Sam nodded. “I believe so.”
“When I woke up, I saw everyone around me was unconscious. Not just around me, but on the plane. I was the only one awake. I stumbled around as though I were still in a dream for some time. In fact, I was almost certain I was having a nightmare.” Tears welled in Goddard’s eyes, and he took a moment to wipe them away with a handkerchief. “By the time I realized I was awake and something terrible had caused everyone else to be unconscious, I made my way up to the cockpit only to discover the pilots weren’t there. I tried to mayday for help, but no one would listen to me, they just kept telling me that the plane I purported to be on, had crashed three days earlier and the wreckage was found with no survivors.”
“Any idea why you woke up first?”
Goddard nodded. “I’ve given this a lot of thought over the last three months. I have a third kidney. It’s a genetic abnormality. It’s not common, but then it’s regular enough that I wasn’t the first person my doctor had met with the condition. One of the side effects means that my body metabolizes and excretes toxins — aka anesthetic drugs — faster.”
“What happened to the plane?”
“I stepped out of the cockpit, and found that now all the passengers were missing. I kind of lost my mind, ran around the cabin, screaming in a sort of delirium filled rage. When I tried to return to the cockpit, the door was closed and locked. Inside, a man was at the controls. I screamed at him, but when he turned around to face me, he put his finger to his lips as if to tell me to be quiet, in case I wake the other passengers.”
“Who would have the power to orchestrate something like this?”
Even as Sam said the words, his mind returned to the CIA director and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff he saw speaking to each other at the Pentagon.
And he remembered the words the Secretary of Defense recently warned him about…
We have a traitor in the Pentagon.
Sam said, “All right. Do you know where the entrance to the ancient chamber is?”
“Not exactly. I know it’s hidden in Malta somewhere. I’ve made up a list of ancient megalithic structures where it could be buried beneath. We’ll know more once we have a second mask.”
“Why?”
“The masks are magnetized. Only, unlike a compass, they point toward the hidden chamber from the place where they were found. The problem is, that with only one mask, all I can do is see that the mask points toward Malta.”
“Why not Russia? It would be on the same line.”
“That’s always a possibility, but I don’t think so. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. With a second mask we can use each mask to draw an imaginary line through Malta. Wherever they intersect is our place.”
Sam said, “One thing’s for certain. We can’t let whoever THEY are beat us to the ancient chamber of knowledge.”
Goddard shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. With only one mask, there’s no point. The mask is merely ornamental on its own.”
“How many do you need to access the vault?”
“Two.”
“Just two?” Sam sounded hopeful.
“It’s one more than we have.” Goddard made a hopeful smile. “Unless you happen to have one?”
Sam grinned. “As a matter of fact, I do.”
Chapter Forty-Three
The Moonlight Sonata, rounded the large, isolated breakwater at Ricasoli Point, and turned west into the north-east facing mouth of the Grand Harbor at six a.m. The sun of first light struck the masonry walls of Fort Saint Elmo turning them into a bright gold. The fort looked indestructible, a tribute to the Maltese strength, endurance, and solidarity during times of the crucible of war — of which there had been many over the years.
The 190-foot luxury pleasure cruiser reduced its engines to idle, and coasted into the Grand Harbor. It shrank beneath the majestic masonry walls, which had been used since the Phoenician times. The stilled water appeared a mixed shade of blues, purples, and reds in the dawn light. Sam Reilly’s eyes swept the harbor’s landscape with delight. It was one of the greatest harbors in the world, and for such a small country, it had sent very large ripples that changed the course of history throughout Europe.
The name Malta itself came from the Phoenician word “Maltae,” meaning a sheltered anchorage. The Grand Harbor was a wide stretch of water separating the capital city of Valletta from the historic towns of Three Cities. The harbor has been a hive of activity for over two thousand years. Despite being just over 122 square miles, Malta has wielded enormous influence over the history of Europe, the greatest being during the Great Siege of Malta.
On May eighteen, 1565 the small island country was attacked by a Turkish armada, which set sail from Constantinople on March twenty-two, and was by all accounts, one of the largest assembled since antiquity. During the siege, a group of roughly 9,000 defenders — consisting of the Maltese Knights of St. John, foreign soldiers from Italy, Spain, and Greece, and six thousand civilians — held the city, defeating a Turkish armada of 45,000 on board 131 galleys, 7 galliots, 4 galleasses, and more than forty transport vessels.
Malta lost a third of its population, but it had managed to withstand a siege of more than four months, which ultimately turned the tide in Europe. This led to the end of the Ottoman Empire, Europe’s most powerful empire at the time.
Jean de Valette, Grand Master of the Knights of Malta, had a key influence in the victory against the Ottomans with his example and his ability to encourage and hold people together. This example had a major impact, bringing together the kings of Europe in an alliance against the previously seemingly invincible Ottomans; the result was the vast union of forces against the Ottomans at the Battle of Lepanto seven years later. The gratitude of Europe for the knights' heroic defense was so great that money soon began pouring into the island, allowing de Valette to construct a fortified city, Valletta, on Mt. Sciberras.
As the Moonlight Sonata continued toward the Port Authority, Sam thought about Valletta’s many titles, recalling its rich historical past. It was considered a modern city built by the Knights of St. John, a masterpiece of the Baroque, a European Art City and a World Heritage City. Ruled successively by the Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs and the Order of the Knights of St. John, and finally the British before gaining its own sovereignty, it is one of the most concentrated historic areas in the world. The Grand Harbor was the base for the Knights of St. John for 268 years, and after their departure became a strategic base for the British for a further 170 years.
And now, it was to become home to the Ancient Chamber of Human Knowledge, the oldest human-built structure on Earth, and supposedly a receptacle of all knowledge acquired throughout human evolution — capable of empowering all those who reach it.
The Moonlight Sonata’s twin propellers were shifted into reverse, and the throttles opened with a short burst, causing the pleasure cruiser to come to a complete stop in the water.
Sam Reilly zipped up his dry bag, stepped toward Pauline, embraced her for a moment, and gave her a kiss on her cheek. “Thanks for this. I’ll make it up to you one day.”
She pulled back, squeezing his hand tenderly. “You’d better. I’m going to have some serious trouble explaining this one away if the owner happens to check out where his yacht is tracking on GPS.”
Sam spread his palms skyward. “Just tell him you were trying to save the world.”
She nodded. “Goodbye, Sam.”