‘Because, Mr Chase,’ said the Emir, ‘I honestly do not know anything about what you are saying. I worked with Gideon to use the spearhead for the good of humanity. Why would I build all this,’ he held out a hand to encompass the laboratory, ‘to safely extract antimatter as a source of power if I merely wanted to blow something up?’
Nina had an answer. ‘It seems to me that having a way to take antimatter out of the spearhead and store it is a good way to make a lot of bombs. You blow up the spearhead and you’re killing the goose that laid the mutually annihilatory egg, but take out what’s already inside it and you’ve got not only the most powerful explosive in existence, but potentially a way to create more of it. If you can figure out how to extract the antimatter. Which you haven’t.’
‘I do not want to make bombs,’ the Emir said firmly. ‘And the spearhead has only just arrived. There will be plenty of time to study it and find a way to transfer the antimatter.’
‘If by “plenty of time” you mean “by this afternoon, if you’re lucky”,’ Eddie told him.
Again the monarch was puzzled. ‘Gideon, what do they mean?’
‘They are telling the truth,’ Lobato replied. ‘The spearhead became unstable the moment it was removed from the vault. Whatever force contains the antimatter is gradually deteriorating. The Atlanteans believed it would collapse and explode in under twenty-four hours. Fourteen hours have already passed.’
Fadil looked to the scientists in alarm. ‘Is this true?’
‘We do not know, Your Majesty,’ said Oto. ‘But if it is, we have no way to stop it.’
‘If it is returned to the vault,’ said the Emir, pursing his lips thoughtfully, ‘would that stabilise it?’
‘It should,’ said Nina, ‘if we can get it there in time. But it’s already reached the second stage of destabilisation. Once it reaches the third stage, nothing can stop it – and it’ll blow up within an hour or two.’
His eyes widened in alarm. ‘And when will it reach the third stage?’
‘I don’t know. But in the next few hours. I don’t know if we’ll have time to get it back to the vault.’
‘But we must try!’ Concern vanished, replaced by commanding determination. ‘My helicopter is outside. We will fly the spearhead to the airport, and I will have a jet take it to . . . Where is the vault?’
‘Outside Sanliurfa, in Turkey,’ Lobato told him.
‘You shouldn’t have any trouble getting hold of a chopper at the other end,’ said Eddie witheringly. ‘Just use the same one al-Arsehole and his mates rented.’ He nodded towards al-Asim.
The Emir rounded on his agent. ‘Hashim, what is going on? Did you really try to kill Gideon and Dr Wilde?’
‘And me an’ all,’ Eddie added in mock offence.
Al-Asim practically forced out a reply. ‘I . . . Yes, I did.’
Again, the Emir was shocked. ‘What?’ he cried, marching to the other man. Eddie tracked him with his gun, still determined to deter his guards from redrawing their weapons. ‘Why? Explain!’
‘I was doing what was necessary to obtain the spearhead for Dhajan,’ al-Asim replied stiffly.
‘Not by killing! That was not part of the plan!’
Alula suddenly broke her silence, stepping out from behind al-Asim to face her brother. ‘Actually,’ she said, her voice filled with contempt, ‘it was. Not your plan: mine.’
The Emir stared at her. ‘What do you mean?’
She did not answer, instead issuing a sharp order in Arabic. All three guards instantly whipped out their weapons.
‘Guns down!’ the Yorkshireman roared. ‘Or the Emir dies!’
The guards ignored the threat. Two aimed at Eddie and Nina, the third covering the others in the room. Eddie knew his bluff had been called; his target was as surprised at the reversal of fortune as he was, and if he pulled the trigger, he and Nina would die a fraction of a second after the Emir himself.
‘Go on,’ said Alula. ‘Shoot him. Let us see what you are made of. Could you kill an innocent man?’
The Emir was speechless. ‘So he really wasn’t behind this?’ asked Nina.
‘Oh, he and Gideon did plan their little game for you together,’ the princess replied mockingly. ‘But they didn’t go far enough. The ultimate power on earth, and they wanted to use it to make electricity?’
Despite the situation, the Emir was affronted rather than frightened. ‘I told you before, Alula. We have no more oil! If we do not find a new source of income, our country is doomed.’
