The Ajax Protocol

CHAPTER 50

Flying straight into DIA didn't seem like a good idea. They landed in Colorado Springs, 70 miles South of Denver. Another anonymous agent met them and gave them the keys to a GMC Suburban. The car was several years old and spattered with mud and dirt. One of the fenders was dented.

Nick looked at the car and shook his head. "I guess Langley is getting hit with budget cuts."

"I hope this is in better shape than the guns," Ronnie said.

On the front seat was a brown envelope. It held cash and a road map, along with satellite photos of Denver International Airport. The photos were marked with the location of the buried buildings. The site was almost three miles away from the main terminal.

They settled into the car and headed for the interstate leading north to Denver.

Ronnie drove. Nick and Korov sat in back, Selena in front with Ronnie. They'd changed into the uniforms. The clean clothes felt comfortable but Nick wished he had his regular gear. Without armor he felt half naked.

"Let's look at the airport layout," he said.

Selena turned around in her seat. They studied the satellite pictures.

"Whatever's there has to be accessed from a lower level," Nick said. "There isn't going to be anything obvious, where anyone could see it."

"How about the train tunnel?" Ronnie said. "It could be like the subways in New York, where they sealed off the old stations and they're still there."

"That makes sense," Selena said. "But how are we going to find the entrance?"

"I have a better question," Korov said. "How do we get through your airport security?"

"We have to look like we belong," Nick said. "Someone with a legitimate reason to be seen away from the passenger areas. Someone with a key card. Maybe maintenance workers or baggage handlers."

Selena pointed at the map. A street called 75th Avenue split off from the main feed into the airport and passed a series of hangers and warehouses used by UPS, FedEx, and others.

"There's a cargo facility here," she said. "We could slip into one of those. There will be vehicles, clothes, IDs, everything we need."

"It will be dark soon," Ronnie said. "That will help."

"It's an idea," Selena said.

Nick shook his head. "It's an idea but it's not a plan. We're looking for something that's been well hidden. We can't go in blind and hope we stumble on it by luck."

"Why go through the airport at all?" Selena said.

"What do you mean?"

"The bunker is where those buried buildings are, right?"

"That's what we've thought all along," Nick said.

"Why don't we look for an entrance there? There has to be more than one way in. No one could bring supplies or people in and out through the train tunnels without being seen. It would defeat the whole purpose of keeping it secret."

"She's right," Ronnie said. "They have to be able to bring in equipment, whatever else they need. That means a road."

Selena shuffled through the satellite photographs and pulled out the photo with the location of the buried structures.

"There's a farmhouse and barn nearby," she said. "It's the only building in the area and its right off a paved road."

"It could be the access point to the bunker," Nick said, "but it could just be a farmhouse."

"Can Elizabeth get a real-time satellite shot, maybe a deep scan infrared reading? If it's the command center, they'll have computers in there. Computers need power and power means heat. If something's there, it should show up."

Nick took out his phone and called Elizabeth. She picked up on the first ring.

"Yes, Nick."

"Director, I need a real time satellite shot and an infrared readout. Are you set up to do that?"

"I can get it through Langley," she said. "What are the coordinates?"

Nick looked at the satellite photo and gave her the location. "It's a farmhouse and barn. It might be a camouflaged entrance to the underground complex. If there's infrared activity, that would clinch it."

"I'll call you back," Harker said. "Be careful you don't go charging into someone's living room and blow them away while they're watching The Simpsons." She broke the connection.

"So now we have a plan," Korov said.

"It's as good a plan as any," Nick said, "since we're winging this by the seat of our pants."

"Winging? Pants? What do you mean?" Korov said.

The three Americans laughed. "It means we don't know what the hell we're doing and we're pretending that we do," Nick said. "Making up the plan as we go along."

"You make it sound simple," Korov said. "I hope you are right."

The sun was setting behind the Rocky Mountains. The light was golden, the sky clear. The shadows on the mountain slopes were a deep purple. It made Nick think of the line in America the Beautiful about purple mountains' majesty. It wasn't hard to see what had inspired the song.

"It is very beautiful, the mountains," Korov said. "It reminds me of home."

They headed north toward Denver.