The Revelation Code

6

A faint knocking woke Nina. She frowned and raised her head, eyes still half closed. ‘Eddie, get the door, will you…’

Memory slammed back into place. She jerked upright in fear and confusion. Books and papers fell to the floor. She had fallen asleep fully clothed, her research scattered around her. How long she’d been out, she had no idea, but the daylight beyond the shutters was back; it had faded into night long before she dropped into an uneasy slumber.

Another knock at the door. ‘What?’ she shouted, scrambling to her feet.

‘Dr Wilde?’ came a female voice. ‘My name’s Miriam. The Prophet asked me to bring you to him.’

‘He did, huh?’ she said, crossing to the door. Red lights blinked on the cameras as she moved. She flipped them the bird. ‘Well, he can wait until I’ve had a shower and some breakfast.’

A pause, then the voice hesitantly returned. ‘Uh… he wants to see you right now.’

Nina tried the door; this time, it wasn’t locked. Standing outside in the morning sun was a slim, pretty woman in her early twenties, wavy rust-brown hair dropping to her shoulders. Her clothing, a knee-length dress and a pair of sandals, was all white. ‘You pregnant, Miriam?’

Her visitor was startled. ‘Ah… no?’ she said uncertainly.

Nina opened the door and pointed at her own bump. ‘Well I am, and let me give you some useful advice for if you ever are: pregnant ladies always get to choose when they meet people. Okay? Tell your Prophet I’ll see him when I’m good and ready. Which might be in ten minutes, it might be ten hours. Later, tater.’ She gave the freckle-cheeked woman a mocking wave, then slammed the door before going to the kitchen to search for food.

Another knock came a few minutes later. ‘Yeah, what?’ shouted Nina through a mouthful of cereal.

Miriam peered around the door. ‘I’m sorry, I… I don’t want to intrude, but… but the Prophet sent me to bring you, and — and I don’t know what’ll happen if I go back to him without you.’

Nina spotted the glistening line of a tear on her cheek. ‘Are you crying?’

Miriam hurriedly wiped her face. ‘I didn’t mean to, I’m sorry…’

The redhead’s annoyance changed to concern. Her visitor was upset, even afraid. Nina went to her. ‘Are you okay? Your Prophet, Cross — will he hurt you if I don’t go with you?’

She was genuinely shocked at the suggestion. ‘No, no, of course not! It’s just… I don’t want to let him down.’

‘Were you standing outside the door this whole time?’

Miriam nodded. ‘I didn’t want to make you mad, especially as you’re with child.’

‘Trust me, you’re way down the list of things that have spiked my cortisol levels in the past twenty-four hours.’ She glared at the nearest camera. ‘So, what,’ she told her watchers, ‘you send this poor girl to get me as part of some emotional blackmail plan? Jesus!’

Miriam’s mouth fell open in shock, this time at the blasphemy. Nina gave her an irritated look. ‘I’m guessing you’re not from New York if something that mild upsets you. All right, okay, I’m coming,’ she told the camera with a frustrated shrug. ‘First things first, though.’

‘What?’ asked Miriam.

‘I need to pee. Maybe that’s over-sharing, but I really don’t care.’ She disappeared into the bathroom, leaving the blushing woman staring after her.

After an unrushed break, Nina re-emerged to find her guest still waiting. She gathered her papers. ‘Okay, let’s go.’

Miriam led her out of the house and through the Mission. She was silent to begin with, only piping up very quietly about halfway down the street of little houses. ‘Ulysses.’

‘What?’ said Nina.

‘Ulysses, Kansas. That’s where I’m from. Well, not the actual town — I grew up on a farm about ten miles away. So no, I’m not from New York.’

‘Yeah, I’d guessed.’

‘But I always wanted to see it. It looks amazing. Scary, though. Isn’t there a lot of crime?’

Nina made a sarcastic sound. ‘Sure, if you hop in your time machine and go back to the seventies. You aren’t going to get stabbed in the middle of Times Square in broad daylight. Probably.’

‘Okay…’ was the uncertain reply. ‘I’d still like to go one day, though.’

‘What’s stopping you? You’re not a prisoner here, are you?’

‘Of course not! I came here by my own choice, to follow the Prophet.’ She smiled and gestured at their sunny surroundings. ‘It’s lovely here. And I’m with friends who think the same way I do. Why would I want to leave?’

