Star Runners 2: Revelation Protocol by L E Thomas Page B

onto the paths winding through the campus. Just like the physical training field and the dormitories, the Terminus Building seemed deserted as the golf cart approached, passing the statue of the Tizona sword at the edge of the Grand Lawn. The cart’s brakes screeched to a halt in front of the Terminus Building.
    A stocky, muscular man stood at the base of the stairs, his arms behind his back, his face hidden in the fading light. Austin knew who it was before he heard the voice.
    "Good evening, gentleman. I am Security Chief Javin Sharkey. Classes are not in session at the moment. Feel free to move around the campus and speak freely. Some of you are here to lie low for a while until all of this is sorted out. Commander Pierce will provide a briefing now that you all are here. Lieutenant Stone?"
    Austin stepped off the cart and stood at attention. "Yes, sir."
    "Our field agents here at the school are all on assignment at the moment,” he said, his eyes boring into Austin’s. “Since your situation is time sensitive, I will be escorting you to Atlanta."
    "You're going to drive me?"
    "I was going to let you drive. It is about a five-hour drive, after all. We'll use one of the school cars at the gate. Before we leave, Commander Pierce would like to speak to you."
    “Commander Pierce?” Austin asked.
    “You know him as President Pierce.” Sharkey looked at the other officers. "Officer Archer will look after the rest of you and lead you to your quarters."
    Sharkey led Austin through the Terminus Building. The classrooms remained dark, and the floors had been polished to a high sheen. They entered the common area, and Austin gazed at the tall windows, the fading light revealing the trees beyond. Three officers sat at computer terminals. One glanced at him as Sharkey led him up the stairs to the president’s office.
    When they entered, Pierce loomed over his desk filled with papers and books. A raging fire roared in the fireplace surrounded with elaborate carvings. The bookshelves sparkled in the firelight and the polished dog statues carved from volcanic glass glistened. Pierce remained engrossed in the papers on his desk when they entered.
    “Commander,” Sharkey said, “reporting as ordered.”
    “This is a mess,” Pierce grumbled, not looking up from his papers. When he finally did so, Austin saw the bloodshot eyes of a man who hadn’t slept in a while. “Stone.”
    Austin nodded. “Good evening, sir.”
    “Glad you made it safely. Word is you’ve been busy.” Pierce looked at Sharkey. “Close the door. Get the windows.”
    Sharkey closed the door and pressed a button on the wall to close to the outer windows. Pierce strolled over to the globe sculpture Austin remembered from his only other visit to the president’s office on the night he left the Tizona Campus for flight school. Pierce touched the sculpture of three globes connected by a gold bar. A bright light shot from the middle globe, creating a holographic image in the center of the room.
    The images flashed blue. Two square photos, one of Mom and the other of Kadyn, emerged at the corner of the royal blue image.
    “You already know you have been asked to communicate with your contacts and evoke Revelation Protocol,” Pierce said with a nod, the images transitioning to a map of Missouri. “While you were in transit to this campus, another accident occurred in Saint Charles, Missouri. A Star Runner was involved in an automobile accident when traveling to carry out Revelation Protocol with his family.”
    A video of the nightly news displayed a story of a burning wreck on a rural road in Missouri. A twisted piece of blackened metal flared at the side of the two-lane road. Across the street from the fire, a crumpled truck had come to a stop on the shoulder. The television cameras followed crying family members on the side of the road.
    Austin shook his head. “An accident?”
    Pierce nodded. “Another vehicle ran him off the road. The Star Runner was