by P. W. Child
“All I have left from the good old days, is you, my friend,” Sam moaned through the rising burn of heartbreak and nausea. “My new friends have destroyed my old, happy life. Have you noticed? Now I’m chummy with,” he shrieked in a high voice to imitate some royal snob, “the grand billionaire adventurer and scientist, David Purdue. Ooh, we dr-dri...we drink together and fight over a girl!”
He laughed out the absurdity and acted mad as a hatter to exclaim his malcontent. “But hey, y-you know, that's okay, because she is nice enough to throw a lad a bone every now and then,” he said, calming slightly at the thought of Nina Gould. “Actually, she let's a lad throw her a bone...is...is what I meant to say.”
The feline had had enough. With the onslaught of Sam's breath, his shouting, and incessant hard petting Bruich decided to call it a night. He pulled away from Sam's grip and scampered off the couch, disappearing into the shadows of the hallway. Sam did not even care anymore that even his cat had deserted him. His sorrow gave way to numbness. “It’s time to sever ties, I think. Aye! It’s time I bury Purdue once and for all.”
Chapter 12
The next morning, after Nina had finally managed to get a few hours' sleep in, she woke feeling quite disorientated. At first she didn’t know where she was. Then she noticed the ornate ceiling above her in the fashion of the Chateau de Versailles and the massive world map wall painting that adorned the east wall. The first thing she saw when her vision cleared in waking were the words Here Be Monsters, placed exactly in the center of the small etches that denoted the ocean ripples of the Tyrrhenian Sea.
“No shit,” she muttered as the words of warning took on a strange status of prophecy for her. She thought about poor devastated Sam and the monsters he’d been dealing with, as well as her own recent demons that refused her comfort. “Isn't it ironic that I get my first night of decent, dreamless sleep in Purdue's house?” she wondered in a whisper as she slid her legs off the bed and placed her feet onto the shaggy, luxurious Korean silk carpet. It felt like heaven to Nina's weary feet, the fleecy gentle caress that cradled her soles. “Hmm,” she smiled as she rubbed her feet back and forth in the long, soft hair.
Vaguely she recalled the kind night cook and the lovely shower she’d so enjoyed, but suddenly the most important fraction of her recollection shot forward, reminding Nina that she had much to facilitate after she had brushed her teeth and dressed. The butler's visit haunted her terribly, for his tidings had been nothing short of alarming. But Nina thought it best to keep her cards close to the chest for now, until she could see if there was an alternative way to deal with what Charles had conveyed to her.
“Good morning, Dr. Gould,” Purdue grinned as she entered the vast kitchen. He was looking dreadfully unkempt and exhausted, but somehow gleeful. “Could I interest you in a cup of tea?”
The entire place was deserted, since the day staff didn’t come in until 7 a.m. Only then did Nina realize how early in the morning it was. It would appear that she had not tied in as many hours sleep as she had initially thought. “Coffee, please,” she said, slightly bewildered. “Were you up all night?”
“Well, there was not much night left to be up through, was there?” he shrugged. “A meager few dark morning hours hardly make for a good night's rest, do they? Incidentally, how did you sleep?”
“Actually, very well. Thanks,” she affirmed. “Considering I haven’t been sleeping for more than two hours at a time since I’ve been healing on, it was a godsend.”
“I'm sure,” he agreed as he swiftly placed the filter full of coffee in the machine and poured the water. His long fingers did not miss a beat and before Nina knew it, the coffee maker switch was glowing orange and the sweet odor of percolated caffeine filled the room. “What was it that you wanted to discuss with me last night?” he asked out of the blue. Nina thought Purdue had forgotten, perhaps conveniently, only to get her to his house and advise him on whatever he’d discovered; surprisingly, he was interested in hearing what she wanted to tell him. “You look like Atlas, my dear,” he remarked. Upon Nina's momentary oblivion he clarified, “The weight of the world is on your shoulders.”
Nina sighed, “Oh, aye. That can’t be more accurate.”
