The Covenant of Genesis (23 page)

‘Nina as well?’ said Sophia, arching an eyebrow. ‘Quite the reunion we’ve got going on.’

‘You told me she was dead!’ Nina spluttered to Chase.

‘Yeah, looks like they were a bit quick with the death certificate. Where’s Ribbsley?’

‘On his way back!’ She tugged at his arm. ‘Come on, we’ve got to go!’

Sophia shook the chain once more. ‘A-
hem
.’

Nina stared at her. ‘Are you
kidding
me?’

‘If you don’t, I’ll raise the alarm.’

‘Too late now anyway,’ said Chase, hearing movement outside. He pulled Nina into the bedroom and shut the door. A moment later, they felt the Winnebago shift on its suspension as someone entered the lounge.

‘Oh, Sophia,’ called Ribbsley in a sing-song voice, ‘I’m ba-ack! Sorry about the wait, but I needed to get some more ice. Still, pleasures are greatest in the anticipation, as the saying goes.’ He opened the bedroom door—

Chase yanked him inside. The ice bucket he was carrying fell to the floor, ice cubes scattering as the champagne bottle in it bounced across the room. Chase drew back his other fist to punch him.

‘Don’t hurt him!’ Sophia ordered, concern in her voice. Chase gave her a surprised look, but lowered his hand.

Ribbsley stared at Chase in fear, then saw Nina behind him. His eyes widened. ‘Dr Wilde?’

Nina stepped round Chase - and punched Ribbsley square in the face. ‘
That
was for telling the Covenant about the photos of the tablet, you son of a bitch! A friend of mine almost died because of you.’ She moved back, eyeing Sophia. ‘Okay, now will somebody tell me what the hell is going on here? Starting with why you’re still alive?’

‘I have Gabriel to thank for that,’ Sophia said, looking at Ribbsley as he clutched his nose. ‘The Covenant needed him to translate the text and lead the expedition to find this place. He had a condition - for me to be freed from Guantánamo. Since the Covenant have influence over certain people in high places, they were able to arrange it.’ She glanced at Chase. ‘How exactly did they do it?’

‘They showed me a body with half its face missing and said it was you,’ he said grimly. ‘They must have found someone who looked a lot like you - then killed her to take your place.’

‘Really? She must have been a very good likeness if she was able to fool you.’ Sophia’s expression revealed nothing more than mild interest at the revelation.

Nina was more emotional. ‘You don’t care that some innocent woman was
murdered
to get you out of jail? No, of course you don’t. You don’t care about anyone but yourself.’

‘Except him, apparently,’ Chase said, pushing Ribbsley into a corner. ‘Why’s he so special, Sophia?’

‘Why do you think, Eddie?’ Sophia asked. ‘He loves me. He has done for years, ever since I was his student at Cambridge.’

‘Eddie?’ said Ribbsley, regarding Chase with a look now less of fear than of distaste. ‘Eddie
Chase
?’

Chase grinned at him and nodded. ‘’Ow do?’

‘This?’ Ribbsley cried, his Rhodesian accent growing stronger as he became more agitated. ‘
This
is the man you left me to marry? This, this . . .
thug
?’

‘Prefer “yob” myself,’ said Chase mildly.

Ribbsley ignored him. ‘I cannot believe this, Sophia! What on earth could you possibly have seen in him? He’s just some crude, uneducated, loutish . . .
Neanderthal
!’

‘Hey!’ Nina snapped. ‘You’re talking about my fiancé, asshole!’

He sneered at her. ‘Ah, that famous New York charm. That explains what
you
see in him, I suppose. You’re about on a par in terms of class.’

‘Oh,
do
be quiet, Gabriel,’ Sophia chided. He looked stung. ‘Nina, I assume you’re here looking for the same thing as Gabriel and the Covenant - the lost civilisation of the Veteres.’ She sighed. ‘
Such
a pretentious name. But the thing is, Gabriel has a rather considerable advantage. He knows their language, and you don’t. But if you free me . . . I can give you a way to negate that advantage instantly. Because I know it too.’

‘Sophia!’ said Ribbsley, horrified. ‘What are you doing?’

‘Sorry, darling, but I need to put my best interests first.’ She looked back at Nina and Chase. ‘There’s another reason why I’d prefer you to find it before the Covenant. The moment Gabriel’s job is done . . . they’ll kill me.’

‘She’s right,’ said Chase. ‘I heard that white-haired bloke talking about it.’

‘Wouldn’t that be a shame,’ Nina muttered.

‘They won’t,’ said Ribbsley, pushing out his chest. ‘I won’t let them.’

