The Spear of Atlantis (Wilde/Chase 14)

by Andy McDermott

  ‘That is not what I meant. The manager did not know who you really are, so nor do the local police. All they know is that a group of Arab men broke in looking for you, so they are treating you as a possible victim until they know otherwise.’

  ‘They’ll realise who I am when they find my passport, though.’

  ‘That will not happen.’ He reached into a pocket and produced that very item.

  She took it. ‘How the hell did you get hold of this? My room must be full of cops!’

  ‘I still have my old identity cards from Interpol and the Sûreté. I assured the young officer guarding your room that it would be returned. When it is not, I doubt he will admit to letting a stranger take it.’

  ‘What about the marker? And my notes?’

  ‘The marker is still there, but I am afraid your notes are gone. Just before I reached you on the roof, I heard al-Asim tell his man they had all your work, and a map.’

  ‘You know him?’ she said, suspicion rising again.

  A nod. ‘Hashim al-Asim. He is Dhajani, one of the country’s senior intelligence operatives.’

  ‘So you were working with him.’

  ‘Not directly. He and his team were also part of the plan, but we were acting independently. Once they took the marker from the ship, that was supposed to be the end of their involvement. Either they have exceeded their orders . . . or they have been given new ones.’

  ‘What orders?’ she demanded. ‘What plan?’

  ‘I can only tell you my part of it,’ Agreste said. ‘I was employed to provide security for the exhibition aboard the Atlantia, yes – but I also arranged that you were alone in the room when the raiders broke in.’

  ‘You set me up?’

  ‘I am afraid so. My apologies.’ There was not much contrition in his words, but nor were they completely devoid of sincerity. ‘After you were arrested, Ana and I worked together to free you, and then frighten you into going on the run to prove your innocence. She was not hurt.’

  Nina struggled to take in the revelation. ‘And all this was so . . . so I’d try to stop the bad guys from finding the spearhead by beating them to the marker in Seville?’

  ‘The expectation was that you would examine it and obtain the information you needed. That you would actually steal it came as a surprise.’ A small smile. ‘I then had to keep the police away from you – a task you made much harder when you discovered the tracking device in your passport.’

  ‘So how did you find me here?’

  ‘I told you, I used to be a detective. I knew you would not stay somewhere requiring you to present identification, which left cheap hotels and hostels. So I visited each in turn until someone told me they had seen you. It was clever of you to change your hair, by the way,’ he added. ‘Long red hair is a very distinctive feature, and most people would remember that over anything else. However, you are an attractive American woman, travelling alone. In such places, that is also memorable.’

  ‘So how did the Dhajanis find me? They didn’t seem like detectives.’

  ‘My attention was on following you,’ Agreste told her apologetically. ‘I had not even considered that anyone was following me. Come, we should leave.’ They started down the street. ‘I would not want to go to the trouble of finding you again only to have the local police arrest you. You are, after all, a wanted woman.’

  ‘If this whole thing was a set-up, does that mean you’re not going to hand me over to the Dhajanis?’

  ‘You were never wanted by the Dhajanis,’ he said. ‘That too was a ruse.’

  ‘So Interpol didn’t have a Red Notice on me?’

  ‘No. Although now, who knows?’

  Nina ignored his amusement. ‘Eddie told me they did – so the Dhajanis lied to him too?’

  ‘Yes. The Emir backed the plan. But it was devised by—’

  ‘Gideon Lobato,’ she cut in.

  ‘Yes. He employed me. How did you know?’

  ‘There weren’t many other people trying to convince me to search for the Atlantean spearheads. That son of a bitch!’ she snapped. ‘He’s going to have his ass kicked so hard you’ll be able to see the bootprint through his stomach. If I don’t do it, I’m sure— Eddie!’ she cried. ‘I need to tell Eddie and Macy I’m okay!’

  Agreste took out a phone. ‘Of course. Use this.’

  She snatched it from him then gave him a sheepish look. ‘This will sound ridiculous, but . . . I can’t remember his number.’

  ‘The curse of modern technology,’ he replied. ‘But I have it, and also your grandmother’s. A contingency in case I needed to contact them.’

