat. Jackson dug in a pocket and placed a set of car keys on the table.
“What are you doing?” asked one of the two men watching Jackson, his accent Slavic.
“Just wanted to make sure I hadn’t lost the keys to my car.”
“Like you’ll need those,” said the guard derisively.
“What did he mean by that, Dad?” asked Daniel, his voice growing afraid.
“Nothing, Son, the man can barely speak, let alone understand, English. I’ll have you home safe and sound in time for supper.”
A few seconds later, Atsuko joined them. She sat down with a bitter look on her face. Atsuko fixed her gaze across the cavern on Cypher. A thought kept running through her mind… if she was going to die, then so was he. She had abandoned any hope of saving her life. All she wanted was the chance to send Cypher to hell. How she was going to kill him, she had no idea, but if she had the chance, she was going to take it and make him pay.
46
Phillip Farragut poured himself another tall glass of bourbon, his third this afternoon. Sitting down on his moth-eaten couch, he turned on the television and then sat back for an afternoon of drinking and mindless entertainment. He didn’t really care what was on. He preferred police shows to anything else, but they usually didn’t come on until after supper. Flicking his remote, he found an old war movie on TV. He took a deep sip of bourbon. Farragut still couldn’t believe his luck. He had more money than he knew what to do with and more on the way; he began to think about selling the farm and moving into Beaumont and spending the last of his days living in a trailer park.
Over the sound of the TV Farragut never heard the front door opening. A figure crept stealthily through the house, a silenced automatic weapon held firm in the shoulder.
Thinking that he would like some ice, Farragut muted the TV and then stood up. When he turned about, his heart skipped a beat. Farragut’s eyes widened when he saw a small woman standing in front of him, dressed in camouflage fatigues with a weapon pointed at his heart.
“Listen carefully to what I have to say,” said Sam. “I want you to pick up your phone, call 9-1-1, and tell whoever answers who you are and that there is a man in your house with a gun and then hang up.”
Farragut, his hands shaking, picked up the phone and placed the call just as instructed.
“Jesus, girl, please don’t kill me,” pleaded Farragut.
“I’m not going to kill you. Now, I need to know if there is another way down inside the cavern.”
Farragut was confused. She looked like she was one of them. Why would she want another way down?
“I asked you a question,” said Sam, her patience fading fast.
“Yes, there are a couple of other ways down below. We used to use them when we were kids. But I haven’t crawled down into them tunnels in years, miss.”
Sam lowered her weapon slightly. “Sir, I need you to trust me. I’m with the authorities. The men on your land intend to detonate a bomb that will kill thousands of people. Can you lead me to the nearest tunnel entrance?”
“No, you have it all wrong. It’s just a movie. There’s no bomb down there.”
“Sir, please, we are wasting time. I must get below before it’s too late.”
Although his mind was hazy from the bourbon, Farragut could see that Sam wasn’t fooling around. There really was a bomb. Nodding, Farragut walked over to the table and picked up the keys to his truck.
“How far away is it?”
“Not too far, but we’ll have to drive past all those people out there to get to the nearest tunnel if I can still recall where it is.”
“Are you sure you can drive?” asked Sam, seeing Farragut stagger from side to side on his feet.
“Sure, I’m really not going all that far.”
“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” muttered Sam under her breath. “Let’s go.”
A minute later, Farragut waved over at the men guarding the entrance to the cavern as he slowly drove his beat-up truck down the dusty path. Sam lay in the backseat, covered by an old blanket, her silenced weapon tight in her hands. Bouncing up and down like a bucking bronco as it hit every rock in its path, the truck turned a slight bend and came to a stop behind a small grove of trees.
Farragut glanced over his shoulder and said, “We’re here… I hope.”
Carefully raising her head, Sam peered back toward the farm. It was quiet. So far, no one suspected a thing. She got out of the truck and looked over at Farragut. “Where is the entrance?”
“Jesus, I told you, missy, it’s been forever since I was a kid. Give me a minute to collect my thoughts.”
Kicking dried brush and rocks out of his way, Farragut tried to find the long-forgotten tunnel entrance.
Sam had called Donaldson the instant the Hummers had turned onto Farragut’s land. After confirming her location by GPS, Sam parked her jeep, dug out an old green army duffle bag, and then changed her clothes. Sneaking back onto Farragut’s land, she made her way straight to his home.
Now looking back at the rows of vehicles parked behind the farmhouse, Sam was starting to grow nervous that she was going to be seen when Farragut let out a whistle. She saw Farragut get down on all fours and begin to clear away a couple of old rotten wooden boards.
“I remember my father getting mad at us for crawling around down in the cavern, so he boarded it up.”
Sam helped him remove the last of the old boards. She peered into the narrow rocky entrance. Sam was happy that it was she and not Jackson about to go down into the tunnel.
“Now what, missy?”
“Sir, I want you to drive to the entrance of your farm and wait for the police to arrive. When they do, tell them that armed men have a bomb on your land.”
“That’s all?”
“Sir, with the amount of liquor on your breath, if you can convince them that you’re not making all of this up, that will be good enough for me.”
With a quick wave of her hand, Sam lowered herself into the tight, rocky channel and then began to climb down into the earth.
Farragut got back in his truck and began to drive. A thought crossed his mind. He was still owed money. If the police came and arrested everyone, he would never see the rest of the money coming to him. He decided to see if Miss Tam, his favorite, was with the others down in the cavern. Perhaps she could pay him before the police arrived.