The 5 Greatest Warriors

by Matthew Reilly

  ‘May I?’ Diane asked.

  ‘If it will make you feel better,’ Carnivore said.

  ‘Oh, it will.’ Diane stepped forward and stood before the Neetha warlock’s tank. She knocked on the front window and the old man looked up. ‘Hey! My return gift for the years of slavery in your tribe.’

  Then with a firm hand Diane turned a valve and shut off his oxygen supply. The old man coughed once before he started convulsing violently, gagging, unable to breathe. After a few moments of this, he became still, hovering in the haze, dead.

  ‘Much better.’ Diane strode past Carnivore and headed outside.

  A few seconds later, Carnivore followed her, sweeping out of his observatory and taking off in his plane, leaving the isolated base behind him, its location known only to a privileged few, its living decorations left there to die.

  Nine minutes after Carnivore’s departure, the observatory was silent and still.

  The massive telescope sat on its mounting, pointed toward the sky. The only movement: the rising bubbles in the tanks lining the walls.

  Then abruptly one of the tanks shattered, and stinking green liquid came gushing out of it, washing across the porcelain floor.

  It was Wolf’s tank.

  Inside the shattered, now-empty tank, Wolf hung from his manacles, covered from head to toe in a layer of green fluid, only now his left hand was hanging free. He immediately used it to yank off his half-face scuba mask, before he sucked in deep gasps of fresh clean air.

  It had taken an incredible effort in patience and concentration to get to this point.

  If one looked closely, one would have seen that the false top on Wolf’s Annapolis graduation ring had been popped open—a ring that contained a small amount of C-2 plastic explosive. Jack West Jr and Pooh Bear weren’t the only soldiers in the world who carried escape gear on their persons.

  First, Wolf had very carefully used the fingers of his manacled left hand to pop open the ring and use some of the plastique in it to crack open his left manacle. Then, when that hand was free, he stuck some C-2 to the front wall of his tank and shattered it.

  Dripping with green wetness, Wolf slowly unclasped the other three manacles gripping his limbs and dropped to the floor of the empty tank and stood on his own two feet.

  Now came the painful part: removing the excretion catheter from his own body. Wolf grabbed the scuba facemask and, biting down hard on its rubber edges, set about the grim task. It took three shockingly painful yanks—he almost fainted with the last one—but he got it out.

  A moment later, staggering a little but okay, Jack West Sr stepped down from the semi-destroyed tank.

  Free.

  For a moment Wolf pondered the other tanks—as the occupants of those tanks stared incredulously back at him. Zoe screamed and shook her bonds, begging him to set her free. Astro also looked up, waiting to see if Wolf would help him.

  Wolf didn’t set any of them free.

  He went over to the radio console on the wall and called his people for a pick-up. He also radioed Diego Garcia and ordered the force there not to let Jack and Iolanthe leave the island alive. After that, he found a shower room in a nearby building and some clothes and cleaned himself up.

  Then Wolf returned to the observatory, pulled up a chair and, gazing at the green tanks and the captives within them, waited for his extraction team.

  It arrived a few hours later in the form of a pair of F-15s. And then just like Carnivore before him, Wolf left the remote observatory without a word, leaving the other prisoners there to slowly run out of air.

  MILITARY AIRBASE, DUBAI

  UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

  18 MARCH, 2008, 2200 HOURS

  The Halicarnassus stood parked on a runway in a remote corner of the U.A.E., a black shadow against the night-time horizon.

  Jack sat in his office at the back of the plane, lit by a single lamp, bent over his desk. An array of books, notes and maps lay strewn on the table in front of him. Horus was perched loyally on his chairback, ever watchful, while Lily lay on the floor behind him, fast asleep. One of his two Spetsnaz minders stood guard at the door while the other slept in a bunkroom. Iolanthe was taking a shower in the crew quarters.

  Jack was gazing at the James Letter that the twins had found earlier, which purported to reveal the final resting place of Jesus Christ:

  He lies in peace,

  In a place where even the mighty Romans fear to tread.

  In a kingdom of white

  He does not grow old.

  His wisdom lies with him still,

  Protected by a twin who meets all thieves first.

  Jack was pondering what it meant when Pooh Bear and the others came in over the videolink.

  Jack told them what had happened at Diego Garcia and Pooh informed him about their mission at Lundy Island, including how Cieran Kincaid had rescued them on the way out. Pooh, Stretch, the twins and Cieran were now in Dublin at a friendly army base with the charged Fourth Pillar in their possession.

  ‘What do we do now?’ Pooh Bear asked.

  Jack cast a glance at his Spetsnaz guard who showed no outward sign that he understood English.

  ‘I don’t see that we have a choice,’ he said. ‘We have to go for the Sixth Pillar. Carnivore sent Vulture, Scimitar and Mao to get it for him, but we can’t allow any of them to find it and lay it. We have to get it first.’

  ‘Which only requires us to find the lost tomb of Jesus Christ,’ Julius said.

