THE IRON SHIELD

Chapter XXVII

XXVII

Eckhart had said his goodbyes to his family before imminent departure. He reassured them he would return. It was a promise. He was not known for making promises he would not keep. He still had a promise to Jones.

The team made their way to the stealth plane in the hangar. The plane was capable of going underwater, but only for brief amounts of time. It would be under long enough to exit the hangar and resurface for flight. The first stop was an army base in Kentucky. FortKnox. Gold was not the secret being protected there. The completion of Eckhart's helmet was there. Although he had done most of his missions with just the helmet, he knew he would need the rest of it.

Gold was more of a metaphorical term for what it hid inside the base. Eckhart had kept the remnant of his helmet at FortKnox since it is where he was first stationed when he was in the military. After his selection for specified missions, he and others put together his helmet and the rest of it. He would need the helmet for most things and the rest of it for emergencies. The Knights discussed it on the way to Kentucky. It would not be a very long flight.

"How's come you've not used it when we were in Independence and supposed climax of World War III?" asked Patton.

"It was not as much of an emergency like it is now. I could have, but I chose not too. I could get carried away with it. I've only used it twice. The last time I made a mess with it. I have a better knowledge of it now. I was much younger then too," replied Eckhart.

The flight took less than an hour to reach Kentucky. Eckhart suggested he go in alone since he would be recognized and the only one with clearance to gain access to where it was kept. The rest of the Knights would remain hidden with the stealth planes cloaking device aloft in the air. Eckhart would attain a vehicle to drive onto the facilities grounds. Although it would be easier getting in than it would getting out, Eckhart knew that with the rest of what he came for it would be easier using it than how he came in.

Allen held the stealth plane aloft while Eckhart jumped down onto a street far enough away so one would have seen him. The first vehicle he came to was a red Chevrolet Silverado. It was a few years old, but with technology advancing over the years it did not look much different than past years except for a few minor things. Technology itself had advanced much over the last twenty years, but not as much as people would have thought. Floating cars were still experimental. Visits to other planets were still in development. Phones were more or less ear pieces connected to wrist watches.

The Silverado was locked, but Eckhart with his robotic arm was able to unlock it with a lock pick in his thumb. He got inside the truck and started it. He drove down the street he was on before turning to go down the road to the gate in front of FortKnox. It had been years since he had been here. He left his helmet in the passenger seat. He pulled up to the gate where a guard was waiting. Eckhart rolled down the window and showed his identification. The guard reviewed it and gave it back to Eckhart deeming him clear. The guard opened the gate and Eckhart drove on. He parked around the back so as to enter through the loading dock.

A guard met him. Eckhart identified himself and was allowed entrance into the facility. The guard questioned the helmet he carried with him. Eckhart told him that it was above his pay grade. The guard acknowledged and let him pass. Eckhart walked through the vault doorway and proceeded to the bottom floor. Not much had changed except for higher security and technology inside. The building itself had not changed. Everything was as he remembered it to be. He continued down a wall was stone walls one side and metal bars on the other. He made his way down the stairs to the bottom floor.