Chapter 275: Luck?
— Natchez - Riverine Containment & Research Facility —
General Richard J. Colt, the military director of the Riverine Containment & Research Facility, was in charge of the military division of the facility. He oversaw all security operations and dealt with every problem that came with them.
Whether it was reporters trying to sneak into restricted areas, foreign spies disguising themselves as journalists, or the controversy surrounding soldiers shooting reporters who violated the restricted zone, it all fell under his responsibility.
It was troublesome, but he didn’t mind because it was part of the job.
What had been giving him a headache over the past few days, however, was a reporter of African descent who had walked through the front gate claiming that he and his people had detained his employer and co-worker, Sarah Corner, a reporter who had supposedly infiltrated the restricted area by swimming underwater.
Richard was now sitting in his office, reading the interrogation report of an African American reporter named Murphy Brown.
Unlike the others, this man had come through the front gate using official channels and had petitioned for the release of his co-worker.
Yes, he had detained many reporters before, but he usually released them within twenty-four hours after ensuring they hadn’t recorded anything classified.
This man, however, was persistent. He insisted that Richard’s people had secretly detained the reporter Sarah Corner, who was both his employer and co-worker.
According to Murphy Brown’s testimony, Sarah had dived through the water toward the base to investigate what was happening inside.
He had already ordered experts to analyze the testimony. Their initial conclusion was that it should have been impossible for Sarah to reach the base with the equipment she carried. She would have needed to remain underwater for more than ten minutes while patrol boats continuously monitored the area. She also couldn’t use an underwater flashlight because it would have been detected immediately by the patrol teams.
His soldiers had repeatedly told him they had never detained anyone matching that description, but Murphy Brown remained unconvinced. He was absolutely certain Sarah was somewhere inside the base.
At that moment, his office door opened, and his assistant entered carrying another stack of documents.
"Sir, the investigation results regarding that reporter’s testimony. There’s a small possibility that Sarah Corner managed to slip through the portal checkpoint and enter the other side," the assistant said as she placed the reports on Richard’s desk.
Richard set aside the interrogation report, picked up the new file, skimmed through it, then looked at his assistant.
"Is this some kind of joke?" Richard blurted out, raising the report in his hand as though asking whether it was real.
"I wish it were a joke too, sir. Unfortunately, these conclusions come directly from our analysts, along with dozens of measurements of the water currents recorded during that period," the assistant replied.
Richard rubbed his temples before looking through the report again, this time paying much closer attention to every detail.
According to the report, Sarah Corner’s infiltration of the most secure restricted area might actually have been possible due to a series of extraordinary coincidences that briefly created a critical security gap.
First, there were the underwater currents. Measurements taken during that period showed they were unusually strong, enough to carry her toward the restricted area. At the same time, the water near the surface had become muddy enough that the light from an underwater flashlight would not have been visible above the surface.
The patrol boats appeared flawless, but the investigation found a brief moment when the soldiers monitoring the area had looked away to report data back to the base. That process lasted several minutes.
In addition, the security gate leading to the portal had briefly opened to allow inspectors from the White House to enter. It remained open for about a minute, but that was enough time for Sarah Corner, assisted by the strong underwater current, to slip through unnoticed.
The investigators had already simulated the route Sarah might have taken to bypass security. It was possible, but every step depended heavily on extraordinary luck. Missing the timing by even a few seconds would have made the infiltration impossible.
There was another possibility listed in the report, one that the investigators considered far more likely.
Sarah Corner might have suffered an accident. She could have become entangled in underwater vegetation or encountered some other fatal mishap, leaving her body somewhere beneath the water.
"So either she’s Lady Luck’s illegitimate daughter, or she’s already sleeping forever at the bottom of the river, huh? Has anyone started searching for her body yet?" Richard asked. He didn’t believe the first possibility in the slightest.
"A recovery team has already been assigned to the task, sir. It will take several days to thoroughly search the underwater area," the assistant replied.
"Good." Richard nodded in satisfaction. "What about the team assigned to the portal? Have those eggheads made any progress getting it to work?"
"The portal is still unresponsive, sir, but our scientists are working around the clock to understand it. The expedition team remains on standby, and we believe we’ll have some results within the week," the assistant reported.