‘And you will have doomed it!’ she shouted back, startling him with her genuine anger. ‘When our enemies realise the spearhead’s power, they will attack and take it for themselves. The Saudis, the Iranians – even the Americans. How naïve are you, brother? They will not let us control it. So we must use it first, to strike them down before they destroy us!’
Fadil turned to his guards. ‘This has gone far enough,’ he said coldly. ‘Arrest Her Royal Highness immediately. She has clearly gone mad.’
Nobody moved. Now it was the Emir’s turn to show a rising anger, but this time tinged with fear. ‘I said arrest her!’
Alula folded her arms. ‘They are loyal to me,’ she said smugly. ‘As is everyone in the Ministry of State Security. I have been working towards this day – I did not expect it to come so soon, but then Dr Wilde’s theory caught your attention, and now? Here we are.’ She regarded Eddie and Nina coldly. ‘Drop your guns. Now.’
With no choice, Nina discarded her Beretta. Eddie held position for longer, but then angrily tossed his weapon away. Al-Asim gave an order, a guard collecting them.
‘This is treason!’ the Emir cried. ‘Why? Why have you turned on me – why have you turned on my country?’
Alula’s face expressed sheer, almost despairing disbelief at his ignorance, before the fury returned. ‘Your country?’ she screamed. ‘It is my country! You stole it from me the moment you were born! I was the oldest, the throne should have been mine – but men always come before women, even if they are younger!’
‘We were born three minutes apart,’ said the Emir, flabbergasted.
‘Three minutes that should have made all the difference, but they did not, because our father could not countenance a woman ruling Dhajan. And nor could you! All the laws you changed in the name of liberalisation,’ the word was almost spat out in disgust, ‘turning our country into a whorehouse for Saudis and infidels, even selling out our claim to the Gulf of Salwah in return for the so-called protection of the American navy . . . but the one thing you did not change, the one thing you would never dare change, is the rule that let you steal the throne from me!’
‘Even if I wanted to give you the throne, I could not! The moment Father died, I became the Emir – it is not a mere appointed position, a job, from which I can resign. I will hold the title until my heir succeeds me. If I have a daughter before a son, I will be happy to name her as my successor, but I cannot give up my rule to you.’
‘But you do not have an heir,’ said Alula. ‘And you never will.’
He blinked in confusion. ‘What—’
She pulled out a gun and shot him.
‘Holy shit!’ Nina cried as the Emir fell to the floor. Blood slowly swelled around the scorched rent in his jacket’s chest.
Lobato wailed in horror. ‘Fadil! My God!’ He stared at the fallen man. ‘Is – is he dead?’
‘He just got shot in the heart at point-blank range,’ said Nina, appalled. ‘That’s not something people generally recover from!’
‘Under Dhajani rules of succession,’ said Alula, returning her slim weapon to a concealed holster, ‘if the Emir dies without an heir, the throne passes to his closest relative.’ A cold smile of triumph. ‘I am now Emira of Dhajan!’
Al-Asim knelt at her feet. He bowed his head, speaking in reverent Arabic, then stood. ‘Your Majesty. You have my eternal loyalty.’
‘Thank you, Hashim,’ she replied. The guards offered their respects in turn, th
ough at least one kept their prisoners covered at all times. Alula removed her headscarf and dropped it, shaking out her long dark hair. ‘Free at last. In all ways.’
‘Congratulations on your inauguration, Your Majesty,’ Nina said sarcastically. ‘So what’s going to be your first act as Emira?’
Alula approached her, gazing at the spearhead in the American’s hands. ‘I will use this as my brother never dared even dream,’ she said. ‘To wipe out Dhajan’s enemies in the Gulf. Bahrain and Qatar will be obliterated, as will the American navy at their Bahraini base, and Saudi Arabia will suffer a blow that will take them decades from which to recover.’
‘I thought you were partnered with the Yanks?’ said Eddie.
‘A deal made by my brother,’ she told him, sneering. ‘A deal that turned us into the whining sycophantic dog of other countries. But we will no longer be anyone’s pet!’
‘But even an antimatter bomb wouldn’t take out Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi,’ said Nina. ‘They’re too big.’
