The Phoenix Agenda: A Thriller (A Rossler Foundation Mystery Book 6) Read online

  A Rossler Foundation Mystery

  The Phoenix Agenda

  A Thriller

  By JC Ryan

  This is the sixth book in the Rossler Foundation Mystery Series.

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  Copyright 2015 by J C Ryan

  This book is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or other unauthorized use of the material or artwork herein is prohibited.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  All rights reserved.

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  MYSTERIES FROM THE ANCIENTS

  THOUGHT PROVOKING UNSOLVED ARCHAEOLOGICAL MYSTERIES

  This book is exclusive to my readers. You will not find this book anywhere else.

  We spend a lot of time researching and documenting our past, yet there are still many questions left unanswered. Our ancestors left a lot of traces for us, and it seems that not all of them were ever meant to be understood. Despite our best efforts, they remain mysteries to this day.

  Inside you will find some of the most fascinating and thought-provoking facts about archaeological discoveries which still have no clear explanation.

  Read all about The Great Pyramid at Giza, The Piri Reis Map, Doomsday, Giant Geoglyphs, The Great Flood, Ancient Science and Mathematics, Human Flight, Pyramids, Fertility Stones and the Tower of Babel, Mysterious Tunnels and The Mystery of The Anasazi

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  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  The nightmare and the math

  Two hours ago

  Can we reach Farmington?

  The duration of eternity

  Vanished from society

  Shop crawling

  A ‘but‘ in that statement

  Tell us what is going on

  The blue pill or the red pill?

  Don’t underestimate them

  Just cut a hole in the wall

  Don’t shoot!

  We are not the first

  Get rid of it

  Breaking News

  The water has not receded as yet

  The Gardeners of Gallatin

  The first safe house

  Liberté Egalité Fraternité

  Eyes in the sky

  The sorriest human being on the planet

  The Supreme Council

  It merely dictated where they would start

  The chair or the cage?

  Forty-year-old promises

  The musketeers

  Not forgotten

  The Harpers

  The roadmap

  The Lewises

  The translation program

  The Oval Office

  Sam had one last thing to say

  Don’t make me wait too long

  The zingers

  They were stunned

  Let’s get hold of Sam Lewis

  Only one way to find out

  Law and order

  If he could only hear what they were saying

  The fifth musketeer

  I should be the one digging out of here

  Light a cracker under your brother’s bottom

  Robin bronze green

  Susan’s birthday

  We’re in

  There was a power dip

  Tectus

  It was too late

  Hell would be too nice for them

  Take charge of Operation Phoenix

  The Sicari rebels

  A long life

  Only two types of people in this world

  The Edwards dynamic

  America, then the rest of the world

  The rat race is over for me

  Let their imaginations run

  Outwit and outmaneuver them

  The Thornbirds

  Harajuku Gyoza

  The second Friday

  No walk in the park

  I have a message for you

  The Jeremy Project

  Sandpiper

  Sky mirrors

  A visit to Nucla

  The references

  I am glad you like Japanese food

  The four corners of the earth

  The treat of a lifetime

  Have never seen anything like this

  Next on the agenda

  The bells started ringing

  We have your places ready

  Built to specifications

  Paranoid overdrive

  The flight of owls

  Another interview

  A spine-chilling scream

  Operation night owl

  It was show time

  That glitch must have been ironed out

  To build a puzzle without seeing the picture

  I have an idea

  The pincer plan

  Chilling discoveries

  No buts, say it

  The Chinese connection

  The things I saw beggar description

  The pilots

  Mandatory death penalty

  Blow smoke up their skirts

  A new iPhone

  You must obey my commandments

  Dot the i's and cross the t's

  Nero fiddled while Rome burned

  Operation Pincer

  Operation Fugere

  We respect your choice

  Indeed this is the Phoenix

  No illusions

  The vows

  Absolute power corrupts absolutely

  Second War of Independence

  The way out

  Getting the wheels in motion

  Ready to go

  What the meeting was about

  Silicon Hills

  The job interview

  Waiting for them to arrive

  A fact-finding mission

  A new joie de vivre

  Inform him about it

  The screen went blank

  There is a time for everything

  Prologue

  “Big-Mac, Big-Mac, this is Two-One Alpha. Can you read me?”

  “Two-One Alpha, This is Big-Mac. I read you, over.”

  “Big-Mac, where are you? Serious shit over here! Heavy fire! Can’t move our asses! Two casualties! Over.”

  “Two-One Alpha, you’ll see me in 2 seconds. Mark the LZ, I’m close. Over.”

  “Big-Mac, roger, roger. Out.”

  John ‘Doug’ MacArthur tightened his grip on the control. His feet were shaking faintly on the tail rotor pedals as he took in the scene below him when his chopper broke the horizon over Hill 39 in the Shah-i-Kot Valley in Afghanistan's Paktia province.

