Killer Thrillers Box Set: 3 Techno-Thriller, Action/Adventure Science Fiction Thrillers by Nick Thacker Page A
Authors: Nick Thacker
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emanate the bluish glow is also what your father extracted from the original mineral,” Cole asked.
“Exactly — and he somehow managed to transfer that property into a liquid — his ‘invisible ink,' except that instead of being visible in light, he made the ink only visible in the presence of the mineral. Knowing that whoever would find the crystal later would want to know more about it and therefore search for his journals, he made sure that they would have to have both the journals and the rock in their possession.”
“…Or in their bloodstream,” Cole added sarcastically.
Bryce chimed in as the plane lurched through some turbulence. “So, we know that Vilocek’s on his way to Egypt, but do we know where exactly?”
“No,” Whittenfield said, “but I ran another trace a moment ago. Jeff’s phone is still transmitting, and their movement has all but stopped somewhere just south of Cairo. I don’t know for sure, but I’d bet they’re heading to the Great Pyramid of Giza.”
“Actually, that makes sense,” Cole said, reaching into the box at his feet and pulling out one of the journals. “I found something here that I couldn’t figure out, and there’s no mention of it anywhere else.” He thumbed through the book, finally stopping near the back.
“At first I thought it was just a random doodle, or something unrelated to the crystal. But the more I thought about it, I realized he wouldn’t have used the invisible ink to write a doodle.”
Whittenfield and Bryce leaned in, looking at the page Cole had opened to.
“It looks like Washington, D.C.,” Bryce said after a moment, “but just the streets and intersections. See, here’s where Whittenfield Research would be.”
“I think you’re right, Bryce,” Whittenfield said. “I can make out Pennsylvania Avenue — this main line running through the center of the image. And there’s where the Capitol Building and the White House would be.”
“But what’s the triangle around it?” Cole asked. “And the circled area at the bottom?”
“It does resemble a pyramid…” Whittenfield said. “Could the Giza pyramid be what my father was intending to get across?”
“But why would he put a map of an American city behind it?”
Whittenfield looked for a moment at the bluish writing on the page, then ran his thumbnail across the bottom edge. There was a small, almost imperceptible fold that subtly interrupted the pattern. He gently flattened out the fold, revealing a string of words directly below the drawing, where the bottom of the pyramid would be.
Potomac River, location of original (Lower Room?)
“The original? ” Bryce asked. “Is that the original piece of the rock he’s referring to?”
“Could be — maybe his team found the crystal at the bottom of the river. The reference to the Lower Room fits the description of one of Giza’s inner sanctums. Maybe that’s where Vilocek’s headed now, thinking that’s where the pure crystal, the original original substance is hidden there.” Whittenfield stressed the first “original,” as if implying that the ‘original material’ Vilocek and Whittenfield, Sr. had been in contact with was a small part of a larger crystal.
“So,” Bryce said, “we go to Giza. Follow Vilocek into the Great Pyramid, and figure out what he’s looking for. We get it before Vilocek does, and get out alive — all while dodging the Egyptian authorities and a couple of thousand tourists.” Bryce’s assessment didn’t seem overly optimistic.
“Exactly,” Whittenfield said. “Like I said, we have our work cut out for us.”
CHAPTER 17
NO ONE KNOWS EXACTLY WHO built the Great Pyramid at Giza, or for that matter, how they accomplished the monstrous task. The assumption, of course, is that the ancient Egyptians — most likely using tens of thousands of slaves — laid each rock in place one at a time until the massive structure was completed. They say the Egyptians
“Exactly — and he somehow managed to transfer that property into a liquid — his ‘invisible ink,' except that instead of being visible in light, he made the ink only visible in the presence of the mineral. Knowing that whoever would find the crystal later would want to know more about it and therefore search for his journals, he made sure that they would have to have both the journals and the rock in their possession.”
“…Or in their bloodstream,” Cole added sarcastically.
Bryce chimed in as the plane lurched through some turbulence. “So, we know that Vilocek’s on his way to Egypt, but do we know where exactly?”
“No,” Whittenfield said, “but I ran another trace a moment ago. Jeff’s phone is still transmitting, and their movement has all but stopped somewhere just south of Cairo. I don’t know for sure, but I’d bet they’re heading to the Great Pyramid of Giza.”
“Actually, that makes sense,” Cole said, reaching into the box at his feet and pulling out one of the journals. “I found something here that I couldn’t figure out, and there’s no mention of it anywhere else.” He thumbed through the book, finally stopping near the back.
“At first I thought it was just a random doodle, or something unrelated to the crystal. But the more I thought about it, I realized he wouldn’t have used the invisible ink to write a doodle.”
Whittenfield and Bryce leaned in, looking at the page Cole had opened to.
“It looks like Washington, D.C.,” Bryce said after a moment, “but just the streets and intersections. See, here’s where Whittenfield Research would be.”
“I think you’re right, Bryce,” Whittenfield said. “I can make out Pennsylvania Avenue — this main line running through the center of the image. And there’s where the Capitol Building and the White House would be.”
“But what’s the triangle around it?” Cole asked. “And the circled area at the bottom?”
“It does resemble a pyramid…” Whittenfield said. “Could the Giza pyramid be what my father was intending to get across?”
“But why would he put a map of an American city behind it?”
Whittenfield looked for a moment at the bluish writing on the page, then ran his thumbnail across the bottom edge. There was a small, almost imperceptible fold that subtly interrupted the pattern. He gently flattened out the fold, revealing a string of words directly below the drawing, where the bottom of the pyramid would be.
Potomac River, location of original (Lower Room?)
“The original? ” Bryce asked. “Is that the original piece of the rock he’s referring to?”
“Could be — maybe his team found the crystal at the bottom of the river. The reference to the Lower Room fits the description of one of Giza’s inner sanctums. Maybe that’s where Vilocek’s headed now, thinking that’s where the pure crystal, the original original substance is hidden there.” Whittenfield stressed the first “original,” as if implying that the ‘original material’ Vilocek and Whittenfield, Sr. had been in contact with was a small part of a larger crystal.
“So,” Bryce said, “we go to Giza. Follow Vilocek into the Great Pyramid, and figure out what he’s looking for. We get it before Vilocek does, and get out alive — all while dodging the Egyptian authorities and a couple of thousand tourists.” Bryce’s assessment didn’t seem overly optimistic.
“Exactly,” Whittenfield said. “Like I said, we have our work cut out for us.”
CHAPTER 17
NO ONE KNOWS EXACTLY WHO built the Great Pyramid at Giza, or for that matter, how they accomplished the monstrous task. The assumption, of course, is that the ancient Egyptians — most likely using tens of thousands of slaves — laid each rock in place one at a time until the massive structure was completed. They say the Egyptians
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