Personnel within the subterranean command center are silently hugging and weeping, their exuberant emotions held in check by a feeling of sorrow as news of the president’s death and the losses in Alaska and Hawaii spread through the facility.

Pierre Borgia, General Fecondo, and Dick Przystas huddle within the president’s private office, listening intently to General Doroshow at STRATCOM command.

“What I’m telling you, gentlemen, is that Grozny’s missiles did not self-destruct. It was some kind of electromagnetic force field that disabled Russia’s ICBMs, as well as our own.”

“What’s the source of the interference?” Borgia asks.

“Still unknown, but whatever it is, it’s shut down every satellite we have in orbit. It’s like God got pissed off and threw a blanket on top of the entire planet.”

Beneath the Kukulcan Pyramid

“Mick, can you hear me?” Dominique caresses his head in her lap, stroking his hair. She feels him stir. “Mick?”

He opens his eyes. “Dom?”

She pulls his face to hers, kissing and hugging him. “God dammit, Mick, you scared the hell out of me.”

“What happened?”

“Don’t you remember? You rose out of that sarcophagus like some kind of Mayan ghost and activated this vessel.”

Mick sits up and looks around. Alien circuit boards and control stations pulsate with power behind the tinted glasslike walls and flooring. Waves of electric blue energy ripple upward every few seconds along the walls and cathedral ceiling, disappearing up through the chimneylike orifice overhead.

“I did this?”

Dominique stifles his question with her lips. “I love you.”

He smiles. “I love you.”

Chapter 24

Chapter 24

DECEMBER 15, 2012
ABOARD THE USS BOONE,
GULF OF MEXICO

Supreme Court Justice Seamus McCaffery’s stomach is still a bit queasy from the early-morning helicopter ride. Crossing the warship’s deck, he follows the ensign into the superstructure, then through tight corridors leading to the captain’s briefing room.

Seated at a small conference table are Vice President Ennis Chaney, General Joseph Fecondo, and Captain Loos.

The men stand as the judge removes his Bible. He nods to Chaney. “Looks to me like you didn’t get much sleep either. You ready?”

“Let’s get this over with.” He places his left hand on the Bible and raises his right hand. “I, Ennis William Chaney, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, so help me God.”

“And may God help us all.”

A lieutenant enters. “General Fecondo, the Ranger team’s on board. The choppers are ready when you are.”

Kukulcan Pyramid,
Chichén Itza

Mick leads Dominique through a small corridor which dead-ends at a sealed passage. As they near, the door hisses open, allowing them entry into an airtight lockout chamber.

“This is the way out.”

“How do you know?” she asks.

“I don’t know. I just do.”