by P. W. Child
“Y-yes,” Hannes affirmed, his brow wet with perspiration.
“These are six of the Seven Sisters, demons bound by King Solomon to build his temple,” Raya said with an informative quality reminiscent of a showman. “They were responsible for digging the foundations of the Temple of Jerusalem.”
“Interesting,” Hannes forced, trying to sound even and not to panic. What his customer told him was both preposterous and scary, deeming him insane in Hannes’ eyes. This gave him cause to think that Raya might be dangerous, so he played along for now. He’d realized that he was probably not going to get paid for the artifact.
“Yes, it is very interesting, Mr. Wetter, but do you know what is really fascinating?” Raya asked, while Hannes stared unresponsively. Raya pulled the Celeste from his pocket with his other hand. The smooth, gliding movements of his elongated hands were quite beautiful to behold, like the form of a ballet dancer. But Raya’s eyes darkened as he brought his two hands together. “Now you are going to see something truly interesting. Call it alchemy; alchemy of Grand Design, the transmutation of the gods!” Raya cried above the ensuing rumbling that came from all around. Inside his claws a reddish gleam poured between his thin fingers and the creases in his hands. He raised his hands, proudly exhibiting the power of his strange alchemy to Hannes, who was grasping his chest in horror.
“Put that heart attack on hold, Mr. Wetter, until you’ve beheld the foundations of your own temple,” Raya requested cheerfully. “Look!”
That dreaded command to watch, to look, was too much for Hannes Wetter and he sank to the floor, clutching his compressing chest. Above him, the evil Magician was in awe of the crimson glow in his hands as the Celeste met with the six sister diamonds, causing their charge. Under them, the ground shook, the tremors dislodging the support posts of the building Hannes lived in. He could hear the windows shattering under the growing earthquake as the floor fell away in large chunks of concrete and steel rods.
Outside, the seismic activity increased six-fold, shaking the whole of Antwerp as ground zero, and then crawling along the earth’s surface in all directions. Soon it would arrive in Germany, the Netherlands, and aggravate the ocean floor of the North Sea. Raya got what he’d needed from Hannes, leaving the dying man under the debris of his house. The Magician had to make haste to Austria, to see a man in the Salzkammergut region, claiming to have the most sought after stone after the Celeste.
“See you soon, Mr. Karsten.”
26
Releasing the Scorpion onto the Snake
Nina passed along the last of the beer before the Hercules started to circle above the makeshift landing strip just off the health clinic of Dansha, in the Tigray region. It was, as they had planned, early evening. By means of his administrational assistants, Purdue had recently procured a permit to use the abandoned airstrip after he and Patrick had discussed strategy. Patrick took the liberty of informing Col. Yimenu, as he was obliged to do according to the deal Purdue’s litigation team had struck with the Ethiopian government and its representatives.
“Drink up, lads,” she said. “We are now behind enemy lines…” she glanced at Purdue, “…again.” She sat down as they all opened their last cold beer before the task of returning the Holy Box to Aksum. “So, just to be clear. Paddy, why are we not landing at the perfectly good airport in Aksum?”
“Because that is what they, whoever they might be, expect,” Sam winked. “There’s nothing like an impulsive diversion of plans to keep the hostile on their toes.”
“But you told Yimenu,” she reasoned.
“Yes, Nina. But the majority of civilians and archaeological experts fuming at us will not be notified soon enough to travel all the way here,” Patrick explained. “By the time they get here on word of mouth, we will be en route to the Yeha Mountain where Purdue discovered the Holy Box. We will be traveling in an unmarked ‘Deuce and a half’ cargo truck with no noticeable colors or emblems, making us practically invisible to Ethiopian nationals.” He exchanged a smirk with Purdue.
“Grand,” she replied. “But why here, if it matters to ask?”
“Well,” Patrick pointed to the map under the pale light fixed to the roof of the craft, “you will see that Dansha is roughly center, halfway between Aksum, here,” he pointed to the name of the town and slid the tip of his index finger across the paper towards the left and down. “And your destination of Lake Tana, here, southwest of Aksum.”
