"Calisto?" she interrupted. "Calisto Fernandez?"
"I only heard the first name, Mrs. Lancashire," he nodded.
"Continue. What else?"
He told her about the contaminants mentioned in the conversation with Purdue and Calisto's names, and then Patrick moved tactfully toward the looming gathering, the lanze and the plans for building the acoustic chamber.
"Herr Eickhart assured me that he would soon be in possession of the Spear of Destiny. Soon, but he was not yet. That gives me reason to think he is still pursuing the relic, Mrs. Lancashire," Patrick rambled on, as professionally as he could, but in truth his heart was pounding with the facts he relayed. "I have reason to believe that his acquisition of this sought-after artifact and acquiring the viral strains is running on the same bridge — that bridge being the operative we are pursuing."
She said nothing. He waited, hoping she would not shoot down his invaluable information. Her fingertips ran over the letters of her keyboard until she stopped and then she looked up.
"Are you familiar with Purdue?" she asked, removing her spectacles to have a better look at her latest agent.
"I know him by reputation. And my best friend has worked with him before," he said. She waited for him to elaborate.
"Oh… uh… my friend was the photographer on the Wolfenstein expedition," he rushed. Mrs. Lancashire's glasses fell from her hand.
"Your friend was with that expedition?"
"Yes, madam. He is currently working with two of the people from that expedition… on something else."
"Again with Dave Purdue?" she asked abruptly, as if she could not get the information rapidly enough from him.
"I believe so."
"DCI Smith, where is your friend working at the moment?"
"I believe he is on assignment again, madam, but I don't know where exactly."
"Call him. Ask him if he knows anything about Purdue holding those biological agents. Find out his location, but do not disclose the nature of your inquiry. Am I clear?" she said, with that all too familiar authoritarian voice.
"Crystal, madam."
"I want that location before the end of this business day, DCI Smith. Surely I do not need to impress on you the urgency of this matter," she added. Patrick nodded. Inside he was very proud of his accomplishments, but he was worried about Sam. What if he could not get hold of him? His friend was known for going off the radar for weeks on end when he was on assignment.
"If we find Purdue, we find the strains. Once we find the strains, we find the rogue agent and hopefully avert an act of biological terrorism. You are dismissed, DCI Smith."
"Good day, madam," he said, and made his way to the nearest park where he tried Sam's cell phone, but there was, as expected, no answer.
On Deep Sea One Liam and Darwin informed their respective crew members about their concerns, but they did it so that Peter and Mr. Purdue could not tell that something was going on within the staff. Secretly the men had prepared for evacuation after several of them had admitted to seeing strangers come up to the platform from out of nowhere. Now their jobs, maintaining a disused oil rig and checking structural defects under sea level, made sense. The money was very good, therefore none of the crew members ever questioned the basic nature of their jobs, where they did not produce raw oil for processing, but instead only checked that the machinery was in order.
"It was all in working order, lads, not because we were drilling, but because our expertise maintained whatever the fuck is going on in them labs beneath," Darwin gruffly whispered from the center of the gathering of workers who assembled to discuss their voluntary departures or staying on the oil platform. It became clear to the mechanics, engineers and divers that the machinery was acting as generators for the high-maintenance power grids under the platform. They had always known that they were being paid for upkeep, instead of actual drilling, but for the remuneration they received, it was an exceedingly easy job. What made them restless after all this time was the revelation of the volatility of Deep Sea One, should anything go wrong.
Tommy was nowhere to be seen, but after what Liam and Darwin saw, they did not bother to look for him. It was 5am when the first shift started and the men agreed to wait for Darwin to make alarm, should Tommy cause any serious trouble. They knew now that he was a charlatan, but in trying to alert Mr. Purdue, the boss would not give them a moment's attention.
"I had never seen him like this," Darwin panted, as he returned from Purdue's office. He met Liam and two other men at the control room entrance. They were getting their gloves and boots on while they chatted with Liam. Darwin looked thoroughly somber as he came toward them. "He won't see anybody, for any reason."
"Is he bombastic?" Liam asked.
"That's the thing. He is not in a bad mood at all, but it's like he is not even here. There is something weighing on his mind that makes everything else unimportant. I swear to God you could tell him that there's a pipe bomb in his arsehole and he'd nod and smile about it," Darwin moaned. He wanted, needed, to tell the boss about Tommy and the sergeant who was also at large.
Purdue did not even notice that his bodyguard was missing. Like Nina and Sam, he reckoned she was still sleeping. He had good reason to be so distracted. Today was the fruition of decades of promise to his peers in the organization. Now that he knew the Spear was real, even before the dating process was complete, there was no time to waste. Down to the laboratory he rushed, ignoring everyone who passed him or greeted. Briskly he entered the red section, walking into Nina's lab, and picked up the relic where it was lying in front of the chest.
Wrapped only in its leather casing, he shoved it into his blazer and locked the lab again. He had to have everything properly prepared for the gathering. Dave Purdue, high commissioner of the contemporary Vienna Circle descendants, had initiated a meeting of the clandestine and powerful Order of the Black Sun.
Chapter 40
It was just before 8am when a large red Jet Ranger clamored above the platform. The sky was clear and the ocean breathed lightly, making it easy for the machine to land. Purdue walked out to meet his first two guests, men in flawless suits with unremarkable traits. Smiling, the three walked toward Purdue's elevator.
Nina and Sam were having breakfast in the mess hall.
"What are you going to do when the Spear's carbon dating shows it to be real?" Sam asked the pretty petite academic as she bit off half a sausage.
"Ish not up tha me," she said through her stuffed mouth, and Sam could not help but chuckle at her charming reply. She swallowed. "As soon as we know for sure I think I should tell him what I really think."
"Nina, he won't give a shite, love," the handsome journalist shook his head.
"Look, the guy is smitten with me. I'm sure I can impress the severity of this thing's power on him if we were alone," she whispered. Sam could not believe what he heard. Nina Gould? Using her ass as an asset, for once? He could not deny it was a smashing idea, but he could not see Purdue give up the "power of gods" to fuck Nina. Not even Nina.
"Well, I can't steal the fucking thing now, can I?" she snapped, when his expression betrayed his cynicism.
"I didn't say that…" Sam started, but Nina's eyes moved with something behind his back and he knew they had company. "What?"
Nina's face changed from catty to terrified. The last time he saw that look on her was when a gun was against her head. His heart sank. "Nina."
Tommy stood behind him, Beretta drawn. He held it close to his body, not to be noticed by anyone but them. Sam turned to face him.
"Jesus, mate!" he shouted.
"Shut the fuck up, Cleave!" Tommy gritted his teeth, looking around for anyone who might have heard Sam. The mess hall was empty and all the men were at their stations.