chapter 4

ALIENS AT THE GATE

The sun rose over the Atlantic, casting a golden glow on the oil rig. Inside the main hall, politicians and their security forces mingled, forming lines behind large vats of coffee. Yanin moved through the crowd with a warm smile, heading straight for Jack.

"How did you sleep?" she asked.

"I didn’t," Jack replied. "Felix hinted that he wanted me to lead some sort of movement for change."

Milanowski approached, her expression serious. "We’re all interested in change."

Yanin frowned. "I’ve made my decision. Unless you can convince me otherwise, Thailand will have no part in this. It’s all too strange."

Jack shook his head. "Regardless of what Felix has done, if there’s something important here, the U.S. must address it."

"And if there’s nothing but bravado?" Yanin challenged.

"Then I’ll lead the way back to the boat," Jack assured her.

Lichelli joined them, looking concerned. "There’s a problem. The catamaran isn’t at the dock."

Felix appeared on an upper level, overlooking the courtyard. "Good morning, Presidents, Prime Ministers, and Premiers. Welcome to the Bermuda Triangle! I trust you’ve had time to rest."

Antonio stepped forward, his voice tinged with irritation. "No one has rested, Felix. We’re all anxious to hear what you have to say. The secrecy, this remote location... you’ve done little to ease our minds."

Felix nodded, understanding their unease. "I completely understand."

Jean-Philippe Gagnon, polished and composed, moved closer. "I think you planned it that way, Felix. You seem to have a flair for the dramatic."

Felix smiled a hint of sarcasm in his expression. "I’m only trying to keep up with my sophisticated Canadian brothers like you, Jean-Philippe. It is you and those like you who have brought the world to its knees and cast a shadow over humanity."

A murmur of astonishment rippled through the crowd.

Hiroto stepped forward, his voice outraged. "Mr. Brangman, how dare you say such things?"

Jack leaned toward Milanowski, whispering urgently. "This isn’t going to be good. Send someone to find that boat. Maybe it’s docked on the other side."

Felix continued, addressing the crowd. "You... each of you is responsible for the world’s disarray... but I can help."

Lichelli scoffed. "How, Felix? You need the consent of the British Parliament and the Prime Minister’s endorsement."

Jack interjected, trying to calm the situation. "Lichelli, don’t provoke him."

Felix’s face darkened. "That would make me a puppet. And I am no puppet."

He snapped his fingers, and two armed guards appeared with Gregory Martinson, the British Prime Minister. His hands were tied behind his back, and the crowd gasped.

"As you can see, Prime Minister Martinson is here. And he’s on my side," Felix announced.

Jack stepped forward, his voice commanding. "Felix, do you have any idea what kind of mess you’ve created? Release the Prime Minister now!"

Felix's eyes gleamed with a dangerous light. "Release him? I will release him from his frail human life."

With a swift motion, Felix drew a large dagger and plunged it through Martinson’s chin, driving it up through his skull. He pulled the knife out, cutting his finger on the blade in the process. Enraged, he kicked Martinson’s lifeless body over the railing.

The crowd recoiled in horror as Jack and Lichelli rushed to Martinson’s side.

Antonio shouted, "He’s gone crazy!"

Lichelli screamed, "You son of a bitch! You’re insane!"

Amidst the chaos, Jiaoji stood silently, his gaze fixed on Felix.

"Insane? Crazy? No. I have evolved," Felix declared.

His body began to shake and vibrate. His hair fell out, and his skin peeled away, revealing a hybrid human-alien torso. A bright amber aura surrounded him, and everyone recoiled in terror at the horrifying sight.

The next morning, the sun rose above the Atlantic Ocean, casting a golden glow over the oil rig. In the courtyard, politicians and their security forces mingled, forming lines behind large vats of coffee. Yanin moved through the crowd, her smile warm but her eyes searching.

"How did you sleep?" Yanin asked as she approached Jack.

"I didn't," Jack admitted. "Felix hinted that he wanted me to lead some sort of movement for change."

Milanowski joined them, his expression grave. "We're all interested in change."

Yanin shook her head. "I've pretty much made my decision. Unless you can convince me otherwise, Thailand will have no part of this. This is all too strange for me."

