Order of the Black Sun Box Set 8

by Preston William Child

  Kasper sighed with a heavy heart. “And I built it. They have a pod that will capture disrupted atomic energy at the site of impact and harness it, like a capacitor. They have many in several countries, including your hometown, Nina.”

  “That is why they used McFadden,” she realized. “Fuck me.”

  “We have to wait till morning,” Sam shrugged. “Tuft and his goons are disembarking at Tyumen, where the delegation will inspect the Tyumen power station. The catch is that they are not getting back on with the delegation. After Tyumen, this train is heading straight for the mountain past Novosibirsk, accelerating every second.”

  The next day, after a cold night of hardly any sleep, the three stowaways heard the Valkyrie enter the station at Tyumen. Over the intercom, Bessler announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to our first inspection, the town of Tyumen.”

  Sam was holding Nina tightly, trying to keep her warm. He psyched himself up with short breaths and looked at his companions. “The moment of truth, people. Once they are all off the train, we each take a compartment and look for Olga.”

  “I broke the magnet in three, so that we can gain entrance where we need to,” Kasper said.

  “Just play it cool if you run into waiters or other staff. They don’t know that we are not with the group,” Sam advised. “Let’s go. We have an hour, tops.”

  The three split up, moving through the stationary train, bit by bit to find Olga. Sam wondered how Masters got on with his mission and if he had managed to sway Purdue not to complete the equation. As he searched in cupboards, under bunks and tables, he heard the galley bustling as they packed up to leave. Their shift was finished on this train.

  Kasper continued with his plan to get into Tuft’s room, and his second plan was to keep the delegation from boarding the train again. Using magnetic manipulation, he gained entrance to the room. As he stepped into the room, Kasper let out a scream of panic that both Sam and Nina heard. On the bed, he saw Olga, restrained and brutalized. Worse, he saw Wolf sitting on the bed with her.

  “Hello, Jacobs,” Wolf grinned in his impish way. “I was waiting just for you.”

  Kasper had no idea what to do. He thought Wolf had accompanied the others and seeing him perch next to Olga was a living nightmare. With a wicked cackle, Wolf lunged forward and grabbed Kasper. Olga’s screams were muffled, but she fought so hard against her restraints that her skin peeled off in places. Kasper’s blows were futile against the steel torso of the thug. From the corridor, Sam and Nina stormed in to aid him.

  When Wolf saw Nina, his eyes froze on her. “You! I killed you.”

  “Fuck you, you freak!” Nina defied him, keeping her distance. She distracted him just long enough to Sam to take action. In full force, Sam kicked out Wolf’s knee, splitting it at the patella. Roaring in pain and fury, Wolf sank, leaving his face wide open for Sam to hail down his fists. The thug was used to a fight, and got a few shots into Sam.

  “Free her and get off the bloody train! Now!” Nina shouted at Kasper.

  “I have to help Sam,” he protested, but the feisty historian grabbed his arm and shoved him toward Olga.

  “If you two do not get off this train, all of this will have been for nothing, Dr. Jacobs!” Nina shrieked. Kasper knew she was right. There was no time to argue or think of alternatives. He untied his girlfriend while Wolf was folding Sam over with a solid knee to the gut. Nina tried to find something to knock him out with, but thankfully she was joined by Dima, the Bratva liaison. Knowing his way around close combat, Dima quickly put Wolf down, saving Sam another blow to the face.

  Kasper carried the severely injured Olga out and looked back at Nina before stepping off the Valkyrie. The historian blew them a kiss and gestured for them to take off before she disappeared into the room once more. He had to get Olga to a hospital, asking passers by where the nearest medical facility was. They immediately assisted the injured couple, but in the distance, the delegation was returning.

  Zelda Bessler had received the transmission Lilith Hurst had sent through before she was overwhelmed by the butler at Wrichtishousis, and the timer on the engine was set to go. Flashing red lights under the panel marked the engagement of a remote control device held by Clifton Tuft. She heard the group returning to board, and made her way to the back of the train to abandon the vessel. Hearing the commotion in Tuft’s room, she tried to pass, but Dima stopped her.

