‘I think you know.’ Vogler pointed at the doorway. ‘Out there is the greatest, the holiest place in history. The Garden of Eden, Dr Wilde! Paradise on earth, where God himself once walked! Destroying it would be . . . blasphemy. A mortal sin.’
‘What, worse than all your others?’
He prickled at the barb, but didn’t respond to it. ‘The discovery of the Garden of Eden doesn’t undermine Genesis,’ he said. ‘It confirms it. If Eden is revealed to the world, then it will show the faithful that they were right to believe.’
‘You might be right,’ said Nina. ‘Except for one minor inconvenience.’ She indicated the ancient body. ‘The Garden of Eden was his paradise, not ours.’
‘Which is why I have a dilemma - and why you may be the one to help me solve it.’
‘Why her?’ Ribbsley demanded. ‘In fact, why is she even still alive?’
‘A good question,’ Callum added. His gaze fixed on Sophia. ‘Why are any of them still alive, Vogler?’
‘Because she will be believed,’ said Vogler. ‘The world’s most famous archaeologist, the discoverer of Atlantis, and the tombs of King Arthur and Hercules? If she is the one who reveals that Eden has been found, everyone will accept her story.’
Nina gave him a humourless half-smile. ‘But if I tell the world about finding Eden, I’d tell the whole story - including the part about the Veteres being its original occupants. It’d be kind of hypocritical otherwise.’
‘But you’re already a practised hypocrite, Dr Wilde,’ Vogler countered. ‘You lied to the world about the real reasons behind Kristian Frost’s search for Atlantis. And I’m sure you lied in your official report to the UN about Excalibur being lost at sea.’
‘That - not telling the whole story about Atlantis was for security reasons,’ said Nina, wrong-footed, and trying to avoid Callum’s accusing stare. ‘If I’d announced that the discovery of Atlantis led to the world coming this close,’ she held her thumb and forefinger a bare inch apart, ‘to having a plague unleashed on it, there would have been total chaos!’
‘And what do you think will happen if you tell the billions of people who follow Christianity or Islam or Judaism that you have undeniable proof their beliefs are wrong?’
‘I—’ Nina began, before stopping as she considered the question. ‘Wait, you’ve seen the proof, and your beliefs haven’t changed,’ she said, changing the subject to avoid having to give an answer.
‘My beliefs are unshakeable. I would not be able to do what I do if they were not. Accepting the existence of the Veteres does not mean denying the existence of God. But there are many who will feel angry and afraid at having their beliefs challenged. And when people are angry and afraid . . . that is when order breaks down.’
‘Order, and obedience,’ Sophia said cuttingly. ‘Which is what religion is really all about, isn’t it? It wouldn’t be good to have people questioning what they’ve been told to believe.’
‘Mr Callum, if she speaks out of turn again, you can shoot her,’ said Vogler. Callum’s expression made it clear that he thought the decision was long overdue. Ribbsley watched the American closely, face tight. ‘Dr Wilde, do you remember what Cardinal di Bonaventura told you about the way the Vatican dealt with controversial scientific theories?’
‘Yeah. It accepted them.’
‘Over time. The Big Bang, evolution . . . the Church now accepts such things as fact. But that acceptance took years, even decades. Not because those within the Vatican resisted the ideas, but because the faithful would resist them if they were thrust upon them all at once. But if they are gradually introduced . . .’
‘. . . they’re believed,’ Nina concluded.
‘Yes. They eventually become part of catechism, and cannot be denied. But when the truth will seem so controversial, so dangerous, that truth needs time to be accepted.’ He looked back at the entrance. ‘You have found the Garden of Eden. I . . . I cannot allow it to be destroyed. It must be revealed to the world. But the Veteres are an integral part of Eden - yet I cannot reveal them to the world without risking chaos. Do you see my dilemma?’
‘Yeah. But I’m starting to see what you’ve got in mind for a solution.’
‘And do you approve?’
‘No. But I approve of the alternative even less.’
‘Mind filling the rest of us in?’ Chase asked.
‘He’s giving me two choices,’ Nina told him. ‘I tell the world about finding Eden, but don’t mention anything about the Veteres - for years. In the meantime, the Covenant gradually introduces the idea of them into the public consciousness, while they get theologians to work out ways to explain their existence that don’t contradict Genesis. Then, by the time their existence is actually revealed, the idea’s been around long enough to neutralise the shock value. Am I right?’ Vogler nodded.