‘I can think of a few reasons,’ said Nina, regarding the nearest set of security cameras. ‘So where is here?’

Miriam opened her mouth to reply, then clapped it shut. ‘I, uh… I’m sorry, but I was told not to tell you anything about the Mission.’

‘But we’re somewhere in the Caribbean, right?’

She clenched her hands in agitation. ‘I’m sorry, really I am, but I can’t tell you.’

‘You do know that I didn’t come here by my own choice? I was kidnapped, Miriam — that’s a federal offence, and every country in the Caribbean, even Cuba, has an extradition treaty with the US. Anyone who’s involved in keeping me a prisoner here will be counted as an accessory. That’ll get you a minimum thirty years in a federal prison.’ She had no idea if that were true, but could tell from Miriam’s alarm that she had made her point. ‘You realise that, don’t you? But if you help me get out of here…’

Conflict was clear on the young woman’s face. ‘I… I’m sorry, but I can’t, I really can’t,’ she said at last. ‘I can’t go against the Prophet. I just can’t! I’m sorry.’

Nina held back her anger. Miriam was genuinely upset at not being able to help, but also unwilling — or unable — to disobey her leader. ‘This Prophet,’ she said instead, changing tack, ‘why do you follow him? What’s he offering you?’

Miriam’s smile returned as if a switch had been flipped. ‘He’s going to lead us to the new Jerusalem! God’s dwelling place will come down out of heaven to the earth, and He will live amongst us and wipe away all the tears from our eyes.’

‘And there’ll be no more pain or sorrow, right?’ Nina recognised her words as part of Revelation, which she had read several times the previous night.

‘That’s right!’

‘And how exactly is he going to do this?’

‘I don’t know. But I trust him,’ she quickly added. ‘Everything the Prophet says makes sense. Revelation will come to pass, and God’s kingdom on earth will begin.’

‘So you think your Prophet’s a good man?’

‘Of course he is!’

Nina’s expression hardened. ‘Good men don’t kidnap pregnant women, Miriam. And they don’t torture people to force them to cooperate.’

She shook her head. ‘He wouldn’t do that.’

‘He has done that! He made me watch my husband being electrocuted with a cattle prod!’ Seeing the other woman’s dismay, she pressed on: ‘He’s no prophet; he’s an ex-CIA agent who went nuts. Whatever Cross really wants, it’s not peace on earth and everyone singing “Kumbaya”. You’ve got to help me!’

Miriam scowled. Nina realised she’d pushed too hard and put her on the defensive. ‘He’s not nuts,’ she protested. ‘You’ll see. When the angels are all released and the seventh trumpet blows, you’ll see!’

‘What will I see?’

‘The truth,’ said a new voice. They had almost reached the church, and Nina looked up to see Cross at the top of the steps. ‘God’s truth will be revealed.’ His eyes flicked towards the papers Nina was holding. ‘Soon, I hope. Very soon.’

Miriam curtseyed. ‘Prophet, I’ve brought her, like you asked.’

‘Thank you, Miriam. You can go back to your studies now.’

She nodded, giving the archaeologist an uncertain look before departing. Nina glowered at her host. ‘Hope you’re not expecting me to curtsey.’

‘Come inside, Dr Wilde,’ he said. ‘I hope we’ve got a lot to talk about.’

Nina followed Cross into the church. With him was a large young man she didn’t recognise, hard-faced and with a distinctly military-style moustache. ‘Replacement bodyguard?’ she asked. ‘What happened to the charmers who brought me here?’

‘The Witnesses are preparing for a mission,’ Cross replied. ‘They flew out last night; I want them ready to move as soon as you find the location of the first angel.’

‘They’re the two witnesses?’ Nina asked, picking up on another Revelation reference.

‘Yes.’

‘That explains the outfits, then.’

Cross nodded. ‘Chapter eleven, verse three — “And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.”’

‘Must be itchy for them. Especially in this heat.’ Even early in the day, the temperature was already well over seventy degrees Fahrenheit.

‘They can endure it. They’ll endure anything to get the job done.’

They went through to the control room. It had acquired a table and chairs since her previous visit. Cross’s imposing high-tech throne was at its head; he took his seat and gestured for Nina to join him. She sat at the opposite end, making a point of sliding her chair as far away from him as possible. The other man took up a somewhat intimidating position close behind her. ‘Now,’ said Cross, ‘the Synagogue of Satan, the Throne of Satan and the Place in the Wilderness. Do you know where they are?’

