‘Of course,’ Lobato replied.
‘You said you didn’t want the spearhead to be used for nefarious purposes. What are your purposes for it? You tell me, and if it all sounds genuine, I’ll tell you what I learned.’
‘Very well.’ He leaned towards his guests, eager to impress. ‘At dinner on the Atlantia, I told you about the solar energy project I began in partnership with the Emir. We constructed a power plant and electrical storage facility, which is already functioning and exceeding expectations. However, its isolated location also made it ideal for research into the use of antimatter as a non-polluting, highly efficient power source. When I first learned of your theory about the spearheads, Dr Wilde, I constructed a small facility that would be able to extract antiparticles from them and use them in a device known as an annihilation laser. That would in turn permit the total conversion of matter into energy in a controlled manner – the ultimate source of power.’
‘Wait, you’ve actually built something?’ Nina exclaimed. ‘Already? I only made my idea public eight months ago!’
‘The scientific principles concerning the utilisation of antimatter have been known for decades. It was merely a matter of application. From your theories about the spearheads, I was able to deduce their probable nature, and design a means of utilising them accordingly.’
‘Huh. Well I guess you really are a genius, seeing as not even I know exactly what the spearheads are – and I’ve translated everything the Atlanteans had to say about them!’
‘Which brings us to your side of our deal, Dr Wilde. What else have you discovered about them – and their location?’
‘Okay,’ she said, with reluctance. ‘The two halves of the marker combine to form a kind of map. I won’t waste time describing the specifics, but it’s why I went to Granada, to see the Hall of the Ambassadors in the Alhambra; it contains an Islamic replica of an Atlantean map. I compared the results with another map in Atlantis itself, which gave me three new locations – one for each of the spearheads.’
‘You said there was only one spearhead remaining. How do you know the other two no longer exist?’
‘If I say the name “Krakatoa”, would that be a hint?’
‘As in Krakatoa, East of Java?’ said Eddie. ‘Even though it’s west of Java and whoever made the film didn’t bother looking at a map?’
‘The same.’
‘The volcano?’ asked Lobato. ‘You are saying the Atlanteans placed one of the spearheads in Indonesia?’
‘It’s a long way from Atlantis, I know, but their most famous explorer, Talonor, got as far as Tibet, and others followed in his footsteps – we’re still making new discoveries even now. Another of the spearheads was a lot closer to home, though.’
‘Where?’
‘The island of Thera, in the Aegean. It’s now known as Santorini.’
Lobato nodded again. ‘I know Santorini. You are saying the volcano there was also destroyed by one of the spearheads?’
‘It fits with what I discovered on the markers, yes.’
‘Ancient history is not my speciality, but I thought the eruption was much later than the period of Atlantis?’
‘And Krakatoa didn’t explode until the nineteenth century,’ Eddie added. ‘The film got that much right, at least.’
‘Atlantis was long gone,’ Nina explained, ‘but the spearheads stayed in place, forgotten . . . until something caused them to explode, and made the volcanoes where they were hidden erupt absolutely catastrophically. What’s terrifying is that the last one is still out there – and we don’t know what might set it off.’
‘But you know where it is,’ said Lobato.
‘Yeah. It’s in Turkey.’
The billionaire’s face revealed genuine emotion: shock, and alarm. ‘Turkey? Where?’
‘Near Gobekli Tepe, the Neolithic ruins. My guess is that the Atlanteans considered the civilisation that existed there a threat, and planted a spearhead to force their submission. Do what we tell you, or we blow you to hell.’
‘And you know exactly where it is located?’
‘Yes . . . but I’ll keep that to myself for now. At least until I know how we’re going to proceed – and what we’re going to do with the spearhead if we find it.’
‘If it’s a bomb that could go off any time,’ said Eddie, ‘we’ve got to warn people.’
‘We will, if it’s an imminent threat. But it’s been sitting there without any trouble for eleven thousand years, so we need to examine it first. And no offence to your birthplace,’ she added to Lobato, ‘but I’m not keen on handing over something so dangerous to a government that’s one step away from becoming a full-on dictatorship.’