‘And option B?’
She glanced at Vogler’s gun. ‘Bang, aargh, thud.’
‘Yeah, I thought so.’
‘So what is your decision, Dr Wilde?’ said Vogler. ‘One way or another, Eden must be revealed to the world . . . but whether by you or by someone else is entirely your choice. Make it now.’
Nina turned to Chase. ‘Eddie? This affects you too - what do you think?’
He shrugged. ‘Either cave in to these arseholes and lie to the world, or be dead? They’re both crap options, but the second one’s definitely crappier.’
‘I know.’ She squeezed his hand sadly, then reluctantly turned back to Vogler. ‘I don’t have much choice, do I? I . . . I accept your offer. At least this way, some truth will come out. Eventually.’
‘A wise decision,’ said Vogler.
‘Hardly!’ Ribbsley spluttered. ‘Do you really think she’ll go along with it?’
‘I think she’s a person of her word, yes.’
‘It doesn’t matter what you think,’ said Callum. ‘It’s the wrong choice.’
Vogler rounded on him. ‘That is not for you to decide, Mr Callum.’
‘Actually, it is.’ He drew his gun - and shot Vogler.
38
Nina gasped as Vogler fell to the floor, blood gushing from his abdomen. Before anyone could react, Callum unleashed a rapid-fire spray of bullets at the remaining Covenant troopers, felling them.
Vogler’s rifle landed near Chase. He was about to drop and grab it, but Callum had already seen the danger and was jabbing his gun at him. ‘Don’t even think about it!’ He gestured for Chase, Nina and Sophia to move towards the doorway.
Ribbsley retreated to the other side of the room. ‘Some explanation, please, Mr Callum?’
‘I’m correcting the Covenant’s bad choice.’ He reached into his jacket, flicking a switch on something within. ‘Mr President, did you hear all that?’
‘Loud and clear, Mr Callum.’ The voice was rendered hollow and metallic by the radio’s small loudspeaker, but it was still unmistakable: Victor Dalton, President of the United States of America. ‘Report your situation.’
‘All remaining Covenant forces are dead or,’ he glanced at Vogler, who was weakly clutching the bullet wound, ‘disabled. Still here are Chase, Professor Ribbsley, Dr Wilde . . . and Sophia Blackwood.’
‘Hello, Victor,’ said Sophia, almost chattily. ‘It’s been a while.’
There was a pause before Dalton spoke again, choosing to ignore her. ‘Mr Callum, I take it that the Garden of Eden contains what we feared?’
‘Yes, sir. Definitive proof of a non-human civilisation pre-dating mankind - which influenced the story told in the Book of Genesis.’
Another pause. ‘I see. In that case, Mr Callum - codeword: Revelation.’
‘Understood, sir,’ said Callum. Still covering Nina, Chase and Sophia, he adjusted a setting on the radio. ‘Abaddon, Abaddon, this is Archangel. Do you copy?’
‘Roger, Archangel,’ came a distorted Texan voice, ‘this is Abaddon. I read you.’
‘Abaddon, you have authorisation to proceed with the operation, these co-ordinates. G
ive me estimated time to initiation.’
‘Archangel, I estimate fifteen minutes to initiation. Will that give you sufficient time to egress area?’
‘Affirmative, Abaddon. Begin operation now. Archangel out.’
‘Confirmed, Archangel. Commencing operation. Out.’
Callum flicked the switch back. ‘Mr President, the operation is under way.’
‘What operation?’ Nina demanded.
Dalton sounded faintly amused. ‘Abaddon, Dr Wilde, is the codename of a B-2 stealth bomber that took off from our base in Uganda about an hour ago and is now circling over Sudanese airspace at sixty thousand feet. Mr Callum just gave the order for it to drop two MOPs on what the pilots have been told is a high-value terrorist target.’
‘MOPs?’ Nina suspected she wouldn’t like the meaning of the acronym.
‘Massive Ordnance Penetrators,’ said Callum. ‘Thirty-thousand-pound bunker-busters.’
‘Earthquake bombs,’ added Chase.
‘Ah. But - but why? What do you gain from destroying Eden?’
