The Hunt For Atlantis

TWENTY-FIVE

Are you okay?” Chase asked as he lowered Nina from the golden wall.

“I’m fine. Thanks. And I’m glad you are too-I thought you were dead!”

“Takes more than a sinking ship to kill me.” His look of triumph quickly faded.

“What is it?” Nina asked, fearing the worst.

His jaw muscles clenched before he answered. “Hugo didn’t make it.”

“Oh…” She touched his hand. “Oh God, I’m sorry…”

“Yeah.” He was silent for a moment, then shook his head. “Kari’s okay, though. She’s on her way down.”

“Kari’s here?” Nina asked, excited.

“Yeah, I told her to keep back until the shooting stopped.”

She surveyed the scene, lit by flashlights and glow sticks. The eight survivors of Qobras’s team-including Qobras himself, Starkman and Philby-were kneeling with their hands behind their heads, surrounded by a dozen men in black combat gear and body armor. At least another ten men were patrolling the surrounding area. She didn’t recognize any of them. “Who are these guys with you?”

“Frost’s security; they work for Schenk at Ravnsfjord. Military backgrounds, most of ’em-not SAS level, but good enough. Everyone I could round up in a hurry. I didn’t know how much time we’d have, so I figured the sooner the better.”

“You’re not kidding.” She gestured at the bomb, a malevolent dull green cylinder the size and shape of a water heater. “They’d set that thing to blow up.”

“I know. We stopped the timer with about five minutes to go.”

“Five minutes?” Nina shuddered at the thought of how close to death she’d been. “I hope you’ve switched it off.”

“It’s just on pause. Don’t worry,” Chase added, seeing Nina’s worried look, “nobody’s going to muck around with it and accidentally set the bloody thing off.”

“How did you find me?”

Chase grinned. “I got your postcard, so to speak. Good job I remembered the name of that village. If I hadn’t, we’d have been screwed. Tibet’s a big place.”

“You found me just from that so quickly?” Nina had thought her clue to Matthews was a longshot, but anything more specific would probably have earned the captain-and maybe herself-an instant death sentence. “I never had a chance to tell anyone the information in the last inscription from Atlantis-how they traveled up the Ganges to the Himalayas, how to find the Golden Peak, any of that.”

“You didn’t need to. Kari’s old man used his pull with the Chinese government to get us into the country, and we came straight to Xulaodang in choppers. Turns out the people there remembered the last time some Westerners came looking for one of their local legends. Kari got them to give us the directions and we flew right here. Knew we’d found the right place when we saw Qobras’s helicopters. Which are now in about a million smoking bits, by the way.” Chase glanced over at the prisoners, frowning. “Pity that bastard wasn’t inside one of them. Would have been good payback for Hugo.”

“What are you going to do with them?”

“No idea. Leave that up to Frost, I guess…”

“Nina!”

Nina looked around to see Kari practically sprinting towards her, dressed entirely in white with her blond hair streaming over the top of her fur collar. She skirted the captives and ran to Nina, embracing her. “Oh my God, you’re alive, you’re okay!”

“Yeah, I’m fine, I’m fine!” Nina replied. “And I’m glad you’re okay too! When Qobras sank the Evenor, I thought I’d never see you again.”

“You almost didn’t.” Kari gave her a final squeeze, then released her. “I wouldn’t have made it without Eddie.”

“Not ‘Mr. Chase’ anymore?” Nina asked, a little mischievously.

Kari smiled, almost coy. “I think the employer-employee relationship changes somewhat after about the sixth time he saves your life.”

“Yeah, you can thank me with a threesome later.” Chase grinned. Kari jokingly rolled her eyes.

“I see some things haven’t changed,” Nina observed wryly. “But Kari, can you believe this? Can you believe what we’ve found?”

