The Spear of Atlantis (Wilde/Chase 14)

by Andy McDermott

  ‘I don’t know. She was showing me the spear marker, then . . . then an alarm went off. I turned around and . . .’ His eyes widened. ‘She hit me!’

  ‘You what?’ Eddie said in disbelief.

  ‘I fell into the vault, and – the marker!’ he cried, seeing the damaged cabinet. ‘She must have taken it!’

  ‘Don’t be bloody stupid,’ the Yorkshireman snapped, not caring that he was addressing a king. ‘Why would she do that?’

  ‘She was talking about it at dinner – perhaps she has decided to find the spearheads for herself?’

  Eddie shook his head. ‘Nina didn’t hit you, but whoever did, they’ve cost you a couple of million brain cells.’ He turned at a noise from behind. Macy had gone to the case, one hand outstretched. ‘Macy, watch your feet on that broken glass!’ he cautioned.

  A bearded man rushed into the room. ‘Your Majesty!’ he shouted. ‘What has happened?’

  ‘Your guess is as good as mine,’ Eddie said. ‘Who’re you?’

  ‘Agreste – I am in charge of security here.’

  ‘Top work, mate,’ was the sarcastic reply.

  The Frenchman ignored him. ‘Are you hurt, Your Majesty?’

  The Emir rubbed his head. ‘I am not sure. I was unconscious – I woke up in the vault.’

  ‘Where is Dr—’ Agreste stopped mid sentence as he saw the open case. ‘The marcador! Where is it?’

  ‘I think she took it,’ the Dhajani ruler told him.

  ‘She didn’t fu— sodding take it!’ Eddie barked, managing not to swear too badly in front of his daughter. ‘Look, that smoke, it’s from smoke grenades, not an actual fire. Someone’s set this up! They’ve used it as a diversion so they can steal this marker thing, and Nina’s probably trying to stop them getting it off the ship.’ He looked towards the other double doors. ‘We didn’t see her when we came in, so she must have followed ’em out that way.’ He rounded on Agreste. ‘You’re supposedly in charge of security, so either pull your thumb out of your trou de cul and get people looking for ’em, or I’ll do it myself!’

  Agreste pointedly turned away from him to address the Emir. ‘I will get a doctor. And I will also order a search.’

  ‘Not good enough,’ said the Yorkshireman. ‘Macy, stay here!’ He took off at a run.

  Macy hesitated, then followed him, slipping the object she had taken from the cabinet into her bag.

  The trikan.

  Nina hurried down to Deck 4. She was now deep in the guts of the huge ship, the corridors still accessible to the passengers but noticeably more functional in appearance. A residual haze of smoke hung in the air.

  She had descended to follow a shout in Arabic, but there was no sign of anyone. Where had the raiders gone? They couldn’t be using a lifeboat to get off the ship, as those were one deck above. Were there other boats on the lower decks?

  A flash of memory, Macy cooing over the holographic map of the Atlantia. The marina! It was at the stern, and obviously at water level. That had to be where they were going. She ran with renewed determination.

  Beyond an intersection, carpet gave way to painted metal, dark wooden ceiling panels disappearing to expose gleaming steel ductwork above a long passageway. The door to a crew-only section had been left open to aid the raiders’ escape. She ran through it.

  A shout from ahead, louder than the last. She was catching up.

  Eddie pounded sternwards, following the smoke. The grenades had forced passengers and crew away from specific parts of the ship, creating an escape route. Follow it, and he would find Nina.

  He reached a flight of stairs. Up, down or keep going? More smoke below: down. He descended and looked around.

  A long corridor led aft – and he saw a figure running down it. ‘Nina!’ he shouted, haring after her.

  Even over the alarms, Nina heard her name being called. She glanced back and saw Eddie, wearing only trunks, running after her. ‘Eddie!’ she yelled, slowing but not stopping. ‘They took the marker, they’re getting away! You’ve got to—’

  She broke off in shock as someone else appeared behind him: their daughter. Now she stopped. ‘Macy! Macy! Get back, go back!’

  Eddie saw Nina stop and shout something, but between the clamour of the evacuation alarm and his own hearing loss, the result of close exposure to far too many gunshots and explosions, he couldn’t make it out. ‘I’m coming, hold on!’ he yelled back.

