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Divided We Fall

Act2, Book3

Chapter -1- Beginning of the End

Wednesday, January 17, 6:00 am AST Atlantic Ocean Underwater Dome ...

** Pain. A sensation of cold came from the gut;** it felt beyond 'uncomfortable.' But there was another odd sensation. Warmth. Consciousness came back all at once but it caused the pain to intensify.

With a grunt, a new sensation presented itself. The feeling of being enclosed, almost swaddled, by hard objects on all sides.

Rufus Darken tried to shift his body but couldn't move. He tightened his hand, wiggled his toes then took in a long, deep breath. The air tasted foul, metallic, yet it was dusty. He could taste plaster. But then there was the feeling of warmth against his belly. Rufus couldn't move his hands to explore it.

He tightened his jaw and pressed his tongue against the backside of his teeth only to realize nothing felt normal. With the debris on his chest, he couldn't shout. His first instinct was to be afraid of the immense power of claustrophobia. His second instinct was anger. The claustrophobic sensation gnawing at his heart took a back seat.

He tightened his body, able to feel ears flatten against the top of his head. He vaguely recalled transforming just as the warehouse exploded - the question was, how long ago did it happen? How much time had passed?

The more his body awoke, the more he realized he had to piss. The fact he took a leak in the parking lot before running into the warehouse gave him a faint idea that a number of hours must have come and gone.

Rue drew his feet up, causing the debris around him to shift slightly. He extended his legs then drew them back again. The warmth against his belly was still present. The werewolf tightened his jaw then spit. It ran down the side of his left cheek, coating his whiskers in saliva. It ran down from his whiskers and dripped onto more debris, traveling in the direction of gravity.

He spit again to confirm which way gravity would take it then determined he was laying on his side. Rufus shifted once more, starting to wiggle his arms about until, after several long minutes, he made a little pocket for himself. He began to draw his knees back but they bumped into something warm. The same object up against his belly.

Rue's ears flickered at the sound of a baritone groan.

"Watson? Is that you?"

"Rufus?"

A grin touched the werewolf's muzzle, tugging at the saliva-drenched corner of his maw. "Yeah. You okay?"

"I can't believe you jumped on me like that. I thought I was going to die."

"Aw sumbitch. I can't believe that bastard tricked us right into his trap." Rufus continued to wiggle about until he could bring his knees up a little better. They brushed against the warm object again. "That you?"

"Yeah." Gregory Watson, a CIA agent that employed Rue's help, managed to wiggle a bit but was otherwise trapped beneath the wreckage. "You saved my life," Greg muttered.

"Yeah. What kinda' dumb shit am I, right? Christ. I cain't believe it, though. We're actually alive."

"I appreciate you taking the brunt of the impact for me."

Rue rolled over until he was on his back. "We need t' get out of this-here pile."

"Yeah. No shit, Sherlock."

"Yeah. Go fuck yerself, Watson." Rufus smiled.

Greg smiled in return, unseen by the darkness inside the debris pile. A dim blue light shined up from out of nowhere. Watson squinted at his dim watch. "Wow, it still works. Six in the morning. What's that smell?"

Rufus spit again, this time onto his bicep. He tilted his head and rubbed his nose against the moisture then shifted a bit and took a deep sniff. "How about that."

"What?"

"We musta' fallen through. We're in the sewer like we was, earlier. Floor must've opened up when the demolition charges went. Now we gotta climb our asses outta here, find those guys and get back Bull."

"Yeah. Bull is a good guy."

"Yeah, true." Rufus' thoughts turned to his best friend, an Indigenous Australian man whose father was from Oklahoma. Collobulous Bullakulla - a supernatural man with the ability to lift obscenely heavy objects. Rue sighed. "I'm fixin' to rip everyone apart. I'mma find that dumb bastard, Sire, 'n kill his ass. I'll tear his head off then show'em what his body looks like before I stuff his face up his own ass."

"Great. The brain stays alive for about ten seconds after being separated from the body."

"Ayup, And I'm gonna spend that man's last ten seconds showing him his own prostate."

