The Doomsday Device (Teen Superheroes Book 2) (9 page)

“But if a computer can’t break it -.” Chad started.

“How can a human?” Agent Palmer asked. “The human brain has between eighty and one hundred and twenty billion neurons. For most of us those neurons are sitting dormant while we carry out important duties like watching TV or eating our meals.

“Ferdy’s brain is differently wired. He is able to focus his brain solely on a problem until he comes up with a solution. He is able to examine a problem from both a human and computer perspective. He can make leaps in thinking beyond any computer. He can see patterns to which the rest of us are blind.”

“So you think Ferdy can crack this code?” I asked.

“We think he can,” Mr. Floyd confirmed. “Apparently, so does Jeremiah Stead.”

“So where is Stead?” I asked. “And where are our friends?”

“We believe they are holed up in a place they call Sanctuary Compound. It’s located somewhere in Montana, but we don’t know its exact location.” Mr. Floyd paused. “We believe they will use Ferdy to break Barricade’s encryption and release Doomsday into the environment.”

“So how do we find out the location of the compound?” Chad asked.

“Jeremiah Stead’s brother – Zachary – is being held by the North Koreans in a jail known as Yodak prison. The prison contains two types of prisoners – humans and mods. We believe the North Koreans will agree to a prisoner exchange. While they would not agree to release Zachary, we believe they will accept two mods in exchange for two human Americans being held at the prison.

“We think they will see the deal as being highly advantageous to them. So advantageous they cannot possibly say no.”

“What mods are you -.” I started.

Of course.

Us.

“The mods would be you and Chad,” Agent Palmer said. “Once within Yodak you would need to make contact with Zachary and then break out. Upon reaching the coast, you can make use of a vessel to enable your escape from North Korea.

“Obviously you must appear to be operating independently of The Agency to gain Zachary Stead’s trust. As long as you espouse similar sentiments, we believe he will lead you straight to the Compound.”

“I’ve just one question,” Chad said. “This Yodak prison. Has anyone ever escaped from it?”

“No,” Mr. Floyd said. “But there’s a first time for everything.”

Chapter Seventeen

Brodie was relieved to see that conditions had relaxed enough to allow her and Ebony to leave their cell and join the main population of the Sanctuary Compound. Dan was still recovering from his illness and remained in his bunk. At least his condition was improving since the doctor’s ministrations.

Jeremiah Stead had told them the previous day that they could mingle with the other people in the compound as long as they did not try to cause any violence.

Brodie thought that was laughable considering they were the ones who had been kidnapped.

“What’s to stop us from leaving?” Brodie asked.

“Nothing,” Jeremiah said. “But then I would be forced to take measures against your friends Dan and Ferdy.”

“What kind of measures?” she asked.

“Extreme measures.”

Whatever that meant.

The Sanctuary complex turned out to be a concrete structure buried under the earth among a forest of spruce trees. There appeared to be only one exit point and even this was hidden under an overhang of foliage. Brodie doubted it could ever be seen from the air.

They were allowed outside of the bunker. It was autumn and the weather was starting to turn cold, but Brodie didn’t mind. They had spent two days underground and fresh air was almost as welcome as freedom.

While it was impossible to determine the size of the structure, there were clearly a lot of people living in the building. Almost two hundred including children, she estimated. How they had ever built the structure in the first place was beyond her.

Jason was quite enthusiastic in how well they hid their operations. Some distance away there was a camp above ground inhabited by another twenty or so people.

“That’s so we can get supplies delivered,” he explained. “But the suppliers don’t speak to each other so they don’t know how much really gets delivered.”

“Sounds like you’ve got everything worked out,” she said without enthusiasm.

“My father is a brilliant man,” Jason said.

“Your father?”

“Jeremiah Stead,” he said.

Brodie could hardly keep the expression of amazement from her face. “And your father is convinced the end of the world is coming?”

“Absolutely.”

“What makes you so sure he’s correct?”

“He has studied hundreds of books about the end times,” Jason said. “He prophesized the rise of The New World Order and now that prophecy is coming to pass.”