  The woman reacted with concern when she saw Nina stop on one of the CCTV feeds, her husband running towards her on another. The plan was at risk; the redhead needed to be alone . . .

  She hurriedly typed new commands – and the metal door at the entrance to the service area began to close.

  ‘Shit!’ Eddie gasped as a barrier slid between him and Nina. He knew that he wouldn’t reach it in time to get through, but he didn’t stop running. ‘I’ll find another way down to you!’

  The gap narrowed, cutting his wife off from view. He reached the intersection, spotting a sign pointing to a flight of emergency stairs, and ran for them as the opening shrank to its last few inches.

  Macy had also seen the closing hatch – and remembered a similar moment in the most recent Mach and Crest movie. A stone block was sliding across a doorway, and Eden Crest had used her newly discovered powers to throw a trikan and block it. If she can do it . . . the seven-year-old thought.

  She snatched out the trikan by its handgrip, swinging her arm to fling the ancient weapon. It whirled away on its thin wire, the blades a spinning blur . . .

  Heading for a wall. The real thing didn’t behave like its toy counterpart, and she had misjudged the throw. The door was almost shut, cutting off her mother behind it.

  No!

  She willed the weapon to go straight, to block the hatch . . .

  And it swerved.

  The trikan narrowly missed the wall, banking in mid-air to fly across the intersection towards the closing door—

  Too late. The gap vanished, the trikan bouncing off the hatch with a clang.

  Macy stared in astonishment. It had turned when she told it to, she knew it had—

  Eddie heard metal hitting metal behind him and spun to see the trikan fall to the floor. ‘Macy! What the hell are you doing? I told you to stay where you were!’

  Macy burst into tears. ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I just wanted to help Mommy.’

  ‘Did you steal that? Jesus, Macy, it’s not a toy. It’s probably worth a million dollars!’

  ‘I’m sorry!’ she wailed again.

  ‘Eddie! Macy!’ Nina’s muffled voice came from behind the hatch.

  ‘Nina!’ Eddie shouted. ‘Are you okay?’

  ‘Yeah,’ Nina replied. ‘Is Macy all right?’

  ‘She’s fine,’ Eddie said, ‘but we need to teach her about respecting other people’s property!’

  His wife had no idea what he meant, but there wasn’t time to discuss it. ‘I can’t get out – this door’s locked.’

  ‘I know. Someone’s messing us about.’

  ‘They’re heading for the marina. Listen, you warn the crew. I’m going after them!’

  ‘The crew’ve got their hands full,’ Eddie replied. ‘I’ll try to find another way to the marina. Don’t do anything daft, just wait for me to – Nina?’ No answer. ‘Oh for . . . flip’s sake! What is it with my family never listening to a bloody word I say?’ He let out an exasperated breath, then turned back to the still-crying Macy. ‘It’s okay, love, it’s okay. I’m not mad at you,’ he assured her. ‘I’m mad at whoever’s done all this. And when I find ’em, I’m going to show ’em just how mad I am.’ He started for the emergency stairs, then realised Macy was still holding the trikan’s handgrip. ‘Leave that here, love.’

  ‘But it worked, Daddy,’ she said quietly.

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I made it fly where I wanted, like in the movie! I was trying to make it stop the door closing, and it nearly did.’

  ‘It’s just a fancy Frisbe
e. Like I said, this is real life. Come on, let it go.’ She reluctantly dropped the grip, but looked back at the ancient weapon as Eddie led the way to the stairs.

  The marina at the Atlantia’s stern was not a fixed structure, rather a pair of floating jetties that extended once a huge hatch had lowered. Numerous small craft, mostly speedboats and jetskis, were mounted on racks in a hangar, a turntable at the top of a launch rail allowing them to slide into the water between the dock’s two arms.

  The jetties were already in position when the raiders arrived, the automated process set in motion by their controller. With the liner stationary, it had been easy to haul two speedboats into the sea. The black-clad men took their places in the lead craft, and waited.

  Impatience quickly grew. ‘What’s keeping him?’ demanded one man, tugging off his hot and itchy mask to reveal Arabic features with a small burn scar on his left cheek. ‘If we wait much longer, they’ll catch us!’

  ‘There aren’t any crew near you,’ came the woman’s reply in his earpiece. ‘You’re safe. Hashim is following the plan.’