Lobato was still disturbed by her relevation. ‘I became an American citizen so I could leave Turkey,’ he said, ‘but that does not mean I do not care about what happens there. I still have many connections, family. However, I agree about the current government. I feel the same about keeping the spearhead away from any nation that might use it for destructive purposes, and that includes America. I had thought Dhajan could be trusted as a guardian, but I was mistaken.’
‘So where exactly would you take it?’ Eddie asked. ‘If you don’t trust the States to look after it, Russia or China won’t be any better. Or Britain, for that matter. It might be a different government now, but after what happened in the Congo two years back, I wouldn’t trust the old-boy network any more than I could juggle a tank.’ He turned to Nina. ‘What about the IHA or the United Nations? They could hold on to it until everyone decides what to do.’
The billionaire was about to object, but Nina beat him to it. ‘Hold on to it where?’ she said. ‘They’re based in New York – a mile and a half from our home! Do you really want them to keep a potentially unstable antimatter bomb in their basement?’
‘Put it that way, no,’ her husband replied.
‘There’s another problem with getting the IHA involved. Lester Blumberg – the head of the IHA,’ she added for Lobato’s benefit, ‘has already said publicly that he thinks my theories about the spearhead are wackydoodle sci-fi horseshit. Not his exact words, but he’d be very, very hard to convince. And he’s also extremely by-the-book and bureaucratic. Even if I did bring him aboard, it could take days or even weeks to get an IHA team into the field, as he would want to clear everything with the Turks.’
‘As soon as they knew about the spearhead, they would claim jurisdiction over it,’ Lobato pointed out. ‘That is an undesirable outcome.’
Nina nodded. ‘Plus,’ she went on, ‘we might not even have days to find it. The Emir’s people have all my notes – they’ll figure out where it is soon enough. And Agreste told me they’re members of Dhajan’s intelligence agency. They won’t waste time dealing with Ankara; they’ll just go incognito straight to the spot and start digging for the vault.’
‘Your notes are that accurate?’
‘I know the direction, distance and even altitude from Gobekli Tepe. I haven’t had a chance to do a proper topographical search yet, but the number of possible sites I find when I do will probably be pretty small. For all we know, the Emir’s men have done the same search already.’
‘They might be on the way there,’ Eddie said, with growing concern.
‘We have to find it first,’ Lobato insisted. ‘Dr Wilde, you must tell me where it is. The spearhead cannot be allowed to fall into the hands of the Turkish government or the Dhajanis.’
‘I agree,’ said Nina. ‘But there’s no way I’m going to tell you where to find the vault and let you send a team of hired goons to dig it up. It’s a new relic of Atlantis, a major archaeological discovery – and that’s my speciality.’
Dismayed realisation dawned on Eddie’s face. ‘Oh for fuck’s sake,’ he snapped. ‘So much for “I’m done with fieldwork, it’s too dangerous” – now you want to race the people who just tried to kill you to a fucking doomsday device that could blow up if someone breathes on it!’
‘I know, I know, I
know,’ she said over his objections. ‘But what else can we do? If the Emir’s people find the vault and take the spearhead, then Dhajan suddenly becomes the owner of the most powerful bomb in the world. And I really can’t see much good coming from that. What if the Dhajanis decide to take out one of their regional rivals?’
‘They’d get bombed to shit themselves, though,’ Eddie replied. ‘Soon as anyone realised what they’d done—’
‘That’s just it. Nobody would know what they’d done! It would be like when Brice blew up Big Ben. We were the only people who knew about the Shamir and what it could do – if I hadn’t gotten that video of him to the US embassy, he would have carried out the perfect false-flag attack. This is the same thing. The best weapon is one nobody knows you have. If Tel Aviv or Tehran or Bahrain disappeared in a flash without any warning, who would blame Dhajan?’