“Who is the New World Order?” Ebony asked.

“It’s an organization controlled by the United Nations,” Jason said. “The NWO is designed to create a single, one world government. No person who loves liberty could stand for such a thing.”

“I don’t really know anything about it,” Brodie said.

“I’ll teach you. You’ll need to know anyway because you’ll be staying here.”

Brodie shot Ebony a look and they didn’t reply.

Temporary breakfast tables with seating were lined up under the spruce trees. Bowls were filled with serves of porridge and plastic cups containing orange cordial were passed out to everyone.

It was all very efficient, Brodie noted. Whatever could be said for these wacko people, they were good at what they did.

It was a shame they were so misguided.

After breakfast the plastic crockery was collected up, the tables dismantled and everything taken back inside. A woman came up to them as the various members went in their different directions.

“My name is Susan,” she said. “Jeremiah has told me you’re welcome to walk around out here just as long as you don’t cause trouble.”

Brodie was getting a bit sick of this line about trouble.

“We won’t cause any problems,” she said. “Actually we’re interested in seeing how things work around here.”

“I’ll show you around,” Susan said.

“Thanks.”

Good
, Brodie thought.
Information is power.

The woman took them down to a nearby river and showed them how their water was transported up the hill. Essentially they used a bucket brigade in the early morning that quickly moved enormous amounts in a very short time.

“Isn’t there machinery that can do this?” Ebony asked.

“Machinery takes fuel,” Susan said. “There’s no guarantee there’ll be any fuel when the End Times arrive.”

“How do you know the End Times are coming?” Brodie asked.

“Jeremiah has told us,” Susan said. “He knows these things.”

“But Jeremiah could be wrong,” Brodie said.

Susan smiled. “He’s not wrong about this. The UN has been secretly pulling the strings behind governments for years. They have even pushed for limits on worldwide population growth.”

“But surely that’s because of the stress on the environment?” Brodie said.

“There are limited resources,” Susan said. “No doubt about that, but they want to pick and choose who should receive those resources.” Susan’s voice grew hard. “No-one’s telling me and my children we have no right to live.”

Brodie doubted the United Nations was actually doing that, but she didn’t argue. Susan showed them small patches of potatoes, carrots and onions they were growing. The quantities seemed so insubstantial that Brodie doubted they would feed a population as large as the Sanctuary group for any lengthy period of time.

When she mentioned this to Susan, the woman merely nodded.

“These are just short term supplies,” she said. “After the end times come the rest of humanity will be laid bare. There will be food enough for those who remain.”

“Jeremiah seems pretty certain the world is coming to an end,” Ebony said. “In fact he said it’s happening within the next week.”

“He has told us that,” Susan confirmed.

“And you believe him?” Ebony said.

“It’s happening if Jeremiah says it’s happening.”

What a dangerous way to be
, Brodie thought.
It’s like a kind of blindness.

Susan slowly led them up the hill towards the compound. The door to the structure was open. Brodie wanted to turn around and never return to this madhouse. She was sure Ebony felt the same way. It would be so easy to escape from this place, but they could not abandon Dan and Ferdy.

They followed Susan inside and back to the main hall. It was a single large chamber with posters around the walls talking about the New World Order and the End Times. Susan left them and returned to her regular duties – whatever they were – while Brodie and Ebony moved around the room reading the posters.

“This is crazy stuff,” Ebony said in a low voice.

“It’s crazy,” Brodie agreed. “But these people seem to believe it.”

“A lot of people do. I read an article in a magazine last month about the End Times. It said that about one in five Americans believe the end of the world will happen in their lifetimes.”

“It might be a type of wishful thinking,” Brodie suggested.

“What do you mean?”

“I think a similar thing happened at the outbreak of the First World War There were some people who believed the war would actually be a good thing.”

“Why would they believe such a thing?”

“They thought it would clear away all the old animosities and the world could start again from scratch,” Brodie explained. “Sort of starting with a clean slate.”

