AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Fifteen Hours Later
Null Island
The helicopter rotorswhipped in the air as they hovered over the Atlantic Ocean. The latitude and longitude on their instruments read zero degrees, and waves crashed as a submarine rose above the waters.
They landed on the helipad and left the aircraft, taking a ladder down to a solid landing. An elevator door opened, and Dalila Maceo stood in front of them.
“Follow me.”
She moved to the side, and they entered the cab, silently riding down to another floor.
“Wait until we’re in the conference room,” she said.
The doors opened, and she exited, with the men following her trail through a labyrinth of corridors. The corridor was long and winding, the walls curved inward and downward, and numerous doors on either side led to infinite possibilities. Colored lights emanated from the ceiling, casting odd shadows on the pale walls.
Dalila’s footsteps echoed hollowly as she led the group further into the depths of the submarine. At last, they arrived at the end of the corridor, a grand door finally opening to reveal a spacious conference room.
The conference room was large and well-appointed, with a glossy wooden table surrounded by comfortable chairs in the center. The walls were a deep blue, and soft carpeting covered the floor. Several windows looked out onto a stunning view of the underwater ocean. Plants and artwork adorned the walls, giving the room a homey atmosphere. In addition, advanced technology was available for presentations, making this room an ideal place for meetings and negotiations.
They gathered around the table, but no one sat down.
“Tell me: what’s the catastrophe, and start from the beginning.”
Langston gave Dalila a rundown of the moment the terrorist kidnappers reached out to him and what had transpired since.
“Our government has information on every terrorist organization, even those on the rise, and I’m coming up empty when it comes to this group: T.M.”
“Are you sure you have the clearance to dig deep enough?”
“No one’s clearance is higher than mine except for the director himself.”
“Are you sure it’s not an inside job?”
Langston glared at her. “Did you just ask me that?”
“It’s not unheard of. Rare, but not unheard of.”
“With all due respect, Dalila…”
She held her hand up to silence him. “There’s no need to take that sentence wherever it’s going. I only asked to see if you’ve covered your bases.”
“It’s not an inside job.”
They stared each other down. “Unfortunately, I can’t help you.”
His eyes widened, and Tristan and Malik frowned.
“You haven’t checked your database. You can’t tell me the Elite Alliance doesn’t have information on these criminals.”
“That’s not what I meant. Like your government, the Elite Alliance has even more information on threats. But this is not a global threat. It’s local, and the Elite Alliance will only approve access to the database if the threat is global.”
Langston’s heart sank. He had been so sure that the Elite Alliance would have helped to solve the case of this mysterious group, T.M. Now he was back to square one.
“I don’t understand,” he said, his voice steely.
“These terrorists are planning something big, something that could harm countless innocent people. It won’t just affect our government if we are forced to respond in retaliation. That should be enough for the Elite Alliance to get on board. "
Dalila sighed heavily, her eyes betraying a deep weariness. “I wish it were that easy, Langston. But the Alliance has strict rules about who and what causes we can provide information to. You are supposed to get ahead of this to keep us from having to intervene.”
