Europa Conspiracy (Babylon Rising 3) (3 page)

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THREE

"IT SEEMS TO ME I recall someone talking to me last week about being late to work." Shari, dressed in her usual white lab coat, didn't even look up from her microscope when Murphy entered the lab. He knew she was pretending not to smile.

"I'm glad to see that your powers of observation are improving," he answered.

She looked up with a smile. "Say, what's with the scratch on your head?" she asked, concerned. "Was spring break too hard on you?"

"A rock attacked me."

"Right. It just leaped off the ground and rushed at you."

"Well, actually, more like I rushed at it."

Shari looked at him more closely. "How about the scabs on your knuckles? Did you have a boxing match with the rock too?"

"You could say that."

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Her good-natured jesting suddenly turned serious. "This doesn't have anything to do with Methuselah, does it?"

Her words sounded just like something Laura would say. Ever since Laura had died, Shari had taken over the job of worrying about him.

Murphy changed the subject. He didn't want to explain his near-death experience. He didn't want her to start saying that he should stay away from Methuselah.

"I've got something for you to look at," he said, handing her a manila envelope.

Shari's curiosity was piqued. She knew that Murphy didn't want to talk about what had happened, so she turned the envelope over in her hands and asked, "What's in it?"

"A little surprise. I want you to tell me what you think."

She poured the contents of the envelope onto a sheet of paper on the worktable. Murphy's encounter with the wall had crushed the plaster. As she looked closely at it, she said, "Oh, by the way, Bob Wagoner called
before you came in late for work.
He said he'd like you to give him a call."

Murphy smiled as he walked to his office.

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FOUR

BOB WAVED to Murphy from his usual booth in the back. Murphy smiled and nodded, thinking,
We're all creatures of habit.

They shook hands and Murphy slid across the green vinyl bench and sat down. The décor of Adam's Apple Diner hadn't changed since it had opened in the late 1970s. And Roseanne, the gray-haired waitress, looked like she had worked there, and eaten lots of food there, since its beginning.

"What's on the menu today?" Bob asked as she approached the table.

"There's lots on the menu, Pastor Bob, but my guess is that you'll have your usual cheeseburger and chili fries."

"You've got me pegged, Roseanne." He threw up his arms in mock surrender.

"And for you, Dr. Murphy? The chicken sandwich?"

"You're a mind reader, Roseanne."

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"I'll get your coffee," she said as she waddled off toward the kitchen.

"Well, bring me up to date, Michael. We really haven't had a chance to talk since you got back from your trip to Ararat. Were you able to find the ark?"

Murphy's big smile left his face. Wagoner could sense uneasiness and pain. "Did something go wrong?" he asked, his voice turning somber.

For the next forty minutes Murphy recounted the deaths of his climbing party. He shared the betrayal of Colonel Blake Hodson and Larry Whittaker, the photographer, and how they had killed Professor Reinhold, Mustafa Bayer, Darin Lundquist, and Salvador Valdez, the former Navy SEAL. He then went on to describe how Talon had tried to kill him and how Azgadian had rescued him.

Wagoner listened quietly as he ate his cheeseburger. Not only was he absolutely spellbound by the tragic story, but he knew that Murphy needed to talk. Holding that much pain inside was not healthy.

"How about Vern Peterson, the helicopter pilot? What happened to him?" Wagoner asked when Murphy paused.

"He instinctively knew that something was desperately wrong. He saw the control box in Whittaker's hand and tried to descend away from the radio signals before the bomb blast. He realized that he couldn't escape and leaped out of the helicopter in desperation."

"It's a wonder that he wasn't killed!"

"Well, his fall was broken by a huge snowbank. It softened his landing somewhat, and the snow covered him at

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the moment of the explosion. When I saw him, he was in the cave with me, Isis, and Azgadian. The guardian of the ark not only rescued me but he brought Peterson to safety."

"Was Vern all right after the drop from the helicopter?"

"At first we thought he only had some bad cuts and a sprained ankle. But he was coughing a lot in the cave, and we realized that he must have some internal bleeding. We got him to a small clinic in Dogubayazit. From there he was transferred to the hospital in Erzurum. He's recovering now in Turkey and should be back in the U.S. sometime this month."

"And the ark? Did you find it?"

Murphy was quiet for a while, then looked around the diner as if checking whether anyone was listening. He leaned toward Wagoner and replied, "It was unbelievable. Fantastic! It was better than anything I could have ever imagined."

Wagoner's eyes grew wide. "You've got to be kidding!" he exclaimed. "You really found it?"

"Yes, Bob. It was there. Half of it was buried in a glacier, but we were able to enter the rest of it."

"Did you bring back some pictures?"

Murphy's eyes lost their sparkle. "Talon destroyed them all. We have no physical evidence. Talon set a charge and started an avalanche that covered the ark with tons of snow. There are now only four living eyewitnesses: myself, Isis, Azgadian, and Talon. It would take a miracle to find the ark now."

Wagoner saw the disappointment on Murphy's face.

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He decided to change the course of the conversation. "Speaking of Isis, how's she doing?" he asked, smiling slightly.

Murphy smiled back. "She's doing fine. She went back to work at the Parchments of Freedom Foundation. I think she was a little tired after all the trials we went through."

"That's not exactly what I was talking about."

Murphy smiled again. "She's a very attractive woman, Bob."

"Are you interested?"

"Okay, I'm interested. But I feel a little guilty"

"Michael, it's been a year and a half since Laura's death. Stop beating yourself up. Let me ask you a question: What do you think Laura would want you to do? Do you think she would want you to remain single forever?"

