Zero Hour

by Clive Cussler

  He pushed it open and stepped out into the humid air of the Australian evening. To his surprise, he wasn’t alone.

  A young woman sat on the step in front of him, fiddling with the heel of a strappy shoe. She wore a white cocktail dress with a matching white flower in her strawberry blond hair. Kurt thought it might be an orchid.

  She looked up, startled by his sudden appearance.

  “Didn’t mean to scare you,” he said.

  For a second, she looked apoplectic, like he’d caught her stealing the Crown Jewels or something. Then she glanced around and went back to work on her shoe, wiggling the offending heel back and forth until the delicate little spike snapped off in her hand.

  “That’s probably not going to help,” Kurt guessed.

  “My favorite shoes,” she said in a melodic Australian accent. “Always seem to be the ones you break.”

  Dejected but exhibiting admirable common sense, she slipped off the other shoe and broke off its heel, then compared the two.

  “At least they match,” he said, offering a hand. “Kurt Austin.”

  “Hayley Anderson,” she replied. “Proud owner of the most expensive flats in all of Oz.”

  Kurt had to laugh.

  “I suppose you’re escaping the keynote,” she said.

  “Guilty as charged,” he admitted. “Can you really blame me?”

  “Not in the least,” she replied. “If I didn’t need to be here, I’d be off to the beach myself.”

  She stood up and stepped toward the door from which Kurt had emerged. It seemed a shame to have the encounter end so soon.

  “Flat shoes work well on the sand,” Kurt offered. “Almost as well as bare feet.”

  “Sorry,” she said, “can’t miss this or someone will have my guts for garters. You could come back in with me, I promise to keep you entertained.”

  “Tempting,” Kurt said. “But my hard-won freedom is worth too much at this point. If you get bored in there, you’ll find me on Bondi Beach. I’ll be the one who’s slightly overdressed.”

  She laughed lightly and grabbed quickly for the door. She seemed to be rushing. She pulled the door open and then stopped. Her gaze drifted past Kurt. She was looking across Sydney Harbour.

  Kurt turned. In the fading light, he spotted the curving wake of a powerboat. It cut across the harbor, coming dangerously close to the front of a ferry. A scolding blast from the ship’s horn followed, but the boat never slowed.

  An instant later, Kurt saw why. A dark-colored helicopter raced over the top of the ferry, flashing across the crowded vessel in the blink of an eye and dropping back toward the water in hot pursuit.

  The speeding boat turned left and then right, carving an S in the water and intentionally skirting the edges of a slow-moving sailboat. It was a madman’s path across the harbor.

  “He must be insane,” Hayley said, gawking at the boat.

  Kurt took a good look at the helicopter, a dark blue Eurocopter EC145. A stubby, bulbous cabin that jutted forward gave its nose an odd compact look, something like the snout of a great white shark. A four-bladed rotor whirled overhead, leaving a white blur, while its short, boomlike tail ended in three small vertical stabilizers something like a trident.

  Kurt saw no markings or navigation lights, but he noticed flashes coming from the open cargo door: muzzle flashes.

  He grabbed his phone and dialed 911. Nothing happened.

  Hayley took a step forward. “They’re shooting. They’re trying to kill those people.”

  “What’s the emergency number here?”

  “Zero zero zero,” she said.

  Kurt typed it in and hit CALL. By the time he was connected, the speedboat had turned head-on toward the Opera House. It raced at them at full throttle, aiming for the rounded promenade that stuck out into Sydney Harbour like a great pier.

  Most of the promenade was a wall of solid concrete, but a single flight of stairs on the left-hand side led down to the water. The speeding boat was drawing a line right to them. The helicopter was following, trying to set up a kill shot for the sniper.

  More flashes lit out from the door.

  The boat jerked to the left as the popping sound of gunfire reached the shore. It swerved a bit, then came back on course and hit the stairwell at high speed. It flew up into the air at an angle like a stunt car launching off a jump ramp in catty-corner fashion. It traveled fifty feet and rolled halfway over before it slammed down on its side.

