The Englishman set his jaw. ‘I’m going to kill you and all your mates,’ he growled. ‘That’s a promise.’
‘They all say that,’ Irton replied dismissively — as he activated the cattle prod and shoved it against Eddie’s soaked chest.
Nina’s scream almost drowned out her husband’s. ‘No! No, you bastard!’ She threw herself at Cross, but Simeon easily intercepted her. ‘Stop him, stop! Please! Let him go!’
She looked back at the screens as Simeon dragged her away from the cult leader. Eddie convulsed in the chair, face twisted in agony as Irton moved the sparking rod up and down his body. ‘Why are you doing this?’ she shrieked. ‘You’re insane!’
Cross spun to face her, a sudden anger behind his piercing gaze. ‘I’ve never been more sane, Dr Wilde! God Himself has set out this path for me, for His Witnesses,’ he indicated Anna and Simeon, ‘for all of us. We will follow it to the end, and you’re going to light the way.’
He turned back to the screens. ‘Enough.’
Irton retreated, the prod’s high-voltage sizzle cutting off. Eddie slumped, wisps of smoke still rising from his T-shirt. Another man, younger than Irton, checked his pulse. ‘He’s okay,’ he announced.
‘Good,’ said Cross. He tapped the touch screen, and the video wall went blank. ‘Dr Wilde, your husband’s safety is now entirely up to you. If you locate the other angels, he’ll be released.’
Nina was unable to answer at first, shaking with fear and fury. ‘I don’t… I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,’ she finally said, voice quavering. ‘I’m not a Biblical expert, it’s not my field. Why me? Why do you think I can do it?’
‘Because you have a talent for finding truth where others only see myths. Atlantis, Valhalla, the Garden of Eden. You found them. And you’ll find the angels of Revelation too.’
It took a moment for the full significance of his words to strike her, but when it did, it felt almost like a physical impact. ‘Wait — you believe I found the Garden of Eden?’
‘Yes.’
‘But the way the media spun the story, it made me look like a kook. The whole thing was deliberately done to discredit me.’ It had taken her discovery of the lost Pyramid of Osiris in Egypt to restore her reputation.
‘I know you found it. In Sudan. And I know it was destroyed by an American stealth bomber.’ Lines of disapproval formed around his eyes; he was as angered at its obliteration as Nina had been, though she imagined for very different reasons.
‘How do you know that? I never told any of that to the IHA — and I sure as hell wasn’t going to put it in my book.’
‘I have friends in the US government,’ Cross replied. ‘There are plenty who believe in the Lord and His plan as strongly as I do. And there are others whose faith is… weaker,’ he said, with another frown, ‘but who are willing to work with us. Yes, I know what you found.’
‘And you also know that what I found in Eden contradicts the Book of Genesis? That humans weren’t created in God’s image — that we weren’t even the first intelligent species on the planet?’
Nina knew that challenging his core beliefs could go badly for her — and Eddie. But while Simeon and Anna were affronted, it did not trigger Cross’s anger. ‘Yes, I know,’ he said. ‘About the Veteres — the race that walked the earth before us.’
That revelation was even more startling, as her discovery of the Veteres was something known only to a handful of people. ‘And you accept it?’ she asked. ‘But if you know that the first book of the Bible doesn’t match reality, why are you so certain about the last book?’
‘I told you, the Bible isn’t to be taken literally. It was written by men, and men are fallible. It has to be studied and interpreted to find God’s truth. It’s not easy, but it’s not supposed to be easy. Only people who’ve proven themselves worthy of God’s truth will get to see His plan.’
‘And you think you’re worthy?’
‘I know I’m worthy. God has chosen me, Dr Wilde. He led me to the angel hidden in the temple in Iraq, and it’s now my job to find the others.’
‘Seems like it’s more my job,’ Nina said, acerbic.
‘Then you should get started. Simeon, Anna, take her back to her house. You’ll have everything you need, Dr Wilde — Biblical texts, historical reference material, maps, and limited internet access. You’ll be monitored at all times,’ he added, raising a warning finger. ‘You’ll be cut off immediately if you try to contact anyone or access a site that might give away your location — such as by trying to log in to the IHA’s servers.’
‘I quit the IHA over six months ago,’ she protested. ‘Why would I have access?’
‘Because you’ve still got friends there. I know that your UN liaison, Oswald Seretse, gave you clearance even after you left. I also have friends in the intelligence services. We weren’t only observing you on the streets.’
‘You’ve been monitoring our internet too? Oh great, now you know all Eddie’s favourite websites.’
Anna’s face creased as if she had just smelled a dead animal. ‘Yes, and they’re disgusting.’ Her offence gave Nina an odd feeling of pride.
‘Enough,’ said Cross impatiently. ‘Now, Dr Wilde, it’s up to you to find where the Elders hid the other three angels. Or your husband will suffer.’
Fear returned, though this time with a sense of determination, a refusal to let Eddie’s torturers win. ‘If they really exist, I’ll find them,’ Nina told him.
‘If you’re as good as I’ve been told, I don’t doubt it.’ Cross turned away.
Anna and Simeon escorted Nina from the room. Her mind was already working, but not on the task she had been given. The foremost question was: told by whom?
An answer had not come by the time Simeon and Anna brought her back to the little house. The Mission’s residents had dispersed from the church to their own homes, a few giving her friendly greetings.
Nina ignored them. However cheery the inhabitants seemed, the fact remained that she was a prisoner, and nobody was willing to help her escape. And she was being watched every step of the way, cameras pivoting to track her. Even if she broke away from her escort, the alarm would be raised in seconds. How far could she get?
Simeon ushered her inside. ‘So housekeeping’s visited,’ she said, seeing that a number of books and a laptop computer had been placed on the desk. ‘Any chance of some room service?’
Her companions were not amused. ‘Get to work,’ said Simeon.
‘Get bent,’ Nina shot back. ‘I haven’t eaten since breakfast. Do you know how cranky pregnant women get when they’re hungry?’
The sorrowful look Anna gave Simeon made it clear to Nina that they were a couple. ‘We haven’t been blessed with a child,’ she said.
‘Maybe you don’t deserve one.’
‘Maybe you don’t.’ Simeon took a step closer to Nina, his glare ice-cold.
‘Simeon,’ Anna said. His angry scowl deepened, but he retreated. ‘There’s plenty of food. But if you want to cook, do it yourself. We’re not your personal wait staff.’
‘I’m gonna give this place such a bad review on TripAdvisor,’ Nina snarked as they left. The door closed behind them, and as she’d expected, the lock clicked. Even so, she tried to open it, with no success. ‘Shit.’
She was in no mood to cook, so made do with throwing together a salad sandwich and devouring it before moving on to a box of crackers. Munching on the dry biscuits, she looked through the cupboards again. Her captors had at least stocked her prison with a decent selection of provisions.