"I see. I’ll speak with Dr. Steiner and see if we can accelerate the process. The President informed me that we’re under tremendous pressure from the UN. China and Russia both want a share of this pie, while Europe is applying diplomatic pressure through the alliance. We have considerable influence within the UN, but resisting all of them together indefinitely isn’t realistic."
He let out a frustrated sigh before continuing.
"Just yesterday, we interrogated and executed several foreign spies who infiltrated this facility. Those snakes immediately activated their sleeper agents inside our military. They’ve caused the Pentagon one hell of a headache. If it weren’t for this incident, we might never have discovered those bastards had been sleeper agents all along."
His explanation gradually turned into venting as he spoke.
"No matter, let’s go see Dr. Steiner. I need to inform him about the situation on our diplomatic front."
With that, the two of them headed toward the portal section of the base.
Around the portal, they had constructed a special containment building shaped like a coliseum. The circular walls were equipped with various defensive weapons and guarded around the clock.
At the center stood a structure that housed the portal. The section of the underwater cave containing the portal had been carefully excavated. Surrounding the portal was an array of scientific instruments designed to measure various forms of energy and other anomalous signatures.
Among the group of scientists working around the clock to unravel the mystery of the portal was Eric Steiner. He was seated inside a secure observation room built into the upper section of the containment wall. The room had been specifically designed to allow the scientists to observe the portal while keeping them as safe as possible.
"What about the gamma-ray readings? Have there been any changes?" Eric Steiner asked one of his colleagues.
"No, Director. There haven’t been any changes. It’s as if what’s in front of us is simply nothing. The gamma rays just disappear beyond the portal, and nothing responds to them," replied the scientist overseeing the gamma-ray analysis.
"Do we really have to send people in blind? I don’t like this at all," Eric muttered in frustration.
The portal containment section had only been completed a few days earlier, and this was the first time he had all the equipment necessary to properly study the portal.
He had expected that firing gamma rays into the portal would produce something, perhaps a new particle or some kind of response signal. Instead, there was nothing.
More than ten hours had passed, and every measuring instrument they had used to probe the portal had detected absolutely nothing.
Since the drone had disappeared without providing any useful data, this had been his only remaining method of investigation.
It had failed as well.
At that moment, General Richard opened the door and walked into the observation room. The soldiers stationed inside immediately saluted him, while the scientists greeted him with respectful nods. Even Eric Steiner acknowledged him despite the dark circles under his eyes, clear evidence of his lack of sleep.
"Have you gotten any sleep, Doctor? You look like you need some," the General asked. If this man collapsed from overwork, who would help him deal with problems that couldn’t be solved with firepower?
"I’m fine, General. More importantly, you came here because you wanted results from us, right? If that’s the case, let me not waste your time. The results from every measurement we’ve taken of the portal are zero. Nothing. It’s as if the portal doesn’t exist at all. If it weren’t for the fact that the drone we sent completely disappeared behind it, we might have thought we were all suffering from the same hallucination," Dr. Eric Steiner said.
"You’re saying I have to send my boys in blind?" the General asked. His tone made it clear he didn’t like the idea.
"I don’t like it either, General, but every instrument we’ve used to measure the portal or probe the other side has been useless," Dr. Steiner replied.
"It can’t be helped. I’ll arrange for a death row inmate to come here and enter the other side first," the General offered.
"Thank you, General. I appreciate it. While we’re waiting, I’ll try to..."
Boom!
Before Dr. Steiner could finish speaking, everyone in the observation room felt the building shake as an explosion erupted from the upper floor.
The lights flickered before the emergency power system automatically activated. The base alarm began blaring, and the General immediately grabbed his radio to contact the security department.
"What happened!? Report!"
"A spy infiltrated the base, sir! He committed suicide by detonating explosives and took out several of our generators!" the security officer reported over the radio.
"God damn it! Those sleeper agents!" the General cursed.
Then he noticed that Eric Steiner’s expression had changed to one of utter astonishment.
"What is it, Doctor?"
"There’s... there’s a response from the gamma-ray measurements," Steiner muttered in disbelief.