Alula rounded on her. ‘Do you think I am an idiot, Dr Wilde? Of course I know I cannot destroy them all with a single bomb.’
‘Then what?’
‘The Pacifia has just set sail from Dhajan City,’ al-Asim told her.
‘The other liner like the Atlantia?’ Eddie asked.
‘A grotesque and decadent waste of money, another of my brother’s attempts to make us more . . . Western. But its maiden voyage will also be its last!’ Alula’s mouth curled into a nasty smile. ‘It will deliver the spearhead to our enemies by sailing straight into the American naval base in Bahrain. They will not dare sink a ship with ten thousand civilians aboard, but by the time they realise the danger, it will be too late. Bahrain will be destroyed, the American Gulf fleet wiped out, and Qatar and Saudi will be flattened by the tidal wave.’
Lobato broke the speechless silence. ‘A tidal wave powerful enough to flood Qatar and the Saudi coast would also sweep southwards to hit Dhajan as well,’ he pointed out. ‘Dhajan City would suffer massive damage and loss of life.’
‘Dhajan City?’ she scoffed. ‘A cesspit of sin hidden behind glass and steel. I know why foreigners come to my country – and it makes me sick. I have seen the depravity beneath the surface.’ An almost messianic fervour entered her voice. ‘It is time to drag it into the light and exterminate it! Only when the parasites are dead can a body be healthy. It must be cleansed and purified, so we can rebuild and start afresh. A new rule: my rule!’
‘You’re insane!’ said Nina, appalled.
Alula stormed closer. ‘No – I am angry!’ she snarled. ‘I have been angry my whole life. The royal palace is a prison for a woman. I could do nothing without the permission of a man – first my father, then my brother, and all their lackeys and servants who still think they are better than me. Only one ever treated me with respect.’ Her gaze flicked towards al-Asim. ‘I studied hard, worked hard, learned to do anything a man can do, while my brother acted like a playboy in the casinos and brothels of Monaco and Macau – but I still had to crawl to him to be allowed to serve in his government.’
‘But he let you,’ Nina said. ‘And you must have done a good job, because you’re still there.’
‘A good job?’ she spat. ‘I protected my country from spies, sabotage, criminals, terrorists – but the credit for all successes went to my brother, and the blame for every failure, however small, was put upon me!’
‘Believe me, I know what you’re talking about. Every woman does! We’ve all had to put up with crap from patronising or stupid or just plain misogynist men, even when we’re better than them. But there’s no need to kill millions of innocent people – men and women – to get revenge on one person.’
Alula narrowed her eyes. ‘This is not about revenge on my brother. This is about destroying the corruption at the heart of my country. And the spearhead,’ she looked down at the object in Nina’s hands, ‘will be the blade that cuts it out. Give it to me.’
With no choice, Nina surrendered the crystal. Alula clutched it to her chest. ‘It is mine,’ she crowed. ‘Hashim, tell the pilot to start the helicopter. We will fly straight to the Pacifia.’
Al-Asim’s eyes were fixed on the prisoners. ‘And them?’
‘Kill them, of cour—’
A hand closed around Alula’s ankle.
She gasped, stumbling back as the Emir pulled at her leg.
Everyone reacted with shock at Fadil’s unexpected resurrection. The guards all turned towards him—
Eddie lunged for al-Asim’s gun. The other man reacted just in time to pull the weapon away – but not clear. The Englishman managed to tear out the extended magazine.
Al-Asim spun to bring the still-chambered Glock around at him. But Eddie had already twisted to body-slam his opponent before smashing the magazine’s corner hard against his temple. The Arab staggered – and Eddie grabbed the gun before kicking him in the stomach and sending him to the floor.
The other men whirled back to face the new threat, guns rising—
Eddie aimed his own unwaveringly at Alula’s head.
‘La tutliq alnaar!’ she cried. ‘Stop!’
The three guards fixed their guns on the Yorkshireman . . . but did not shoot.
A stand-off: that could not last.
Alula overcame her fear. She yanked her leg from her brother’s feeble grip and faced Eddie. ‘If you kill me, my guards will kill you.’
‘Maybe,’ Eddie replied stonily, ‘but you’ll still be dead.’
‘You won’t get your revenge,’ Nina added.