“So, we’re doubling back once we’ve dropped the box?” Sam asked before Nina could question Patrick’s use of the word ‘your’ instead of ‘our’.
“No, Sam,” Purdue smiled, “our beloved Nina will be joining you on the journey to Tana Qirkos, the island where the diamonds are. In the meantime, Patrick, Adjo, and I will be traveling to Aksum with the Holy Box, keeping up appearances for the Ethiopian government and Yimenu’s people.”
“Wait, what?” Nina gasped, grasping Sam’s thigh as she leaned forward, frowning. “Sam and I are going alone to steal the bloody diamonds?”
Sam smiled. “I love it.”
“Oh, fuck off,” she moaned, falling back against the side of the plane’s belly as it rattled into a roll, preparing to land.
“Come on, Dr. Gould. It would not only save us time to get the stones to the Egyptian stargazers, but it will be the perfect cover,” Purdue coaxed.
“And the next thing you know, I’ll be arrested and become Oban’s most infamous resident again,” she scowled, putting her full lips to the neck of the bottle.
“You’re from Oban?” the pilot asked Nina, not looking back as he checked the controls in front of him.
“Aye,” she answered.
“Terrible about those people from your town, hey? Such a shame,” the pilot said.
Purdue and Sam also perked up with Nina, both as oblivious as she. “What people?” she asked. “What happened?”
“Oh, I saw it in the paper up in Edinburgh about three days ago, maybe longer,” the pilot reported. “A doctor and his wife died in a car crash. Drowned in Loch Lomond after their car ran into the water or something.”
“Oh Jesus!” she exclaimed, looking horrified. “Did you get the name?”
“Yes, let me think,” he shouted over the roar of the engines. “We were still saying how his name has something to do with water, you know? The irony of them drowning, you know? Uh…”
“Beach?” she forced out, desperately wanting to know, but dreading any affirmation.
“That’s it! Yes, Beach, that’s it. Dr. Beach and his wife,” he clicked his thumb and third finger, before he realized the worst. “Oh my God, I hope they weren’t friends of yours.”
“Oh, Jesus,” Nina wailed into her palms.
“I’m so sorry, Dr.Gould,” the pilot apologized as he took the turn to prepare for landing in the dense darkness that was rife all over Northern Africa lately. “I had no idea you hadn’t heard.”
“It’s alright,” she panted, devastated. “Of course you had no way of knowing that I knew them. It’s okay. It’s…okay.”
Nina was not weeping, but her hands were trembling and her eyes were frozen in sorrow. Purdue put his arm around her. “You know, they would not have been dead now if I had not fucked off to Canada and caused the whole identity fuck up that caused her abduction,” she whispered, clenching her teeth at the guilt that rode her heart.
“Bullshit, Nina,” Sam protested gently. “You know that is shite, right? That Nazi bastard would still have killed anyone in his way to…” Sam stopped short of stating the terrible obvious, but Purdue finished the damning blame for him. Patrick was silent and elected to remain so for the moment.
“On his way to destroy me,” Purdue murmured with dread in his admission. “It was not your fault, my dear Nina. As always, your involvement with me made you an innocent target and Dr. Beach’s involvement in my rescue drew a bull’s-eye on his family. Jesus Christ! I’m just a walking death omen, am I not?” he said, more with introspection that sel
f-pity.
He let go of Nina’s shivering frame, and for a moment, she wanted to pull him back, but she liberated him to his thoughts. Sam could read very well what was respectively taxing both his friends. He looked at Adjo across from him as the plane’s wheels thrust the Hercules’ weight onto the cracked, somewhat overgrown tarmac of the old airstrip. The Egyptian blinked very slowly, his way of gesturing for Sam to relax and not react readily.