‘Not yet,’ she lied. ‘I might have some ideas — but I’m not doing anything until I see that Eddie’s okay.’

The cult leader let out an irritated breath. ‘All right. You can see him.’ His hand went to one of the touch screens.

‘And talk to him.’

His eyes narrowed. ‘Don’t push me, Dr Wilde. My patience isn’t infinite.’

‘Mine’s hanging by a frickin’ thread. I want to talk to Eddie before I do anything else.’

‘You want to talk to him? All right.’ There was a nasty undertone that immediately put her on alert, but he tapped at the pad. The wall of screens lit up, showing the same elevated angle of Eddie as before. He was either asleep or unconscious, his arms and legs still secured. ‘There he is.’

‘Eddie!’ she called. ‘Eddie, are you okay? Eddie!’

‘He can’t hear you,’ Cross said. ‘I haven’t turned on the microphone yet.’

‘Then do that. You want me to cooperate, you want me to find your damn angels? Then let me talk to him.’

He sneered, then ran his finger over a slider. ‘Okay.’

‘Eddie, can you hear me?’ she said.

For a moment there was no response, then her husband raised his head. ‘Nina?’ he croaked.

‘Oh, thank God. Are you all right?’

He tried to move, only to let out a sharp gasp. ‘Ow! No, my arms are fucking killing me. These bastards left me cuffed to this fucking chair all night.’ He rolled both shoulders, trying to ease the pain in his stiff muscles. ‘Are you okay?’

‘Yeah.’

‘And the baby?’

‘Fine, it’s fine. They haven’t done anything to hurt me — yet.’

‘Wish I could say the same.’

‘Me too. But I’m going to do everything I can to get you out of there. They’re trying to find the angels in the Throne and Synagogue of Satan—’

Cross stabbed at the pad again, cutting her off. Only one end of the link had been muted, though. ‘Nina?’ said Eddie with growing anger and alarm. ‘Nina, what’s happening?’

‘You’ve spoken to him,’ Cross said to Nina. ‘Now, this is what happens if you make another demand of me.’ Another swipe at the slider. ‘Mr Irton? Proceed.’

‘No!’ cried Nina, but he had already cut the mic. Irton stepped into frame, holding a couple of large, thick cloths.

Eddie struggled uselessly against his bonds. ‘You get away from me, you fucking—’

Irton punched him in the stomach, leaving him gasping. Two more men came into view. One went behind the chair, releasing a chain that was holding it to a metal ring on the floor, while Irton wrapped both cloths tightly around the Englishman’s head.

Nina realised what they were about to do. ‘God, no!’ she cried, jumping to her feet, but the bodyguard pushed her roughly back down. ‘Don’t, please!’ She grabbed her notes and waved them at Cross. ‘I’ll tell you what I’ve found out!’

His response was a look of cold dismissal. ‘I warned you, Dr Wilde.’ He worked the volume control again. ‘Do it.’

The cloths were secured. Eddie jerked in the seat, straining to draw in air through the stifling material. The two other men hauled the chair and its occupant a foot off the floor, then tipped it until the back of Eddie’s head thumped against the concrete. Nina cringed, knowing that he was about to suffer even more — and that she was utterly helpless to prevent it.

Irton had moved out of sight while his companions lifted the chair; he now returned holding a bucket of water, which he held over Eddie’s head…

And started to pour.

The water splashed on to the wrapped cloth. The weight of the sodden material pressed it down on to Eddie’s face, revealing its contours — and his mouth opening wide as water filled his nostrils. He tried to cry out, but all that emerged was a gargling moan as Irton kept pouring.

Nina stood again, but was shoved back into her chair. ‘Stop it! Stop! Let him go!’ she screamed at Cross. ‘You bastard, you’re killing him!’

‘He’ll live,’ he replied. ‘British special forces, wasn’t he? He’ll have had SERE training; he can withstand being waterboarded. For a while, at least. Nobody can hold out for ever.’ He looked back at the screens, where Eddie was squirming as the water flowed over his head. ‘The CIA didn’t teach us these techniques so we could resist them. They taught them so we know how to use them.’

She stared at him, appalled. ‘You’re insane.’

