Mina stopped talking for a little while. Jack observed her from the corner of his eye. She seemed to be pondering something.
‘What are you mulling over?’
‘There may be another group of people after the tablet.’
‘Why? Oberon’s not enough for you?’
‘When you followed me, were you wearing a disguise?’
‘No.’
‘There was another man following me at the airport in Mosul and in Amman. He looked Middle Eastern, wearing a dark suit and with a long beard, I’m sure it was the same man.’
‘I remember that man in Amman,’ said Jack all of a sudden.
‘You saw him?’
‘I saw you watching someone ‘ he said.
‘What if he is part of a Muslim sect trying to retrieve the tablet for their own purpose? Who else grows such beards?’
‘The Amish?’
She giggled. Jack had a wonderful way of taking the tension out of the worst situations with a joke.
‘And Noah is referred to over 40 times in the Qur’an; he is an important figure in Islam.’
‘So what? You sound like some people I know: they’re wearing headscarves, so they must be terrorists!’
‘OK. I’ll tell you another story. According to Muslim belief, the ark is supposed to have circumnavigated the Ka’ba in Mecca before the waters of the flood receded.’
‘You’re kidding right?’
‘No. And another tradition holds that Noah’s grave is in the mosque in Mecca. Maybe my research has attracted the attention of a Muslim group completely unrelated to Oberon Wheatley.’
‘Maybe. But even if you’re right, these guys haven’t made a move, so, let’s concentrate on what we know.’
‘Oberon obviously believes the tablet would be worth millions if he could use it to forecast events ahead of competitors.’
‘Using the calculations you spoke of?’
‘Maybe. The other really weird element is that the tablet relates the Jewish moralistic view that humanity turned evil and was in need of radical cleansing through annihilation.’
‘Yes, you have told me about that before, but what do you make of it?’’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Maybe it’s a rebus of some sort. You know, like a code?’ Jack said.
‘You sound just like my student Hassan right now.’
‘I’m really starting to warm up to that boy!
After a few miles he got off the road, stopped at a small petrol station, and parked near the restaurant area.
‘Let’s take a break. I can’t see anything ahead with this rain. The weather’s awful. I don’t know about you, but I need a coffee and something to eat.’
‘I do too, but don’t you think Oberon could get his hands on the tablet before us?’
‘No, not in this weather. Besides, he thinks you’re at the bottom of the sea. Remember?’
They ordered coffee and two goat’s cheese sandwiches and sat down.
‘I’m famished. I haven’t eaten since lunch yesterday.’
Mina froze, hit again by an onslaught of memories of the events that had lead her to be rescued by Jack from the depths of the sea.
‘Thank you for saving my life Jack… twice.’
‘Let’s not make too much of a habit of it. I value my own life too you know.’
‘Hmm. So, mystery man, tell me about you.’
‘What do you want to know?’
‘Are you really an engineer?’
‘Yup. The army realised early on I had a special aptitude for maths, so they enrolled me in their engineering and water management courses.’
‘How long were…Are you still in the army?’
‘I joined in my late teens, and sort of quit a few years ago.’
‘Sort of?’
‘Well, I quit officially but since then I’ve participated as an independent contractor for certain missions.’
‘Like a mercenary?’ She asked, taken aback.
‘If that’s how you want to see it, yes. But it isn’t really like that. It’s well paid and I can choose my missions and work with people who won’t screw them up.’
Jack seemed to hesitate but then added, ‘I’ve also worked for non-military agencies over the years for which I received special training, but that’s all I can say about them.’
Mina let the information sink in and then swiftly changed the subject.
‘So, why did you quit the army?’
‘For a number of reasons but mainly because the job felt repetitive. I’d go in with a team, do the job, and leave. I never exchanged a word with civilians on the ground. One day I woke up and just felt that people and missions had become figures and statistics.’
‘Were you only stationed in Iraq?’
‘God no. I’ve worked in many hot spots: Bosnia, Somalia, on the Thai-Burmese border, you name it. But I spent the last few years in and out of Iraq. I heard of the many water-related humanitarian projects, like the one at the village where you met me. I had engineering knowledge and the military training to pull it off. I saw an opportunity for change and I quit.’
‘I’m glad you made that choice. I may never have met you otherwise.’
‘It felt good, you know; I felt in touch with people again, not just fellow soldiers. Your arrival changed everything. I was suddenly catapulted back into special forces mode.’ He winked and added, ‘but it wasn’t all bad.’
After a silence, Jack said, ‘I hope when all this is over we can go for a stroll in the moonlit desert. I know a nice spot close to a village outside Mosul.’
‘I’d like that very much,’ Mina beamed.
It was time to get back to the van. They dressed up warmly with coats Jack had stacked up in the back, alongside sacks she did not dare ask about. ‘Probably more soldiering toys,’ she thought to herself.
‘Tell me more about the flood,’ Jack said when they were back on the road. ‘It’s obvious that it’s the root of all our problems right now. And what’s this Chinese oracle bone Wheatley spoke of? I’d love to see it for myself.’
‘The first thing you need to understand is that almost every ancient civilisation has its own flood myth.’
‘Don’t be so superior. Obviously there must be other flood myths around. Even today, there are floods all over the world, every day.’
‘I’m not being superior! God you’re touchy. There’s just so much to explain. I don’t know where to begin.’
‘OK. Just pretend I’m one of your pubescent students. I’m sure it will help to simplify all this.’
‘Now who’s being superior?’
‘Sorry,’ he said.
‘Alright. I’m not referring to floods in general. I’m talking about
‘Why would that Greek story be
