King Solomon's Diamonds

17 Foreplay

“I can’t believe my eyes!” Purdue exclaimed, and he was not kidding. “I just can’t! Adjo! Are you really here, my friend?”

“I am, Effendi,” Adjo Kira replied, feeling rather flattered at the billionaire’s delight in seeing him. “You seem very surprised.”

“I thought you were dead,” Purdue said sincerely. “After the ledge where we were fired upon… I was convinced they’d killed you.”

“They did regretfully kill my brother, Effendi,” the Egyptian lamented. “But that was not your doing. He was shot while driving a Jeep to rescue us.”

“I hope the man got a proper burial. Trust me, Adjo, I shall pay restitution to your family for everything you did to help me get out of the clutches of both the Ethiopians and those goddamned Cosa Nostra fiends.”

“Excuse me,” Nina interrupted respectfully. “May I enquire who exactly you are, sir? I must concede that I am a bit lost here.”

The men smiled. “Of course, of course,” Purdue chuckled. “I forget that you were not with me when I… procured,” he looked at Adjo with a mischievous wink, “the counterfeit Ark of the Covenant from Aksum in Ethiopia.”

“Do you still have it, Mr. Purdue?” Adjo asked. “Or is it still in that godless house in Djibouti where they tortured me?”

“Oh my God, they tortured you too?” Nina asked.

“Yes, Dr. Gould. Prof. Medley’s husband and his trolls were to blame. I must admit, even though she was present I could see that she did not approve. She is dead now?” Adjo asked eloquently.

“Aye, she was regrettably killed during the Hercules expedition,” Nina affirmed. “But how did you get involved with that excursion? Purdue, why did we not know about Mr. Kira?”

“He was held by Medley’s people to find out where I was with the relic they so coveted, Nina,” Purdue explained. “This gentleman is the Egyptian engineer who helped me flee with the Holy Box before I brought it here — before the Vault of Hercules was sought.”

“And you thought he was dead,” Sam filled in.

“Correct,” Purdue confirmed. “That’s why I was dumbfounded to see my ‘late’ friend standing alive and well in my drawing room just now. Tell me, dear Adjo, why are you here, if not just for a rekindled reunion?”

Adjo looked a little uncomfortable, uncertain of how to explain, but Patrick volunteered to fill everyone in. “Actually, Mr. Kira is here to assist you in returning the artifact to the rightful place you stole it from, David.” He cast a quick reprimanding glance at the Egyptian before continuing the clarification so that everyone could get up to speed. “As a matter of fact, he was coerced by the legal system in Egypt to do so, fueled by the insistence of the Archaeological Crimes Unit. The alternative would have been a prison sentence for aiding a fugitive and accessory, for stealing a valuable historical artifact from the people of Ethiopia.”

“So, your punishment is similar to mine,” Purdue sighed.

“Except that I would not be able to pay that fine, Effendi,” Adjo clarified.

“I should think not,” Patrick agreed. “But you would not have been expected to, either, being an accessory as opposed to being the main perpetrator.”

“So, this is why they’re sending you along, then, Paddy?” Sam asked. He was clearly still bothered by Patrick’s inclusion in the expedition.

“Yes, I suppose. Although all expenses are covered by David as part of his penalty, I am still expected to accompany you all to make sure that there is not more skullduggery afoot that might result in a bigger crime,” he explained with brutal honesty.

“But they could have sent any senior field agent,” Sam replied.

“Yes, they could have, Sammo. But they picked me, so let’s just do the best we can and get this shite sorted, hey?” Patrick suggested, patting Sam on the shoulder. “Besides, it will give us a chance to catch up on the past year or so. David, shall we imbibe while you explain the course of this upcoming expedition?”

“I like the way you think, Special Agent Smith,” Purdue smiled, holding the bottle up as prize. “Now, let’s sit down and first make note of the necessary special visas and permits we will need to get past customs. After that we can work out the best route, with the expert help of my man Adjo Kira here, and proceed with the charters.”

For the rest of the afternoon and up until late evening the group planned and plotted their return to the land where they would have to face the disdain of locals and the ill words of guides until their mission could be accomplished. It was wonderful for Purdue, Nina, and Sam to be back together in Purdue’s massive historic manor, not to mention being in the company of the two respective friends to make it just a bit more special this time round.

By the next morning, they had everything planned and each was burdened with the task of assembling their own gear for the trip, along with checking that their passports and travel documents were correct by order of the British Government, Military Intelligence, and the Ethiopian delegates, Prof. Imru and Col. Yimenu.

The group gathered briefly for breakfast with the stern eye of Purdue’s butler upon them, should they need anything from him. For once Nina did not notice the silent conversation between Sam and Purdue as their eyes locked across the large rosewood table while Lily’s cheerful classic rock anthems echoed far away in the kitchen.