"I disagree," Jack said firmly. "Regardless of what Felix has done, if there's something important here, the U.S. must address it."

"And if there's nothing here but bravado and pomp and circumstance?" Yanin challenged.

"Then I'll lead the way back to the boat," Jack replied.

Lichelli approached, her face pale. "There's just one problem. I checked the dock. The catamaran isn’t there."

Before Jack could respond, Felix appeared on an upper level overlooking the courtyard. "Good morning, Presidents, Prime Ministers, and Premiers. Welcome to...the Bermuda Triangle! I trust you've all had time to rest."

"No one has rested, Felix," Antonio snapped. "We're all anxious to hear what you have to say. The surreptitious messages, this remote location, the secrecy... You've done very little to ease our anxious minds."

"I completely understand," Felix said smoothly.

Jean-Philippe Gagnon, polished and composed, stepped closer. "I think you planned it that way, Felix. You seem to have a flair for the melodramatic."

"I'm only trying to keep up with my sophisticated Canadian brothers like you, Jean-Philippe," Felix retorted. "It is you and those like you who have wrestled this world to its knees and cast a shadow on the spirit of humankind."

A murmur of shock and anger spread through the crowd.

"Mr. Brangman, how dare you say such things?" Hiroto demanded.

"This isn’t going to be good," Jack muttered to Milanowski. "Send someone to find that boat. Maybe it’s parked on the other side of the rig."

Felix continued, his voice rising. "You...each of you, you are the reason why the world is in such disarray...but I can help."

"How, Felix?" Lichelli challenged. "You can’t do anything without the written consent of the British Parliament and the endorsement of Prime Minister Martinson."

"Lichelli, don’t piss him off just yet," Jack cautioned.

Felix's face darkened. "That would make me a puppet. A puppet? I think not."

He snapped his fingers, and two armed guards in camouflage makeup appeared, dragging Gregory Martinson, the British Prime Minister, with them. His hands were tied behind his back. The crowd gasped in horror.

"As you can see, Prime Minister Gregory Martinson is here. And he’s on my side," Felix declared.

"Felix? Do you have any idea what kind of mess you just stepped in? Release the Prime Minister now!" Jack demanded.

"Release him?" Felix echoed, a cruel smile playing on his lips. "I will release him from his frail human life."

With that, Felix took out a large dagger and drove it up through Martinson’s chin and out the top of his head. As he pulled the knife out, he cut his finger on the blade and, enraged, kicked Martinson’s lifeless body over the rail into the courtyard below.

A collective gasp rose from the crowd as Jack and Lichelli rushed to Martinson’s side.

"He’s gone crazy!" Antonio shouted.

"You son-of-a-bitch! You’re insane!" Lichelli screamed, her voice echoing in the confined space.

Jiaoji quietly stared at Felix as chaos erupted around them. Felix, standing above the fray, his body began to shake and vibrate. His hair fell away in clumps, and his skin peeled off in sheets, revealing a bright amber aura. As he opened his shirt, the crowd recoiled at the sight of a hybrid human and alien torso.

"Insane? Crazy? No. I have evolved," Felix proclaimed, his voice resonating with a strange, otherworldly timbre. "You had your chance. Now it’s our turn."

He pressed a button, and the entire courtyard began to descend like a freight elevator, sinking ten stories down. The abrupt stop knocked everyone to the floor, half of the lights sparking and exploding, leaving the remaining lights flickering dimly.

Afareen crawled into Pirooz's arms, while Jean-Philippe stood slowly, still in shock. "Did everyone see what I just saw?"

"We saw it, Jean-Philippe," Lichelli said, her eyes on Martinson's body. "We saw it."

"A fucking alien?" Jean-Philippe's voice was incredulous.

"Take it easy..." Jack warned, trying to maintain some semblance of order.

Antonio knelt beside Martinson’s body, crossing himself. "Rest in peace, my dear friend."

Jean-Philippe pushed Antonio away, his shock turning to anger. "Genuflecting isn’t going to help us, Antonio! The Governor of Bermuda is a goddamn alien!"

"Enough!" Hiroto shouted, shoving Jean-Philippe against the wall. "We saw it. We saw it."