“It didn’t really work out that way.”

“Not really. Not with millions of people killed in the war.”

A man had been eyeing them from the other side of the room. He was a bookish looking figure with thick lens glasses and a crew cut. He sidled over to them and introduced himself as Ethan Craddock.

“Have you been here long?” Brodie asked.

“About six months.” He smiled pleasantly before glancing around. He seemed to make certain no-one was nearby. He lowered his voice. “We need to talk.”

“About what?”

He didn’t answer her question. “There’s an area behind the compound where we leave our garden scraps. Can we meet there in an hour?”

“Why?” Ebony asked.

“I’m an undercover operative with the FBI,” Ethan whispered. “You cannot tell anyone or I’ll be killed immediately.”

Brodie and Ebony looked at each other.

“Of course,” Brodie said. “We’ll keep it to -.”

“Jeremiah is a dangerous individual,” Ethan interrupted her. “We need to get word out in relation to what’s about to happen here.”

“You mean his End Times stuff?” Brodie asked. “Surely that’s all in his head.”

Ethan looked fearful. “Not only is it real, but it’s imminent. If Jeremiah has his way, this time next week most of the people on Earth will be dead.”

Chapter Eighteen

“North Korea has one of the most oppressive regimes in history,” Agent Palmer explained as the plane soared over the Sea of Japan. “The country is held within a grip of secrecy and propaganda. Famine is common. Executions are rampant. Torture of prisoners is a common occurrence.”

“You really know how to sell a place,” I glanced out the window at the ocean below. “Is there anything good about it at all?”

She ignored my question. “We will be swapping you for two Americans held by the North Koreans for the last three years. After you extricate Zachary Stead from the compound we will have an invisible plane waiting for you on the coast. You’ll need a transponder device to find it.”

We both stared at Agent Palmer.

“Invisible?” Chad was the first to speak. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“Not at all,” she said. “The world is a strange place and you might as well get used to it.” She pulled two syringes from her jacket.

“What are they for?” I asked.

“I’ll be injecting the transponders so the North Korean authorities won’t detect them. After you leave the camp you follow the signal. You’ll be able to see the plane, but no-one else will until you deactivate the invisibility shield.”

“How are we going to fly this thing?” I asked. “Neither of us knows how to fly a plane.”

“It will fly itself. Once you climb aboard it has VTOL capabilities.”

“What’s VTOL?” Chad asked.

“Vertical Take Off and Landing,” the agent explained. “It is a ship, a plane and a submarine. It has an automatic guidance system that can take you anywhere you want. Hopefully that will be to a compound in Montana.”

“So why aren’t we using it to go there?” Chad asked. “If this super plane is so great.”

“It hasn’t been properly tested,” Agent Palmer said. “We at least wanted to get you this far safely.”

Great
, I thought.
If we survive North Korea we’ll end up on some sort of experimental jet that might just blow up with us on it.

This was all a bit too much. I knew our lives had turned upside down over the last few months, but this was sounding a whole lot like James Bond. I wondered if I should have worn a tuxedo.

“Do I get a code number?” I asked.

“A code number?”

“Yeah, like 007.”

“You have a code name.”

“What’s that?”

“Axel.”

My name. Alright. That would have to do.

“North Korea is a hostile place,” Agent Palmer said. “You’ll see things that will turn your stomach. Things that will make you sick. Just try to stay focused on your mission. You can’t help anyone if you don’t keep it together.”

“We can handle it,” Chad said, but he didn’t look confident saying it.

The tone of the plane’s engine changed. We would be jumping from the plane over the next few minutes to be picked up by North Korean forces. My heart was thudding in my chest. We had leapt from a plane before but it was not an experience I relished.

I wondered about our missing friends, but mostly I wondered about Brodie. I hoped she was alright. My stomach jangled with tension every time I thought about her.

It had been three days since we had lost them. The longer they were missing, the greater the chance they would come to harm. It appeared the only person they really needed was Ferdy. It was terrible to think of Brodie and the others as simply being expendable.