The Covenant of Genesis

New York City

Nina took a deep breath as she paused at the door. As Rothschild had promised - or threatened - one of the first items on her agenda as the newly appointed Director of the IHA was to hold a formal inquiry into the events in Indonesia. But it had already expanded to cover what had happened the previous evening in the United Nations’ own headquarters. And Nina suspected that no matter what she said, Rothschild would find a way to make it reflect badly upon her.

At least she had heard from Chase, however briefly. But she hadn’t understood what had happened to him - all he’d said was that he was flying back to New York from Cuba. Cuba? But the important thing was that he was coming home.

Not in time to attend the inquiry, though. Another black mark against her in Rothschild’s book.

Steeling herself, adjusting her jacket, she entered the room.

The members of the inquiry were already present: three senior UN officials, a representative from the US State Department, and Rothschild. Once the proceedings got under way, it didn’t take long before Nina started to feel that she was on trial . . . with Rothschild as both prosecutor and judge.

‘So you say you have absolutely no idea of the identity of the man who attacked you last night?’ the elderly professor asked, eyes narrowing.

Nina held in her exasperation. She had already given a statement to the FBI, which in cases of serious crimes was granted jurisdiction within United Nations territory, and she knew full well that Rothschild had a copy. ‘As I’m sure you read in my statement,’ she answered, ‘no, I did not know his identity. Just as I did not know the identity of the pirates who attacked the Pianosa, or who hired them. I only know why they attacked, which was to steal the artefact the expedition discovered.’

‘But why would they do that?’ one of the UN officials asked. ‘What was so special about it?’

‘I don’t know. All I know is that it had writing on it in an unknown language. Unknown to me, I mean. Somebody obviously recognised it.’

The State Department representative flicked through his papers. ‘Dr Wilde, how could these, ah, conspirators have seen the artefact? You say that only a few of the expedition members saw it after it was brought to the ship.’

‘I uploaded digital photos of the artefact to the IHA via satellite link. By the time I got back to New York, all the data on the server had been erased by a virus - including the photos. I don’t believe for one moment that the timing was a coincidence. Someone knew the images were there, and planted the virus to destroy them - and used top-level access codes to do so.’

Rothschild’s already thin lips tightened still further. ‘Are you accusing someone within the IHA of planting the virus?’

‘No, because there isn’t anybody specific I can accuse. But the only way anybody outside the Pianosa could have known about the artefact is if they saw the photos I uploaded to the server. Once they realised what we’d found, they arranged for the pirates to steal the artefact itself, and at the same time wiped the IHA’s servers with the virus. If Eddie and I hadn’t survived, nobody at the IHA would even have known the artefact existed, because all evidence of its discovery would have been destroyed. But once they found out I had another copy of the photos, the conspirators,’ she said with a slightly mocking nod towards the man from the State Department, ‘sent a man to kill me and erase the copies. The same guy who ended up as a new flag in United Nations Plaza.’

‘These copies,’ the other UN official said, ‘where did you get them? I thought the pirates destroyed all your records of the expedition.’

‘Eddie - Mr Chase - recovered a camera’s memory card from the pirates. I brought it back to the UN so I could continue analysing the artefact.’

Rothschild leaned forward with the coldly pleased air of someone who had just successfully lured an animal into a trap. ‘And as a result, a man was killed right here in the Secretariat Building and a United Nations employee was severely injured.’

‘And I was attacked in my own office!’ Nina angrily reminded her, pointing at the cuts and grazes on her face. ‘Let’s not forget that part, huh? Has there been any news on Lola’s condition, by the way?’

‘Ms Gianetti is in a critical but stable condition,’ said Rothschild.

Nina sighed in relief. ‘Oh, thank God. I really thought she was going to die.’

‘That does seem to happen to people around you rather a lot, doesn’t it?’ Rothschild’s tone grew harder. ‘I’ve been reviewing your official reports on your IHA operations. The Pianosa expedition, Bill Raynes’s excavation team at Atlantis, Dr Lamb in England, two of the IHA’s own non-executive directors, Jack Mitchell, Hector Amoros himself . . . all dead. To say nothing of the shocking number of people who seem to have died as,’ her mouth twisted in distaste, ‘collateral damage.’

‘Jack Mitchell was a criminal and a traitor.’

‘And that entitles you to appoint yourself judge, jury and executioner?’

‘He was trying to kill us! Just like the guy last night. If I hadn’t stopped him, Lola would be dead by now, and so would I.’ She gave Rothschild a nasty look. ‘Which would make things a lot easier for you, wouldn’t it?’

‘I’m not sure I like your tone, Ms Wilde,’ said Rothschild.

‘I don’t really care, Mrs Rothschild,’ Nina replied, throwing the subtle insult back at her. ‘If I’d died, your job here would be much simpler, because you wouldn’t have to ask the obvious question about what happened last night.’

‘Which is?’ said the first UN official.

‘Which is, how did the man who attacked me know I had the photos? Only Eddie and I knew about the memory card. And I didn’t put the pictures on the server - I copied them straight to my laptop, so again there was no way for anyone to know about them. Only one other person in the entire world knew they existed . . . Gabriel Ribbsley.’

Rothschild sat ramrod-straight. ‘Dr Wilde,’ she said, voice clipped, ‘are you accusing Professor Gabriel Ribbsley of being involved in this conspiracy?’

‘I guess I am,’ Nina shot back. ‘Personal friend of yours, is he?’

‘As a matter of fact, he is. But that’s hardly relevant.’ She banged a hand on the desk. ‘You cannot sit here and accuse one of the world’s leading academics of being an accessory to attempted murder! The idea . . . it’s absolutely outrageous!’

‘Well, why don’t we give him a call, see if he’s got a good explanation for why a man tried to kill me just hours after I spoke to him?’

‘Absolutely not.’ Her hand banged down again. ‘Dr Wilde, this inquiry is not a criminal investigation - if you have any wild accusations to make, you should make them to the FBI.’

‘Oh, I already have, don’t worry,’ said Nina coldly.

‘But this inquiry is here to investigate the catastrophe of the Indonesian expedition, and, in my view, your entire career at the IHA. Regardless of the eventual outcomes, your previous operations establish a clear pattern of behaviour - one of reckless irresponsibility, a callous disregard for the lives of others and an utterly cavalier attitude towards the exploration of priceless historical sites.’

Nina was outraged. ‘What? Now wait a minute—’

‘No, you wait, Dr Wilde,’ Rothschild said, raising her voice as she held up a sheaf of papers. ‘These are your own accounts of your previous expeditions, and they make for alarming reading. You claim to be a scientist, but there’s precious little scientific investigation - just brute force and destruction. It’s archaeology by bulldozer - no, worse than that, archaeology by explosive. For everything you’ve discovered, much more has been lost for ever because of the violence you seem to attract.’

‘Well,’ Nina said through her teeth, ‘maybe the next time some asshole shoots at me, I should let him hit me so the bullets don’t chip anything!’

‘Which is exactly my point. There shouldn’t be people shooting at you. You are not an archaeologist, Dr Wilde. You are a glory hunter, a grave robber, using - no, abusing - your position at the IHA to embark on your own personal quests, without caring about the consequences. Wherever