Kingdom of Darkness (6 page)

‘They can’t just be planning to walk in through the front door, though,’ said Eddie. ‘There’s a lot of security, isn’t there?’

‘Oh, yeah,’ Nina told him. ‘One of archaeology’s greatest long-lost sites, right in the middle of an Egyptian city? The whole dig’s been guarded from the moment the first tunnel was discovered. Half the country’s population fancies themselves as freelance relic hunters, especially after all the political upheavals. And by “freelance relic hunters”, I mean thieves,’ she added for the benefit of the two agents.

Beck shot her a sardonic smile. ‘I kind of got the picture.’

‘I think it wise that we not tell the Egyptian ambassador you said that, Nina,’ said Seretse. ‘However, I am sure that Dr Assad will increase security still further in light of this threat.’

‘And what about security for Nina?’ Eddie asked. ‘Whoever this lot are and whatever they’re planning to do in Egypt, they came over here and tried to kill her too.’

‘Why, though?’ said Nina. ‘I don’t even work for the IHA any more, so I’m not connected to the dig.’

‘Perhaps the FBI has some more information,’ Seretse suggested.

‘We might,’ Beck replied. He opened a file he had been given after landing. ‘These are the preliminary results of Jaekel’s autopsy. We rechecked the fingerprints and other biometrics; they’re a match for everything the DoJ’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section has on record for him. He and the other surviving members of his unit were processed when they were captured at the end of the war, so we’ve mugshots, prints and so on.’

He laid out eight photographs in a row on the desk. Jaekel’s was the first; the others were equally old and grainy. His finger tapped each one in turn. ‘Maximilian Jaekel, Garan Oster, Archard Walther, Herman Schneider, Steiner Henkel, Bren Gausmann, Ubel Rasche . . . and the leader, SS-Obersturmbannführer Erich Kroll.’ The final picture showed a hard-featured man with close-cropped blond hair, a wide, downturned mouth and intense, malevolent eyes. ‘They committed war crimes across Europe – slaughtering civilians, murdering prisoners of war, stealing an untold amount of valuables – and Kroll was actually promoted for all of it just before the end.’

‘So what happened to them?’ Nina asked, taking a closer look at the faces from the past. None looked like anybody she wanted to meet.

‘No one knows. After they bribed their way free, they disappeared.’

‘Until one of them turned up in LA and tried to kill us,’ said Eddie.

Nina shook her head. ‘It can’t be the same guy. It’s just not possible.’

‘The fingerprints say it’s him,’ said Petrelli.

‘Maybe he’s a clone,’ Eddie offered. ‘Like in
The Boys from Brazil
? There might be a whole army of cloned Nazis goose-stepping around somewhere.’

‘Be serious, Eddie,’ sighed Nina.

‘We did find something unusual,’ Beck admitted. ‘We don’t know what it means, though.’ He took out another picture, this one in colour. ‘The man who shot at you in LA, Jaekel – he died trying to reach this. BHPD thought he was going for a gun and took him down.’

The image showed a flat silver flask lying on asphalt. ‘Yeah, I saw it,’ said Eddie. ‘I thought it was a gun too, from the way he was so set on reaching it.’

‘What was in it?’ asked Seretse.

‘Water,’ Petrelli replied, to his listeners’ surprise.

‘Water?’ Nina echoed. ‘Seriously? You’re telling me he was killed because he wouldn’t give up his flask of water?’

‘He was dying for a drink,’ Eddie said with a grin. ‘Dead thirsty.’

She held in a groan. ‘Maybe the flask had some sentimental value.’

Beck shook his head. ‘It’s silver, so it’s probably worth a few hundred bucks, but we didn’t find anything special about it.’ He paused, as if trying to convince himself of what he was about to say. ‘What was
in
it, on the other hand . . .’

Eddie regarded him quizzically. ‘You said it was water.’

‘It was. But . . . it wasn’t
normal
water.’

‘How so?’ Nina asked.

The FBI agent produced a thick document. ‘I’m a cop, not a chemist, so I don’t understand half of this. But our analysts gave me a cheat sheet.’ He flicked through the topmost pages. ‘Here: “The water sample contains a high level of colloidal silver, at over five hundred parts per million. Such levels run the risk of the user’s developing argyria with prolonged consumption, though the initial autopsy report shows no evidence of such a condition in the deceased. In addition, the water was discovered to hold a small electrical charge, though as yet the cause and mechanism for this remains unidentified. Finally, the water was also found to contain molecules of carbon-60, also known as buckminsterfullerene or buckyballs—”’

‘You just made that up!’ said Eddie. ‘That’s not a real name, surely.’