Alula raised her chin defiantly. ‘Hashim will carry out the plan even if I am gone.’
‘Maybe I should kill him an’ all,’ said Eddie.
She almost smiled. ‘You only have one bullet.’
‘Whatever you do,’ growled the bloodied al-Asim, ‘you will die. And Her Majesty will win.’
‘Not if I shoot the spearhead.’ Eddie glanced at the pulsating artefact. ‘Nina, you think it’d blow up?’
‘Who am I, the Mistress of Crystalline Knowledge?’ his wife replied. ‘I don’t know!’
‘The blast could still reach Dhajan City,’ warned Lobato.
‘And you would not kill innocent people, would you, Mr Chase?’ said Alula with contempt. ‘You cannot win.’
Al-Asim slowly began to stand. ‘Get back down,’ Eddie snapped.
The Dhajani ignored his warning. ‘I will give you all a quick death if you surrender, Chase. Otherwise you will suffer.’
‘All right,’ said Eddie, lifting his gun away from Alula and towards the ceiling. ‘Chill out.’
Triumph lit Alula’s face. She started to issue a command.
Eddie fired – and the cooling system exploded.
38
Superchilled freon burst from the ruptured pipe, the spraying liquid instantly evaporating into a freezing, choking cloud.
It gushed over the three guards, sending them staggering as the vapour burned their skin and seared their throats. Al-Asim was caught on the jet’s fringe. He jumped away, gasping, only for the Yorkshireman to deliver a kick to his groin that sent him flying back into the miasma.
Alula snatched out her gun, but Eddie swatted it across the room. ‘Khinzir!’ she spat, clawing at his face with her nails.
He grabbed her wrist, easily overpowering her, and drew back his other arm as if to strike her. She cringed. ‘I don’t hit women,’ he said. She shot him a scathing look, its meaning clear: then you are too weak to beat me.
‘She does, though,’ he went on, stepping aside as his wife rushed up with her own fist clenched.
Before Alula could react, Nina punched her in the face with enough pent-up fury to send her reeling backwards. ‘Inaugurate that!’ snarled the American.
Alula staggered – and tripped over her fallen brother’s legs. Her elbow jarred painfully against the floor, sending the spearhead flying from her hand. It disappeared into the gushing chemical fog.
‘Shit!’ Ni
na yelped. ‘We’ve got to get it!’
‘We’ve got to get out of here,’ Eddie countered. ‘Help me with the Emir!’
‘You want to take him rather than the spearhead?’
Alula crawled clear as he crouched to lift the wounded man. ‘If he’s alive, he can countermand Alula.’
‘If he’s alive.’ The Emir’s chest wound was still bleeding.
‘He won’t be for long if we don’t help him. Gideon!’
Lobato came out of his stunned fugue and took hold of the Dhajani. Nina stared helplessly after the Atlantean crystal. It was lost in the rushing fog . . . but the jetting vapour’s pressure was falling, most of the coolant escaped. ‘I can get it!’ she said, spotting a faint light within the haze.
‘Don’t!’ Eddie shouted, but she was already running—
The vapour hit her – and she recoiled from the sub-zero assault on her exposed skin. Sheer shock made her cry out, only to choke as the freezing gas entered her mouth. Panic rising, she abandoned her search and staggered blindly back.
She forced her eyes open – to see Alula scrambling towards her fallen gun.
Coughing, Nina ran after Eddie. Behind her, the escaping jet was now just a desultory billow, the vapour dispersing to reveal the royal guards.
They still had their guns – and were recovering.
Eddie reached the airlock’s open door, Lobato with him as they supported the wounded man. ‘Come on!’ he yelled to Nina.
Alula reached her gun as one of the royal guards opened his streaming eyes and saw the fleeing American. He brought up his weapon—
‘Nina! Dive!’
Eddie’s roar told Nina she was in immediate danger. Without hesitation she threw herself into the airlock, hitting the floor with a thump as the guard’s bullets smashed tiles on the wall above her.
But now Alula had locked on to her target—
Lobato jabbed a button on the control panel – and the steel barrier slid closed, intercepting the princess’s round with a shrilling clang before clunking shut.
The Spear of Atlantis (Wilde/Chase 14) Page 39