He smiled and strode back to the waiting line of vans. As he reached the third van in the convoy, he slapped the side of it hard. In response, the driver started the engine. Without needing to be told to do so, the second and first vans did likewise. Eagle stepped up to the passenger side door on the first van and slid into his seat. He pulled an AK-47 up out of the foot-well, and lowered the window, leaning the tip out. He knew the vehicle tunnel leading three levels down to the dock was plenty wide for the vans. There was no danger of hitting the walls with the tip of the rifle.
“It’s time for the Chess Team and Alexander Diotrephes to die. Let’s go,” Eagle barked.
The driver threw the van into drive and slowly proceeded down the ramp.
Then Eagle keyed his microphone again. “This is Eagle. Squad One is moving in. Squads Two and Three, stay alert. If the fighting gets past us to the surface, you move in.”
Twenty-Four men in the immediate fight. Another forty-eight waiting up top — just in case.
Oh yes, he thought. In less than an hour, this installation will be mine. He would execute the members of Chess Team. Kill off the intruding Greek. Eliminate the ridiculous doubles. Then Omega, and its information on the last resting place of the Chest of Adoon would be his. And along the way, he’d get to stab that bitch that took his ear. It was going to be a great day. Darius Ridley was finally going to have his revenge.
TWENTY-TWO
Alexander led King back into the adjacent cavern-like room. Peter and Lynn remained in the lounge with Asya, speaking in animated Russian. King really looked at the equipment along the walls in the cavern. Before, he had been too busy trying to stay alive. But now, some of the arched metal structures lined with thick electrical cables in their black rubber insulation, reminded him of something he’d seen before.
“How did you get here so quickly? I was expecting you, of course, but not for a few more weeks, if I’m honest.” Alexander moved to the wall of machinery. He examined a few parts of the curved metal, tugged on cables as if to ensure they were not loose and scrutinized small parts. Then he nodded, as if assuring himself that the machine was built correctly. King figured it was all an act to appear disinterested in how King had found the man.
“The library in Malta,” King said, leaving the explanation at that.
“How did you get past the Forgotten?” Alexander asked. Then he turned, a storm of anger brewing in his tanned face. “You didn’t kill them, did you?”
“No. Once they saw who I was, they let me pass. Made things a whole lot easier that you told them to leave me be.” King walked past Alexander to look closer at one part of the machinery. The arched design made the thing look like a seven foot tall Greek letter for Omega: Ω. King wondered how much of the tech he was looking at came from Ridley and how much from Alexander.
“Did they?” Alexander mumbled, absentminded as he checked over a computer screen, attached to the side of the machinery. “Hmm. Well, I suppose that makes sense, doesn’t it?”
Then he turned to King, all pretenses at dithering with the machine done. King was watching the man like a hawk.
“Do you recognize elements of the design?” Alexander pointed to the Omega shaped piece of machinery, and all at once, King knew his suspicions were correct. This was the same machinery he’d dealt with in Norway, the designs for which were on a laptop stolen from Endgame headquarters.
“You know I won’t let you activate it,” King said. His hand hung loose at his side, but it could easily reach for the Sig Sauer in his waistband, if need be.
“Actually, Jack, I’m hoping you’ll be the one to help me activate it.”
“You’re nuts. The last time dimensional tech like this was activated, it ate half the planet. If you think—” King began.
“Please,” Alexander said, holding out his hands, to appease King. “Just let me explain a few things.”
King stopped his rant, and just looked at Alexander, raising his eyebrows, as if to say There’s no way you can convince me, but go ahead.
“I’ve spent hundreds of years amassing scientific knowledge and acquiring technology like this,” Alexander pointed a brawny arm at the machine along the wall, “all for one purpose. I’m not a bad man, Jack. Yes, I’ve made some mistakes, and yes, I’ve sometimes let my goals overcome any sense of modern morality. But you’ve seen the Forgotten. You know they were my own experiments, in my early days of testing the limits of immortality.”
King frowned again, thinking of the shriveled, hideous creatures that were once normal men.
“But I also take care of them now. I protect them. They are directionless, and if left to their own devices, they might just die, Jack. I would hope that caretaking alone might count for something with you, to show I’m not a monster. I’ve aided you against Richard Ridley. Hell, I believe we saved the world together. And I have helped you to keep your daughter, Fiona, alive, along with several other last speakers of languages all around the world. The Herculean Society has a membership of thousands — many of whom are being helped more by the Society than they help me. So when I tell you what I’ve been working on for hundreds of years, I hope that you will see I am being sincere.”
“Okay,” King said. “Surprise me. What’s your motivation?”
“Love,” Alexander said, his face completely serious.
King was flabbergasted. It was the last response he ever would have expected.
“What?”
“Listen, Jack. I’m not trying to rip open a portal to another dimension. You can relax. I’ve retooled this machinery, so it works properly now. But I need your help to make the machine work…and get me home. That’s really all I’ve ever wanted. The machine is perfectly safe now.”
King shifted the strap of the AK-47 across his chest and stared at the man.
“The machine is ready. Like I said, I wasn’t expecting you for weeks yet, but I finished work on the device early. It will open a portal to another place. A dangerous place. And… I will need your help there.” Alexander raised his hand and flipped a switch on the terminal behind him. The arch of metal and electrical cables hummed, and a field of blue light crackled to life in the circular center of the arch. King felt the hair on his arm stand up, as the electrical field tugged at him. He realized the arch was just large enough to be a man-sized portal, but the last time he had seen a portal like this, he’d seen creatures just larger than a man come through. And even larger creatures waited on the other side.
“Turn it off.” King said, hand on the grip of his gun. “I haven’t said whether I’m helping you yet.”
The chime of a phone drowned out the hum of the machine. Alexander drew the small device from his pocket and looked at the screen. He held his index finger up, indicating that King should wait, and then he took the call.
King almost shot Alexander out of sheer annoyance, but controlled himself and decided to listen to the one-sided conversation instead, hoping to glean a hint of what was going on.
“She’s on?” Alexander asked whoever was on the other end. “Connect us.” He gave King a slight grin. “Hello? Yes, please hold.”
Alexander took the phone away from his ear and held it out to King. “For you.”
King squinted, but took the phone. “Hello?”
“Dad?”
“Fiona?” His eyes went from confused to enraged. If Alexander had taken her again, he would kill the man or die trying.
“Why did you call?”
“I called you?”