The elevator stopped. Eddie rolled through the gate as it opened. Nina sprinted after him, a three-round burst of bullets riddling the floor just behind her.
The vault door gaped at the other end of the corridor just as they had left it, the stolen treasures visible beyond. Eddie went to the alcove containing the security station and pressed himself against the wall, planning to ambush Vanita when she arrived, but Nina waved furiously at him from the vault entrance. ‘No, get inside!’ she shouted. ‘I’ll close the door!’
‘And she’ll just open it again!’
‘At least it’ll slow her down! Come on!’
Eddie hesitated, then ran for the vault. Another rumbling boom from high above roiled down the shaft as the second elevator reached the bottom.
The gate opened. Vanita stepped out, the gun raised. The left side of her face was burned, hair singed away where flames from the exploding transformer had caught her as she fled. The other half was twisted into a snarl. She shrieked in Hindi as she fired, a blood-spitting outburst of rage and vengeance.
Eddie dived through the open door as the shots seared over him. One of the terracotta warriors was hit, a hole exploding in its chest. ‘Shut the door!’ he yelled, scrambling out of Vanita’s line of fire.
Nina hit the button on the inner control panel. With a thrum of powerful motors, the massive door began to close.
Vanita broke into a run. ‘You can’t hide! Shiva will find you!
A much louder noise from the surface, the sharp boom of an explosion - followed by crashes as debris plunged down the elevator shaft, clanging off the girders as it fell. Vanita whirled, seeing an orange light through the open gates, rapidly getting brighter—
Burning wreckage smashed into the elevator cars and burst apart on impact, a wave of fire and shrapnel surging down the confines of the concrete corridor. It hit Vanita, slamming her violently against the door as shards of wood and metal stabbed into her like flaming arrows.
Even inside the vault, the pounding sounded like an animal clawing at the metal. Nina jumped in shock, then slapped her hand firmly back on the
‘Was that something falling down the shaft?’
‘Half the radar station, by the sound of it—’ They both flinched as the lights went out. Darkness for a moment, then from the depths of the bunker came a rattle of machinery. The lights flickered, then came back on. ‘Emergency generator,’ he said. ‘Must cut in automatically if the main power goes off.’
‘You mean we’re stuck down here?’ said Nina in alarm.
‘For the moment. I wouldn’t open that door for a while, anyway - there might be a fire outside. But we’ve got power, we’ll have air - if this place was built as a bunker, it’ll have scrubbers like on a submarine - and I saw supplies in the living quarters. The Khoils must have set things up so they could stay down here if they needed. We’ve just got to wait for someone to come and dig us out.’
She still wasn’t happy. ‘That could take ages.’
‘So? Is there something else you were planning on doing?’
Her gaze went to the collection of antiquities. ‘You know, I could actually use the time to check the treasures. Find out if any of them have been damaged, try to catalogue everything . . .’
She started towards them, but Eddie put his hands round her waist and pulled her back. ‘For Christ’s sake, it’s always bloody work, work, work with you!’
‘Well, what do
He pointed at the door leading to the sleeping quarters, a smile spreading across his bruised face. ‘Seeing as we’ve finally got some time to ourselves, I’ve got a few ideas.’
Nina grinned. ‘Just so long as they don’t involve props.’
Epilogue
New York City
Nina stood before her office windows, staring out across Manhattan. Despite the December cold, it was a clear day, sunlight glinting dazzlingly off the skyscrapers. But her mood was anything but bright.
Eddie stood beside her. ‘If you’re not feeling up to it . . .’ he said quietly.
‘No, I’ll be okay,’ she insisted. ‘I have to see him. I
Eddie squeezed her hand in reassurance, then stepped back at a tap on the door. Nina took a breath. ‘Come in.’
Desmond Sharpe entered.
Nina felt a resurgence of the feelings that had stricken her at Rowan’s death. Desmond was shorter and stockier, hair grey rather than black, but his eyes were just like his son’s. She tried to greet him, but the words froze in her mouth.
He saw her distress, and spoke first. ‘Hello, Nina,’ he said softly.
‘Hello . . . Desmond.’ Nina hesitated before using his first name, almost falling back on a formal ‘Mr Sharpe’. But she had been on familiar terms with him while dating Rowan, and afterwards.
She introduced him to her husband, who shook his hand. ‘I’m sorry for your loss,’ Eddie said simply. Desmond thanked him. ‘I’ll be outside, give you some privacy.’
He left the room. Nina tried to assemble her thoughts before speaking, but found herself only able to begin with a superficial pleasantry. ‘Thank you for coming. Although you didn’t have to come all the way from Bridgeport. I wanted to see you at home. And - and I’m so sorry that I wasn’t able to be at Rowan’s funeral. I should have been. I’m sorry.’ Her eyes turned down to the carpet between them.
‘Nina, it’s okay,’ Desmond replied, stepping to her. ‘I know you’ve been . . . busy. I still keep up with the news.’
She lifted her head, seeing his small, sad smile. ‘I’m still sorry. I should have seen you, or at least called you, much sooner. I didn’t because . . .’ He gaze dropped again, as did her voice. ‘Because I was afraid to.’
‘Why?’
‘I thought you’d blame me.’
‘Oh, Nina.’ He put a hand on her shoulder. ‘Why on earth would I blame you? You tried to help him; you . . .’ His voice became choked, hoarse. ‘You were there with him. At the end. And, do you know, of all the people he could have been with, I think Rowan would have been happy that it was you.’
Nina looked back up at Desmond, hot lines of tears trickling down her cheeks. ‘Thank you,’ she whispered.
Desmond left Nina’s office several minutes later. Eddie was waiting outside; the older man paused to speak to him. ‘Thank you.’ ‘For what?’ Eddie asked.
‘For dealing with the people who killed my son. I didn’t say this to Nina, and I hope you won’t tell her I said it, but you gave them what they deserved. I call that justice. The world needs more people like you.’
Eddie wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that, settling for a non-committal nod as he shook his hand again. He re-entered the office as Lola escorted Desmond out, finding Nina back at the window. ‘You okay?’ he asked, moving behind her and putting his arms round her waist.
‘Yeah,’ she sighed. ‘Desmond and I talked about Rowan, how much we’re both going to miss him. But it’s going to be so much harder for him.’ She leaned against him, wiping her eyes. ‘I heard you talking to him - what did he say?’
‘Just . . . saying thanks,’ he said, honouring Desmond’s request to keep his bitter outburst private. ‘Sure you’re all right?’
‘I will be. Thanks.’ She put her hands on his. They stood in silence, looking out across New York
