‘I gather they weren’t happy when they found out Glas had been protecting you,’ said Nina, remembering their conversation with Travis Warden.
‘They were not,’ Sophia replied, sounding amused by the fact. ‘At first, they wanted me dead. Fortunately, Harald has always been something of an iconoclast, so he stood up to the rest of the Group. Then, and now. He split from them over a matter of conscience.’
‘Some conscience,’ Eddie said scathingly. ‘Seeing as he wants Nina dead.’
She gave them a saccharine smile. ‘Every cloud, as they say. But I’ll let him explain his reasons himself.’
They continued down another hallway along the upper deck, heading for the submarine’s bow. ‘Glas rescued you and talked the rest of the Group out of killing you,’ mused Nina. ‘So after all that he did for you . . . why did you shoot his guy in the back in Rome?’
The smile returned, this time knowingly conspiratorial. ‘Let’s just say that it would be best for everyone, myself included, if you kept that to yourself for now.’
‘Glas doesn’t know?’
‘Maybe we should turn you in,’ Eddie suggested.
‘Maybe I should remind you that I saved Nina’s life in Rome.
I could have let Harald’s man kill her – I could even have killed her myself. But I chose not to.’
‘Without wanting to sound ungrateful,’ said Nina, ‘why?’
‘There’s a lot more going on than you think. But here we are, so remember what I just said.’ A set of polished wooden double doors marked the end of the hallway. She raised a hand to open them.
‘Careful now,’ warned Eddie, pushing the gun into her back once more.
‘For God’s sake, Eddie,’ she complained. ‘He agreed to talk to you, and believe it or not, that’s what he’ll do. He’s very much a man of his word.’
‘You’ll forgive us if we don’t entirely trust him,’ said Nina. ‘Or you.’
Sophia knocked. ‘Harald? Your hostage has brought your guests.’
‘Come in,’ came Glas’s voice from the room beyond. Sophia opened the doors.
Eddie used her as a shield, quickly checking for potential threats in what was revealed as an observation lounge, large circular windows looking out into the ocean’s depths. But visitors to the room were more likely to be wowed by the wonders within than outside.
Rarity was the theme of the small but incredibly valuable collection, Nina immediately saw. One stand contained coins arranged on red velvet, among them a gold 1933 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle – one of the most sought-after and expensive pieces in the world, worth many millions more than its original twenty-dollar face value. Another stand held stamps, the Swedish Treskilling Yellow at its centre also priced in the millions. Further treasures were arranged around the room: bottles of vintage wine, a first folio of Shakespeare’s plays, a leaf of Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with annotations by the composer himself, and more.
Another, less obvious theme, she realised, was that everything was relatively small and easily transportable. Their owner was on the run; he had brought with him probably only a fraction of the rare items he possessed.
The man in question was waiting for them at the room’s centre. Their enemy. Harald Glas.
26
He was in his early fifties, with slightly unkempt greying hair, strong jaw blue with stubble. His tall, lean body had the build of a runner – but the Dane would not be racing again. He was confined to a wheelchair. Nina was startled; she’d had no idea that he was disabled.
‘I’m not armed, Mr Chase,’ he said as Eddie pointed the rifle at him. ‘And thanks to the Group’s assassins –’ his eyes flicked down at his immobile legs – ‘I am no longer a physical threat.’
The gun didn’t lower as the Englishman approached. ‘I’ll be the judge of that. Hands up. Nina, if Davros here tries anything, shoot him.’
Nina aimed the Glock as Eddie searched Glas, then the wheelchair. Satisfied that he had told the truth, Eddie finally lifted his finger from the ASM-DT’s trigger and rejoined Nina.
‘Thank you,’ said Glas. ‘Now, I imagine you have questions for me.’
‘Or we could just kill you,’ Eddie told him.
Glas was uncowed by the threat. ‘Then you will never find out what is truly going on – and the threat faced by the world.’ His gaze moved to Nina. ‘A threat that you are part of, even though you don’t realise it.’
‘Well, now’s your chance to enlighten me,’ said Nina, watching Sophia warily as she moved to stand beside Glas. ‘You’ve been trying