Free The Atlantis World (The Origin Mystery, Book 3) by A.G. Riddle

him.”
    David considered the request. He had never met Paul Brenner, and he wondered how he might verify his identity. With the looming war, David considered the possibility that the caller was an Immari impostor hoping his flight could slip past the rail guns to hit the base. “Ask him how Dr. Warner cured the plague.”
    A few seconds later, Sonja related Brenner’s response: “He says it’s a trick question. He doesn’t know. Only that she found something in Malta and transmitted it to him at Continuity. He would like to ask her the same question.”
    “Ask him if that’s why he’s here.”
    “No,” Sonja said. “He says it’s about a code on a radio satellite, that it could be related to what was found in Gibraltar and Antarctica.”
    David frowned, the rain falling in sheets on him now.
    “You want us to divert him?”
    “No,” David said. “Let him land. But guard him. Have several men bring him up here. Don’t let him inside.” For some reason, David thought it best to keep everyone out of the ship. “I’ll bring Kate up.”

C HAPTER 12
    Alpha Lander
1,200 Feet Below Sea Level
Off the Northern Coast of Morocco
    David had tip-toed back into the bedroom, but it didn’t matter.
    He sat in the chair before the small table and faced the bed. “I can tell you’re awake.”
    Kate sat up. “How do you always know?”
    “You smile a little, like you’re hiding something. You’d make a terrible spy.”
    Kate held that cute smile he liked so much for a few more seconds. Then it was gone, and it felt as though every last breath of air had been sucked out of the room.
    “I’ve decided.”
    David eyed the floor.
    “North Carolina sounds nice.”
    “It will be. And we’ll be happy there.”
    “I know we will. Knowing I don’t have much time left has given me some perspective, reminded me of what’s important. That’s you. I do have two requests.”
    David felt a little pit form in his stomach. “Go ahead.”
    “First, the two boys who were taken from my lab. I left them with a couple in Spain when the Immari invaded the Orchid District in Marbella. After… When I’m gone, I want you to find them and make sure they’re safe and provided for.”
    “I will. The other request?”
    When Kate finished telling him, David simply stared at her. “That’s a tall order.”
    “I’ll understand if you say no.”
    “I’m saying yes. I’ll do it, even if it kills me.”
    “I hope it won’t.”

    After the plane ride and landing, the Jeep ride through the Moroccan mountains felt like a picnic to Paul. He sat beside Mary in the backseat, two Moroccan guards in the front. They had made Paul’s military escorts wait with the plane. The man staring back at them, holding a rifle that looked like it was from World War II, made Paul even more nervous than the torrential downpour and reckless driving.
    In the distance, he heard a roll of thunder that nearly deafened him.
    He looked back, but the rain almost blotted out the view. What little bit he saw horrified him. A wave of water twenty feet tall rose from the ocean and slammed into the sprawling army base. Another wave. It carried something. Paul tried to focus. It looked… like a cruise ship. It spun on top of the wave, like a plastic toy being washed ashore by the tide. It slammed into the base, flattening everything it rolled over.
    Paul’s mouth went dry.
    Water rushed across the unpaved road, and he felt the Jeep skidding, losing traction as it climbed the mountain.
    “Slower!” Paul shouted.
    The soldier raised his rifle to Paul and yelled at him.
    The driver accelerated even faster, and Paul motioned to Mary to buckle up. A wave caught the Jeep and tossed it off the muddy road a few seconds later.

    “What convinced you?” David asked.
    “Let’s see…” Kate pulled her shirt off. “I think it could have been the part about enjoying the time we have left.”
    David kissed her, and she reached for his shirt.
    “You’re very