Jean-Philippe's voice was dazed. "An alien. A fucking alien."

The politicians began searching the walls for a way out. The President of Bolivia felt the seamless walls. "There’s no door, no window. No way out."

The Prime Minister of the Czech Republic stepped forward, his eyes glazed and his expression stunned. "Are we not going to talk about what has happened? Are we not going to discuss what is at stake?"

The Egypt Prime Minister nodded solemnly. "Our friends from the Czech Republic are right. We are on the precipice of a great and terrible change in our world. We should take a moment to discuss."

Pirooz’s voice was strained with anger. "The people of Iran will not settle for this. Which one of you is behind this?"

Afareen gripped his arm tightly. "Pirooz, no. Can you not see? This is a matter beyond the control of anyone here."

Pirooz shook his head. "Nonsense. We need to discuss the ramifications of--"

Lichelli interrupted, her voice cutting through the tension. "What is there to discuss, President Zarindoost? We’re screwed. I’ll come out and say it: an alien assassinated the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. And now the Heads of State of fifty nations are locked in one room, a thousand miles out in the ocean."

"We’re fish bait," the Egypt Prime Minister added woefully.

The politicians erupted into bickering, arguing and shouting at each other. Jack, feeling his patience running thin, pulled Jiaoji and Hiroto to the side as Yanin watched.

"Fighting each other won’t help. If things get heavy, I need you to back me up. Can I count on you?" Jack asked.

Jiaoji and Hiroto nodded in agreement. Jack moved to the center of the room, his voice commanding. "Everyone! Quiet! Shut up! Shut the hell up!"

The President of Ireland disapproved, her voice prim and disapproving. "President Simmons, there’s no reason to be disrespectful and impolite."

"Really, President McClane? Really? You want to be a stickler for etiquette when we’ve been kidnapped by aliens?" Jack’s voice was incredulous. "Anyone else want to stick to proper protocol and manners, or can we try to figure out a way to free ourselves?"

"I agree," Antonio said, his voice steady. "Let’s start with this: who has withheld knowledge and evidence of extraterrestrials? This event isn’t a one-off. They’ve been here before. It has been here before. Someone here has kept vital information from us."

Yanin shot a look at Jack, who avoided her eyes.

"Jack? What have you got to say for yourself?" Jean-Philippe demanded.

"Me? Why me?" Jack's voice was defensive.

"Is it not America that has Area 51 and the Roswell incident?" Antonio's voice was accusing.

Jack threw up his hands. "Are you kidding me? That’s an old wives' tale. An urban legend."

Everyone looked around at someone else, ready to accuse them. Every leader shook his or her head.

Huang reluctantly stepped forward. Jack discreetly tried to wave him back. "My country has seen evidence of life on other planets."

A unanimous groan rose from the crowd. "It figures it’d be the Chinese... We’re screwed... Never trust them..."

"President Huang, no..." Jack started, but Yanin came forward and took his face in her hands.

"What do you mean, ‘No,’ Jack?" Yanin's voice was firm.

"President Huang, I understand that relations between our countries have been tense. But--" Jack's voice faltered as Yanin shook him firmly.

"Stop it, Jack. Stop and listen to me! What do you know about this?" Yanin demanded.

Huang took a deep breath. "Yanin, President Simmons and I believed it was in our best interest to keep the matter private and investigate further."

"Jack, you knew about this?" Sheldon’s voice was incredulous.

"I didn’t know about Brangman. Hell no," Jack insisted.

"But you were investigating the possibility... with the Chinese?" Lichelli's voice was accusatory.

Milanowski tried to calm the room. "Folks, this wasn’t planned. There was an incident at the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea."

"The Paracel Islands? The Vietnamese people have fought with the Chinese for forty years over who has sovereignty on the island. Thailand has been instrumental in furthering the talks between these nations and..." Yanin's voice trailed off.

"I’m sorry, Yanin. There was too much at stake. I couldn’t tell you," Jack said, his voice soft.

"For so long China has been on the outside--" Huang began, but Antonio interrupted abruptly.

"That’s by choice!" Antonio's voice was harsh.

"And because of several thousand human rights violations!" the Bolivia President added.

