“It didn’t,” Trish said.
“No?”
“No. It went over twice that height, to just beyond two hundred and sixty thousand feet◦– The edge of space, Emily.”
Emily’s eyes gaped.
Chapter Sixty-Four
Emily couldn’t imagine a fighter jet being able to fly that high. “How is there even enough air at that height to fuel the engine?”
“There isn’t,” Trish said. “Other underlying forces were involved, and Q has just verified my uncertainties.”
“Geophysics?”
“Yes. I now know why my husband was left blinded and scarred. It’s what my personal quest has been all about, and something I could obviously not get any of the security agencies involved in.”
Emily was at a loss.
“You’re obviously aware that the Earth is one big magnet,” Trish said. “But did you also know that the magnetic poles meander over time?”
“Yes,” Emily said. “The current location of magnetic north is near Ellesmere Island in Canada and is migrating towards Siberia at roughly twenty miles a year.” She had just read that interesting piece of information in her research earlier in the day.
“Because of the dynamics of the Earth’s molten core, occasional magnetic spikes occur,” Trish explained. “They can last anything up to thirty years. Some of Kubacki’s formulas predict where and when they’ll take place.”
“Those are the formulas for which no information was available on the internet,” Emily said.
“Exactly,” Trish said. “Q will confirm that one of these spikes is currently active in the Mojave, and I suspect the nub is precisely from where Kubacki was operating.”
“That is correct, Professor LaForgue,” Q concurred. “It also happens to be an old mine from where lodestone was once excavated.”
“His document mentions that. What’s so special about lodestone?” Emily asked.
“Earth’s natural magnet,” Trish said. “It also has some very interesting molecular properties, something that’s only recently come to the attention of the scientific community. Kubacki, for all his faults and reclusive personality, is a very bright man, and in this, was way ahead of recent scientific discovery.”
“The last notable magnetic prominence was the area encompassing St. David’s Island,” Q said.
“St. David’s Island? Where’s that?” Emily asked.
“The central point of the Bermuda Triangle,” Trish said. “Those few planes and ships that either went missing or found way off course were because their instruments went crazy. But there was one that kept scientists baffled for years. You might recall that scene from Spielberg’s Close Encounters where they found a large ship in the middle of the desert.”
“You’re kidding,” Emily gasped.
“Well, not quite as dramatic,” Trish said. “But that scene was based on fact. A small fishing trawler was literally blasted out of the ocean off the coast of Bermuda and landed on the outskirts of Santa Clara in Cuba, hundreds of miles away. The unique thing about the trawler was that it didn’t have a wooden hull, but one of steel.”
“And you now believe exactly the same thing happened to your husband’s plane,” Emily said. “It was blasted out of the sky.”
Trish smiled. “I’m now convinced of it.”
Emily was really pleased for Trish and now understood. Beneath her harsh exterior was a passionate woman crying out for answers on something that had been eating away at her for years.
“What happened after the jet crashed?” Emily asked.
“John had a tracking device and he was easy to locate. They found him unconscious under his chute.”
“I’m sorry, Trish; I didn’t mean to bring back unpleasant memories.”
“That’s okay,” Trish said, with a slightly dejected look on her face. “The various remains of the fighter were collected from the Mojave, dumped on the outskirts of Groom Lake, and the whole operation was covered up as a training exercise. The usual bullshit.”
“I’m so sorry,” Emily said again, reaching out to touch Trish’s arm. She didn’t pay any mind to the rough texture of her skin.
“What I want to know is how Kubacki made use of the lodestone,” Trish said, eager to get back on topic. “That seems to be the only part of his document that’s missing. Ideally, we need to find him. Q, any thoughts?”
“No, Professor LaForgue,” Q said. “Nor can I formulate an answer. I can only work with known technology, not speculation. You, better than anyone, should know that.”
“Q’s attempt at sarcasm,” Trish said, smiling at Emily. “Some days he thinks he’s human.”
“Professor LaForgue, what makes you think that I would ever reconstruct an inferior version of myself?” Q stated.
“That’s his attempt at humour.”
Emily found it rather daunting, having a seemingly nonchalant discussion with both a human and a computer.
“Emily! My God, where have you been?” Nathan asked, wide eyed, as she and LaForgue came through the door into Level-2. He rushed over, grabbed her shoulders and looked her up and down to make sure she was all right. He then hugged her tightly. “We’ve been going frantic looking for you. Where were you?”
Emily saw the redness in Nathan’s eyes. “Nate, I’m so sorry. I didn’t have time to reach out to you. Your phone would have been useless in the Mojave anyway.” She released herself from his clutches and smiled. “I saw you land and go into the cavern.”
“But where have you been?” he insisted.
Emily glanced quickly at Trish whose face revealed nothing. “I’ve been discussing the Bermuda Triangle with Trish.”
Nathan wasn’t sure what Emily was getting at and had only just noticed that there was someone behind her. He knew exactly who it was, even though they had never met.
“You must be Nathan,” Trish said, reaching out her hand. “Trish LaForgue, Office of Security.”
“Mrs. LaForgue,” Nathan said, shaking her hand with scepticism.
“Please, call me Trish,” she said. “You have a very bright young lady here, Nathan. Hold on to her.”
Nathan released Trish’s hand and looked at Emily with a broad smile. Uri told him much the same. He had every intention of holding on to Emily. “It was bad enough not finding you,” he said. “But when Level-2’s surveillance video went static, I didn’t know what to think. No idea what happened there?”
“I instructed security to turn it off,” Trish said. “I had no intention of having my arrival here questioned.”
Well, whatever, Nathan thought. He suddenly had an enormous appetite. A few cold beers wouldn’t hurt either.
Chapter Sixty-Five
Emily had already phoned James to let him know she was all right and would explain later. He was overjoyed and assured her that he would let Sven know immediately. Emily didn’t mention over an open phone line that Kubacki’s document was authentic. She would use Shred-it when they were up in their suite later. Emily wasn’t about to expose SkyTech’s secure communications app to Trish, regardless of how much trust had been built up between them in the last few hours.
Trish had reached out to Uri and Gene, informing them that Emily was fine, and they were on their way to dinner. Nathan did the same with Obadiah.
“I had no idea you were coming here, Trish,” Uri said.
“No one did besides James,” she replied.
“And your purpose?”
“I had some things to confirm for myself and also needed to talk with Emily.”
Uri tilted his head in question.
“Woman-to-woman,” Trish said. “So, what can you tell me about the Mojave?”
As they were now the only group in the dining room, they spoke freely. Uri described the cavern in detail along with the additional tunnel leading out under some artificial shrubs, the trail of blood, the dead Mexican and the thermal power supply.