Area 51: The Grail-5 by Robert Doherty Read Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Robert Doherty
planted by Katyenka,
44
but there had been much deception and betrayal since he'd arrived at Area 51
and he could not be certain. For a moment, Yakov's arguments to leave Egypt and come back here took a slightly different angle.
"Are you coming?" Yakov and the others were waiting.
Turcotte shook himself out of his suspicions and followed as they headed to the Cube. The main room of the Cube measured eighty feet by a hundred. Banks of computer screens gave it a similar appearance to mission control at NASA, but Turcotte noticed that three quarters of the chairs in front of those screens were empty.
"More ordered cuts in personnel," Quinn said, noting his look. "Someone's really trying to hamstring us. Again, I'm trying to backdoor requests."
Turcotte knew Quinn was an expert at manipulating government and military bureaucracy. With the proper passwords, the right communication channels, and experience, he could get just about anything eventually. It was something he had done while working for Majestic-12—a valuable asset that both Duncan and Turcotte had thought necessary to keep at Area 51.
Turcotte turned his attention to the front wall where a twenty-foot-wide-by-ten-high screen displayed a plethora of information.
"What's hot?" Turcotte asked, trying to make sense of the various displays.
Quinn sat down in the chair that used to belong to the head of Majestic, or MJ-12 as some called it. It was on a raised dais in the back of the room and oversaw everything that went on. There was the quiet hum of machinery along with the constant slight hiss of filtered air being blown into the room. The entire complex rested on huge shocks and was hung from large springs, 45
allowing it to sustain a nuclear surface blast. Turcotte had just prevented such an incident by bargaining with The Ones Who Wait, giving them the Spear of Destiny.
"The NSA is tracking that flying dragon thing that holds The Ones Who Wait who took the key from you in Mongolia," Quinn said.
"That 'dragon thing' is called Chi Yu," Che Lu said. "It is part of the lore of my land. When the yellow emperor Shi Huangdi ruled the northern part of China, Chi Yu ruled in the south. They fought and Shi Huangdi subdued the beast and took it prisoner."
"Which in reality—" Turcotte began, but Che Lu cut him off.
"I believe that Shi Huangdi was Artad, one of the alien leaders. And Chi Yu must be a machine fashioned by the other side—The Guides—to fight and terrify so many years ago. Shi Huangdi captured it during their battles and it must have been inside Qian-Ling."
"Is this machine back at Qian-Ling now?" Yakov asked.
"Negative." Quinn typed into the keyboard and then pointed at the main board. A map of eastern Africa appeared. "See the red dot? It stopped at Ngorongoro Crater briefly and is now heading northeast on a track that will take it to Qian-Ling. It's assumed the Chinese will pick it up on radar and try to intercept. ETA at Chinese border in eighteen minutes."
"Why did it go to Ngorongoro Crater?" Yakov wondered.
"I found the scepter key there," Mualama said. "And history records Burton spent quite a bit of time in East Africa exploring."
"It will be interesting to see how my government reacts to these events,"
Che Lu said, which earned her a hard look from Turcotte. On the international scene,
46
China had always been an enigma, and with the advent of the discovery of the Airlia the country had cut itself off completely. Because of all the betrayals Turcotte had seen recently, a small part of him had to wonder if it was just coincidence that Che Lu had opened up Qian-Ling just after the Airlia had been discovered. And then Mualama had uncovered the key right after that. And Yakov had been wearing a bug when he arrived here.
"If The Ones Who Wait bring Artad up from the lowest level," Turcotte said,
"it will be interesting to see how everyone in the world reacts. We still don't know the truth about what happened among the Airlia." He
44
but there had been much deception and betrayal since he'd arrived at Area 51
and he could not be certain. For a moment, Yakov's arguments to leave Egypt and come back here took a slightly different angle.
"Are you coming?" Yakov and the others were waiting.
Turcotte shook himself out of his suspicions and followed as they headed to the Cube. The main room of the Cube measured eighty feet by a hundred. Banks of computer screens gave it a similar appearance to mission control at NASA, but Turcotte noticed that three quarters of the chairs in front of those screens were empty.
"More ordered cuts in personnel," Quinn said, noting his look. "Someone's really trying to hamstring us. Again, I'm trying to backdoor requests."
Turcotte knew Quinn was an expert at manipulating government and military bureaucracy. With the proper passwords, the right communication channels, and experience, he could get just about anything eventually. It was something he had done while working for Majestic-12—a valuable asset that both Duncan and Turcotte had thought necessary to keep at Area 51.
Turcotte turned his attention to the front wall where a twenty-foot-wide-by-ten-high screen displayed a plethora of information.
"What's hot?" Turcotte asked, trying to make sense of the various displays.
Quinn sat down in the chair that used to belong to the head of Majestic, or MJ-12 as some called it. It was on a raised dais in the back of the room and oversaw everything that went on. There was the quiet hum of machinery along with the constant slight hiss of filtered air being blown into the room. The entire complex rested on huge shocks and was hung from large springs, 45
allowing it to sustain a nuclear surface blast. Turcotte had just prevented such an incident by bargaining with The Ones Who Wait, giving them the Spear of Destiny.
"The NSA is tracking that flying dragon thing that holds The Ones Who Wait who took the key from you in Mongolia," Quinn said.
"That 'dragon thing' is called Chi Yu," Che Lu said. "It is part of the lore of my land. When the yellow emperor Shi Huangdi ruled the northern part of China, Chi Yu ruled in the south. They fought and Shi Huangdi subdued the beast and took it prisoner."
"Which in reality—" Turcotte began, but Che Lu cut him off.
"I believe that Shi Huangdi was Artad, one of the alien leaders. And Chi Yu must be a machine fashioned by the other side—The Guides—to fight and terrify so many years ago. Shi Huangdi captured it during their battles and it must have been inside Qian-Ling."
"Is this machine back at Qian-Ling now?" Yakov asked.
"Negative." Quinn typed into the keyboard and then pointed at the main board. A map of eastern Africa appeared. "See the red dot? It stopped at Ngorongoro Crater briefly and is now heading northeast on a track that will take it to Qian-Ling. It's assumed the Chinese will pick it up on radar and try to intercept. ETA at Chinese border in eighteen minutes."
"Why did it go to Ngorongoro Crater?" Yakov wondered.
"I found the scepter key there," Mualama said. "And history records Burton spent quite a bit of time in East Africa exploring."
"It will be interesting to see how my government reacts to these events,"
Che Lu said, which earned her a hard look from Turcotte. On the international scene,
46
China had always been an enigma, and with the advent of the discovery of the Airlia the country had cut itself off completely. Because of all the betrayals Turcotte had seen recently, a small part of him had to wonder if it was just coincidence that Che Lu had opened up Qian-Ling just after the Airlia had been discovered. And then Mualama had uncovered the key right after that. And Yakov had been wearing a bug when he arrived here.
"If The Ones Who Wait bring Artad up from the lowest level," Turcotte said,
"it will be interesting to see how everyone in the world reacts. We still don't know the truth about what happened among the Airlia." He
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