Lincoln Child - Terminal Freeze

At milepost 27, he passed the turnout for the hike up Knob Mountain. He and his father had stopped there, too, and made the two-mile ascent. It had been a warm day, Logan recalled, and the cold canteen hanging from his neck had sweated icy droplets against his skin. His father had been a historian, a stranger to exercise, and the hike winded him. It was at the summit he’d told Logan about the cancer.

At Thornton Gap, Logan exited Skyline Drive, following the state highway along the river and out of the national park. At Sperryville, he turned south onto Route 231 and followed the signs for Old Rag Lodge.

Within ten minutes he was in the shadow of the mountain. At more than three thousand feet, Old Rag was a relatively low peak, but the rock scrambles to its bald top were famously challenging. Yet it was best known not for its hiking opportunities but for the luxury hotel that lay in a bowl-shaped valley near its feet. Old Rag Lodge resembled nothing so much as a vast château, hugely out of place in the wild Virginia terrain. As Logan swung into the private drive and accelerated up a gentle slope, the hotel came into view, a confection of monolithic limestone walls and brilliantly hued stained glass set into mullioned casings. The rambling structure was topped with extravagant cupolas and minarets of copper.

Logan drove past a lush thirty-six-hole golf course, then over the carefully raked drive of white gravel leading to the porte cochere. He gave his keys to the waiting valet, then stepped inside.

“Checking in, sir?” the woman behind the front desk asked.

Logan shook his head. “I’m here for the tour.”

“Viewings of the bunker begin at ten o’clock.”

“I’ve arranged for a private visit. The name’s Logan.” And he slid a business card across the marble top of the reception desk.

The woman examined the card, turned to her computer monitor, typed briefly. “Very good, Dr. Logan. If you’d kindly have a seat in the lobby?”

“Thank you.” Gathering up his briefcase, Logan walked across the echoing, domed expanse and took a seat between two vast Co-rinthian columns wreathed in red silk.

While the lodge had been popular for seven decades among the golfing and hunting aristocrats of the Old Dominion, in the last few years it had developed a stranger reputation. For it was here that-starting in 1952-a large, highly secret underground bunker had been maintained for officials of the United States government. In the event of nuclear war, congressmen, senators, and other functionaries could retreat to the bunker beneath Old Rag Lodge to coordinate military operations, enact new laws, and see to the continuing governance of America -assuming, of course, an America still remained to govern. Looking around the opulent lobby, Logan smiled faintly. It made perfect sense that government leaders had chosen a place like this to hunker down in: far enough from Washington to escape the worst of the holocaust, yet perfectly appointed to ride out Armageddon in comfort and luxury. Although the bunker had gone out of active service in the 1980s, it had not been declassified until 1992. Now it served as historical museum, conspiracy theorist magnet-and unlikely tourist attraction.

Logan glanced up to see a short, slightly tubby man in a white linen suit and panama hat bustle across the lobby. He wore round black glasses and his face was quite pink. He extended a hand. “Dr. Logan?”

Logan rose. “Yes.”

“I’m Percy Hunt, official historian for the lodge. I’ll be your view facilitator this morning.”

View facilitator, Logan thought as he shook the proffered hand. Must be what passes for tour guide at the Old Rag Lodge. “I’m grateful.”

“You’re from Yale, isn’t that correct?” Hunt glanced at a small folded sheet. “ Regina professor of medieval history?”

“Yes. Though at present I’m on academic leave.”

Hunt slipped the paper into his jacket. “Very good. If you’ll follow me, please?”

He led the way to an arch at the far end of the lobby, which gave on to a plushly carpeted hall lined with sporting prints. “There are two entrances to the bunker,” Hunt said. “A large exterior door built into the rear of the mountain-used by trucks and heavy vehicles-and an elevator behind the hotel’s main conference room. We’ll be entering via the latter.”

They passed an indoor swimming pool decorated with faux-Grecian marbles, a banquet hall, and a ballroom, before entering the large and well-appointed conference room. Without pausing, Hunt headed toward a set of double doors in the rear, wallpapered to match the rest of the room. “Congress would have used this space to convene, assuming it remained standing,” he said. “Otherwise, they would have employed the smaller chambers below.” He pointed at the wall ahead of them. “This supports the blast doors protecting the bunker elevator.” Opening the doors with some effort, he revealed a small space with another door at its far end. Unlocking this with a key he kept on a fob, Hunt ushered Logan into a large elevator, painted green. Closing the door, he used the same key to operate the elevator. There were no floor buttons or indicator lights of any kind.

The descent was very long. After thirty seconds or so, Hunt turned toward his guest. “So, Dr. Logan,” he said, “where in particular does your interest lie? The engineering spaces? Personal quarters? Infirmary? I ask because usually researchers who arrange for private tours like this are following up some particular area of expertise. The more you tell me, the better I’ll be able to assist you.”

Logan glanced back. “Actually, Mr. Hunt, it isn’t the bunker per se that I’m interested in.”

Hunt blinked back. “No? Then why-”

“I’m here to examine the Omega Archive.”

Hunt’s eyes widened. “The archive? I’m sorry, but that’s quite impossible.”

“The information in that archive was declassified as of”- Logan glanced at his watch-“eight o’clock this morning. That was seventy minutes ago. It’s now a matter of public record.”

“Yes, yes, but the proper deactivation procedures-vetting, cross-checking, all that sort of thing-need to be attended to first. Requests have to go through proper channels.”

“I’m only interested in a single file. You can observe; I’ll read it in your presence. As for proper channels, I think you’ll find this sufficient to allay any objections.” And Logan opened his briefcase, removed a folded sheet stamped at the top with the United States seal, and handed it to Hunt.

The little man glanced over the letter, eyes widening farther still. He licked his lips. “Very well, Dr. Logan. Very well. I’ll still need to get verbal authorization-”

Logan pointed to the signature at the bottom of the letter. “If you really want to trouble him, feel free to do so-once we’re back in the hotel. I’ll only be a few minutes if I’m allowed to conduct my research unobstructed.”

Hunt removed his glasses, wiped them on his jacket, replaced them, adjusted his straw hat. “May I ask…” his voice faltered, and he cleared his throat. “May I ask what interest a professor of medieval history has in the Omega Archive?”

Logan glanced at him mildly. “As I mentioned earlier, Mr. Hunt: I’m on administrative leave.”

The elevator creaked open onto a concrete tunnel with a semicircular roof and a floor punctuated by steel grills. “Follow me, please,” Hunt said, walking quickly down the tunnel. It was very chill and raw. A line of incandescent bulbs in circular fixtures, hanging from the ceiling by slender stalks, lit the way. Ganglions of green-painted pipes ran high up along the walls, snaking deeper into the bunker. Hunt set a brisk pace, apparently no longer disposed to conversation. They passed several branching tunnels, what looked like a dormitory, and a large room with television cameras and a back wall covered by a photo of the Capitol building taken in cherry blossom season, before Hunt veered off the main corridor. He led the way through a room full of electrical control panels to a small antechamber that lay beyond. Sliding away a false wall at the rear of the chamber, he revealed a heavy metal door balanced on massive hinges. Taking a different key from his pocket, he fitted it to the central slot. “The archives lie beyond,” he said. “Please locate the file and review it as quickly as possible. I need to get this authorized with all possible haste.”