Spread around her were more than two hundred sculptures created by Gustav Vigeland, a Norwegian national treasure. Most of the sculptures involved nude stone figures frozen in various combinations and twisted poses. Presently the sculptures were covered with snow, as if wrapped in tattered white cloaks.
Ahead rose the towering central sculpture. It sat on the highest point of the park and was lit up for the night. It was named the Monolith. It always reminded Krista of something out of Dante’s Inferno, especially at night. Maybe that’s why she was drawn to it now.
The sculpture was a circular tower four stories high carved out of a single block of granite. Its entire surface was a writhing mass of human figures, tangled, twisted, entwined, a dark orgy in stone. It was supposed to represent the eternal cycle of mankind, but to her, it looked like a mass grave.
She stared up at it, knowing what was coming.
What we are about to unleash…
She shuddered inside her coat and clasped her fur-lined hood tighter to her throat. It was not remorse that kept her trembling, but the sheer enormity of what was unfolding. It was already under way, had been for over a decade, but in the next days, there would be no turning back. The world was about to change, and she had played a primary role in it all.
But she had not acted alone.
Her phone, still clutched in her pocket, vibrated. She took a deep breath and exhaled a stream of white mist. She had failed today. What would be her punishment? Her eyes scanned the dark parklands around her. Were they already closing in on her? Death did not frighten her. What terrified her was being taken out of the game now, at this last moment. In her haste and desire, she had acted rashly. She should have contacted her superiors before attempting to take down the Sigma operative on her own.
She lifted the phone and tucked it into her hood.
“Yes?” she answered.
Alone in the park, she did not have to worry about anyone eavesdropping. The satellite phone was also encrypted. She readied herself for whatever would come.
Still, she was not prepared for the voice on the line. All warmth drained out of her. She might as well have been naked in the cold park.
“He lives,” the voice said flatly. “You should have known better.”
With her breath trapped in her chest, she could not speak. She had only heard this voice once before in her life. It had been after her recruitment, after a brutal initiation, when she’d carried out an assassination, killing an entire family, including a newborn baby. The Venezuelan politician had been supporting an investigation into a French pharmaceutical company, an investigation that needed to be stopped. She had also taken a bullet through her leg from the man’s security team, but she still escaped without leaving a trace behind. Not even a drop of her own blood.
During her recovery, she had received a call, congratulating her.
From the man on the phone now.
It was said he was one of the Guild leaders, those who were only referred to as “Echelon.”
She finally found her voice. “Sir, I take full responsibility for the failure.”
“And I imagine you’ve learned from this mistake.” The tone remained flat. She could not tell if the speaker was angry or not.
“Yes, sir.”
“From here, leave the matter to us. Steps are being taken. But a new threat has arisen, more immediate than Sigma sniffing at our door. Something you’d best handle on the ground there.”
“Sir?”
“Someone knows there was a survivor of the Mali massacre. They are meeting with Senator Gorman tonight.”
Krista’s fingers tightened on her phone. How could that be? She’d been so careful. Her mind raced through the last few days. She’d kept herself well hidden. Anger warmed through her terror.
“That meeting must not happen,” the speaker warned and told her the details of the midnight rendezvous.
“And the senator?”
“Expendable. If word reaches him before you can shut this down, take him out. No evidence must be left behind.”
She knew it wasn’t necessary to acknowledge that.
“As to the operation in England,” the man continued, “all is in place there?”
“Yes, sir.”
“You know how important it is that we find the key to the Doomsday Book.”
She did. She stared up at the Monolith’s writhing tower of bodies. The key could either save them or damn them.
“Do you trust your contact over there?” he asked.
“Of course not. Trust is never necessary. Only power and control.”
For once, a hint of amusement tinged his words. “You were taught well.” The phone connection ended. But not before a last few cryptic words. “Echelon has its eyes on you.”
Krista remained standing before the Monolith. With the phone still at her ear, she shuddered again—with relief, with terror, but mostly with one certainty.
She must not fail.
14
October 12, 4:16 P.M.
Lake District, England
Gray eyed his transportation doubtfully.
His transportation stared back at him, equally unsure, stamping a hoof for emphasis.
“The Fell Pony,” Dr. Wallace Boyle said as he worked among the assembled horseflesh. “You’ll not find a heartier pony on God’s green earth. Perfect for mountain trekking. Sure-footed and strong as an ox.”
“You call these guys ponies?” Kowalski asked.
Gray understood his partner’s consternation. The dusty-black stallion being saddled for Gray had to stand over fourteen hands, almost five feet tall at the withers. It chuffed into the cold air and scraped a hoof into the half-frozen mud.
“Ack, be still already, Pip,” a ranch hand said as he gave the saddle cinch another tug.
The group had left Hawkshead by car an hour ago. Wallace had guided them to this horse farm deep in the mountains. Apparently the only way to reach the excavation site from here was either on foot or by horseback. Wallace had called ahead and arranged for their four-legged transportation.
“The Fell Pony has a long tradition in the region,” he continued as their mounts were tacked. “The wild Picts used them against the Romans. Viking farmers used them as plow horses. And the Normans who came later made pack animals out of them to haul lead and coal.”
Wallace rubbed the neck of his brown gelding and climbed up into his saddle. His terrier, Rufus, trotted through the assembled horses and lifted his leg on a fence post. The dog’s initial distrust of Seichan seemed to have settled into a wary truce. He gave her a wide berth as she slipped a toe through a stirrup and leaped smoothly atop a sturdy-looking bay mare.