“What you’ve found,” Kari corrected. She gave an order in Norwegian to one of the black-clad commandos; he fired a flare, illuminating the buildings in the unearthly red light. “A re-creation of the citadel of Atlantis, almost intact…”

Chase glanced over at the collapsed remains of one of the nearby structures. “Er, yeah. Sorry about that.”

Nina patted his arm. “Considering the circumstances, I forgive you.”

“And another replica of the Temple of Poseidon as well,” said Kari. “It’s incredible.”

“Not as incredible as what’s in there,” Nina told her, indicating the much smaller temple inside the wall of gold.

“Is that the Temple of Cleito?” asked Kari.

Nina nodded. “Only it’s being used as a mausoleum. And guess who’s in it? The last king and queen of Atlantis!”

Sheer delight momentarily overcame Kari’s ability to speak. “Are you sure?” she finally gasped. “The actual bodies?”

“Well, I didn’t look, but that’s what it said on the sarcophagi-”

“Show me,” said a new voice, deep and full of authority. Nina looked around and was taken aback to see Kristian Frost, dressed in white cold-weather gear, striding towards her. He glanced at Qobras and the other prisoners before marching past, flanked by a muscular man whom Nina belatedly recognized as Josef Schenk, and a tall, square-jawed young guy with a blond military-style buzz cut.

“Father,” said Kari, her attitude immediately changing to one of respectful deference. Nina raised an eyebrow. Apparently here, Kristian Frost was 100 percent in charge.

Frost pointed at the Temple of Cleito. “Is it in there?”

“Yes,” said Nina, “but there’s no way in, you’ll need to climb over-”

Frost snapped his fingers. The blond man put down his backpack, quickly unzipping it and taking out an electric circular saw. He walked to the wall, sliding his fingertips over it as if feeling for flaws, then donned a pair of safety goggles and started the saw. It made a piercing squeal as the blade sliced through the gold.

“Well, that’ll work too,” Nina said, shocked, “but what about preserving the site? We should be trying to keep the place as intact as possible.”

“For now, my main concern is getting what I came here for,” said Frost. “How long will it take to cut through?”

“Just a minute or two,” the blond man told him.

“Enough time to take care of other business, then.” Frost pulled off his gloves, slowly slapping them against his palm as he turned around. “Giovanni. We finally meet.”

“You’ll excuse me if I don’t shake your hand,” Qobras snarled.

Frost walked to him, the circle of guards around the kneeling prisoners opening up to let him through. “What are we going to do with you? This would have been so much simpler if you’d been shot during the battle, but now…”

“Do what you will. You can’t hope to defeat the Brotherhood. Whatever you do, they will be there to fight against you.”

Frost laughed. “No. They won’t. Not after I take what’s in that temple.” He looked at the mausoleum for a moment. “You know, I’m almost tempted to let you go. Just so that you can fully realize how completely you and your organization have failed. Everything you’ve fought for, killed for… All for nothing.”

Qobras’s lips curled into a sneer. “You think that killing me will end the Brotherhood?”

“You really have no idea what’s going to happen, do you?” said Frost, laughing again. “I suppose I was more worried about your agents than I needed to be.”

“Just do whatever you’re going to do to me,” Qobras growled.

“I’m not going to do anything,” Frost said. “I think Dr. Wilde should have that privilege.”

“What?” Nina asked, confused.

Frost walked to her, his voice falling to a velvety burr. “Dr. Wilde… Nina. This man murdered your parents. He has to pay for what he’s done. Justice must be served.”

“The only criminal here is you, Frost!” Qobras shouted. One of the guards kicked him hard in the chest, leaving him gasping.

“Well, yes, but…” Nina looked at Qobras. “Shouldn’t he be put on trial for everything he’s done?”

“By whom? This man is above the law. He’s murdered with impunity for decades all around the world.” Frost unzipped his jacket and reached inside it. “The only justice he deserves is the same kind that he believes he delivers.” He pulled out a pistol, and pressed it into Nina’s palm. “For all the crimes he has committed, for everything he’s done to hurt you… you know what you have to do.”