  She didn’t want to dwell upon what contingency might have required him to call her relatives. Instead, she waited impatiently for him to find the number, before taking the phone again. ‘It’s ringing,’ she said eagerly, only for anticipation to become annoyance as the tone continued. ‘Okay, why isn’t he answering? Seriously, I’m on the run – why isn’t he hanging on the frickin’—’

  ‘Hello?’ The familiar voice was tinged with wariness at receiving a call from an unknown number.

  ‘Eddie, it’s me, it’s me!’ she cried.

  ‘Nina!’ He was as relieved and excited as her. ‘Jesus Christ, love, are you all right?’

  ‘I’m fine, I’m fine! I’m in Granada, in Spain.’

  Oddly, he didn’t seem surprised. ‘And you’re okay? What’s happening with the police?’ he added, concern in his voice. ‘You haven’t been arrested, have you?’

  ‘No, but I’m with Agreste. He just saved me from the assholes who raided the ship. Listen, this whole thing has been a set-up! I worked out where the spearheads were, where the last surviving one probably still is, but the guys chasing me got all my notes – they’ll be able to find it themselves if we don’t stop them. They’re working for—’

  ‘The Emir of Dhajan and Gideon Lobato.’

  She was stunned that he already knew – and oddly deflated. ‘Uh, yeah. How did you find out?’ Agreste gave her a questioning look. She put the phone on speaker.

  ‘Lobato’s right here. He’s just told me everything.’

  ‘O-kaaay . . .’ How on earth had he pinned down the billionaire? ‘So where are you?’

  ‘In Venice. Ana’s with me – she decided to help after the Emir sent a bunch of goons to kill us both. Turns out he double-crossed Lobato as well, so we’re all on the same team now, more or less. Olivia and Macy are here too.’

  ‘So Ana really is alive,’ she said, giving Agreste a brief glance. ‘Is Macy okay?’

  ‘Yeah, she’s fine,’ Eddie assured her. ‘Misses her mum, though.’

  ‘Well, hopefully we can take care of that soon. How did you track down Lobato?’

  ‘He said he was coming to Venice, remember? So I rounded up some of my mates and we persuaded him to have a chat.’

  ‘This is one of those times when it’s probably best I don’t enquire any further, isn’t it?’ Her eyes widened at an unwelcome thought. ‘Oh my God – you didn’t involve Macy in this, did you?’

  Her husband hesitated before answering. ‘Ah . . . a little bit.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Don’t worry, she was never in any danger. Plus she’s too young to go to prison in Italy, I checked.’

  ‘Oh, well, that makes everything all right. Jesus, Eddie!’

  ‘You can have a go at me in person when we’re back together. But the most important thing is that we get back together.’

  ‘That’ll be easier said than done. I’m still wanted by the cops here in Spain.’

  ‘I may be able to assist,’ said Agreste. ‘I have contacts in the Spanish government. As the marker is intact and undamaged, I can ensure it is returned to the museum safely, and will do what I can to have the charges against you dropped.’

  ‘Good luck with that,’ Nina said. ‘Emilio Merlo would probably love to see me locked up even if I hadn’t stolen the marker!’

  A new voice over the phone: Lobato. ‘I am sur
e I can persuade him.’

  ‘Why would you want to help her?’ Eddie demanded. ‘You dropped her into this bloody mess in the first place!’

  ‘Dr Wilde is not the only person who has been deceived by the Emir,’ the billionaire replied. ‘I feel I have a responsibility to correct the situation.’

  ‘I’d say that you damn well do, yeah,’ Nina snapped.

  ‘I will do everything I can. You said you found the locations of the spearheads, and that you believe one is still intact?’

  ‘Yes, but I’m sure as hell not going to tell you over the phone. I want you to get me out of this situation that you created first. And even then I might not tell you. I’m not convinced anybody should have it.’

  ‘If you do not,’ he countered, ‘the Emir’s men will surely use your notes to find it.’

  He was right, she was forced to admit. ‘I’ll decide what to do once I meet up with you and Eddie. Just get me off the hook with the Spanish cops, okay?’

  ‘I will arrange a flight for you as soon as I have dealt with the authorities,’ said Lobato.

  ‘Great,’ said Nina. ‘I’ll see you and Macy as soon as I can, Eddie.’

  ‘Can’t wait,’ her husband replied.

  ‘Nor can I. Venice, huh? I’ve always wanted to go there.’

  29

  Venice

  Macy gasped as her mother entered the hotel room. ‘Mom! Your hair!’

