The Four Corners of the Earth

CHAPTER TWELVE

Lauren told the team to get as comfortable as they were able in the back of the large cargo chopper and shuffled a sheaf of papers. “First, let’s get the weapon of war and Hannibal out of the way. What you found in the box are the plans to build and erect Project Babylon, a one hundred meter long, two ton supergun. Commissioned by Saddam Hussein, it was based on research from the ’60s and designed in the ’80s. The entire affair had a Hollywood feel to it. Superguns that could send a payload into space. Assassinated generals. Assassinated civilians. Various purchases from a dozen countries to keep it quiet. Later schemes show that this space gun might have been adapted so that it could hit any target, anywhere, just once.”

Dahl was leaning forward with interest. “Once? Why?”

“It was never intended as a portable weapon. To fire it would leave a signature, which the various powers would see instantly and then obliterate it. But… the damage might already have been done.”

“Depending on the target.” Kenzie nodded. “Yes, many models have been built around the idea of a one-strike world war. A way to force a nuclear power into inexorable action. With modern day technology, however, the idea becomes more and more moot.”

“Okay, okay,” Smyth rasped, still stretching muscles and checking bruises after the long, hard run. “So the first Horseman’s tomb held the plans to a massive space gun. We got that. The other countries didn’t. What’s next?”

Lauren rolled her eyes. “First, the delineation specifically says ‘resting places.’ You will hopefully remember that Hannibal was laid in an unmarked grave and may not even be there anymore. To look would be disrespectful to many. To leave it unturned is disrespectful to others.”

Hayden sighed. “And so it goes on. Same story, different agenda, throughout the entire world.”

“Imagine if terrorists had gotten their hands on the info. Now, I would say all of the countries currently chasing the Horsemen could build a supergun of their own, no problem. But…”

“It’s who certain factions of that government sell the plans to,” Drake finished. “Since we’re still unsure every team is officially sanctioned.” He didn’t need to add even if they think they are.

The chopper flew through clear blue skies, free of turbulence and comfortably warm. Drake found himself able to relax for the first time in about a day. It was hard to believe that, just last night, he’d been kneeling in the resting place of the great Hannibal.

Lauren turned to the next file. “Remember the Order of the Last Judgment? Let me refresh you. ‘At the Four Corners of the Earth we found the Four Horsemen and laid with them the blueprint of the Order of the Last Judgment. Those who survive the Judgment quest and its aftermath will rightly reign supreme. If you are reading this, we are lost, so read and follow with cautious eyes. Our last years were spent assembling the four final weapons, the world revolutions — War, Conquest, Famine and Death. Unleashed together, they will destroy all governments and unveil a new future. Be prepared. Find them. Go to the Four Corners of the Earth. Find the resting places of the Father of Strategy and then the Khagan; the Worst Indian Who Ever Lived and then the Scourge of God. But all is not as it seems. We visited the Khagan in 1960, five years after completion, placing Conquest in his coffin. We found the Scourge who guards the true last judgment. And the only kill code is when the Horsemen arose. The Father’s bones are unmarked. The Indian is surrounded by guns. The Order of the Last Judgment now live through you, and will forever reign supreme.’”

Drake tried to glean the relevant points. “Kill code? I really don’t like the sound of that. And the ‘true last judgment.’ So even if we neutralize the first three, the last will be a true humdinger.”

“For now,” Lauren said, referring to the research in front of her. “The DC think tank has come up with a few ideas.”

Drake tuned out for just a second. Every time he heard a reference to research, every time the think tank was mentioned, just two words flashed through his brain like billboard-sized, red neon lights.

Karin Blake.

Her continued absence did not bode well. Karin might well have to be their next mission. He pushed the worry gently aside for now.

“… the second Horseman is Conquest. The second description mentions the Khagan. From this we deduce Genghis Kahn is Conquest. Genghis was born in 1162. He is, literally, conquest. He conquered most of Asia and China as well as lands further afield, and the Mongol Empire was the largest contiguous empire in history. Kahn was a reaper; he swept through most of the ancient world and, it’s been said before, one out of every two hundred men alive today is a relative of Genghis Kahn.”

Mai clucked. “Wow, Alicia, he’s like the male version of you.”

Drake nodded. “The guy sure was proliferate.”

“The man’s real name was Temujin. Genghis Kahn is an honorific. His father was poisoned when the boy was only nine, leaving their mother to raise seven sons alone. He and his young wife were also abducted and both spent time as slaves. Despite all this, even by his early twenties, he was established as a fierce leader. He personified the phrase ‘keep your enemies close’, as most of his greatest generals were former enemies. He never left a score unsettled and was supposedly responsible for the deaths of 40 million people, reducing the world’s population by 11 percent. He embraced diverse religions and created the first international postage system, using post houses and way stations located throughout his empire.”

Drake shifted in his seat. “A lot of information to take in there.”

“He was the first Khagan of the Mongol empire.”

Dahl turned from staring out the window. “And his resting place?”

“Well, he was buried in China. In an unmarked grave.”

Alicia snorted. “Yeah, shit, of course he was!”

“So first Africa and now China represent two of the four corners of the earth,” Mai wondered aloud. “Unless it’s Asia, and we’re talking continents.”

“There are seven,” Smyth reminded her.

“Not always,” Lauren replied cryptically. “But we’ll come to that. The questions are: What is the weapon of conquest and where is Genghis’s resting place?”

“I’m guessing one of the answers is China,” Kenzie murmured.

“Genghis Kahn died in mysterious circumstances around 1227. Marco Polo stated it was through infection, others poison, still others by a princess taken as war booty. After death his body would have been returned to his birthplace, Khentii Aimag, as was custom. It is believed he was buried at the Burkhan Khaldun mountain near the Onon River. However, legend states that anyone that came into contact with the funeral procession was slaughtered. After that a river was diverted over the Kahn’s grave and all the soldiers that made up the procession were then also killed.” Lauren shook her head. “Life and living had little value back then.”

