“But it wasn’t, was it?” Sam asked.
“No. I worried that we needed to keep the knowledge in case one-day new information would come to light, and a solution might prevail.” She took a deep breath. “I tasked the only person I could trust with keeping it safe, a man named Ryan Balmain.”
The name seemed familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it. “You ordered the stone recalled to the U.S. after I discovered the information regarding the Nostradamus Equation and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?”
She nodded.
“And the Gordoye Dostizheniye sunk in the Bering Strait!”
“And I lost one of the best men I’d ever known.” Her eyes welled with tears, and Sam guessed that Ryan Balmain had been more to her than a colleague, but her face remained set firm with determination. “You found my shipping container, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Why did you keep it a secret from me?”
“Ryan Balmain left a note. It said that THEY were watching you, and that if we cared about your life or those of the human race we were to remove the stone and take it to an astronomer — not associated with any government — to determine the truth.”
“I dismissed the spy from my office.”
“There may be more?”
“I’ll deal with them, too.” She turned to face him. “Have you made much progress with the stone?”
“Yes. It’s still being analyzed, but it looks like we’re rapidly approaching our time of reckoning. Billie has some ideas, and we’re meeting up with the astronomer this afternoon to determine the next step.”
“Good. Now what about the second stone?”
Sam caught his breath, and his eyes narrowed. “I only know about the Göbekli Tepe Pillar Number 44 — named the Death Stone.”
“There were two — Pillars numbers 44 and 45. The Master Builders did two things when their astronomers first spotted the asteroid in the sky. The purpose of the first stone was to depict the asteroid’s progress so we could work out when it was going to strike and how to manage the impact…”
“And the second stone?” Sam asked.
“Was one of last resort. It was a blueprint of an ancient bunker. A place where some of the human race may ride out the destruction and the subsequent ice age.”
Sam shook his head at the enormity of the concept. They’d known for some twenty years, but had kept it a secret from the entire population of planet Earth. “Whose idea was it to keep all this a secret?”
“A long-term friend of the president and an advisor, whose council Congress had always respected. The man had a Harvard degree in geology, and specialized in deep mining. An expert in protecting subterranean structures from the constant movement of tectonic plates. A man who could put together a team who would ensure the permanent survival of the last five thousand human beings for as long as it took for the planet to become habitable again. A man who was old enough to know that he would never take up a place inside the ancient bunker. He was tough and capable, and he quickly proved that he could make the hard decisions that would enable the chosen few to stay alive.”
“How?”
“By systematically cutting off every single person who knew anything about the future and might damage the safety of the colony. His ruthless tenacity has already cost the lives of three Senators, more than a dozen good men and women, including Ryan Balmain.” She sighed. “At the time I thought he was doing it all for the vital, yet brutal, protection of the human race — but then you told me about the ancient covenant of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, which the Master Builders had put in place. I contacted him and gave him the information — that’s when more people started to die.”
“He was systematically removing anyone who knew about the possible solution being stored on the Göbekli Tepe Pillar Number 44!”
“Exactly. That’s when I realized, for him, it wasn’t just about saving the human race — he wanted to start a new existence, a eugenics experiment filled with a colony based on superior DNA.”
“But if he knew the truth about Pillar Number 44 from the beginning…”
“It means he wanted this from the start. He always knew there was a solution, but instead he kept quiet, so he could achieve his dream of producing an all new colony — a perfect race.”
Sam swore. “Who?”
“His name was Leo Botkin.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Sam left the diamond merchant’s tawdry office and hailed a taxi cab. He’d finished bringing the Secretary of Defense up to date with what they’d discovered about the stone tablet, and what their plan was to locate the four hidden temples that related to the Covenant of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
He sat quietly, vacantly watching the stream of cars drive by, as his mind crunched the enormity of their betrayal, as well as the task that was set before him. The taxi pulled into LaGuardia Airport and he got out, leaving a decent tip. It might just be the end of days, might as well make the hardworking driver happy.
His cell phone rang. The caller ID said Elise. “What have you got for me?” he said without a preamble.
She was used to it, and immediately said, “I’ve got some answers about the guy who attacked you, but not all, unfortunately.”
“Who is he?”
“That’s the part I don’t know yet.”
“What do you know?”
Elise answered. “The seaplane was rented by a proxy corporation. I’ve hacked the company’s background, and it has led to three other proxies, which eventually lead to a defunct company, which was bought with fifty million in cash.”
“So, your trail ran dry?”
“No. So, I dug some more, and found a withdrawal for fifty million registered from an account with the Bank of America in Manhattan. You want to know what company withdrew the money?”
“Go on.”
“Prometheus Diamonds! It’s a large diamond cartel that’s expanded into rare commodities all around the world.”
“Let me guess, the CEO is one Leo Botkin?”
“Hey, how did you know?” Elise asked.
“It’s a long story. What about the employee who rented the seaplane?”
“I tracked the employee down, but it’s unlikely he was using his real name.”
“What was it?”
“Fred Flintstone.”
“Yeah, all right, we can scratch that name off the list.” Sam stepped into the airport and looked up at the flight numbers. He still had another five minutes until he’d need to go through security. “What about the photo of my attacker? You got the security footage from the bar, didn’t you? Was there a usable image of him?”
“Oh, yes, a crystal-clear image of his face.”
Sam grinned. It was finally something tangible. “That’s great! So?”
“So, my facial recognition software can’t find him on any database anywhere. He doesn’t exist.”
Sam deflated as quickly as he’d been encouraged. “What the hell? He must have a passport. A driver’s license? Something, surely.”
“Afraid not. It genuinely looks like he’s a ghost.”
“Yeah, well if that’s so, he’s the first ghost to nearly get me killed.”
“There’s something else about the Prometheus Diamond Corporation you’re gonna want to hear about…” Elise’s voice sounded excited.
“What?”
“Two days ago, the company started to sell off all its assets — at prices no sane person would even consider. Not unless they already knew that the company would be worthless in a few months…”
“Oh shit, they’re getting ready for something big. Are there any other major companies following suit?”
“I already checked.” Elise paused for breath.
“And?” This was killing him.