Greg coughed softly then said, "Anyways, I thought you can't attack him? How can someone have control over another person's conscious and subconscious willpower? That doesn't seem realistic."

"I dunno. But I'll find a way to stop his ability. I'm thinkin' we gotta drug his food or something."

Greg grunted as full consciousness and alertness returned. "Rue, let's just get out of here first. I don't think you're thinking straight." He pushed his hand up against the adjacent body then froze. He closed his fingers over something soft. "Oh my Christ, you really are a werewolf."

"That's elementary, my dear Watson." Rufus rolled onto his other side then onto his stomach and spit again to test the direction of gravity. He brought his paws up close to his face in the little gap he'd made for himself. He began pushing and pulling on various pieces of debris all around himself. "We got lucky we didn't get squished like bugs."

"Hold on, let me check my phone. Maybe I can use it as a light if it is still..." he shifted about until the agent managed to get his hand into his pocket. He withdrew a cellphone and pressed his thumb against the power button. It lit up. "Hell yes. I'm buying stock in 'LifeCase' when I get home." The phone went through its boot sequence. The operating system displayed his wallpaper. "Eight-five percent. Now we're set." He thumbed through the list of applications and opened one labeled 'flashlight,' which activated the small LED camera flash on the back.

Watson turned the phone about then pointed it towards Rufus. His eyes widened, face to face with an enormous black wolf, fangs and all. "Jesus!"

Rufus spoke nearly above a whisper, reciting a line from an old movie. "I am G'mork, and you, whoever you are, can have the honor of being my last victim."

"Christ that's creepy. Is that really you? Cut it out - time and place, man."

"Aw hell, you never saw The NeverEnding Story?"

"God, watching you talk is ... it's almost unnerving. Animals shouldn't be able to talk like this."

"You'll get used to it," Rufus said with another grin; his whiskers shifted as a half smile formed at the corners of his maw. "Now. Let's go down until we get to the sewer tunnels. They're close. Might even be in'em already." He reached for the nearest piece of debris and dislodged it then began to dig downwards. "Damn. I'll need new clothes to wear if'n I change back."

"Now that they'll think we're dead, we should really utilize this opportunity to be stealthy. We'll go back to the submarine, get you the gear vest I have and a change of pants. I wear thirty-two, thirty. You?"

Rufus smirked. "Thirty, thirty-two. Shorty."

"It'll have to work. I have a belt you can use. Boot size?"

"Eleven."

Greg frowned. "Nine and a half. Okay, you'll have to go barefoot until we find something. I'll ask the submarine pilot, if he's even still here. God. It's been a whole night. What if he left?"

"We'll know in a minute." Rufus turned around, slowly, and drew his legs up then kicked hard. Just in case, he reached for Watson and pulled the man close.

Nothing happened.

"Okay, well ... no cave in. That's good." Rue turned back around then reached for Greg's phone and pointed it at the hole he made. "Look, son! We're outta here!" He handed the phone back and wiggled into the opening, hind-paws first, then dropped five feet.

Rufus landed with a grunt on all fours. He looked up at the debris pile that came in from the ceiling of the sewer line then said, "C'mon!"

Watson came through, feet first, and dropped into Rufus' arms. "Careful, Agent, y'all mundane human types can break your ankle real easy, son. I heal, you don't."

Greg turned the phone to look Rufus over then groaned. "Look at you, you're all jacked up. God, that's going to have to come out or it'll get infected." He shifted the phone, using the LED flashlight to get a closer look at Rue's stomach.

Rufus leaned over with a wince then peered at a piece of rebar sticking out of his gut. "Blood's all dried up. It's not gushin'. I'll just pull it out, patch it up ... we can do it back at the sub."

"If it's even there," Watson grumbled. "You could have internal bleeding. That looks really serious."

"It is. But it won't kill me."

"Good God."

Rufus offered a toothy smile then said, "So far, you've shouted, 'Jesus,' then, 'Christ,' followed by, 'God,' at me. Twice on the 'God' part. Now, I know I'm a great guy'n all ... and I cain't die all that easily ... but if yer fixin' to see me walk on water, yer' gunna be sorely disappointed, Agent. C'mon. Let's go see if the sub is there. The pilot looked like he was a little closer to my size."

