no one else could.
This is why Bailey asked for me.
“Before I agree to travel to Rome,” Gray said, “you seem to have some general sense of where this map leads. I want to know.”
Bailey’s eyes sparkled brighter. “Surely you’ve already figured that out, Commander Pierce. Otherwise, maybe it’s best if you stay home.”
Gray wondered if it was a mortal sin to punch a priest, but Bailey was right. He already had a good idea. “That ship was carrying a cargo beyond comprehension,” he said. “Something horrific, fueled by a volatile radioactive compound—”
Roe nodded. “We’ve discussed it. We believe it’s a form of Greek fi—”
Bailey lifted a hand. “Let’s not interrupt Commander Pierce’s assessment.”
Roe shook his head, clearly growing as irritated with the young upstart as Gray was, but the monsignor simply crossed his arms.
Gray continued: “The mechanical map must have been engineered to act as some sort of navigational tool. To lead to the source of the ship’s deadly cargo.”
Bailey’s smile widened. “Precisely. And as a way to lure you away from your parental responsibilities, I will tell you the name of that source.”
Gray let out an exasperated sigh, growing tired of this game of secrets. “What is it?”
“The map’s builders named the place Tartarus.”
Painter frowned. “Tartarus? As in the Greek version of Hell?”
Gray remembered the director’s description of what had been unleashed from that ship’s hold. The name was certainly apt.
Bailey nodded. “But keep in mind that Tartarus was not only the Greek’s abyss of torment and suffering. It was also the corner of Hades where the Titans were imprisoned. The monstrous gods who preceded the Olympians. Creatures of immense power, beings of fire and destruction.”
The priest let this description hang in the air.
Kat turned to Painter. “Whether metaphorical or not, this unknown site is clearly a cache of some unknown fuel source, not to mention diabolical weapons. If Father Bailey’s colleagues in the intelligenza know of this place, then whoever kidnapped Elena Cargill—who seems to know far more about this than anyone—must also be aware of this legend.”
Gray nodded. “They intend to find that place and plunder its resources.”
Painter turned to him. “We can’t let that happen.”
“Which is why we’d like Commander Pierce to join us in Rome,” Bailey said. “I suspect time is of the essence. Especially, as Captain Bryant has so wisely stated, our unknown enemy is already better informed than we are.”
Painter stared at Gray.
“Before I agree to go,” Gray said, “there’s someone I have to consult with first.”
And she’s not going to be happy.
12:33 P.M.
Takoma Park, Maryland
Seichan cursed as she fit the shield over her left breast. Should’ve bought a double pump. She shifted in the kitchen chair, her back supported by a pillow. She had fed Jack an hour ago and put him down for a noon nap in his crib, but she knew he could wake at any moment.
While Jack slept, she stared at a series of digital photos as they slowly faded from one to another to another in an electronic frame: Jack as a newborn with a hospital bonnet on his head, then a month later in a sailor onesie, another with a grin that filled his entire face, then in the arms of Gray, who wore a proud papa expression.
A warmth spread through her, and she switched sides.
Another image appeared: Gray in swim trunks, lifting a giggling Jack from a baby pool in the backyard. She stared at his muscular physique, the flash of his ice-blue eyes in the sunlight, the wet mop of his dark hair. She loved Jack dearly, achingly so, but she also recognized that parental responsibilities, not to mention sleep deprivation, had diminished the level of intimacy between her and Gray. But, of course, Jack’s addition had also added a lot to their relationship, too.
She knew all too well that life was evolution; romantic bonds changed over time. If they didn’t, stagnation could kill a relationship as surely as any infidelity.
As one image faded to the next, she remembered when she and Gray had first met. It had been in a biological research lab in Fort Detrick. She had shot him. She clearly remembered that moment, but it now felt like a different person had pulled that trigger. It felt like watching a movie versus a real event in her own life.
Back then, she had been an assassin with a terrorist organization. She had eventually betrayed them and helped bring the group down. Afterward, alone and abandoned, she found a refuge with Sigma, then a