Sam nodded imperceptibly and mentally prepared for the forthcoming undertaking to Lake Tana. Soon the Super Hercules came to a gradual halt, and Sam could see Purdue staring at the Holy Box relic. The white-haired billionaire explorer was no more his jovial self, but instead sat lamenting his obsession with historical artifacts with his locked hands hanging loosely between his thighs. Sam took a deep breath. It was the worst time for mundane inquiry, but it was also very important information he needed. With as much tactful timing as he could, Sam briefly glanced at a silent Patrick before asking Purdue, “Do Nina and I have a vehicle to get to Lake Tana, Purdue?”
“You do. It’s an inconspicuous little Volkswagen. Hope you don’t mind,” Purdue said listlessly. Nina’s wet eyes rolled back and fluttered as she tried to make the tears stop before stepping out of the massive aircraft. She took Purdue’s hand and squeezed it. Her voice cracked as she whispered to him, but her words were far less upsetting. “All we can do now is to make sure that two-faced motherfucker gets his come-uppens, Purdue. People associate with you because you because you are enthusiastic about existence, and curious about beautiful things. You lead the way to a better the standard of life with your genius, your inventions.”
In the background of her engaging voice, Purdue could faintly perceive the creak of the back flap opening and the others steadily getting ready to carry out the Holy Box from Yeha Mountain’s bowels. He could hear Sam and Adjo discuss the weight of the relic, but all he truly heard was Nina’s trailing sentences.
“We all chose to be involved with you long after the checks had cleared, my lad,” she admitted. “And Dr. Beach chose to rescue you because he knew how important you are to the world. My God, Purdue, you are more than a star in the skies of the people who know you. You are the sun, keeping us all steady, warming us and making us flourish in orbit. It is your magnetic presence that people crave and if I have to die for that privilege, then so be it.”
Patrick did not want to interrupt, but he had a schedule to keep and he inched toward them to signify that it was time to disembark. Purdue did not know how to react to Nina’s words of devotion, but he could see Sam standing in all his rugged glory, arms folded and smiling as if he seconded Nina’s sentiments. “Let’s go do this, Purdue,” Sam said zealously. “Let us return their bloody box and get to the Magician.”
“I must confess I want Karsten more,” Purdue revealed bitterly. Sam walked up to him and laid a firm hand on his shoulder. When Nina followed Patrick out behind the Egyptian, Sam shared a special consolation with Purdue in secret.
“I was saving this news for your birthday,” Sam mentioned, “but I have some information that might put that vengeful side of yours at ease for the moment.”
“What?” Purdue asked, already interested.
“You remember you asked me to record all deals, right? I’ve been recording all the information we garnered about this entire excursion, as well as the Magician. You do recall that you asked me to keep track of the diamonds your people have purchased and so on,” Sam continued, being extra careful to lower his voice, “because you want to plant them in Karsten’s mansion to frame the Black Sun’s main prick, aye?”
“Yes? Yes, yes, what of it? We still have to find a way to do that once we’ve finished dancing to the whistling Ethiopian authorities, Sam,” Purdue snapped in a tone that revealed the stress he was drowning in.
“I remember you saying you wanted to catch the snake with the hand of your enemy or something to that effect,” Sam clarified. “So I took the liberty of getting that ball rolling for you.”
Purdue’s cheeks flushed with intrigue. “How?” he whispered hard.
“I had a friend – don’t ask – investigate where the Magician’s victims had procured his services from,” Sam shared in hasty words before Nina would come looking. “And once my skilled new pal managed to hack into the Austrian’s computer servers, it came to pass that our esteemed friend from the Black Sun has apparently invited the obscure alchemist to his home for a lucrative deal.”
Purdue’s face lit up and a crack of a smile appeared.
“All we have to do now is to get the advertised diamond into Karsten’s manor before Wednesday and then we watch the snake get stung by the scorpion while our veins stay clean of venom,” Sam grinned.
“Mr. Cleave, you are a genius,” Purdue remarked, planting a hefty kiss on Sam’s cheek. Nina, on her way in, stopped in her tracks and folded her arms. Raising her eyebrow, she could only speculate. “Scotsmen. Like wearing skirts aren’t enough to test their masculinity.”
