‘What, a terrorist attack that could kill thousands of people? No!’
‘I don’t know what’s more terrifying,’ said Dalton. ‘That prospect, or the fact that you two are the best hope to stop it.’
‘At least we’re trying,’ snarled Nina. ‘Rather than coming up with the idea in the first place, only to have it all blow up in your face!’
‘I did not come up with—’
‘Oh, shut up, Mr President. Stop trying to cover your ass and help us! You know Cross, you know what motivates him and what he was trying to achieve. What’s his endgame? His target could be anywhere in the world — but where?’
There was no immediate reply. Eddie was the first to break the downcast silence. ‘So he’s not going to attack the original Babylon. What else could it be?’
‘One theory about Revelation was that Babylon was code for Rome,’ said Nina.
‘Rome was not the target today, though,’ said Seretse. ‘Not the real target.’
‘I know. But Babylon was the centre of an ancient empire, Rome was the same in John’s time, so now… Washington DC?’ she suggested.
‘I wouldn’t think so,’ Dalton replied. ‘Cross was many things, but he was definitely a patriot. His long-term goal was to bring about the creation of a unified Christian America—’
‘You mean your goal,’ Eddie cut in.
Dalton ignored him. ‘But that was by using the attacks on Rome and Mecca to build up threats from outside the country, not to attack the country itself and kill US citizens.’
‘Maybe that’s not his plan any more,’ said Nina. ‘Maybe it never was. Learning God’s secrets was always his ultimate goal. If people die, even Americans, it doesn’t matter because the end of the world is imminent — they’ll soon be judged by God no matter what.’
‘So there still is a possibility that he may attack Washington?’ asked Seretse.
‘Anything’s a possibility with that maniac,’ replied Dalton. ‘But right now, the balance of power in DC is with people who would tend to side with him. Wiping out Congress wouldn’t get him what he wants.’
‘It’d get a big cheer from everyone else in the country, though,’ said Eddie. Nina could tell he was grinning without needing to see him.
‘You’ll forgive me if I don’t find jokes about killing political leaders amusing,’ Dalton snapped.
Nina sat up as his words prompted a thought. ‘Anna said something else before she died,’ she said. ‘It wasn’t just that Babylon would fall. It was also that the kings of the world — the leaders — would witness it. But there’s only one world leader in DC…’
She jerked bolt upright as another possibility came to her. From the startled gasp over the speaker, the same thought had struck Seretse. ‘The General Assembly!’ the diplomat cried. ‘The world’s leaders are coming here, to New York.’
‘The UN is a tower where all the world’s languages are spoken — just like the description of Babel in Genesis,’ said Nina. ‘Your Fortress America, Dalton — you said it wouldn’t be subject to United Nations treaties. And Cross hates the UN even more than you do — he wants it removed from American soil. Gassing the place in the middle of a General Assembly would be one way to do that. And taking out most of the world’s leaders would stand a pretty good chance of bringing about the apocalypse!’
‘But he’ll still be an angel short,’ Eddie noted. ‘The one he meant for Mecca’s still in one piece.’
‘He doesn’t care. He already justified scrambling and skipping over the parts of Revelation that didn’t fit his timeline as a result of John the Apostle’s hallucinations, and I think he’s jumping right to its end on the principle that if he brings about the fall of Babylon, everything else will come to pass as well — and then he’ll learn all God’s secrets. Oswald, is there anything you can do to increase security?’
‘I am not sure if anything more can be done,’ Seretse told her. ‘I can warn the Secret Service and the police about Cross, but the streets around the United Nations complex are already cordoned off. The first of the world leaders have begun to arrive.’
‘What time does the Assembly actually start?’ Nina asked.
‘Most of the delegates will be arriving over the course of the morning — President Cole is expected at one thirty. The session opens at three p.m.’
‘That’ll be when Cross is most likely to do it,’ Eddie said. ‘When they’re all in the same place at the same time.’
Nina checked her watch, adding in the time difference between Rome and New York. ‘That’s only just over eight hours from now! It’s not even enough time to get us back to the States.’
‘You want to come back here?’ Seretse asked.
‘Absolutely I do! Eddie and I stopped the attacks in Mecca and Rome — well, okay, Eddie stopped one of the attacks, and the other one was a decoy,’ she admitted. ‘But we still might be able to help. At the very least, we’ve both seen Cross before. We spotted his Witnesses; we might be able to find him as well.’
‘But it’s all academic, isn’t it?’ said Dalton in a biting tone. ‘Italy to New York is at least a nine-hour flight. Even if you chartered a business jet, there’s no way you could make it before the session starts.’
‘There’s one way,’ Eddie cut in. ‘Be hard to arrange, but you might actually be able to help with that, Mr President. If you really do still have friends in Washington.’
The politician was surprised, both at the suggestion, and at the Englishman’s sudden politeness, or at least lack of open hostility. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Yeah, what do you mean, Eddie?’ said Nina, curious.
‘I mean, Mr President, that if you still had enough pull with the CIA to get rides on their black flights, then maybe you’ve also still got some pull with your old mates at the Pentagon — like you did when you got us access to Silent Peak.’
Dalton had once arranged security clearance for the couple to enter a top-secret government archive. But it had come with a price. ‘Uh, that didn’t work out too well,’ Nina reminded him. ‘For any of us.’
‘He’s not going to betray us this time, though, is he?’ said Eddie. ‘Not since he wants to keep his arse out of jail, and out of the hands of his cellmate Bubba Manlove.’
‘I promised I would do everything in my power to find Cross and stop whatever he’s planning,’ Dalton said stiffly. ‘What is it you want, Chase?’
‘A lift.’
‘A lift?’ said Nina, wondering what he meant.
She saw the answer for herself an hour later.
‘Have you ever been in a fighter jet before, ma’am?’ asked United States Air Force captain Tyler Fox as he escorted her across the concrete apron of Rome’s Ciampino airport.
‘Can’t say that I have,’ she replied with trepidation. Standing before her was a slate-grey aircraft, an F-15E Strike Eagle: her transport back to America. Whatever contacts Dalton had, they had come through in spectacular fashion.
‘I’ll go easy on you, then. Especially as you’re pregnant. I’ve never had a baby on board my aircraft before! It sure isn’t standard operating procedure, but I understand it’s real important you get to New York asap.’
‘Yeah, it is.’ She looked down at her olive-drab flight suit and the helmet in one hand. ‘I feel like I should call myself Maverick or something.’
‘Top Gun is navy, ma’am,’ said Fox, with a hint of disdain. ‘The air force shows ’em how it’s done.’
She smiled. ‘What is it with you military guys? The air force can’t stand the navy, and my husband’s ex-army special forces with very strong views on flyboys. Or “crabs”, as he calls them.’