  “You stay!” he shouted. “Get back to the control room and disengage!”

  Zelda Bessler was momentarily stunned, but what the Bratva soldier did not know, was that she was armed, just like him. She opened fire on him, ripping his abdomen into ribbons of crimson flesh. Nina kept quiet as not to draw attention. Sam was out cold on the floor, and so was Wolf, but Bessler had a lift to catch and thought them dead.

  Nina was trying to revive Sam. She was strong, but there was no way she could carry him out. To her dismay, she felt the train begin to move, the recorded announcement coming over the speakers. “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back on the Valkyrie. Our next inspection will be at the city of Novosibirsk.”

  31

  Corrective Measures

  After the police left the Wrichtishousis grounds with George Masters in a body bag ad Lilith Hurst in shackles, Purdue trudged through the dismal surroundings of his lobby and adjacent drawing room and dining room. He surveyed the damage to the place, by way of bullet holes in his rosewood wall panels and furniture. He glared at the bloodstains on his expensive Persian tapestries and carpets. The incinerated bar counter and ceiling damage was going to take a while to repair.

  “Tea, sir?” Charles asked, but Purdue looked like hell on legs. Silently, Purdue soldiered on to his server room. “I would like some tea, thank you, Charles.” Purdue’s eye caught the figure of Lillian standing in the kitchen door, smiling at him. “Hey, Lily.”

  “Hey, Mr. Purdue,” she beamed, happy to know that he was okay.

  Purdue went into the dark seclusion of the warm, humming chamber, alive with electronics, where he felt most at home. He had examined the telltale signs of the deliberate sabotage of his wiring and shook his head. “And they wonder why I stay single.”

  He decided to catch up on messages via his private servers, and was astonished to find dark and baleful news from Sam, even though it was a bit late. Purdue’s eyes ran across the words of George Masters, the information of Dr. Kasper Jacobs, along with the full interview Sam conducted with him about the clandestine plan to kill the delegates. Purdue remembered that Sam was heading to Belgium, but he had not heard from him since.

  Charles brought in his tea. The aroma of Earl Grey in the hot odor of the computer fans was heaven to Purdue. “I cannot apologize enough, Charles,” he told the butler who saved his life. “I am ashamed at how easily I am influenced and how I acted, all for a goddamn woman.”

  “And for the sexy long division weakness,” Charles jested in his dry way. Purdue had to laugh, while his body ached. “All is well, sir. As long as all ends well.”

  “It will,” Purdue smiled, shaking Charles’ gloved hand. “Do you know when this came in or has Mr. Cleave called?”

  “Unfortunately not, sir,” the butler replied.

  “Dr. Gould?” he asked.

  “No, sir,” Charles answered. “Not a word. Jane will be back tomorrow, if that helps.”

  Purdue looked at his satellite communication device, his e-mail and his personal cell phone and found them all riddled with missed calls from Sam Cleave. When Charles left the room, Purdue was shaking. The amount of chaos brought on by his obsession with the Einstein Equation was reprehensible and he had to start cleaning house, so to speak.

  On his desk was Lilith’s purse contents. He had handed over her already ransacked bag to the police. Among the technology she carried, he found her transmitter. When he saw that the completed equation had been sent through to Russia, Purdue’s heart stopped.

  “Holy shit!” he gasped.

  At once, Purdue jumped u
p. He took a quick swig of tea and rushed to another server that could accommodate signaling via satellite. His hands were shaking as he hastened. As soon as the link was established, Purdue started writing a code like a madman, triangulating the visible feed to trace the position of the receiver. At the same time, he traced the remote device controlling the object the equation was sent to.

  “Wanna play war games?” he asked. “Let me remind you who you are up against.”

  While Clifton Tuft and his lackeys were eagerly sipping martini’s and excitedly waited for the fruition of their lucrative disaster, their limousine was heading northeast toward Tomsk. Zelda had the transponder that controlled the locks and impact data of the Valkyrie.

  “How is it going?” Tuft asked.

  “Currently accelerating as planned. They should approach Mach 1 in about twenty minutes,” Zelda reported smugly. “Looks like Hurst did her job after all. Did Wolf take his own convoy?”

