don’t do a damn thing unless I tell you to. Understand?” Stikes’s face was a picture of thinly veiled anger as he returned to his seat.
“Jindal was working for us,” said Warden, addressing Eddie and Nina again. “His position in Interpol meant he was perfectly placed to watch for any information on statues like Takashi’s. After you found the first statue in Egypt, we were planning to have Takashi send the second one to you in the hope that you would use them to locate the third. Unfortunately, Pramesh and Vanita Khoil found out about it. Our computer security wasn’t as good as we’d thought, apparently. They arranged to have Takashi’s statue stolen in order to stop us.”
“I take it they weren’t on the Group’s wavelength,” said Nina.
“Hardly. We want to end global conflict; they were actively encouraging it to bring about their insane new world. But we were using Jindal to guide you down a particular path, so that you would find all the statues and bring them together. We had no idea what lengths he would go to in order to do that. It was … it was a mistake.” The amount of effort it took for Warden to force the words out suggested it was not an admission he made frequently, if at all.
Eddie was far from impressed. “You should have chosen your people better.” He stared pointedly at Stikes. “You still should.”
“Again, the only thing I can do is apologize. The last thing we wanted to do was alienate you. We need you, Dr. Wilde—and we’re willing to do whatever it takes to make things right.”
“What do you mean?” Nina asked.
“Exactly what it sounds like. What do you want? The opportunity to conduct your archaeological research without being hindered by the political considerations and budget limits of the IHA, perhaps? You could have your own foundation—funded by the Group, with absolutely no restrictions. Would that be an appealing proposition?”
“Nah, we’re not interested,” said Eddie. No response from his wife. He nudged her. “Are we, love?”
“I don’t know …,” she said. “You’d be willing to do that?”
Warden nodded. “We’d be willing to do whatever you like. You’re in a position occupied by very few people through the entire course of history, Dr. Wilde. You can choose the direction taken by the whole of humanity: into a bold new future, or carrying on toward ruin as things are now. The decision is yours.”
“Nina, you’re not seriously thinking about saying yes, are you?” Eddie demanded.
“I’m thinking that … I need to think about it,” she replied before turning back to Warden. “If I said yes, what would you need me to do?”
“Bring us the statues, so we can locate the meteorite,” said Warden. “After that, at some point we’ll need a blood sample from you, as I said, but that won’t be necessary until the earth energy collection stations are nearing completion. As for whatever you might want in return, we would see to it right away. After the meteorite is found, of course.”
“Of course,” Nina echoed quietly. Another short silence, then: “I need time to decide. You’ve given me a lot to think about.”
Warden nodded. “I understand.”
“There’s one thing you can do for me right away, though.”
“Which is?”
She pointed at Stikes. “Get rid of him. You should never have hired him in the first place.”
“I’ll see to it.”
“What?” snapped Stikes, standing sharply.
Warden waved him to silence. “Give me your number,” said Nina. “I’ll be in touch. And if we could get back to New York as soon as possible, I’d appreciate it.”
“I’ll have you flown there,” the Group’s chairman told her. “My driver will take you to the airport. But please, Dr. Wilde … don’t take too long to reach a decision.”
“You’ll know as soon as I’ve made it. Come on, Eddie. Let’s go.”
Eddie said nothing, silently fuming as they left the room. Once they were gone, Stikes rounded on Warden. “You’re not going to do what she wants, are you?”
“Why not?” he replied. “She’s vital to us, and if indulging her obsession with archaeology is the price of her cooperation, it’ll be well worth it.”
“I meant about firing me!”
“Relax, Stikes.” Warden took a seat. “You’re useful. For now.”
“Thank you,” Stikes replied caustically. “In that case, I have some useful advice: Don’t believe her. She won’t go along with it—and Chase definitely won’t, however much money you wave in front of them. I know them.”
“We’ll see.”
“I’m sure we will. So we should have a contingency plan in place.”