“The US will go to war with Russia.”
“That’s a risk I’m willing to take, but I don’t think so. After all, if they are attacked by their own secret weapon, how can they blame Russia for the attack? No, the US will have too many problems at home to want to start another war. Besides, why do you care? You live in New Zealand now.”
“I’m still an American.”
“Mrs. Turia, I admire your patriotism, but I’m going to succeed whether you help me or not. However, it will go faster if you point me in the right direction. If you don’t, I guarantee that I will carry through on my threat. Your granddaughter will live in fear for the rest of her days, never knowing when or where I’ll strike. You don’t want her to go through life like that, do you? I may let you go just to deliver that message to her.”
Fay glanced out the window again before she looked back at Colchev. “What do you want me to do?”
Colchev smiled. “I need your expertise. I’ve narrowed down our search to two spots based on the video you filmed in the Rapa Nui cave. The first is the center of the Mandala and the second is the Grand Pyramid of Cahuachi. You seemed to indicate that the Nazca animal symbols were important to the search. What do they mean?”
“I don’t know. We were hoping to learn more when we got there.”
“Got where?”
She sighed heavily. “The Mandala. The alien told me it’s in the center of the figure, buried under the starburst pattern.”
“The alien?”
“The one I met at Roswell. He drew it in the dirt before he died.”
“You met an alien?”
“Of course! What do you think started all this?”
“You’re talking about the Roswell incident.”
“Yes. A spaceship crashed. An alien climbed out and saved me. He gave me the wooden engraving and then drew a rectangle in the dirt before he died.”
Colchev stifled a chuckle.
“You don’t believe me?”
“Actually,” he said. “I do. For reasons that you can’t comprehend. Is your theory that the same aliens visited the Nazca people?”
“How else do you explain the xenobium? A material like none other found on earth falls from the sky at Tunguska, remote Western Australia, and the ancient Nazca plain of Peru. Obviously an alien spacecraft crash landed just like at Roswell, but the spacecraft power source survived. Given how many times they’ve visited our planet over the last few thousand years, it’s only reasonable to assume they’ve had some accidents.”
Colchev smiled. “That’s a fascinating theory.”
“There’s no other possible explanation.”
“So you think the xenobium is buried in the dirt at the Mandala?”
Fay nodded. “We think that’s where it landed over fifteen hundred years ago. The Nazca people buried it there so the gods would be able to retrieve it.”
“And you’re sure it’s not in the Grand Pyramid?”
“I can’t be sure of anything, but the chambers inside the pyramid have been searched thoroughly. If the xenobium was there, it would be gone by now.”
“That would be very bad for you and Jessica.”
Fay looked scared. “That’s why I’m sure it’s at the Mandala. When you find it there, I expect you to keep your promise.”
“Of course.”
Colchev returned to the front of the plane and told Zotkin her wild story.
“Do you believe her?” Zotkin said.
Colchev shot him an amused look.
“I mean about the burial place for the xenobium,” Zotkin said quickly. “The rest of her theory is obviously ridiculous.”
Colchev looked back at Fay, who had resumed staring out the window. “She’s a tough old woman. I really believe she’s more afraid of losing her granddaughter than dying herself. I think she took my threat seriously.”
“And if the xenobium isn’t at the Mandala?”
“Then we’ll take her to the Grand Pyramid of Cahuachi. We may still need her to interpret the symbols.”
“Tonight?”
“No, it’ll be dark soon. We’ll start the search at sunup.”
“She better be right,” Zotkin said. “We only have two days left.”
“Yes,” Colchev said. “Only two more days for the United States to enjoy its position as the world’s lone superpower. And then it is our turn.”
FORTY-ONE
A high-pitched screech jolted Jess awake. Until she sat upright and experienced a mild head rush, it didn’t register that she’d actually been asleep.
“What was that?” she said, searching for the source of the noise.
“Just a seagull,” Tyler said, leaning against the side of the raft. “He’s been circling us for ten minutes.”
“Like a buzzard.”
“No, but I do think he’s hoping we’ll give him some food.”
“No chance. If I had any food, I’d wolf it down.” Salt crystals clung to her still-damp jeans, and her mouth felt like the inside of a cotton ball. At least she was no longer shaking like a seizure victim. “How long have I been out?”
“My watch isn’t working because of the EMP, but I’d say an hour and a half. Almost getting blown up can be tiring. Believe me, I know.”
“Probably. Plus I didn’t sleep much last night.”
“Me neither.”
She scanned the horizon for sign of a rescue boat or plane. Nothing. Easter Island beckoned in the distance, tantalizingly close, but if they tried to swim for it, they’d be exhausted before they got halfway there.
“Do we have any supplies?”
“A flare gun. One shell. But we shouldn’t use it until we’re sure someone is looking this way.”
“You seem pretty confident that’s going to happen.”
“It will,” Tyler said. “I just don’t know when.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I sent out a distress call before we jumped. As long as we don’t get a storm, we should be fine.”
“Great. You just jinxed us.”
“I don’t believe in jinxes.”
“Why am I not surprised?”
“If it happens, it’ll happen whether we talk about it or not.”
“Very logical of you.”
“And your boyfriend isn’t?”
Jess brushed away some of the salt from her pants. “I shouldn’t have told you that. Well, not at that moment.”
“Who is he?”
“His name’s Andy. He’s a doctor.”
“In New Zealand? How come I didn’t meet him?”
“He’s volunteering for Doctors Without Borders. He’s in the middle of the Congo right now.”
“Does he know anything about what’s going on?”
“I left him a message, but phone service out there is unreliable.”
“Is it serious?”
“He asked me to marry him before he left. I told him I’d give him an answer when he got back.”
“You? Settle down? I thought you found out it wasn’t your thing after the surfer dude. It sure wasn’t what