The reminder of the terrible events in London two years previously, the rogue MI6 agent having stolen the Biblical artefact that destroyed the city of Jericho, put a grim cast over Eddie’s face. ‘You’re saying we’re the only people who can stop them.’
‘I’m saying we’re the only people who can stop them in time . . . without handing the spearhead over to someone just as bad, or possibly even worse.’
‘And if you’re wrong about it being there?’
‘If I’m wrong, and we can’t find it, they won’t either. They’re working from my notes! But either way, there’s still an incredibly powerful weapon buried somewhere, waiting to go off. And we don’t even know what the trigger is, nor will we unless we find it.’
‘Fuck’s sake,’ Eddie muttered again, shaking his head. ‘But what do we do with the thing when we find it? We can hardly stick it in your research station for safe keeping,’ he looked at Lobato, ‘since that’s in fucking Dhajan!’
‘I guess that’s a bridge we’ll have to cross when we come to it,’ said Nina. ‘But the most important thing is that we do find it.’ She continued more softly: ‘Eddie, I need you. I can’t do this without you. I don’t think I’ve ever felt more alone in my life than after I went on the run in Spain without you. I can’t leave you again.’
‘You managed okay on your own,’ he said, but his anger was fading. ‘All right,’ he reluctantly agreed. ‘So we need to get to Turkey, quick and on the quiet. We’ll need backup, too. I’ll see if any of my mates here in Venice can come with us.’
‘I will be able to get us into Turkey,’ said Lobato. ‘I have influence, contacts – and a private jet.’
‘That last one’s a big advantage,’ said Nina. She turned back to Eddie. ‘Olivia will have to take Macy home, though.’
‘Definitely,’ her husband agreed. ‘I want her safe. And I’ll get someone in New York to keep an eye on her as well. Just in case.’
Nina knew he was not impugning Olivia’s ability to look after her great-granddaughter, but rather taking extra precautions to ensure the safety of both of them; Macy had been targeted before. ‘Good idea.’
Lobato stood. ‘I will make the arrangements.’
‘We’ll need off-road vehicles, and some equipment. I’ll make you a list.’
‘I will also bring bodyguards.’ He started to speak to his men.
Eddie rose to interrupt him. ‘You don’t need your bodyguards,’ he said, advancing. ‘You’ll have me.’
Lobato eyed him nervously. ‘I would feel safer with my own people.’ One of his men started across the room, ready to intervene.
The Yorkshireman stopped just short of the skinny man. ‘Oh, I’ll keep a close eye on you, don’t worry.’ He grinned wolfishly, exposing the gap between his front teeth.
‘You want to help find the spearhead?’ said Nina, backing up her husband. ‘You’ll do it our way. We can always take a commercial flight.’
Lobato hesitated, then waved for his bodyguard to withdraw. ‘Very well. But my security team will at least accompany me to Turkey. I will feel safer knowing they are close by, even with Mr Chase’s most generous offer of protection.’
Eddie grinned. ‘Now that sounded like proper sarcasm.’ He stepped back. ‘All right. I’ll talk to my mates, see who can come with us.’
‘We’ve got to talk to Macy first,’ Nina reminded him. ‘I’m sure that’ll be fun . . .’
‘But why can’t I come with you?’ demanded Macy, upset.
‘I’m sorry, honey,’ her mother told her softly, ‘but it’s too dangerous.’
‘But I helped Daddy get you back! That was dangerous too!’
Nina gave Eddie an aggrieved glance – I still can’t believe you involved her! – before looking back at Macy. ‘That was different. Nobody would have hurt you then, even if you’d been caught. But the men who stole the marker are looking for the same thing as us. I hope we don’t run into them, but if we do, it won’t be safe for you to be there.’
‘It won’t be safe for you or Daddy either,’ the little girl pointed out. ‘But you’re still going!’
Nina couldn’t fault her logic. ‘When did they start running a debate club in second grade?’ she asked rhetorically, before looking to her husband and grandmother for support. ‘You’ll be flying home with Olivia – you can stay with her until we get back. And we’ll get back as soon as we can.’