Nina stared at the gun in disbelief, then looked up at Frost. There was no sign on his face that he was anything other than deadly serious.

“Hang on a minute,” said Chase, concerned. “I want this bastard dead as much as you do, but a summary execution? That’s not justice, that’s murder. And you can’t ask Nina to become a murderer!”

“Please stay out of this, Mr. Chase,” Frost said, almost dismissively. “This is a decision that only Dr. Wilde can make.”

“Kari!” Chase looked at her for support. She seemed torn, glancing between Frost, Nina, Chase…

“It’s… my father knows best,” she said eventually, not sounding entirely sure of her words.

Frost put his hands on Nina’s arms as he dropped his voice almost to a whisper. “It’s up to you, Nina. You know what he’s done, you know that he has to pay.” One hand closed softly around the gun, squeezing her fingers on the grip. “He killed your parents, Nina. He murdered them, right here inside this mountain. You should take from him what he took from you. Do it.”

Nina’s eyes filled with tears. Lips clenched tight, jaw trembling, she looked past Frost at the kneeling figure of Qobras.

“Far…” Kari began, but a single look from Frost silenced her. He released Nina and moved back.

Nina took a step forward, every muscle and tendon taut. The gun felt cold and heavy in her hand. Qobras watched her, the expression on his face one not of fear or anger, but cold contempt.

The burning pain in her heart transmuted, taking on form. Hate.

“Nina!” Chase called behind her, but she barely heard him.

She raised the gun, pointing it first at Qobras’s chest, then, more decisively, at his face. Starkman tensed, but remained still, his one eye watching warily.

Qobras stared silently back up at her. The man who had tried to kill her and her friends. Who had killed her friends, Castille and the crew of the Nereid.

Who had killed her parents, her family, the people she loved…

Tears blurred her vision. She blinked them away, feeling them turn cold as they ran down her cheeks. Qobras swam back into sharp focus, still regarding her icily.

Her finger tightened on the trigger. The pistol’s hammer drew back slowly, only the tiniest amount of extra pressure needed to fire…

Then it stopped.

Eyes brimming with tears once more, Nina stepped back, lowering the weapon.

“I don’t know who you think I am,” she whispered, “but you’re wrong. My DNA doesn’t control who I am or what I do. I wanted you to know that.” She carefully eased her grip on the trigger, the hammer returning to its original position, then walked back to Frost. “I can’t kill him. I won’t.”

To her surprise, Frost’s tone was light. “Well of course you can’t!” he exclaimed, taking the pistol back. “I didn’t think you could. But just in case you surprised me… it’s not even loaded.”

“What do you…” Nina gaped. “You were testing me?”

“I’m sorry. But I wanted to be sure of the kind of person you really are.”

Kari hurried over to Nina, standing almost defensively between her and Frost. “You had no right to do that to her! How could you not trust my judgment?”

“I’m sorry,” he repeated. “As I said, I wanted to be sure.”

The screech of the saw ceased abruptly. A moment later came a heavy bang as the section cut out of the wall fell to the ground.

“Watch them,” Frost ordered his men of the prisoners, before crossing to the wall and peering through the new gap. He took a flashlight from the blond man, then clambered through the narrow hole and looked back at Kari and Nina. “Come on.”

Sharing a look, the two women slipped through after him. Chase followed without being asked, which Nina noticed earned him a somewhat irritated frown from Frost. Schenk then entered, the blond man moving in front of the hole as if guarding it.

Frost hurried up the steps into the temple. By the time Nina caught up, he was already examining the lid of the king’s sarcophagus, probing for gaps. “Help me with this,” he ordered. Schenk pushed past her, wielding a crowbar. Chase joined them to heave at the top of the sarcophagus.

The three men strained, Schenk pulling down on the crowbar with all his weight. The lid shifted slightly.