“So, I'm all ears,” he smiled, waiting patiently for the coffee, and her, to filter through.
“It's Sam, Purdue.”
“You have to be a bit more specific with that lad,” Purdue chuckled. But soon he noticed that what was bearing on Nina was no laughing matter.
“Alright, I'll just come out and say it,” she geared up. “Paddy, Sam's best friend...”
“The MI6 agent,” Purdue filled in by memory.
“Aye,” she confirmed, placing her open hands together and spreading her fingers out wide, “his daughter was abducted by the same man I saved that young woman from outside the gym in Quartermile.”
“Oh, Jesus!” Purdue exclaimed.
“And Sam thinks that it’s the fulfillment of a threat Paddy’d received after the trouble in Romania when he arrested those men affiliated with the Black Sun.”
Purdue gave it some thought, trying to remember the circumstances. He inhaled deeply as it came back to him and pointed at Nina. “When we looked for that evil deck of cards, the Black Tarot of Hoia Baciu?”
“Aye,” she said.
“Who threatened Patrick, then?” Purdue asked, suddenly sober with urgent sincerity.
“I don't know exactly,” she admitted, “but when Sam helped Paddy and Interpol capture Greta Heller's son, Igor, he ended up on their radar. It could very well have been Igor himself, because I remember that it was after that incident that Patrick first distanced himself from Sam. Only that time it was because...”
“Because he was helping us, covering our tracks when we had to go above the law. Yes, yes, I know, Nina. I recall that he asked Sam not to contact him anymore for our messes,” Purdue clarified. “But to cut Sam off completely was not part of the deal, was it?”
“No, it wasn't. But that all changed when one of the Black Sun's dogs took his daughter,” she reminded Purdue. “Look, we can’t blame Paddy for directly blaming Sam for his involvement with these people, because we were the ones who dragged him into our Nazi relic hunting. Sam was...is...Paddy's only link to the Order of the Black Sun and all the pestilent affiliates it has. But my concern is for Sam. My God, Purdue, you should have seen him. He was in a state! It was bad enough for him to part ways with his best friend of twenty years, but imagine hearing that he wanted to sever all ties after all those years of friendship!”
Purdue stared at her in silence, wondering if she appreciated the similarities between what she was lamenting about for Sam and the very same situation between Purdue and her not too long ago. “Yes, I can very well imagine what that feels like, my dear Nina, to be discarded by a close and dear friend for inadvertently putting their lives in danger.”
Nina realized. She chewed her tongue, trying to think of something to say. “Purdue,” she started gently, “we're good again, you and I.” She understood how much he had sacrificed to get her back, to be allowed into her life again, and she was grateful. As much as he was the initial cause of her trouble, he was ultimately the man who had saved her life twice over to redeem himself. Nina stepped closer to Purdue and cradled his face in her palms as she stood on pointed toes. “I forgave you. I know, I know...what you did. I really do. When nobody else bothered to find me you came to pull me out of the enemy's hands and you made sure I got the...right treatment.” She smiled, “Unorthodox as it was.”
Purdue's stubble stung at her hands, but she did not care. It was the first time in years she’d stood so close to him, so close that she could see his eyes. Not the color, but the soul. “Speaking of the right treatment,” he whispered. He did not smile, but his eyes narrowed kindly as he drew her closer and leaned in to kiss her. Purdue was secretly elated that she was not resisting at all, but just before their lips met an unholy gargling roared from the coffee percolator, making
them both jump in fright.
Reluctantly he let go of the small beauty, both laughing at the awkward interruption. “I assume your coffee is ready, dear lady,” Purdue jested, although he was bitterly disappointed in the terrible timing.
Remind me to throw out this bloody cock-blocker, he ranted internally as he poured Nina's coffee.
He handed her the mug of steaming, black coffee with two sugars and stirred. “Ta,” she smiled.
“So tell me, what do you suggest we do about Sam?” Purdue asked her.
