‘Good. Are there any archives?’
‘Second floor, there’s a section marked “Archivieren”. I think that means archives?’
Cross glanced at Anna, who nodded. ‘Okay, that’s where we’ll start the search. Trant, leave two men to cover the entrances and get the rest up there.’ The various monitors broke into dizzying motion. ‘Dr Wilde, if you see anything, tell me immediately. Or—’
‘Or you’ll torture Eddie — yes, I know.’ Defeated, all Nina could do was watch as Cross’s men moved through the museum.
Eddie peered over Derrick’s shoulder as the archaeologist worked. Breaking into the hidden cavity inside the stone block had not taken long; the substance used to seal the hole was relatively fragile, splitting after just a few taps with a small chisel. Once the first crack had appeared, Derrick’s reluctance to damage the artefact quickly gave way to professional curiosity about what was hidden inside.
‘Careful,’ warned Rothschild as the German made his final delicate strikes.
‘I know what I am doing,’ he replied testily. Eddie smiled at her getting a taste of her own medicine, then watched as Derrick gently used the chisel’s tip to lever the freed section upwards.
The interior was revealed beneath, light reflecting dully off copper.
‘There is definitely something inside,’ he announced with rising excitement. He lifted the piece away.
‘So that’s an angel, is it?’ said Eddie, gazing at what lay within.
The figure had the body of a man but the head of an eagle, several metal wings wrapped tightly around its torso. It fitted the space inside the block almost perfectly, the gaps filled by fine dry sand to act as a cushion. Whoever had concealed it had also wanted to protect it.
Rothschild adjusted one of the lamps. ‘There’s some text on the body. It looks like Akkadian.’
‘Will you be able to translate it?’ Eddie asked.
‘I can, of course,’ said Derrick. ‘It is hardly Linear A!’ He and Rothschild shared a chuckle.
‘Archaeology jokes, always hilarious,’ said the Englishman, straight-faced. ‘But it is an angel, right?’
‘I think so,’ Rothschild replied. ‘Although by the letter of Revelation, the eagle head would actually make it one of the “living creatures” — or “beasts”, depending which translation of the Bible you choose — before God’s throne. They summoned and released the four horsemen.’
‘What, as in the horsemen of the apocalypse?’
‘Yes, although they’re never called that in Revelation. Markus, can you get it out of there?’
Derrick blew sand off the figure and lifted it from its resting place. ‘It is very heavy,’ he noted, surprised. He set it down on the table. ‘Hmm. The wings, they seem to have been pressed into the clay before it was fired. But they are only thin; I wonder how they kept them from melting? Perhaps—’
A loud bang echoed down the corridor outside. Eddie’s head snapped up. ‘What was that?’
‘It is just the security guards,’ Derrick replied. ‘But they know they are not supposed to slam the doors — the vibrations can damage the exhibits.’ He stood at another thump. ‘I will talk to them.’
Eddie and Rothschild looked back at the statue as he crossed the room. ‘I must admit,’ said the elderly woman, ‘I honestly didn’t believe anything would come of this. Revelation is open to a great deal of interpretation, to put it mildly. But whoever kidnapped Nina was right about where to look.’
‘And now they’re making her tell them what to look for,’ Eddie reminded her grimly. ‘But we beat ’em to this. If I can persuade your friend to let me use it to get her back…’ He glanced at Derrick as the German reached the door—
Someone outside kicked it open.
Derrick staggered back. A man dressed in black burst into the room — a sub-machine gun in his hands, laser sight dancing over its targets.
14
‘Nobody move!’ the intruder yelled.
Eddie’s first instinct was to grab Rothschild and duck behind the workbench, but the laser spot had already locked on to his chest—
Derrick reeled back in front of the gunman. ‘Was ist—’
The man in black’s finger tightened on the trigger — then, at a command through his headset loud enough for Eddie to hear, he changed his attack to a physical blow, striking the German’s head with his weapon. Derrick crumpled to the floor.
Eddie shoved the fear-frozen Rothschild down, then grabbed the angel and dived after her as the man spun back towards him—
Bullets ripped into the workbench, cracking off the stone block, which exploded into pieces. Rothschild shrieked as fragments rained down on them. ‘For fuck’s sake!’ Eddie cried. ‘Just once, just fucking once, I’d like to find the thing and get out before the bad guys turn up!’
Running footsteps from outside — the attacker was not alone. Someone shouted an order as three more men rushed through the doorway. Eddie looked around. There was another exit at the room’s far end, but they would never reach it before being cut down.
Trapped.
Unless—
Eddie felt the weight of the statue — and realised he had one chance of survival. ‘Any closer an’ I’ll smash your fucking angel!’ he yelled.
The sounds of movement stopped abruptly, replaced by muttered discussion. Eddie shuffled backwards to take shelter behind the laser scanner. He raised his head just enough to see that the nearest gunman had a compact camera — night-vision, from the LED illuminator beneath the lens — mounted on a headset. Somebody was observing the operation. The mysterious Prophet?
Whoever it was, he had Nina. ‘All right,’ said Eddie loudly, the thought of his wife strengthening his resolve, ‘Everyone put down your guns. Otherwise bird-face here gets his wings clipped.’
Another brief exchange, the first gunman responding to a message over his headset; then, with his gun still in one hand, he reached into a belt pouch and pulled out a gas mask. ‘Okay, not quite what I was hoping for…’ Eddie muttered in dismay.
The other men followed suit. ‘Mr Chase!’ called one, voice muffled by the mask’s filters. ‘If you break the angel, it’ll release a deadly gas. You’ll die, but we’ll be safe.’
‘You still won’t get what you’re after!’ Eddie shouted back.
‘Yes we will! The Prophet wants to release the angel. He’d rather not do it here, but if it’s the will of God that it happens, then it happens.’
‘Bollocks! You’re bluffing.’
‘Then smash it, Mr Chase. You’ll see. For your last few seconds on earth. Ellison, move in.’
‘Shit,’ Eddie hissed. His own bluff had been called — and now the first gunman was advancing again, his suppressed MP7 raised.
Nina stared at the screen, elation rapidly overcome by terror. Eddie had somehow escaped from his torturers — only to fall back into the hands of their collaborators. The lead gunman, Ellison, moved through the room, his camera picking out Eddie hunched behind a large piece of equipment.
‘They’re not in full MOPP gear,’ Anna warned Cross. ‘If he drops the angel—’
‘I know,’ the cult leader replied. That told Nina that he wasn’t as blasé about the angel’s destruction as Trant had informed Eddie, but her husband was still in grave danger.
Ellison rounded a large workbench. Nina glimpsed someone else hiding behind it at the edge of the screen, but he continued to advance. His gun rose into frame, its laser spot a dazzling flare as it fixed on the Englishman—
‘Ellison, wait,’ said Cross sharply. ‘I don’t want the angel damaged if we can help it.’ He turned towards Nina. ‘Remind him that we have his wife!’