Аннотация: Sheldon spices his latest thriller, a 17-week PW bestseller in cloth, with science fiction, including aliens who arrive from another planet on an enviromentalist mission.
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Sidney Sheldon - The Doomsday Conspiracy
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I wish to express my appreciation to James J. Hurtak, Ph.D, and his wife Desiree, for making available to me their invaluable technical expertise.
MAY YOU LIVE IN INTERESTING TIMES
Ancient Chinese curse
Prologue
Uetendorf, Switzerland
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 14TH, 1550 HOURS
The witnesses standing at the edge of the field were staring in horrified silence, too stunned to speak. The scene that lay before them was grotesque, a primeval nightmare dredged up from some deep, dark depths of primitive man’s collective unconscious. Each witness had a different reaction. One fainted. A second one vomited. A woman was shaking uncontrollably. Another one thought: I’m going to have a heart attack! The elderly priest clutched his beads and crossed himself. Help me, Father. Help us all. Protect us against this evil incarnate. We have finally seen the face of Satan. It is the end of the world. Judgement Day has come.
Armageddon is here … Armageddon … Armageddon …
Sunday, October 14th, 2100 Hours
FLASH MESSAGE
TOP SECRET ULTRA
NSA TO DEPUTY DIRECTOR COMSEC
EYES ONLY
SUBJECT: OPERATION DOOMSDAY
MESSAGE: ACTIVATE
NOTIFY NORAD, CIRVIS, GEPAN, DIS, GHG, VSAF, INS
END OF MESSAGE
Sunday, October 14th, 2115 Hours
FLASH MESSAGE
TOP SECRET ULTRA
NSA TO DEPUTY DIRECTOR –
NAVAL INTELLIGENCE 17TH DISTRICT
EYES ONLY
SUBJECT: COMMANDER ROBERT BELLAMY
ARRANGE TEMPORARY TRANSFER THIS AGENCY,
EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY.
YOUR CONCURRENCE IN THE ABOVE IS ASSUMED
END OF MESSAGE
Book One
The Hunter
Day One
Monday, October 15th
He was back in the crowded hospital ward at Cu Chi Base in Vietnam, and Susan was leaning over his bed, lovely in her crisp, white nurse’s uniform, whispering, “Wake up, sailor. You don’t want to die.”
And when he heard the magic of her voice, he could almost forget his pain. She was murmuring something else in his ear, but a loud bell was ringing and he could not hear her clearly. He reached up to pull her closer and his hands clutched empty air.
It was the sound of the telephone that brought Robert Bellamy fully awake. He opened his eyes reluctantly, not wanting to let go of the dream. The telephone at his bedside was insistent. He looked at the clock. Four a.m. He snatched up the telephone, angry at having his dream interrupted. “Do you know what the hell time it is?”
“Commander Bellamy?” A deep, male voice.
“Yes …”
“I have a message for you, Commander. You are ordered to report to General Hilliard at National Security Agency Headquarters at Fort Meade at 0600 this morning. Is the message understood, Commander?”
“Yes.” And no. Mostly no.
Commander Robert Bellamy slowly replaced the receiver, puzzled. What the devil could NSA want with him? He was assigned to ONI, Office of Naval Intelligence. And what could be urgent enough to call for a meeting at six o’clock in the morning? He lay down again and closed his eyes, trying to recapture the dream. It had been so real. He knew, of course, what had triggered it. Susan had telephoned the evening before.
“Robert …”
The sound of her voice did to him what it always did. He took a shaky breath. “Hello, Susan.”
“Are you all right, Robert?”
“Sure. Fantastic. How’s Moneybags?”
“Please, don’t.”
“All right. How’s Monte Banks?”
He could not bring himself to say “your husband”. He was her husband.
“He’s fine. I just wanted to tell you that we’re going to be away for a little while. I didn’t want you to worry.”
That was so like her, so Susan. He fought to keep his voice steady. “Where are you going this time?”
