And Melis knew worlds more than Hannah did about dolphins and was troubled. Dammit, she didn’t know what to do to help. Okay, skip the deep stuff and just rely on distraction.
She took Melis’s arm. “Come on. Stop frowning. You may have found the mother lode. It’s a great way to end the expedition, and the guys deserve their celebration. So do we. Let’s go see if we can out-party them.”
Customs Warehouse
Tenerife Airport
Madre De Dios, he was curious about that box.
Carlos Nelazar stared at the large box he’d ordered stored conveniently close to the ramp doors for pickup. What was in it that could be worth the bribe he’d been offered to ignore the theft of some scummy artifact from the depths of the sea?
And was he a fool not to have demanded more? He had only a few more years before he retired from the Customs Department and got his pension. What if they found out he was involved in the theft?
Maybe it wasn’t an artifact, maybe it was jewels or coins, and he could grab a few handfuls. Yes, it would be smarter to open the box and find out if he should ask for more money or grab a percentage on his own. Screw those bastards who’d told him not to examine it. He had a right to know. He checked his watch. Nine thirty. They weren’t supposed to pick up the box before ten.
He lifted the crowbar. If he was quick, he’d be able to open, examine, and then nail the crate shut before anyone came to pick it up.
He had the box open within five minutes. Excitement gripped him as he first glimpsed the gleam of the colored stones. Jewels, it must be jewels.
Disappointment came over him. Only cheap crystals. No reason for anyone to be willing to pay such a high—
Or was there? There was something there, something that was holding him, drawing him closer . . .
“Pretty, aren’t they? Like drops of sunlight.”
He went rigid and slowly looked over his shoulder.
Relief surged through him. Only a woman, a pretty woman in a dark pantsuit, her hair in a tight chignon.
“You should not be here,” he said sternly. “This is a restricted zone. Please leave.”
Her gaze was still on the colored glass in the trellis. “I must have taken a wrong turn. Those corridors are so confusing. I’ll leave soon.”
“Now.”
She smiled sweetly and took a step nearer to him. “What were you looking at? You seemed to be so interested.” She stared eagerly down at the crystals. “Oh, yes, there seems to be a strange depth in those stones, isn’t there?” She stepped still closer. “Personally, I prefer emeralds or rubies, but I admit there’s a sort of mystique to—”
Pain.
Carlos doubled in agony as her needle-thin stiletto entered his heart.
By nightfall, the topside deck of the Copernicus was packed with crew members from both it and Fair Winds, drinking, dancing, and watching the four-member amateur rock band led by Josh, Matthew, Kyle, and a bikini-clad blond research specialist whose only function was, as far as Hannah could tell, to look good while she shook a tambourine.
Hannah turned away. The expedition was over, and she had gotten through it. Her first job without Conner. It was as difficult as she thought it would be, but working with Melis in addition to her usual team had been a good way to ease back into the groove. If only she had been able to finish what she had started.
She heard footsteps behind her and caught a whiff of that familiar pipe tobacco.
Ebersole.
“You know . . . I’m not the bad guy here,” he said.
She turned to see that he was holding a drink and wearing a tropical-print short-sleeved shirt. Very out of character for the buttoned-down executive with whom she had been working. “I know that, Ebersole. There were times when you went to bat for us, and I appreciate it.”
“I wish you would tell that to the crew. They’re looking at me as if I’m a monster.”
“They know what you’ve done for us. But you need to understand that these people are sailors, no matter how many advanced degrees they may have. And they’ll always think of you as a corporate bean counter.” She wrinkled her nose as she looked him up and down. “No matter how obnoxious you get with your wardrobe choices.”
He smiled and gripped the lapel of his brightly colored shirt. “Too much?”
“A tad. But I appreciate the effort. Next time wear it on the first day of the expedition instead of the last.”
“Good tip. I’ll keep it in mind.” He leaned against the railing. “AquaCorp didn’t just do all this out of the goodness of its icy corporate heart, you know.”
“Of course not. This was a great public-relations opportunity.”
“It goes beyond that. We did this for you.”
She laughed. “Now I know you’re lying.”
“No lie. You’re the only top-level designer who won’t tie yourself to one manufacturer. We know about the offier you received from Deepstar last year. Very generous. It would have given you a sizable stake in the company.”
“It wouldn’t have given me the biggest power of all.”
“What’s that?”
“The power to say no. That’s more important to me than stock options.”
“Evidently. Still, when bidding on lucrative government contracts, any company would love to guarantee that Hannah Bryson will be on board.”
“You have my phone number and e-mail address. I’m happy to discuss your contracts on a project-by-project basis.”
Ebersole leaned closer and spoke quietly. “You’ll be hearing from us sooner than you might think.”
Hannah studied him. “Good heavens, Ebersole. You’re talking like you want me to join your mob in a jewelry heist.”
“Nothing that glamorous, I’m afraid. But AquaCorp wants your help on a very delicate project. A project, we’re afraid, you may not be too keen on. We had hoped not to involve you, but we knew it was always a possibility that your assistance would be needed. That’s the real reason you had such an easy time talking us into this multimillion-dollar expedition.”
