Mike and Penderley stared at him. She said slowly, “Marie Curie worked over a hundred years ago. There’s no way she could have discovered something this advanced, there wasn’t the equipment, the technology, this—wait, she died of radiation poisoning, didn’t she, from working on radium and—”
“Yes, and polonium. Evidently, she realized polonium was unstable, and had a very short half-life. She believed polonium was much less useful than radium and so that’s where she focused her energies. Or so we thought.”
Mike said, “What do you mean, or so we thought?”
“Historical records show that Curie spent her time developing radium, and left polonium alone. But she didn’t. She found a way to increase its half-life, evidently to make it indestructible, potent and viable in five years, in a hundred years. Adam had a document in his files explaining it all. Sir, we need to move, fast.”
“All right, Drummond, but first, you have to tell me where is this ultra-robust polonium of hers? Is it in the sub and that’s why Havelock wants it so desperately? How could it possibly be potent and viable after being underwater for one hundred years?”
“It isn’t the ultra-robust polonium itself that’s in the sub, it’s her key that leads to where she kept it. That’s why Havelock has been trying to find it. Curie’s book would indicate where she locked it away, and how to use her polonium’s enhanced properties, and the key would unlock whatever it is, a door, a deposit box, a safe, whatever.
“Sir, we have to get to Loch Eriboll right now. Havelock is no doubt going for the sub tonight. He must already have the coordinates. And he’s poised to get there ahead of u
s.”
“How do you know?”
He shook the laptop. “It’s in Havelock’s files. Adam Pearce hacked into Manheim Technologies, pulled down all of Havelock’s personal files. He owns a ship called the Gravitania. It’s a high-end salvage vehicle. He rents it out to treasure hunters, people who dive shipwrecks and the like. Yesterday, he ordered it to move into position in the North Sea. He’s going after the sub, right now. We must beat him.”
“Or you believe thousands of people will die. But, Drummond, I told you already it would take at least a day to get our gear in place.”
Nicholas took a deep breath, put his hand on Penderley’s shoulder. “If you’ve never trusted me before, sir, I ask that you do now. The safety of our people, all of our people, our very country, lies in the balance. We can’t wait. We can’t let him get to the sub first. I don’t care who we have to call, what favors we need to pull, it has to happen, and it has to happen right now.”
Penderley looked at him thoughtfully for a moment, then pulled out his mobile phone, dialed and put the phone to his ear. There was a brief pause, and he said, “Sir? It’s Penderley. We have an emergency.”
69
The rain was coming down in sheets when they got themselves into Penderley’s BMW, Nicholas behind the wheel.
Penderley rang off his mobile, and turned to Mike, who was hanging on to the grab handle, “We’re headed to Northolt. You’ll be in Scotland in less than two hours. We’re borrowing a Hawker from the prime minister; the only way to get you there faster is strap you and Nicholas into Tornadoes. They’re clearing the airspace for you, shouldn’t be much more than an hour up there. You’ll land north of Inverness, at RAF Tain, and they’ll chopper you to Loch Eriboll. You’re going to the back end of Scotland. That far north you’ll have a little more daylight to work with.”
Mike thought about their near death in the director’s Gulfstream and gulped. She’d rather drive, or take a train, even a bicycle.
Nicholas saw her face in the rearview, turned to flash her a grin. “By car it’s only about eleven hours, with hundreds of roundabouts.”
“Stop reading my mind, particularly when I’m mentally whining.”
Penderley ignored the both of them. “They’ve diverted a Type twenty-three anti-submarine frigate, the HMS Dover, to intercept the Gravitania.”
“Anti-submarine?” Mike asked. “I thought the Gravitania was a ship.”
“It is a ship. One that’s being used to search for sunken treasure and bottomed-out shipwrecks. Its registry is Bahamian, and shows an MIR-two submersible on board, a three-person mini-sub, perfect for deep-sea exploration. Havelock’s prepared. So that means you’ll have to dive to the sub. The Dover will have the right equipment to make that possible.
“Children, our countries are on the line now. Keep me informed. We have a few more minutes to Northolt. Talk, Drummond, tell me all of it. Start with Manfred Havelock. And don’t bang up my car,” he added, when Nicholas swerved around a big black truck at the last minute.
When there was a break in traffic, Nicholas said, “Manfred Havelock is a German scientist who has revolutionized the nano-biotech field with his brain implants for amputees, among several other huge discoveries. Our medical examiner found an implant in the brain of the man Havelock sent to kill Jonathan Pearce in New York. Unlike his official work, this one was being used for real-time intelligence gathering, video and audio, on American soil.
“The worst part is Havelock also seems to have developed multiple mini–nuclear weapons which he’s tied to these intelligence-gathering implants. The implants are the triggers. We don’t know how far they’re deployed, but they could be anywhere.”
“So the people who carry the implants are walking triggers?”
“Exactly. And if Curie’s creation of this ultra-robust polonium is added to the mix, catastrophe.”
Nicholas turned onto the A40. Northolt wasn’t far.
“I’ll notify Homeland and Downing Street. What do Oliver Leyland and Alfie Stanford have to do with Havelock?”
Nicholas thought of his father’s urgent plea to keep quiet about the Order. He said, “Still unknown at this point, sir. Once we stop Havelock’s attack, we can sift through the rest.”