“That’ll make my boss very happy,” the white-haired man replied.
“And you too?”
“I wouldn’t say happy. But there’ll be some … job satisfaction.”
Zamal smirked, then looked around as Ribbsley finished taking his photographs. “That should be enough to work from for now,” the professor announced. “But at this point, gentlemen, perhaps I could finally be allowed to have some supper?”
“I have no objections,” said Vogler. “And I don’t think the Triumvirate needs to call a vote.” Hammerstein shook his head, while Zamal merely shrugged.
“Excellent. Then if you don’t mind, I’ll go and find out what Fortnum and Mason has in store for me tonight.” With the laptop under his arm, Ribbsley crossed the chamber and climbed out through the hole. The others followed him.
Nina waited as long as she could bear, then jumped up, flapping at the object embedded in her backside. “My ass, my ass!” she hissed through gritted teeth as she hopped about in pain. “There’s something stuck in my ass!”
“Ah, you never want to try new things,” Chase whispered jovially as he glanced through the hole to make sure the men had left, then came over.
“Get it out, get the damn thing out!” She let out a keening moan. “What is it?”
“It’s a needle.” He reached for it. “Hold still, let me just …”
She stifled a shriek as he tugged it out, her eyes flooding with tears. “Oh, ow, son of a fuck, oww!”
“It’s a big one,” said Chase, holding up the bloodied needle, a good four inches long, to show her.
“And it’s been in here for thousands of years! I’ve probably caught some extinct disease off it.”
He patted her arm. “I’ll give you a jab when we get back to the Landie. But we need to go—I heard them say that as soon as Del Monte finds this city, they’re going to kill his girlfriend. We’ve got to rescue her.”
“How? He’ll be with her by now!”
“I’ll come up with something.” He moved back to the hole. Nina started to follow, then picked up the two clay cylinders Ribbsley had examined. “What’re you doing?” Chase asked impatiently.
“Ribbsley translated the text on them.”
“So?”
“So, it’ll give me something to work from—I’ve got to try to translate the rest of the inscription before he does!” She dropped both cylinders into a pocket and joined him. Nobody was outside, the way clear.
They retraced their path through the camp. The two mechanics had joined the other men for their evening meal—and so, Chase saw as they climbed cautiously from the trench, had the three Covenant leaders, the white-haired man … and Ribbsley. “Come on, hurry up,” he said as they reached the parked vehicles. “We can grab his girlfriend and make a run for it before he gets back.”
Nina still wasn’t convinced of the wisdom of the rescue mission, but she said nothing. They reached the Winnebago, which had lights on inside it. Chase tried to peek through a window, but the curtains were drawn. “Okay, wait here,” he told Nina. “I’ll go in and get her. If anyone looks like they’re coming this way, knock on the door.”
“And then what?”
“One step at a time. Back in a tick.” He opened the side door and darted inside.
The Winnebago’s interior was large enough to be divided into individual rooms. Chase found himself in a well-appointed lounge, an expensive hamper open on a table. There was a wine-bottle-sized space among the contents, so he guessed Ribbsley had gone to get a corkscrew, or ice.
Which meant he would be back very soon.
Nobody was in the front of the RV, and he could see that the bathroom was unoccupied, which left another door at the rear of the lounge—the bedroom. He went to it, turned the handle, stepped inside—
And froze in shock.
The blond woman on the bed stared back at him in equal surprise, but recovered more quickly. “Hello, Eddie,” said Sophia Blackwood.
FIFTEEN
Sophia,” said Chase, “what the fuck are you doing here?”
“I might ask you the same,” she replied, her nearly flawless face—its only imperfection a scar across one cheek, courtesy of Nina—and aristocratic voice exactly as he remembered them, despite the very different hairstyle. “Although rather less coarsely.”
“No, I mean what are you doing here, still breathing?”
“It’s a long story.” She changed position, revealing that her hands were still cuffed behind her back—and attached to a short chain fixed to the bed. “I’d tell it to you, but I’m not exactly sitting comfortably.”
“Didn’t know you were into bondage.”
