The blond man punched him again as the unknown voice returned. ‘You’ve seen that your husband is still alive, Dr Wilde. Now I want you to see what’ll happen to him if you don’t do as you’re told. Mr Irton?’
The Taser man opened one of the cases. ‘Oh, fuck,’ Eddie gasped as Irton produced a cattle prod, a black baton two feet long with a pair of stubby electrodes protruding from one end.
‘No!’ cried Nina over the speakers. ‘I’ll do what you want; you don’t have to hurt him! Please, don’t!’
But Eddie knew from the look in Irton’s eyes that nothing she said would stop the shock from coming. The thin-mouthed man wasn’t being sadistic or taking sick joy from inflicting pain on another human being – it was just business, part of the job, the professional detachment of the slaughterhouse worker. This was something he had done before, many times. He pushed a button. The electrodes crackled.
The Englishman set his jaw. ‘I’m going to kill you and all your mates,’ he growled. ‘That’s a promise.’
‘They all say that,’ Irton replied dismissively – as he activated the cattle prod and shoved it against Eddie’s soaked chest.
Nina’s scream almost drowned out her husband’s. ‘No! No, you bastard!’ She threw herself at Cross, but Simeon easily intercepted her. ‘Stop him, stop! Please! Let him go!’
She looked back at the screens as Simeon dragged her away from the cult leader. Eddie convulsed in the chair, face twisted in agony as Irton moved the sparking rod up and down his body. ‘Why are you doing this?’ she shrieked. ‘You’re insane!’
Cross spun to face her, a sudden anger behind his piercing gaze. ‘I’ve never been more sane, Dr Wilde! God Himself has set out this path for me, for His Witnesses,’ he indicated Anna and Simeon, ‘for all of us. We will follow it to the end, and you’re going to light the way.’
He turned back to the screens. ‘Enough.’
Irton retreated, the prod’s high-voltage sizzle cutting off. Eddie slumped, wisps of smoke still rising from his T-shirt. Another man, younger than Irton, checked his pulse. ‘He’s okay,’ he announced.
‘Good,’ said Cross. He tapped the touch screen, and the video wall went blank. ‘Dr Wilde, your husband’s safety is now entirely up to you. If you locate the other angels, he’ll be released.’
Nina was unable to answer at first, shaking with fear and fury. ‘I don’t . . . I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,’ she finally said, voice quavering. ‘I’m not a Biblical expert, it’s not my field. Why me? Why do you think I can do it?’
‘Because you have a talent for finding truth where others only see myths. Atlantis, Valhalla, the Garden of Eden. You found them. And you’ll find the angels of Revelation too.’
It took a moment for the full significance of his words to strike her, but when it did, it felt almost like a physical impact. ‘Wait – you believe I found the Garden of Eden?’
‘Yes.’
‘But the way the media spun the story, it made me look like a kook. The whole thing was deliberately done to discredit me.’ It had taken her discovery of the lost Pyramid of Osiris in Egypt to restore her reputation.
‘I know you found it. In Sudan. And I know it was destroyed by an American stealth bomber.’ Lines of disapproval formed around his eyes; he was as angered at its obliteration as Nina had been, though she imagined for very different reasons.
‘How do you know that? I never told any of that to the IHA – and I sure as hell wasn’t going to put it in my book.’
‘I have friends in the US government,’ Cross replied. ‘There are plenty who believe in the Lord and His plan as strongly as I do. And there are others whose faith is . . . weaker,’ he said, with another frown, ‘but who are willing to work with us. Yes, I know what you found.’
‘And you also know that what I found in Eden contradicts the Book of Genesis? That humans weren’t created in God’s image – that we weren’t even the first intelligent species on the planet?’
Nina knew that challenging his core beliefs could go badly for her – and Eddie. But while Simeon and Anna were affronted, it did not trigger Cross’s anger. ‘Yes, I know,’ he said. ‘About the Veteres – the race that walked the earth before us.’
That revelation was even more startling, as her discovery of the Veteres was something known only to a handful of people. ‘And you accept it?’ she asked. ‘But if you know that the first book of the Bible doesn’t match reality, why are you so certain about the last book?’
