The Sacred Vault_ A Novel - Andy McDermott [86]
The entire exchange took under half a second, before Zec could recover from the collision. When Matt first suggested the idea, Eddie was extremely doubtful that it could work, but after dozens of practice runs they had made successful switches two times out of three.
Mac stood. ‘Thank God. What happened? Where’s Nina?’
‘She wasn’t there, just like I thought. But she’s safe, more or less . . . for now. Khoil agreed to another exchange. I’m going to India to make the swap.’
‘Do you really think he’ll play fair?’ Macy asked, concerned.
‘Not even for a second. Which is why I’m not going to either. But at least this time I’ll have more control over the situation.’
Mac raised an eyebrow. ‘Interesting how you think making the exchange on Khoil’s own turf counts as having more control.’
‘Well, that’s why I was hoping you’d give me some backup.’
‘If you need any more help from me, mate,’ offered Matt, ‘just ask.’
‘The same goes for us,’ said Karima. Rad nodded in agreement. Lola, Macy and Grant also piped up with offers of support.
Eddie shook his head. ‘Zec saw you. He’s not in Khoil’s good books right now, but that doesn’t mean he won’t have told him who was involved. If Khoil decides to keep him on and he recognised you, we’d be screwed.’
‘He might still recognise Mr McCrimmon from the hotel,’ Amy pointed out.
‘He only saw him for a moment, so we’ll have to chance it. But everyone else, he knows. So it’s just me and Mac.’
‘Thanks for that, Eddie,’ Mac said with a wry smile.
Objections rose from all quarters, but Eddie cut them off. ‘You’ve all been absolutely bloody fantastic,’ he said. ‘If I ever go in for a life of crime, I want you lot to be founder members of Eddie’s Eleven.’
‘I’m not hearing this,’ said Amy, pretending to put her fingers in her ears.
Eddie smiled, then became serious. ‘But like Mac said, we’re going to be on Khoil’s home turf. It’ll be a lot more dangerous. And I can’t ask you to take any more chances for me - hell, I won’t let you. Me and Mac are professionals, we’ve trained for this stuff. You haven’t. Sorry, but that’s the way it is.’
Disappointment filled the room. ‘I just hope you’re right, man,’ said Grant. ‘But good luck anyway. I want you and Nina at the premiere of my next movie!’
‘Who’ll be your date?’ Eddie asked mischievously, looking at Macy.
Grant grimaced. ‘Yeah, I’ve . . . kinda got to talk to Jessica. I didn’t have a chance to tell her beforehand. Don’t want her to hear about all this first on TMZ, huh?’
‘Too late for that,’ said Macy. ‘I’ve already had five calls from friends wanting to know if I’m really dating you. Word gets round fast these days!’ She eyed him hopefully. ‘You know, since it’s already out in the open, maybe we could try something for real?’ Grant looked like an animal trapped in headlights.
‘Matt, you’ve got a shower, right?’ said Eddie. ‘I think Macy needs a cold one.’ That got a laugh from everybody except Macy. ‘All of you, thanks so much for everything. I really appreciate it - and I know Nina will too once she stops being mad at me for stealing her bloody book.’ He looked at Mac. ‘Is it safe?’ Mac nodded. ‘Good. We’ll have to get it to India - Lola, I’ll need one last little thing off you, some UN paperwork.’
‘Whatever you want,’ she said.
‘Great. But we’ll have to get going - we’ve got a lot more planning to do, and not much time to do it.’ He frowned. ‘And I’ve just realised - if Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom isn’t a reliable source of information, then I know sod-all about India . . .’
16
India
‘So,’ said Mac, leaning against Eddie’s seat, ‘how much have you learned about India?’
Eddie held up the guide book he had bought at JFK before their flight to Delhi departed. ‘Well, I found out that Delhi and New Delhi are the same place, that Bangalore’s called “the Silicon Valley of India” even though it’s not in a valley, and that if I ever want to look at a bunch of temples, I can stick a pin anywhere on a map and find some. Apart from that, though . . . nowt really helpful. I’ve got no idea where would be a