“What the hell is it?”
“I’ve said too much already.”
“Don’t give me that bullshit. You didn’t just accidentally say too much.” Her gaze narrowed. “There’s no one more calculating than you are, Ebersole. You dress up in your Hawaiian shirt and come here to smooth the way for the bomb AquaCorp is planning to drop on me. Then you take one step forward and two steps back. Talk to me.”
He shrugged. “Can’t do it. I have my orders. I told them I should be up front with you, but they preferred I try to be subtle. Anyway, don’t be surprised when you get our call. And please keep in mind what AquaCorp has done for you.” He turned away. “We’ve been good partners. We could kick it over the top with this project.”
She watched him walk away.
He was the quintessential company man, and the company had sent him to feel her out on working with them on this “project.” She was uneasy. Secrecy was not uncommon in her business; aside from the national-security issues of military contracts, corporate espionage was always a concern. But Ebersole seemed to be talking about something else entirely. Of course, his odd demeanor could have been the result of nothing more than the tall, colorful drink in his hand. Maybe she was reading too much into it. At any rate, she wasn’t going to let it bother her tonight. She was going to go back to Melis and the guys and what might be their final party at Marinth.
CHAPTER
4
It was past one A.M. when Hannah heard the sound of a powerboat engine in the darkness. At first she thought it might have been one of the small crafts shuttling between Copernicus and Fair Winds, but she soon realized it was coming from the opposite direction. She glanced around the deck. The other revelers had heard it, too, and they gathered along the portside railing. Captain Danbury fired up a spotlight and shined it into the darkness.
Hannah walked toward him. “What is it?”
“I can’t see it yet.” Danbur
y nodded toward the lights of a larger boat several miles away. “Whoever it is, they might have come from there. That boat’s been anchored for the past couple of hours.”
As they watched, a beacon flashed from about fifty yards away. Danbury flashed his spotlight in return, then angled the spot toward the small craft, which Hannah saw was about ten feet in length. She could see three men on board. Two were seated, but the third, a distinguished-looking man in a dark suit, stood looking up at them.
He smiled. “Permission to come aboard, Captain Danbury.”
Danbury stepped from behind the spotlight and looked at the three men. “State your purpose.”
“I’m Agent Elijah Baker with the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency. I need to speak with Hannah Bryson. And Melis Nemid, if she’s here.” The man gestured toward Fair Winds. “That’s her boat, isn’t it?”
Hannah glanced at Melis and Ebersole, who had joined her at the railing. They looked just as bewildered as she was feeling.
The man smiled as he held up a wallet displaying a badge and an ID card. “I’m the real deal, I promise. Would you mind throwing down a ladder?”
Danbury nodded to a couple of his crew members. They threw open the lid of the strongbox, pulled out a rope ladder, then hooked it over the railing. The three men from the smaller boat climbed aboard the Copernicus. By now the music had stopped, and all eyes were on them.
The man who had identified himself as Elijah Baker extended his hand to Danbury. “Sorry to crash your party.” He glanced at Hannah. “You’re Hannah Bryson. I recognize you from your documentaries.” He turned to Melis and again showed his ID. “Ms. Nemid?”
“Yes, what are you doing here?”
“I’ll try to take as little of your time as possible. Is there somewhere we can go to talk? An office?”
Ebersole stepped forward. “I’m the COO of AquaCorp. We’re funding this expedition. Is there something you wish to discuss with me?”
“Absolutely nothing. My business is with Ms. Bryson and Ms. Nemid. They can bring you up to speed after we’ve spoken. I’m very busy. I really don’t want to waste any more time. Ladies?”
Hannah nodded toward the stairwell. “Follow me.”
Hannah had intended to lead Baker and Melis to the conference room, but at the last minute she decided to detour to the dining area. For some reason, Baker’s crisp air of command annoyed her. She had dealt with Feds before, both on expeditions and after Conner’s death, and she wasn’t about to let him dictate to her and Melis. She threw open the door of the galley, where covered platters of food were prepped and ready to be carted up to the party. Hannah pulled back a corner of one of the plastic wraps. “Want a salami-and-cheese finger sandwich?”
Baker shook his head. “No, thank you. This won’t do. Is there someplace more private we can go?”
“No one will bother us here. What’s on your mind?”
Baker glanced at Melis for support, but she only smiled. “You really should try the salami. It’s quite good.”
Baker shook his head. “I heard you had a problem with authority, Ms. Bryson.”
Hannah nibbled at a bit of cheese. “First of all, we would have to recognize you as having some kind of authority. We’re on an archaeological expedition in international waters. I don’t like orders. We’re happy to help you out in whatever it is you’re doing, but don’t pretend we’re in any way obligated to jump when you snap your fingers.”
He folded his arms across his chest. “I’m not pretending anything. I just want your cooperation. I did come a long way to talk to you.”
“I’ve been wondering about that. We do have satellite phones and e-mail.”
“I thought this warranted a personal visit. You recently dispatched an artifact recovered from this site. Is that correct?”
Hannah and Melis exchanged a glance.
“Yes,” Melis said. “It went out by helicopter this afternoon.”