“Come on, you bugger!” Chase groaned. “One, two, three!”

They all strained again-and this time the lid lifted enough for them to slide it aside. Another push and the interior of the coffin was exposed; a third, and the stone slab crashed to the floor of the temple and broke in two. Nina winced at the destruction.

Frost picked up his flashlight and leaned eagerly over the side of the sarcophagus. “My God, look at it!”

Nina and Kari joined him. Nina felt an involuntary flash of fear at the sight, a literal face of death staring up at her like a refugee from a nightmare. The body inside the sarcophagus, sealed in the stone container for thousands of years, was blackened and shriveled, the remains of the long-rotted lips twisted back into a malevolent sneer around jutting teeth.

“Hello, mummy,” Chase whispered, grinning. Nina jabbed him with her elbow.

Frost examined the corpse more closely. “The last king of the Atlanteans… still intact.” He took a small pouch from his coat and removed a needlelike probe from it, poking carefully at the wizened skin. “Open the other one, quickly,” he told Schenk and Chase.

“What’s the rush?” asked Chase. “It’s not like they’re going anywhere.”

“Just do it,” Frost snapped. He switched the probe to his other hand, taking a scalpel from the pouch and bending down over the dead king’s face like a surgeon about to operate.

“What are you doing?” Nina asked, concerned. “This isn’t anything like standard practice.”

“I need to get a DNA sample,” said Frost, as if that explained everything. The faint scrape of the scalpel cutting through the mummified flesh was drowned out by the crunch of stone against stone as Chase and Schenk lifted the lid of the other sarcophagus.

“But really, we should…” Nina cringed again as the second lid slammed to the ground. She went to look inside while Frost was still engrossed with the first corpse, teasing a piece of the king’s curled lips into a plastic container.

Queen Calea was in much the same state as her husband, only the tattered remains of the clothing providing any immediate indication that the body was that of a woman. “It’s Camilla Parker-Bowles!” Chase exclaimed jovially as he peered into the sarcophagus.

“Will you shut up?” Nina demanded.

“Kari,” said Frost, not looking up from his “operation,” “I think it might be safer if you took Nina back to the helicopter.”

Kari looked puzzled. “Safer? I’m sure Josef’s men can keep Qobras’s people under control.”

“I want to be sure. Go on, Kari.”

“But there’s still so much to do. We haven’t even started to explore the other temples yet,” Nina objected.

“Once the site is secured, we can return to it at any time. This was a rescue mission, not an archaeological survey-we don’t have any of the necessary equipment.”

“Except for your surgical kit, apparently…”

Frost fixed her with a stern look. “I’m not prepared to argue about this. Kari, you told me her safety was your first concern. You can make sure she stays safe by taking her back to the helicopter. Go.”

Kari seemed about to object, but then gave in. “Yes, Far,” she said. “Come on, Nina.”

“What about Qobras?” Nina asked dubiously.

“We’ll turn him and his men over to the Chinese authorities,” said Frost, snapping his sample container closed and moving to the second sarcophagus. “He committed murder on their territory, they can handle him.”

“Might be hard to prove after all this time,” said Chase. “And I thought you said he was above the law.”

“I have some influence with the Chinese.” Frost looked up at Kari and Nina. “Please, go to the helicopter. I’ll take care of things here.”

“Okay…” said Kari with a little reluctance, taking Nina’s hand. Considerably more reluctantly, Nina allowed herself to be led out of the temple. Chase waved at her. She returned the gesture.

“He’s right,” said Kari. “It’s safer, at least until we can secure the site.”

“You don’t sound convinced,” Nina observed.

“I’m… disappointed,” she admitted. “I wanted to explore this place as much as you do. But…” She looked at the black-clad guards around the prisoners. “Father’s right, it’s not safe.”

She told two of Frost’s men to escort her and Nina back to the helicopter, and they began the trek out of the vast cavern.

