Konrad latched the helmet on the suit and waited for the portal to open. The metal doors parted open with a loud boom, revealing a massive ice cathedral very similar to the one he had crossed almost three months ago — for him, 75 years ago out here. If this entrance was the same, there would be a Bell hanging just outside, above the entrance. The Bell on the other side of the structure had been turned off when Konrad had crossed — it hadn’t so much as flickered as he and his men marched under it and into the Tombs. But they had turned that Bell on from inside; he knew that now.
The control systems inside the structure were complex, and he and his men had tried to access a system they thought was hibernation control. It turned out to be the controls for a weather satellite. Kane had actually downed the satellite, somewhere in America, he believed, possibly in New Mexico. Whatever he did triggered some sort of anti-intrusion routine. It locked them out of the computers and activated the Bell, killing the men on his sub.
None of the computers had worked since then. Until today.
He wondered if they had already removed the Bell outside, or if the re-activation of the computers meant it was disabled. There was also another possibility: maybe the Bell would only attack people trying to enter, not exit.
If it was still on, he would have to move fast to get clear of it.
Kane took a tentative step out of the decontamination chamber. His eyes were adjusting, and he could see a cluster of soft lights, like tiny stars glowing in a mound of snow, just under a mangled metal cage.
There was something else — a metal basket, hanging from a thick cord. Yes, that was it — his escape route, even if the Bell activated.
Kane took another step, clearing the portal doors. Above him, a loud rumble reverberated through the space and echoed in his suit, maybe even his bones.
There was a Bell. And it was thundering to life.
CHAPTER 145
Kate tugged at the pack on Adi’s back. Finally, it came free. 00:01:53. She turned to Surya. The black goo was eating away at the straps on his backpack as well. They were almost free. Kate’s father pulled the boy away from the straps and shoved him toward her. He motioned toward the second of six doors. “Go, Katherine. I’ll take care of this.”
“No. Tell me. How?” She searched his face, wondering how he could disable the bombs.
He sighed and nodded toward the door. “When the Atlanteans exited the Gibraltar structure, they set the portal up to be a one-way escape hatch; that’s why I couldn’t get back. But if I’m right, the portal will allow Atlanteans to pass back through it. You have pure Atlantean DNA. You were incubated in the tubes. It will work for you. Now this is important — when you get to the other side, you’ll be in Gibraltar, in a control room. Don’t touch anything. You must leave the portal open, so that I can follow you through. I need to close the portal… permanently. And this bomb can’t explode here in Antarctica. Do you understand?”
Kate stared at him, trying to comprehend.
“When you get to the other side, you must get to the surface and as far away as you can. You’ll have about 360 minutes — six hours. A minute here is 360 minutes there. Do you understand?” Her father’s voice was firm.
A tear fell from Kate’s face. She understood. She hugged him for three long seconds, but when she tried to pull away, she found that her father was holding her tight. She wrapped her arms back around him.
“I made so many mistakes, Katherine. I was trying to protect you, and your mother…” his voice broke as Kate leaned back and looked him in the eyes.
“I read the journal, Dad. I know why you did it, all of it. I understand. And I love you.”
“I love you too, very much.”
Kate grabbed the children by the hands and ran through the door.
CHAPTER 146
Konrad felt a bead of sweat form on his forehead as the thump-thump-thump of the Bell above grew louder.
Through the glass of the helmet, an image emerged, as if a minature version of the person were sitting inside the glass. The gray-haired man was sitting in an office, behind a large wooden desk with an Immari Flag behind him. There was a map of the world on the wall, but it was different somehow, all wrong. And the man’s face… Konrad knew him.
“Mallory!” Konrad cried out. “Help me—”
“Of course, Konrad. There’s a syringe sitting on the basket. Inject yourself.”
Konrad bounded forward, desperately trying to reach the basket. He fell twice, then again. He decided that he couldn’t run in the suit, so he waddled awkwardly, making the best speed he could as the Bell droned louder each second. “What’s in the syringe?”
“Something we’re working on. You should hurry, Konrad.”
Konrad reached the basket and picked up the large syringe. “Take me up, Mallory. Forget this science experiment.”