  “No idea,” McFadden said. “I tried calling him but his cell phone is switched off. To tell you the truth, I am glad I do not have to deal with him anymore. You should have seen what he did to Dr. Gould. I almost, almost, felt sorry for her.”

  “He did his part. He probably went home to fuck his spotter,” Tuft growled with perverse laughter. “I saw Jacobs on the train last night, by the way, fiddling with my room door.”

  “Good, then he is taken care of as well,” Bessler grinned, happy to take his place as project manager.

  Meanwhile, aboard the Valkyrie, Nina was desperately trying to wake Sam. She could feel the train accelerate every now and then. Her body did not lie, feeling the g-force effects of the speeding train. Outside in the corridor, she could hear the confused mumbling of the international delegation. They, too, felt the train’s thrust and with no galley or bar available, they were beginning to get suspicious of the American magnate and his associates.

  “They are not here. I checked,” she heard the United States representative tell the others.

  “Maybe they stay behind?” the Chinese delegate guessed.

  “Why would they forget to board their own train?” someone else speculated. Somewhere in the neighboring carriage, someone started to vomit. Nina did not want to cause panic by clarifying the situation, but it would be better than allowing them all to speculate and run amok

  Peeking out the door, Nina gestured for the head of the Atomic Energy Agency to approach her. She closed it behind her so that the man would not see the unconscious body of Wolf Kretchoff.

  “Sir, my name is Dr. Gould from Scotland. I can tell you what is going on, but I need you to stay calm, do you understand?” she started.

  “What is this about?” he asked abruptly.

  “Listen carefully. I am not your enemy, but I know what is happening and I need you to address the delegation to explain, while I try to solve the problem,” she said. Slowly, and calmly, she relayed the information to the man. She could see him growing increasingly terrified, but she kept her tone as serene and controlled as possible. His face went ashen, but he kept his composure. Nodding at Nina, he left to speak to the others.

  She rushed back into the room ad tried to rouse Sam.

  “Sam! Wake up, for Christ’s sake! I need you!” she whined, slapping Sam on the cheek, trying not to get so frustrated that she would wallop him. “Sam! We are going to die. I want some company!”

  “I’ll keep you company,” Wolf said snidely. He had woken from the devastating blow Dima gave him, happy to see the dead Mafia soldier at the foot of the bunk, where Nina was crouching over Sam.

  “God, Sam, if there is a good time to wake up it is now,” she muttered, slapping him. Wolf’s laugh evoked sheer terror in Nina, forcing her to reminisce about his brutality on her. He crept over the bed, his face bloodied and obscene.

  “You want more?” he sneered, his teeth lined with blood. “I make you scream more this time, eh?” He laughed savagely.

  It was evident that Sam was not reacting to her. Nina surreptitiously reached for Dima’s ten-inch khanjali, a magnificent and deadly sharp dagger holstered under his arm. Once in her grip, she had more confidence, and Nina was not afraid to admit to herself that she appreciated the opportunity to get back at him.

  “Spasibo, Dima,” she muttered as her eyes locked on the predator.

  What she did not expect, was his sudden launch at her. His enormous body came down on the side of the bed to crush her, but Nina reacted rapidly. Rolling away, she evaded his attack and waited for the moment he would hit the floor. Nina extended the knife, placing it right under his throat, impaling the Russian thug with the expensive suit. The blade penetrated his throat and sank right through. She could feel the tip of the steel dislodge the vertebrae of his neck, severing his spinal cord.

  Hysterical, Nina could take no more. The Valkyrie accelerated some more, pushing the bile in her up to her throat. “Sam!” she screamed until her voice broke. It did not matter, since the delegates in the dining car were similarly distressed. Sam woke up, his eyes dancing around in their sockets. “Wake the fuck up!” she screamed.

  “I’m up!” he winced, groaning.

  “Sam, we have to get to the engine room now!” she sniffed, weeping in shock from her fresh ordeal with Wolf. Sam sat up to hold her and he saw the leaking neck of the monster.

  “I got him, Sam,” she cried.

  He smiled, “I could not have done a better job.”