  Nina had forgotten about her changed appearance. ‘What do you think?’ she said, opening her arms for an embrace. ‘Do you like it?’

  Macy came to hug her, a little hesitantly. ‘It’s . . . different,’ she said, touching her mother’s crudely cropped hair as if expecting it to be as bristly as a broom.

  ‘It’s definitely that,’ Eddie agreed. ‘Gives you a bit of a Tank Girl look.’

  ‘Gee, thanks,’ Nina replied. ‘That wasn’t exactly on my mind when I did it.’

  ‘I kind of like it. Dark hair suits you.’

  ‘Thanks, but it’s not staying like this. I’m a redhead and proud of it! And I miss my ponytail.’

  ‘Oh, gosh,’ exclaimed Olivia as she entered from an adjoining room. ‘Not your usual style.’

  ‘Well, now that I’m off Spain’s most-wanted list, I can get back to normal. In however long it takes to grow my hair back.’ She kissed Macy, then did the same to her husband and grandmother. ‘So. Apparently while I was on the run, you were causing chaos in Venice!’ She glared at Eddie. ‘I cannot believe you dragged Macy and Olivia into whatever the hell you were doing.’

  ‘It was easy,’ Macy assured her. ‘All I had to do was open a door for Daddy. Oh, and I had to jam the lock in a different door as well.’

  Nina was not impressed. ‘What, you’re teaching our little girl to be a cat burglar now?’

  ‘It all worked out, that’s the main thing,’ said Eddie. ‘Nobody got killed, there wasn’t that much property damage, and Lobato’s on our side now. He’s in the penthouse.’ He glanced at the five-star Venetian suite’s ceiling.

  ‘I’m still not sure if I’m on his side,’ Nina retorted. ‘Yes, he helped get the Spanish to drop all the charges, but it was his fault the cops were after me in the first place!’

  ‘He didn’t expect you to nick the marker from the museum . . . but no,’ Eddie said, quickly changing tack under her glare, ‘I don’t trust him either. He wants to talk to you, though; we’ll see what he has to say.’

  ‘He can damn well wait, can’t he? I only just arrived. I want to be with my family . . . and I could really, really use a wash.’

  He grinned. ‘I didn’t want to say anything, but . . .’

  Nina returned the grin, more thinly. ‘Thanks. You got me some new clothes, right?’

  ‘Yeah. And a phone too.’

  Macy pointed at some shopping bags. ‘I picked the clothes for you.’

  ‘Lobato’ll get a surprise when you turn up looking like a Disney princess,’ Eddie joked – at least Nina assumed he was joking. Elaborate, flouncy dresses were not Macy’s thing, their daughter already preferring more adventurous characters; considering who her parents were, she supposed that was inevitable.

  ‘I’m sure you’ve got me something I’ll like,’ she told Macy, who smiled. ‘In the meantime, I’ll be in the bath.’

  After everything Nina had endured, being able to submerge herself in a huge tub of hot water and let her thoughts drift was exactly what she needed.

  Once immersed, though, she found to her annoyance that her mind refused to relax. She had been manipulated, used – played. She should have seen it sooner . . .

  But self-recriminations would achieve nothing. There were more important issues – not least the last spearhead. Everything suggested it was hidden somewhere near Gobekli Tepe in eastern Turkey. Now that they had her notes, al-Asim and the rest of the Emir’s agents would almost certainly be able to track it down.

  Turkey . . . Lobato, she now knew, had been born in the country, even though he was a naturalised American citizen. Considering the ease with which he had acted on her behalf with the Spanish, maybe he also had high-level connections in his homeland. But did she really want the Turkish government, which over recent years had descended ever deeper into repressive autocracy, to get their hands on something potentially so devastating?

  There were other options, but the more she thought about them, the less certain she became. The spearhead couldn’t be allowed to fall into the wrong hands . . . but whose were the right hands?

  A knock on the door. ‘Nina?’ called Eddie. ‘Lobato just rang. I told him you’d see him when you were ready.’

  ‘I’ll come now,’ she replied, rising reluctantly from the water. ‘Let me get dressed.’

