‘Mmm. That felt so good.’
‘You’re welcome,’ he said, kissing her shoulder. ‘I’ll take a quick shower and then we can meet up with my mum and sister in the reception area.’
‘Didn’t I say you were worrying for nothing?’
Mina felt her hands shake ever so slightly when she saw Jack’s mother and sister waiting for them at the reception. She adjusted her dress again. Was it too short, too long?
‘Hi mum, Jen,’ said Jack giving them both a hug. ‘Jen, my Mum, Maureen, Mina Osman, my girlfriend.’
Jen was a plain girl in her late twenties, with mid-length straw blond hair. She was very tall and her body moved slightly awkwardly as she approached Mina. Jack’s mother, in her mid-sixties was a plump brunette with piercing blue eyes. She stood there, a little hesitantly and Mina saw straight away that they had thought Jack was coming alone. Mina could not decide whether she wanted to kiss Jack for confirming that they were a couple or punch him on the jaw for not telling his mother that she’d be coming. In the end she did neither and shook hands with Jen and Maureen.
‘I’m delighted to meet you both,’ she said.
‘Same here,’ answered Jack’s smiling mother and pulled Mina into a big hug.
Jen gave Mina a hug as well and before Jack could understand what was going on, everyone was hugging each other.
‘I’m so happy to meet you,’ Jack’s mother kept saying to Mina.
Jack couldn’t take much more of the hugging, so he disengaged himself from his tearful but smiling sister, ‘Right. Let’s go for dinner.’
‘We’ve already tried out lots of the restaurants, but there’s a real nice place with authentic Thai cuisine, close by,’ said Jack’s mother.
‘It’s really awesome,’ added Jen.
Knowing his mother, Jack could just imagine the restaurant: an ordinary joint with a congenial owner smooth-talking his mum into believing the most absurd things about ‘traditional Thai cuisine.’ But he was happily surprised by his mother’s choice of venue for their Christmas Eve dinner. It was not at all the tacky restaurant he had imagined but a small well-established restaurant, owned by a Frenchman who had married a local Thai woman. They had opened the place a few years back, offering simple and well-prepared food, using only fresh produce from the island. It was a delightful meal. Jen kept smiling at Mina and Jack, she was so happy and proud to be spending time with her brother. When Mina went to the bathroom, both women starting peppering Jack with questions.
‘One at a time, you’re not making any sense!’ said Jack.
‘How did you meet?’ asked Jen.
‘In Iraq. She was working at the university in Mosul, on leave from Columbia University in New York.’
‘They have a university out there?’ asked Jack’s mother.
‘Yeah,’ answered Jack.
‘She’s awesome,’ said Jen.
‘I like her. She seems real smart, but she’s no snob,’ said his mother.
The conversation went on and on in the same vein. Jack wondered if he could take much more of it. When Mina returned, she looked worried. Jack stood up immediately.
‘What’s wrong?’ he asked.
‘I’m not sure. My phone was on silent. I’ve just realised that I have twelve missed calls from Daniel.’
‘What? You gave him your Thai number?’
‘Yes. I emailed it to him, just in case.’
‘In case of what?’ Jack replied, frustrated by Mina’s carelessness. ‘What if the Bamarts’ phone was tapped?’
‘Well, I don’t know. But Daniel’s obviously trying to reach us, isn’t he?’ she said. ‘I’m going to call him back’ she added, and walked out to the beach front to make the phone call.
‘What’s wrong with her?’ asked Jen.
‘I’m not sure. She needs to make a phone call. She’ll be back in a few minutes,’ said Jack.
Mina dialled the Bamarts’ number in Hildersham.
‘Hello?’ said Daniel.
‘Daniel, it’s Mina,’ she said.
‘Mina! Thank God! I’ve been trying to reach you guys all day,’ he yelled down the phone.
‘Can you call me back on this number?’
‘Yes of course,’ he said, and hung up.
She sat down in the sand, and tried breathing deeply through her nose, to calm herself. She jumped as the phone started ringing in her hand.
‘Daniel?’
‘Yes.’
‘What’s going on? Why have you been trying to reach us?’ asked Mina.
‘It’s a catastrophe, a disaster!’ he answered frantically.
‘What? What’s a disaster? You’re not making any sense!’
‘I made a terrible mistake in my calculations,’ he replied, lowering his voice.
‘What do you mean? Did you make a mistake when transposing the dates from the Akkadian calendar to the Gregorian or Julian calendars?’
‘Nothing like that. I misread Jack’s notes. I…’ The line went dead.
Jack stepped out the restaurant and found Mina sitting in the sand holding her head in her hands. He knelt beside her.
‘So?’ he asked.
‘The line went dead. He said he made a mistake in his calculations.’
Her phone rang suddenly.
‘Mina?’ said Daniel.
‘Yes. Daniel, Jack is next to me. I’m putting it on loudspeaker, so the sound won’t be that great.’
‘Hi Jack. You both need to hear this.’
‘What?’ asked Jack.
