29
Her husband was well aware that he was behind schedule. The plan had been for Nina to draw out the meeting with the Group for as long as possible, but they both knew that sooner or later she would have to admit she had no intention of leading them to the meteorite. At that point, things would turn nasty, and he would need to be there to help her.
However, the approach had taken longer than expected, the need for stealth while dealing with the remaining guards outside the building delaying the team. But now, they were finally at the hotel itself.
There was a door to Eddie’s right, but his focus was on another entrance to the left, nearer the downhill slope. Steam swirled from extractor vents above a stairwell descending into the ground which had several large wheeled bins lined up near its top. Access to the kitchens. Even though the only guests at the hotel were the Group and their employees, the establishment was still fully staffed, ready to provide the VIPs with anything they requested. Since Eddie was determined to avoid innocent casualties, the hotel workers needed to be removed from danger.
He signalled for Glas’s men to follow as he went to the stairwell, checking nearby windows for signs of activity. All were empty. He paused by the first bin, making sure that no one was having a crafty smoke at the foot of the steps.
Nobody there. The way in was clear.
The others arrived behind him. ‘Okay,’ said Eddie, ‘remember there are civvies here. Round ’em up, then find a storeroom or something and lock ’em in until we’re done. Everyone ready?’ Nods of confirmation. ‘Right, here we go.’
He led the way down the stairwell. The door at the bottom was ajar, wisps of steaming air rising from the gap. He opened it wider. A white-tiled room came into view, twenty or so aproned staff busy preparing the resplendent evening meal for their billionaire guests.
Eddie quietly entered, gun at the ready. At first none of the kitchen staff noticed the intruders, being too involved with their work — then a woman chopping vegetables looked round at the cold draught. Her irritation instantly turned to fright.
‘If I can have your attention, please!’ said Eddie loudly to forestall her scream as the other camouflage-clad men rushed in behind him. ‘Dinner’s cancelled. Nobody’ll be hurt if you do what we say, so stop what you’re doing and keep quiet.’ A flash of movement — a waiter lunging for a telephone mounted on the wall. ‘Oi!’ he shouted as he fired, the silenced shot shattering the phone just before the waiter reached it. ‘That means you, Manuel!’ The large man froze.
Eddie quickly surveyed his surroundings. Through the circular windows in a set of swing doors he could see a lift and stairs leading upwards, presumably to the dining area, as well as a dumbwaiter near the exit, but of more immediate interest was a single door, at the kitchen’s rear, to a storage area full of catering-sized bags of dry goods. ‘Okay, everyone in there. Move!’
Glas’s men spread out to corral the staff into the storeroom, quickly searching them to confiscate phones. Eddie examined the makeshift cell’s door; it didn’t appear to be lockable. ‘Someone’ll have to keep an eye on them.’
‘I’ll do it,’ volunteered Amsel. Eddie nodded, and the German took up a position to watch both the storeroom and the main entrance. The waiter who had tried to reach the phone glowered at him through the door’s little window.
Eddie hurried for the exit, the remaining men following. He hoped the delays hadn’t made the situation worse for Nina.
Gorchakov picked up Nina’s gun. He turned it over in his hands, then glared at Stikes. ‘Why did you not search her?’ he demanded.
The Englishman was unconcerned by the anger directed at him from around the table. ‘To give her a false sense of security. I knew that if she thought she had an ace up her sleeve, she’d reveal her true intentions sooner rather than later. Don’t forget, I’ve dealt with her before. I know what kind of person she is — and she’s not the type to start blasting away at unarmed civilians. She leaves the shooting to her husband.’
Nina expected him to question her again regarding Eddie’s whereabouts, but he left the comment hanging. Instead, Warden spoke. ‘This is twice you’ve done something without telling us, Stikes — first kidnapping Chase’s father —’ he gave Larry a brief glance — ‘and now this. Don’t make us question our decision to take you on board.’
‘You took me on because you know I get results,’ Stikes replied. ‘And I have. You’ve got Dr Wilde, and you’ve got the statues. Everything you need is here.’
‘If Dr Wilde cooperates.’
‘Oh, she will.’ Stikes gave her a lupine smile. ‘One way or another.’
‘Don’t bet on it,’ said Nina.
He sighed. ‘Are we really going to go through this routine again? I make a demand, you refuse, I put a gun to someone you care about, you cave in.’ He slid the case across the table to Nina. ‘So why not just save everybody’s time and put the statues together?’
‘Nina, I don’t know what the hell’s going on here,’ said Larry with nervous bravado, ‘but, er, much as I’d like you to do what he says so we can all go home, I’m getting the distinct feeling it’s not a good idea. So don’t give this bastard what he wants, not on my account.’
Stikes regarded him with an odd sense of approval. ‘I didn’t think you had that much backbone, Larry. Maybe you and your son have more in common than either of you would like to admit. Oh, and Gerard,’ he added to the man holding Larry, ‘shoot him in the knee.’
‘
‘I told you,’ Stikes said to her. He gestured at the case. ‘Now. The statues.’
Nina and Larry exchanged helpless looks. The gun was still fixed on his knee; at point-blank range the bullet would shatter the bones, almost certainly crippling him for life — if he survived the blood loss from the wound. Larry’s face was ashen with fear, but he still summoned up some reserve of defiance. ‘Nina, you shouldn’t…’
‘It’s your choice,
‘You son of a bitch,’ she hissed. Until Eddie arrived, she had no choice but to obey. Slowly, her disgust and reluctance almost tangible, she opened the case and took out the first statue.
The effect of her touch upon the stone figurine was immediate, the strange glow bright even beneath the glaring spotlights on the roof beams. ‘And the others,’ prompted Warden, fascinated by the display. ‘Put them together.’
Nina linked the second figure with the first. The glow intensified. Supporting the paired statues in one hand, she picked up the last member of the triptych, the bifurcated figurine now held crudely together with adhesive tape. It made no difference to the effect, the purple stone coming alive with the shimmering blue glow. Just as in Japan, she felt a weird electrical tingling through her hands.
Everyone watching held their breath, even Larry and his captor. The statues shone, the tingle intensifying as she brought the figures closer together. There was another feeling, too — as much as she wanted to prevent the Group from finding the meteorite, her innate curiosity was becoming ravenous, urging her to take the next step and discover the secret of the stone to sate it. She had felt the effect before, in Tokyo; there, she had been caught unawares and snapped back to reality by shock. But now she knew what to expect. She could recreate the experience, and this time be in control…
‘Put them together!’ Warden ordered — but before he could finish speaking she had already done so.
Even prepared for what would happen, Nina was almost overcome by the rush of sensation. Again, there was the feeling of acquiring a new sense that extended far beyond the limits of her body, inescapably linking her to life in
