‘Yeah,’ Eddie replied. ‘But first…’ Holding the statue under one arm, he took out the flare and popped off the plastic cap. Pointing it upwards, he used his thumb to hook the pull-tab on its base. The projectile rocketed from the tube with a flat bang and a trail of smoke, arcing into the sky. Its parachute deployed after a few seconds, the bright white star drifting out to sea.
People in the crowd exchanged anxious looks. ‘That was to tell the Antiguan police that you’re holding a kidnap victim!’ Eddie called as he resumed his march towards the church, aiming his gun at Cross. Simeon angrily drew a pistol in his bandaged hand. ‘They know I’m here too, dickhead. So killing me’d be a really bad idea. I’m told Antigua has the death penalty for gun crimes.’
Cross waved for his henchman to lower the weapon. ‘Only God will take any lives here.’
There was a commotion at the church doors. Eddie looked towards them — and was shocked to see Victor Dalton pushing through the crowd to reach Cross. ‘He’s called the cops?’ the former politician said. ‘We’ve got to get out of here! If I’m still here when they arrive, I’ll be linked to a federal crime!’
The Yorkshireman neared the group. ‘You!’ he barked at Dalton, who flinched. ‘You’re behind all this? I should have fucking killed you when I had the chance!’
‘Paxton’s ready with the chopper,’ Cross told his partner, unconcerned.
Eddie looked around at the whine of a turbine engine starting up, seeing a helicopter on a pad near the cliffs. Beyond it he spotted the Flirty Lady cruising southwards past the village, its passengers waving to those on shore. ‘Going somewhere?’
‘We have a plane to catch,’ replied Cross. ‘But first, Mr Chase, we had a deal. The angel for your wife.’
‘Eddie, you can’t let them take it,’ protested Nina. ‘They’ll use it to kill hundreds, maybe even thousands of people!’
Simeon raised his gun again. ‘We’re doing God’s will. Now, hand it over.’
Eddie kept his own weapon and gaze fixed on Cross. ‘You’re right, we made a deal. I’ll honour my side, if you honour yours.’ Dalton’s gaze flicked nervously between the two men.
Cross was silent for a long moment, then he nodded. ‘Let her go.’
‘What?’ barked Simeon. Anna was equally shocked.
The cult leader turned his cold gaze upon them. ‘Do you trust me?’ he asked.
The question caught them both off guard. ‘Yes, of course,’ said Anna. ‘But—’
‘Then don’t question me. We can find the last angel without her.’
She nodded. Simeon was more reluctant, but lowered his gun. Cross looked back at Eddie. ‘The angel?’
The Englishman put the statue on the ground, then warily stepped closer to Nina, holding out his free hand. She reached for it, then stopped. ‘Don’t give it to them, Eddie,’ she pleaded.
‘You trust me, don’t you?’ he asked.
‘Yes, but…’ Another moment’s hesitation, then she took a firm hold of him. ‘There aren’t any buts.’
‘That’ll upset Sir Mix-a-lot. Okay, let’s do this.’ The couple backed away, Eddie keeping the gun raised. ‘There’s your statue.’
‘Hold it,’ said Simeon. ‘How do we know this isn’t another fake?’
Cross picked up the figure. He turned it over in his hands, holding it up to the sunlight to examine the fine details. ‘It’s real,’ he announced. ‘It’s real!’ He faced his congregation, holding the figure above his head. ‘The third angel of the apocalypse is ours!’ Joyous awe spread through the crowd, some of his followers bursting into tears.
Eddie was less enthused. ‘The angel of what?’
‘I told you not to give it to him!’ said Nina. ‘They’ve got some insane plan to bring about the apocalypse so Dalton can get back into power.’
‘Wouldn’t the end of the world kind of screw up his political career?’ he asked as they retreated further. ‘Hard to get out and vote if it’s raining fire and brimstone.’
‘They didn’t let me in on their endgame. But I know it involves loosing the angels — breaking open the statues to let out what’s inside, something that reacts with air and turns into toxic gas.’
‘That’d explain the gas masks they had in Berlin, then.’ Eddie flicked the gun at the three men who had followed him to the church; they let him and Nina pass. ‘But don’t worry, they’ll never get a chance to do it. Like I said, the cops are on the way. Even if they leave in the chopper, they’ll still get stopped at Antigua airport, or whichever other island they try to fly out from.’ He winked at her. ‘See? Trust me. I know what I’m doing. More or less.’
Cross returned to the black case and reverently placed the statue inside next to its fellow from Rome, then closed it. ‘My friends,’ he said, his voice still coming from the loudspeakers, ‘my faithful followers, I must leave you now. Three of the angels bound at the Euphrates have now been found, and I know where the last one is hidden. I’ll find it, I promise, and I will fulfil the prophecy of the Book of Revelation. When the angels have been released, the seventh trumpet will sound — and then Babylon will fall and Satan will be cast down into the lake of fire. When that is done, nothing can stop God’s kingdom on earth from becoming a reality.’
Eddie looked askance at Nina. ‘Is this bloke for real?’
‘Unfortunately, yes,’ she replied. ‘He believes every word he’s saying.’
He twirled a forefinger at his temple. ‘Wibble.’
‘The problem is, he’s been right.’ At Eddie’s look of surprise, she went on: ‘About some of it, at least. The clues hidden in Revelation really did lead to the angels. And now he knows how to find the last one. I told him where to look.’
‘You did?’
‘I didn’t have a choice. Eddie, he… he threatened to kill the baby.’
He stopped abruptly, his face turning utterly cold and blank. Nina had seen the frightening look before, after the murder of his friend ‘Mac’ McCrimmon, and knew what it meant: he had targeted someone for death, and would be both relentless and merciless in carrying out that mission. ‘Then I’ll kill him,’ he said simply.
‘No, wait,’ Nina gasped. But he was already taking aim. She grabbed his arm, trying to force him off-target—
Simeon whipped up his own weapon — but before either man could fire, screams and cries came from the crowd as they too realised the danger. Several people rushed to put themselves between Cross and the Yorkshireman.
Nina recognised one of them. ‘Miriam!’ The young woman was terrified, but she held her position, arms spread wide in a desperate attempt to shield her prophet. ‘Eddie, don’t shoot!’
‘Nobody shoot,’ said Cross. ‘Simeon, stand down. That’s an order!’ Simeon bared his teeth in frustration, but obeyed.
Eddie jerked his wrist from Nina’s grip, his chilling mask replaced by anger. ‘What’re you doing?’
‘You called in the cops! If you kill him in front of all these people, it’ll be cold-blooded murder — and you said Antigua has the death penalty. I’m not going to let you throw your life away.’
He glowered at her, but then a shout caught everyone’s attention. ‘Boats!’ called a man on a small parapet at the base of the church spire. ‘Boats are coming!’ He pointed south. ‘The police and the coast guard!’
‘Thank you, Tom,’ Eddie muttered. For the cops to have arrived so quickly, his friend must have decided what the hell and radioed them long before the flare was launched.