Nina smiled. ‘Let me tell you about the problems archaeologists have with moronic acid sometime.’

‘I’m just reading what it says here,’ said Beck. ‘Okay, so: “The concentration of these molecules is far higher than previously discovered in any natural water source, though there is none of the expected purple colouration associated with carbon-60 content. Carbon-60 is believed to have potential for various medical treatments, including inhibition of the HIV virus and antioxidant neutralisation of free radicals, but all current research is still experimental.” Like I said, it’s not normal water.’

‘With all that crap floating about in it, it sounds as bad as New York tap water,’ Eddie joked, before noticing his wife’s thoughtful expression. ‘What?’

‘We’ve seen something like this before,’ she said. ‘In Egypt – when Khalid Osir was looking for the strain of yeast that extended the lives of the ancient Egyptian rulers. The yeast we found in the Pyramid of Osiris had very similar properties.’

‘Life extension?’ said Seretse. ‘You’re suggesting that this water may have somehow slowed the ageing process of these war criminals?’

‘I don’t know, but it would explain why this guy,’ she indicated Jaekel’s picture, ‘only looked forty rather than ninety.’

‘What, clones are out, but you’re fine with magic water?’ Eddie scoffed.

‘Yeah,’ Petrelli agreed. ‘It sounds pretty far-fetched.’

‘You’re the ones who insisted that the dead guy in LA is a wanted Nazi war criminal,’ Nina countered. ‘And the water’s not magic – it just has unusual properties. It’s not the first time we’ve encountered something like that.’

Her husband’s face turned downcast. ‘Yeah. Some of it pretty recently.’

Seeing Seretse’s inquisitive gaze – she had not told him the full reason for her resignation from the IHA – Nina quickly moved the subject along. ‘It’d also explain why Jaekel was so desperate to get the flask, even with cops pointing guns at him. If the water really does have some kind of anti-ageing effect, then it would literally be his lifeline.’

‘But what does it have to do with what happened in Los Angeles?’ asked the diplomat. ‘The murder of the young man, the attempt on your life, and these plans to rob the tomb of Alexander the Great?’

‘I don’t know, but— Holy
crap
!’ she gasped as an answer suddenly came to her. It was wild, even crazy, but it made a twisted kind of sense . . .

Seretse and the two FBI men stared at her, startled by the outburst. ‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘But I think I’ve found a connection!’

‘What connection?’ said Beck.

‘Alexander the Great – as well as all the historical records we have of his achievements, there was also a text called the
Alexander Romance
,’ she said, mind racing. ‘In a way, it was the first ever novel. Parts of it recounted his actual life and conquests in a semi-fictionalised, romanticised way – hence the name – but there were also chapters that were more fantastical. Alexander and his men went on adventures where they encountered strange beasts and monsters, races of giants, centaurs, plant men, that kind of thing. Alexander himself went to the bottom of the ocean in a diving bell and was carried into the sky by eagles, until the gods themselves ordered him to return to earth.’

‘Now that’s the kind of history book I’d want to read,’ Eddie said. ‘Better than boring lists of kings and queens!’

‘I have read the
Alexander Romance
,’ said Seretse. ‘In the original Greek, of course – I studied it at Cambridge.’

‘Well of course,’ said Nina, a little facetiously. ‘It loses so much in translation.’

He ignored her veiled sarcasm. ‘As I recall, the most fantastical parts of the story came after the death of King Darius of Persia.’

‘That’s right,’ she told him. ‘Alexander defeated Darius’s armies, and in the historical accounts secured the Achaemenid Empire before moving on into India. In the
Romance
, Alexander took a detour and headed north to explore the lands around what he thought was an ocean, but is presumably the Caspian Sea, given his route. That’s where he encountered all these weird creatures. But the main reason he went there was because he’d heard of a place called the Land of Darkness – which contains the Spring of Immortality.’

‘Like the Fountain of Youth?’ Eddie said sceptically.

‘Yes, although there aren’t many details, because Alexander never actually found it. What happened was that Alexander’s
cook
, Andreas, discovered it by accident – he put a dried fish in a stream to wash it, and the fish came back to life. Andreas drank the spring water himself, and even kept some of it, but was too frightened to tell Alexander what he’d found. By the time he eventually did, the army had moved on, and when they went back, they couldn’t find the right spring. The secret of immortality was right there in front of them, but now it’s lost for ever.’

