In objective moments, Jason had to admit his own motives weren’t all that pure. He’d lusted after the Ark since he’d been a young man, known if he could only touch it, forever would be his. No sore joints, no pills for his failing heart. Holding God’s hand, he’d have accomplished anything he wished. The
technology assembled before him would be considered child’s play, antiquated. Every storm he’d ever created, all the money he’d put to good use from the storms’ disasters, all was in pursuit of the Ark of the Covenant. He’d always believed if he were the one to possess the Ark, he would govern and shepherd this world, and the people would love him for it.
The phone buzzed and a small hologram popped up above it. His assistant was calling, not the twins. Jason pressed the button for the speaker. At least he’d married the technology to video and created the hologram. It wasn’t quite as distant.
“Yes, Burnley?”
“Sir, there is a shipment coming in thirty minutes. Will the storm have cleared in time for a soft landing?”
“Yes. Tell them to come the southerly route, I had to chase someone away earlier, and the seas are still rough on the leeward side of the island.”
“Yes, sir. Also, your grandchildren have requested an audience. Shall I put them through?”
“Yes, of course.”
Their beautiful faces appeared. They greeted him, and Cassandra began talking. By the time she’d shut her mouth, Jason had managed to get control of his disbelief, his rage, at what they’d done. “You’re telling me that you had the staff stolen from the Topkapi? You never thought to discuss it with me?”
Ajax said, “We wanted to surprise you with it, Grandfather. We thought—”
“No, you did not think. Stealing that ridiculous staff, what good did it do you? You say you wanted to verify that the staff of Moses in the Topkapi was fraudulent? Of course it was. I could have assured you of that if you’d only asked me. And now you’re telling me you’ve actually kidnapped the thief’s husband to lure her back to Venice to be killed?” He wanted to scream at them, but he managed to remain calm and in control, to be the voice of reason.
Cassandra’s lovely clipped voice said, “I think what we did was smart. We only had some bad luck, that’s all. We used some men who proved incompetent. We are not stupid, Grandfather, nor are we children. We will take care of the thief.” She paused, then gave him a big smile. “Congratulations on your magnificent storm in the Gobi. Dr. Gregory believes he’s found Mother’s last dig site.”
As he’d hoped it would. “Why didn’t you tell me this immediately?”
Ajax said, “Because you’ve always preached that we’re to inform you of our actions in their proper order, and I was complying.” Jason heard the smirk in his voice, knowing he’d scored a point on him. “Cassandra and I are on our way to the Gobi now. And we’ll be in touch as soon as we can to tell you what we find.”
“Go, then,” Jason said, picturing it all in his mind. “I will be watching.”
The hologram ended, and he turned away from the screens. Only now did he allow tears to gather and run down his face at the succession of memories flooding his mind. He felt his heart fluttering like a bird in a cage. “Not now,” he whispered, swallowing a pill to stop the palpitations. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, willing the medicine to work.
CHAPTER NINE
Over the Atlantic
Once they’d cleared New York airspace, Nicholas rose and clapped his hands. “Our flight is about eight hours, so we have plenty of time to develop a plan for how we’re going to save Kitsune, her husband, and find out if the Gobi storm was engineered.”
Lia fingered one of the studs in her left ear. “Is that all you want us to do?”
Laughter, then Mike said, “Beware, people. I predict that within thirty minutes of landing, we’re going to break rules. ‘Breaking Rules’ is Nicholas’s middle name, right after Desmond.”
“You’re kidding,” Adam said. “Desmond is one of your names?”
There were looks all around, then grins.
“Moving right along,” Nicholas said.
Adam said, “I thought that’s why they created Covert Eyes in the first place, no worries about breaking rules.”
Mike took her glasses off to clean them. “Within reason. Adam, we need you to find out everything Kitsune’s been up to in the past four months, including her marriage to Grant Thornton, and where the clients might have taken him.”
Nicholas said, “I don’t think they’d stash him in Venice. Adam, I did a quick search on Thornton earlier, after he left the Beefeaters—doubtless because he’d married a criminal—he became a freelancer. He works for a company called Blue Mountain. They specialize in close protection and security, employ mostly ex–Special Forces.”
Adam said, “Are we supposed to arrest Kitsune?”
“We’ll see,” Mike said.
“Dude, I don’t want to throw her in jail, I want to marry her, let her have my babies. Can you begin to imagine how smart they’d be? They’d rule the fricking world.”