“We’re flying to Brazil.”
On Moneybags’ private 727.
“Monte has some business interests there.”
“Really? I thought he owned the country.”
“Stop it, Robert. Please.”
“Sorry.”
There was a pause. “I wish you sounded better.”
“If you were here, I would.”
“I want you to find someone wonderful and be happy.”
“I did find someone wonderful, Susan.” The damned lump in his throat made it difficult for him to speak. “And do you know what happened? I lost her.”
“If you’re going to do this, I won’t call you again.”
He was filled with sudden panic. “Don’t say that. Please.” She was his lifeline. He could not bear the thought of never speaking to her again. He tried to sound cheerful. “I’m going to go out and find some luscious blonde and screw us both to death.”
“I want you to find someone.”
“I promise.”
“I’m concerned about you, darling.”
“No need. I’m really fine.” He almost gagged on his lie. If she only knew the truth. But it was nothing he could bring himself to discuss with anyone. Especially Susan. He could not bear the thought of her pity.
“I’ll telephone you from Brazil,” Susan said.
There was a long silence. They could not let go of each other, because there was too much to say, too many things that were better left unsaid, that had to be left unsaid.
“I have to go now, Robert.”
“Susan?”
“Yes?”
“I love you, baby. I always will.”
“I know. I love you too, Robert.”
And that was the bittersweet irony of it. They still loved each other so much.
You two have the perfect marriage, all their friends used to say. What had gone wrong?
Commander Robert Bellamy got out of bed, and walked through the silent living room in his bare feet. The room screamed out Susan’s absence. There were dozens of photographs of Susan and himself scattered around, frozen moments in time. The two of them fishing in the Highlands of Scotland, standing in front of a Buddha near a Thai klong, riding a carriage in the rain through the Borghese gardens in Rome. And in each picture they were smiling and hugging, two people wildly in love.
He went into the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee. The kitchen clock read 4:15. He hesitated a moment, then dialled a number. There were six rings, and finally he heard Admiral Whittaker’s voice at the other end of the line. “Hello.”
“Admiral …”
“Yes?”
“It’s Robert. I’m terribly sorry to wake you, sir. I just had a rather strange phone call from the National Security Agency.”
“NSA? What did they want?”
“I don’t know.
I’ve been ordered to report to General Hilliard at 0600.”
There was a thoughtful silence. “Perhaps you’re being transferred there.”
“I can’t be. It doesn’t make sense. Why would they …?”
“It’s obviously something urgent, Robert. Why don’t you give me a call after the meeting?”
“I will. Thank you.”
The connection was broken. I shouldn’t have bothered the old man, Robert thought. The Admiral had retired as head of Naval Intelligence two years earlier. Forced to retire, was more like it. The rumour was that, as a sop, the Navy had given him a little office somewhere and put him to work counting barnacles on the mothball fleet, or some such shit. The Admiral would have no idea about current intelligence activities. But he was Robert’s mentor. He was closer to Robert than anyone in the world, except, of course, Susan. And Robert had needed to talk to someone. With Susan gone, he felt as though he were living in a time warp. He fantasized that somewhere, in another dimension of time and space, he and Susan were still happily married, laughing and carefree and loving. Or maybe not, Robert thought, wearily. Maybe I just don’t know when to let go.
The coffee was ready. It tasted bitter. He wondered whether the beans came from Brazil.
He carried the coffee cup into the bathroom and studied his image in the mirror. He was looking at a man in his early forties, tall and lean and physically fit, with a craggy face, a strong chin, black hair and intelligent, probing dark eyes. There was a long, deep scar on his chest, a souvenir from the plane crash. But that was yesterday. That was Susan. This was today. Without Susan. He shaved and showered and walked over to his clothes closet. What do I wear, he wondered, Navy uniform or civilian clothes? And, on the other hand, who gives a damn? He put on a charcoal-grey suit, a white shirt and a grey silk tie. He knew very little about the National Security Agency, only that the “puzzle palace”, as it was nicknamed, superseded all other American intelligence agencies and was the most secretive of them all. What do they want with me? I’ll soon find out.