After the others had gone to bed the evening before, Sam and Purdue had spent the few hours of privacy between them exchanging ideas on how to expose Joe Carter for the world to see, while at the same time toppling a large chunk of the Order for good measure. They’d agreed that the task was difficult and would take some time to set up, but they knew they would have to organize some sort of trap for Carter. The man was not stupid. He was calculating and spiteful in his ways, therefore the two had to take time to think through their plans. They could not afford to leave any ties unchecked. Sam had not told Purdue of the visit from MI6 agent Liam Johnson or what he had disclosed to the visitor that night, when he warned Sam of his conspicuous spying.

Not much time was left in the way of plotting Karsten’s downfall, but Purdue was adamant that they could not rush things. For now, though, Purdue had to concentrate on getting the courts off his case so his life could return to relatively normal for the first time in many months.

First, they had to arrange for transportation of the relic in a locked container, secured by customs officials under the watchful eye of Special Agent Patrick Smith. He practically carried Carter’s authority in his wallet with every step taken on this trip, something the high commander of MI6 would not readily approve of. In fact, the only reason he’d dispatched Smith on the trip to oversee the Aksum Expedition was to get rid of the agent. He knew Smith was too closely acquainted with Purdue to be overlooked through the Black Sun’s scope. But Patrick, of course, did not know this.

“What on earth are you doing, David?” Patrick asked when he walked in on Purdue busy working in his computer lab. Purdue knew that only the elitest of hackers and those with extensive knowledge in computer science would know what he was devising. Patrick was not thus inclined, therefore the billionaire hardly winked when he saw the agent enter the laboratory.

“Just putting something together I have been working on since before my absenteeism from my labs, Paddy,” Purdue explained cheerfully. “There are still so many gadgets I must complete, fixing the glitches and such, you know. But I figured since my expedition party has to wait for government approval before we go, I may as well get some work done.”

Patrick walked in casually, now more than ever realizing what a true genius Dave Purdue was. His eyes were inundated with inexplicable contraptions he could only imagine were extremely intricate in their workings. “Very good,” he remarked, standing in front of one particularly tall server box to watch the little lights bustle to the hum of the machine inside. “I do admire your stamina at these things, David, but you would never catch me near all these motherboards and memory cards and stuff.”

“Ha!” Purdue smiled, not looking up from his work. “What is it then, Special Agent, that you excel at besides shooting the flame off a candle at an astonishing distance?”

Patrick chuckled. “Oh, you heard about that?”

“I did,” Purdue replied. “When Sam Cleave gets drunk, you are usually the subject of his elaborate childhood tales, old boy.”

Patrick felt flattered at the revelation. With a humble nod, he stood looking at the floor to take in his mental image of the crazy journalist. He knew exactly what his best friend was like when he got pissed and it was always a great party with much hilarity. Purdue’s voice escalated in volume through the flashbacks and merry memories Patrick entertained in his mind just now.

“So, what is it that allures you most when you are not working, Patrick?”

“Oh!” the agent snapped out of his reminiscence. “Um, well, I do enjoy wires.”

Purdue looked up from his programming screen for the first time, trying to unravel the mysterious statement. Turning to face Patrick, he exhibited an expression of bewildered curiosity and said simply, “Wires?”

Patrick laughed.

“I am a climber. I enjoy rope and wire to keep me fit. As Sam may or may not have told you before, I’m not much in the way of a thinker or mentally motivated. I would much rather engage in the physical strain of climbing, diving, or martial arts,” Patrick elaborated, “than to learn more about an obscure subject or savvy myself in the webs of physics or theology, regrettably.”

“Why, regrettably?” Purdue asked. “Certainly with only philosophers in the world we would not be able to build, explore, or basically construct engineering genius. It would stay on paper and be pondered over without people who physically did the scouting, don’t you agree?”

Patrick shrugged, “I suppose. Never thought much on it before.”

Just then, he realized that he just mentioned the subjective paradox and it made him giggle sheepishly. Still, Patrick could not help but be intrigued by Purdue’s diagrams and codes. “Come on, Purdue, teach a layman something about technology,” he coaxed as he pulled up a chair. “Tell me what you are really doing here.”

Purdue gave it a moment’s thought before responding in his usual well-founded confidence. “I’m building a security device, Patrick.”

Patrick smiled mischievously. “I see. To keep MI6 out in the future?”

Purdue returned Patrick’s impish grin and amicably bragged, “Yes.”

You are almost right, old cock,Purdue thought to himself, knowing that Patrick’s insinuation was dangerously close to the truth, with a twist, of course. Wouldn’t you love to mull this one over if you only knew that my device is made especially for MI6 to suck on?

“I am?” Patrick gasped. “Then tell me how it wor… oh, wait,” he said cheerfully, “I forgot, I’m included in the dreadful organization you are combatting here.” Purdue laughed with Patrick, but both men shared undisclosed wishes they could not reveal to one another.