The Vilcabamba Prophecy: A Nick Randall Novel (23 page)

Randall
realized that his options were limited. “Okay,
Dumond
,
what do you want from me?”

“It’s
very simple. I need you to tell me how to use this key.”

Randall
nodded his agreement.

Turning
to George,
Dumond
said, “Mr. Walker, glad you could
join us as well. Looks like you can finally help us finish our little project.”

The
group marched forward between the giant columns that guarded the entrance to
the map room structure. There were no doors in sight. Randall searched the wall
and found what he was looking for: strange symbols, arranged in neat rows,
glowing with a blue light.

“Sam,
do you have my book?”

Dumond
nodded to his guard, who released
Sam.

“Here
you go.”

Randall
opened his book searching for the correct section. He fanned through many
pages, scanning as he flipped.

“We’re
waiting, Dr. Randall.”

He
finally found the page he was looking for,
then
began
tapping the symbols on the wall. Without a sound, a door opened in the wall,
exposing the room hidden within.

“That’s
a neat trick,” George said.

In
the outer chamber, there were large, rectangular panels with smaller grids filled
with text and symbols inlaid into the wall. The panels were arranged in linear
fashion, almost like a comic strip in the Sunday paper. Randall walked to the
panel on the far left and stopped.

After
a few moments, Randall began mentally translating the inscription, without
divulging any information to the group. The countdown to the event horizon was
almost up. The eruption or whatever cataclysmic
event that
was going to take place would happen in about an hour. Randall also discovered
they were missing part of the key and without it, the system wouldn’t work. In
fact, using the medallion alone would cause harm to the user.
A safety feature installed by the designers of the system to
prevent outsiders from accessing the engine.

After
a few moments,
Dumond
spoke. “Dr. Randall, in case
you’ve forgotten, I want this power source and I believe
you’re
stalling. If you are, your daughter will pay with her life.”

Without
looking at him, Randall said, “This isn’t like reading a magazine, this is a
previously unknown language. Besides, there are new symbols that I’ve never
seen. These things take time.” Randall continued reading.

A few minutes
later, Randall said, “I
know where we need to go.”

They
walked further into the main building. At first, something seemed odd to Sam,
but then she realized what it was. “These rooms are lighted, but I don’t see
any wires or switches.”

“Sam,
I’m disappointed in you. As a woman of science, I thought it would be clear to
you that this energy source doesn’t follow the constraints of our own simple
technology,”
Dumond
said.

“What
do you mean?” Sam asked.

“The
energy is projected through the air, through a transfer of electrons vibrating
at the proper harmonious frequency. Haven’t you noticed that your phone hasn’t
lost its charge since you’ve been here? And what about your flashlights? Still
as bright as they were when you first arrived, I imagine?”
Dumond
said.

“Of
course! Why hadn’t I thought of that?” George said.

“You
see, Dr. Randall,”
Dumond
said, “I’ve been looking
for this place almost as long as you have, except I needed your medallion to
confirm the theory. Now, I’m happy to say that we understand how to interface
the power source with our own technology, to utilize it in a matter that will
make me a rich and powerful man. All thanks to you and your daughter.”

“That
could explain why
Paititi
hadn’t been discovered. The
power source must have created some sort of electronic interference that
blocked the city’s view from the air,” Sam said.

“I’ve
heard about research the military is doing into cloaking tanks and other
equipment on the battlefield. From what I understand, they’ve been able to
electronically bend light around objects to create the illusion that they
aren’t there for extremely short periods of time. But the energy needed to do
it, even for less than a second, is tremendous,” George added. “This energy
source must be incredibly powerful.”

The
thought of
Dumond
harnessing and using the energy
source sent a shiver down his spine. Worst of all, he was the one that
Dumond
expected to make it all work. There was no
way he could let that happen
.

The
group moved through the building into a room in the center of the structure.
The tablet room.
Sam moved forward examining the stone
slabs.

“The
tablets are all here, Dad, none of them are missing.”

Randall
once again moved to the far left tablet and began to read. It was an
instruction manual for the operation of the power system.

“Well,
Professor?”

“It’s
not here.”

“What
do you mean?”

“This
isn’t the control panel where we use the key. The control panel is at the
center of the city inside the dome structure. That’s the actual power plant for
this place, this is just a side terminal.”

Dumond
walked over to Sam, grabbed her
forcefully by the arm, and placed a pistol to her head. “Dr. Randall, I’m
losing my patience.” He cocked the trigger.

“This
isn’t the control panel! Look, do you see any openings for the medallion? It’s
the key to the system, but we have to use it at the power plant. Listen to me
Dumond
,
this room is an informational depository. A library if you will. Did you see
the other panels in the wall as we walked in here? Those are like computer
banks with keys that operate systems within the city. This is like the server
room for a fully interconnected, citywide system. But they realized that their
relatives out in the jungle city might be the ones to have to operate this
system. They’re a group that split off from the main community more than a
thousand years ago, and they don’t have the same technology. The tablets and wall
inscriptions are here to explain to them how to operate the power system.”

“For
what?”

Randall
hesitated, realizing that the genie was out of the bottle now. “For the great
reunification. The moment when the
Paititi
tribe and
the
Vilcabamba
tribe are reunited.”

