The Quest for Zerzura

4

Jimmy strode over to the heavy metal door and punched a code into some kind of push-button keypad, the likes of which Rick had never seen. Entering the Quonset hut, they found themselves in what appeared to be a huge maintenance shed. There were stacks of airplane tires, aviation parts and tools strewn about, a skiploader and grader attachments for a tractor that might be used to smooth the unpaved runway, and cabinets for smaller parts and tools. A door to one side was marked "Electrical."

Jimmy led them to the opposite end, fished a key ring from his pocket, and unlocked the door labeled "Janitorial." Ushering them inside, he closed the door behind them.

A naked light bulb illuminated brooms and mops and buckets. A row of deep shelves held five-gallon drums of floor cleaner and one-gallon bottles of bleach. A stand of shallower shelves held smaller containers of cleaning products. A utility sink stood in the corner.

Jimmy reached under the sink and turned one of the shut-off handles. To their surprise, the shallow shelving unit slid to one side, revealing a metal-sheathed cube-shaped space behind. They stepped into what they now recognized as an elevator. As the shelf-door closed behind them, Rick realized that there had been three handles under the sink instead of the usual two—hot and cold.

Then they began to go down.

The "Cavern" was well nicknamed. After descending what seemed several levels, they emerged into a well-lit space the size of a theater, with a warren of doors and corridors branching off in all directions.

As Jimmy led them into the labyrinth across the huge central foyer to the third hallway on the left, he told them, "There are several projects going on here at any given time, scientific as well as military. There are just as many civilians who work here as there are those in uniform, from all branches. As to what the projects are, let's just say they tend to be outside the norm, beyond the boundaries of what government agencies, the military and the scientific community usually deal with. Everyone knows the details of what they themselves are working on. Beyond that, you don't ask, you don't tell. Each group respects the other's anonymity."

He paused at an alcove containing a cluster of a half-dozen doors set closely together. Unlocking three of them, he said, "We know you must be tired after your long trip. Here are chambers where you can get a few hours of rest. Take a nap. Unwind," he said with a smile. "You'll meet the boss lady at eighteen hundred hours."

Inside, Montana found the accommodations comfortable but spartan. There was an end table next to an overstuffed chair, a small sofa, a bed, and a wash basin and mirror in the corner. A commode behind a partition. No windows, naturally. There was no telling how far underground they were. A nice, cozy cell, thought Rick.

He picked up a magazine from the table, a year-old issue of Amazing Stories. It was an issue he knew well. The one featuring a story by Ace McNally, The Phoenix Riders of Shangri-La.

Projects beyond boundaries, he mused. What was all this really about?

The long hours of the last couple of days were catching up to him. He set the magazine down and eyed the bed. It had been going on 2 pm when they got here. A decent nap would do him good.

Four hours later, a knock on the door signaled the meeting that might finally provide some answers. They were met not by Corporal Jimmy, but by a fortyish man in a dark gray suit who introduced himself as Agent Ryan and led them to a room down the hall. There was something vaguely familiar about the man, but Montana couldn't place where he might have seen him before.

Agent Ryan left them in a small conference room, where they took seats at a round table big enough for eight or ten. There was a manila envelope on the table and what seemed to be a magazine peeking out from underneath.

A smartly dressed, attractive woman with shoulder-length dark blond hair stood and shook their hands and introduced herself in a British accent as Agent Vera Stewart. "British Intelligence," she said, "SIS, Secret Intelligence Service." Noting the slightly bewildered looks on their faces, she added, "I'm sure you're wondering what this is all about."

She flipped the magazine on the table face up and slid it across to Ace McNally with a smile. "Quite the tale you published in Amazing Stories," she said, taking them off guard. "The Phoenix Riders of Shangri-La, in which the hero, Zane West, gathers a phoenix-based air force to help Shangri-La defeat an invasion by the kingdom of Altura. A fantastic imagination? Or loosely based on personal experience?"

Rick wiped a bead of sweat from his brow as Ace shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Karl Schuler just stared straight ahead.

"Sometimes a difficult truth is best hidden in plain sight," Vera Stewart went on, "as fiction. A good move. And you wisely changed Atah Lahn to Altura and left out sensitive details like the Book of Light."

She smiled in amusement at their shocked faces. "You really didn't think you were the only ones who knew the truth about Shambhala, did you? There have been many over the centuries, and not all with benevolent purposes."