“Got it,” said Frost, closing a second plastic container. He carefully placed it next to its twin in the pouch, then slipped it back inside his coat. “That’s it. Everything I came for.”

“I thought you came here to rescue Nina?” Chase said pointedly. Frost ignored him, leaving the temple. Schenk went with him. Chase made a face, then jogged down the steps after them.

He clambered through the hole and took in the scene. Nina and Kari had gone, but Qobras and his surviving companions were still on their knees surrounded by guards. Frost and Schenk were talking quietly.

He decided to check the bomb again. Its timer was paused at just over five minutes to detonation. “Shouldn’t we disarm this thing?” he called to Frost.

“It will be fine for the moment, Mr. Chase,” Frost replied, before resuming his muted conversation.

Chase shrugged, then walked over to the prisoners. He stood before the kneeling Starkman, who still had his hands behind his head. “So, Jason. Now that we can actually have a proper chat, you mind telling me why you betrayed your mates and joined up with this twat?” He jabbed a thumb at Qobras.

“Because he’s the good guy, Eddie,” said Starkman, his eye glittering in the flashlight’s beam.

“Murdering innocent people, blowing stuff up, sinking ships-yeah, he sounds like a right Samaritan to me.”

“It’s for the greater good, believe me. You know me-”

“I used to know you,” Chase interrupted. “I thought I knew you. Now? I don’t have a fucking clue what’s going through your head.”

“You should still know that I wouldn’t take on a job if I didn’t believe in what I was doing. That never changed in all the years I knew you. It still hasn’t.”

“So you believe in what you’re doing,” Chase was forced to concede. The Texan had always been consistent in that much, at least. “Doesn’t make it right.”

“There are things I haven’t been proud of, sure. But the alternative’s worse. Which is letting your buddy Frost there get what he wants.”

“I already have what I want, Mr. Starkman,” Frost cut in.

“And why do you want it?” Qobras demanded, still defiant. “You’ve found the last outpost of Atlantis-and a sample of pure Atlantean DNA. But for what purpose?”

Frost gazed down at him, a half-smile on his lips. “I’m almost tempted to let you go to your grave without ever knowing the truth. But…” The smile vanished, his expression turning to stone. “We’re going to remake the world as it should be. With a ruling elite of pureblooded Atlanteans-and the worthless trash of humanity removed.”

Qobras’s disbelief slowly turned to horror. “My God… you’re even more insane than I thought. You never wanted a pure DNA sample so you could identify the rest of your kind-you wanted it so you could immunize yourselves! That lab of yours-you’re using it to create a bioweapon!”

“Wait, what?” said Chase, looking anxiously between the two men. “A bioweapon? Is this true?”

“That doesn’t concern you, Mr. Chase,” Frost replied, not taking his eyes off Qobras. “But now, Giovanni, now that you know the truth, now that you know the Brotherhood has failed… it is over.”

He pulled out his pistol and fired.

He had lied to Nina. It was loaded.

The crack of the shot echoed off the surrounding buildings as the back of Qobras’s skull blew open, splattering the men behind him with gore. Philby screamed, trying to scramble away until one of the guards kicked him back.

“Jesus!” Chase gasped, appalled.

“Get him up,” Frost told one of his men, indicating Philby. The professor shrieked in terror as he was hauled to his feet. “Shut up,” Frost snapped. “We’re taking you with us. Move him away from the others.”

Philby was pulled aside as the other guards, responding to a nod from Schenk, raised their MP-7s to a firing position.

“Wait, wait, stop!” Chase protested, stepping between Starkman and the nearest guard. “What the hell are you doing? You can’t just execute them!”

“Actually, Mr. Chase,” said Frost, “I can. In fact, now that I have what I came for…” his expression turned more stony than ever, “I’m terminating your employment.” He barked an order in Norwegian… and Chase found the guards’ guns pointing at him.