  Sniffling, Nina got up and rearranged her clothes. “Engine room!” Sam said. “It is the only place with reception, I’m positive.” They quickly washed and wiped their hands in the basin and rushed to the front of the Valkyrie. Passing through the delegates, Nina tried to reassure them, even though she was convinced that they were all heading for Hades.

  Once inside the engine room, they scrutinized the flickering lights and controls.

  “None of this has anything to do with this train’s controls,” Sam shrieked in frustration. He got his phone from his pocket. “Jesus, I cannot believe it is still working,” he remarked, trying to find a signal. The train kicked up another notch, and screams filled the carriages.

  “You cannot call out, Sam,” she frowned. “You know that.”

  “I am not calling,” he coughed at the force of the speed. “Soon we will not be able to move. Then our bones will start to snap.”

  She leered at him. “I don’t need to hear this.”

  He punched a code into the phone, a code Purdue gave him to tap into a satellite tracking system that needed no service to work. “Please God, let Purdue see this.”

  “Long shot,” Nina said.

  He looked at her with conviction. “Our only shot.”

  32

  Chaos, Part II

  Railway Clinical Hospital – Novosibirsk

  Olga was still in a serious state, but she was out of ICU, recovering in a private room paid for by Kasper Jacobs, who stayed by her bedside. Now and then, she would regain consciousness and talk a little, only to slumber again.

  He was fuming at the fact that Sam and Nina had to pay for what his service to the Black Sun had caused. Not only did this upset him, but he was furious that the American slimebag Tuft got to survive the looming tragedy, and get to celebrate it with Zelda Bessler and that Scottish loser, McFadden. But what drove him over the top, was knowing that Wolf Kretchoff would get away with what he did to Olga and Nina.

  Pondering to an extent of insanity, the troubled scientist tried to find a way to do something. On his positive side, he decided that all was not lost yet. He called Purdue, just as he did when he first tried incessantly to get hold of him, only this time, Purdue answered.

  “My God! I cannot believe I got hold of you,” Kasper gasped.

  “I have been a little sidetracked, I’m afraid,” Purdue replied. “Is this Dr. Jacobs?”

  “How did you know?” Kasper asked.

  “I can see your number on my satellite tracker. Are you with Sam?” Purdue asked.

  “No, but
he is why I am calling,” Kasper replied. He explained everything to Purdue, up to where he and Olga had to leave the train, and had no idea where Tuft and his minions were headed. “I believe Zelda Bessler has the remote to the control panels of the Valkyrie, though,” Kasper told Purdue.

  The billionaire smiled in the glimmer of his computer screen. “So, that is what that is?”

  “You have a position?” Kasper cried excitedly. “Mr. Purdue, can I have that tracking code, please?”

  Purdue had learned, by reading Dr. Jacobs’ theories, that the man was a genius in his own right. “Do you have a pen?” Purdue grinned, feeling like his old giddy self again. He was manipulating the situation again, untouchable with his technology and intelligence, just like old times. He checked the signal from Bessler’s remote device and gave Kasper Jacobs the tracking code. “What are you going to do?” he asked Kasper.

  “I am going to use a failed experiment to enforce a successful eradication,” Kasper replied coolly. “Before I go. Please hurry if you can do something to scramble the magnetics of the Valkyrie, Mr. Purdue. Your friends will soon enter a perilous stage that they will not return from.”

  “Good luck, old boy,” Purdue bade his new acquaintance goodbye. Immediately, he dialed into the signal of the moving vessel, while hacking into the railway system it ran on. It was heading toward an intersection in the town of Poliskaya, where it was calculated to accelerate to Mach 3.”

  “Hello?” he heard on the speaker connected to his communications.

  “Sam!” Purdue exclaimed.

  “Purdue! Help us!” he screamed over the speaker. “Nina has passed out. Most of the people on the train have. I am losing my sight rapidly and it feels like a fucking furnace in here!”

  “Listen, Sam!” Purdue yelled over him. “I am redirecting the track mechanics as we speak. Hold on for three more minutes. Once the Valkyrie switches tracks it will lose its magnetic generation and slow down!”