Sophia sighed. ‘For God’s sake, Gabriel. Are you really that full of yourself ? If it ever got out that I’d been spirited from Guantánamo and was still alive, it would spark the biggest witch-hunt in American history. And you know where it would end.’ She gave him a meaningful look. ‘So once you find what the Covenant are looking for, Callum will kill me.’

‘Callum!’ Nina exclaimed, the memory finally coming to her. ‘I
knew
I’d seen him before. Eddie, don’t you remember? At the US embassy in London - he was one of the guys working with Jack Mitchell!’

The name and face connected for Chase too. ‘But I thought he worked for DARPA?’

‘Jack lied about working for them, so maybe this guy did too.’

‘You already know him? My my, such a small world,’ said Sophia sarcastically. ‘But no, he doesn’t work for DARPA. His name’s Michael Callum, and he handles very,
very
black operations for certain parts of the American government. But now you see why I’m extremely motivated to help you. I’m already officially dead - I’d prefer not to be that way for real.’

Nina almost laughed. ‘Do you seriously think that I want to help
you
? You tried to kill us and nuke New York!’

‘Oh, you’re not still holding a grudge about that, are you?’ Sophia sighed. ‘Besides, you need me. Do you want to spend fifteen years puzzling out the Veteres language, like Gabriel did, or would you like a head start?’

‘Sophia, don’t do this,’ Ribbsley warned. Chase shoved him back against the wall. ‘I can protect you!’

‘Sorry, Gabriel, but Eddie can do a much better job.’ She addressed Nina again. ‘I can also tell you everything I know about the Covenant. I can help you . . . if you help me.’

‘Bollocks to that,’ said Chase. ‘We can’t trust you. Besides, Nina’ll be able to figure all this out without any help.’ He glanced over his shoulder at her. ‘Nina?’

She stood in silence, regarding Sophia with a calculating expression. ‘Nina!’ Chase repeated. ‘Hang on, you’re not seriously thinking about saying yes, are you?’

‘She . . . has a point,’ Nina admitted reluctantly. ‘I can’t translate the language.’

‘You worked out enough to find this place.’

‘Those were numbers, Eddie. All I did was follow a map. But the inscription in that chamber is a whole lot more - and I won’t be able to work it out without help.’

‘Yeah, but
her
help?’ Chase objected. ‘First chance she gets, she’ll stab us in the back!’

‘Then we don’t give her the chance.’

‘
What?
’

‘We
need
her, Eddie.’ Nina moved closer to the bed, looking Sophia in the eye. ‘Okay. We’ll take you with us. But let me make this perfectly clear - you do exactly what we tell you, and if you try to screw us over in even the tiniest way, we’ll dump you on the doorstep of the US embassy so you can go straight back to Guantánamo Bay . . . or I might even kill you myself.’

Sophia raised an eyebrow. ‘
You’d
kill me?’

‘You’d be surprised what I can do when people piss me off.’

‘Ah, yes. That redhead temper again.’

Nina gave her a smile devoid of all humour. ‘You better believe it. Do we have an understanding?’

‘We do indeed,’ said Sophia, nodding. ‘I’d shake hands, but . . .’ She jingled the chain holding her cuffed hands.

‘Well, Professor Ribbsley,’ said Nina, turning to him, ‘I take it you’ve got a key. Unless this is some sort of personal kink I’d rather not know about.’

‘You don’t know what you’re doing,’ Ribbsley said. ‘You have no idea just how powerful the Covenant really is.’

‘But I soon will, won’t I? The key? Unless you want Eddie to find it for me.’

Ribbsley hurriedly delved into his trouser pocket, producing a key ring. Nina took it and went to the bed, Sophia turning to let her reach the chain. The first lock came away, the chain clinking on to the pillow; after another moment, one of the ratchets was opened, allowing Sophia to bring her arms out from behind her back.

‘Oh, that’s such a relief,’ she said, massaging her newly freed wrist. ‘Now, if you wouldn’t mind opening the other one . . .’ She held up her arms.

Nina had other ideas. ‘Actually . . .’

‘Wait, what are—Hey!’ Sophia protested as the open bracelet rasped shut around her wrist once more.

‘You seriously think I’m going to let you run around loose?’ She moved back to the door. ‘While we’re at it, it’ll slow the Covenant down if Ribbsley doesn’t have his notes. Where’s his laptop?’

‘We can’t waste time, we need to get out of here,’ said Sophia. ‘The Covenant takes a very military approach to things - they won’t be eating for much longer.’

