“Sounds like a bunch of laughs,” Drake said.
“Sure it was. But in truth, it gets much worse. These men were all war criminals, escaped from Nazi Germany and hiding in Cuba. Now, as you all know, it’s easier to make a list of weird shit the Nazis weren’t interested in than a list of the things they were. This Order was created to pass things on to future generations. If they were caught or killed, they wanted some glorious repercussion somewhere down the line.”
“And you’re saying they’ve got it?” Hayden asked.
“Well, not yet. Nothing is proven. The Order were made up of two generals, two powerful government figures and two wealthy businessmen. Together, they would have wielded considerable power and resources.”
“How do we know this?” Mai asked.
“Oh, they’ve kept nothing hidden. Names, events, places. It’s all there in the documents. And TerraLeaks have followed suit,” Lauren shook her head, “as they do.”
“You’re saying everyone knows?” Drake said softly. “Every bloody organization in the world? Shit.” He swung his head toward the window as if beholding the whole world out there, converging.
“The document in question isn’t fully finished—” Lauren began.
Alicia snorted. “If course it isn’t.”
“So we don’t have all of the information. We can only assume these war criminals that vanished from the face of the earth around twenty seven years ago didn’t get chance to finish their work.”
“Vanished?” Dahl murmured, shuffling a little. “That usually means secret police. Or Special Forces. Makes sense since they were war criminals.”
Lauren nodded. “That’s the consensus. But whoever ‘vanished’ them didn’t think to look for a secret bunker.”
“Probably the SAS then.” Dahl glanced over at Drake. “Thick bastards.”
“At least our Special Forces aren’t called ABBA.”
Kinimaka wandered over to the window to take a look. “Sounds like the mother of all mistakes,” he rumbled at the glass. “Letting this info go free. How many governments are going to be hunting it down at the same time?”
“At least six,” Lauren said. “That we know of. Could be more than that by now. The race began whilst you guys were finishing off in Peru.”
“Finishing off?” Smyth repeated. “We were saving lives.”
Lauren shrugged. “Nobody blames you for it.”
Drake distinctly remembered Smyth’s repeated requests to hurry the hell up during the last mission. But this was no time to bring it up. Instead, he quietly caught the New Yorker’s attention.
“So,” he said. “Why don’t you tell us exactly what this Order of the Last Judgment planned and how it’s going to destroy the world?”
Lauren took a deep breath. “All right then. I hope you’re ready for this.”
CHAPTER THREE
“Through spy satellites, hidden agents and cameras, drones, the NSA… you name it, we know that at least six other countries are rushing to find the four corners of the earth first. The Americans—” she paused, thinking “—well… being the Americans… want to get there ahead of the others. Not only for the prestige, but because we simply can’t tell what anyone else will do with what they find. The feeling is… what if Israel finds a covert country killer? What if China find all four?”
“So these are the confirmed countries involved?” Kenzie asked quietly. “Israel?”
“Yeah. Plus China, France, Sweden, Russia and Britain.”
Drake wondered if he might know some of the people involved. It didn’t sit right that he should be working against them.
“Tricky,” he said. “What are the exact orders?”
Lauren consulted her laptop to be sure. “They contain an awful lot of ‘without fails’ and ‘at all costs.’”
“They’re seeing it as a global threat,” Hayden said. “And why wouldn’t they? The next apocalypse is always just a few days away.”
“Still,” Drake said, “essentially we’re all on the same side.”
Hayden blinked at him. “Whoa. Get off the drugs, dude.”
“No, I meant—”
“Too many knocks have finally addled his head.” Dahl laughed.
Drake stared. “Shut yer gob.” He paused. “Have you been brushing up on yer Yorkshire? Anyway, what I meant was we’re all Special Forces. Cut from the same cloth. We bloody well shouldn’t be racing and fighting each other across the world.”
“Agreed,” Hayden said without emotion. “So who ya gonna take it up with?”
Drake spread his hands. “President Coburn?”
“You’d have to get past the Secretary of Defense first. And others. Cole has more than physical walls surrounding him and some of them aren’t without their battlements.”
“Not all of the teams will be friendlies,” Kenzie added with surety.
“Of course.” Drake gave in and took a seat. “Sorry, Lauren. Go on.”
“Right. So everyone has read the leaked documents. Most are Nazi bullshit, to be honest. And I’m reading that verbatim. A page named after this wretched group, called the Order of the Last Judgment, points firmly to the so-called ‘resting places’ of the Four Horsemen: War, Conquest, Famine and Death.”
“From the Book of Revelation?” Hayden asked. “Those Four Horsemen?”
“Yep.” Lauren nodded, still consulting an abundance of notes proved by some of America’s top geeks. “The Lamb of God opens the first four of seven seals, which summons four creatures that ride out on white, red, black and pale horses. Of course, through the years they have been tied to everything, and reimagined time and again in popular culture. They were even described as a symbol of the Roman Empire, and its subsequent history. But, hey, the Nazis could twist it however they want, right? Now, it might be better if I hand these out.” She dug a sheaf of papers from her briefcase, looking more efficient than Drake had ever seen her. An interesting change for Lauren, and one she looked to be taking to heart. He glanced quickly at the paper.
“This is the thing that’s got everyone fired up? The Order?”
“Yeah, read it.”
Dahl read it aloud as the others took it in.
“At the Four Corners of the Earth we found the Four Horsemen and laid with them the blueprint of the Order of the Last Judgment. Those who survive the Judgment quest and its aftermath will rightly reign supreme. If you are reading this, we are lost, so read and follow with cautious eyes. Our last years were spent assembling the four final weapons, the world revolutions: War, Conquest, Famine and Death. Unleashed together, they will destroy all governments and unveil a new future. Be prepared. Find them. Go to the Four Corners of the Earth. 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. The Order of the Last Judgment now live through you, and will forever reign supreme.”
Drake took it all in. Many clues, many truths. Much labor. Dahl beat him to the first comment though. “Arose? Not arise?”
“Yeah, seems off.” Lauren agreed. “But it ain’t a typo.”