Aspasia’s Shadow frowned. “You have tried lying to me, but I suspect you are telling the truth now.”
“Want me to confirm your suspicions?” Turcotte put his finger on the trigger. “A Talon is not capable of interstellar jumps,” Aspasia’s Shadow argued.
“Not my problem. Besides, as you noted, you have all the time you’ll ever need.” “I will take the deal.”
Turcotte didn’t lower the gun immediately. He knew the capitulation was too swift, but he also knew he didn’t have much time. A fact of which he was sure Aspasia’s Shadow was aware.
“What do you need to stop it?” Turcotte asked.
“Access to the control room,” Aspasia’s Shadow said. “You can keep your gun pointed at me if you like.”
Turcotte let the submachine gun dangle from its sling as he drew his knife. He went behind Aspasia’s Shadow and cut the restraints. “Let’s go.”
Aspasia’s Shadow walked to the corridor doorway. Turcotte prodded him in the back with the muzzle of the gun. “Run.”
They broke into a jog along the main corridor. As Turcotte passed doors he could hear the muted roar of thousands of people crammed into various holds. Entering the pilot room, Turcotte raised his hand as Yakov spun about, reaching for Excalibur.
“He’s going to stop the destruction.”
“In exchange for what?” Yakov demanded, eyeing Aspasia’s Shadow as he sat down in the center control seat.
“A Talon.”
“I do not think—”
Turcotte cut the Russian off. “We don’t have time to think. Are all the gangways retracted and doors closed?” Yakov nodded. “Yes.”
Turcotte glanced at the screen. There was definitely smoke coming out of the top of Rano Kau now. Aspasia’s Shadow grabbed the controls. The mothership slowly gained altitude. At somewhere around ten thousand feet he halted the mothership.
“What now?” Turcotte demanded.
Aspasia’s Shadow ignored him as his hands moved over the glowing hexes that made up a large part of the control console. Turcotte felt his skin tingle as a charge passed over him. “What are you doing?”
“What I told you I would,” Aspasia’s Shadow said. “Look.”
Lighter than the rock around it, the magma was getting near the surface of the planet. About two miles below Rano Kau, it began to melt some of the surrounding rock and had pooled, forming a huge chamber over a mile wide. This pooling had given Turcotte the time to get all the people off the surface of the island.
Now, the pressure from below was intense, and there was no place else to go but up again. The water in the crater lake began to boil as hot gases moving ahead of the magma reached it via the central vent. Steam poured into the air, then gas. It was a battle between the water and gas for several minutes, then the magma chose another direction, pouring into the guardian chamber, filling it, then heading toward a crack in the side of the chamber.
Turcotte flinched as the seaward side of Rano Kau exploded outward, hurling boulders the size of houses into the air. A wave of hot gas roared outward over the sea and around the volcano onto the surface of the island, killing every living thing that remained. The moai were singed by the heat, new paint that had been added to help make them a tourist attraction burned off.
Turcotte glanced at the other volcanoes in the other two corners of the island. Both were emitting smoke. Bright red magma flowed down the side of Rano Kau and met the ocean with a hiss of steam.
The floor under Turcotte’s feet shook as a pulse of power shot down from the mothership into the island. It passed into the ground with no apparent effect. Within five seconds a second pulse followed.
The power flowed into the planet, passing through the boiling magma and shaking the ground. It hit the line where the crust met the outer core, and the power dispersed, shattering rock that sifted down into the magma, interrupting the flow. More importantly, the amplitude and frequency of the shock wave was the inverse of the power wave that had been initiated. This was something only the originator of the initial wave could have known. The dampening effect rode outward from Easter Island, counteracting the power unleashed by the initial explosion.
Aspasia’s Shadow made a few more adjustments on the controls, then turned in the chair. “I’ve done as you asked. Now I will take my leave.”
Turcotte could see no change on the view screens — things didn’t appear to be getting any worse, but there was still lava flowing out of Rano Kau and smoke being emitted by the other two volcanoes. “You have an eternity,” he said. “I think we’ll wait a little before letting you go.”
“You gave your word.”
“And I’ll honor it,” Turcotte said.
“Ask your scientists with their measuring devices,” Aspasia’s Shadow said. “They will indicate the planet is quiet once more.” A smile crept across his thin lips. “I am done as a threat. Artad and the Swarm”—he shrugged—“that is your problem. If you would give me this ship, I would help you with them also.”
“I’d be happy right now to be done with you,” Turcotte said. “One threat at a time.” “You have no idea of the big picture,” Aspasia’s Shadow said.
“And you haven’t enlightened me,” Turcotte replied. Aspasia’s Shadow crossed his arms and looked at Turcotte for several long seconds. “I’ve done what you asked.” Turcotte nodded toward the exit. “Go.”
Aspasia’s Shadow stood and departed without another word. “I do not trust him,” Yakov said.
“I don’t either, but at least we’re rid of him now.” Turcotte sat in the spot Aspasia’s Shadow had just relinquished. He reached down and took the controls. He directed the nose of the mothership to the north, toward Hawaii. The sound of a clamp releasing on one of the Talons was audible throughout the ship.
Turcotte could sense the Russian’s disapproval and felt compelled to defend his recent actions. “I’m just trying to make sure that when we do finally end this once and for all there are enough people around to enjoy the victory. Enough have already died.”
Yakov let out a long, heavy sigh, before sitting down. “I understand. But my people have a long history of winning costly victories. And the battles and wars never seem to end. Napoleon. Hitler. And the betrayals. We were betrayed by our own government. So, I do not trust Aspasia’s Shadow, but I do understand why you made the pact you just did.”
Turcotte realized that was the most Yakov was going to allow him, so he picked up his SATPhone and punched in the auto-dial for Quinn. As it rang, another clamp released.
Quinn picked up his end on the third ring. He sounded distracted, and Turcotte could hear voices in the background.
“Major, what do you have on seismic activity?”
Quinn’s response was immediate. “Things have settled down. Whatever you did stopped it.” “What do you have on Duncan?”
“There’s a strange report. It appears that some Israelis — led by Simon Sherev — brought the Ark of the Covenant to what they thought was a new Majestic.” “Where?”
“An abandoned oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. I’ve also confirmed that an Osprey was used on a classified mission in that vicinity.” “OK, then—”
“That’s not all,” Quinn interrupted. “We got this report from one of Sherev’s commandos who is still on the rig. He says he hasn’t heard from Sherev or the others since they went inside the rig.”
Another clamp released. Turcotte cursed. “We have anything near there that can investigate?” “I’m working on it.”
A fourth thud resounded through the mothership. Glancing at the screens in front of him, Turcotte could see a Talon moving away. “Good riddance,” he muttered.