"And you have all been so... self-righteous. But after the military incident between America and the People’s Republic of China, we agreed to keep our findings secret," Huang explained.

Lichelli took a more solemn approach. "President Simmons, President Huang... the Prime Minister of my country is lying dead at my feet. Please, tell us exactly what you found?"

"It was a piece of the hull of a ship that exploded after crashing," Huang admitted.

"Did you recover any bodies?" Yanin asked, her voice tight.

"No. As far as we could tell, the ship probably crashed thirty years ago," Jack said.

"Jesus Christ! This is un-fucking-believable," Sheldon exclaimed.

"So they’ve been here before... or all along. Now the question is: what do they want with us?" Lichelli's voice was trembling.

"I’m afraid it’s obvious," Yanin said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"No, it’s not. This isn’t a show of force. They’ve already proven they have the advantage. Look at Martinson. No... they want something else," Milanowski insisted.

Antonio suddenly moved through the crowd, searching and pushing people out of his way. "Prime Minister Galla, what’s wrong?" Sheldon asked, his voice filled with concern.

"Michel? The French Prime Minister. Where is he?" Antonio's voice was urgent.

"Has anyone seen Michel Mercier?" Sheldon shouted to the crowd.

A wave of head-shaking crossed from one end of the room to the other.

"There is something else, isn’t there, Jack?" Huang's voice was ominous.

"How can we be expected to work with such stupidity?" Jean-Philippe's voice was exasperated.

"Hey, shut the fuck up!" Antonio snapped.

"It’s the beginning of the Apocalypse," the Egypt Prime Minister muttered.

"Armageddon," Antonio corrected.

"Are you serious? That’s an alien. Not God. God, I can wrap my head around God!" Sheldon said, his voice fearful.

"Can you all just be quiet and let them speak?! Please!" Pirooz shouted above everyone.

"It doesn’t matter what or who it is. The result is still the same. The end of the world is upon us," Jiaoji said solemnly.

"We found evidence of a smaller craft. Like an escape pod. Something that would have allowed any survivors to escape," Jack explained.

"How big was it?" Pirooz asked.

"Large enough to hold fifty human-sized... nonhumans," Jack admitted. "Before we start saying Hail Mary’s and repenting, let’s try to figure this out. What do we know so far?"

"We know you lied to us," Yanin said, turning and walking away from Jack. He searched the crowd with his eyes, looking for a response. All he saw was reluctance.

"C’mon people! Snap out of it. We can lay down and die or we can figure out a way to fight back. Now... What. Do. We. Know?" Jack's voice was desperate.

"They haven’t killed us... at least most of us," Hiroto said.

"That’s right," Jack agreed.

"Sure, remind me that we’re sitting ducks!" Sheldon’s voice was laced with sarcasm.

"Sheldon, either cowboy up or shut up," Jack snapped. "What else?"

The Chancellor of Germany, a tall, blonde, voluptuous woman, stepped forward. "Considering where the courtyard was positioned on the rig, and how fast we dropped, I’d say we were about fifty meters below sea level."

"Great, so we’re underwater now, too," Sheldon muttered.

"If we’re underwater, the engineering required to convert an entire floor into an elevator means that the oil rig is just a facade," Milanowski observed.

"So, then, what is this? Some kind of gigantic machine?" Jack asked.

Everyone shrugged.

"We know that they’ve been watching us for a long time. They’ve infiltrated our government. They know everything about us, even how to get us to come here," Sheldon pointed out.

The Indian President moved to the center of the crowd. "Most importantly, we know that they can be hurt."

Jack paced the room, his mind racing as Felix's words echoed in his head. The alien's presence was chilling, its aura palpable even from the balcony above. Felix spoke of humanity's destructive nature, of how close they'd come to annihilation, and how they were now deemed unworthy of continued existence. 

A shiver ran down Jack's spine as he processed the implications. This wasn't a negotiation; it was a dire ultimatum.

The room fell into a tense silence as Jack locked eyes with Felix, refusing to cower in fear. His heart pounded in his chest, each beat echoing in the stillness of the chamber.

Suddenly, the air was split by the mechanical hiss of hydraulics, and before Jack could react, a metallic arm shot out from the wall, seizing him and dragging him into darkness.