‘Sheesh,’ said Beck. ‘I bet Alexander wasn’t happy about that.’

‘He wasn’t. He had a stone tied around Andreas’ neck and threw him into the sea.’

‘Maybe he just didn’t like his cooking,’ Eddie joked.

‘I doubt it was exactly haute cuisine, yeah. But because Andreas was now immortal, he became a spirit. Or so the story goes, at least.’

Seretse regarded her thoughtfully. ‘Could there be
any
truth to it? It would not be the first time you have discovered that a legend was based on fact.’

‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘I mean, without some solid evidence, I’m certainly not going to buy into the story that there really is a spring that gives you eternal life, even if this guy Jaekel apparently believed it. Was there anything else in those plans that might tell us more?’

He referred to a translation of the German text. ‘Perhaps. There is a passage here . . . “According to the relics, the statue of Bucephalus is located in the inner burial chamber. Obtaining the statue intact is our primary objective: it holds the map to the Kingdom of Darkness. We must secure the map before we can find the spring.” Could they mean the Spring of Immortality?’

‘Maybe,’ said Nina. ‘I don’t remember anything about a statue of Bucephalus when I was at the IHA, though. Has anything like that been found in the tomb since then?’ Seretse shook his head.

‘Who’s Bucephalus?’ Eddie asked.

‘Alexander’s horse. He tamed him as a child, and rode him throughout his campaigns. He was so devoted to him that when Bucephalus was stolen by a forest tribe, he ordered his men to cut down every single tree and slaughter every last member of the tribe if he wasn’t returned. He got his horse back very quickly.’

Eddie’s eyes widened. ‘Not surprised. That’s a bloke who really loves his ride.’

‘There wasn’t any sentiment involved,’ Nina continued. ‘When Bucephalus was killed in battle, I think against Porus in India, Alexander just found another horse and carried on fighting. Victory mattered more to him than anyone or anything else.’

‘Seems that Jaekel and his buddies feel the same way,’ said Beck. ‘They were willing to gun a man down in broad daylight to stop him from telling you about all of this, Dr Wilde – and then they tried to kill you too.’

‘Why, though?’ she asked. ‘This is nothing to do with me any more.’

‘But the young man in Los Angeles was specifically looking for you,’ Seretse pointed out. ‘He must have been certain that you would help him prevent the raiding of the tomb. And this man Jaekel must also have considered you a threat – you said that he targeted you, again specifically. So it would appear that you are somehow connected, even if you don’t know how.’

‘You could still be in danger,’ Petrelli warned. ‘We don’t know how many more of these guys are out there. They might try again.’

‘Well, thanks for brightening my morning,’ Nina told him, exasperated.

‘We must find out what is going on, though,’ insisted Seretse. ‘The Egyptian government is extremely concerned about the threat to the dig. Since the IHA is a partner in the excavation, they have asked us to assist in any way we can.’

‘Wait a minute,’ Eddie said, suddenly wary. ‘Who’s this “we”? If you mean me and Nina, we don’t work for the IHA any more, remember?’

‘Yes, I know. However, considering the circumstances . . .’ Avoiding Eddie’s increasingly hostile gaze, the United Nations official faced Nina. ‘I would like to request your help in investigating these events, and securing the tomb of Alexander the Great from the raiders.’

‘What?’ protested Eddie. ‘No, no fucking way. We’ve got better things to do than act as security guards for another bloody hole in the ground.’

‘Eddie, wait,’ said Nina.

He rounded on her. ‘No, you wait! We agreed, okay! We’re doing what we’re doing for a
reason
, remember, and the last thing you need is to get dragged back into the job that—’ He almost blurted out
got you poisoned
. ‘That you wanted to leave in the first place.’

‘I didn’t
want
to leave,’ Nina said quietly.

Seretse broke the uncomfortable silence. ‘If it makes a difference, the request does not come from the Egyptians alone. The State Department has also asked for your help, Nina.’

‘Oh, well then, how can we fucking refuse?’ Eddie said, throwing up his hands.

‘If there really are Nazi war criminals still at large, they’ve got to be found and brought to justice,’ said Beck. ‘And speaking strictly off the record, Mr Chase – not as an FBI agent, but as someone with family who died in the war – I agree with what you said in the car, about the kind of justice these people deserve. If I were in your shoes, I’d do it.’