Chapter 40

Maddock's heart raced as the sign reading Lake Natron flashed past. "Almost there." They’d managed to get Schrader and his family to safety, and with the help of a local pride of lions, decimated the kidnappers. Those that survived had scattered. Maddock hoped the lions, none of whom had suffered so much as a scratch in the encounter, would not become man-eaters. Considering they’d acted under the influence of a Noah Stone, he hoped they would return to their natural states afterward.

Now, armed with information from Schrader, they had driven the two hours to the Ngorongo Conservation Area. Considered one of the natural wonders of the world, this vast protected area stretched from Lake Natron in the northeast to Lake Enyasi in the south and Lake Manyara to the east. The area incorporated the Olduvai Gorge and the Ngorongoro Crater, the largest unbroken caldera in the world. The eight million-year-old crater had once been an active volcano. After going dormant, its collapsed cone formed a crater more than six hundred meters deep and covering an area of more than three hundred square kilometers. It was huge, and it was the place Schrader believed the ark lay.

"So tell me again what Schrader said." Dima held a legal pad in her lap and was mulling over various notes she had taken.

“He said quite a bit.” Schrader had been convinced he was going to die, and had confessed to Maddock that he had in his possession an ancient stone tablet he had stolen from a dig years before. Furthermore, if his translation was correct, it confirmed the location of the ark in the Arusha region. Fortunately for him, the bullet had passed through the ample layer of fat at his midsection. It was a painful wound, to be sure, but hardly fatal.

"First, he said that Mount Meru and Mount Meri were not the same place. Then he said, ‘Look to the Mountain of God. The truth lies there.'"

"All right." Dima made a mark on her notepad. "Ol Doinyo Lengai is the only mountain anywhere in the Arusha Region that is called by that name. So far, so good."

Called "Mountain of God" in the Maasai language, Ol Doinyo Lengai was an active volcano in the Gregory Rift, located south of Lake Natron within the Arusha Region of Tanzania. Part of the volcanic system of the East African Rift, it uniquely produced natrocarbonatite lava, a darker, cooler form of lava than what was commonly found in most volcanos. Cooler was, of course, a relative term, as the lava still reached temperatures of more than five hundred degrees.

"He also said, ‘Find the city of stone. The place of sacrifice.'"

"Which could refer to Engakura." Dima bit the tip of her pen and gazed at her paper. "It's a stone city with a complex irrigation system, but there's no tradition of stone construction in this part of Africa, which makes it unusual. So, it would be the logical place to look."

“It narrows things down a bit,” Maddock agreed. “If we have to search the entire area, we might never find it.”

“I don’t see anyone around,” Bones said, craning his neck to look out over the crater as they drew close to the rim.

“The northern area is the most remote,” Dima said. “Tourists usually stick to the places that are most easily accessed.”

Bones nodded. “Works for me. Fewer people to get in the way.”

Maddock had to agree. The last thing they needed was bystanders interfering, or perhaps being harmed, should things go sideways. “Let’s hope the rangers stick to the other parts of the crater.” Strictly speaking, one was not permitted to descend into the crater without a ranger guide, but they had ignored that rule for obvious reasons.

“If one shows up, we’ll deal with it,” Bones said. “We’ve come too far to let park rules stand in our way.”

Maddock slowed their four-wheel-drive as they began the steep descent. Down below, a vast expanse dotted with wildlife swept out to the horizon. It was a spectacular sight, one he’d have paid more attention to were he not focused on trying to avoid plummeting to his death.

“Do you think Schrader knew what he was talking about?” Bones asked. “He was frightened and losing blood.”

Maddock shrugged a shoulder in a gesture of noncommittal. “I suppose we’ll find out soon enough.”

“According to this website,” Dima said, looking at her phone, “the crater is home to almost every species of African plains mammal. Even the endangered black rhino resides here. Giraffes might have lived here at one time too, but probably migrated away due to the lack of trees which provide their food. There are no impalas or topi, but that’s likely due to competition with wildebeests. There’s even a huge bird population and the continent’s densest group of predators. It definitely sounds like a place where someone might have restocked the continent’s animal population sometime long ago.”

“You’re missing a major upside to what you just read.” Bones held up his Noah Stone. “We don’t have anything to fear from a population of predators. I am the boss of them. But if the Trident catches up to us, those guys will be fair game.”

Maddock nodded. Perhaps, just this once, the Trident wouldn’t catch up with them.

* * *

It took Schrader a long time to remember where he was. Stress, fatigue, and pain medication had clouded his mind. The bed, the nightstand, and the view of the city through the window were all unfamiliar. What had happened? Where were Alice and Melanie? Why did he hurt?

