The Milestone Protocol by Ernest Dempsey (best books to read in your 20s txt) 📕

“Bolivia? Quantium?”

“Right,” Sean said. “You need to be caught up. Two of our operatives were investigating a series of thefts that stretched across the globe. They ended up in Bolivia at the Sun Gate. Long story short, they nearly died. A guy we have now learned was part of the Ahnenerbe, or a new iteration of it, was behind the thefts. He attempted to open a transdimensional portal. Fortunately, our agents handled the situation, and the man who called himself Buri is behind bars somewhere in South America.”

“Quantium,” Tommy took over, “is an unusual element we believe is responsible for several bizarre instances in history, such as the foo fighters that allied pilots saw over Germany during World War II.”

“Ah.” The epiphany lighted in Kevin’s eyes. “I always wondered about that story. And this new element was behind that?”

“We’re not sure, but we believe so,” Tommy affirmed.

“What’s the Ahnenerbe?” Tabitha asked, deciding to skip over the question about foo fighters, thinking there was no way this was in relation to the rock band.

“It was Himmler’s think tank, a research division of the SS division in Nazi Germany,” Sean explained.

“Yes, before Hitler turned it into a sadistic experimentation corps that performed the most horrific human experimentation ever known to man. They also spent an exorbitant amount of time and resources searching for connections to the Aryan race to Germany, scouring the planet for archaeological evidence.”

“Yes,” Magnus coughed, bringing the conversation back on track. “And we just learned that Buri escaped during transit from one prison to another. From the sound of it, someone broke him out of the transport truck. No word on his whereabouts.”

Sean and Tommy looked at each other, concern washing over them.

Buri was a dangerous man and part of an organization that—if their theory proved correct—fed into the shadow caste they’d been discussing. At the moment, there was nothing to be done about it. If Buri were roaming around, being careless, he would pop up somewhere. Then again, it was possible that if the man had drawn the ire of the shadow caste’s leadership, his escape may well have been a ruse to tie up loose ends.

Sean considered every angle within seconds and decided to stick to the subject at hand.

“You heard about what happened in India, right? About the abrupt social unrest? People attacking one another? It was a few years ago.”

“Yes,” Magnus answered first.

“I remember it,” Tabitha said. “I was new at MI6, and we were concerned it might spread into Europe.”

Kevin nodded absently. “It was due to that helmet the celebrity pulled out of the secret vault in some temple, right?”

“Yes,” Tommy answered. “We’ve seen what this kind of ancient tech can do. And we’ve only scratched the surface. Foo Fighters during World War Two. The research on die Glöcke—a bell-shaped device we think was intended to jump dimensions, or may have even been an attempt at time travel. The helmet in India. The Quantium and how it reacted to the Sun Gate. There is more to what we know about history and technology. The science is beyond cutting edge, and we haven’t even begun to understand it.”

“All to say,” Sean concluded, “that it’s possible the pyramids are all connected, that they are one giant global device intended to bring about a mass extinction event if the population gets too big for the planet and cannot be managed by conventional means.”

When he finished speaking, no one said a word. The room fell still, and the only break in the silence came from the cars down on the street far below. Sean and Tommy waited for ridicule from Kevin, or more skepticism from Tabitha, but it did not come.

“Is it possible,” Magnus said, breaking the silence, “that many of the doomsday, end-time prophecies from old have something to do with your theory?”

“It would certainly seem to point to that,” Tommy confirmed. “The famous Mayan prophecy about the end of the world in 2012 is a great example. What if it isn’t just a prophecy, but a milestone, a timeline target to activate this mega machine if humanity’s population has reached critical mass?”

Kevin shook his head. “It’s too big. I can’t conceive how any of that would be possible, not to mention the fact that whoever activated this thing would be killed along with everyone else.”

Sean leveled his gaze with the archaeologist, holding it in the grip of his icy blue eyes. “The person who created the chaos in India was unaffected. There must be certain safeguards in place.”

Tommy’s phone vibrated, and he stepped aside to look at who was texting him. He initially thought it would be Alex or Tara, whom he and Sean affectionately referred to as “the kids.” Instead, it was actual kids who sent the message.

“Hey, Sean?” Tommy prodded. “You might want to take a look at this.”

Sean turned and took the phone. He read through the message in seconds.

“What is it?” Tabitha asked.

“It’s from our young friends back in Atlanta. They said the cave at Brown Mountain, the one where a research team was investigating a strange phenomenon, was destroyed by some kind of accidental explosion.”

“Did anyone get hurt?” Magnus asked, immediately worried.

“Doesn’t say,” Sean replied, handing the device back to Tommy. “That team wasn’t working with explosives, though.”

“Are you sure?” Kevin asked.

“Have you ever needed explosives in your line of work, Dr. Clark?”

Kevin got the point and immediately fell silent.

Magnus felt his phone jiggle in his pocket and quickly retrieved it. Upon seeing the number, he pressed the green button and held the phone to his ear. Magnus’ face darkened with concern. His lips barely moved as he spoke to the person on the line. “Understood. Pull around to the back. We will meet you there.”

He ended the call and looked at the others. “Sorry to break up the discussion, but it would appear we have company.”

Sean sensed the Swede’s worry and immediately went to the window. He looked out and saw