‘Insanity is seeing all the evils in this world and refusing to do anything to stop them. I’m going to stop them, Dr Wilde. And you’ll help me.’ His intense eyes locked on to hers. ‘Are we in agreement?’

‘Just stop hurting him,’ she said, defeated. ‘Please.’

Cross was still for several seconds, then nodded. ‘That’s enough, Mr Irton. Bring him back up.’

Irton retreated. His companions hauled their prisoner upright, one securing the chair back to the floor while the other peeled away the soaking fabric. Eddie retched, blowing water from his nose.

‘Mr Irton is an expert in enhanced interrogation techniques,’ Cross told Nina. ‘He can keep a man in a state where he thinks he’s about to die for days at a time, if he has to. But he won’t have to, will he?’

Nina’s heart raced, fear and shock pumping through her. ‘No. He won’t.’

‘Good. That’ll be all for now, Mr Irton. I’ll contact you if you’re needed again.’

Irton looked up at the camera. ‘We’ll be here, Prophet.’ He regarded his slumped captive. ‘So will he.’

‘So, Dr Wilde,’ said Cross. ‘Tell me what you’ve learned so far.’

‘Give me a minute. Please.’ She raised a shaking hand to her head, trying to calm herself. It wasn’t only Eddie she was worried about; high stress levels in a mother could cause tremendous harm to a developing baby.

‘Norvin, get her something to drink,’ Cross told the other man. The bodyguard went to a cabinet, returning with a bottle of water.

Nina took it and gulped down its contents. She paused for breath, looking at the table rather than meet Cross’s gaze. Her notes were spread out before her. She took them in, her pulse slowing as her mind almost involuntarily resumed work on the challenge.

One page in particular brought an answer. She looked back at the image of her husband, then engaged in a silent debate with herself as she weighed various factors: her safety, the baby’s health, Eddie’s life, the danger that Cross posed to all of them… and made a decision.

‘Okay. I think I’ve got an idea where one of the angels is,’ she announced. ‘That’s assuming you’re absolutely one hundred per cent convinced that the three places you gave me are where they’ve been hidden. You don’t want me to look at other possibilities, just in case?’

Cross clasped his hands together. ‘I’m sure. I’ve been studying Revelation for twelve years. I know those are the places God wants me to find. The clues all point to them; the emphasis given to them in the text, the repetition of their names, makes me absolutely certain.’

‘So I’m only looking for them, nowhere else?’

‘Nowhere else. What have you found?’

Another glance at Eddie, still lolling in the chair. ‘If I help you, you won’t hurt him again?’

‘If you help me, I won’t need to.’

Nina took a deep breath. ‘All right. I’ll do what you want.’

With an expression of satisfaction, Cross shut off the screens. ‘Good. Talk.’

She sorted through her papers. ‘Okay. I read Revelation last night. It’s not an easy read, especially since you only gave me the King James Version, but I came up with a possible link to the so-called Synagogue of Satan.’

‘You know where it is?’

‘I know where it might be. In Rome.’

Cross didn’t seem surprised by her deduction. ‘That makes sense. There are several parts of Revelation that refer to Rome. The description of the Beast: “the seven heads are seven mountains” means the seven hills on which the city was built. The accepted’ — there was more than a hint of cynicism behind the word — ‘interpretation of Revelation is that John described Rome in riddles to hide that he was making a direct attack on the Romans who were persecuting the Christians.’

‘It’s not exactly the Enigma code, though,’ said Nina. ‘And the Romans weren’t dumb. They were always watching for signs of sedition or rebellion. One of the reasons John might have been exiled to Patmos in the first place was for being critical of Emperor Domitian, but if he’d been too critical, he would have been executed, not exiled. Saying that Rome was a whore and the emperor a demonic beast would have put him on the fast track to a crucifixion.’

‘Then the references to Rome in Revelation came from John’s visions of the Elders’ writings,’ said Cross thoughtfully. ‘They’re part of the code to finding the angels.’ He looked back at Nina. ‘So where in Rome?’

