his end of constructing a devastating weapon powered by the planet itself. She felt a twinge of phantom pain from her right leg, where he had shot her to force her to do exactly what Takashi had just manipulated her into—channeling earth energy. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “How do you know about him?”
“We have access to a great deal of information, from all over the world. We do not represent any one nation—we are above politics, you might say. Our goal is simple—peace, stability, an end to conflict. And with your help, we can achieve this goal.”
“Well, that all sounds very laudable. Unfortunately, Mitchell said pretty much the same thing.”
“All I can do for now is ask you to trust us, Dr. Wilde. We will prove our good intentions in time. But for now, as I have answered your question, I ask you to answer mine. When you brought the statues together, you had an … experience. I would very much like to know what you felt.”
Nina was reluctant to respond. She was now convinced that she was part of some larger game, but had no idea which side—if any—she should run with. Still, it was clear that Takashi knew more than she did about the statues, and if she gave him some new information, perhaps he would reciprocate. “It’s hard to explain,” she began. “I felt … I don’t know, connected.”
“To what?”
“To everything. To life, I guess.” She struggled to recall the sensation, but much of it had already faded, like a half-remembered dream. “And there was something else, a feeling like, like …” The words refused to form.
Takashi offered them, however. “Something calling to you?”
“Yes, exactly!” She regarded him in surprise. “How did you know?”
“As I told you, we have access to much information.”
“Someone else already knew about this? Who?”
“A person from a long time ago. But,” he went on, before she could ask any follow-up questions, “there is something you might not have seen. When you brought the statues together, their glow changed. Before, they pointed to each other, but for just a second the light moved to …”
He indicated a direction, then gave an order in Japanese to Kojima, who took out his phone and brought up an app—a compass, Nina saw. “About two hundred and sixty degrees west,” the young man reported.
Takashi nodded. “Is that from where you felt this call?”
“Yes … at least, I think.” Nina rubbed her forehead. “I’m not sure. The whole thing happened so quickly, and now it’s fading away.”
“There is a way to experience it again.” Takashi held up the figure in his hands almost reverently. “Dr. Wilde, would you be willing to place the three statues back together?”
She hesitated. Nothing about her extraordinary experience had felt remotely harmful—if anything, quite the opposite—and her innate scientific curiosity was now crying out to learn more. On the other hand, for all Takashi’s fine words, he still had to provide any proof that he intended to back them up with deeds. His true goal might be identical to Mitchell’s.
But … she had to know. The same part of her psyche that had driven her to find Atlantis and all her other discoveries was now fully in control and demanding answers. Even though she had no idea where this path might lead, she knew she had to follow it.
Whatever the cost.
“All right,” she said at last. “I’ll do it. Just make sure you’re ready to catch me and the statues this time, huh?”
“We will be very careful,” said Takashi with a small smile. “Are you ready?”
Nina took a breath to settle herself. “No time like the present.”
Takashi held out the third statue to her. She linked the other two together in one hand, then reached for it—
A loud crash came from the adjoining room, the clang and clatter of metal followed by the thump of something heavy landing on the thickly carpeted floor. Nina, Takashi, and Kojima whirled, the statues momentarily forgotten. A figure stepped into the vault.
“Ay up,” said the new arrival.
“Eddie?” Nina gasped, if anything more shocked than she had been by her mind trip. “What are— How did— Huh?” was all she could manage to say.
Kojima’s hand darted into his jacket, but Eddie snapped up the Makarov. “Don’t do anything stupid, mate. Just keep still. You an’ all,” he added, flicking the gun toward Takashi. “And you, Nina.”
His harsh tone sent a chill through her. “Eddie, what are you doing?”
“What’re you doing?” he shot back. “I spend three months