"You take point. You've got the nose."

They made their way down the sewer tunnel together. At the next intersection, the two turned left. Rufus sniffed then nodded firmly. "I like how this city is still so damn new that it hardly even smells bad. Either that or they have some sort of sanitation process in effect. Pretty damn clean for'a sewage system, though, y'know?"

"Yeah. How much further?"

"I can smell it. The sub is still here."

"What, uh, does a submarine smell like?"

"Same as yer mother, Watson." He took another hard sniff then said, "I smell a big ole' black thing full'a seamen." They exchanged glances and Rufus smiled. "What?"

"Are you dogging me?"

"Oh, look at you! Federal Special Agent Greg Watson, standup comic! Hell, I was wrong about you. Y're almost funny. C'mon, it's not far."

At the end of the tunnel, the sewer opened up into an enormous pool of water. The conning tower stuck up from the surface. Greg approached the large square section of water.

"Rufus, wasn't it ... you know, floating last time? How're we going to get in there without flooding it?"

Rufus rubbed his chin. "It's tilted. I think it's sitting on the bottom of this reservoir or whatever you wanna call this section."

"We'll have to find a way to bring the water level down temporarily in order to get aboard. It's either that or we open the hatch, hurry in and close it behind ourselves and just live with the smelly water that will get in."

"Agent, it ain't that bad. I've smelled way worse when it comes to sewers." Rufus hopped down onto the back of the sub then quickly grasped at a cleat on the side of the small submarine's conning section.

"You okay?"

"Ayup." Rufus stood the same height as the section that stood up out of the water. He waved for Watson to join him. "Careful, now. It's a little angled and slippery as hell."

Greg leapt off the concrete side and Rufus snatched him by his jacket. Greg's arms went back behind himself, in the sleeves, taught in the jacket's fabric. Leaning at forty-five degrees, he looked down into the dark water, keeping his cellphone clenched tightly in his right hand. "Damn. That was close."

"Reckon. James Bond and Jason Bourne, you are not."

"I'm not clumsy, Rufus. I'm simply human and this is ... I don't know how you landed on your feet. Or should I say hind paws?"

"Ah hush. Before I drop ya." Rufus stretched, causing Watson to come a little closer to the water, then he pulled the agent back and brought the man's hand up to another cleat. "Hold on right here. We'll have to jump into the hatch quick and we're both gunna get soaked. So much for having dry clothes when we get out of here."

"Maybe we can activate the sub and get it surfaced again. I don't know why it's sitting like this. Christ, I hope the kid isn't dead."

"The pilot's name was 'kid,' huh?" Rufus turned the hatch wheel then lifted it open. Water began gushing down into the sub.

Greg jumped in, feet first, and slid down the ladder. Rufus went second and pulled the hatch shut behind him then turned the metallic wheel.

They both made their way to the front of the submarine. All the lights were dim and no illumination came in through the underwater portholes.

Watson moved to the cockpit and looked around. He called back, "The pilot isn't here. Wait." He knelt, putting his hand on one of the chairs to steady himself on the tilted deck. "You're in luck. Size ten and a half shoe, well worn in. You should be able to use it. Looks like he kicked them off to relax."

Rufus went towards the back of the sub then into the lower compartment in the back. He checked all the bunks. "Anyone here?" he called. No reply. Rufus made his way back to the section with the top hatch, splashing through the standing water on the deck. "He's not here, G.W., now what?"

"He wouldn't have left," Greg mused. "Unless it was in this sub and without us. You think Sire found him?"

Rufus shook his head. "Nah."

"I thought Sire could tell people what to do and they do it."

"If'n Sire told him to get on up out of this sub, he would listen. That's how Sire's ability works but only if this kid were within a somewhat close range of him. Or, if Sire's victim is weak minded or weak willed, then the person's under his influence anywhere within range of his voice. Be glad he didn't get closer when we were back in that parking lot." Rufus suddenly grew quiet and frowned. "What'n the hell's he gunna do with Bull? Dammit. We need Karla, Evan, Johann and th' Parkers."