‘I’m not sure yet,’ she said. ‘But I think the mere fact that John made a direct association between a synagogue and Satan is significant.’ She flicked back through her notes, at the same time searching her knowledge of Roman and early Christian history. ‘Jewish Christians were a fairly major part of the Christian movement immediately following Jesus’s death, but it didn’t take long for them to be marginalised and later demonised — in John’s case literally, since he flat-out accused them of being in league with Satan — by the religion’s leadership. Both religions, actually; the Jewish leaders didn’t want them around any more than the orthodox Christians did. By the end of the first century, they’d demanded a clear split — you were either Christian or Jewish; you couldn’t be both.’

‘Understandable. You have to fully accept Christ and His teachings to be saved. There are no half-measures.’

‘But before then,’ she went on, not wanting to be dragged into a debate about the fate of her eternal soul, ‘around the time Domitian took power in AD 81, there was still a degree of crossover. The weird thing was that Rome was actually one of the safest places for Jewish Christians. Nero scapegoated Christians following the Great Fire of Rome, and from that point on they were widely persecuted by the Romans, but Jews were tolerated in the Empire. But at some point, the Christian leaders decided enough was enough, and they declared Jewish Christianity a false church. They risked coming into Rome itself to lay down the law about which version of Christianity they had to follow.’

‘The apostle Paul,’ said Cross, nodding. ‘He came to Rome after his third missionary journey. Acts chapter twenty-eight — he summons the chiefs of the Jews to try to convince them to follow Christ’s teachings. “Be it known therefore unto you that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it. And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning amongst themselves.” Verses twenty-eight and twenty-nine.’

Nina raised a disbelieving eyebrow. ‘Have you memorised the entire Bible? Wait, don’t answer that. But yeah, Paul came to Rome — or was brought to Rome, since he was there to stand trial for his alleged crimes against the empire. And it didn’t go well for him, as he was executed.’

‘But he was there,’ Cross insisted. ‘And he spoke to the leaders of the Jews.’

‘Where did he speak to them? Does the Bible say anything?’

He thought for a moment. ‘Yes. “And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging.” Acts chapter twenty-eight, verse twenty-three.’

She was almost disappointed. ‘So they went to him. Damn. I’d thought that if Paul had wanted to speak to all the Jewish leaders, they would have chosen to meet him somewhere they had home advantage. A synagogue, in other words. They weren’t specifically buildings as they are now — the word just means a meeting place.’

‘The Synagogue of Satan,’ said Cross, nodding slowly — then suddenly widening his eyes. ‘No, wait! There was another meeting, before they came to Paul’s lodging. Verse seventeen: “And it came to pass, that after three days Paul called the chief of the Jews together, and when they were come together, he said unto them…” They did assemble somewhere.’

‘Where?’

‘That’s what you have to find out. You’re the archaeologist.’ Ignoring her dirty look, he addressed Norvin. ‘Take her back to her room. If she needs anything, get it for her.’

‘How about a plane ticket out of here?’ Nina asked as she stood. She saw Cross’s unamused expression. ‘Jeez, you fundies have no sense of humour. I told you I’d find your angels.’

‘Just remember that your husband is counting on you,’ he said as Norvin escorted her to the door.

Nina regarded the monitors behind Cross with a look as dark as the empty screens. ‘I hadn’t forgotten.’

The laptop’s browser had several tabs open, Nina flicking between them as she scribbled down more notes. The blocks Cross had put in place were frustrating, as some of the primary sources of information she would normally have used were linked to the IHA or other United Nations agencies and were therefore verboten.

The active tab was not displaying the website of any official organisation, however. It had taken some time to discover it: an obscure blog detailing the journeys of a Jewish traveller with an interest in her people’s history. One such trip had taken her to Rome, where she had been lucky enough to visit a site not generally accessible to the public…

‘That could be it,’ Nina whispered, scrolling through the traveller’s pictures. They didn’t contain the proof she was after, only an implication, a suggestion, but so far it was the best she had.

She clicked another tab. A map appeared, a twisting network of tunnels. The scale revealed that they were confined within a relatively small area, only a few hundred metres along each edge, but the numerous tiers of underground passages meant that there were several miles of them. It would take some time to explore them all.

Which was exactly what she had hoped.

She collated her notes, and was about to stand when there came a timid knock at the door. ‘Saw me finish, did you?’ she asked the nearest camera as she crossed the room.

Miriam was outside. ‘Dr Wilde?’

‘I’m guessing you’ve been sent to come and get me?’

She nodded. ‘The Prophet wants to see you.’

‘I thought he might. Okay, let’s go.’