“Would you care to tell me what the object was?”
“An artifact we recovered from the Marinth site. From a school.”
“Describe it. In detail.”
Melis frowned at Baker’s curt order but she continued. “It was part of a trellis, with inlaid colored jewels and crystals.”
“Valuable?”
“From a historical perspective, yes. It’s priceless. It fills in a major missing piece about the decline of this civilization. But the gems themselves are nothing spectacular. It’s not as if they’re diamonds and rubies. Most of them are colored quartz.”
“That’s what brought you out here?” Hannah asked.
Baker nodded. “Do you know where that artifact is now?”
“The helicopter took it to Santa Cruz de Tenerife. From there, a cargo jet is flying it to a lab in Athens.” Melis checked her watch. “It’s on the plane now.”
“Wrong,” Baker said. “Your artifact never made it onto the cargo plane.”
Melis stiffened. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“The helicopter brought it to the airport, right on schedule. But sometime in the next ninety minutes, while the crate was waiting to clear Customs, it vanished.”
“No!” Melis said.
“Vanished?” Hannah said. “Nothing vanishes into thin air. Was it stolen?”
“Probably. A Customs offcial’s body was found in the warehouse. But we suspect he may have actually helped with the hijacking.”
“It can’t be gone. I need that piece.” Melis’s hands were clenched into fists at her sides. “It’s the culmination of everything I’ve been working toward for years.”
“We’ll get it back,” Hannah said. She turned toward Baker. “And this still doesn’t explain why you’re here. Or even why you’re in this part of the world. What business does the intelligence community have with Melis’s artifact? What were you doing nosing around that cargo plane anyway?”
“Are either of you familiar with Vincent Gadaire?” Baker asked.
“Never heard of him,” Hannah said. “Should we have?”
“He’s an arms merchant. He’s been getting rich selling high-tech weaponry to every side of every conflict in the past fifteen years. Governments have even used him in situations in which they don’t want to get their hands dirty.” Baker unzipped a tablet computer and filled the screen with a photo of a strikingly attractive couple entering what appeared to be a red-carpet gala. “This is Gadaire and his mistress, Anna Devareau. He sometimes refers to her as his wife, depending on the social situation.”
Hannah studied the screen. “They look like supermodels at a movie premiere.”
“This was at last year’s Cannes Film Festival. He occasionally finances films, which means that he often has every actor and filmmaker with a pet project cozying up to him.”
Hannah studied the image of Gadaire and his girlfriend. Baker had chosen the picture wisely, she thought. It told her a lot about this couple, from their grace, easy confidence, and sheer power they had over the people around them. It was immediately apparent that they had a magnetism shared by many successful people she had known.
“What does he have to do with us?” she asked.
“That’s what I came out here to find out. We monitor his activities for a variety of reasons, and recently we got word that he’s taken an interest in your expedition.”
“Marinth?” Melis asked. “As an investment?”
“I doubt it. We’ve learned that at least three people have been murdered because of your lost city.”
Hannah stared at him. “Murdered? You think people have been killed because of what we’re doing out here? This is a historical expedition. As Melis told you, the artifacts she’s brought up are valuable but not priceless.”
“Something about your work here attracted Gadaire. He’s definitely involved.”
“That’s insane,” Melis said. “We’re not doing anything that you can’t watch on the Discovery Channel.”
“I guarantee Gadaire isn’t interested in the
Discovery Channel. What else are you doing that could be important to him?”
Melis shook her head. “Nothing.” She frowned. “A weapons dealer? Around the time we discovered Marinth, there was some thought that their ancient technology could be harnessed as a weapon. It was impressive, but in the end it was too inefficient to be used that way. I really don’t think the Marinthians possessed anything that Gadaire could use.”
“What you think doesn’t matter,” Baker said tersely. “It’s what Gadaire might think, even if he’s wrong. You said this stained-glass piece was important to you. Could it have been just as important to him?”
She shook her head. “It’s important only from a historical perspective. We’ve put together almost all the pieces regarding their civilization except the last one. Thousands of people have been studying Marinth ever since we found it, but no one knows how the civilization died out.”
“The island sunk, right?”
Melis made a face. “You probably saw that awful TV miniseries, with waves crashing over the island while the residents tried to escape. We do believe the actual submersion was caused by a tsunami that happened in the Canaries. But that was the last tragedy that took place. Marinth was already dying before that catastrophe. It was almost a ghost town at the time of the tsunami. We don’t know what happened to them, or if it was disease, invading armies, or some other natural catastrophe that cleared out this place. Whatever it was, the tsunami was only the final deathblow. The Marinthians documented everything, but until yesterday, we didn’t think anyone had recorded what ended their civilization. Once we restore the trellis, it might tell us exactly what we’ve been looking for.”
“Or maybe what Gadaire is looking for.” Baker glanced at Hannah. “I wonder if I may speak to Ms. Bryson alone for a moment.”
Melis started to leave, but Hannah put a hand on her arm. “No, anything you want to say to me, you can say in front of her. This is her city, dammit. It’s her artifact that was stolen. Melis and I have been friends for years. If you want to talk to me, she stays.”
Shadow Zone Page 6