  From there, the boat skidded across the concrete deck, hit a lightpost, and came apart. Shattered fiberglass fluttered in all directions as the post bent over and its bulbs exploded with a flash.

  “Emergency Service,” a voice said over the phone.

  Kurt was too mesmerized by the accident to respond.

  “Hello? This is Emergency Service.”

  As the shattered boat settled, the Eurocopter thundered overhead, barely missing the pointed top of the Opera House.

  Kurt handed the phone to Hayley. “Get help,” he shouted, taking off down the stairs. “Police, ambulance, national guard. Anything they’ve got.”

  Kurt had no idea what was going on, but even from up on the platform he could see two people trapped in the boat’s wreckage and smell leaking fuel.

  He reached the bottom of the stairs, ran a short distance, and hopped over a wall onto the promenade. As he raced up to the mangled craft, the still-spinning prop touched the concrete walkway. A shower of sparks lit out from it. They flew into the gasoline vapors, and a flashover roared outward.

  In the wake of this small explosion, a sea of flames rose from where the ruptured fuel had spilled.

  Despite the conflagration, Kurt rushed forward.

  • • •

  FOUR HUNDRED FEET ABOVE and a mile away, the Eurocopter made a steep turn above the outskirts of Sydney.

  Even though he was strapped in, the sniper put a hand out and held on.

  “Take it easy,” he shouted.

  He was already wrestling with the long-barreled Heckler & Koch sniper rifle, trying to attach a high-capacity fifty-round drum. The last thing he needed was to be dumped out the side.

  “We have to make another pass,” the pilot called back. “We have to make sure they’re dead.”

  The sniper doubted anyone could have survived the crash, but it wasn’t his call. As the helicopter leveled out, he gave up trying to attach the drum and jammed a standard ten-round magazine in the weapon.

  “Keep it steady this time,” he demanded. “I need a stable platform to shoot from.”

  “Will do,” the pilot replied.

  The sniper eased toward the open door, folding one leg underneath him and stretching the other leg down to brace himself on the step that was just above the copter’s skid.

  They’d come around now and were approaching the sails of the Opera House more slowly. He racked the slide and readied himself to fire.

  • • •

  BY THE TIME Kurt reached the shattered boat, fire had engulfed its stern. A hunched-over figure in the passenger seat was trying to get free. Kurt pulled him loose and dragged him over the side, ignoring the cries of pain.

  Fifty feet from the boat, Kurt laid the injured man down, noticing the strange way his hands and fingers curled up. It was an odd enough sight to stick in Kurt’s mind even as he raced back to help the driver.

  Fighting through the acrid smoke, Kurt clambered onto the boat. By now, flames were licking at the driver’s back.

  Kurt tried to pull the man upward, but he was held in place by the crushed-in section of the control panel.

  “Leave me,” the man shouted. “Help Panos.”

  “If that’s your passenger, he’s already safe,” Kurt shouted. “Now, help me get you free.”

  The man pushed and Kurt pulled, but the crushed panel held h
im tight. Kurt knew they needed leverage. He grabbed a harpoonlike boat hook that lay in what remained of the bow and wedged it in between the trapped driver and the mangled wreckage.

  Leaning on it with all his weight, Kurt forced some space between the driver and the panel. “Now!” he shouted.

  The man shook his head. “I can’t,” he said. “I can’t feel my—”

  In a sudden recoil, the driver’s head snapped back, and blood spattered across the dashboard. The smoke swirled with new abandon and the rising flames danced in odd directions as gusting wind from the helicopter’s downwash swept over them.

  Realizing the driver was dead and that he was probably next, Kurt dove over the side of the boat and tumbled out.

  Shells hit left and right as he scrambled for cover.

  Hidden in the smoke, Kurt looked up. The Eurocopter hovered sixty feet above. He could see the sniper searching for a target, moving the long barrel of his rifle back and forth. Then the helicopter drifted to the left and turned away.