It was the antiseptic smell that struck a chord. He was in a hospital. Someone had brought him here, but who?

Like watching a movie running backward, a series of murky images swam past his mind’s eye.

Blood and bandages.

A huge man with a ponytail carrying him like a baby into the emergency room. That couldn’t be real.

A breakneck ride in a stolen jeep. But whose jeep?

Lying on the ground, gazing up at a man with eyes the color of the sea. What was his name?

And then it all came back in a rush. He and the girls had been kidnaped and held captive by Muslim extremists. They had been rescued by two men whom he had met at the lodge. Maddock and Bonebrake were their names — their real names, that is. Schrader had been shot. Fearful that his secret, no, the secret he had stolen, would die with him, he had told Maddock everything.

He felt his cheeks warm at the memory of his confession. What would Maddock do with the information? Would Schrader get the chance to find the ark first, or would Maddock spill the secret, maybe even try to locate the ark himself?

The door to his room opened, and a tall, black man with a shaved head stepped inside. He wore a white coat, but nothing else about him suggested he was a doctor. The man moved with the lithe grace of a predator, and he stalked to Schrader’s bedside with grim purpose in his eyes. He didn’t consult any charts or monitors, but instead folded his powerful arms and stared down at Schrader.

After a few heart-pounding seconds of wondering who this man was and what he wanted, Schrader finally summoned the courage to speak.

“Can I help you?”

The man smiled. “Yes you can.” He had a slight accent, Jamaican, perhaps.

Schrader waited, but the man said no more. “What do you want?”

“I want to know about the men who brought you here.”

Schrader frowned. “Why? Are they in trouble?”

“No, but you and your family will be if you do not tell me what I want to know.”

A jolt of fright shocked Schrader to wakefulness. He tried to sit up but lacked the strength. “Where are my girls?”

“They are in another room in the hospital, being watched over by one of my associates. The quality of the information you give me will determine their fates, and yours.” The man pulled up a chair, sat down, folded his hands, and looked at Schrader with polite interest. “You may begin whenever you are ready. I suggest you make it soon.”

Once again, a feeling of helplessness overwhelmed Schrader, and he was reminded how weak he truly was. What use was the armor of God against powerful people who seemed bent on harming him and his family?

“Are you one of them?”

“The people who abducted you? No. My organization and its aims are not so pedestrian as all that. Please, time is short, and the sooner you help me, the sooner I can return your family to you and leave you in peace.” He laid a hand on Schrader’s arm. “You are not a threat to me, Mister Schrader, so I truly have no interest in doing harm to you and yours.” His long fingers closed around Schrader’s wrist and he began to squeeze. “But I promise you, you will work with me, voluntarily or otherwise.”

Schrader had managed to summon a measure of resolve, but he was wise enough to see he had few, if any, options here. The story spilled out of him like an upended bag of marbles. He told the man all he knew about Maddock, Bonebrake, and the attractive young woman with whom they traveled. It wasn’t much. When he finished, he searched the man’s eyes, trying to read his thoughts.

“Thank you. That is helpful.”

Schrader relaxed and closed his eyes.

“Where did they go after they left you here?”

Schrader’s eyes snapped open. “I can’t say.”

“You can’t say, or you won’t say?”

While Schrader sat, tongue-tied, the man reached inside his coat, took out two syringes, and held them up. “Pancuronium bromide and potassium chloride — two of the chemicals used in lethal injection. The first causes complete paralysis, impairing even your ability to breathe. The second stops your heart. If I inject you with these you will be dead in a matter of minutes.”

Schrader found his voice and what remained of his pride. “Kill me, then. If I know something that’s of use to you, it will die with me.”

The man sighed and clicked his tongue. “I thought you might say that. You are, indeed, a man of strong will.”

Schrader hated that a small part of him enjoyed the praise.

“My patience and courtesy are almost at an end. Dane Maddock is looking for Noah’s Ark. I have it on good authority that, while you were being treated last night, you were mumbling something about the ark.” He stood and took out his cell phone. “My associate has in his possession similar syringes. Perhaps a video chat is in order? You can watch him administer these chemicals to your daughter.”

“No, please.” Schrader took a deep breath. “All right. I’ll tell you.” He swallowed hard, fighting against the bile rising in his throat. Was he condemning Maddock to death? He couldn’t say for sure, but he was definitely issuing a death sentence upon his own daughter if he didn’t tell this man what he wanted to know.

“They’ve gone to Engaruka.”

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