"Okay, Bob. I've got your message. Could we change the subject?"

"Did you find anything on the ark?" Wagoner asked. He could sense the excitement on his friend's face. "Well, come on, man! I'm dying to know."

"I must have your word that you won't repeat what I'm going to tell you."

"You've got it, Michael. I'll not say a word."

Murphy proceeded to tell him about the discovery of the brass plates that held the secret of the Philosopher's Stone, a discovery that could eliminate the need for fossil fuels. He talked about the singing sword they found and the vases full of self-lighting crystals.

Wagoner sat there, nodding in amazement. "Where are the brass plates, sword, and crystals now?"

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"At the bottom of the Black Sea with Talon. I think he was chewed to pieces by the propeller blades of the ship ... which made me feel sorry for the ship."

Wagoner made a face. "I can't blame you for having such feelings." He would probably feel the same way if someone had crushed his wife's larynx. "Is there any way to retrieve the plates?"

"There might be if we had a minisub and lots of time. However, it'd be like looking for a needle in a haystack."

"Doesn't that ship travel the same route each week?"

"I'm sure it does," Murphy replied. "Why?"

"Couldn't you get the charts of their route? If you had that and the approximate time of day when Talon went overboard, you could narrow the search quite a bit. At least it would be a smaller haystack."

"That's not a bad idea, Bob. And if we had some metal detecting equipment, it might be possible. I don't think the pack has had much time to settle into the sand yet. It might be worth a try."

Murphy glanced at his watch. Time had flown by. "Hey, Bob, I've got to go."

The two men walked out to the parking lot. Wagoner said, "I'd like to pray with you before I leave. I want to pray that God will give you great wisdom and courage. He has evidently called you to some very unique and dangerous tasks. I'm also going to pray about your possible relationship with Isis."

"Thanks, Bob. I appreciate your friendship, and I can certainly use your prayers."

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FIVE

WELL, STEPHANIE KOVACS-Ace Reporter, are you happy?

She could see the emptiness in her eyes as she looked in the mirror to put on her lipstick.

Do you like being a mistress? Is it worth the price?

Now she found herself getting angry. She had sold her own pride and self-image for an extravagant lifestyle, for power and influence, and to further her career as a news journalist.

She stood up and shook her head a little. It gave her hair that wild-tiger look that Shane liked. She took one last look at her low-cut black dress that gave maximum exposure to her ample chest. She felt sexy. She smoothed the dress over her slim hips and turned and looked at herself from both sides. Pleased, she left the room.

Barrington was pacing back and forth in front of the penthouse windows when she entered the living room.

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Behind him the lights of the city sparkled like beautiful jewels in the night.

"What's wrong, Shane?" Stephanie asked. He looked a little startled and slightly embarrassed. Shane Barrington was not the kind of man who liked anyone to think that he could be bothered by anything. Frowning, he said, "I was just thinking about something."

"Between us?" There was a touch of fear in her voice. Even though they had been together for a while, she didn't feel secure in their relationship. Barrington was known for his verbal bursts of anger and had blown up at her on several occasions. He had never hit her, but often she felt that she had to walk on eggshells around him.

"No, no. Of course not. I was just thinking about work. We haven't had a good news story in a couple of weeks. I like to be on top of any breaking events. It's good for the ratings and makes the Barrington Network News lots of money."

Kovacs nodded.

"Say, what ever happened to Professor What's-his-name at Preston University? You know, the one who searches for biblical artifacts," Barrington asked.

"You mean Dr. Michael Murphy?"

"Yeah, yeah. That's the one. Didn't he leave on some kind of search for something?"

Barrington knew full well who Murphy was. He was just trying to play dumb. He didn't want to come across as too interested. That would arouse Stephanie's news reporter curiosity. He also didn't want to reveal the increased pressure that the Seven were putting on him for information. They hadn't heard from Talon after he had

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come down from Ararat. He had seemed to disappear off the face of the earth.

Immediately a red flag went up in Kovacs's mind.
What's Shane trying to do?
she wondered.
He knows full well who Murphy is and that he's looking for Noah's Ark. He even tried to hire him, but Murphy turned him down. Who's he trying to fool?

"Yes," Kovacs replied slowly, thinking. "He was looking for Noah's Ark on Mount Ararat."

"Whatever came of that?" Barrington, looking out the windows, appeared to be engrossed in a police helicopter flying with its searchlight on.

"I don't know."
He's after something.
A spark of enthusiasm surged through her. It reminded her of the excitement she felt when following up on investigative leads. Maybe this was the opportunity she had been looking for.

Her mind flashed back to that night when she stepped into the room on top of the Barrington Communications Building. It had been filled with huge sprays of flowers, the carpet sprinkled with rose petals. Barrington had said that it was in appreciation for her hard work and loyalty and that it was to make up for having missed dinner with her. That night a small crack in his armor of secrecy had been exposed. He had told her that some people had found out about his massive debts and less-than-legal creative accounting. They had invested $5 billion into Barrington Communications, and he was now their pawn.

Kovacs had wondered who these powerful people were, but Barrington would say only that they were "hell-bent on establishing a one-world government. And a

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one-world religion too. And people like Murphy, they see it all coming, in the Bible. So they have to be stopped. Before they can persuade others to resist."

In the time that they had been together, Kovacs had recognized that Barrington was doing something more than just making money. It was more than just fulfilling a power-hungry ego. It was something... evil.