Ethan watched as from behind the wrecked vehicles the two helicopters lifted off, then turned toward the north and accelerated away, hugging the ground at low-level until he could neither see or hear them any longer.
XXXIX
Aaron Devlin strode through the corridors of the Defense Intelligence Analysis Centre and boarded the elevator that would take him up to the fifth floor. He passed through the security protocol stations and made his way to the anechoic chamber, stepping inside and sealing the doors behind him before he moved to the centre of the room.
There, alongside the remains of the being found in Israel, the mummy of the Inca girl sat in a temperature controlled Perspex case, her features as serene as ever.
‘Report, please.’
The voices remained as anonymous as ever. Aaron spoke in a clear voice and used as few words as possible.
‘Lucy Morgan failed in her attempts to recover the remains that she sought,’ he said. ‘No materials recovered from the expedition have made it back to the United States except in my custody, and thus no security protocols have been breached.’
There was a long silence as Aaron stood in the darkness and awaited a response.
‘You’re absolutely sure this time,’ the voice of Number Four asked. ‘The governments of well over one hundred nations have their eyes on us and are expecting absolute security surrounding this issue. They can be in no doubt that there will be no information leak, no compromise.’
‘I am absolutely sure,’ Aaron replied. ‘We recovered all of the remains. In addition, all evidence of human presence on the mountain peaks at the site in question have been destroyed either in the attempt to recover them or afterwards by my own men. I oversaw this process personally.’
‘And what of Ethan Warner, Nicola Lopez and Lucy Morgan?’ asked Number Seven.
Aaron maintained a steady voice as he replied.
‘We lost track of Ethan Warner in Peru. Nicola Lopez and Lucy Morgan have both returned to Illinois, Lopez to her work and Morgan to her studies. We are maintaining a track on both of them.’
‘You lost Ethan Warner?’ Number Nine demanded.
Aaron grinned tightly to maintain his patience with a question that sounded like an accusation of incompetence. ‘Ethan Warner broke from the main group somewhere between Peru and Argentina and disappeared. Due to the limited nature of support offered me on this mission, my men were not equipped to pursue him. We will maintain a watch on his family and home in expectation of his return, but given his recent life off the grid, he may not be easy to find.’
A long silence followed Aaron’s reply before Number Six spoke.
‘What are the chances of Yuri Polkov having survived the incident?’
Aaron shrugged, although he knew that none of the men could see him. ‘Yuri Polkov’s body was located during our search of the mountain. He was interred in an unmarked grave in the Atacama Desert. It’ll take any of his associates ten thousand years to locate his remains. In the meantime, we have taken control of his assets to further fund our own investigations.’
Another long silence, and this time Number One spoke.
‘The director of intelligence has been attempting to gain access to operations, and is believed to have dispatched a former DIA analyst in order to expose us. Do you have any knowledge of this individual or what stage their work has reached?’
‘Ethan Warner was in the company of Lucy Morgan, Nicola Lopez and an unknown individual who could possibly have been working for another government agency. However, I was not able to identify them. Due to the illegality of our presence in both Peru and Argentina and the need to remain covert, all individuals had to be allowed to leave to avoid an international incident. Had we continued operations or indeed attempted to arrest anybody in plain sight of local guides and terrorists, it is certain that the governments in question would have made moves to prevent us from leaving the country at all. A large number of Russian mercenaries were intercepted by my team and were killed when they attempted to resist arrest. The Argentinian government recognises that they were part of an international crime syndicate, and have repatriated their remains to Russia. Vladimir Polkov was found dead several days before in Peru. The official story is that both were killed during high-risk and illegal tomb-robbing exercises in the respective countries. Given that they were Russians and not Americans, we have nothing to fear from any further investigations into the deaths.’
Another long silence, before a final reply.
‘Congress must remain unaware of our activities,’ Number One said. ‘Make no mistake, we cannot allow the American people to become aware that their government, their Congress, is merely a cipher for our operations. Continue your work, Agent Devlin, and ensure the security of our futures. All of our futures.’
Aaron turned, and without another word he left the chamber.
‘I don’t know where to begin.’
The Intelligence Director closed the file before him, which contained Doug Jarvis’s report on the entirety of events since he had begun his pursuit of Lucy Morgan.
‘This is something that we have been wrestling with for decades,’ Jarvis replied, the director’s office windows fogged for privacy. ‘Majestic Twelve is in effect a shadow government, capable of pulling strings globally to advance its agenda. Ever since President Eisenhower warned of the growing power of the military-industrial corporations’ influence over politics, units of the intelligence community have been trying to pin down exactly who is really running our country. Suffice to say, sir, that right now it’s neither Congress nor the White House. They’re just the public face of something far more sinister.’
The director nodded, one hand resting on the file for a moment.
‘What of the operatives you employed during this operation?’
‘Nicola Lopez and Ethan Warner were not employed by me,’ Jarvis admitted. ‘They were called in by Lucy Morgan. Neither of them has any real love for the intelligence community any longer after their previous investigations — too many close calls fighting against our own damned people.’
The director looked at the file beneath his hand for a moment longer.
‘Call them in, Doug. I want to make them an offer.’
‘Of what?’
‘Something that they cannot refuse. Where are they, right now I mean?’
Jarvis managed to slap an awkward smile on his face. ‘I’m not entirely sure, sir.’
The director raised an eyebrow. ‘You’re not sure?’
‘It’s complicated.’
The community hospital was a small building in the town of Pitlochrie, nestled deep beneath the soaring peaks of the Cairngorns. Ethan at it as he climbed out of the car he had hired, feeling odd having to drive in the right hand seat once again.
‘This place is freezing.’
Lopez got out of the passenger side and slammed the door shut, then pulled her collar up about her neck. Her deeply tanned skin was at odds with the grey skies and cold wind.
‘This is pretty mild for the time of year,’ Ethan pointed out as he led the way inside the hospital.
‘Good to hear,’ Lopez replied. ‘Remind me what the hell we’re doing here?’