‘I told you, the Bible isn’t to be taken literally. It was written by men, and men are fallible. It has to be studied and interpreted to find God’s truth. It’s not easy, but it’s not supposed to be easy. Only people who’ve proven themselves worthy of God’s truth will get to see His plan.’
‘And you think you’re worthy?’
‘I know I’m worthy. God has chosen me, Dr Wilde. He led me to the angel hidden in the temple in Iraq, and it’s now my job to find the others.’
‘Seems like it’s more my job,’ Nina said, acerbic.
‘Then you should get started. Simeon, Anna, take her back to her house. You’ll have everything you need, Dr Wilde – Biblical texts, historical reference material, maps, and limited internet access. You’ll be monitored at all times,’ he added, raising a warning finger. ‘You’ll be cut off immediately if you try to contact anyone or access a site that might give away your location – such as by trying to log in to the IHA’s servers.’
‘I quit the IHA over six months ago,’ she protested. ‘Why would I have access?’
‘Because you’ve still got friends there. I know that your UN liaison, Oswald Seretse, gave you clearance even after you left. I also have friends in the intelligence services. We weren’t only observing you on the streets.’
‘You’ve been monitoring our internet too? Oh great, now you know all Eddie’s favourite websites.’
Anna’s face creased as if she had just smelled a dead animal. ‘Yes, and they’re disgusting.’ Her offence gave Nina an odd feeling of pride.
‘Enough,’ said Cross impatiently. ‘Now, Dr Wilde, it’s up to you to find where the Elders hid the other three angels. Or your husband will suffer.’
Fear returned, though this time with a sense of determination, a refusal to let Eddie’s torturers win. ‘If they really exist, I’ll find them,’ Nina told him.
‘If you’re as good as I’ve been told, I don’t doubt it.’ Cross turned away.
Anna and Simeon escorted Nina from the room. Her mind was already working, but not on the task she had been given. The foremost question was: told by whom?
An answer had not come by the time Simeon and Anna brought her back to the little house. The Mission’s residents had dispersed from the church to their own homes, a few giving her friendly greetings.
Nina ignored them. However cheery the inhabitants seemed, the fact remained that she was a prisoner, and nobody was willing to help her escape. And she was being watched every step of the way, cameras pivoting to track her. Even if she broke away from her escort, the alarm would be raised in seconds. How far could she get?
Simeon ushered her inside. ‘So housekeeping’s visited,’ she said, seeing that a number of books and a laptop computer had been placed on the desk. ‘Any chance of some room service?’
Her companions were not amused. ‘Get to work,’ said Simeon.
‘Get bent,’ Nina shot back. ‘I haven’t eaten since breakfast. Do you know how cranky pregnant women get when they’re hungry?’
The sorrowful look Anna gave Simeon made it clear to Nina that they were a couple. ‘We haven’t been blessed with a child,’ she said.
‘Maybe you don’t deserve one.’
‘Maybe you don’t.’ Simeon took a step closer to Nina, his glare ice-cold.
‘Simeon,’ Anna said. His angry scowl deepened, but he retreated. ‘There’s plenty of food. But if you want to cook, do it yourself. We’re not your personal wait staff.’
‘I?
??m gonna give this place such a bad review on TripAdvisor,’ Nina snarked as they left. The door closed behind them, and as she’d expected, the lock clicked. Even so, she tried to open it, with no success. ‘Shit.’
She was in no mood to cook, so made do with throwing together a salad sandwich and devouring it before moving on to a box of crackers. Munching on the dry biscuits, she looked through the cupboards again. Her captors had at least stocked her prison with a decent selection of provisions.
A small bottle amongst various packaged ingredients and condiments caught her eye. Spirit vinegar. That jogged a memory, something Eddie had once told her. She looked back through the fresh vegetables. Corn, green peppers, chilli, onions, some bulbs of garlic . . .
She glanced up at the camera silently watching her from the corner. An idea had come to her, but she would have to be extremely careful and patient to carry it out – if she even could. But if it worked, it might give her the chance she needed to run for the Mission’s boundary.
For now, though, she had to at least make the pretence of working on Cross’s assignment. If her watchers thought she was wasting time, Eddie would pay the price. Delaying tactics had caused Macy’s death; she couldn’t allow the same thing to happen again.