  Knowing that things were going as they should did not ease his frustration. ‘Start the engine,’ he ordered, clambering back on to the jetty as another man pushed the starter.

  Someone clanked down the stairs. The scarred man snapped up his gun, but it was only al-Asim. ‘She’s coming!’ the team leader shouted, pulling off his own mask.

  ‘What took her so long?’

  ‘I don’t know, but it doesn’t matter. Get into the boat, Musad!’ Al-Asim backed away, raising his gun, as he heard someone descending.

  Eddie rushed out on to the stern. He had come up to Deck 8 after seeing a ship’s plan on a wall; the only other way to the marina had been cut off by the hatch separating him from his wife.

  The deck was a vast amphitheatre of pools, sunloungers and outdoor bars and cafés, the terminus of the zip-line next to a concert stage. It was also deserted, food and drinks left unfinished and personal items abandoned as passengers headed for the lifeboats. The scene felt almost apocalyptic. That suited his mood. Somebody would think it was the end of the world when he caught them . . .

  ‘Okay, now wait here!’ he told Macy. This time, she followed his instructions. He ran towards the stairs leading down to the marina – then on instinct continued to the rear railing. The Strait of Gibraltar opened out before him, but he had no time to admire the view. Instead he looked down. Twin jetties extended behind the liner’s broad stern, a pair of boats waiting at them.

  The larger of the two had several black-clad figures inside it, and as he watched, another man emerged from inside the ship, slowly backing towards his companions.

  Then he stopped, right arm coming up.

  Even from on high, Eddie could tell he was holding a gun.

  Only one person could be his target.

  Nina slowed at the bottom of the stairs, peering cautiously into the marina—

  The lead raider, a tall, hard-featured Arab, was aiming a gun at her. She jerked back into the stairwell, expecting a bullet to sear past, but no shots came.

  ‘Dr Wilde!’ he shouted instead. ‘You are very brave – and very stupid! Do not try to follow us!’

  ‘Oh, shit,’ she whispered. All he had to do to kill her was advance; even if she ran back up the stairs, she would never reach safety in time . . .

  Tense seconds passed, then someone called out in Arabic. Nina crouched and briefly peeked out. Again, no rounds came at her, but now it was because the man had retreated, backing towards his boat.

  The satchel containing the marker was still slung from his shoulder. If there was even a chance her theory about the spearheads was correct, she couldn’t let him escape with it.

  But how? He and his comrades all had guns, and were about to escape in a speedboat—

  Something hit the water between the jetties, an explosive burst of water sending the man staggering.

  ‘Really don’t follow me!’ Eddie yelled to Macy as he climbed over the stern railing – and jumped off.

  He plunged towards the water like a bomb. The deck was some eighty feet above the ocean, giving him enough time to point his toes downwards and raise his hands above his head before he struck the surface. Even prepared, the impact was still punishing.

  But he survived. He arched his back and threw his arms and legs wide to slow himself, then kicked back towards the churning splash above.

  Nina didn’t know what had happened, but she did know she only had one chance to take advantage of it.

  The leader, briefly blinded, shook water from his eyes – and she charged, shoulder-barging him. Arms flailing, he skidded on the wet decking.

  The satchel slipped from his shoulder. Nina grabbed it. Throwing it into the sea would not make her popular in the archaeological community, but she could live with that if it prevented the spearheads from falling into the wrong hands—

  The man seized the satchel’s strap and shoved her away. Nina caught herself at the jetty’s edge, only to see his companions’ guns swing towards her . . .

  Nobody fired.

  The leader rounded on her. His own gun came up – then he too changed his mind and swung a punch at her head. She intercepted the blow with an arm, but it still hit hard enough to knock her to the deck.

  The man stepped up to her, gun ready—

  A hand burst out of the water and grabbed his ankle.

  He looked down in shock as Eddie pulled at his leg – then lashed out with his other foot. His boot caught the Englishman’s head, sending him back into the water.

  ‘Eddie!’ Nina cried, but the man had recovered. His gun came back around . . .

  Then he turned and ran for the waiting boat. He leapt in, the driver gunning the engine and sending the craft surging from the dock in a plume of spray. It powered away towards the Spanish coast.

