The Sixth Seal полностью

Krause’s experience and knowledge kept him at the top of the hierarchy. The Sixth Seal couldn’t afford not to have him in place there. They needed his knowledge despite the organization not being given it freely. He personally controlled the flow of information to keep his people in check and dependent on him. Hitler had used Reichsleiter Martin Borrman in the same way. Borrman was the second highest-ranking official, behind the Führer, when it came to politics. He decided what information made it to Hitler’s desk. With Krause’s self-centered leadership, the world could never change, and the Sixth Seal would never meet their goals and rise to power.

Henri looked around. But that’s not true anymore. If something were to happen to Herr Krause, Project Black Sunset could still occur. And I can be the one to lead us to victory.

“Commander,” Emil said, “we believe Kane and the others have escaped through a hatch in the northern end of the hangar.”

“Then open it.”

“We are trying, sir. We did not prepare for something such as this. I have two men attempting to cut through it now, but it will take time.”

Henri seethed, but he didn’t berate his number two. Henri was to blame as much as anyone else. He had wanted to bring along plastic explosives but hadn’t been confident enough in their potential applications. The last thing they needed to do was bring the facility down on top of them.

Back when it was the unstable wreck that it was supposed to be.

Henri stormed off, pounding toward the center of the room. He needed to get his mind on something else. He slowed and gazed over his shoulder. Luka and two other troopers were quietly conversing with one another. Henri didn’t like anything about it.

He turned. “Have something to share, Master Chief?”

Luka stood at attention. “No, sir. We were just taking it all in, sir.”

Henri understood. He was, too.

“Secure this room; I don’t want Kane’s team slipping by us unseen. No one steps foot on the elevator without my approval.”

“Yes, sir!”

The futuristic corridor narrowed as they neared the light at the end of it. What had, at first, resembled sunlight at the end of a dark tunnel had since transformed into a color that reminded Zahra of light reflecting off a heap of gold. But something else was laced within the light. Something moved, as if the light itself was being emitted from behind softly agitated water.

A golden fish tank?

Hammet held up a fist. Zahra and Yana respected the commando’s order to stop. He continued forward, slinking forward until the muzzle of his rifle was through the doorway. After ten seconds of nothing, he signaled for them to join him. The trio casually entered the room and were taken aback by its size.

“How big is this… wherever we are?” Yana asked. “And why is it so different than what’s above us?”

Directly in front of them was a workstation that looked incredibly out of place. It was clearly not from the same era as the furnishings and tech inside the Underworld.

The glow was originating from behind a semicircle of curtains. The curtains obscured whatever was behind them and encompassed a section of flooring fifty feet out and the same to the left and right. But even from behind the partition, Zahra could tell that the space beyond was much bigger.

Hammet had already moved to the workstation and was holding a stack of papers.

“Zahra, I have more of that language here for you.”

She hurried over to him and accepted them.

“Let’s see… Okay, so there’s mention of Project Fleshgod and — hang on, listen to this… The specimen’s blood is too complex for the human subjects’ bodies.”

“The specimens weren’t human?” Hammet asked. He looked up from the paper and stared into Zahra’s eyes. “What were they?”

“What does Mengele’s journal say?” Yana asked. “Go to the end.”

Zahra did. She unzipped her coat and removed the journal from her chest rig’s admin pouch. She flipped to the last entry.

Here we are. “‘While the Reliquary has yielded many amazing discoveries, I fear that none of it is viable due to the limits of our current understanding and technology. We may be at a standstill. I believe we are still years, perhaps decades, away from applying Project Fleshgod. The specimen’s blood is just too complex.’”

“It can’t be…” Hammet said softly.

His eyes opened wide, and he darted to the curtain. He quickly found an opening and threw it aside, and entered. Even from here, Zahra could hear the German stumble. Whatever he found had nearly taken him to the ground.

Zahra and Yana hurried after him.

When they entered, both women came to a staggering stop beside their male compatriot. The three of them stood atop an overlook, and there, in a room half the size of the hangar were row after row of glowing capsules.