Atlantis

Chapter 44

Bishop Frederick Hadel read through a report from his agent inside the CIA. The contact was a low-level operative, and seldom had much of use to report but, on occasion, he delivered valuable information. Today, he’d picked up a useful tidbit. Someone within the agency had tried to warn the government about an attack on Savannah. Specifically, a man-made disaster.

“Our first leak,” he said aloud. His mind ran through the list of false trails he’d laid. The Savannah rumor had been planted with the leader of the church in Key West. He’d have to address that situation immediately. A shame, really. Some of his most ardent supporters were members of that particular congregation, and they’d served him well during the tsunami and in Mexico.

Now, he opened a browser window on his desktop computer and navigated to the major news sites. As he expected, the internet was abuzz over the proclamation the Dominion had just released, in which they claimed responsibility for the Tsunamis and demanded the President’s resignation, along with that of the Vice President, a few select Supreme Court justices, and most of congress.

His demands would not be met, of course, but the implicit message would not be missed. One look at the list of representatives and justices whom the Dominion considered acceptable would deliver the message. The nation needed to change, and he would make it over by any means necessary. The next attack would prove the Dominion’s power, and when they obtained the Revelation Machine…

His phone buzzed, interrupting his musings. He tapped the speakerphone button.

“Yes?”

“Mister Robinson to see you, Bishop. He says it’s urgent.”

“Send him in.”

As always, Robinson knocked exactly two times before pushing the door open. It was an idiosyncrasy, or perhaps a compulsive behavior, that Hadel was happy to ignore, given Robinson’s reliability.

“I just received a report from a contact within a friendly organization. A CIA agent named Tamara Broderick sought his help in accessing a vault beneath the Jefferson Memorial — one that, she claimed, contained a Templar archive.”

Hadel sat up straight. “And?”

“It was there. Inside, she found information that pinpoints the location of the capital, if you will, of Atlantis. He failed to obtain the document in question, which he said appeared to be a journal of some sort, but he saw the map and knew exactly where it pointed.”

Hadel laid his hands on his lap to prevent Robinson from seeing them tremble. He couldn’t remember ever being so excited. But, when Robinson told him the location, he found himself puzzled.

“I’ve never heard of such a place. Just a moment.” He returned to his computer and called up the location. When the first images appeared on his screen, he relaxed. “Atlantis,” he whispered, “has been hiding in plain sight all this time.”

“I’m assembling a team as we speak,” Robinson said. “We await your instructions.”

“Activate the failsafe plan.”

“Bishop?” A furrow creased Robinson’s brow. “But the failsafe is…”

“I know what it is, and now is the perfect time to activate it, because I’m going with you.”