Another thought. Cross was insistent that she find the angels as soon as possible. Was he working to a deadline? And if so, why? The angels, if they existed, had been hidden for thousands of years. Why the rush?
She turned towards the desk. Sitting atop the stack of books was a copy of the Bible. The Old and New Testaments; Genesis to Revelation. Maybe the answer really was in there . . .
‘Let’s see what John of Patmos saw in his visions,’ she said to herself as she thumbed to its final book.
6
A faint knocking woke Nina. She frowned and raised her head, eyes still half closed. ‘Eddie, get the door, will you . . .’
Memory slammed back into place. She jerked upright in fear and confusion. Books and papers fell to the floor. She had fallen asleep fully clothed, her research scattered around her. How long she’d been out, she had no idea, but the daylight beyond the shutters was back; it had faded into night long before she dropped into an uneasy slumber.
Another knock at the door. ‘What?’ she shouted, scrambling to her feet.
‘Dr Wilde?’ came a female voice. ‘My name’s Miriam. The Prophet asked me to bring you to him.’
‘He did, huh?’ she said, crossing to the door. Red lights blinked on the cameras as she moved. She flipped them the bird. ‘Well, he can wait until I’ve had a shower and some breakfast.’
A pause, then the voice hesitantly returned. ‘Uh . . . he wants to see you right now.’
Nina tried the door; this time, it wasn’t locked. Standing outside in the morning sun was a slim, pretty woman in her early twenties, wavy rust-brown hair dropping to her shoulders. Her clothing, a knee-length dress and a pair of sandals, was all white. ‘You pregnant, Miriam?’
Her visitor was startled. ‘Ah . . . no?’ she said uncertainly.
Nina opened the door and pointed at her own bump. ‘Well I am, and let me give you some useful advice for if you ever are: pregnant ladies always get to choose when they meet people. Okay? Tell your Prophet I’ll see him when I’m good and ready. Which might be in ten minutes, it might be ten hours. Later, tater.’ She gave the freckle-cheeked woman a mocking wave, then slammed the door before going to the kitchen to search for food.
Another knock came a few minutes later. ‘Yeah, what?’ shouted Nina through a mouthful of cereal.
Miriam peered around the door. ‘I’m sorry, I . . . I don’t want to intrude, but . . . but the Prophet sent me to bring you, and – and I don’t know what’ll happen if I go back to him without you.’
Nina spotted the glistening line of a tear on her cheek. ‘Are you crying?’
Miriam hurriedly wiped her face. ‘I didn’t mean to, I’m sorry . . .’
The redhead’s annoyance changed to concern. Her visitor was upset, even afraid. Nina went to her. ‘Are you okay? Your Prophet, Cross – will he hurt you if I don’t go with you?’
She was genuinely shocked at the suggestion. ‘No, no, of course not! It’s just . . . I don’t want to let him down.’
‘Were you standing outside the door this whole time?’
Miriam nodded. ‘I didn’t want to make you mad, especially as you’re with child.’
‘Trust me, you’re way down the list of things that have spiked my cortisol levels in the past twenty-four hours.’ She glared at the nearest camera. ‘So, what,’ she told her watchers, ‘you send this poor girl to get me as part of some emotional blackmail plan? Jesus!’
Miriam’s mouth fell open in shock, this time at the blasphemy. Nina gave her an irritated look. ‘I’m guessing you’re not from New York if something that mild upsets you. All right, okay, I’m coming,’ she told the camera with a frustrated shrug. ‘First things first, though.’
‘What?’ asked Miriam.
‘I need to pee. Maybe that’s over-sharing, but I really don’t care.’ She disappeared into the bathroom, leaving the blushing woman staring after her.
After an unrushed break, Nina re-emerged to find her guest still waiting. She gathered her papers. ‘Okay, let’s go.’
Miriam led her out of the house and through the Mission. She was silent to begin with, only piping up very quietly about halfway down the street of little houses. ‘Ulysses.’
‘What?’ said Nina.
‘Ulysses, Kansas. That’s where I’m from. Well, not the actual town – I grew up on a farm about ten miles away. So no, I’m not from New York.’
