finding her.”
“If only she could see us now…” Jack said.
“You did well to better Marshal Judah in your race to find the Seven Ancient Wonders,” Wolf said. “He was smart, Judah. Although did you really have to throw him into the engine of a jet plane?”
“At least I didn’t crucify him.”
Wolf’s face went hard. “Judah worked for me. Just as, once upon a time, you could have worked for me. In the end, his failure, while regrettable, was not total. Tartarus was just the beginning. A far larger mission—the repelling of the Dark Star and the acquisition of its rewards—is now at hand. And as we both know, the Power of Tartarus was nullified recently by our mutual enemies, the Japanese Blood Brotherhood.”
Jack didn’t know this, and the look on his face must have shown it.
Wolf grinned. “You didn’t know? About the counter ceremony they performed at the autumnal equinox, at the second Great Pyramid beneath Easter Island, the geographical opposite of Giza? Some of us want to rule the world, Jack, others like you wish to save it, others still, like our honor-obsessed Japanese friends, wish to end it.
“It was they who flew that plane into the Burj al Arab in Dubai, trying to destroy the Firestone. It was they who ambushed the British Marines near the dock at Abu Simbel with their suicide bombers. Death does not frighten them. Indeed, like their kamikaze forebears, a glorious self-sacrificing death is the ultimate honor.”
Jack grimaced in pain, nodded at Mao. “So are America and China in this together? The Chinese attack on my farm. The torture of Wizard in China by that asshole.”
Mao visibly stiffened. Wolf was the picture of calm.
“Sadly, I do not formally represent America anymore,” Wolf said. “After Judah’s failure with the Seven Wonders, the Caldwell Group was cut loose by the Administration. But our influence still runs deep in the halls of power and in the military, especially in the Army and the Air Force. We will certainly outlast this Administration.
“No, our small group of concerned patriots feels that consecutive American governments have not taken America far enough in its role as the only remaining superpower on this planet. America needs to rule this planet with an iron fist, not with diplomacy or conciliation. We do what we want. We do not ask permission.
“As for China, well, it is no secret that the Chinese wish to rise in the world, to be respected as the behemoth that they are. The Caldwell Group’s relationship with them is mutually beneficial. We have much to offer each other—we have information; they have muscle.”
Jack called to Mao, “Hey, Mao. He’ll cut your throat as soon as he’s used you.”
“I will take that chance, Captain West,” Mao replied coolly. “You are lucky he won’t let me cut yours right here and now.”
“So who’re they?” Jack jerked his chin at the two men beside his father.
Wolf indicated the Asian-American first. “This is Switchblade, United States Marines, but now on loan to the CIEF.”
The CIEF,Jack thought grimly.Technically, it was the Commander-in-Chief ’s In Extremis Force, but in reality it was the Caldwell Group’s private army.
Wolf then threw an arm around the larger man with him. “And this young man, Jack, this is your half brother, my other son, Grant West. Army Special Forces, and also now CIEF. Call sign: Rapier.”
Jack assessed the wide-eyed young man standing next to his father. Big, burly, and intense, Rapier just glared back at him, not blinking. Judging by his age, Jack figured Rapier had been born while Wolf had still been married to Jack’s mother—another reason to dislike his father.
“He’s not unlike you, Jack,” Wolf said, “talented, driven, resourceful. But in many ways he is also an improvement on you: he’s a better soldier, a more disciplined killer. He is also obedient, although perhaps this can be attributed to his higher level of breeding.”
“Just what you always wanted,” Jack said, still grimacing with pain. “Your very own attack dog. So what’s with all this?” He indicated his position. “Couldn’t you just shoot me?”
Wolf shook his head. “Oh, no. No, no, no. You see the man beside you, Jack? The one who just nailed you to that slab? He is an Ethiopian Christian, as indeed, you are now in Ethiopia.”
Ethiopia?
“Ethiopia is a curious country,” Wolf mused, “with an equally curious mix of faiths. Christianity is unusually strong here, brought here in the Middle Ages by the Templars. The well-known Churches at Lalibela are testimony to their presence. And did you know that according to some legends, Ethiopia is the final resting place of the Ark of the Covenant, spirited here directly from Solomon’s Temple.
“Islam is practiced in some areas, but most curiously, there exists in this country an underclass of Jewry. Like many Jewish populations elsewhere in the world, they are horribly persecuted by the other faiths.
“In fact, in this mine, most of our slave miners are Ethiopian Jews. Our guards, however, are Ethiopian Christians, and here lies the meaning behind your means of execution.
“Our guards are most devout in their Christianity, Jack. Indeed, at Easter every year, they choose one of their own to play the Christ and they crucify him in much the same manner as you are now crucified. To die in such a manner is a great honor.”
Jack felt a chill run through him.
“My guards fear me,” Wolf said, “as they should. They guard well because they fear the consequences of failure. Likewise, all the guards in this mine are aware that you are my firstborn son. For me to kill my firstborn in such a way strikes fear into their very hearts. I am like God himself—subjecting my own son to this, the most cruel of deaths. Your death will make me a god in their eyes.”
“Great,” Jack rasped.
As he spoke, he noticed the Ethiopian hammer-holder scuttle up a ladder cut into one wall of the pit,