"I don't know the rest of those people. Just Karla. Unless you mean the Parker twins."

"Ayup. They also got'a foxy chick named Sinopa. She throws fireballs 'n wouldn't be affected by Sire's ability. She'd yawn right in his face, heh. Then light his ass on fire."

"We'll need your friends to get back Collobulous."

"Reckon so. I hate leavin' him but I can't see that we got much of a choice. The two of us can't get close enough to stop Sire."

Watson approached Rufus from behind and put a hand on his large furry shoulder. "Hey."

"Yeah?" Rufus turned around.

Greg frowned and said, "You heard the guy. He said he wants hostages. He said he wanted Falcon to have a DNA sample. I know you didn't want that to happen but at least we know your friend is alive. And most importantly, if we went back for him now ... we wouldn't make it. It's already been a whole night. Falcon undoubtedly has the blood sample by now. Let's just get out of here and find your friends and make a plan."

"Yeah. There's a lot of'em. There's also a dude named Eric who can throw people around with shadows 'n stuff. We got this retired Navy aviator named Jules, I'm the role of 'crazy ass werewolf', and we got some girl that's really smart named Patty or some such. Finally, I know two old dudes who are old as crap, but have lots of money and smarts. They don't look old, but they are. Also, those two ain't affected by Sire. That's three people on my team that can kick his ass if necessary." Rufus waggled his eyebrows.

"God it's weird seeing an upright animal talk and act like a human. The eyebrows thing ... just ... all of it. And if you're talking about Steven Milford and Lance Patterson, you can forget about those two. They're connected and old, but they won't go up against someone like Sire. Now. Let's get you into the back, somewhere we can clean you up, shower off all the sewer water, and get that piece of metal out of your gut."

"A'ite. Grab them shoes, bring'em down to the lower back level. Can you pilot this sub? Or at least get us out of here without hittin' anything?"

"I can try."

"Good. I ain't tryin' to be the one to blame when we tear a hole 'n this bitch."

X

---

X

** Collobulous' head lifted.** The large dark-skinned Australian looked about then gazed down. His body was bound to a diagonally tilted table. He tried to move but couldn't feel anything. He could see his toes move and his fingers wiggle but his body was otherwise unresponsive.

A voice came from behind the table, deep and aloof.

"Ah, you're awake. You'll notice that I've made it so that you are limp from the neck down. It's quite temporary, I assure you, but this is the only way I can ensure that you're not putting anyone else in danger." The man came from behind and stepped in front of the table to which Bull was secured. "I'm sure you have questions. We've not found any evidence that your friends survived. I really don't have the manpower at the moment, so they'll have to stay buried. My condolences. So, Sire says your name is 'Collobulous.' Correct?"

Bull looked the man over then simply said, "Yes."

"You know, I've never met anyone with the strength you possess. It seems you jumped a rung on the evolutionary ladder, Collobulous. Your skin is quite resilient and that gives you incredible physical fortitude. It allows you to lift something that would normally rip the flesh ... and that brings me to your strength. Your muscle structure is fascinating. The strands of your muscle fibers are somewhat different. For a trade off of dexterity and agility, you're able to pick up things that a normal human being would never be able to lift. I imagine, though, that Yoga would be out of the question for you. Do you know your limit?"

"I lift only what I have to," said Collobulous. "Matter of common sense but I been known to lift lots when I'm charged up."

"I assume you mean when you drink? Very well. You're right, though. You have no reason to put unnecessary stress on your skeleton in order to determine a limit."

"You're bang on."

"What is the most you've lifted?" asked the man. He wore a black suit with a black shirt and black tie.

"Hmm. The most I've lifted was in a fit of rage - it shouldn't count."

"Ah but it does. How much?"

"A short bus. I heaved it over the side of a ravine. It was empty at the time and tank was torn open - empty. It was a matter of serious business."

"Ah. So you did this to save lives?"

"I shamed my shoulder doing it. Only lifted it cause I was full on berko."