Sophia gave him a once very familiar look of annoyance. “It’s hardly by choice. My, ah, associates have this funny idea that given half a chance, I’ll try to escape.”
“Or kill them.”
“That would be the other half of the chance.” She rattled the chain. “I assume you came in here looking for someone to rescue. Don’t stop on my account.”
Chase laughed mockingly to cover the whirling confusion of his feelings. “Yeah, right. Last time I saw you, you shot me with a poison dart!”
“Yes, I thought you might bring that up. Would it help if I said I was really very sorry?”
A noise—Nina rapping on the door. “Shit! Someone’s coming.”
Sophia rattled the chain again, now with a calculating smile. “It’d be terrible if I shouted to the entire camp that you were here.”
“I could just kill you.”
“Cold-blooded murder of a defenseless woman? Not really your style.”
Now it was his turn to smile, icily. “I’ve got a piece of paper that says you’re already dead. I’d just be making it official.”
Another knock, more frantic, then the Winnebago’s door opened and Nina rushed inside. “Eddie, what’re you doing?” she said, seeing him in the bedroom and hurrying over. “Ribbsley’s—Gah!”
“Nina as well?” said Sophia, arching an eyebrow. “Quite the reunion we’ve got going on.”
“You told me she was dead!” Nina spluttered to Chase.
“Yeah, looks like they were a bit quick with the death certificate. Where’s Ribbsley?”
“On his way back!” She tugged at his arm. “Come on, we’ve got to go!”
Sophia shook the chain once more. “A-hem.”
Nina stared at her. “Are you kidding me?”
“If you don’t, I’ll raise the alarm.”
“Too late now anyway,” said Chase, hearing movement outside. He pulled Nina into the bedroom and shut the door. A moment later, they felt the Winnebago shift on its suspension as someone entered the lounge.
“Oh, Sophia,” called Ribbsley in a singsong voice, “I’m ba-ack! Sorry about the wait, but I needed to get some more ice. Still, pleasures are greatest in the anticipation, as the saying goes.” He opened the bedroom door—
Chase yanked him inside. The ice bucket he was carrying fell to the floor, ice cubes scattering as the champagne bottle in it bounced across the room. Chase drew back his other fist to punch him.
“Don’t hurt him!” Sophia ordered, concern in her voice. Chase gave her a surprised look but lowered his hand.
Ribbsley stared at Chase in fear, then saw Nina behind him. His eyes widened. “Dr. Wilde?”
Nina stepped around Chase—and punched Ribbsley square in the face. “That was for telling the Covenant about the photos of the tablet, you son of a bitch! A friend of mine almost died because of you.” She moved back, eyeing Sophia. “Okay, now will somebody tell me what the hell is going on here? Starting with why you’re still alive?”
“I have Gabriel to thank for that,” Sophia said, looking at Ribbsley as he clutched his nose. “The Covenant needed him to translate the text and lead the expedition to find this place. He had a condition—for me to be freed from Guantánamo. Since the Covenant has influence over certain people in high places, they were able to arrange it.” She gl
anced at Chase. “How exactly did they do it?”
“They showed me a body with half its face missing and said it was you,” he related grimly. “They must have found someone who looked a lot like you—then killed her to take your place.”
“Really? She must have been a very good likeness if she was able to fool you.” Sophia’s expression showed nothing more than mild interest at the revelation.
Nina was more emotional. “You don’t care that some innocent woman was murdered to get you out of jail? No, of course you don’t. You don’t care about anyone but yourself.”
“Except him, apparently,” Chase said, pushing Ribbsley into a corner. “Why’s he so special, Sophia?”
“Why do you think, Eddie?” Sophia asked. “He loves me. He has done for years, ever since I was his student at Cambridge.”
“Eddie?” said Ribbsley, regarding Chase with a look now less of fear than of distaste. “Eddie Chase?”
Chase grinned at him and nodded. “’Ow do?”
“This?” Ribbsley cried, his Rhodesian accent growing stronger as he became more agitated. “This is the man you left me to marry? This, this … thug?”
“Prefer ‘yob’ myself,” said Chase mildly.