For
the briefest moment,
Dumond
flinched, but quickly
regained his composure.
Ackers
on the other hand
fumed.

“I
knew they were withholding information. I say we kill them now. I don’t trust
this piece of shit for a minute,”
Ackers
said.

George
stepped forward. “He’s telling the truth, Mr.
Dumond
,
this doesn’t look like a power panel. Think about the control room of one of
your nuclear reactors. There’s no monitoring system to keep track of critical
systems. This is a workstation tied into the mainframe. We need to go where Dr.
Randall says. That’s where we’ll find the main panel,” he said.

Dumond
thought for a moment and released
Sam’s arm. “Colonel, while I appreciate your enthusiasm, I’m going to allow Dr.
Randall one final indulgence. If you are wrong, Professor, or if I find that
you are lying to me, your daughter will pay with her life.”

Dumond
holstered his pistol. “After you,
Dr. Randall and Mr. Walker.”

The
group began the long walk to the center of the city. Again they walked in
silence.

“Are
you okay?” Randall asked his daughter.

“Been
better, but yeah, I’m alright.”

Almost
as if experiencing a sixth sense, Randall felt that the group was not alone in
the cavern. He tried casually looking about the cavern for signs of life, but
saw none. His actions didn’t go unnoticed.

“Is
something bothering you, Dr. Randall?”

“Well,
Dumond
, if you must know, being held prisoner and
having my daughter held at gunpoint tends to make a father tense. I don’t
suppose you would have any idea what that feels like, though.”

“In
my experience, fathers are overrated. The best thing my father ever did for me
was to force me to grow up and become both physically and mentally strong,”
Dumond
said.

It
was the first sign of weakness
Dumond
had shown.
Sensing that he had finally hit a nerve with their captor, Randall decided to
press further. “Sounds like you and your dad didn’t get along. That’s a shame.
My experience has been that kids who don’t have a positive father figure in
their lives usually grow up to be nervous and insecure. Some hide it better
than others by acting like tough guys and intimidating people. But under the
surface, they’re just scared little kids. I see it all the time at school.”

It
appeared to work.
Dumond
lunged at Randall, taking
his pistol from its holster and placing it at his throat. “Careful, Professor,
my generosity has its limits. I don’t think you’re in a position to be
lecturing me about who has the power right now.”

“Mr.
Dumond
!” one of the soldiers yelled.

Dumond
removed the gun from Randall’s
throat and resumed his normal demeanor. “Well, Professor, I guess we’ll soon
see if you were right or if you die.”
Dumond
walked
away from Randall joining the soldier who had called to him.

“Bright
move, pissing off a guy who’s got a gun to your kid’s head,”
Ackers
said.

Without
missing a beat and without looking him in the eye, Randall replied, “What’s it
like being a lackey for a complete psychopath?”

In
a quick movement,
Ackers
raised his gun and struck
the professor between the shoulder blades, knocking him to the ground. Then he
grabbed him by his collar and jerked him to his feet.

“I’m
going to enjoy offing you, you piece of shit,”
Ackers
said.

“I
can see why you enjoy working for him, you’re a complete psychopath, too,”
Randall replied.

Another
blow, this time to the stomach.

“Stop
it! Why are you doing that to him?” Sam ran to her father’s side.

Catching
his breath, Randall said, “It’s alright Sam, he didn’t hurt me.”

Before
he could strike another blow to Randall,
Ackers’s
radio crackled: “We’re here.”

Chapter thirty-three

Volcano Disaster
Assistance Program Director Tom
Reinsdorf
stared
intently at the map before him. By all indications, El
Misti
was ready to erupt at any moment. Evacuation routes had been established and
local authorities were in the process of relocating local residents in
anticipation of the eruption. Decisions were based on computer simulations of
which areas would be most impacted. The problem with the process was twofold.
First, computer simulations of eruption patterns were useful, but there was no
way of actually knowing how and where the eruption would occur. Second, no
matter how hard they tried, there was never any way to reach everyone who would
be impacted by the eruption. These facts tugged at Tom’s mind and left him
feeling like he needed to do more.

“Tom,
the helicopter’s here.”

“Thanks,
Keith. I want you and Theresa to continue coordinating the evacuation and
monitoring from here.”

“Are
you sure it’s a good idea to take that bird up around the mountain in these
conditions?”

“We’ve
been through this before. There are several small villages near the base of
Misti
and I want to do a sweep of the area to make sure
we’ve gotten folks out of the main blast area. The best way to do that is by
air.”

Keith
sighed.

“I
appreciate your concern, buddy, but I’ll be fine. I’ll have my radio with me if
you need to reach me,” Tom said.

“Be
careful up there, boss.”

“Will
do.”

Tom
ducked under the rotating helicopter blades and entered into the passenger side
of the craft. Strapping himself in, he turned to the pilot.

“I’m
Tom
Reinsdorf
, nice to meet you.”

“Jesse
Jones. Have you been near a volcano this close to eruption before?”

“Yes,
twice before, but I appreciate you taking me up there,” Tom said, pointing in
the direction of
Misti
.

Jesse
nodded and increased the throttle causing the Sikorsky to lurch into the sky.
Tom sat back and contemplated the situation, hoping
Misti
would hold off her eruption long enough for them to get back safely.