Gods and Men- The Hank Boyd Omnibus, page 63
part #1 of Gods and Men Series
“You’re forgiven.”
As I say the words, I think I can see a little of the weight Terra is bearing lift from her shoulders. She holds onto guilt like we humans do.
Probably from hanging around mortals for so long.
I walk up next to her, watching the land around us gyrate. She sees me but doesn’t react.
“Just so you know,” I say still in awe over her abilities, “I never blamed you for what they did to my dad—to my family.”
“You should have…”
I fully face her. “Says the woman who has yet to accost me for killing her parents.”
Her eyes harden, but she doesn’t take the bait. And I know why.
“This whole hunting and killing thing doesn’t suit you. When this is all over, I hope you’ll consider leaving it behind.”
“Unfortunately, when this is all over…” She looks at me, sorrow washing over her face, “one of us is surely going to die.”
Camp Arifjan, Kuwait
Kane watched as men descended upon the beach. Some were armed to the teeth with an assortment of high-powered weapons, while others were armed with a variety of medical supplies. The pilot looks to have broken his leg, and his uncle had a gash on his forehead, but otherwise, the general seemed fine.
“We need to get on the horn with the carrier group and tell them to open fire!” Carrack yelled, marching his way over to them. He pushed away any and all help, directing the medics to the much more injured pilot.
“Todd,” Kane said.
“I’m here,” Todd replied, clicking away. “Give me thirty seconds.”
As Carrack stopped in front of them, Todd finished. “Go ahead Uncle Steve,” Kane said smiling, “the George H.W. Bush is on the line.”
“Um, Ned?” Carrack said.
“We read you, Steve, go ahead.”
Kane gave his uncle a thumbs up.
“About that help you promised?” Carrack asked, speaking through Kane to the carrier group.
“Firing in ten seconds.”
“Ten seconds,” Kane said, relaying the message.
They faced the water and watched, all the while Kane counted down to zero. He wasn’t sure what to expect since there wasn’t a lot of information on railgun tests published, even in the CIA. Would there be a massive boom or even a flash of light? Would there be any hint at all? When he hit zero, he saw the latter of the two.
A few miles off the coast, a small pinprick of light bloomed to life, indicating the exact location of the battleship. Immediately following the weapon’s firing, they all turned inland and saw something unbelievable.
Anu, still encased in his tornado of death, ceased to exist. They watched as his body vanished from sight, with little more than a puff of red. As soon as the round hit, the storm began to dissipate, its tight circular rotation becoming an uncoordinated wobble.
“Holy cannoli,” Kane said, whistling. It was probably the most incredible display of raw firepower that he’d ever seen.
“You think he’s dead,” Nicole asked, “both of them?”
“I’ll make sure they stay that way,” Carrack said, turning back to his nephew. “Do me a favor, Jeremy. Get me in contact with the remaining helos. Tell them that if they find any remains of that asshole that they have my permission to empty their payloads into him and burn whatever’s left.”
Kane grinned.
“What about Susanoo?” Nicole asked.
Carrack turned to her.
“That’s what our SEAL teams are for. They’ll do the same.”
She tried to smile, but couldn’t.
“We’ll find him.”
She looked up. “How?”
As she voiced the question. Todd’s voice came blaring over her comms. He was rambling on about a place in Iraq and a possible location of Babel, but Nicole couldn’t make heads-or-tails of it. He was too excited and wasn’t speaking coherently.
A shuffling sound came next, like someone getting shoved. Next, was the sound of Todd complaining about getting manhandled by a much smaller woman, confirming Nicole’s suspicion.
“Nicole, it’s Olivia. Hank is on his way to Eridu.”
“Eridu?” Nicole asked aloud.
Carrack’s eyes widened at the mention of the word.
“Yes,” Olivia replied, continuing. “We believe it’s the site of the tower. Daniel just contacted us and confirmed it along with Frost’s research here.”
“Are you sure?” Nicole asked.
“Honestly,” Olivia said, “we aren’t, but it’s the best thing we have to go on. But Todd and I agree on the location if that helps at all.”
“It does,” Nicole said. “Thanks, guys.”
“Eridu, huh?” Carrack asked, scratching his chin.
“You know it well?”
“Only what the history books say.”
“You have anyone in the area that can meet us there?” Kane asked, hopeful.
“No.”
Kane and Nicole’s hearts sank.
“But… I can have a team on the ground in a few hours as long as you’re willing to cross into one of the most hostile environments in the world.”
“Absolutely,” Nicole quickly replied, standing straighter.
“Sure, I’m game,” Kane said in his usual lax way.
Carrack looked at his watch. “Okay, you two… Wheels up at sundown. Get dressed for an airdrop. You’re going in hot.”
POWER
26
The Citadel
The creature who called itself the master had disappeared shortly after his and Ben’s conversation. It was a blessing too. Ben needed to collect his thoughts and rest. Just the strain of everything that happened was starting to eat at him. His body did feel more relaxed, however, but he still couldn’t walk. His mind, on the other hand, was still a mess. Both were something he’d have to fix if he wanted to try and escape before the master returned.