‘What about loverboy here?’ Chase asked, indicating Ribbsley. ‘We can’t drag him along as well.’

‘Knock him out,’ Sophia suggested. Ribbsley’s eyes bulged wide in fright.

‘Not kill him?’ asked Nina mockingly. ‘Very generous of you.’

‘He
did
get me out of Guantánamo, so I owe him that. As I said, I don’t want to see him get hurt.’ A look at Chase. ‘I’m sure you can do something relatively painless.’

‘No!’ Ribbsley cried, close to panic. ‘Sophia, please, don’t do this!’

Chase shoved him back against the wall, hand gripping his throat. Ribbsley gagged. ‘Keep your bloody voice down!’

‘The laptop,’ Nina insisted. ‘Where is it?’

‘Oh, very well,’ Sophia said. ‘It’s—’

A noise from outside, boots crunching on sand and stone. Right at the door.

‘Professor Ribbsley?’ said a voice. Zamal. A long silent moment, tension rising . . .

Ribbsley suddenly kicked at the fallen bucket. It flew up to clang noisily against the wall in a shower of flying ice, spilling a bottle of Bulgari aftershave from the bedside cabinet. Chase punched him hard across the jaw, dropping him limply on to the bed - but the damage had been done.

‘Ribbsley!’ Zamal shouted. ‘What’s going on?’

Chase ran into the lounge, heading for the door. Before he could reach it, it opened and Zamal rushed inside - only to take a blow to the head that sent him reeling back against a counter.

But he recovered fast, grabbing for his holstered gun. Chase charged, gripping his wrist just as he drew the gun and bashing his hand against the edge of the counter. Zamal snarled and jabbed a knee up at Chase’s groin, but the Englishman twisted sideways just in time to avoid a fight-ending blow.

Zamal used the shift in Chase’s balance to thrust away from the counter. Both men lurched across the room, still grappling for the gun as they crashed into the RV’s kitchen area. Zamal’s gun hand came up, the weapon shaking as he strained to break free. Chase fought back, pushing him round . . . and inadvertently pointing the gun at the two women as they entered the lounge. Nina yelped and dropped to the carpet below the line of fire, Sophia hastily retreating behind an armchair.

Chase shoved Zamal back. The gun swung back and forth as they struggled. Nina scrambled forward on her hands and knees as the barrel waved towards her.

Zamal punched Chase in the side. He flinched, giving the Arab the chance to turn and force him down on the kitchen counter, left hand clamping round his throat. A cutlery rack toppled over, its contents clashing across the stainless steel. Zamal twisted his wrist, trying to point the gun at Chase’s head . . .

Chase punched him again, but Zamal blocked the blow with his upper arm as he pushed Chase down harder. Spilled cutlery jabbed at the side of his head. He threw another punch, with no more success, then clawed at the counter, searching desperately for a knife as Zamal’s grip tightened.

His fingers closed round a cold metal handle. He snatched it up, striking at Zamal’s face—

It wasn’t a knife.

It wasn’t even a fork. It was only a spoon, the back of the rounded head striking Zamal’s brow with an almost comical
smack!
that brought a mocking look from Chase’s opponent.

The look changed instantly to one of enraged pain as Chase rolled the spoon over in his hand and jabbed it at the bearded man’s eye as if trying to scoop it out of his head. Zamal roared and jumped back. Chase leapt up, both men spinning round - and pointing the gun at Nina again. She shrieked and dived out of the way, landing behind the RV’s driving seat.

Ribbsley appeared in the bedroom door, wielding the champagne bottle. He saw Chase and Zamal battling for the gun and ran at them, raising the bottle like a club.

Sophia jumped out from behind the chair, grabbing a black leather briefcase with her cuffed hands. ‘Gabriel!’ He froze, the bottle held high, and looked round at her in surprise. ‘Take
this
!’ She swung the briefcase and hit him in the chest. Ribbsley stumbled, dropping the bottle, and fell through the open door to land on his back in the sand outside. The case thumped down beside him. ‘Nina! You’ve got the keys!
Drive!
’

Nina realised that she still had Ribbsley’s key ring - and on it was one key with the fat black plastic head of a remote locking system. With a worried look at the struggling men, she dropped into the driving seat and shoved the key in the ignition.

Chase kicked back with one foot to give himself leverage on the refrigerator, throwing Zamal against the wall. He smashed the other man on the cheek with the point of his right elbow, then managed to get a grip on the gun. Zamal responded by punching him in the ribs. Chase grunted in pain. He elbowed Zamal in the head again, trying to wrench the gun away—