‘Well, I made a mistake. It’s most embarrassing, I calculated everything but I misread two of Jack’s figures.’
‘You do have an appalling handwriting, Jack,’ Mina said. But Jack didn’t take any notice of her. ‘What mistake, Daniel?’
‘Well, instead of the events happening in 2014…’
Mina and Jack looked at each other with growing unease.
‘Yes?’
‘… Guys, it’s going to happen now, exactly ten years earlier, in 2004. In two days time in fact.’
Jack and Mina went dead silent.
‘Mina? You still there? Jack? You need to contact the appropriate authorities right now. You both need get out of there with your family. There’s no way of knowing what’s going to happen and how safe you are in Thailand,’ Daniel said. He had obviously been thinking of nothing else since realising his mistake.
‘I understand,’ said Jack, ‘but are you sure this time?’
‘Yes, one hundred percent.’
‘The problem, Daniel,’ said Jack, ‘is that we still don’t know exactly what is about to happen, nor where exactly it will hit. That means I’m not sure who to contact.’
‘But something is going to happen; think of everything you’ve gone through, Wheatley, Shobai’s people scouting for this tablet through the ages… it must mean something! It must be for real!’
Jack felt his stomach churn. He had to spring into action. ‘OK Daniel. We won’t stick around to find out if it is or isn’t,’ he answered, ‘we’ll get back in touch once we land in the US. We’ll try to contact the appropriate authorities.’ Jack added, ‘Not that anyone will believe us.’
‘Alright. I’m really sorry about this,’ said Daniel.
‘It’s not your fault,’ answered Jack through clenched teeth, before hanging up the phone.
Jack reached for Mina, who was shaking violently. They held each other tightly, then stood up and returned to the restaurant, where Maureen and Jen were wondering what on earth was going on.
‘Mum, Jen, don’t freak out. We all need to return to the hotel right away and pack.’
‘Why, what’s happened?’ asked Jen.
‘I’ll explain everything later. Hopefully we’ll manage to get flights out tonight, or at the latest tomorrow morning. All you need to know right now, is that something catastrophic is about to happen in this region and we need to get the hell out of here.’
‘Alright Jack,’ said his mother, trusting her son
instinctively.
They left the restaurant and separated near their hotel. Jack gave his mother and sister a few more instructions and left with Mina to find an internet café. They located one off the main street, next to a shop selling anything and everything from telephone cards to sandals. Mina realised she was still wearing winter shoes. She hadn’t even had time to buy sandals. They sat at one of the terminals and Jack starting looking for flights.
‘Who should we contact?’ asked Mina.
‘I’m not sure, Mina. We need to work that out.’
‘Why don’t you just call your “friend” in the secret service or whoever she is?’
‘I told you. I can’t do that,’ Jack replied, ‘it would start off a whole snowball effect of questions. Believe me, we’re better off staying off their radar. No, we need to figure it out ourselves.’
‘What would be the first point of call in a situation like this? Some sort of Earthquake centre, or Seismic tremors?’ asked Mina.
‘I guess, but then again, it’s supposed to happen in the Indian Ocean, so maybe we should contact NOAA.’
‘That sounds pretty biblical,’ said Mina.
‘N.O.A.A.’ said Jack, spelling out each letter, ‘not Noah! It stands for the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA.’
‘Ah, where are they based?’
‘I’m not sure. Let’s look it up online.’
Mina typed the word ‘NOAA’ and ‘Indian Ocean’ into Google. Lots of results came back, but searching some more, she found their switchboard number in Hawaii.
‘Here’s their number,’ said Mina.
‘Thanks.’
‘I’ll look for flights, while you contact them.’
Jack pulled out his phone and dialled the number in Hawaii.
‘Hi, Major Jack Hillcliff here, US Army. I’d like to speak to your director.’
‘I’m sorry, he’s unavailable right now. Can I take a message?’ said a man with an irritating nasal voice.
‘It’s an emergency, please patch me through.’
‘An emergency? About what?’
‘Listen carefully, man, I’m only going to say this once. A terrible earthquake is about to happen, in the Indian Ocean,’ said Jack.
‘Where exactly Sir?’ he answered. ‘Why do I always get all the nut jobs out there?’ he thought to himself.
‘I don’t know,’ answered Jack.
‘Well, It’s a large area and we’ve had no readings so far about anything of the kind, Sir. Where are you getting your information from?’ asked the man.
‘Who am I speaking to?’ asked Jack.
‘I’m Bob Rear, the Centre’s secretary.’
‘Right, Bob. The earthquake will occur on the 26th. The source of this information is classified top secret.’
‘Classified, hey. Two days from now? Do you think I’m stupid?’ said Bob.
‘No Bob, I don’t think you’re stupid.’
‘Everybody knows it’s impossible to get seismic readings two days ahead of an earthquake. Even if it were possible, we at NOAA would certainly know about it before anyone else, especially if it occurred in the Indian Ocean, and certainly before some dubious Major from the US army.’