  Nina stared helplessly after it, then rushed to help her husband. ‘Eddie, here!’ she called.

  Spluttering, he grabbed her hand. ‘Jesus! It’s a lot fucking warmer in the pool,’ he gasped as she helped him on to the dock.

  A life vest hit the water behind him, dropped from above. They both looked up to see Macy peering over the stern railing. ‘Mom! Dad!’ she shouted, scared. ‘Are you okay?’

  ‘We’re fine!’ Eddie managed to reply, waving. ‘Thanks, love!’

  He flopped on to the decking. ‘Jeez,’ said Nina, suddenly breathless after the adrenalin surge of the chase and fight. She looked northwards. Some of the Atlantia’s large orange lifeboats were moving clear of the halted liner, the speedboat lost to sight in the confusion. ‘Goddammit. They got away.’

  ‘What happened?’ asked the Yorkshireman. ‘Who were those arseholes?’

  ‘I don’t know. But they took the spear marker! We’ve got to contact the Spanish authorities—’

  ‘Dr Wilde!’ Agreste entered the marina, accompanied by a ship’s officer and several crewmen.

  ‘You’re too late,’ Nina told him. ‘They got away.’

  ‘Lot of bloody use you were,’ Eddie added.

  Agreste did not respond to the barb. ‘The Emir wants to see you on the bridge,’ he informed the couple. ‘Right away.’

  6

  The journey to the bridge was almost unnerving, areas that had been thronged with people now deserted. There was nothing to fault about the Atlantia’s evacuation procedures; all five and a half thousand passengers and most of the crew were aboard the lifeboats just fifteen minutes after the alarm sounded.

  ‘The false alarm,’ Captain Snowcock told Nina and Eddie, the Yorkshireman having been provided with a dressing gown. ‘Someone used a recording of me. The ship’s systems were hacked.’

  Also present besides the crew and Agreste were the Emir, Alula and several members of the royal entourage – and Nina couldn’t help but notice that all eyes were on her. ‘What – you think I had something to do with it?’

  ‘You were in a locked room with the Emir,’ said Agreste. ‘When I arr
ived, the room was open, the Atlantean artefact was gone – and His Majesty had been attacked.’

  ‘He wasn’t attacked,’ Nina insisted. ‘When the alarm went off, the display cases retracted into the vault, and he fell in.’

  ‘Is that what happened, Your Majesty?’ asked Alula.

  ‘I’m not sure,’ the Emir replied. ‘I remember the alarm going off – and then I woke up in the vault. Dr Wilde must have hit me; she was the only other person there.’

  ‘That’s not true!’ protested the redhead. ‘I mean, yeah, it is true I was the only other person in the room, but I didn’t hit him.’ She turned to Snowcock. ‘There were cameras in the exhibition hall – they’ll show you what happened.’

  The captain indicated the video wall. All its monitors were dark. ‘The hackers shut down the CCTV systems.’

  Eddie shook his head. ‘They weren’t all shut down. Somebody was watching us – they kept closing doors to keep me from Nina. Maybe they cut off the bridge feeds, but they were still working. There might be recordings.’

  ‘Check it,’ Snowcock ordered an officer.

  Alula’s expression hardened as she spoke to Nina again. ‘Assault on the Emir is a crime of the highest magnitude under Dhajani law.’

  ‘I didn’t assault him,’ Nina said, frustrated. ‘I was—’

  ‘Mommy!’ Two crewmen entered with Macy, the young girl wrapped in a towel. ‘Daddy, are you okay?’

  ‘Yeah, I am, thanks,’ her father told her. ‘What about you?’ He gave her escorts a threatening glare. ‘Nobody’s hurt you, have they?’

  She hugged her parents. ‘No, they’ve been really nice.’

  ‘Good job.’

  ‘The marcador de lanza is missing,’ said Agreste impatiently, ‘and so is the Atlantean weapon, the trikan. What happened to them?’

  ‘I can tell you where the trikan is,’ said Eddie. ‘It’s in a corridor at the arse-end of Deck 4.’

  ‘And why is it there?’

  Macy spoke up timidly under the Frenchman’s stern gaze. ‘It . . . it was me. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have taken it.’

  ‘You did what?’ Nina said, aghast and embarrassed. ‘You stole something from the exhibition?’