Temple of the Gods

The tic returned. ‘After you’ve heard what I have to say.’

‘Thought there’d be a catch.’

The elderly man looked back at Nina. ‘The Group has been planning for this eventuality for a long time. But sometimes wild cards — Wilde cards, even, if you’ll excuse the pun — mean that major changes can happen very quickly. Earth energy is one of those cards, and you, Dr Wilde, are the one who holds it.’

‘How much do you know about earth energy?’ she asked.

‘As much as anyone. We have access to the IHA’s files, everything that Jack Mitchell did at DARPA, Leonid Vaskovich’s work, the repository at Silent Peak and more besides. The most important things we know about it, though, are firstly that a very particular kind of superconducting material is needed to channel it. And secondly, that a living organism is also needed for the process to work.’

‘You mean a person.’

He shook his head. ‘In theory, any kind of organism can generate the effect, as long as its DNA contains the specific genome sequence that makes its bioelectrical field compatible. In practice, though…’

‘There’s only me,’ Nina said grimly.

‘You’re the only known example. There must be thousands, even tens of thousands of people in the world who can also activate the earth energy effect. King Arthur and the Atlantean priestess Nantalas are two people from history who could, so it’s likely that their ancestors — and descendants — also had the gene. But nobody knows who they are.’

‘And it’s not exactly easy to test for ’em,’ said Eddie. ‘“Hey, would you mind holding these statues to see if they levitate and you have visions?” Might raise a few questions.’

‘Exactly. Which is why you, Dr Wilde, are so important to the Group’s plans — and why Harald Glas is determined to kill you to stop them.’

The reminder that she was still a target placed a cold stone in Nina’s stomach. ‘Why is Glas so opposed to you? Victor Dalton said he used to be a member of the Group.’

Warden’s permanent scowl somehow managed to deepen further. ‘Dalton,’ he said distastefully. ‘I’m hoping to have some news about him soon. But yes, Harald was one of us — until a few months ago. Your discovery of all three statues meant that a plan we’d thought of as merely a contingency, a kind of best-case scenario, suddenly had the potential to become very real. He was opposed to it. Violently opposed.’

‘Why?’ Nina demanded. ‘And what is this plan of yours?’

He leaned forward. ‘Unlimited power. If we can harness earth energy, then it ends at a stroke our reliance on fossil fuels, and thus the conflicts over control of them. Oil, coal, gas — they become unnecessary if you have limitless power generated by the planet itself.’

‘So that’s why Glas has a problem with it,’ said Nina, making the connection. ‘It’d put him out of business.’

The not-quite-smile returned. ‘Precisely. Harnessing earth energy would be a paradigm shift on a par with the invention of the automobile — and if your livelihood back then was making buggy whips, you’d very soon be out of business. But if an angry buggy whip maker had assassinated Henry Ford, some other car manufacturer would have taken his place. In your case, though… you’re irreplaceable.’

‘Wait, so this guy wants me dead just to protect his profits?’ Nina cried. ‘Oh, that’s great. Yay for capitalism!’

‘We can provide you with full protection. You’re very important to us.’ The old man sat back. ‘So that’s the Group’s plan, Dr Wilde. As to how it can be accomplished, that depends entirely on your cooperation. And yours, Mr Chase. You said that this was about the statues. That’s true — they’re a vital part of what we hope to achieve.’ He turned back to Nina. ‘If you were to help us, you would use the statues to locate what the Atlanteans called the sky stone — a meteorite, of course, but one composed of a naturally superconducting material that channels earth energy. Once we have it, we’ll be able to build power stations around the world at confluence points. Not only that, but the potential of a diamagnetic material that can be made to levitate without needing a power source is incalculable. It would revolutionise air travel, for a start — aircraft could be made completely pollution-free.’

‘And what about the, ah, biological aspects?’ asked Nina. ‘I can’t exactly travel the world non-stop laying hands on your power plants to make them work. I kinda have plans of my own.’

