“Can this wait just a second?” she howled at him.
“No! It concerns me, have you forgotten? Just tell me. Is Nina still alive?” he asked, dampening his aggressive enthusiasm as the need to know consumed him. “Just, Harris, just tell me that much. I saw your expression, so don’t fucking lie to me.”
Father Harper had by now given up on reprimanding Sam Cleave on his incessant swearing, even for the secular ones, so he simply trailed the two journalists into the hallway marked ‘Departures’ and tried to think of a way to mediate between the two foes.
“Apparently she is still alive, Cleave,” she relayed, “but from what I hear that will change abruptly if we don’t deliver Toshana.”
“What do they want with her? Did he say?” Father Harper asked.
“No, he refuses to enlighten me on anything, apart from the fact that they will kill many more people to get to her,” she said, wearing that worried face again, “and that includes all three of us, for respective reasons.”
“Well aware of that part,” Sam replied. “We have to get hold of Purdue.”
“Sam, we cannot involve more people in this. It only increases the risk of failure and,” he placed his hand on Sam’s shoulder, “…exposure.” The tall priest’s dark eyes glimmered with caution.
“Look, Purdue is the only person with the resources to find Nina and blow the shit out of Ayer’s nest, if need be,” Sam defended. “He cares deeply for Nina, and he will go to any lengths to save her. We have to elicit his help, Father. If what you said is true, these lads are not to be fucked with and if we are going to fuck with them, there is none better than David Purdue to back our army. And, according to your warning about this bunch of soldiers, we are going to need some big guns.”
“Let us concentrate on the positive for now, okay?” Harris suggested. “She’s alive. She is, from what I heard, unharmed, well-fed, and kept in comfortable lodgings. They’re simply using her as a bargaining chip. I doubt they will kill her.”
Father Harper almost responded to her last statement with an educated negation, but he thought it better for Sam’s general emotional state to hold his tongue about the nature of the Templar apostates and the fact that these were brutes who would gang-rape Nina and put out their cigarettes on her skin just to enjoy her expression.
24
Illustratio Antiquis
“Hey, old cock! Look at this amazing scenery,” Purdue grinned. “I wish you and Nina were here!”
The Skype broadcast was not the best, but he had to take Sam’s call in case the journalist had something important to tell him. Purdue had been away from his home at Wrichtishousis, and checked in daily with his personal assistant to make sure he still stayed on top of things on a business front. She had told him that Sam Cleave was looking for him and arranged for a time to make contact. He panned his tablet around the Temple Mount in Jerusalem to show Sam the stunning panorama.
“Purdue, we need your help with something,” Sam told him, looking run down and serious. It was not like Sam to get straight to business, so the billionaire knew something was amiss.
“Alright. What is it, Sam?” he asked, while his eyes followed the beautiful shape of the Countess where she wandered.
“Nina is missing,” Sam said. “And it is not the I’m-taking-some-time-out missing, either. She’s been kidnapped, Purdue, and we need to locate the hive of the people who took her. They wish to trade her for a woman I inadvertently got involved with while doing an exposé in the UK.”
“Oh, yes, I know what that is like,” Purdue smiled, not bothering to look at the screen while in conversation with Sam.
“You do?” Sam asked.
“Of course. Getting involved with women that suddenly turn our worlds upside down is always a foolish but delightful endeavor,” Purdue said, still watching the dark-haired beauty use his Subgeo device to scan the grounds of the Temple for her treasure.
Sam was stunned to silence. To make things worse, it seemed that remaining mute did not at all get the attention of his friend. Purdue was completely indifferent to Sam’s plight. It was disturbing to see how apathetic Purdue was to the fact that Nina’s life was in danger.
“Purdue!” Sam shouted. Finally Purdue looked at him on the screen.
“I’m sorry, Sam. What were you saying?” he shrugged in amusement. “I am just a bit distracted. I have a bunch of laborers here to excavate a… a crown… that was said to have belonged to the ancestors of my beautiful consort, Countess Baldwin.”
“Oh, now it all makes sense,” Sam snapped. “You have a new piece of ass and now Nina means nothing.”
“Please, Sam, do not speak of the Countess with such contempt,” Purdue reprimanded him with a darkened countenance that fell over his face like a mask. Something was very wrong with Purdue, but Sam had to keep his composure to keep the good graces of the billionaire, if only to save Nina.
“Sorry,” Sam feigned apology. “What crown is this you are interested in? And where did you meet the lovely Countess?” His dark brown eyes flashed up to those of the the priest, standing in the corner of his office with a cup of tea. Father Harper could hear the conversation, and found himself as concerned about Purdue’s attitude as Sam, but he kept quiet and waited for Sam to beguile his friend into helping them.
“I met her a few nights back at the Bilderberg Conference, Sam. She is a goddess. I cannot wait to introduce you to her!” Purdue cooed. “The crown, she says, once belonged to the high order of the Knights Templar, long after their founding in the 12th Century. It is said to have been fashioned by the wizards of Solomon to contain power over kingdoms, the likes of which the world has never seen.” Purdue recited the history as if he had known it for years. “But the Templars feared that the crown would promote deadly avarice in any sovereign wearing it. So they stole it during the Second Crusade to hide it from the European kings, Louis VII and Conrad III.”
As one of the best investigative journalists in the world, Sam knew how to seduce the unwilling, and this was the perfect time to employ this particular talent. “That sounds like the kind of relic worthy of your collection, old man,” Sam smiled.
“Oh, but it’s not for me, unfortunately. It belongs to Countess Baldwin. But at least she’s generous enough to have let me in on some global profits. Long story,” he winked suavely.
“You have to send us some pictures,” Sam invited excitedly, while inside him his heart was breaking. Purdue seemed so distant, lost from the rest of the world, just when Sam needed him most.
“I shall!” Purdue chuckled, the hot Jerusalem air whipping his hair.
A female voice called from a distance, “It’s not here, David! It’s not here! Someone must have removed it from the monstrance! Jesus Christ! I’m going to have a goddamn fit if I don’t get what I’m looking for, I promise you!”
Purdue’s eyebrows raised as he looked away from the screen. “Oh God, Sam. I’d better go, my friend. She’s furious!”
“Wait! Wait, Purdue, do you guys need help down there?” Sam asked quickly, using the opportunity wisely. Both Jan Harris and Father Harper perked up at Sam’s sudden decision, waiting with baited breath. They had no idea what Sam was playing at, but both had respectively learned to trust Sam Cleave’s instincts before.
Purdue looked flustered with mild panic, his big pale blue eyes wild as he looked at Sam. “You know, I would actually really appreciate some help, come to think of it.” He looked away at the woman out of the frame. “I’m coming, my dear! Don’t worry. I promised you we would find it.” He looked back at Sam as the woman started ranting and raving like a lunatic. “We are staying at the Citadel,” Purdue said quickly, as the woman’s voice became louder on approach. “Please, by God, hurry.”