  The sniper must have seen the injured passenger limping down the promenade. He opened fire with abandon.

  Ricochets hit all around the man until a shell found its mark and dropped the poor soul to his knees. Before the shooter could finish him off, another bystander rushed in. It was Hayley. She dragged the limp figure behind a large concrete planter and ducked down.

  The sniper opened fire once again, the shells digging chips out of the concrete and throwing up chunks of dirt. But the planter might as well have been a giant sandbag. It was too thick for the bullets to penetrate.

  The helicopter began to drift sideways. Kurt had only seconds before the sniper found a clear line of fire.

  He grabbed the wooden boat hook once again, the business end of which was now in flames. He gripped it near the center, ran forward, and hurled it like a javelin.

  The helicopter was broadside to him now, and the fiery lance tracked toward the open cargo door like a heat-seeking missile.

  It hit the target dead center, missing the sniper by inches but lodging in the cabin and spreading a wave of fire in the process. In a moment, smoke was pouring from the helicopter’s side door. Kurt saw the sniper’s body erupt in flames, and he could only guess that he’d hit a fuel or oxygen line.

  The orange firelight surged through the helicopter as it began to turn. For a second, it looked as if the pilot would regain control and speed off across the harbor, but the angle of his turn tightened, and the helicopter began to corkscrew back toward the Concert Hall. By now, the interior of the cabin was an inferno, smoke billowing from it in all directions.

  Burning and falling and accelerating at the same time, the Eurocopter flew right into the famous glass wall of the Concert Hall, shattering the fifty-foot panes of clear glass. Shards from the impact burst inward, while other sections dropped in huge sheets and exploded into thousands of fragments when they hit the ground.

  The helicopter dropped straight down along with them, its rotors gone and its hub turning like a weedwacker that had run out of string. It landed with a great crunch. In moments, it was a barely recognizable hulk at the center of a small inferno.

  By now, emergency units were arriving. A squad of patrolmen raced up on foot. Fire trucks were pulling in. Workers from the Opera House came running out with extinguishers. Another group opened a fire hose from a stanchion in a wall.

  Kurt was pretty sure it wouldn’t help the occupants of the helicopter, neither of whom had managed to get free of the blaze.

  He made his way over to Hayley and the lone survivor from the boat. The man was lying in Hayley’s arms. His blood had soaked her white dress. She was trying desperately to keep him from bleeding out where two bullets had hit him.

  It was a losing battle. The shells had gone right through him, entering his back and coming out through his chest.

  Kurt crouched down and helped her keep pressure on the wounds. “Are you Panos?” he asked.

  The man’s eyes drifted for a moment.

  “Are you Panos?!”

  He nodded weakly.

  “Who were those people shooting at you?”

  No answer this time. Nothing but a blank look.

  Kurt lifted his head. “We need help over here!” he shouted, looking for a paramedic.

  A pair of men were running toward them, but they weren’t first responders. They reminded Kurt of plainclothes policemen. They stopped in their tracks as he looked their way.

  “I brought . . . what was promised,” the injured man said in an accent Kurt thought might be Greek.

  “What are you talking about?” Kurt asked.

  The man grunted something and then extended a shaking hand in which he clutched several bloodstained sheets of paper.

  “Tartarus,” the man said, his voice weak and wavering. “The heart . . . of Tartarus.”

  Kurt took the papers. They were covered with odd symbols, swirling lines, and what appeared to be calculations.

  “What is this?” Kurt said.

  The man opened his mouth to explain but no sound came out.

  “Stay with us,” Hayley shouted.

  He didn’t respond, and she began to perform CPR. “We can’t let him die.”

  Kurt felt for a pulse. He didn’t feel one. “It’s too late.”

  “No, it can’t be,” she said, compressing the man’s chest rapidly and trying to force life back into him.

  Kurt stopped her. “It’s no use, he’s lost too much blood.”