  “This valley’s been a hellhole the last few months,” he muttered. “Now this! Damn it!”

  He curved the chopper around over the soldiers, surveying the scene rapidly before pulling away once again out of firing range.

  Ten Marines, pinned down behind rocks and in shallow ditches, were firing at an invisible group of thirty-odd Taliban fighters on the hill above them. Open ground in front with no cover behind. They were sitting ducks. Tracers and bullets from AK-47s, ancient British Lee-Enfield rifles, and a Russian RPK machine gun, created a blanket of instant death over the pinned-down soldiers.

&n
bsp; Luckily, the Taliban fighters were not known for their marksmanship, and they didn’t always understand that the skill of the person holding the weapon was what made the weapon useful. Most of their shots were missing their targets by several yards because they didn’t understand that the fundamental principle of shooting downhill requires dropping your aim down. Nevertheless, some of their fire was hitting the target, and it was obvious the boys down there were in serious trouble.

  “Big-Mac this is Two-One Alpha. I see you - putting out smoke now. Tell me the color!”

  “Two-One Alpha, this is Big-Mac. Green?”

  “Big-Mac, Two-One Alpha. That’s it.”

  The unmistakable trace of smoke left by the rocket from an RPG 7 racing down the hill caught the co-pilot’s eye. Leo McKenzie said, “Oh shiiiiit. The bastards have an RPG!”

  The rocket exploded about 20 yards behind the soldiers, sending a chilling sensation through John’s spine. He knew all too well how devastating an RPG could be. Even in the hands of an untrained person it could create havoc on the receiving end and was a very simple but deadly effective weapon against a helicopter. The US military learned the dire lesson in 1993 during the Battle of Mogadishu. Somali militia fighters, basically untrained armed civilians, successfully shot down two Black Hawk helicopters with RPGs and damaged three others - a battle that saw 18 American soldiers killed and 73 others wounded.

  Over the past 18 months, John had survived many evac missions, also known as a DUSTOFF, the backronym for Dedicated Unhesitating Service to Our Fighting Forces. He knew what it was like to be under fire. He’d seen a few tight situations in his time here in the war zone, but this one in front of him now made the others look insignificant.

  John knew there was no time to waste. He had to make the decision, land the chopper and risk the ten soldiers on the ground and the three of them in the helicopter. It was that, or get out and wait for help, which would almost guarantee the death of those on the ground.

  ‘Unhesitation’ was exactly what was happening when he shouted into his helmet’s intercom system. “Those boys are in serious trouble down there. We better get them out and fast. With all that metal flying around it’s a miracle they’re not all dead already.”

  Tony, the third crew member and gunner, turned the door gun on the enemy positions and started firing.Some of their fire turned to the chopper but became sporadic very quickly when they experienced the business end of the machine gun.

  “We can't wait for reinforcements. If we don’t get them out now, they’ll all be dead. I’m going in to put her down, Tony!" he shouted to the gunner as he maneuvered the chopper down to land. “Just keep those bastards on the hill down. And while you’re at it, make sure that RPG isn’t pointed at us.”

  "Roger that. I’ll keep ‘em busy - you can bet your ass on it,” Tony shouted back.

  “Two-One Alpha, ready for you. Move it. We’re in kind of a hurry to find a quieter place!”

  Two wounded men were hauled to the helicopter first by four of their buddies, with the rest strafing the hill to keep the Taliban heads down. The fright and panic in the eyes and faces of the soldiers were clearly visible. Their screams rose above the thundering noise of the engines as they pushed the wounded in and then took up position outside the chopper to provide covering fire for the remaining men to get in.

  “All in. Let’s get out of here!” Leo shouted.

  “Grab tight. It’s going to be a rough ride boys!”

  John pulled the chopper into a steep climb while banking away from the hill. With no fire coming from the doorgun to keep them down, the full force and frustration of the enemy was now directed at the chopper and its occupants. They saw their prey escaping out of their hands right in front of their eyes.

  A burning pain shot through John’s back and legs as the body of the helicopter shuddered under the power of the two Rolls-Royce Gem turboshaft engines at full throttle. Smoke started to billow from the starboard engine. I have to get over that hill three miles away. Why am I dizzy? I have to get these boys out of trouble. I have to level the chopper and save power. I must get over that hill. I must get out of the reach of the bullets.

  “Doug! Doug! Can you hear me? What’s wrong man?” Leo screamed in a high-pitched, panicked voice. “Oh my God, you’ve been hit! Are you ok? Shit man, put the chopper down now. You’ll crash and kill us all!”

  “That hill … I have to get over it … out of range … I must get us there ...” Doug stuttered.

  “What was that? I can’t hear you. For God’s sake put the chopper down!” Leo shouted at the top of his voice.

  “Going down, going down … radio for help!” John whispered, a few seconds before everything went dark.