‘You said that before,’ Macy said sulkily. ‘When you went to Africa.’
‘You were five! How would you even remem—’ Nina caught herself. ‘That was different, honey. I was . . . I was being selfish then. This time, though, we have to move fast, because we’re the only people who can stop the bad guys.’
‘But why does it always have to be you who stops the bad guys?’
‘That’s a good question,’ said Eddie. ‘Been asking it myself since about 2008.’
Nina smiled. ‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘I guess that sometimes you find yourself in a situation where what you do next is really important. You have to make sure you do the right thing. If the bad guys get the spearhead before we do, they can use it to hurt a lot of people. We can’t let that happen. Can we?’
There was no reply for a few seconds, Macy looking down at the floor, before a quiet ‘no’ finally emerged.
Eddie hugged her. ‘I know you don’t want us to go without you, but we’ll come home soon.’
She looked up at him, eyes wide. ‘Do you promise, Daddy?’
‘I promise, love.’
‘So do I,’ said Nina. ‘And we always keep our promises, don’t we?’
Macy half smiled. ‘Daddy promised he’d get me a new trikan after the other one got broken.’
Eddie sighed. ‘Looks like I’d better nip out to a toy shop before we go.’
Nina kissed Macy, then straightened. ‘And I need to look at a map. If we’re going to Turkey, it’d help if I knew exactly where . . .’
30
Turkey
The late-morning sun glared over the desolation of southern Turkey, a harsh wind sending dust across the paths of the two BMW X5s. Nina and Eddie were with Lobato in the lead SUV, Ana and Maximov in the second. The huge Russian was the only one of Eddie’s friends who had been willing and able to join them. Jared had reluctantly returned to his duties in Israel, while Matt had pointed out that while he would have been happy to help, there was little use for a submarine engineer in the desert.
Macy had, to her parents’ relief, flown back to the States with Olivia. Nina still felt unhappy about splitting the family up so soon after reuniting, but there was no way she was going to put her daughter in danger in the field.
In the field. Despite everything, after the nightmare of the Congo and all that had ensued, she was once again leading an archaeological expedition. She had convinced herself that that part of her life was over, that she had retired from actively seeking out the lost relics of the past . . . but here she was again.
And deep down, she was glad. She wasn’t sure whether she should be ashamed of the feeling. The realisation that people kept dying because of her obsessions had been hammere
d home in the worst way possible two years earlier, but this time, she told herself, was different. She had not begun the quest voluntarily; she had been tricked into it by the man in the rear seat. That Lobato had himself been played in turn hadn’t lessened her anger at him.
But he was now cooperating, and appeared sincere in his desire to make things right. For all his manipulation and deception – based on past experience, Nina doubted that any billionaire had become so rich without screwing others over – he did genuinely seem motivated by the prospect of bringing about a new era of clean energy, albeit in a technocratic and almost robotically dispassionate way.
Right now, he was looking at a map on his phone. ‘How much further, Dr Wilde?’ he asked. ‘Surely it is now time to tell me where the vault is hidden.’
She exchanged a look with Eddie, then held up the paper map she had been studying. ‘According to the markers, all the vaults were buried in the same general position relative to their targets. My guess is the Atlanteans did it so that even if the exact locations were lost, anyone who could use the markers correctly would be able to find them.’
‘And where are they?’
‘North of the cities, on the highest hill, at a distance of seventy-nine Atlantean stadia – about six miles.’
‘There are several hilltops in that area,’ Lobato noted. ‘Which is the correct one?’
‘That’s what we have to find out,’ Nina replied. ‘The directions are still vague. Is the site precisely due north, or just generally in that direction? Where’s the distance measured from: the city’s exact centre, its edge, some landmark within it? Is the vault buried at the very top of the hill, or partway down it? The Atlanteans would have known, but we don’t – so we’ll have to find out the hard way.’
The Spear of Atlantis (Wilde/Chase 14) Page 29