They headed through the Mission, receiving greetings from residents along the way. The sun was high overhead; Nina could feel the heat prickling her scalp. Miriam noticed her discomfort. ‘Are you okay?’

‘It’s too hot.’

The young woman’s concern was genuine. ‘Oh! I’m sorry. You’ve got such pale skin, I should have thought… I could find you a hat?’

Nina felt ironic amusement that a prisoner was being treated like a VIP guest. ‘That’s okay, I’ll survive.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Miriam repeated.

‘For what?’

‘For not being able to get you everything you want.’

Nina couldn’t help but warm to the young ingénue. ‘What I want is to get out of here.’

‘I know.’ Miriam gave her another look of sincere apology. ‘I’d help you if I could, but the Prophet needs you.’

‘Do you do everything the Prophet tells you?’

‘Of course. We’re his followers, he’s going to lead us to—’

‘To God’s new kingdom, heaven on earth; yeah, I know.’ Nina regarded her with sudden concern. ‘He doesn’t… take advantage of you, does he?’

Miriam flapped her hands in dismay. ‘No, no! He doesn’t do anything like that! Nor do any of the men here. It’s written in the Book of Revelation. Chapter fourteen, verse four: “These are they who were not defiled with women.”’

‘No wonder they’re all so uptight,’ muttered Nina. ‘And “defiled”? John had some serious issues.’ She surveyed the village — and its inhabitants. ‘There aren’t any kids here, are there?’

‘No.’

‘So this new Jerusalem Cross says he’s leading you to — what happens when you get there? “Be fruitful and multiply” was one of God’s commands all the way back in Genesis, but if nobody’s having children…’

‘I don’t know,’ Miriam admitted. ‘But the Prophet does. He’s following God’s plan, and when the time’s right, we’ll all be told what it is. It says so in Revelation.’

Nina couldn’t recall reading anything that suggested that, but memorising every verse hadn’t been her priority. Dismissing it as another of Cross’s crackpot beliefs, she followed the younger woman up to the church. Cross was again waiting at the door, Norvin at his side. ‘Dr Wilde, welcome back,’ the cult leader said.

‘Thrilled to be here,’ she answered through a thin, sarcastic smile. ‘I think I’ve found what you wanted.’

‘I know. God is always watching here at the Mission.’

‘My idea of God never had him as a peeping Tom.’

‘Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.’

Nina eyed him. ‘That’s not a Bible quote.’

‘No, but it’s practically the motto of the CIA. The best way to protect your people is to know everything.’

‘About their enemies, or about them?’

‘In this case, about you.’ He regarded her notes. ‘You’ve found the Synagogue of Satan.’ It was not a question.

‘I think I’ve found it,’ she replied. ‘I’ll explain everything to you inside. Assuming you haven’t already read it over my shoulder.’

Cross nodded to Nina’s guide. ‘I’ll call you if I need you again.’

‘Thank you, Prophet,’ Miriam replied. She curtseyed before departing, this time giving Nina a happy smile as she passed.

‘So how did you persuade her to join your little cult?’ Nina asked Cross as they entered the church. ‘Tour the Midwest to spread the word?’

‘I’m not a preacher, Dr Wilde,’ he said. ‘I’m just a seeker of the truth, by trade and by nature. When people seek the truth, others naturally join their quest. You should know that. You don’t work alone either.’

‘No, but I’ve never managed to get my co-workers to pay for my tropical retreat.’

‘My followers donate to the Mission entirely of their own free will. All I ask from them is their belief in what we do, and their labour for our community. Beyond that, they’re here to study Revelation and wait for its prophecies to come true.’ They reached the control room. ‘Which I’m hoping will happen soon.’ He took his seat and gestured for her to sit at the table.

Nina noticed that her chair had been moved closer to him, and pushed it away again as she sat, to his minor but obvious annoyance. ‘Okay,’ she said after laying out her notes. ‘Ancient Rome, according to historical texts, had between seven and sixteen major synagogues at various times. Most of their locations have been lost; they would have been demolished and built over as the city grew. But some left archaeological traces, from their catacombs — their burial chambers.’

‘How many?’ asked Cross.

‘Three major ones. There have been some smaller hypogea — underground chambers — discovered since the nineteenth century, but none of them are anywhere near as expansive as the ones at Monteverde, Vigna Randanini and the Villa Torlonia.’

