“I’d rather not say, but it’s important enough that MJ-12 designed a sub to travel beneath the ice sheet through a network of subglacial rivers into the lake. Jonas, it’s critically important I make it to Vostok before them.”

Jonas scanned his chart, using a slide rule to measure distances. “Vostok’s at least eight to nine hundred miles away. My Manta subs are equipped with Valkyries, but they don’t pack nearly enough juice to take you that far.”

“They don’t have to. MJ-12’s sub will lead me into the lake’s northern basin. Once I’m there, I’ll be able to overtake them and get to where I need to be before they do.”

“And how will making it back to Lake Vostok ahead of these guys save William and Brandy?”

“Again, I’d rather not say. The less you know the better.”

“It’ll take you twenty to thirty hours just to reach Vostok. Maybe more. Who’s your copilot?”

Angus must have been eavesdropping from the interior stairwell, for he came bursting in on cue. “I’m going with the lad.”

Jonas and I looked at one another with the same startled expression.

“Wha’s with the long faces? I can handle it.”

“Forget it,” Jonas said. “I have no interest in sponsoring a suicide mission. If this is really about saving your family, then let’s go to the authorities. I campaigned heavily for the President, and the Institute was a major donor to his election campaign. One phone call and you’ll be speaking with the national security advisor himself. ”

“I appreciate the offer, Jonas, but these guys operate outside White House jurisdiction.”

“Tell Jonas everything, lad. Him not knowing isn’t going to matter tae these people. The moment they see the Manta, they’ll realize he arranged yer escape.”

I knew my father was right. “There’s an extraterrestrial vessel in Vostok. It’s unlike anything we’ve seen. Seven years ago I was allowed access.”

“Allowed? By what?”

“An entity… a higher life-form. It shared the secret of zero-point energy with me. I need to destroy it before MJ-12 finds it. Once that threat is removed, I’ll initiate a dead-man’s trigger—a threat to expose Colonel Vacendak’s entire operation if he doesn’t release William and Brandy within twenty-four hours.”

Jonas was about to respond when a man dressed from head to toe in ECW gear entered through an exterior door, blasting us with a gust of frigid air. As he stripped away his hood and mask, I could see it was James Mackreides, Jonas’s partner at the Tanaka Institute—his most trusted friend.

Mac acknowledged me with a nod, then handed Jonas his binoculars. “The Tonga just came into view; she’s headed toward Prydz Bay.”