‘Now you’re being unnecessarily rude,’ said Jack.
‘I’m sorry Sir, but I don’t have time for crank calls.’
‘This is not a crank call. Christ!’ said Jack, losing his calm.
‘Sir, you’ve seen too many movies! What was your major in College? Conspiracy theories and UFOs?’
Jack turned to Mina. He was fuming.
‘I’m going to kill this guy,’ he said.
‘Calm down Jack,’ said Mina, ‘what’s going on?’
‘Listen,’ Jack shouted down the phone, ‘I’m deadly serious. I need to speak to your director, right now!’
The line went dead.
‘He cut me off!’ Jack said, ‘that asshole of a pen-pusher cut me off.’ He re-dialled the number but this time no-one picked up the phone.
‘Will you try again?’
‘I don’t know. After all, we’re trying to convince scientists, their eyes glued to the most sophisticated seismic detection instruments in the world, that a three thousand year old Mesopotamian tablet has foretold a devastating earthquake in two days time. I can see why they’d think we’re crazy.’
‘I guess so,’ said Mina.
‘I’ll try again, but first we need to get flights out of here pronto!’
Same day. Mumbai, India.
Oberon Wheatley was sitting at his desk, in his brand new offices in Mumbai, reviewing recent operations on his multiscreen, state-of-the-art computers. He smiled to himself, thinking that from the moment he had outsourced his computerised weather forecasting systems to India and to a number of other emerging countries, his company shares had skyrocketed. He had thousands of experts all over the world striving towards one goal, that of updating and calculating every possible change in the weather, even in the most remote regions of the world. His client list kept growing. In some areas, even the military needed his updates. Most weather channels used his systems, indirectly of course. They had no idea how he produced his results. Using his dedicated staff, together with his massively powerful supercomputers, it was certainly not qualitative research, but number crunching beyond what one could dream of. He had brought sweatshops into the modern digital era.
His thoughts drifted as he fantasised about what he could achieve if he recovered the Mesopotamian tablet. With a proper translation and some serious thinking, he’d surely manage to decrypt its untapped knowledge. And once that happened, the sky was the limit! He’d know when natural events would take place, and where. He’d buy up entire regions. The price of land and property would quadruple after a disaster struck nearby. Complex money-spinning schemes kept unfolding before his hungry eyes. He had to get his hands on the tablet at all costs.
Wheatley’s phone rang. He checked the caller ID, and recognised his secretary’s number in New York.
‘Yes, Miss Dawson?’ said Oberon.
‘Sir, you have a call from a Mr Wilde. Should I put him through?’
‘Yes please,’ he said.
‘Mr Wheatley? Wilde here.’
‘Is this line secure?’ asked Oberon.
‘Yes, sir.’
‘What’s going on?’
‘We’re not sure, but you asked us to listen in on any unusual calls to all major weather centres. It seems that Major Hillcliff just called NOAA in Hawaii from a mobile phone in Phuket, Thailand.’
‘Jack Hillcliff?’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘What was the call about?’
‘We’re not absolutely sure, as the line was very bad, but it seems he was trying to warn NOAA of a pending emergency, some earthquake, but they didn’t take him seriously and finally hung up on him.’
‘I want you to track his mobile phone immediately and find out exactly where he is staying in Phuket. Call Natasha as soon as you have results,’ said Oberon, before smashing the phone down in its cradle.
‘Damn!’. He dialled Natasha’s number.
‘Yes, sir?’
‘Prepare the jet for Phuket, Thailand. We’re leaving right away. Find us a yacht and get me the number of that Bangkok thug I did business with a few years ago.’
‘Do you mean Ong-Tha, the lunatic guy with the cut-up face?’
‘Yes. I’ll explain everything when we’re in the air. Meet me at the jet in half an hour.’
Two hours later. Phuket, Thailand.
Jack was still trying to reach NOAA, but nobody picked up anymore. He had even tried calling from a local phone box, but to no avail.
‘Any luck with booking flights?’ he asked Mina.
‘There’s nothing before tomorrow, late morning.’
‘OK, let’s take them.’
‘Why don’t we leave Phuket now and stay overnight in Bangkok?’
‘No, we’re better off staying here tonight.
Let’s go back to the hotel,’ said Jack.
Mina needed a walk on the beach front. She wanted to hear the sound of the waves hitting the shore, it would help her calm down and gather her thoughts. Jack decided to accompany her and they walked for about an hour.
‘I can’t believe it’s going to happen so soon,’ she said.
‘I know exactly what you mean. Until this evening and since leaving the Bamarts actually, I’ve felt almost no pressure. We had a decade to prepare and compare our notes with all sorts of specialists, agencies, either to confirm or deny our worst fears.’
‘It just doesn’t feel real. I mean, look at this beautiful beach! How can anything change this?’
‘Don’t forget that according to your and Daniel’s assessment, the earthquake is going to occur somewhere in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Thailand may be completely safe.’
The 13th Tablet Page 26