‘You think it’s one of those? Which one?’

Nina had intended to explain her reasoning in full, but Cross’s impatience was clear — and besides, he probably already knew to which she had devoted the most attention. ‘Villa Torlonia.’

‘Why?’

‘Partly because of its size; it’s the largest network of Jewish and early Christian catacombs in the city. The fact that it is both Jewish and Christian also made it look promising, because it lands right in that crossover period when the Jewish Christians of Rome were still enough of a threat to the orthodox Christian leadership that the apostle Paul went to them in person. Which made me think about that Bible verse you quoted about Paul calling the Jewish leadership together.’

She had definitely caught his attention, any lingering irritation replaced by intrigue. ‘What about it?’

‘Like I said, the Jewish Christians would probably choose the initial meeting place. It’d be somewhere they knew, and large enough to accommodate a lot of people, from the sound of it. So the most likely location would be at Rome’s main synagogue.’

‘And was that the Villa Torlonia?’

‘The excavations there uncovered a large area that had once been an open-air meeting place. In other words, a synagogue. Although…’ She hesitated. ‘Nobody knows for certain.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘It seems likely to have been a synagogue, but maybe it was just a courtyard — or maybe it was nothing to do with the catacombs at all. There are even some arguments about the age of the catacombs themselves; some of the more recent surveys suggest they pre-date Christianity by a couple of centuries, but quite a few people still insist that they’re from the first century AD, which would probably be far too late for these Elders of yours to have hidden anything down there.’ A nervous shuffle of her papers. ‘Which is why I’m warning you right now that I can’t be sure I’m correct. I’ve given it my best shot, but I can’t guarantee anything.’

Cross leaned forward, his cold eyes regarding her intently. ‘Then convince me that you’ve done the absolute best you can.’

Nina paused, realising her mouth had gone dry. Her captor had been a CIA agent, trained in intelligence-gathering, and also in determining if that intelligence were true. That almost certainly meant he was experienced in questioning his sources… and interrogating them, if necessary.

If he didn’t accept her assurance, or worse, thought that she was stalling, or lying…

‘You’ve got my husband. You’ve got me. You’ve got my baby.’ She pushed the chair back, rising to show him the swelling below her stomach. ‘The only way we’re all going to get out of this alive is if I do everything I can to help you. You’ve made that pretty damn clear. Well, I want to be back home and safe with my family. I want—’ Sudden emotion made the words catch in her throat. ‘I want to have my baby. And I want Eddie to be there with me. That’s how you can be sure I’m doing the best I can.’

Her hands were shaking; she clenched her fists to cover it. Cross maintained his icy stare for a long moment… then sat back. ‘I believe you, Dr Wilde. For now. So,’ he said, slightly more casually, ‘you think the angel is in the catacombs of the Villa Torlonia. Where? And how do we find it?’

Nina didn’t answer him immediately, struggling to settle herself. ‘I don’t know yet,’ she finally told him. ‘The catacombs aren’t open to the public because of the levels of radon gas. They very occasionally run tours, but only for limited periods. Anyone going down there would need specialist equipment — masks, breathing gear.’

Cross typed something on a touch screen. ‘Okay, noted. How big are the tunnels?’

‘There are over nine kilometres — more than five miles — of catacombs. And nothing resembling your angel has ever been found there, so it’s not at the villa’s museum. If it’s down there, it’s hidden.’

He ran his finger down the pad, then tapped at it. The video wall flicked into life, showing a somewhat pixelated copy of the catacomb map she had consulted on the laptop. ‘These are the tunnels?’

‘Yes.’ She realised that he had called up a list of all the web pages she had checked in her research. ‘The burial chambers are predominantly Jewish, although some Christian epitaphs have been found down there too. Depending on which dating scheme you accept, they were in use for between three and six centuries, so there’s a lot of ground to cover.’

Cross stared at the map as if studying a battle plan. ‘Nothing’s been discovered that looks anything like the temple I found in Iraq?’

‘No. Although I saw some photos that’ll give you an idea of what it’s like down there.’

He swiped back through the menu. The map disappeared, replaced by a photograph of the catacombs. Narrow, damp tunnels wound through the earth, burial niches — loculi — carved into the walls. Some of the rectangular nooks were surrounded by decorative frescoes.

