The Plagues of Pandora

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The moment Drake was in the air he knew the days of peace and quiet were long gone.

The plane was abuzz, Karin and Komodo in full research mode, Hayden liaising with the UK authorities via Robert Price, Kinimaka realizing in that lovably clumsy way of his that he’d left DC about three minutes after his sister, Kono, touched down on her way to see him. Dahl hovered over everyone, taking stock and offering happily accepted advice, Smyth made eyes at Mai and Lauren, but in a rascally way. Only Mai stayed apart, quiet at the back of the fast jet.

Drake was glad to see the team back in action.

There were three more people aboard. Lauren, Yorgi and Grace. The team had decided they might need Yorgi’s services and Lauren’s memories. Grace was there on Mai’s insistence. The Japanese woman just couldn’t leave her new charge on her own — especially in light of yesterday’s new information.

Drake focused on the flight and the flood of facts and figures. Preparation was an imperative. They would land and then hit London’s streets running, no holding back.

Karin was at the forefront of the information charge, naturally comprehending what type of intelligence they would need and in which order.

“Plague pits of London,” she said. “There are many, leading some to name it the city of bones. From one end to the other you need only dig a few yards beneath the surface to discover its many hidden secrets — tens of thousands of bodies are buried beneath the sprawling capital, a land of skeletons. In addition to the Knightsbridge pit I mentioned earlier we have another at the center of Soho — Golden Square. Now a charming little area, it has a secret history as a plague pit. In 1685 Lord Macauley described it as ‘a field not to be passed by without a shudder by any Londoner of that age’. Here, as the great plague raged, nightly cartloads of corpses were dropped and buried. It was believed that the earth was deeply infected and could never again be interred without the risk of infection.”

“But all that has been proven wrong,” Smyth said. “Right?”

Karin shrugged. “We thought so. The bacteria should have perished within weeks. But, as I mentioned, scientists have now noted the presence of other diseases too. Diseases that may not die.”

Drake made a waving motion. “Any more pits?”

“Plenty. An interesting one lies on the Bakerloo line. At the south end of the London depot there’s a junction. One line leads to Elephant and Castle, the other to a dead end and a runaway line for trains unable to stop. Behind the walls of this tunnel lies a plague pit.”

Drake suppressed a shudder. “Think about that the next time you’re on the tube.”

“Another exists at Green Park, discovered when they were building the Victoria Line. And more… so many more. Hayden, Drake, we can’t possibly cover every single one. Not by ourselves.”

Hayden nodded. “Maybe the British police could help.”

Drake held up a warning hand. “Be careful how you word it. London’s on a high alert. If we send squad cars screaming to every location we’re gonna cause mayhem, which will hamper our own search.”

Hayden stared. “I’m FBI, Matt. I know how to be diplomatic.”

Drake grimaced but said nothing. Dahl caught his eye with a similar frown. Hayden noticed the exchange and laughed. “Look at you two goddamn comedians. Do you have a better plan?”

Dahl nodded slowly. “As a matter of fact, I do.”

Kinimaka sat down next to Hayden, protective as ever. “Please share.”

“We monitor the chatter,” he said. “And I don’t mean how the cops do it. I mean how Interpol and the NSA do it. We know the channels they use, the methods they employ. Code words. More importantly, we know the identities of dozens of mercenaries allied to the Pythians, though not their whereabouts since they dropped off the grid. If we can establish any kind of close proximity for them—” Dahl clicked his fingers. “Game on.”

Drake thought about it. “Jesus Christ, Dahl, that’s not bad.”

Dahl nodded toward Hayden. “Make the call. Let’s go get these bastards.”

Drake let out a long sigh. “I just hope London’s ready for this.”

“Not to mention Paris and Los Angeles,” Hayden muttered.