“As, in some places of the world, it does now,” Dahl said.

“So we’re diving again?” Alicia scowled. “Nobody said anything about diving again. It’s not my best talent.”

Mai somehow managed to swallow the remark that looked set to come out of her mouth, coughing instead. “Not diving,” she finally said. “It could be on the mountain too. Wasn’t a particular area sealed off by the Mongolian government for hundreds of years?”

“Very true, and so we’ve set a course for China,” Lauren said. “And the grave of Genghis Kahn. Now, to keep you up to date, the NSA and CIA are still using dozens of methods to glean information about our rivals. The French did indeed lose a man. The British departed at the same time as us. The Russians and the Swedes later, caught up in a quicker than expected Turkish sweep of the area. We’re not sure about Mossad or the Chinese. Orders remain the same. One thing though… I do now have Secretary Crowe on the line.”

Drake frowned. It hadn’t been at the forefront of his mind that Crowe might be listening in to their conversations with Lauren, but it should have. Their team, their family, had secrets like any other. As he looked around it was clear that the others felt the same, and that this was Lauren’s way of making them aware.

DC always had its own agenda.

Crowe’s voice came across strongly. “I won’t pretend to know more than you about this particular mission. Not on the ground. But I do know it’s a political minefield, with twist and sub-twist and schemes at the very highest levels of some of our rival nations.”

Not to mention the US, Drake thought. What… never!

“Frankly, I’m surprised at some of the administrations involved,” Crowe said openly. “I thought they might work with us, but as I mentioned, all may not be as it seems.”

Again Drake considered her words in a different way. Was she talking about the Horseman quest? Or something more personal?

“Is there a reason, Madam Secretary?” Hayden asked. “Something we don’t know?”

“Well, not that I’ve been apprised of. But even I don’t necessarily know the whole of it. Unabridged is a rare word in politics.”

“Then it’s the weapons themselves,” Hayden said. “This first supergun. If built, if sold to terrorists, it could have held the world to ransom.”

“I know. This… Order of the Last Judgment—” she spoke the title distastefully “—clearly worked out a master plan, leaving it for future generations. Luckily, the Israelis shut them down long ago. Unluckily, they didn’t find this particular blueprint. This scheme.”

So far, Drake saw no purpose to the call. He sat back, eyes closed, listening to the conversation.

“You have a leap on some of the others. Only Israel and China are MIA. The usual rules apply, but get to that weapon and get it first. America cannot trust it falling into the wrong hands, any hands. And watch your backs, SPEAR. There is more to this than meets the eye.”

Drake sat up. Dahl leaned forward. “Is that a warning of a different kind?” he whispered.

Drake studied Hayden, but their boss showed no signs of disquiet. Watch your backs? If he hadn’t heard that American twang earlier he too would think nothing of the phrase. His thoughts turned to Smyth and the death of Joshua in Peru. It measured the depth of their insubordination. As a normal soldier, and with a soldier’s outlook, he’d be mightily worried. But they were no longer soldiers — they were forced to make the hard choice every day, out in the field, under duress. They bore the weight of thousands of lives on their shoulders, occasionally millions. This was no ordinary team. Not anymore.

You’re only as good as your last mistake. You’re only remembered for your last mistake. Workplace ethics the world over. His preference was to keep working, keep fighting. Head above water — because there were millions of sharks in the world constantly circling, and if you stood still you’d either drown or be torn to pieces.

Crowe signed off with a strained pep talk, and then Hayden turned to them. She touched her comms and made a face.

“Don’t forget.”

Drake nodded. Open channel.

“I am thinking this is going to be very different from the usual tomb raider stuff.” Yorgi spoke up. “We face government soldiers, experts. Unknown factions, possibly traitors. We search for men lost in time, born years apart. We chase some old war criminal’s prophecy, exactly how he wanted us to.” He shrugged. “We are not in control.”

“I’m about as close to a tomb raider as you’ll ever get,” Kenzie said with a smirk. “This… is completely different.”

Alicia and Mai stared at the Israeli. “Yeah, we tend to forget about your nasty little criminal past, don’t we… Torsty?”

The Swede blinked. “I… umm… I… what?”

Kenzie stepped in. “And I guess circumstance never forced you into any compromising positions, eh Alicia?”

The Englishwoman shrugged. “Depends if we’re still talking criminal. Some compromising positions are better than others.”

“If we’re still awake and alert,” Hayden said, “could we start to read up on Genghis Kahn and the location of his grave? A think tank back in DC is all well and good, but we’re on the ground and we’ll see things they won’t. The more information you can absorb, the better chance we have of finding the second weapon.”

“And coming out of this alive,” Dahl agreed.

Tablets were passed around, barely enough to share. Alicia shouted up first about checking her emails and Facebook page. Drake knew she didn’t even have an email address let alone the first clue about social media, and gave her the look.

She pouted. “Serious time?”

“That, or get some rest, love. China ain’t exactly gonna welcome us with open arms.”

“Good point.” Hayden sighed. “I’ll get on to the local teams, and ask them to ease our entry. Everyone good with the plan so far?”

“Well,” Dahl spoke off-handedly. “I never thought I’d be chasing down Genghis Kahn in China whilst trying not to get into a fight with half-a-dozen rival nations. But hey,” he shrugged, “you know what they say about trying something different.”

Alicia looked over, then shook her head. “No comment. Too easy.”

“Right now,” Drake said, “I’d prefer to have a bit more information.”

“You and me both, Yorkie.” Dahl nodded. “You and me both.”