Empire of Gold

Stikes held up Nina’s wallet. ‘Well, look what I’ve found!’ he said with exaggerated cheer, thumbing out a business card. She recognised it as the one Larry Chase had given to her. He grinned malevolently at Eddie. ‘So, how are your daddy issues these days, Chase? Still mad at him for fucking other women behind Mummy’s back?’

Eddie said nothing, but his jaw muscles clenched. Stikes chuckled, pleased at having touched a nerve, then opened the metal case from Nina’s backpack. The three statuettes were revealed within.

Callas crouched to look more closely, tapping the half-figure. ‘This was in the ruins,’ he said, puzzled. ‘But the other two . . . ’

‘You didn’t take it?’ Stikes asked.

‘It wasn’t gold or silver, just stone. Broken stone! It is worthless.’

‘Apparently not,’ said Stikes, shooting Nina a calculating look. He gave the bagged khipu a similarly intrigued appraisal, then carried on with his check of the team’s belongings. Kit’s was the last; after reading his identity card, he regarded the Indian with surprise. ‘Interpol? Inter-esting.’ A small smile to match the joke. ‘Now, why would the head of the Cultural Property Crime Unit be personally poking around in the jungle?’

‘Interpol?’ Callas said in alarm. He pointed his gun at Kit. ‘Who have you told about this place?’

‘Everyone,’ said Eddie.

‘Nobody,’ Stikes said simultaneously. ‘If they’d told anyone, Suarez would have ordered your arrest by now.’

‘Then we must make sure they never do tell anyone.’ Callas stepped back, nodding to Rojas. Loretta started to cry again, trembling. The soldiers readied their weapons.

Stikes raised a hand, as if about to object – but Eddie spoke first. ‘Kill us and you’ll never find the real treasure – in El Dorado.’

‘Eddie!’ Nina protested.

Callas laughed. ‘This is El Dorado. The lost city of gold!’

‘If you were an archaeologist, you’d know it’s not. This place is called Paititi. Didn’t pay attention to anything but the gold, did you?’

Eddie’s eyes were fixed on Callas; meanwhile, Stikes scrutinised Eddie’s expression. ‘You know, Salbatore . . . he may be telling the truth.’

‘What?’ Callas demanded.

‘Chase here is very protective of the so-called innocent, so he’ll say whatever it takes to save them . . . but he’s not a natural liar. Blunt, simple-minded honesty is one of his defining characteristics.’ He looked towards the ruins. ‘It’s possible they have found something else – especially considering his wife’s talent for discovering lost civilisations.’

Callas stood before Nina, gun still in his hand. ‘Then we only need to keep one archaeologist alive, don’t we?’

She glared at him. ‘Hurt anyone else and I’ll never tell you anything.’

His lips spread into a lupine smile. ‘Oh, you will. I promise you.’

A noise came from the jungle, the whine of a straining engine. A military truck lumbered into view, jolting along the rutted logging track. Eddie tensed, ready to take advantage of the distraction, but the jab of an AK’s muzzle into his back told him that his guards were expecting it.

The driver seemed surprised to see them, however; the truck had apparently set out before the SOS was received. It stopped in the clearing. The general shouted an order, and Cuff’s corpse was tossed like garbage into the vehicle’s open back.

Callas turned back to Nina. ‘I have a use for your friends after all.’ He clicked his fingers. His troops straightened, ready for action. ‘Bring them to the city.’

The use Callas had in mind was purely physical: slave labour, to help move his biggest prize. The prisoners were held at gunpoint in the plaza while men went into the Temple of the Sun to complete the assembly of the block and tackle before the two-ton golden disc was prised from the wall with jacks and slowly, carefully, lowered to stand on its edge between supports on the specially built cart.

Once it was done, the explorers were forced to help move the trolley and its weighty cargo to the top of the steps. Other soldiers assembled a makeshift ramp from stout planks so that it could be lowered to the plaza, where the overhanging jungle canopy was thin enough for it to be airlifted out without risking damage. Callas stood nearby, watching the disc’s slow progress from behind his sunglasses.

Stikes, meanwhile, disappeared into the palace. When he returned, Loretta’s camera in hand, his expression was more calculating than ever. ‘I think Chase really was telling the truth,’ he told Callas. ‘There’s a painting on the wall, an account of what I assume is the Incas fleeing the Spanish – I’m hardly an expert on Inca history. But,’ he added, gesturing at Nina, ‘I know someone who is.’

‘She can tell us how to find El Dorado?’ Callas asked.

‘I’m sure she can, yes. Given the right kind of encouragement.’

Callas nodded. ‘She will have it. But after the operation. That must come first.’

‘Well, of course. That’s why I’m here, after all.’

‘Why are you here, Stikes?’ Eddie demanded as he strained with the others to push the cart to the ramp. ‘You’ve got your knock-off SAS beret on, so I’m guessing you’re pretending to be a soldier.’

‘Actually, I’m in the same line of work as you used to be, from what I heard on the grapevine. A private military contractor.’