He dragged himself across the sizeable, bowl-shaped floor, towards the lowest hanging vine. He still couldn’t believe this was the fabled gardens of Babylon. There were stories that they held a magic, being able to grow in the desolate desert, but then again…it was a myth—pure folklore.
Of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were, until now, the only one whose whereabouts had yet to be definitively located.
Not that I really know where I am. He figured he was in Iraq like they thought, but where… That was the ultimate question.
Originally thought to have been built by King Nebuchadnezzar II around 600 B.C., the gardens themselves have taken on a more fairy-tale persona as time has gone on. But the similar descriptions in various Greek and Roman texts always gave Ben hope that they may have once existed. He figured the size, like a lot of ancient structures, was overstated. He also knew that when the early cultures agreed upon the existence of something like this, it more often than not ended up being real. Like An’tala. Countless civilizations around the globe mentioned an island kingdom, but like Babel, no one could come to an agreement on its exact location.
Lost in translation, he decided.
If Atlantis was directly involved with Babel somehow, then just about anything could be possible. The abilities of those who called the island home gave credence to the notion, even if only a handful of people had such gifts. All they’d need was someone like the woman who attacked D.C. or even the Mayan queen, Coaxoch. One of them could have easily helped build such an edifice given enough time. All they’d require was a design to follow, planned by an architect of sorts.
Hmmm… He thought as he continued to inch forward. His arms were on fire, and his shoulders ached, but he shut out the pain. It wouldn’t matter how much agony he was in if the master got what he wanted.
The master.
He knows a lot more than he’s revealed so far. Maybe he was the brain behind this place. It could be why he’s still here. But he’s not trapped by any means. Ben being inside the Citadel proved that much. It’s why he was doing what he was doing. There was most definitely a way in and out of this place.
Then what?
His NVS glasses were gone and with it any chance of contacting the others. Not that they’d work here anyway. If he did miraculously heal his broken body and make it topside, he’d have to have enough time to make the call. Now, he’d need cross Iraqi soil, on foot, with zero knowledge of his whereabouts and no way of defending himself. Of all the places he’d been in his life, Eridu wasn’t one of them.
One thing at a time, Ben.
He scolded himself for getting too far ahead. It was an easy way to discourage yourself. If you just took it one step at a time—essentially mental baby steps—it was easier to see the big picture. Focusing only on the dejected feeling consuming you could easily cause you to skip over the tiny details, especially when getting barraged by the human mind’s natural negativity. People as a whole loved to see the glass-half-empty rather than the opposite.
So, he again refocused his mind on his current task: Get to the vines. He needed to see what they could do for his back. Just a whiff of the crushed plant worked as well as it did, acting as a muscle relaxer, but without the drowsiness.
What could a deep inhalation do? What if I ate some?
While the latter scared him more than intrigued him, he figured the results couldn’t be any worse than his current predicament. Die at the hands of the master, or die by some sort of ancestral overdose.
Damn room, he thought, grunting.
The cave was the size of an arena, and the floor started its smooth slope in the next ten feet. He’d have to claw his way up the incline before reaching the lowest hanging vine. Some were growing over his head, but being unable to stand he’d have to keep moving.
They still amazed him too. The fact that they received their life-saving power from a stone was equally incredible. Then again, he’d seen what happened to Hank. The power of this place, along with everything else associated with it, was one-hundred-percent nonfiction. If he sniffed a leaf and magically walked again, he wouldn’t be the least bit surprised.
The incline came mid-thought and almost tripped him up. Ben stopped and took a couple deep breaths and pushed on. His shoulders—neither of which he could feel—shook, causing his arms to do the same. He stopped again and craned his head up, allowing himself a small smile of victory. The lowest vine was only a few feet further.
“Come on,” he whispered aloud, feeling sweat drip from every square inch of his face. He was soaked and becoming lethargic from the combination of overexertion and dehydration.
When was the last time I had a drink?
He dug in and clawed forward again, feeling his fingers split open on the stone beneath him. Or was it a coarse metal? Didn’t matter either way. The blood pumped through the wounds making the trek even harder. But like before, he endured and pushed himself past his known breaking point. It wasn’t until a large leaf smacked him in the face that he realized he’d made it.
But his triumph was short-lived as he started to slide back down the ever-slickening slope. He looked down and saw that both hands were now bleeding. Both palms, along with most of his fingers, were busted open, causing his hands to slip further.
“Rargh!” he yelled, launching himself onto the vine. He used what strength he had to pull himself up it a foot, but his wet hands lost whatever grip they briefly had. He yelped as he fell hard to the bowl and rolled like a bloodied tree log, only stopping once he found the flat foundation of the room.
Lying on his back, Ben looked up at the Source, trying to catch his breath. A set of giggles erupted from his mouth, sending him deeper into delirium. He snickered again and broke out into an all-out chortle, coughing halfway through.
He clamped his jaw shut and settled down, looking down at his mangled hands. But instead of cringing at what he saw, he looked past the blood and fixated on what he held. A leaf, easily the size of one of his hands, was clutched in them.