“We have to get him out of Scotland. Actually, off the island would be even better. He needs to be occupied, you know? There must be a way to remind him that he is worth a lot, that it wasn’t his fault and all that. Savvy?”
“Knowing that man, you are endeavoring the near impossible, Nina,” he disillusioned her. “You know that he isn’t that easily hoodwinked.”
“But we’d not be hoodwinking, Purdue,” she insisted. “I’m talking about a bona fide job outside the UK where you can use his expertise.” Nina was almost jumping up and down, trying to make her case convincing enough to egg Purdue on. “Come on, Purdue. What is the thing you are working on right now, hey? What is this relic you need my help on? Let's get Sam in on it so that he can get away from the bleak skies of Queensferry and we can keep him at bay from Kirkcaldy. You know, just so he can be somewhere unfamiliar, somewhere that doesn’t remind him of childhood friends.”
Her pleading expression was priceless. Purdue had never imagined that he would ever see Nina beg, especially beg him! It was rather ego-friendly, but he elected not to milk the matter or exhibit his flattered demeanor. “You know, I’d need an expert to record our findings and publish the whole find on behalf of the British Museum or the Arcane Society, since I’m currently playing dead.”
Nina smiled, content.
“Now, what is it you got your hands on that merited such secrecy? And kept you up all night?” she asked. He grinned mischievously and took her free hand, leading her to the door that led down to the sub-level storeroom where he kept the thing he was so fascinated with.
“Purdue, it isn’t something I have to wear a Hazmat suit for, is it?” she joked.
Purdue looked back at her with a pitiful pout. “Low blow.”
“I'm sorry,” she smiled. “It's just, with you I never know what kind of dangerous toy will present itself and threaten everyone's survival while you dance in the lightning of it. You know, I don't think you realize just how unheeding you are towards the dangers you dip your toes into. Things that pose a downright deadly warning to other people are like a welcome mat to you.”
“Oh, stop the flattery already,” Purdue chuckled, pulling her into the dark landing area, almost spilling her coffee. He switched on the light that illuminated the plain set of cement stairs that led down to the storeroom.
“I haven't been down here yet,” she mentioned.
“No, you haven't. I had some more subterranean rooms constructed while you...” he hesitated, almost blurting out the wrong things, “...while you were sick.”
“Hiding?” she asked.
“I’m not going to lie. Of late I’ve been feeling considerably more like an animal, a pest that has disturbed too many farmers, you know?” At the first door he punched a code into yet another keypad that deactivated a deadly electrical current, only this device frame was smaller than the one she’d witnessed in the car garage the night before.
“Aye, I’m surprised this wisdom didn’t possess you a few years back already. You’ve been toying with some really nasty snakes, Purdue, and without gloves no less. Thank God you’ve come to your senses.”
He opened the door and stepped aside for her to see. Above the large wooden chest a beam of bluish light fell in hues. Dust particles flurried inside the visible column that lit up the relic. Nina stepped inside, caught in awe as she passed her coffee mug back to Purdue. After a moment's assessment she looked at him, half annoyed and half intrigued. “Really, Purdue? Really? The Ark of the Covenant?”
“I knew you'd recognize it instantly,” he replied serenely.
Nina looked frazzled. She shook her head and shrugged, “It's official. You’re out of your mind!”
Chapter 13
Nina bent her knees as she prowled around the artifact. Her dark eyes were wide open as if she were trying to see more than the obvious with every inch she perused. As she progressed along the sides, her fingers trailed the intricate designs carved into the wood.
“The gold inlays are fake, did you know?” she remarked.
“Yes,” he agreed, “but that’s just the thing. This isn’t the Ark of the Covenant at all. It only resembles it, but any trained eye will discern the obvious discrepancies present in the piece.”
“Like the Swastika?” she stared at Purdue with a deliberate mock amazement. “Duh!”
“But do you find anything peculiar about rest?” Purdue pressed.
“This is so weird. Where did you get this?” she asked. “Was this why you were in Ethiopia?”
