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“The islands of Alaska,” Vladimir said.

“Precisely,” Ziyi said. “It’s Attu Island, the westernmost island in the Near Islands group of the Aleutians.”

“That territory is the only World War II battlefield on United States soil,” said Vladimir, positioning himself behind a desk computer. “I’m checking if it’s the Attu Station, which is the only inhabited area.”

Ziyi pulled another screen and started reading from it. “High-speed winds, lots of sulfur, more than 300 small volcanoes form a volcanic arc occupying an area of 6,821 square miles and extending about seven—whatever. Can people really survive there?”

“Twenty-one native Aleuts still live there,” Vladimir said. “The signal came from the center of the island—Attu Mountain.”

“Show me the map,” Lucienne said.

A map of Attu Island zoomed in on the coordinates until a detailed framework of Attu Mountain formed. Lucienne felt her heart skip a beat. It shared the same rough outline as the drawings on the ancient map.

“The map detailed lakes, mountains, and a village, but this satellite map labels the region as a multitude of mountains,” Vladimir said.

“The land must have been cloaked,” Lucienne said, “impenetrable by the satellite—”

“Until a high-particle outburst blew its cover,” Vladimir finished her sentence.

Lucienne turned to her crew. “We might have found the lost city.”

Her crew rose, cheering and applauding. Vladimir whistled loudly. He came back to Lucienne’s side. His warm hand reached for hers. “Lucia,” he said, eyes shimmering golden light. “It exists! A civilization hides itself in plain sight.”

“You should never have doubted me.”

“I didn’t doubt you.” Vladimir swallowed. “I just—”

A thin smile at the corner of her mouth, Lucienne subtly slid her hand out of Vladimir’s and returned her gaze to the screen. “Dragonfly on the coordinates,”she ordered.

Ziyi scurried after Lucienne and Vladimir to the adjacent satellite lab. Other crews continued to monitor the dark matter in action as Ziyi took over the operations from a technician, maneuvering the control panels.

“Satellite coordination enabled. Uplink established,” Ziyi reported.

On the wall-sized glass screen, a silvery, metallic gate stretched high into the sky. The gate looked ancient, yet futuristic.Can it be a gateway to a higher civilization?Lucienne’s heart raced. Her mouth went dry.

“Dragonfly searched the area,” Ziyi said. “I swear to God: the gate wasn’t there before.”

“Scan the gate,” Lucienne said.

Dragonfly’s high-resolution camera roved over the gate until an eye-shaped, thumb-sized chip loomed into view.

“On the eye,” Lucienne said, her voice shuddering.

Vladimir moved closer to her, protective.

The frame of the camera froze on the metallic eye as it discharged faint static bursts.

Lucienne held her breath, until Vladimir broke the spell. “The coordinates are three hours away if we take the Apache Longbow; less than half an hour if I fly BL7.”

“Will you ever get tired of finding any excuse to fly BL7?” Ziyi asked.

“It does feel like you’re a god flying the Black Lightning,” Lucienne said. A smile sparkled in her eyes. “You’re allowed to be a god today, Blazek.” She then turned to Ziyi. “Page Kian. I need him back to Sphinxes.”

CHAPTEREIGHT

Black Lightning Seven looked like three triangular lightning bolts slammed together. It was one of the best combat aircrafts on Earth. Upgraded from the F-22 Raptor, BL7 could break the sound barrier, shoot down eight types of missiles, disrupt radar and jam an enemy communication system with electromagnetic radiation and directed-energy weapons. Vladimir fell in love with the black beauty at first sight, but when he flew it, he never really came down again. Speed did such wonders to men.

Lucienne settled in at the co-pilot seat, a code-secured briefcase at her feet. She’d changed her attire to an ultra-sleek, black leather jacket and a pair of stretch leather pants that embraced every curve. A combat knife fastened to her leather boots added a dangerous air to her sexy ensemble that Vladimir couldn’t ignore.