Not wasting any time, Ben crumbled up the leaf, feeling the small amount of liquid trapped inside leak onto his hands. He noticed something odd as it did. It was as if he washed his hands in Novocain. He could still move his hands, but he couldn’t feel himself do it. He again looked at his bloodied palms and found them entirely healed. The only sign of an injury was the crimson left behind.
Smiling again, he brought the crushed leaf up to his face and inhaled deeply.
The Kur
Surrounding the central Citadel was a massive underground network of stone tunnels, designed as a foundation to support what had been the largest structure on planet Earth. Those who lived during the tower’s time knew little else about it.
But the master knew. He knew everything. The Kur, he thought, reciting the original name for the underground portion of the tower. He was there when it was erected, watching from the shadows. He even remembered the man named, Malecima. The man would aid in the tower’s plan and site, unknowingly pleasing the master with every decision.
He was even bold enough to think he could control the Source.
With every level completed in the tower’s construction, the master found himself closer and closer to his ultimate goal. But then Malecima had to go and decimate it, trying to gain even more wisdom—more power. His human traits of greed and selfishness destroyed any hope of reaching the heavens.
Heavens, he thought, grunting. Foolish humans. If they only knew what it really meant. There was another meaning behind the word.
The master stopped and looked up, visualizing the skies above. It had been ages since he’d seen the stars. Having been relegated to the underground tunnels for thousands of years, the master itched to walk the earth above. Survival, however, was more critical. His eventual freedom would have to wait a little while longer.
But first, I need him…
He needed a host body, and a fully human one wouldn’t work. He required something…better. A regular mortal would just burn up and die after he commandeered it. But Boyd was different. He held a small portion of the Source inside of him, making his body strong enough to hold up against the master’s power.
“Susanoo,” the master said, calling out to his lieutenant.
But there was no answer.
He growled in frustration. He’d have to try the others. He didn’t usually attempt this, but Susanoo rarely ignored him. He’d have to be gentle as to not destroy their minds.
“Anu.”
Again no answer.
The master quaked with anger, causing the earth around him to tremble. It’s as afraid as the ground could sound, cracking and groaning. Even a few of the tunnels collapsed off in the distance.
His two strongest were either ignoring him—which he doubted—or defeated. They could heal from almost every wound, but if they were hurt badly enough…
“Phoenix.”
A scream of pain answered him. “Who?” The voice was weak.
“It is I,” he said, gently. He needed her alive and well. “Where are you?”
“I…I’m where I was asked to be, approaching my targets in the US. We missed them earlier. Susanoo wanted me to clean up.”
He nodded his bald, grey-skinned head. He, unlike the others, lacked the decorative appearances. His genealogy was much more unique than even the Judges—purer too. He didn’t have their weaknesses—their human faults.
“Very well,” he said. “Proceed.”
He cut communication with the fiery one and continued down a lesser used corridor. It led to the deepest part of the tower’s base, a level very few even centuries ago ventured. Even him.
They have not been freed in some time, he thought. He would have smiled if he had the physical ability. It will be interesting to see what happens when they are.
27
Safe House
Blairsville, Georgia
She needed this shower. Her body was exhausted. Her mind even more so. She was used to working in her lab for hours on end but sitting at a computer console for as long as they had worn on her worse. At least when she was mostly on her feet, she’d be walking back and forth from station to station, keeping her back loose. It was very seldom that she’d be stuck in one spot for so long.
The water was hotter than usual, but she moaned in delight as it pounded on her knotted shoulders and neck. She was missing Jeremy’s strong hands, and the memory of it kept her mind off the scent the water had. She really hated wells. She smiled, again thinking of his hands. He could knead away even the tightest of lumps.
And then some.
As she worked on her own neck, trying to rid herself of the constant ache, she thought she heard someone shout. But that couldn’t have been right, Todd was still downstairs working. He knew where she was and that she needed a break. He basically begged her to take thirty minutes and recharge.
Was it that obvious?
Once they discovered what they believed to be the location of the tower in Eridu, her concentration started to give, lapsing as she typed. The high they experienced after the call from Daniel and the continuation of it when they contacted Nicole crashed shortly after hanging up. Once she and Todd were done with the hard part, they had gone about rechecking things, and assisting Daniel in Algeria.
He and whoever else survived were to be picked up and taken to a safe location in Israel. There, Daniel would wait until further notice. It was another of the in-depth precautions Jeremy had set up. No matter where they went, he would make sure they had a backdoor out of the area, or at the very least, somewhere to lay low for a while. He had contacts all over the world, and if he couldn’t find someone, then surely Hank or Ben could. Even Todd had a few resources to help in case of emergency. His were primarily other hacker friends, but like most people in that profession, they were experts at staying unfound.
The noise started up again, but this time, she could clearly hear that it was, in fact, Todd. He was getting closer to the sound of it, climbing the stairs in hurried stomps. The hardwood of the steps could be heard throughout the entire house actually, echoing off the main hallway’s high ceilings. Maybe he’d gotten in contact with Hank? Maybe Ben?