  ‘I’m aware of that.’ Jack indicated the mess of books and notes around him.

  Cieran Kincaid appeared on the screen beside Pooh Bear. ‘Jack...’

  ‘Yes, Cieran.’ Jack could see what was coming.

  ‘Jack, Jesus Christ rose from the dead and ascended bodily to heaven. This is beyond a question of faith. It is accepted fact. There is no tomb.’

  ‘Cieran, I thank you for saving my guys, but I’m sorry, I can’t agree with you. I’ve seen enough crazy stuff in my travels to say that where religion is concerned, there are no facts, only beliefs. You can believe whatever you want. In the meantime, I’m going to search for that tomb.’

  ‘Crunch time’s coming and we’re further behind our adversaries than usual, Jack,’ Stretch said seriously. ‘We have two days to lay that Pillar at the final Vertex and we don’t know where either the Pillar or the Vertex is.’

  ‘I know, I know,’ Jack said. ‘But where there’s life, there’s hope.’

  ‘So this is our plan?’ Lachlan said. ‘This is it?’

  ‘This is all I’ve got,’ Jack said wearily. ‘Just hit the books and help me out. I’ll call you if I find something.’

  He clicked off, sighed, and went back to work.

  ***

  A few minutes later, lolanthe appeared in the doorway, freshly showered and now dressed in shorts and a close-fitting white singlet that accentuated her sleek physique. Her usually tied-back hair hung loose around her bare shoulders. She placed a coffee mug on Jack’s desk.

  ‘You seriously think you can find the Jesus Pillar?’ she asked.

  Jack looked up at her. ‘I can’t let your Russian cousin get that Pillar and plant it at the final Vertex. I have to find it first.’

  Iolanthe leaned against the door, eyeing him closely. ‘If you find it, I’ll have to inform Carnivore. So will they,’ she nodded at the guard by the door. ‘We are here to keep an eye on you, after all.’

  ‘You don’t have to tell him,’ Jack said softly.

  Iolanthe smiled, shaking her head. Then she stepped into the room and closed the door behind her, leaving the guard outside. ‘You really are something, you know that?’

  ‘I do what I think is right.’

  ‘But you just keep doing it. You never stop. You’re the most determined man I’ve ever met.’

  ‘It’s a gift—’

  ‘It’s why your people follow you. And,’ she stepped closer, whispering, ‘it could be why I might be convinced to follow you, too. I suppose
I could be persuaded not to tell Carnivore. . .’

  Jack stopped what he was doing.

  ‘You’d betray the royal families?’ he said.

  ‘Like all families, our members have their differences and their petty schemes. Carnivore is the most senior member of the European royals, but some in Britain think him too ruthless, too. . . unseemly. His blood might be blue, but his methods are crude.’

  ‘And what do you think?’

  ‘I think Carnivore looks out for Carnivore. I think I’ve given my royal relatives far more than they have ever given me.’ She licked her lips. ‘I think I deserve some reward for my efforts. My family expects my loyalty, whereas you win people’s loyalty. You impress me time and again, and that tends to win a girl over. . . ’

  She stepped behind Jack, moving smoothly and quietly, leaned over him to look at his notes. He could feel her breasts pressing gently against his shoulder. Her long hair smelled wet; her beautifully scented skin was soft, feminine.

  ‘You saved my life in that Vertex,’ he said, not looking at her. ‘I wasn’t sure you would.’

  ‘Like I said, you inspired me in a way I’ve not been inspired before.’

  Jack said nothing.

  Iolanthe looked at him. ‘I was sorry to hear about Miss Kissane’s betrayal of you. I didn’t know about that.’

  ‘Neither did I.’ Jack still didn’t look her in the eye.

  When Iolanthe spoke again, her voice was a whisper, spoken directly into Jack’s left ear from millimetres away.

  ‘A girl would have to be crazy to see another man behind your back, Jack West. You’re all I’d need.’

  Jack swallowed. He looked straight ahead, a flurry of thoughts and images swirling in his mind: of Zoe back at his farm, covered in dust; of Iolanthe here, beautiful and sweet-smelling and pressed against his shoulder in her tight little singlet, practically offering herself to him; the image of Carnivore informing him about Zoe sleeping with another man, and Zoe in her tank, bowing her head in admission.

  He turned to answer her—

  —only to abruptly feel lolanthe’s lips press against his own. She was kissing him, smoothly, sensuously, with genuine passion.

  Jack didn’t move. He closed his eyes as he let her kiss him. The touch of her lips was simply electrifying.

  Jesus. . .

  Iolanthe pulled away slowly, looked him in the eye.

  ‘We needn’t be on different sides in all this, Jack. But even if we are, it shouldn’t mean we can’t enjoy each other. I’m going to my bunkroom now, where I’m going to slip out of these clothes and sleep naked for the first time in days. I’d very much like it if you joined me . . .

  Then she kissed his ear and left the office.

  Jack sat face-forward, frozen.

  Then he blinked out of it, exhaled, and looked at Horus. The falcon squawked.