‘Yeah, I’d guessed.’
‘But I always wanted to see it. It looks amazing. Scary, though. Isn’t there a lot of crime?’
Nina made a sarcastic sound. ‘Sure, if you hop in your time machine and go back to the seventies. You aren’t going to get stabbed in the middle of Times Square in broad daylight. Probably.’
‘Okay . . .’ was the uncertain reply. ‘I’d still like to go one day, though.’
‘What’s stopping you? You’re not a prisoner here, are you?’
‘Of course not! I came here by my own choice, to follow the Prophet.’ She smiled and gestured at their sunny surroundings. ‘It’s lovely here. And I’m with friends who think the same way I do. Why would I want to leave?’
‘I can think of a few reasons,’ said Nina, regarding the nearest set of security cameras. ‘So where is here?’
Miriam opened her mouth to reply, then clapped it shut. ‘I, uh . . . I’m sorry, but I was told not to tell you anything about the Mission.’
‘But we’re somewhere in the Caribbean, right?’
She clenched her hands in agitation. ‘I’m sorry, really I am, but I can’t tell you.’
‘You do know that I didn’t come here by my own choice? I was kidnapped, Miriam – that’s a federal offence, and every country in the Caribbean, even Cuba, has an extradition treaty with the US. Anyone who’s involved in keeping me a prisoner here will be counted as an accessory. That’ll get you a minimum thirty years in a federal prison.’ She had no idea if that were true, but could tell from Miriam’s alarm that she had made her point. ‘You realise that, don’t you? But if you help me get out of here . . .’
Conflict was clear on the young woman’s face. ‘I . . . I’m sorry, but I can’t, I really can’t,’ she said at last. ‘I can’t go against the Prophet. I just can’t! I’m sorry.’
Nina held back her anger. Miriam was genuinely upset at not being able to help, but also unwilling – or unable – to disobey her leader. ‘This Prophet,’ she said instead, changing tack, ‘why do you follow him? What’s he offering you?’
Miriam’s smile returned as if a switch had been flipped. ‘He’s going to lead us to the new Jerusalem! God’s dwelling place will come down out of heaven to the earth, and He will live amongst us and wipe away all the tears from our eyes.’
‘And there’ll be no mo
re pain or sorrow, right?’ Nina recognised her words as part of Revelation, which she had read several times the previous night.
‘That’s right!’
‘And how exactly is he going to do this?’
‘I don’t know. But I trust him,’ she quickly added. ‘Everything the Prophet says makes sense. Revelation will come to pass, and God’s kingdom on earth will begin.’
‘So you think your Prophet’s a good man?’
‘Of course he is!’
Nina’s expression hardened. ‘Good men don’t kidnap pregnant women, Miriam. And they don’t torture people to force them to cooperate.’
She shook her head. ‘He wouldn’t do that.’
‘He has done that! He made me watch my husband being electrocuted with a cattle prod!’ Seeing the other woman’s dismay, she pressed on: ‘He’s no prophet; he’s an ex-CIA agent who went nuts. Whatever Cross really wants, it’s not peace on earth and everyone singing “Kumbaya”. You’ve got to help me!’
Miriam scowled. Nina realised she’d pushed too hard and put her on the defensive. ‘He’s not nuts,’ she protested. ‘You’ll see. When the angels are all released and the seventh trumpet blows, you’ll see!’
‘What will I see?’
‘The truth,’ said a new voice. They had almost reached the church, and Nina looked up to see Cross at the top of the steps. ‘God’s truth will be revealed.’ His eyes flicked towards the papers Nina was holding. ‘Soon, I hope. Very soon.’
Miriam curtseyed. ‘Prophet, I’ve brought her, like you asked.’
‘Thank you, Miriam. You can go back to your studies now.’
She nodded, giving the archaeologist an uncertain look before departing. Nina glowered at her host. ‘Hope you’re not expecting me to curtsey.’
‘Come inside, Dr Wilde,’ he said. ‘I hope we’ve got a lot to talk about.’
Nina followed Cross into the church. With him was a large young man she didn’t recognise, hard-faced and with a distinctly military-style moustache. ‘Replacement bodyguard?’ she asked. ‘What happened to the charmers who brought me here?’