PARADOX - Chapter 65

Chapter 65

May 18, 2012 – McMurdo Station - Antarctica





Megan looked up from her seat and canted her head to the left, a habit she was incapable of breaking. “You’re telling me the government just now found out about these Babbling Brotherhooders and New Age Nazis? If what you say is true, and I think that you think that it is, this Clive Cussler scenario could never have happened over night.”

Beartalker took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Everything has been held as top secret in the interest of national security. The Department of Defense didn’t know about the President and high government officials being part of The Brotherhood until the Joint Chiefs started digging around after the untimely death of the Secretary of Defense.”

“How did you find out this bit of secret information, and how do you know so much about the plans of both these powerful organizations? I know you can put two and two together and come up with five, but, details like this are a little on the ‘hard to come by’ list.”

“That’s where you come in Megan.” Beartalker gave her a wide disarming grin. “Someone inside the Nazi organization sent us a recent message disclosing the secrets I just told you, then they demanded that you, Megan MacKenzy, must be appointed their point of contact, or further information would not be forthcoming.”

“I sure as hell don’t know any Nazis, old or new!” Megan got to her feet and started pacing the floor, something she did when she was very agitated.

“We’re assuming that this contact selected you because of all the recent world wide attention your office has been getting,” Beartalker stated. “She also left some information we must act on as soon as possible.”

“She?”

“She signed off with the name of Marta.”

“Germanic; Austrian or Swiss,” Megan mused, trying to identify the origin of the name. “What information?”

Beartalker helped himself to one of Megan’s root beers then sat down in the seat she had just vacated.

“It appears that the government, our government, has kidnapped the members of some of our Special Forces soldiers. These soldiers have been forced to cooperate with members of The Brotherhood on a mission. If they do not cooperate, their families will be terminated. Other men, Doctor Monday Stiehl and Doctor Dominic Prestano among them, were also coerced into assisting the Nazis with a promise of Nazi help to secure the families. Of course they know this is a lie but what other choice do they have?”

Megan’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. She mentally pictured Doctor Stiehl and the time she had spent in school with him. The only one I came close to marrying, she thought. Unfortunately, he never asked me.

“It gets more and more mysterious,” Megan muttered, now counting her steps in a whisper as she slowly paced back and forth. “I assume she did not contact you on an open communications channel?”

“Ultra high frequency speed burst,” Bearttalker replied. “Similar to the communications methods we use to contact our submarines. Everything was sent in a micro flash which makes it more difficult for the enemy to catch.”

Megan continued her pacing. She was starting to get on Beartalker’s nerves even though it took quite a bit to rattle him.

“You say you just recently discovered the identities of the high government officials who belong to The Brotherhood?”

Beartalker nodded. “She gave them to us.”

“You also state they only assume that their mission to the past will work?”

Beartalker nodded again.

“If it doesn’t work then they’re in a load of poop,” Megan grinned. “People in a load of poop quickly look for a way to wipe themselves clean because they know the next move is to be flushed down the toilet.”

Beartalker wasn’t certain he was following her strange logic but nodded his head in agreement once again.

“If you can get me the names of the traitors in high places, I think I have a way they can wipe themselves clean, for a price?”

“My communications expert already has that information, or at least the majority of names, which also includes international leaders.”

“Does he also have the names of the hostages and where they are being held?”

Beartalker thought for a second. “Their names yes, their location I’m not certain.”

“When can I talk with Myrtle or Marta or whatever her name is?”

“She set a time for tonight around twenty-three hundred hours.” Beartalker took a sip of his root beer and grimaced. It was diet. “We can’t contact her, she is evidently at an unsecure location and limited as to when she can get to her communications equipment.”

Megan looked at her watch. She was accustomed to the twenty four hour clock so the reference to military time did not throw her off.

“Two and a quarter hours from now,” She stated. “Can I get access to a good computer with high speed Internet? My personal laptop and the equipment my people are bringing in are not rigged for security.”

“Sparks can set you up with anything,” Beartalker replied.

Megan smiled. “Sparks? Why not Scotty, of Star Trek fame? You know… beam me up Scotty?”

“Ironically his actual name is Scott,” Beartalker chuckled, but the name Sparks carried over from his old unit.”

“Get him in here,” Megan ordered. “We have lots to do.”