  The nightmare and the math

  Doug paid little heed to his passengers as he banked away from the canyon rim. Max was back there to help them. Doug had plenty on his mind, between the flashback to his crash in Afghanistan and wondering when whoever had shot two of his passengers would show up and try to shoot the chopper down here and now, over the Grand Canyon. Not to mention nursing the aging machine to do his bidding.

  Within minutes after takeoff from the canyon site, lying in the back of the chopper, JR and Roy were oblivious to their surroundings due to the morphine injection administered to them by Max Ellis – an ex-Marine medic and the third member of the Rossler boys’ rescue expedition. Others on the chopper had more on their minds.

  Raj was in his own world, eyes closed, wondering about his wife Sushma, their child, and the future. He and Sushma were not the outdoors adventure and camping types – living in a cave with other people was going to take some getting used to for them. They both grew up and had lived in the city all their lives. How was this going to work out for him and his family and, for that matter, for all of the Rosslerites?

  Ever since the Rosslers, with his help and that of others, had discovered the wealth of ancient knowledge hidden in the Great Pyramid of Giza, It seemed no matter what good came of these discoveries, there was always a megalomaniac, or a group of them, who wanted to exploit it for their own nefarious reasons.

  It was brought home to them over and over again that they could never rest. Whether their discoveries led to a fabulous hidden city in Antarctica or a way to micro-miniaturize the most sophisticated of electronic marvels, someone had designs on it and it was up to the Rossler Foundation and its leadership to thwart the evil-doers’ plans. This time, it seemed they may be too late to foil the latest maniac.

  Raj could not make up his mind immediately. What was worse, being ruled by a resurrected Persian Empire or by this psychopath, John Brideaux? They were now living in the new world of John Brideaux. There was no choice. From what he’d seen so far, he was sure neither he nor any of his friends were going to like it. He was sure they were not going to accept it either. He was not going to walk around with a chip in his body that controlled his life; he had never been controlled by anyone … except perhaps by Sushma, he thought, as a smile played on his face.

  Although Raj was uncertain about the future, he was very sure about a few other matters. He was definitely going to stay with the Rossler Foundation. They would rely on him – and he on them – to bring this new world to a speedy end. They had always relied on each other in the past to overcome adversity, and this time was the same. The second thing he was determined about was that he was going to find a way to seek out and activate his underground network and bring their full force down on John Brideaux. That lunatic was going down, and he fully intended to be there to witness it.

  Max Ellis was wondering what the future held for him and his wife. He’d seen a bit of action in the last days of the Afghanistan war, before the troops were withdrawn. Returning to the States, he’d joined M&J Security Company in Boulder. He married Jenny a few years ago. She was a kindergarten teacher, and lately he’d been working part-time as a security guard while studying for a computer science degree.

  Uncertainty and unknowns about what woul
d happen to him and Jenny in the days and weeks to come made him nervous about today’s events. He trusted Mark and John, or ‘Doug’ as everyone called him, though. They’d been good to him over the years, had encouraged and supported him to take up his studies. They’d also made it possible for him to work part-time so he and Jenny could still make ends meet while he studied.

  Daniel, the only one in the back with his headset on, was startled by Mark‘s voice.

  “Earth calling Doug! Doug, can you read me? ET calling Doug. Come in Doug. Anybody home?”

  “Huh, what was that?”

  Mark smiled. His best friend must have been deep in thought, as he hadn’t responded to his chatter for the past few minutes. “Buddy, where have you been? I thought you fell asleep behind the wheel?”

  “Ah man, that frickin’ nightmare paid me a very unwelcome visit. This chopper and all the stuff today, wounded men and all, aren’t good for forgetting memories you don’t want to have.”

  “You ok, my friend?”

  “Yea I’ll survive. I’m ok.”

  “Nightmare? What nightmare, John?” Daniel asked.

  “Long story Daniel, long story. A horrible start but a good ending.”

  “Hey Mark, why’d you call him Doug? I thought you introduced him as John. You are aware we have a military hero by the same name. Related, John?”

  John smiled. “Yes, but I have to explain it to you.”

  Mark chipped in before Doug could say anything further. “Another long story, Daniel. If you understand it, you will be the first. He claims there’s some relationship to General Douglas-Old-Soldiers-Never-Die-They-Just-Fade-Away-MacArthur. He’s tried to explain it to me and many others many times, but none of us got it - at least not yet. Therefore, instead of listening to his complicated genealogical descriptions, we decided to call him Doug. It seems to make him happy and spares us the pain of listening to his explanation!”

  John, a very good-natured person, was having a good laugh at the jokes at his expense. “Let me put it this way, Daniel - my nickname will be as close as I will ever come to fame and power.”

  “Doug, I’d surely like to hear your stories someday, both the nightmare and the math.”

  “Sure, Daniel. As soon as we can get a campfire going and get a few stiff shots of Scottish Aqua Vie under the belt, I’ll tell you.”