  The new clothes were, to her relief, mostly things she would have picked for herself: earth-toned safari trousers and an oversized shirt intended to be worn almost like a jacket, although Eddie hadn’t been entirely joking about her daughter’s choices; the T-shirt meant to go underneath it bore the image of some big-eyed CGI super-heroine of whom Macy was a fan. Oh well, she could always button the larger garment over it.

  ‘What, you didn’t keep your short skirt?’ was Eddie’s first comment when she emerged. ‘Shame.’

  ‘I’ll wear it if you wear a mankini,’ she replied. ‘No, wait – you’re actually considering it, aren’t you?’

  ‘Lime green suits me,’ he said, smirking. ‘But you look like you’re back to your usual self. Except for the hair.’

  She scrunched it in her hands. ‘I don’t want to keep it like this, but I’ll tell you something – it’s a lot quicker to dry.’

  Eddie rubbed his own bald head. ‘Tell me about it.’

  Nina smiled. ‘Where’s Macy?’

  ‘With Olivia. They went for a walk.’

  ‘Good. I think their involvement should stop here, don’t you?’

  ‘Be good if ours did too, but I doubt that’s going to happen.’

  She sighed. ‘So do I. Okay, let’s see what Lobato has to say.’

  They took the elevator to the top floor. The penthouse door was opened by a surly bodyguard, who regarded Eddie with hostility. ‘Something I should know?’ Nina asked.

  ‘Had a bit of a run-in with him yesterday. I’m not on his Christmas card list, put it that way,’ Eddie told her.

  They entered the penthouse’s lounge, the tall windows giving a magnificent view across the waters of the Venetian lagoon to the beautiful renaissance basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore. Lobato stood before the windows, as always clad entirely in white. ‘Dr Wilde,’ he said. ‘I am glad to see you.’

  ‘You’ll excuse me if I’m not all sunshine and smiles at seeing you,’ she responded.

  He nodded. ‘I suppose you are quite angry about what I put you through.’

  ‘Oh, no. I mean, I have to steal ancient artefacts and go on the run across Europe on a regular basis.’

  A moment of puzzlement, then: ‘Ah. You are being sarcastic.’

&nb
sp; ‘No shit, Mr Data. So what do you want to talk about?’

  He waved towards a large sofa. ‘Please, sit down.’ Nina and Eddie did so, Lobato perching on the edge of an armchair facing them. She noticed he had a swollen lip; her husband’s handiwork, she guessed. ‘The spearheads. We have a problem.’

  ‘Well, yeah,’ she said. ‘Thanks to you, something that should have stayed buried is probably going to fall into the hands of people who almost certainly aren’t planning to bring peace and love to the world.’

  Lobato raised an eyebrow. ‘Having studied your previous adventures, I could say that is practically your modus operandi.’

  ‘And I thought you didn’t understand sarcasm,’ said Eddie with a crooked smile as his wife glared at the slender man.

  ‘I was not being sarcastic.’

  ‘Well, whatever you were being,’ Nina said impatiently, ‘it’s your fault. The question is: what are you going to do about it?’

  ‘What are we going to do about it,’ he corrected. ‘You possess information I do not: the location of the spearheads. I can do nothing until you share it with me.’

  ‘I’m not sharing a damn thing until I’m one hundred per cent sure I can trust you.’

  ‘Total trust is only possible in the world of cryptographical mathematics. With humans, I have found that an acceptable level is the best that can be achieved. But I assure you,’ Lobato went on, ‘I have no intent to deceive or betray you. Our interests are aligned: we both want to locate the spearheads and prevent them from being obtained by persons who might use them for nefarious purposes. Do we not?’

  Eddie snorted mockingly. ‘Christ, you really do sound like Mr Data. Glad I didn’t punch you any harder; I might’ve cut my hand on a circuit board.’

  ‘He does have a point, though,’ said Nina. ‘If the spearhead were used as a bomb, it’d make a nuke look like a firecracker.’

  ‘And those arseholes chasing you in Spain can find it?’

  ‘Afraid so. They got all my notes. It won’t take them long to piece everything together and find the last spearhead.’

  ‘So there’s only one left? What happened to the others?’

  Nina regarded Lobato again before answering. The billionaire did indeed seem sincere, but his entire plan up to this point had been about deceiving her. On the other hand, in conversation he came across as almost painfully direct and unfiltered. If he wasn’t expecting to have to lie – or had no reason to – she might get the truth. ‘Can I ask you a question?’ she said.