"And you did this to save lives?"

"Yes. Kiwi kids."

"I see. I love your Aussie lingo, by the way."

"You don't say. When my mob shows, they're going to..."

"Don't posture, Collobulous."

"Fine. You goofy gubba gunjies won't stand a chance against my wolf, though."

"Rufus? He's dead, Collobulous. I'm sorry I didn't make that bluntly clear before."

"You'll see. That whitefella, Rue, will make a shamejob out of you."

"If you say so. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Doctor Aris Falcon. I've been studying you for the last few hours. I assure you that if your friends are found alive then they will receive medical assistance. You have to understand, though, I'm not just a genetics expert anymore. I'm now responsible for a growing city of people who have volunteered to be part of a historical life-changing community. Scientists, visionaries, inventors ... their families and the people who have vowed to give their lives to protect this new home. I've promised them a new way of life, starting with exploration into the old way of life. And when I say, 'old way,' I mean a way in which most cannot fathom. Something so ancient that it took place before modern recorded history."

"The Darkens are tough blokes, he's not gonna die here in Terra Nullius."

"Terra Nullius? That's a term you have for this underwater city, isn't it? And Rufus Darken - what is your obsession with him?" Falcon paused and withdrew a PDA from his labcoat pocket, thumbed the screen then said, "Let's check the records of known supernatural bloodlines ... Kincade family, House of Myrell, ah ... here we are: The Darkhean Clan. Rufus Tucker Darken. I've had a brief encounter with his half-sister, Peri Lynn Darken, a number of years ago. Then there were the sisters, Lilith and Lili Darken. They were last spotted leaving Tunguska a century ago. I do apologize that Rufus Tucker was inside that warehouse when it collapsed. You see, Sire and I planned things out differently. We assumed you and Rufus would have Agent Watson hide in the warehouse, then attempt to fight Sire's team. We only wanted to suppress Watson. He was sticking his nose where it didn't belong."

Collobulous sighed softly. "We made a blue coming out here. After all, we had little business being here to begin with. My grudge is with Sire for lying in the first place. He stole something from us. Now Rufus is gone. What's your game for me?"

"You'll go to sleep. It's painless and it won't have any negative bearing on your health. Surely you know of the remaining Esoteric Council's decision to murder the entire supernatural community using my resources ... I'm afraid it's too late for people like you that live outside of this city. But you have a home here if you wish. Believe me when I tell you that staying here would be much safer for your health."

"I see."

"You're a man of few words."

"There isn't a great need for yabber unless I'm skickered."

"Do you like drinking? I only ask because I'm a doctor."

"No, I don't get pissed on brew often."

"Very well." Falcon turned to a computer console and picked up a small radio adjacent to it then brought to his lips. "Please take Mr. Collobulous Bullakulla down to processing and make him comfortable. Give him a long-term room adjacent to Nichole Parker." He released the button on the side then said, "Until next we meet. I have business to which I must attend. As they say in your neck of the woods, ooroo." Aris left the lab and made his way down the hall. He pulled a phone from his pocket and waited for it to connect to the city grid then dialed a number.

A light adjacent to the small camera lens illuminated. A few seconds later, Vincent Nevada's face filled the phone's screen. Falcon offered a soft smile and asked, "How goes your date?"

"She's actually in the hotel swimming pool right now. She's doing laps. But it's been a great weekend. I appreciate you letting me take her to Bermuda, Doctor."

"You've been extremely valuable to the team, Vincent. Your ability is undocumented and beyond powerful. The least I can do is offer you an all-expenses-paid vacation with Topaz Parker. If you don't mind my asking, what are your goals for this relationship?"

"Well, we're really getting close. I mean, maybe one day I could marry her and have a family. If I'm lucky."

Aris stepped into an elevator, keeping his phone at arm's length. "Did you know I had a girlfriend once? Long ago. Unfortunately, she eventually broke things off because she wanted a family and I couldn't provide that."

"Man, that sucks. I'm sorry. Too busy with your work?"

