Part 13 (1/2)

”Wait a minute,” said Ryan. ”Do you have a listing for White House Security?”

”There are only two White House listings: information and switchboard.”

”Switchboard, please. Can you connect me?”

Alyssa and Kelsey looked on in dismay. Ryan turned away from them so that he wouldn't be distracted. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Soon there would be no turning back. What he was about to do was totally insane, but he couldn't think of anything else that could get Carl on the phone as quickly. He had considered asking to speak to President Quinn, telling the switchboard he knew him and that it was important-but he was certain this would get him nowhere. Ryan could only see one way to get the attention he needed.

Another women's voice came over the phone. ”White House switchboard. How may I help you?”

Ryan winced. Could he really do this? But even as this question entered his mind, he knew the stakes were too high to back down now. ”Can I have White House Security please?” he said. His voice had deepened over the past few years, but he tried to deepen it further. They would take him far less seriously if they thought he was a kid.

”We don't give out that number. You'll need to contact the Secret Service and-”

”Look, lady, here's the deal,” barked Ryan, his pulse racing. ”I've got a bomb set to blow the president off the planet! I have my finger on the detonator. Now how about putting me through to security!”

”What are you doing, Ryan?” shouted Alyssa from beside him. ”You can't threaten the president! It's a crime to even joke about something like that.”

Ryan ignored her. A man's voice came on the line. ”Who is this?” he roared. ”What is this all about?”

”Is this security?”

”You bet it is.”

”Good. I know you're tracing this call. If you have a high enough clearance, you'll see that it's coming from a location more cla.s.sified than Area 51. If your computer doesn't show you that, get someone higher up.”

”And the bomb?”

”If you verify where I'm calling from, I won't set it off.”

Three minutes later a different voice came on the line. ”Okay, you're calling from a highly cla.s.sified location. So cla.s.sified that I don't even know what goes on there. So you've got my attention. Why have you threatened the president?”

”Look, President Quinn is the last person I'd ever hurt. I needed for someone like you to take me seriously in a hurry. I'm sorry to do it this way, but I didn't have another choice. I need to speak with Colonel Carl Sharp right away. It's an emergency. I'm guessing you can find a way to reach him.”

There was a pause. ”I'm looking him up now. But a.s.suming he's for real, he'd better be able to vouch for you.”

”He will. When you pull him up on your computer it should show that he has a direct line of authority from President Quinn. So even though he's officially a colonel, he can order around any general he wants. Do you see that?”

”Yes,” said the voice with a mixture of amazement and newfound respect for this mystery caller.

”When you get him, tell him Ryan Resnick is on the other line and it's an emergency.”

”Roger that,” said the voice. ”Hold on.”

Alyssa and Kelsey had been listening to the entire exchange with their mouths open. ”Who are you?” said Alyssa in awe.

No wonder he didn't seem stressed by anything going on in school, thought Alyssa. Here was a kid who had the nerve to threaten to kill the president to get a telephone number. And it was working!

Two minutes later yet another voice came on the phone. Finally, a recognizable voice. ”Ryan, it's Carl,” he said, and although he was a friend he was now all business. ”I understand you're in the Prometheus decoy building. What's your situation?”

”Proact has been taken.”

”We know. When security didn't check in on schedule forty minutes ago, the NSA automatically pointed a satellite at your location. They broke me out of my parents' anniversary party. The satellite showed nine guards and thirteen employees at various locations on the Pro-act grounds, all spread-eagle on their stomachs. We have to a.s.sume they're dead.”

”They're not,” said Ryan. ”None of them.”

There was a huge sigh of relief on the other end of the line. ”Acknowledged,” said Carl. ”We're currently reading six armed men on site. Can you confirm?”

”That sounds about right,” said Ryan. ”They're mercenary soldiers.”

”Do you know the status of Prometheus?” asked Carl, and he was unable to keep the worry out of his voice.

Everyone in the underground city may have been immobilized by the Enigma Cube, but Ryan was almost certain there were no mercenaries inside. ”Prometheus is secure,” he replied.

”Acknowledged,” said Carl in relief once again. ”Other than yourself, do you know of any friendlies within the Proact perimeter that are still active?”

”No,” said Ryan, deciding it wasn't the time to tell Carl about Alyssa and Kelsey.

”Understood,” said Carl. ”We've scrambled a strike force of jet fighters from McGuire Air Force Base in Fort Dix, New Jersey. They're due to arrive within five minutes. I'll give them your location and let them know our people are still alive.”

”Call them off!” said Ryan quickly. ”The mercs are set to leave anyway. They said they don't want Proact. I believe them. Nathaniel Smith is behind this. He's the one you need. No one else matters.”

”Nathaniel Smith,” repeated Carl in dismay. ”The shy physicist who works for your father?”

”That's right. He discovered the Enigma Cube controls gravity. And he's learned how to use it as a weapon.”

Carl paused to consider this. ”Controls gravity? So those bodies we see from the satellite are what ... people who-”

”People who have had their gravity increased,” said Ryan. ”And are pinned to the ground.” Ryan paused to give Carl a few seconds to digest this information. ”A mercenary said they set the effect to wear off about three hours from now,” he added. ”Anyway, if Nathaniel is still here, he can make your jets crash with the push of a b.u.t.ton.”

”Understood,” said Carl. ”I'll be right back.” He was on the line a minute later. ”I called off the air strike. But while air power is too easy to spot and bring down, a ground a.s.sault still might have a chance. I'm going to land an a.s.sault team about three miles from Proact. They'll move through the woods. They'll take longer to arrive but they'll have the element of surprise. And they'll have a chance of surviving an increase in gravity.”

”Sounds good,” said Ryan.

”Ryan, I've just pulled into Peterson Air Force Base here in Colorado. They're flying me to Fort Dix and helicoptering me from there to Brewster. Right now I need to get suited up, talk to the pilot, and get the military hunting for Nathaniel Smith. But I need to know how you happen to be where you are and how you came to be the last man standing. I'll call you from the air in twenty-five minutes.”

There was a long pause. ”Before I go,” said Carl worriedly, his tone reflecting the concern and affection he felt for Ryan. ”Are you going to be okay? Do you think your position is secure?”