“What the fuck is this, boss?” he asked, warily raising his hands. Schenk took his Wildey and pushed him back into the circle of prisoners.

“This is the end,” said Frost. He looked at Schenk. “Restart the timer.”

“There’s only five minutes left,” Schenk replied. “Will that be enough time to get clear?”

“It will if we run.”

“Wait,” said Chase, “after everything you’ve been through to find this place… you’re just going to blow it up?”

Frost shrugged. “I no longer need it. These DNA samples are worth more than any amount of ancient treasure. Start the timer,” he ordered Schenk again. The German nodded and moved to obey.

“I told you,” Starkman muttered to Chase.

“So you’re just going to leave us in here with the bomb?” Chase asked.

Frost sniffed dismissively. “No, I’m going to kill you so you can’t stop the countdown. Ready!”

Each of the guns found a target. Chase saw at least two aimed at him.

Shit!

He needed a plan, fast.

But he had no gun, nobody to back him up.

Unless-

He stepped back as if cringing away from the guns, bumping into the kneeling Starkman. “Jason? Going to need a flash of inspiration here…”

Starkman shifted position behind him, raised hands nudging against Chase’s side.

His little finger reached out, and pulled.

Frost took in a breath, about to issue the order to fire-

Starkman flicked one of the flash grenades from Chase’s belt, the pin still hanging from his finger. They clapped their hands over their ears as the dark metal cylinder arced to the floor behind them-

The clank as the grenade hit stone drew the attention of all Frost’s men, eyes involuntarily darting to it-

The dazzling flash of igniting aluminum powder and potassium perchlorate was followed a millisecond later by a deafening bang as the grenade exploded, hitting the senses of anyone looking at it like a blow to the head. Even though the blast was only a fraction of the explosive force of a lethal grenade, it was still strong enough to knock the two nearest guards off their feet.

“Go!” yelled Chase, opening his eyes.

Years of training and experience told him everything he needed to know in a split second. The men circling the prisoners, including Frost, had been caught off guard by the grenade and were briefly blinded and disoriented. But the rest of Frost’s men, farther away, were less affected. And they were already reacting.

He drove a fist into the face of the nearest guard, feeling his nose flatten under the crunching impact. Behind him, Starkman sprang to his feet to deliver a powerhouse blow to the throat of another man.

Chase snatched the MP-7 from the guard he’d just hit and swung it around. A swath of fire spat from the compact weapon’s barrel. The unique 4.6-millimeter ammo of the MP-7 was specifically designed to penetrate body armor-at point-blank range, it ripped straight through everyone it hit.

He caught four of Frost’s men with the burst. They fell, jets of blood spurting from the holes punched through their armor. The more distant men dived for cover, unable to shoot back without endangering their comrades.

Another crackle of gunfire erupted behind him as Starkman opened up at the guards on the other side of the circle. Three men dropped, the cordon broken.

Chase saw that a couple of the prisoners had managed to protect their ears and were lashing out at their captors. The others were as dazed as Frost’s men.

There was nothing he could do for them. Individual survival was all that counted right now.

He spun to see Frost reeling, clutching his head. If he took out Frost, his plan would stop right here…

The young blond man, Rucker, sprung from seemingly nowhere and tackled Frost to the ground as Chase brought up his gun. He fired anyway, but the MP-7 clicked empty after just two shots. Holes exploded in Rucker’s back. The bullets hadn’t reached Frost.

And with their boss flat on the ground, the other men could open fire-

Beyond the mausoleum, Chase saw the Temple of Poseidon. The third one he’d seen-and the first two had been identical inside.

He smashed an elbow into the face of one of the remaining guards and sprinted away. “Get to the temple!” he shouted.

No time to see who was following him, and no time to care either. Off to one side, near the golden wall, Schenk crouched by the bomb. But there was nothing Chase could do to stop him from restarting the timer-the guards were firing!

Bullets sizzling past him, he ran like hell for the Temple of Poseidon.