"No, actually. The reason is because I cannot produce viable sperm. I can't impregnate a woman. She wanted a family. I couldn't give her that. While there are some women out there who are perfectly happy to live a child-free life, the Parker family goes back a very, very long way. They pride themselves on continuing their line. What will you do if Topaz wants to have children?"

Vincent laughed and said, "Have kids with her, of course."

"Vincent..."

"Yes, Doctor?"

Aris sighed. The elevator doors slid open and he crossed the posh lobby of an office building, opened the door and stepped outside. "That's not an option for you."

"What?"

"Give me a moment then I'll explain why." He lifted his free hand and a limousine pulled up. Falcon opened the rear door, stepped into the back then said, "Industrial district." He closed the window leading up to the driver then leaned back in the comfortable seat and said, "Your radiation ability has rendered you sterile. Have you considered the possibility of asking Topaz to try her hand at motherhood via means of artificial insemination? Then you could stepfather the child."

"Uh..." Vincent appeared to begin pacing. The background moved about behind him. "Well, I mean, we're not far enough in our relationship to talk about kids right now but ... I had no idea I was sterile. This is news to me."

"Radiation does interesting things to the body. Like I said, though, I empathize because I suffer the same affliction. As your doctor, I do studies and tests on your body to make sure you're safe and healthy. I know you're young and going through a lot right now so I thought it would be more appropriate to talk to you about it the next time you came in for a checkup. But I suppose now will have to suffice. The results came in last Monday. Look, Vincent, if you ever do talk about a family with Miss Parker, I'd be happy to find a suitable donor for you."

"Well, uh ... okay. This is kind of ... a gray cloud on an otherwise great past few days."

"Return home when you're ready. We'll be working on the power core again later this week. You're my star team member, Vincent."

"I appreciate the vote of confidence, Doctor F., but yeah ... I think I'm going to join Topaz for a swim. I'll, uh, talk to you later."

"Very well. Stay safe, Vincent." Falcon thumbed the screen and ended the video call. His eyes lifted past the phone to Sire sitting on another sofa at the other end of the limo. Aris eased his phone into his pocket and said, "Any word on the other two?"

"We used a heartbeat monitor. They were crushed beneath the rubble. I was planning on ordering the construction crew to fill the entire warehouse foundation base with concrete and build a new warehouse atop to ensure they're entombed for good." Sire tilted his head, "Is Vincent really sterile?"

"No."

"Are you?"

"Yes." Falcon ran his hand back through his hair. "Topaz Parker is fighting her instincts towards Fox Parker. She's trying to date someone else because it's considered 'right' in society. Moral or not, she's genetically altered to crave a family soon. Her maternal gene will be impossible to ignore before long."

"Why lie to the boy?"

"I want him to tell her that he cannot give her a child. If she chooses to fight her instincts and stay with Vincent, then I will artificially inseminate her with a frozen sperm sample I took from her brother the last time he was in my laboratory. If news of her boyfriend's sterility causes intimacy issues; if she and Vincent do not last, then she'll fall into her instincts and mate with Fox Parker."

Sire replied with a silent look of disgust.

Falcon smirked in amusement. "They've been genetically altered to offer a viable offspring. They're a breeding pair, Sire. They've been designed since before birth to have two sets of genetics - their own from their biological family, and genes that I gave them in the early fetal stage."

"I don't follow."

Aris brought his right leg up, resting his calf across his left knee. "I've learned that some of the artifacts we will need are actually biological. Two of them were living people. Justus Loupe was the direct descendant of one. His blood is necessary. However, we have Donovan now. So long as we have Donovan, we can continue to study the bloodline. If it doesn't give us enough to work with, we'll find his nephew, Eric."

"I see. And the other person?"

"They don't have any living descendants," Falcon said with a soft sigh. "I had to synthesize DNA based on the process of elimination. I had to determine what we didn't have, what we needed, and create it in a biological format. Then I had to find Jon Conner Parker's wife, Sinopa, and bring her to my lab in 1999. I knew she and Parker were trying to have a family so I told her I would be able to ensure a healthy conception by performing a minor operation. I put her under and I tried to study her genetics but they're too alien to work with ... so I did what I could while she was ovulating ... my experiment worked. She was pregnant by the end of the week."