Ribbsley ignored him. “I cannot believe this, Sophia! What on earth could you possibly have seen in him? He’s just some crude, uneducated, loutish … Neanderthal!”
“Hey!” Nina snapped. “You’re talking about my fiancé, asshole!”
He sneered at her. “Ah, that famous New York charm. That explains what you see in him, I suppose. You’re about on a par in terms of class.”
“Oh, do be quiet, Gabriel,” Sophia chided. He looked stung. “Nina, I assume you’re here looking for the same thing as Gabriel and the Covenant—the lost civilization of the Veteres.” She sighed. “Such a pretentious name. But the thing is, Gabriel has a rather considerable advantage. He knows their language, and you don’t. But if you free me … I can give you a way to negate that advantage instantly. Because I know it, too.”
“Sophia!” said Ribbsley, horrified. “What are you doing?”
“Sorry, darling, but I need to put my best interests first.” She looked back at Nina and Chase. “There’s another reason why I’d prefer you to find it before the Covenant. The moment Gabriel’s job is done … they’ll kill me.”
“She’s right,” said Chase. “I heard that white-haired bloke talking about it.”
“Wouldn’t that be a shame,” Nina muttered.
“They won’t,” said Ribbsley, pushing out his chest. “I won’t let them.”
Sophia sighed. “For God’s sake, Gabriel. Are you really that full of yourself? If it ever got out that I’d been spirited from Guantánamo and was still alive, it would spark the biggest witch hunt in American history. And you know where it would end.” She gave him a meaningful look. “So once you find what the Covenant is looking for, Callum will kill me.”
“Callum!” Nina exclaimed, the memory finally coming to her. “I knew I’d seen him before. Eddie, don’t you remember? At the U.S. embassy in London—he was one of the guys working with Jack Mitchell!”
The name and face connected for Chase, too. “But I thought he worked for DARPA?”
“Jack lied about working for them, so maybe this guy did, too.”
“You already know him? My, my, such a small world,” said Sophia sarcastically. “But no, he doesn’t work for DARPA. His name’s Michael Callum, and he handles very, very black operations for certain parts of the American government. And now you see why I’m extremely motivated to help you. I’m already officially dead—I’d prefer not to be that way for real.”
Nina almost laughed. “Do you seriously think that I want to help you? You tried to kill us and nuke New York!”
“Oh, you’re not still holding a grudge about that, are you?” Sophia sighed. “Besides, you need me. Do you want to spend fifteen years puzzling out the Veteres language, like Gabriel did, or would you like a head start?”
“Sophia, don’t do this,” Ribbsley warned. Chase shoved him back against the wall. “I can protect you!”
“Sorry, Gabriel, but Eddie can do a much better job.” She addressed Nina again. “I can also tell you everything I know about the Covenant. I can help you … if you help me.”
“Bollocks to that,” said Chase. “We can’t trust you. Besides, Nina’ll be able to figure all this out without any help.” He glanced over his shoulder at her. “Nina?”
She stood in silence, regarding Sophia with a calculating expression. “Nina!” Chase repeated. “Hang on, you’re not seriously thinking about saying yes, are you?”
“She … has a point,” Nina admitted reluctantly. “I can’t translate the language.”
“You worked out enough to find this place.”
“Those were numbers, Eddie. All I did was follow a map. But the inscription in that chamber is a whole lot more—and I won’t be able to work it out without help.”
“Yeah, but her help?” Chase objected. “First chance she gets, she’ll stab us in the back!”
“Then we don’t give her the chance.”
“What?”
“We need her, Eddie.” Nina moved closer to the bed, looking Sophia in the eye. “Okay. We’ll take you with us. But let me make this perfectly clear: you do exactly what we tell you, and if you try to screw us over in even the tiniest way, we’ll dump you on the doorstep of the U.S. embassy so you can go straight back to Guantánamo Bay … or I might even kill you myself.”
Sophia raised an eyebrow. “You’d kill me?”
“You’d be surprised what I can do when people piss me off.”
“Ah, yes. That redhead temper again.”
Nina gave her a smile devoid of all humor. “You better believe it. Do we have an understanding?”
“We do indeed,” said Sophia, nodding. “I’d shake hands, but …” She jingled the chain holding her cuffed hands.
