Kingdom of Darkness

by Andy McDermott

  In moments, the others had all stood to deliver identical salutes. ‘Heil Hitler! Heil Hitler!’ The bloated figure on the screen looked on with approval.

  ‘Jesus Christ,’ Eddie gasped, appalled. Zane appeared ready to kill.

  Kroll waited for the awful chorus to die down. ‘Thank you. It is very good to know that others outside the Enklave’ – something about the way he said the word made Eddie realise he was using it as a proper noun – ‘believe as we do. And the tide of history is turning back towards us. More people join our cause every day across Europe and other parts of the world, disgusted by the failures of the supposed democracies and the pollution of their nations by inferiors. The time to act is now! All of you have enough influence to bring the masses in your countries to our way of thinking – through your newspapers, television stations, the Internet, your friends and puppets in government. If you all push together, our way will be seen as the only way, now and for ever – and with what I am offering, you will all be able to see the work through.’

  The hard sell was coming, Eddie realised. Kroll had had decades to work on his sales pitch – and his audience seemed to be willing buyers.

  The Nazi spoke again. ‘As I told you, we have obtained the means to find the source of the water. However, it will require considerable resources to secure it – and considerable amounts of money. But I can assure you that it will be worth it. Your payments now will guarantee you a supply for the rest of your lives. Which will be very long.’ He leaned back, watching his audience’s response intently.

  Leitz stepped forward. ‘You have heard Herr Kroll’s proposal, and he has authorised me to act as his agent. The price for entry is . . . ten million US dollars.’

  That caused a flurry of consternation from the guests. While they had come with the intention of doing business, clearly few had expected the cost to be so high. ‘And Leitz takes his twenty per cent of it all,’ whispered Zane.

  ‘Gentlemen,’ said Kroll, more loudly. His raised voice brought all eyes back to his image. ‘Ten million dollars may seem like a large sum, but you should consider it an investment – in your futures. The water from the Spring of Immortality will make the rest of your lives five times longer, or more. Think of what you can accomplish with those extra years. And it will be you who is doing it; not your heirs, not your trusts or companies. You will see your plans through to completion. You will see the final victory of the New Reich. Is that not worth the price I ask?’

  Discussions began, but it was evident to the observers in the gallery that Kroll’s words had made an impression. Before long, the men below gravitated to Leitz; from his smiles in response, they had decided to accept the war criminal’s offer.

  All but one. Holmes, the American, was still dubious. ‘Herr Kroll, you know that I’m a committed supporter of your goals – the world needs to be taken under firm control. But I also follow the news, and I don’t just mean Fox. The raid in Alexandria yesterday . . . it wasn’t successful, was it? Several of your men were killed, and I know from my sources that you didn’t get what you were after. The Egyptians and the International Heritage Agency recovered the statue.’

  Some of the other guests regarded the challenger with surprise and even mistrust. Kroll’s eyes for a moment betrayed fury . . . then control returned. ‘Your sources are not quite up to date, Mr Holmes,’ he said. ‘Yes, the statue was taken from us. But we have already retaliated. This morning, my men attacked the convoy transporting it to Cairo – and their mission to recover it was a success.’

  Eddie flinched in shock. Nina! She had been with the convoy—

  A hand squeezed his arm, hard. He snapped his head around to find Zane staring at him with a grim but determined expression. ‘There’s nothing you can do,’ whispered the Israeli.

  ‘But Nina—’

  ‘There’s nothing you can do,’ he repeated. ‘Not now.’

  Stomach churning with rage and fear, Eddie looked back at the scene below. Holmes was talking with Leitz, apparently convinced. The middleman nodded, then addressed the group. ‘Everyone is in agreement? Then payments must be made within the next twenty-four hours, via secure electronic transfer. I will provide each of you with the necessary details.’

  ‘It’s a lot of money,’ said Hertsmore, ‘but God, it’ll be worth every penny.’

  ‘It will indeed,’ said Kroll. ‘Now, gentlemen, I hope that soon it will be safe for me to come out of exile and meet you all in person. Until that day, we must all work tirelessly to build the New Reich. Heil Hitler!’

  ‘Heil Hitler!’ The chant echoed around the library as Kroll’s image disappeared.