“Aksum, to be exact,” he answered. Purdue was leaning against the doorway, his shirt untidy and hanging outside his pants. He did make some effort to tame his wild, white-blond hair, but had only managed to keep the sides of his head neat. “Notice the obvious differences between the Biblical Ark and this one? Is it just me, or should these people have known that this was not the Ark containing the tablets Moses received the Ten Commandments on?”
Nina looked at him, still sporting a scowl. “Wait, they think this is the real Ark?”
“That's just it, Nina. Either they have no idea that this is something else, or they know and they revere this chest more than the actual Ark. Either way, it’s a mystery to me why this one was made.”
“Look, they play it pretty close, whoever made this thing,” she suggested as she felt her way along the smooth, gilded patterns and corners. “Right down to the Cherubim on the lid, but I bet this isn’t the one Ron Wyatt claimed to have discovered.”
“Ron Wyatt?” he asked.
Without looking up from her scrutiny, Nina quickly explained. “The late archaeologist who claimed to have discovered the Ark of the Covenant, along with a myriad of other Biblical relics,” she sighed. “But his work was never respected by scholars, Creationists, scientists, et al.”
“So what do you think about the more modern markings?” he urged.
“Look, according to the Book of Exodus the Ark was supposed to have been fashioned entirely from gold and with four rings of gold at the corners. You know, two-two,” she described, “on the sides to put the rods through that they used to carry it. Now, those staves were supposed to be made of shittim wood...”
Purdue chuckled. Nina tried not to smile at his juvenile response, but she couldn’t help but find his channeling of Sam Cleave's sense of humor funny. “Also known as seyal wood,” she continued, “it was supposed to be covered with gold, but both you and I both know that this isn’t gold.”
“It looks like pyrite,” Purdue remarked. “Fool's gold.”
“That is precisely what it is, old boy,” she winked. “Yet they still revered this knock-off?”
He nodded.
Nina was perplexed. “Look, these people are not exactly well educated, but it’s quite evident that this is not the Ark. Have you checked inside?” she asked. It was the question Purdue had been waiting for.
“I have no idea how,” he replied. “What do you think kept me up all night?”
“Oh shit! So you have no way of opening this?”
“I could easily open it by force, but I first wanted to know what I’m dealing with.”
“Wow, you are just all grown-up lately, aren't you?” she jested. “When did you grow this responsible hormone you seem to have cultivated, Mr. Purdue?”
“Oh, you know, it comes with almost getting killed constantly,” he smiled. “Do you think the Nazi's left this relic as a replacement, perhaps? Could they have stolen the real deal and left thi
s as decoy?”
“Not that I know of, Purdue,” she sighed. “I would dare to guess that this is an entirely different artifact that holds its own secret. The fact that it resembles the Ark of the Covenant is merely coincidence, I think. But we will only know what its purpose is once we open the lid and have a look to see what they were up to.”
Purdue cleared his throat. “You know, I’m not one to be influenced by entertainment and films and such...”
She rose to her feet, “But you’re afraid that your face might melt off?”
Purdue had to smile. She was right. He was concerned about the influence of what could be inside the chest. But after all he’d been through to procure it—the lives it had cost—it was his duty to investigate the contents.
Nina was equally fascinated by the purpose of the chest, but on a strictly historical basis.
“It is rather enticing, isn't it?” She smiled as she folded her arms and stood by Purdue's side. “I mean, this is almost like the antithesis of the relic itself. It is like the...the Anti-Ark.”
Purdue sniggered. “I do like that one!”
From the shelf Nina took an aluminum ruler normally employed to measure carpentry and set it carefully along the side. Purdue helped her hold it fixed to the lid's flanks.
“Look at this,” she carried on, her eyes spying every detail of the religious icon. “The measurements are precisely accurate with those reputedly dictated to Moses for its construction, if memory serves me correctly. However,” she raised an eyebrow, “the etchings are wrong. Even the Cherubim on the lid are facing away from one another, unlike the effigies on the actual Ark. Their wing tips are said to meet in the middle.”