  ‘Tell me about it,’ he said, before resuming his work.

  He never went to her bunkroom.

  A few hours later, Lily awoke. Jack was still at his desk, making, markings on a map of some sort.

  ‘Hey,’ she said sleepily.

  ‘Hey, kiddo.’

  ‘What are you doing?’

  ‘Trying to find in one day what men have been seeking for centuries: the tomb of Jesus Christ.’

  ‘Any luck?’

  Jack shrugged. ‘Maybe some.’

  He showed her the ancient map in front of him. It was a map of Asia Minor: Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Syria and Turkey.

  ‘The twins did a lot of research on Jesus,’ he said. ‘The canvassed all the myths about what happened to him after the crucifixion. The most persistent theory is that Jesus lived out his days at Masada, while others suggest he headed east, ending up in the Kashmir region of India.’

  ‘I can see a “but” coming,’ Lily said.

  ‘But they’re just theories. There’s no actual proof of either. What I need is a new angle,’ Jack said. ‘Everybody who’s looked for the tomb of Jesus has tried to follow the trail of Jesus himself, which eventually peters out into myth and legend. I think we need to follow somebody else’s trail, someone who knew Jesus, and I think I just found out who.’

  ‘Who?’

  Jack pointed to another sheet on his desk, one Lily had seen before. ‘His brother, James.’

  Lily looked at the sheet:

  ‘This is the detailed description of James’s epic journey from Judea to the Fortress of Van that the twins found earlier,’ Jack said. ‘It’s the journey James made with two of the Pillars in his possession.’

  ‘Okay . . . ’

  ‘Well, something about this list always bothered me. Something about it wasn’t right. Now I know.’

  ‘What was it?’

  ‘I found this old map of Asia Minor and I plotted James’s course on it. Take a look.’

  Jack turned the map so Lily could see it:

  ‘See it?’ Jack asked.

  Lily did.

  James had not taken the most direct route from Jerusalem to Van. He’d made a gigantic detour to the south before heading north-east, going almost completely around the Dead Sea. As a list of town-names, the detour wasn’t readily apparent, but once you plotted them on a map, it was glaringly obvious.

  Jack said, ‘James didn’t go straight from Jerusalem to the Fortress at Van. He took a big detour to the south, passing through Masada, some desert springs known as Em Gedi and Em Bokek— before he came to Mount Sodom and a spring near it, Em Aradhim. Only then did he resume his trip north-east, going quickly and directly to Van.’

  ‘So what are you thinking?’ Lily asked.

  ‘I’m thinking that before he ventured off into exile for the rest of his life, James visited his brother’s tomb first. But it wasn’t at Masada. James went well beyond Masada.’ Jack pointed at the lowest point of James’s journey. ‘Lily, I think Jesus’s tomb is some where here, down at the southern tip of the Dead Sea, near the Ein Aradhim spring at the base of the Mount Sodom salt hills.’

  THE DEAD SEA

  ISRAEL-JORDAN BORDER,

  19 MARCH, 2008, 0700 HOURS

  THE DAY BEFORE THE FINAL DEADLINE

  The Dead Sea is the lowest point on Earth. It lies a full 400 metres below sea level. It is known mainly for its extreme salinity—a white crust of salt crystallises at its edges. It is also shrinking, due to constant evaporation, losing approximately fifty metres of width every year. True to its name, the Dead Sea is indeed dying.

  At the extreme southern end of the sea one will find Mount Sodom, a collection of jagged snow-white spires made of pure salt, sodium chloride. Many ancient salt mines, long abandoned, delve into its base.

  ‘Salt was hugely important in ancient times,’ Jack explained to Lily as the Halicarnassus rolled to a stop on an empty stretch of desert highway on the Jordanian side of the salt hills. ‘Roman soldiers were often paid in salt. Before refrigeration, it was used to preserve meat. The Romans mined it everywhere they ruled: from Germania to Judea.’

  They drove out of the hold of the Hali in a jeep they’d grabbed in the Emirates. Iolanthe went with them, apparently totally unconcerned that Jack had not taken her up on her offer the night before. Their two Spetsnaz guards—whom Lily had christened Ding and Dong—remained with Sky Monster at the Halicarnassus, correctly gauging that the plane was the only way Jack could escape from this place.

  Bizarre white hills rose before them, looking more like high snow-mounds than desert hills. The Dead Sea stretched northward, low and flat, glinting in the dawn.

  ‘And salt mines make for excellent tombs,’ Jack added, ‘because salt crystals seal doorways, keeping oxygen out and thus perfectly preserving anything inside.’

  Up the hill from the Halicarnassus, they came to a modest fresh water spring, the Ein Aradhim, the seemingly unnecessary stop James had made on his way to Van.

  It was little more than a small bubbling pool that ran in a pathetic trickle in the direction of the inland sea; the trickle was so we
ak, its water flow evaporated before it reached the Dead Sea.

  Cut into a salt mountain near the spring, however, was the entrance to a long-abandoned mine.