  ‘Computer, close application,’ said Leitz to the television. The videoconferencing program was replaced by the desktop. ‘Here is the account information,’ he said, handing out business cards. ‘Burn the card after you have transferred the money. The transfers will be encrypted and will pass through many proxy accounts, but it is still best to be safe.’

  ‘That fat fucker,’ Eddie snarled as Leitz showed the group to the exit. ‘If anything’s happened to Nina—’

  ‘Stay calm,’ Zane interrupted. ‘Wait for the others to leave. We need to interrogate Leitz.’

  Though still furious, Eddie recognised a change in the Israeli’s attitude. ‘I thought you were going to hack his computer?’

  ‘The situation’s changed. If you want to know what’s happened to your wife, this will be the quickest way.’

  ‘And what about Leitz? If he tells that Nazi arsehole that he had a visit from Mossad, he’ll go underground again!’

  Zane gave him a humourless smile. ‘Accidents happen. It’s a long drop from that balcony . . .’

  ‘Don’t fuckin’ kill him until we know what’s happened to Nina.’ Eddie watched as the library emptied, then moved back to the door. Leitz’s visitors were crossing the hall below, the white-suited man going with them. ‘Okay, let’s have a little chat . . .’

  17

  It took Leitz over thirty minutes to see all of his guests out; with men this rich and powerful, pleasantries were expected. But eventually only his security detail remained as company. The extra men he had brought in to ensure privacy could now be dismissed, but he decided to do that once he had concluded the day’s business.

  He went upstairs to his office. A cool breeze blew from the balcony through the elegant room as he entered—

  The door slammed shut behind him.

  Leitz instantly knew from its speed and force that something more than a stray gust had closed it. Without even a glance back, he lunged for his desk, right hand darting underneath it to find—

  Nothing.

  ‘You after this?’ said a voice from the balcony.

  Eddie stepped into view, holding a gleaming chrome automatic. ‘Nice little gun,’ he told the frozen Leitz. ‘Sphinx 3000, innit? Don’t see many of these.’

  ‘Don’t move,’ Zane said from behind the middleman, thumbing the hammer of his Barak.

  Leitz took the click as intended: a warning. He slowly raised his hands. ‘What do you want?’ he said in a level but cautious voice.

  ‘Information. Move away from the desk, to your right.’

  Leitz cautiously stepped sideways. Zane patted him down, finding that he was unarmed. ‘All right,’ said the Yorkshireman as he entered the room, aiming the Sphinx at its owner’s chest, ‘since you’re dressed as the Man from Del Monte, you’d better fucking say “Yes!” to everything. Okay?’

  ‘I should say yes, I suppose,’ Leitz replied, regarding him icily.

  ‘Good lad. Now, first things first: what the fuck has that fat Nazi bastard done with Nina?’

  ‘He means Dr Nina Wilde, in Alexandria,’ said Zane, seeing the broker’s incomprehension. ‘Your client Erich Kroll said he took the statue from her – the statue that tells you how to fi
nd the Spring of Immortality.’

  Leitz narrowed his eyes. ‘You heard our discussion? That is unfortunate.’

  ‘Yeah, for you,’ said Eddie. ‘Where is she?’

  No answer was immediately forthcoming. Zane stepped closer to the white-suited man. ‘If you don’t talk, he’ll kill you for personal reasons. Or I’ll kill you for professional reasons. Either way, you’ll be dead, and we’ll still get what we need from your computer.’

  ‘Your accent,’ said Leitz, eyeing him. ‘Israeli. You are with the Mossad?’ For the first time, there was unease beneath his even tone.

  ‘Not me,’ said Eddie firmly. ‘I’m just a concerned citizen.’

  ‘Answer the question,’ Zane ordered.

  ‘Very well.’ Leitz turned back to Eddie, though he kept Zane in his peripheral vision. ‘Yes, Kroll’s men took back the statue earlier today.’

  ‘And what’d they do with Nina?’ Eddie demanded.

  The answer emerged with reluctance. ‘Dr Wilde and two others, a man and a woman, are still alive. I know this because I was asked to arrange transport for them.’

  Relief flooded through the Englishman. ‘Thank God,’ he said, glancing at Zane. ‘And the other woman must be Macy. They’re okay!’