These in particular caught Cross’s attention. ‘The paintings. Are there more like them?’

‘There are more photos; see for yourself,’ Nina told him. ‘Most of the tunnels are plain, but some of the larger chambers are quite ornate.’

More images flashed up, the seemingly endless passages disappearing into darkness — then Cross abruptly straightened. ‘What’s that?’

Nina examined the new picture. It showed part of a ceiling, an image inside a circle picked out in grey and reddish-brown painted lines. ‘It’s a menorah. You know, a Jewish candlestick? Don’t tell me they didn’t have Hanukkah where you grew up.’

‘I know what it is,’ he snapped. ‘Is that the only one down there?’

‘No, there are quite a few of them. There should be pictures of a pair of menorahs on a wall — it’s the most famous part of the place.’

Cross flicked impatiently through more photographs to find them. An arched wall bore two large circular paintings of the seven-branched candle holders, a wide mouth-like split in the stonework beneath them making the whole scene resemble a cartoon ghost.

‘Why is that important?’ asked Nina, seeing his intense interest in the scene.

‘The temple in Iraq — there was the symbol of a menorah right above the angel. Wait, look.’ He stabbed at the pad. The picture he had showed to Nina on her arrival filled the screens. He zoomed in on the niche. ‘There.’

It was hard to make out clearly through the dirt, but there did indeed appear to be the image of a menorah inscribed on the gilded wall. ‘You think it’s a marker?’ she asked. ‘The menorah’s a symbol showing the statue’s location?’

Cross stared at the picture, then swiped back to the photos of the catacombs. ‘It could be,’ he said, almost to himself, before turning to Nina and saying more forcefully: ‘It is! I’m sure of it! It tells you where to find the angel; the Elders hid it somewhere in the catacombs.’

‘Where, though? There were a half-dozen menorahs just in those photos, and they were only from a small part of the whole system.’

‘We’ll have to search. We need to find the one with the Akkadian and Hebrew symbols for the twenty-four Elders above it. The angel’s wings are made of metal — once we locate the right menorah, we can use detectors to find it.’

‘Assuming someone hasn’t already.’

‘You said it yourself: nobody’s found anything resembling it before.’

‘The catacombs have been there for a long time,’ Nina cautioned. ‘Someone could have taken it two thousand years ago.’

Cross shook his head. ‘No. It’s there, somewhere. I know it. I know.’

Alarm rose within her. Her captor had made his decision based on nothing more than her educated guess — which with the limited time and research materials available was practically only a hunch. ‘And what if it’s not there? What happens to me — and to Eddie?’

He didn’t respond, which unnerved her all the more. Instead he brought up a new app on one of the pads. After a few seconds, the sound of a dialling tone came over the speakers.

The call was quickly answered. ‘Prophet?’ came Simeon’s voice.

‘Where are you?’ Cross asked.

‘We arrived in Athens about an hour ago and met the others.’

‘Is the jet still there?’

‘It’s ready whenever we need it.’

‘You need it. Tell the pilot to arrange a flight plan for Rome, as soon as possible.’

‘The angel’s in Rome?’ said Simeon, with clear excitement.

‘In the catacombs of a place called the Villa Torlonia. I’ll send you the intel. You’ll need metal detectors and breath masks as well as the usual gear.’

Anna chipped in. ‘I’ve got contacts in Europe who can arrange that.’

‘Good. We need to move quickly,’ Cross went on. ‘What time is it there?’

‘Almost twenty hundred hours,’ Simeon told him.

A moment’s thought. ‘It’ll be around midnight, local time, by the time you’re on site,’ said Cross. ‘That should work for us — security ought to be minimal by then.’

‘We won’t have much time to reconnoitre.’

‘You’ll have to improvise. I want the angel found — tonight.’

‘Yes, Prophet.’ The line went silent.

‘Why the rush?’ Nina asked. ‘If the angel’s there today, it’ll still be there tomorrow, or a week from now.’

Again he didn’t answer. ‘Norvin, take her back to her house,’ he ordered. ‘Dr Wilde, I want you to find out everything you can about the catacombs. My people need an efficient search pattern, and to know what to expect down there.’

‘What? It’s a tomb,’ Nina replied as she stood. ‘It’s literally as quiet as a grave. You’re making it sound like it’s going to be a military operation.’

His silence this time was distinctly unnerving.