The Sacred Vault_ A Novel - Andy McDermott [108]
‘You want to go climbing the Himalayas?’ Eddie asked. ‘In December? It’ll be a bit bloody nippy.’
‘Pramesh seemed completely sincere about needing these ancient texts, the Shiva-Vedas. If we can find the Vault of Shiva and get the Vedas first, that’ll be a big spanner in his works - not to mention an archaeological find to match anything we’ve seen so far.’
Mac tapped his foot on the floor, the prosthetic leg making a dull creak of metal and plastic. ‘I’m afraid you’ll have to count me out, then. Much as I love freezing my arse off on mountainsides, I’m not really up to the task any more. I have a slight deficiency in the limb department.’
Nina smiled at him. ‘Mac, you’ve already done way more than I can ever thank you for.’
‘I might still be able to do something useful, though. Peter Alderley is coming to India as part of the British delegation for the G20 summit. The Khoils might be pulling every string they can in the Indian government, but I highly doubt they’ll have any influence at MI6. I’ll talk to him and see if he can find out anything.’
‘Oh, great,’ Eddie groaned. ‘My favourite person.’
‘We should meet him,’ Nina said, teasing. ‘You can apologise in person for dropping his invitation down a drain.’
‘Tchah!’
Mac smiled. ‘I’m sure Peter will enjoy that. But whatever Eddie may think of him, he takes his work very seriously - and threats to global security are very much part of MI6’s remit. Especially with twenty world leaders in the same place at the same time.’
‘Do you think that’s their plan?’ said Nina. ‘Attack the G20? Then manipulate the media to place the blame on different countries?’
‘It’d be a pretty good way to kick off a war,’ Eddie said.
‘But how would they do it?’ asked Kit. ‘You’ve seen the security - entire sections of the city are closed off. Nobody would be able to get close enough.’
Nina gave him a grim look. ‘If that’s what the Khoils are planning, they’ll find a way. No, scratch that - they’ll already have found a way. They’ve been working on it for months, ever since they started stealing the cultural treasures. All they need are the Shiva-Vedas, and they’ll have all their pieces in place. So Eddie’s right - we have to get to the Vault of Shiva first.’
‘Just the two of us, then?’ said Eddie. ‘Since I know I’ve got absolutely no chance of talking you out of this.’
‘Just the three of us,’ Kit said, to everyone’s surprise. ‘If you’re going, I’m going with you.’
‘You’ve done a lot for us too, Kit,’ said Nina. ‘You don’t have to do anything else.’
‘Oh, but I do. First, does either of you speak Hindi?’ Nina and Eddie shook their heads. ‘You might not get very far without someone who can. Second, until Eddie is fully cleared, I will probably have to take personal responsibility for his actions - and I will have a hard time doing that if he is three hundred kilometres away up a mountain!’
‘Will your bosses be okay with that?’ Nina asked. ‘I doubt if searching for the lost vaults of gods is in your job description. ’
‘But my job is about more than tracking down lost art,’ Kit reminded her. ‘It also covers the theft of valuable antiquities. And the writings of Lord Shiva himself must surely qualify.’
Mac light-heartedly raised a finger. ‘They haven’t technically been stolen yet.’
Kit laughed. ‘Then consider it crime prevention! But you will need my help, and I am happy to give it.’
‘Have you got any climbing experience?’ Eddie asked.
He nodded. ‘And I can get the clothing and equipment we will need.’
‘I think we have a team, then,’ said Nina. ‘Kit, thank you.’
He smiled, then picked up his phone. ‘I have a long call to make to Lyon.’ He entered a number, then went into the next room to hold the conversation in private.
Eddie looked at the image of Mount Kedarnath on the laptop. ‘You really think it’s there?’
‘Yes, I do - and we could be the first people in thousands of years to find it. But we have to get there before the Khoils.’
Mac leaned forward in his chair. ‘It won’t be easy, Nina. The