‘That’s not your concern any more, Dr Wilde. Mr Callum, I’ll let you get moving. But one last thing - you know your orders. Carry them out . . . starting with Sophia Blackwood.’
‘My pleasure, sir. Callum out.’ He switched off the radio, then stepped forward, shifting his gun from Chase to Sophia.
‘Kill me, and Victor’s career is over,’ she said. ‘The recording of us together will be released.’
‘You’re already officially dead,’ he reminded her with a cold grin. ‘Nothing happened. The president’s position is secure.’
‘Oh, nice job with the blackmail,’ Nina muttered as Sophia’s face fell. ‘You didn’t think of that?’
‘Actually, I did. But I was rather hoping nobody else had.’
Callum’s smile widened as he took aim at Sophia’s heart—
Blam!
The gunshot echoed round the chamber - but it hadn’t come from Callum’s gun, which flew from his hand to land inside the burial chamber. The white-haired man yelled in pain.
‘Sorry, old chap,’ said Ribbsley, his own smoking pistol tracking Callum. ‘But I can’t let you do that.’
‘Good shot,’ Chase said in sarcastic admiration.
‘Before I entered academia, I was an officer in the Rhodesian army. Not a skill-set I draw on very often, but it can be useful.’
Sophia gave him a relieved smile. ‘You cut that rather close, Gabriel.’
‘I knew I could trust you when you gave me back my laptop in Australia, so you could trust me too.’
‘You gave him back his laptop?’ Nina said, angry.
‘Just hedging my bets,’ said Sophia, joining Ribbsley. ‘After all, my long-term prospects for survival with you and Eddie weren’t really any higher than with the Covenant.’
‘Well, you’re safe now,’ said Ribbsley as she picked up a dead soldier’s rifle. ‘Everything’s worked out very well. We found Eden, we have a surprisingly intact Veteres body, and Callum even took care of the Covenant for us.’
‘We also have a stealth bomber bearing down on our heads, and less than fifteen minutes to get clear.’ She looked at her watch. ‘Less than fourteen, in fact.’
‘Once we reach the helicopter, we’ll be out of here in two. Keep them covered.’ He picked up Vogler’s SIG, then entered the burial chamber, reaching into the sarcophagus and tearing at the shroud.
‘What are you doing?’ Nina asked.
‘An insurance policy. And a retirement policy,’ Ribbsley told her as he ripped away the last of the cloth, then gripped the corpse by its neck. ‘The Covenant may have lost its leaders, but it still exists. With this - or rather, with the threat of the DNA evidence it’ll provide - I’ll be able to renegotiate my terms with the new leaders.’
‘Trade the proof for money?’ said Nina in disgust.
‘Something like that.’
Everyone reacted in momentary surprise as Vogler spoke, his quavering voice revealing the intense agony he was suffering. ‘Not . . . the deal . . . we made . . .’ He went limp.
‘The deal you made is no longer relevant,’ Ribbsley told him, straining at the skeleton. ‘Because soon you’ll be dead, and so will Dr Wilde, and this entire place will be a smoking hole in the ground. A shame, a waste, but one has to make the best of changing circumstances.’ With a last grunt, he tore the skull from the body with a dry crack. He looked into its decayed face, then wrapped it in the torn piece of shroud and returned to the larger chamber. ‘Time we were going.’
‘One minute, Gabriel,’ said Sophia. She smiled again, this time with a cat-like malice. ‘There are some people I’ve waited a long time to deal with. And so many choices! Who should I kill first?’ She pointed the gun at Callum. ‘My charming chaperone, perhaps? I’m really going to enjoy watching your boss squirm. Or . . .’ the weapon came round to Chase, ‘the last - and least - of my ex-husbands? ’
‘Hey!’ said Chase, offended.
The muzzle settled on Nina. ‘Or you, Nina?’ Sophia fingered the scar on her cheek as she moved closer. ‘You’ve already given me so much to remember you by.’
‘Glad I won’t be forgotten,’ said Nina.
‘Oh, I won’t be giving you much thought. The media will, though, what with such an ignominious end to your career. The discoverer of Atlantis, fired from her post in disgrace before disappearing and dying in anonymity. Unmourned. Sad, really.’
‘At least she won’t have people lining up to piss on her grave,’ Chase said.
