Seven Ancient Wonders - Matthew Reilly [91]
The Artemis Piece.
Wizard saw the inscriptions carved into the surface of the trapezoid:
His wide eyes flashed like camera lenses, attempting to memorise the inscriptions in the short window of time he had—
‘Excuse me, Father, but you cannot step up here.’ Wizard was yanked away from the altar.
Two Swiss Guards had grabbed him firmly by the arms and were moving him politely but forcibly away.
At the same time another guard redraped the cloth back over the altar-top, concealing the golden trapezoid—although he seemed to do it merely to restore the order of the altar, not out of any sense that a great secret had been unveiled.
‘I-I-I’m s-s-so sorry,’ Wizard stammered, feigning senility and offering no resistance. ‘I just wanted to f-f-feel the power of my Lord in all h-h-his glory. . . ’
The lead guard escorting him off the raised stage assessed him more closely, saw Wizard’s earnest eyes, his scraggly beard, his tattered robes, and he softened. ‘All right, old man. Get out of here. Just stay behind the rope next time.’
‘Th-th-thank you, my son.’
The guard escorted Wizard back to the main doors.
As he walked, Wizard tried to contain his excitement. He had the Artemis inscription burned into his brain—which was the next best thing to getting the Piece itself. Soon, he, Zoe and Fuzzy would be winging their way out of Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci International Airport and heading for home.
Flanked by the guards, he stifled the smile that was beginning to spread across his face.
At that very same moment, in a darkened room elsewhere in the Vatican, someone was watching Wizard on a small security monitor.
Francisco del Piero.
‘I knew you would come, Max, my old colleague,’ del Piero said to the image on the screen. ‘That’s why I did not remove the Piece from the altar. I knew it would bring you out into the open.’
Del Piero turned to the Vatican Security Chief next to him. ‘They’ll head for the airport. Follow them, but do not grab them yet. Monitor their radio transmissions. The old man will send a signal soon after he leaves St Peter’s to inform his team-mates that he has succeeded in his mission. Let him send his message. Then seize him and his accomplices at the airport and bring them to me.’
Minutes later, speeding through the streets of Rome in a rental car, heading for the airport, Wizard sent a short encrypted text-message to Doris in Kenya.
It said:
Mission accomplished.
On our way back now.
Wizard.
Shortly after, his car arrived at the airport and swung into the parking lot—
—just as the air all around it was pierced by sirens and police cars appeared from every side, swooping in on Wizard’s car, blocking it, surrounding it.
Wizard, Zoe and Fuzzy could do nothing.
VICTORIA STATION
KENYA
18 MARCH, 2006, 9:45 P.M.
2 DAYS BEFORE THE ARRIVAL OF TARTARUS
In the basement radio room at the farm in Kenya, Doris Epper spoke into her mike: ‘That’s great news, Huntsman. Wizard is on his way, too. He just text-messaged me a few hours ago. The mission in Rome was a success. He’ll be here in the morning. See you in a couple of hours.’
With a spring in her stride, she hurried up the steps to the kitchen. She was relieved that everyone was okay and that their missions had succeeded and she wanted to prepare a nice dinner for when they got back.
She stepped up into the kitchen . . . to find that someone was already there.
‘That’s wonderful news, Mrs Epper.’
Doris froze.
There before her, sitting casually at her kitchen table, was Marshall Judah. Standing behind him were twelve heavily camouflaged, heavily armed US special forces troops.
Judah’s head was bent, his eyes low, his voice laced with menace. ‘Take a seat, Doris, and let’s wait for them together.’
VICTORIA STATION
KENYA
18 MARCH, 2006, 11:45 P.M.
2 DAYS BEFORE THE ARRIVAL OF TARTARUS
West and his sub-team returned to Kenya.
On the way, they’d stopped in Spain to refuel, at which point Lily had had another breakthrough with the Callimachus Text. She was suddenly able