Sire brought his hands together, resting his chin atop of his index fingers. "I'm not quite versed in genetics but... I'm pretty sure that one cannot simply prep a female and make her better receptive to..."

"Quite right," Falcon interrupted. "I managed to steal from the world's greatest thief. I obtained a sperm sample and impregnated Sinopa while she was under. When she left the laboratory, she went home to copulate but she was already pregnant and didn't yet know it. I gave her twins."

"You're plan was to give birth to a person whose genetics matched the leader of the capital of the First Age? Why not clone them?"

"I tried. The man sealed the gates to the great first city, gave a command to open only for him, then died. The clone was not effective. The technology they had back then was impressive. It could tell he was an imposter because he wasn't naturally born. My clone was killed instantly by some sort of security system, Sire. I knew, then, that I had to find a way for this person to be born naturally."

"So you made it so that Topaz would carry the mother's genetics, Fox would carry the genetics of the father. So their offspring would be the leader of the first great city of the First Age?"

"Yes, exactly. One sibling carried half the genetic markers, the other carried the other half ... and their offspring will be naturally born reproductions of a high council member of the underground city that we found. Therefore, the child of the Parker twins will be able to access the Capital city once Vincent is able to use his radiation to tame the power core."

"Surely there must be a faster way."

Falcon folded his hands and leaned forward on the leather sofa at the back of the limo. "Sire, I started these plans nearly twenty-five years ago. At the time, I knew of no other possible way to gain access to the capital city. And it's still in motion as a fallback. However ... once we found the power core in the summer of 2011, we now have a backdoor entrance to the capital city."

"Then what are we waiting for?"

"It's not going to be easy and it will also take time. However, it will most likely be much quicker than waiting for a child to reach puberty so that their body chemistry and genetic makeup turn them into a viable artifact for our use."

"What about Methos and Isaac?"

"We still need to find them and kill them, lest they wrench their way into everything."

"You mentioned a section option to gain entrance to the First Age Capital. How is this second option difficult?" asked Sire.

"It will require bringing the underground town beneath Virginia state back out into the Atlantic Ocean. We can connect them and enter that way, then make our way into the Capital directly."

Sire replied with an incredulous glare. "How does one rip a city out from three miles beneath the surface and move it closer to ... that's physically impossible."

"Tectonically, it's already been together, long, long ago. The section of the city separated over time. We will have to build a trench in the ocean then close the gap by bringing the east coast back to where it was at the time of the first age."

"Perhaps you're right. We only need to wait until Fox and Topaz Parker's children become of age. Perhaps I can implant an idea in them that they belong together."

"They're genetically linked." Aris gazed out the window at the buildings. "It will be instinctual to mate with one another; they create a pheromone that only the other can detect. It draws them together. That's why I lied to Vincent, so he will feel inadequate with Topaz and she will eventually fall back into the embrace of Fox Parker."

"I suppose it's time to figure out how to prepare for either way. I know how impatient you can get, despite these long, drawn out plans of yours. How would you get a piece of land to move such a distance? And how far would it have to come?"

"Unfortunately, the Capital City moved southeast by a great distance before settling at the bottom of the Atlantic. Where it is, now, beneath the ocean, it cannot be brought back towards the east coast. From what I now understand, it would be more feasible to bring the east coast of America to the middle of the ocean."

"Yes, but how and how far?"

"A few hundred miles," Falcon murmured softly. "We've found technology from the first age. My protégé has been studying it. He thinks it can be done."

"Your protégé is not trustworthy. And he's a clone. If he learns what the real Isaac knows ... he won't help you do this. Even if you could do such a thing, it would be such a catastrophic event that the world as we know it would be scarred beyond conceivable description."

Falcon nodded reverently. "Yes. It would. So the fate of the world rests on how quickly Fox and Topaz have children. Because you're correct ... I am impatient. I've waited a long time for this. If I have to move mountains to unearth the secrets of ancient humanity, then that is what I will do."

X

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Next chapter: https://www.sofurry.com/view/658577