‘You won’t have to. If you give us a blood sample, we’ll be able to sequence your DNA to isolate the specific gene that allows you to cause the effect. With your permission, of course,’ Warden added. ‘Once we have that, it can be implanted into some other organism. It doesn’t even have to be an animal — a plant might work, even bacteria.’

‘Hear that, love?’ said Eddie. ‘You can be replaced by a bucket of germs.’

She gave him a sarcastic look. ‘If that’s what turns you on…’

A low buzz came from Warden’s jacket, and he took out a phone. ‘Yes?’ he barked into it. ‘Where we discussed? Excellent. What channel?’ He disconnected and touched a control on his armrest. Part of the polished wood hinged upwards, a small television screen rising smoothly out of it. He turned it to face Nina and Eddie. ‘I think you’ll enjoy this.’

A news channel came on, showing the entrance to what looked like a restaurant. The crawl at the bottom of the screen read — ARRESTED BY FBI. BREAKING NEWS: FORMER PRESID— As they watched, four suited men bustled another out of the door.

Even though their prisoner was trying to hide his face from the waiting TV camera, he was instantly recognisable. Victor Dalton.

A breathless female newscaster attempted to keep up with the story. ‘These pictures, taken just minutes ago, show former US president Victor Dalton being removed from a restaurant on Washington, DC’s K Street by FBI agents. The details are still sketchy, but from what we understand, the disgraced president has been charged under the Espionage Act,’ her voice conveyed near disbelief, ‘on suspicion of releasing classified information to unauthorised personnel.’ On screen, Dalton was shoved into the rear seat of a black SUV. ‘As yet, we haven’t received any statements from the Justice Department or the White House, but as soon as we do—’

Warden muted the sound. ‘Well?’

‘Well… wow,’ said Nina, not sure how to react. ‘I take it that was your doing.’

‘It was. We knew Dalton had a grudge against the Group — he blamed us for not keeping him in office after his little videotaped indiscretion, even though it was obvious his position was untenable. We didn’t realise he’d actively sided with Glas against us until it was too late, but we certainly weren’t going to let it stand.’ There was a disquieting matter-of-fact ruthlessness to his voice.

‘So what happens to us?’ Eddie asked. ‘First thing he’ll do will be try to drag us down with him. Seeing as we blackmailed him into getting us into Silent Peak.’

‘I wouldn’t worry about that,’ said Warden, with another grim un-smile. ‘He’ll have much larger concerns than personal vendettas. Some of the other skeletons in his closet will come to light.’ He retracted the screen, then glanced through a window. ‘Ah, we’re almost here. We can continue this discussion in my home.’

The limo slowed, turning through a set of automatic gates on to the lengthy drive of an especially large house. It pulled up outside, the driver quickly exiting to open the door for his passengers.

‘Nice pad,’ said Eddie as he got out. ‘So this is how the top one per cent live.’

‘More like the top one per cent of the top one per cent,’ Nina replied. Warden’s home was an elegant three-storey building that had been styled after a British Georgian mansion — or, for all she knew, genuinely was one that had been transported across the Atlantic brick by brick. Either way, its value would be well into the multi-million-dollar range… and she imagined it was not the investor’s only property.

Warden led them inside, taking them down a long hall displaying artworks traditional and modern to a door at the far end. He paused at it. ‘Before we go inside, I’ll first ask you both to remain calm. The Group sometimes has to make deals with people we would rather not work with. My other guest is one of those people. And I know that you’ve had bad experiences with him in the past.’

With that, he opened the door… to reveal Alexander Stikes in the large room beyond.

‘What the fuck is he doing here?’ Eddie yelled, taking up position to shield Nina. ‘Get that bastard out of here, or I’ll do it for you!’

Stikes was seated on a long couch, not in the least surprised to see the new arrivals. He moved his left arm to reveal a gun in a shoulder holster beneath his jacket. ‘Let’s not have any unpleasantness, shall we, Chase? We’re