‘They’d have killed both of us.’ Eddie spotted a glint of metal in the undergrowth and retrieved the gun. ‘Come on, let’s go. Somebody might have heard that shot, and I don’t have time to piss around dealing with the police.’
The taxi driver didn’t move. ‘What we gonna do with this guy?’
Eddie snorted. ‘He started it — and I bet he won’t go to the cops. You didn’t hit the artery, so he’s not going to die. Leave the bastard there and let him limp home when he wakes up. You coming?’ He went to the cab.
Nelson examined his vehicle. ‘Look at this! Look at this!’ he complained, poking a fingertip into the bullet hole. ‘How I gon’ explain that to me wife?’
‘Just remind her that this place isn’t paradise,’ Eddie said with a grim smile.
Nelson frowned, then recovered the keys. ‘I come get you as a favour to Tom. Now he better do me a favour!’ He got back into the taxi. ‘They took your bag, man,’ he said, regarding the empty rear bench. ‘Took your bag!’
‘Yeah, I know,’ said Eddie as he returned to his seat, then leaned back — with an expression almost of satisfaction. ‘Real shame, that…’
Nelson gave him a disbelieving look, then, muttering under his breath, reversed the cab to the road and set off again for Jolly Harbour, leaving the dazed man lying in the mud.
20
‘Ee bah gum,’ said Tom Harkaway in an exaggerated attempt at a northern accent. ‘It’s Eddie Chase!’
‘That’s Lancashire, not Yorkshire, you thick southern bastard,’ Eddie replied, grinning up at the large bearded man on the deck of the motor yacht. ‘We say “Ay up!” not “Ee bah gum!”’ He shook his head. ‘E. B. G. Chase? You daft twat.’
‘Whatever, you’re all bloody barbarians as far as I’m concerned.’ Tom tramped down the gangway to the wooden dock, shaking his fellow Englishman’s hand before clasping him in a bear hug. ‘So, how’s things?’
‘Right now? Been better,’ Eddie replied as he extricated himself. ‘In the past few days I’ve been Tasered, waterboarded and shot at, I’ve driven a Porsche off a bridge, and just since I arrived on this island someone’s tried to kill me. Oh, and my wife’s been kidnapped by a bunch of religious nuts.’
Tom cocked his head to one side. ‘Business as usual, then.’
‘Yeah, more’s the fucking pity. Thanks for agreeing to help me out.’
‘Us SAS boys have to stick together,’ replied his old squad mate. He gave Nelson a concerned look. ‘Someone tried to kill him? You okay?’
‘Fine, both fine,’ said Nelson, sounding aggrieved. ‘But my taxi got a bullet hole! Who gon’ pay to fix that?’
Tom’s eyes went to Eddie. ‘Don’t look at me,’ he said. ‘You’re the one with the yacht.’
‘Yeah, and you arrived on a private jet!’ The older man sighed, then told Nelson: ‘I’ll sort it out. Take it to Viv at the boatyard.’ He gestured across the harbour at a cluster of industrial buildings. ‘He’ll patch it up for you. Elena doesn’t have to know anything about it.’
The taxi driver looked relieved. ‘Thanks, Tom.’
‘Cheers for the lift,’ Eddie said as Nelson departed, before turning to take in the moored yacht beside them. The name Flirty Lady was painted on the hull of the seventy-foot white and blue vessel; he was no nautical expert, but from its decided lack of sleekness compared to the other craft nearby, he guessed it was a good few decades old. ‘Never imagined you as a navy man. Go cruising with Seaman Staines and Master Bates, do you?’
‘Ha ha. Fuck off, Eddie. This is how I make a living now — tourist trips. We go out around the island, drop anchor off some of the nicer beaches and let ’em go snorkelling before partying on the way back.’
‘Sounds like really hard work,’ Eddie joked, surveying his surroundings. Jolly Harbour was an attractive and clearly wealthy enclave with rows of houses right on the waterline, many having their own docks. Steep little hills rose around the bay, providing a backdrop of lush tropical vegetation. ‘Nice place. My mum always wanted to come here. You’ve got a tough life.’
‘You can joke, but you try keeping up with the payments on a ship this size, even a third-hand one,’ Tom told him as he ascended the gangplank. ‘Then there’s the insurance, fuel, berthing fees, all that crap. It’s not exactly a licence to print money.’
Eddie followed him into the main cabin. ‘So,’ said Tom, with a penetrating look. ‘You ring me last night, tell me you’re coming to Antigua on some kind of urgent mission for the UN, I agree to help you… and now I find out that your wife’s been kidnapped and someone wants you dead. Kept that part quiet, didn’t you? What the bloody hell’s going on?’
‘I’m not exactly sure myself,’ Eddie admitted.
‘Okay. And do you know who these people are?’
‘Nope.’
Tom pursed his lips. ‘Riiiight. Do you even know where they’re keeping your wife?’
‘Nope again. Although,’ he added, taking out his phone, ‘if I’m lucky, I’ll find that out soon…’
Even locked in her house with a pair of guards posted outside the door, Nina couldn’t miss the clatter of a helicopter coming in to land. Soon afterwards, Cross’s disembodied voice summoned her. A clack from the door lock, and two men entered to escort her through the compound.
Some of the Mission’s white-clad residents were rushing about, excitedly passing on news to their neighbours. Nina saw someone familiar. ‘Miriam?’ she called. ‘What’s going on?’
The young woman hesitated, nervousness plain on her open face. The current news wasn’t the only gossip; Nina’s attack on Norvin had also done the rounds. But whatever had happened was so exciting, she couldn’t hold it in. ‘They’ve found the third angel!’
‘It’s here?’ The redhead looked towards the helipad in alarm. If Cross’s people had taken it from Eddie already…
‘Yes! One of the Witnesses just delivered it to the Prophet.’
‘I guess I’m going to see for myself,’ said Nina as her guards directed her onwards.
‘It’s wonderful!’ Miriam called after her. ‘There’s only one more angel to find, and then the seventh trumpet will sound!’
‘You say that like it’s a good thing,’ she offered in parting. She had now studied Revelation enough to know what followed the last trumpet: war, destruction and death on a colossal scale.
She tried to hide her foreboding as she was brought to the church. The Fishers emerged in a rush as she arrived. Simeon’s left hand was clamped tightly around his right, blood oozing between his fingers. Anna ushered him along, face full of concern for her husband. Both glared at Nina as they passed.
Their anger gave her a perverse feeling of hope. Even if they had taken the angel from Eddie, he had certainly put up a fight.
The cult leader was waiting inside with Dalton. The two men smiled when they saw her, though in the former president’s case it was decidedly gloating. Cross, however, was almost ecstatic. ‘Dr Wilde! This is one of the most important days in the history of the world — and it wouldn’t have happened without you.’
‘I’m absolutely thrilled to have helped,’ she replied, in a tone acidic enough to peel paint.
Dalton’s smile slid into a smirk. ‘Cynicism’s so unbecoming in a mother-to-be.’
‘Oh, cram it up your ass, Mr President.’ Nina reached them, seeing a carry-on bag on the front pew. ‘Where’s Eddie?’
‘Still alive, unfortunately.’ She wasn’t sure which gave her more pleasure: the news itself, or the former politician’s discomfiture at announcing it.
‘It doesn’t matter,’ said Cross. ‘What does matter is that three angels are now accounted for. The one destroyed in Iraq, the second from the catacombs in Rome, and now the third.’ He indicated the bag. ‘There’s only one more to find — and we know where to look. We’re already making preparations for the search. You’ll join us, of course,’ he added. ‘You’re right: we might still need an archaeologist on the ground.’