  She looked up at him, her face smeared with soot and tears, her white dress stained red.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “You tried.”

  She sat back and turned away, looking exhausted. Her hair fell around her face as she looked to the ground. Her body shook as she sobbed.

  Kurt put a hand on her shoulder and gazed at the damage surrounding them.

  The wreck of the boat still burned on the promenade, while the blazing hulk of the Eurocopter lay where the shattered façade of the Concert Hall should have been. Volunteers were hosing it down, desperately trying to keep it from setting fire to the building, while onlookers poured from the keynote address on underwater mining, half of them gawking as the rest moved quickly in the other direction.

  It all happened so fast. Chaos sprung on them from nowhere. And the only man who might have known why lay dead at their feet.

  “What did he say?” Hayley asked, wiping the tears from her face. “What did he say to you?”

  “Tartarus,” Kurt replied.

  She stared. “What does that mean?”

  Kurt wasn’t convinced that he’d heard the man correctly. Even if he had, it made little sense.

  “It’s a word from Greek mythology,” he said. “The deepest prison of the underworld. According to the Iliad, as far below Hades as Heaven is above the Earth.”

  “What do you think he was trying to tell us?”

  “No idea,” Kurt said, shrugging and handing her the papers. “Maybe that’s where he thinks he’s going. Or,” he added, considering the grime, dust, and stench that covered the poor man, “maybe that’s where he’s been.”

  Red and blue lights flashed across the famous sails of the Opera House in series of intersecting patterns, while blinding white spotlights illuminated the wreckage of the powerboat and the charred shell of the dark blue helicopter. They remained where they’d crashed, smoking and smoldering, as fire trucks poured waves of foam onto both vehicles to prevent any chance of reignition.

  The spectacle drew a crowd from both the land and the water. Police tape and barricades kept the shore-based onlookers at bay, but the number of small boats crowding the harbor had grown to more than a hundred. Cameras and flashes snapped in the dark like fireflies.

  From the shadows of a doorway, Cecil Bradshaw of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation studied th
e man responsible for all the damage.

  An aide handed him a dossier.

  “This is awful thick,” Bradshaw said. “I need only the highlights, not every bloody clipping on the man.”

  Bradshaw was a stocky man in his mid-fifties. He had pile-driver arms, a thick neck, and a short buzz cut. In a way, he resembled a giant human bulldog. He liked to think of himself in similar terms. Get on my side or get out of my way, he often said.

  The aide didn’t stammer in his response. “Those are the highlights, sir. If you’d like, I have another fifty pages I could print out for you.”

  Bradshaw offered a grunt in response and opened the file. He leafed through the pages quickly, studying what the ASIO knew about Mr. Kurt Austin of the American organization NUMA. His activities read like a series of high-stakes adventure novels. Before that, he’d apparently had a successful career in the CIA.

  Bradshaw couldn’t imagine what strange permutations of fate had brought Austin to this very spot at this precise moment, but it just might have been a break the ASIO desperately needed.

  Austin might do, Bradshaw thought to himself. He might do very nicely.

  “Keep an eye on him,” he ordered. “If he’s as smart as the file shows, he’ll be trying to get information out of Ms. Anderson in no time. He does that, you bring them both to me.”

  “Why would we want to do that?”

  Bradshaw glared. “Did you get a promotion I’m not aware of?”

  “Um . . . No, sir.”

  “And you’re never going to if you keep asking stupid questions.”

  With that, Bradshaw slapped the file back into the agent’s hands and moved off down the hall.

  • • •

  ACROSS THE PLAZA, Kurt sat beside Hayley as a paramedic treated her for a number of scrapes and abrasions and then checked them both for shock.

  In the midst of this treatment, a ranking detective from the Sydney Police Department grilled them about the event. What did they see? What did they hear? Why on earth did they do what they did?

  “Look at the damage,” the captain said, pointing to the ruined façade of the Concert Hall. “You’re lucky the building was empty.”