“Well, Professor Ribbsley,” said Nina, turning to him, “I take it you’ve got a key. Unless this is some sort of personal kink I’d rather not know about.”
“You don’t know what you’re doing,” Ribbsley said. “You have no idea just how powerful the Covenant really is.”
“But I soon will, won’t I? The key? Unless you want Eddie to find it for me.”
Ribbsley hurriedly delved into his trouser pocket, producing a key ring. Nina took it and went to the bed, Sophia turning to let her reach the chain. The first lock came away, the chain clinking onto the pillow; after another moment, one of the ratchets was opened, allowing Sophia to bring her arms out from behind her back.
“Oh, that’s such a relief,” she said, massaging her newly freed wrist. “Now, if you wouldn’t mind opening the other one …” She held up her arms.
Nina had other ideas. “Actually …”
“Wait, what are—Hey!” Sophia protested as the open bracelet rasped shut around her wrist once more.
“You seriously think I’m going to let you run around loose?” Nina moved back to the door. “While we’re at it, it’ll slow the Covenant down if Ribbsley doesn’t have his notes. Where’s his laptop?”
“We can’t waste time, we need to get out of here,” said Sophia. “The Covenant takes a very military approach to things—they won’t be eating for much longer.”
“What about loverboy here?” Chase asked, indicating Ribbsley. “We can’t drag him along as well.”
“Knock him out,” Sophia suggested. Ribbsley’s eyes bulged wide with fright.
“Not kill him?” asked Nina mockingly. “Very generous of you.”
“He did get me out of Guantánamo, so I owe him that. As I said, I don’t want to see him get hurt.” A look at Chase. “I’m sure you can do something relatively painless.”
“No!” Ribbsley cried, close to panic. “Sophia, please, don’t do this!”
Chase shoved him back against the wall, one hand gripping his throat. Ribbsley gagged. “Keep your bloody voice dow
n!”
“The laptop,” Nina insisted. “Where is it?”
“Oh, very well,” Sophia said. “It’s—”
A noise from outside, boots crunching on sand and stone. Right at the door.
“Professor Ribbsley?” said a voice. Zamal. A long silent moment, tension rising …
Ribbsley suddenly kicked at the fallen bucket. It flew up to clang noisily against the wall in a shower of flying ice, spilling a bottle of Bulgari aftershave from the bedside cabinet. Chase punched him hard across the jaw, dropping him limply onto the bed—but the damage had been done.
“Ribbsley!” Zamal shouted. “What’s going on?”
Chase ran into the lounge, heading for the door. Before he could reach it, it opened and Zamal rushed inside—only to take a blow to the head that sent him reeling back against a counter.
But he recovered fast, grabbing for his holstered gun. Chase charged, gripping his wrist just as he drew the gun and bashing his hand against the edge of the counter. Zamal snarled and jabbed a knee up at Chase’s groin, but the Englishman twisted sideways just in time to avoid a fight-ending blow.
Zamal used the shift in Chase’s balance to thrust away from the counter. Both men lurched across the room, still grappling for the gun as they crashed into the RV’s kitchen area. Zamal’s gun hand came up, the weapon shaking as he strained to break free. Chase fought back, pushing him around … and inadvertently pointing the gun at the two women as they entered the lounge. Nina yelped and dropped to the carpet below the line of fire; Sophia hastily retreated behind an armchair.
Chase shoved Zamal back. The gun swung back and forth as they struggled. Nina scrambled forward on her hands and knees as the barrel waved toward her.
Zamal punched Chase in the side. He flinched, giving the Arab the chance to turn and force him down onto the kitchen counter, left hand clamping around his throat. A cutlery rack toppled over, its contents clashing across the stainless steel. Zamal twisted Chase’s wrist, trying to point the gun at his head …
Chase punched again, but Zamal blocked the blow with his upper arm as he pushed Chase down harder. Spilled cutlery jabbed at the side of his head. He threw another punch, with no more success, then clawed at the counter, searching desperately for a knife as Zamal’s grip tightened.
The Covenant of Genesis_A Novel Page 17