  ‘For now,’ the Mossad agent replied. ‘But the only reason they’re still alive is that Kroll wants something from them. Once he gets it . . .’

  The fear for Nina’s safety returned. ‘Okay, where are they going?’ Eddie demanded, rounding the desk to face off against the broker. ‘You arranged transport – to where?’

  Leitz’s expression hardened. He ignored Eddie, instead addressing Zane. ‘If you are with the Mossad, and you are here, now . . . then you are a member of the Criminal Sanctions Unit, are you not?’

  ‘Answer him,’ Zane ordered.

  ‘I believe that Benjamin Falk was in charge of the CSU.’ For the first time, Leitz’s expression revealed something other than cold restraint: a small, sneering smile. ‘Until recently. Very recently.’

  Zane advanced another step, raising his gun at the other man’s face. ‘You shut your mouth.’

  The smile coiled more tightly. ‘It is a shame. All those years of faithful service, only to die on the streets of Egypt. Very sad, very sad indeed—’

  Zane lashed out with the Barak, striking Leitz’s head and knocking off his glasses. The broker staggered. ‘I told you to shut up!’

  ‘Get a grip,’ Eddie warned. ‘He’s still got guards hanging around, remember?’

  Zane glared at him, but made a visible effort to calm himself. He grabbed Leitz by his lapel, shoving the gun hard against his chest. ‘Where is Erich Kroll? Where is he taking Dr Wilde? Tell us, now! Or I’ll kill you.’

  Leitz seemed to acquiesce. ‘Okay, okay! Everything you need is over there.’ He gestured at the desk. Eddie and Zane instinctively glanced towards it. ‘On my . . . computer.’ The unexpected pause instantly put Eddie on alert, but he didn’t know why—

  He found out a moment later. ‘Alarm!’ said Leitz – and a piercing siren shrieked as the computer’s voice recognition obeyed the command.

  Eddie flinched at the aural assault, as did Zane—

  Leitz moved with shocking speed, one hand slicing up to seize Zane’s gun and force it away from his own chest – towards the Englishman.

  Eddie threw himself out of the line of fire, only for the toe of Leitz’s shoe to meet his kneecap as the broker whipped around to deliver a fierce kick. He reeled, crashing against a bookshelf. The Sphinx clattered to the floor.

  The other gun was now at the heart of a battle for possession – which Leitz was winning. As the pair spun around, he shoved Zane backwards. The younger man’s momentary loss of balance gave his opponent the opening he needed to grip the weapon with both hands and twist it through a forceful half-turn – trapping the Israeli’s index finger inside the trigger guard.

  Zane gasped in pain as the motion almost snapped the bone. He had no choice but to yank his hand back, skinning his finger against the metal as he pulled free.

  But now Leitz had the gun. He flipped it around, his own finger closing on the trigger—

  Eddie hurled a swathe of ledgers across the office. Volumes pounded Leitz’s arm, knocking the gun away from Zane – who responded with a kick of his own, spinning into a Krav Maga move that smashed a heel into the white-haired man’s stomach.

  Leitz stumbled backwards against the table, knocking the laser printer to the floor, and tripped over the chair. It collapsed, sending him sprawling. The Barak skidded across the marble floor. Zane ran after it, bending to scoop it up—

  A blizzard slashed at his eyes as Leitz snatched the paper from the printer’s tray and flung the sheaf into his face. Blinded, Zane groped for the gun, but his fingers found nothing but cold polished stone. He swatted away the last of the fluttering sheets – and was hit by the back of the broken chair as Leitz jumped up and threw it at him. He fell heavily near the balcony door.

  Eddie recovered the fallen Sphinx. He turned to find Leitz standing over the Mossad agent, one foot drawn back to kick him in the face—

  He snapped up the gun – but the white-suited man caught the movement, instantly abandoning his attack and launching himself at the balcony. Eddie tracked him, about to fire . . .

  Leitz dived over the railing.

  ‘Holy shit!’ Eddie cried as his target plunged out of sight. Zane was equally shocked. The Englishman helped him up. ‘Did he just fucking kill himself so he wouldn’t talk?’