‘They can do whatever they like to my grave, as long as I’m not in it. Unlike our religious friends here,’ said Sophia, ‘I believe that you only get one life, and all that matters in it is winning. I’m legally dead - a spot of plastic surgery, a deal with the Covenant, and Gabriel and I will be free to do exactly as we please. The best revenge, as they say, is living well . . . and I intend to live very well.’
Ribbsley walked towards the main door, looking back impatiently. ‘Neither of us will be living if we don’t get out of here, Sophia. Just kill them and let’s go.’
‘Oh, very well,’ sighed Sophia, for the briefest moment glancing at him—
Chase’s hand lashed out, trying to knock the gun from her grip.
He wasn’t quite close enough, only catching the weapon a glancing blow. Sophia instinctively fired, the bullet slicing past Chase to hit the wall behind him. Startled, then enraged, she whipped the gun round at his chest, about to fire at point-blank range—
Nina whipped the penknife from her pocket and stabbed its blade deep into the back of her wrist.
Sophia shrieked and jumped away, trying to fire - but the blade was jammed between the bones of her forearm, paralysing the tendons.
Chase was about to lunge at her, until he saw Callum diving for one of the dead troopers’ rifles. Ribbsley was also bringing up his own pistol. He immediately changed tactics, grabbing Nina and leaping with her into the burial chamber. He shoved her away from the entrance as he searched for Callum’s fallen gun.
Sophia had also seen Callum snatching up the rifle. She hurled herself over one of the stone benches and took cover behind it, pulling the blade from her wrist. ‘Bitch!’ she hissed as she tossed the bloodied penknife away and painfully flexed her fingers.
Callum was about to fire at her, but Ribbsley got off the first shot as he found cover behind another bench near the entrance. Callum was left with no choice but to throw himself into the second, unexplored, burial chamber, disappearing into the darkness.
Chase found Callum’s gun, a Smith and Wesson Sigma 40P, and snatched it up before pressing his back against the wall beside the entrance. He examined the weapon. Ribbsley’s shot had dented the slide, the steel buckled forward of the ejection port. He racked it experimentally, hand over the port to catch the unfired bullet. The slug plopped coldly into his palm as he pulled the slide fully back - but it was extremely stiff, not moving smoothly along its rails. If he fired, there was a ve
ry high chance of a jam. He would have to rack the slide manually for each shot. Quickly ejecting the magazine, he clicked the stray bullet into its top before slapping it back into place.
‘Sophia!’ Ribbsley shouted. ‘Are you okay?’
‘That bitch stabbed me!’ she yelled back.
‘Get over here, I’ll cover you!’ Crouching, the professor looked round the side of the bench, gun fixed on the entrance to the second burial chamber.
Chase risked a look round his own doorway. He caught a glimpse of Sophia as she shuffled quickly between two of the benches, but not enough of her to take a shot. He leaned out slightly further, trying to spot Callum - and jerked back as Ribbsley changed targets and took a shot at him, the bullet pitting the stone beside his head.
Another gunshot - but this was closer. Callum darted out to take a shot at Ribbsley, forcing him to duck. The American was about to make a run for the cover of another bench when Chase fired at him. The bullet went wide, but the startled Callum still flinched back into the dark room.
Chase looked at his gun. The spent casing had ejected, but the slide was stuck in the locked-back position, even though there were still bullets in the magazine. Cursing, he forced it forward until he felt the mechanism chamber the next round.
Sophia took advantage of the distraction to hurry to Ribbsley’s position, picking up another SIG assault rifle from one of the dead men en route. Ribbsley looked in dismay at her blood-soaked wrist. ‘My God, you’re—’
‘Never mind that,’ she snapped. ‘Get to the chopper and start it up - I’ll keep them pinned down here until you’re at takeoff speed.’ He looked about to object, but her barked order of ‘Go on, go!’ silenced him. Instead, he waited until she was ready to fire, then made a run for the exit as she blasted two shots at Callum’s position and a single one at Chase’s before dropping down again.
Nina jumped as the bullet hit the burial chamber’s back wall. ‘What’s happening?’
‘Got a bit of a Mexican stand-off,’ said Chase, peering cautiously round the doorway. ‘I’ve got Callum pinned, he’s got us pinned, and Sophia’s got a good angle on us both.’ He could see Sophia’s shadow in the light coming through the mausoleum’s entrance, but she herself was in full cover.
The Covenant of Genesis Page 45
