Time continued to work against them. As ever, it was the key to staying ahead of the game and in particular — the race. Drake saw two ways of moving forward. “Mai, Hayden and Dahl, why don’t you figure out what that is? Lauren — what do you have on the third Horseman, since we’re gonna need a direction to head toward?”
Lauren had already told them she would meet them at the third location. Now, she sighed audibly. “Well, nobody is 100 percent sure, guys. To put you in the picture I’m gonna have to run you through their interpretation of the four corners of the earth.”
Drake watched Mai and the others frowning their way through the weapon of Conquest. “We have time.”
“Well, it is really interesting. Before the discovery of the so-called New World in the sixteenth century it was believed the earth was divided into three parts — Europe, Asia and Africa. The division between these continents was the Hellespont, which nicely integrates with the Order’s plan that you’ve been following so far. So, Asia began beyond the Hellespont, an unknown land of exotic riches they called the Orient. Of course, later they found America and it then became the New World, desirable, unexplored and laden with promise. A book of emblems was published, depicting the new four corners of the world. Asia, Europe, Africa and America. It seems the Order decided to assimilate this ancient thinking into their map for unknown reasons — though probably because they still considered themselves all-powerful, relic-hunting patriarchs.” Lauren took a breath.
“So it’s a re-education of the world, which happened again when they found Australia, and then Antarctica?” Kenzie said.
“Yes, a gradual re-education through the ages which, some think, is still happening. But that’s an entirely different story. It hasn’t all been happiness and roses. The phrase, the four corners of the earth, has been possibly the most controversial expression in history. In Hebrew it is translated to extremity. In Numbers 15:38, it’s borders; in Ezekiel, corners; and in Job, ends. It can also be translated as divisions. Obviously the Bible left itself open to ridicule right there…”
Drake got it. “Because it suggests the world is flat?”
“Yeah. But the Bible covered that in Isaiah, calling it a sphere. So, a deliberate reference. The point is they could have used any number of words — about a dozen — to describe a corner. It is believed the word extremity was used intentionally, to convey, well, exactly that. And no Jew could ever possibly misinterpret the true meaning since for 2000 years they have faced the city of Jerusalem three times a day and chanted: ‘Sound the great trumpet for our freedom. Raise the banner for gathering our exiles, and gather us together from the four corners of the earth into our own land.’”
“So they didn’t just pick the phrase at random?” Smyth asked.
“No. The book of Isaiah explains how the Messiah shall gather his people from the four corners of the earth. From every extremity, they shall gather in Israel.”
Kenzie didn’t move a muscle nor say a word. Drake had no clue as to her religious beliefs, if she even had any, but knew that nevertheless it would inevitably have been a large part of her life. In that moment he studied her a little more as they waited for Lauren to continue. Dahl’s belief that she was inherently good, and would always come back to her moral heart, was panning out — to a degree. He still saw the edge in her — the lawless edge — but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
At times.
But you couldn’t have it both ways. And that’s what he saw in Kenzie — a ruthless slayer when they needed one and a struggling soul when they didn’t. For her sake, they had to let her change.
“It makes sense, of course,” Kinimaka said. “First Africa, then China. So what’s next?”
Lauren responded immediately. “Yeah, we think the Bible’s meaning was extremities, and so did the Order. They made it hard for whomever came next. According to the text… well… I’ll read out the relevant passage: ‘Find the resting places of the Father of Strategy and then the Khagan; the Worst Indian Who Ever Lived and then the Scourge of God. But all is not as it seems. We visited the Khagan in 1960, five years after completion, placing Conquest in his coffin. We found the Scourge who guards the true last judgment. And the only kill code is when the Horsemen arose. The Father’s bones are unmarked. The Indian is surrounded by guns… ’”
Drake absorbed it. “The worst Indian that ever lived? And he’s surrounded by guns? Surely, it could be anywhere in India. It’s a country surrounded by guns.”
“Back when the Order were hiding the Horsemen?”
Drake thought about it. “Well, yeah, I guess so. What is the third Horseman anyway?”
“Famine.”
He let out a long breath and looked over at Alicia. “Couldn’t be Fluffy Princess could it?”
Alicia waved a hand to and fro. “Maybe. I’ll take it under advisement.”
Drake stared. “You are freakin’ impossible.”
“Any preferences?”
“To what?”
“Which princess? A girl’s gotta know, you know.”
He studied his boots. “Well. I always had a thing for Cleopatra. I know she’s not a princess, but…”
“A queen? Even better.”
Lauren was still speaking. “As I said before, the guys and girls are still evaluating which Indian the Order could be referencing. Truth be told, it’s too ambiguous. I mean, even putting yourself in their place, in their time, it could be one of a dozen.”
“And they’re all surrounded by guns?” Smyth asked.
“Living in India, yeah. Mostly.”
“Well, at least we have a destination,” Alicia said.
Drake looked over to Mai, Hayden and Dahl, who were dealing with the contents of the second box, Conquest.
“Any luck?”
Hayden wiggled her hand, signaling they were almost there. She looked up. “It appears to be a plan for a doomsday scenario. Do you remember the linchpin effect? One small event triggers another and another, each one larger?”
“Chaos theory,” Dahl said. “It is a weapon of conquest and Genghis Kahn was a deep thinker. With this, you could conquer the world.”
Drake tipped back his water bottle.
Alicia said: “A domino effect weapon?”
“Exactly. Like the assassination of Franz Ferdinand led to the star of World War 1. Potentially, this blueprint of rising chaos could start World War 3.”
“And again,” Drake removed his comms for a moment and spoke quietly, “that’s pretty tricky. Who do we give it to?”
Everyone stared. It was a valid question. Hayden signaled that he should say no more. He knew Washington and the Secretary of Defense were already unhappy with them, and turned back to wondering about SEAL Team 7.
Coincidence?
Not a chance.
Hayden surveyed the sheets of paper for another few minutes, then shoved them inside her jacket. To the team at large she shrugged to indicate the decision was not yet made and absolutely anything could happen to the unsecured papers.
Aloud she said, “We’ll sort this as soon as we can. Right now, we need that third location. Lauren?”
“I hear you. We’re still waiting.”
“Now wait a minute,” Kenzie said, the frown on her face from the last ten minutes still clear. “You people say there are four corners of the earth, right?”
“Well, the Bible mentions it,” Lauren said. “And so have the Order of the Last Judgment.”
“Well, something’s off. Don’t you see it?”
Drake blinked, now more confused than ever. Dahl studied Kenzie closely.
“Perhaps some explanation would help?”
“The four corners? Africa, Asia, Europe and America.”