  They rushed outside and looked down. The cliff they had ascended dropped away below . . . to a small cove at the foot of the near-vertical chimney beneath the balcony, at the centre of which was an almost perfectly circular splash. As they watched, a white figure rose from beneath the surging waves and surfaced. ‘He made it!’ said Zane in disbelief. ‘He actually made it!’

  Eddie stared at Leitz as he swam for the jetty. ‘He’s either the luckiest bastard on the planet – or the best prepared. Diving about a hundred feet, into that? Jesus!’ He looked back at Zane, only to find that the younger man had already returned to the desk. ‘What’re you doing? He’s set off the alarm, we’ve got to get out of here!’

  Zane grabbed the mouse. ‘I can find Kroll.’

  Eddie hurried to him. ‘How?’

  ‘The IP address of the videoconference – it’ll tell me where he’s located,’ he said as he brought up a window and rapidly tapped at the keyboard. ‘Okay, I’ve bypassed his encryption, so I just need to . . .’ More typing. ‘There!’ He pointed at a string of hexadecimal characters, eight blocks of four, separated by colons. ‘IPv6, harder to remember, but . . .’ He stared at it for a moment, then closed the window and jumped up. ‘Got it – let’s go.’

  ‘You remembered all that?’ Eddie asked in surprise.

  ‘What, you didn’t? Come on!’

  The Israeli recovered his gun and ran to the door. Eddie followed. There was nobody on the landing. ‘Okay, so how are we gonna get out of here?’

  Zane went to the staircase. ‘You’re supposed to be great at improvising – I’m sure you’ll think of something.’

  ‘Is that what my Mossad file says?’ the Englishman asked as they clattered down the stairs. ‘We’ll need a car, unless you want to run back to Amalfi.’

  ‘We’ll take one of Leitz’s. I saw aerial photos of the villa; he has a garage.’ They reached the hall, the Israeli pointing to a door in one corner. ‘That must be it.’

  ‘You sure? If it’s his laundry room, we won’t get far in a pair of his underpants!’

  Zane yanked the door open, Eddie covering him. Glossy metal gleamed in the dimly lit space beyond: Leitz’s BMW parked alongside a second vehicle. ‘I’m sure,’ the agent announced with satisfaction.

  ‘All right, smug-boots.�
�� They rushed in, Eddie finding the light switch beside the door. ‘We need the key.’

  ‘Here,’ said Zane, spotting a nearby set of hooks bearing fobs. He picked one marked with a BMW logo, but Eddie reached past him to snag another. ‘What are you doing?’

  The Yorkshireman grinned. ‘Take a look.’ Zane turned – and saw that beside the black 7 Series was something considerably more impressive. The second car in the garage was a bright red Ferrari 458 Spider, the roof retracted to turn it into a two-seater convertible. ‘Just what we need for a quick getaway.’

  He started to round the BMW, but Zane half jumped, half slid over the bonnet of the 7 Series to land by the Ferrari, snatching the key from Eddie’s hand and vaulting into the driver’s seat without a pause. ‘I’m driving.’

  ‘Like fuck you are,’ Eddie protested. ‘You ever driven anything like this?’

  Zane started the engine, the Ferrari’s V8 howling to life. ‘I’ve been trained by the Mossad! I can drive anything.’ He pointed at a control panel on the wall. ‘Open the door, and the main gate. Quick!’

  Annoyed, Eddie slapped both buttons and hopped into the Ferrari’s passenger seat. The outer door began to rise. Over the rattle of the mechanism and the 458’s engine burble, he heard shouting from the hall. ‘They’re coming,’ he warned, bringing up his gun to cover the entrance.

  Zane glared at the garage door as it ambled upwards. ‘Why are these things always so slow? Come on!’

  ‘Sav’lanut,’ Eddie said with a half-smile. The glare was turned upon him. ‘Okay, soon as you can fit this thing under—’

  Movement in the hall – a man with a gun.

  ‘In qui!’ yelled the guard, raising his weapon. Another man sprinted across the hall towards the doorway—

  Eddie fired a single shot to deter them, hitting the door frame at eye level and sending a blinding spray of splintered wood and plaster across the opening. Both men jerked back. A glance at the garage door; it still wasn’t quite high enough to let the car through . . .