27
Wet Desert
As Sam and Nina packed their Jeep for the trip to Tana Qirkos, Purdue had a word with Adjo about the Ethiopian locals who would escort them into the archaeological dig site behind Mount Yeha. Patrick soon joined them to iron out the details of their delivery, to be made with the least amount of racket.
“I will call Col. Yimenu to let him know when we will arrive at the site. He will just have to be satisfied with that,” Patrick said. “As long as he is there when the Holy Box is returned, I don’t see why we have to let him know which side we’re coming from.”
“Too right, Paddy,” Sam agreed. “Just remember, whatever Purdue and Adjo’s reputation, you represent the United Kingdom under command of the tribunal. Nobody is allowed to accost or attack anyone there to return the relic.”
“True,” Patrick agreed. “We have international exemption this time, as long as we abide by the conditions of the deal and even Yimenu has to adhere to that.”
“I do like the taste of that apple,” Purdue sighed as he helped Adjo and three of Patrick’s men lift the fake Ark into the military truck they prepared for its transport. “That veteran trigger-monger rubs me the wrong way every time I lay eyes on him.”
“Ah!” Nina exclaimed, pulling up her nose at Purdue. “Now I get it. You are sending me away from Aksum to keep me and Yimenu out of each other’s hair, hey? And you’re sending Sam to make sure I don’t get off my leash.”
Sam and Purdue stood side by side, choosing to keep quiet, but Adjo was chuckling and Patrick stepped in between her and the men to save the moment. “It really is best, Nina, don’t you think? I mean, we do need to get the remaining diamonds to the Egyptian Dragon people…”
Sam grimaced, trying not to laugh at Patrick misnaming the poor order of stargazers, but Purdue smiled openly. Patrick looked back at the men in reprimand before addressing the intimidating little historian again. “They need the stones urgently and with the delivery of the artifact…” he continued, trying to appease her. But Nina just held up her hand and shook her head. “Leave it, Patrick. Never mind. I’ll go steal something else from this poor country in the name of Britain just to steer clear of a diplomatic nightmare I’m bound to conjure up if I see that misogynistic imbecile again.”
“We have to go, Effendi,” Adjo told Purdue, thankfully breaking the looming tension with his sobering announcement. “If we take any longer we will not get there on time.”
“Yes! Better get going, all,” Purdue suggested. “Nina, you and Sam will meet up with us here in exactly twenty-four hours with the diamonds from the island monastery. Then we have to get back to Cairo in record time.”
“Call me a nitpicker,” Nina frowned, “but am I missing something? I thought those diamonds were to become the property of the Prof. Imru’s Egyptian Archaeological Society.”
“That was the deal, yes, but my brokers have received a list of stones from Prof. Imru’s people at the society, while Sam and I have been directly
in touch with Master Penekal,” Purdue explained.
“Oh God, I smell a double cross,” she said, but Sam grasped her gently by the arm and pulled her away from Purdue with a hearty, “Cheerio, old man! Come, Dr. Gould. We have a crime to commit and very little time to do it in.”
“Geez, the rotten apples of my life,” she groaned as Purdue waved at her.
“Remember to watch the skies!” Purdue jested before he opened the passenger door of the idling old truck. In the back, the relic was being watched by Patrick and his men while Purdue rode shotgun with Adjo at the wheel. The Egyptian engineer was still the best guide to the region and Purdue thought if he drove the vehicle himself, he would not have to give directions.
Under cover of night, the group of men transported the Holy Box toward the dig site at Mount Yeha to return it as soon as possible with as little trouble from enraged Ethiopians as possible. The large mud-colored truck squeaked and roared along the potholed road, heading east toward the famous Aksum, reputed to be the resting place of the Biblical Ark of the Covenant.
Heading southwest, Sam and Nina raced to reach Lake Tana, which would take them no less than seven hours in the Jeep they were provided with.
“Are we doing the right thing, Sam?” she asked as she unwrapped a candy bar. “Or are we just chasing Purdue’s shadow?”
“I heard what you told him in the Hercules, love,” Sam replied. “We’re doing this because it is necessary.” He looked at her. “You did mean what you told him, aye? Or did you just want to make him feel less shitty?”