The National Security Agency is hidden discreetly away on eighty-two rambling acres at Fort Meade, Maryland, in two buildings that together are twice the size of the CIA complex in Langley, Virginia. The Agency, created to give technical support to protect United States communications and acquire worldwide intelligence data, employs thousands of people, and so much information is generated by its operations that it shreds more than forty tons of documents every day.
It was still dark when Commander Robert Bellamy arrived at the first gate. He drove up to an eight-foot-high cyclone fence with a topping of barbed wire. There was a sentry booth there, manned by two armed guards. One of them stayed in the booth, watching, as the other approached the car. “Can I help you?”
“Commander Bellamy to see General Hilliard.”
“May I see your identification, Commander?”
Robert Bellamy pulled out his wallet and removed his 17th District Naval Intelligence ID card. The guard studied it carefully and returned it. “Thank you, Commander.”
He nodded to the guard in the booth and the gate swung open. The guard inside picked up a telephone. “Commander Bellamy is on his way.”
A minute later Robert Bellamy drove up to a closed, electrified gate.
An armed guard approached the car. “Commander Bellamy?”
“Yes.”
“May I see your identification, please?”
He started to protest and then he thought, What the hell? It’s their zoo. He took out his wallet again and showed his identification to the guard.
“Thank you, Commander.” The guard gave some invisible sign and the gate opened.
As Robert Bellamy drove ahead, he saw a third cyclone fence ahead of him. My God, he thought, I’m in the Land of Oz.
Another uniformed guard walked up to the car. As Robert Bellamy reached for his wallet the guard looked at the licence plate and said, “Please drive straight ahead to the administration building, Commander. There will be someone there to meet you.”
“Thank you.”
The gate swung open and Robert followed the driveway up to an enormous white building. A man in civilian clothes was standing outside, waiting, shivering in the chill October air. “You can leave your car right there, Commander,” he called out. “We’ll take care of it.”
Robert Bellamy left the keys in his car and stepped out. The man greeting him appeared to be in his thirties, tall, thin and sallow. He looked as though he had not seen the sun in years.
“I’m Harrison Keller. I’ll escort you to General Hilliard’s office.”
They walked into a large high-ceilinged entrance hall. A man in civilian clothes was seated behind a desk. “Commander Bellamy …”
Robert Bellamy swung around. He heard the click of a camera.
“Thank you, sir.”
Robert Bellamy turned to Keller. “What …?”
“This will take only a minute,” Harrison Keller assured him.
Sixty seconds later, Robert Bellamy was handed a blue and white identification badge with his photograph on it.
“Please wear this at all times while you’re in the building, Commander.”
“Right.”
They started walking down a long, white corridor. Robert Bellamy noticed security cameras mounted at twenty-foot intervals on both sides of the hall.
“How big is this building?”
“Just over two million square feet, Commander.”
“What?”
“Yes. This corridor is the longest corridor in the world, nine hundred and eighty feet. We’re completely self-contained here. We have a shopping centre, cafeteria, post exchange, eight snack bars, a hospital complete with operating room, a dentist’s office, a branch of the State Bank of Laurel, a dry-cleaning shop, a shoe shop, a barber shop, and a few other odds and ends.”
It’s a home away from home, Robert thought. He found it oddly depressing.
They passed an enormous open area filled with a vast sea of computers. Robert stopped in amazement.
“Impressive, isn’t it? That’s just one of our computer rooms. The complex contains three billion dollars’ worth of decoding machines and computers.”
“How many people work in this place?”
“About sixteen thousand.”
So what the hell do they need me for? Robert Bellamy wondered.
He was led into a private elevator that Keller operated with a key. They went up one floor and started on another trek down a long corridor until they reached a suite of offices at the end of the hall.
“Right in here, Commander.” They entered a large reception office with four secretaries’ desks.