was still terrifying close up; she tried to imagine what it would have been like when Nantalas unwittingly released the full fury of the earth beneath Atlantis. It was almost too frightening to think about.
What made it more worrying was that she might be able to unleash a similar disaster – or be forced to do so. The sooner the meteorite was destroyed, and with it any chance of the Group’s using its destructive potential, the better.
The thought of the Group made her look back at the entrance, from which Eddie was finally re-emerging. Still coughing, she hurried back down to the much cooler centre of the bowl. ‘Are you done?’
He nodded. ‘I’ll show you on the way out. You got all your pictures?’
‘Yes, but I wouldn’t mind getting some close-ups of the temple. Do you need me to help with the explosives?’
‘I can manage. You go and get some more photos.’
‘It’s a shame they’ll probably be all that’s left of this place,’ she said glumly. ‘How long?’
‘I’ll need to find weak spots, so . . . fifteen minutes, maybe.’
‘Okay.’ Camera at the ready, Nina went to the temple as Eddie prepared the last three charges.
From the air, the volcano stood out from dozens of miles away, the column of steam from its peak standing tall in the sky like a marker flag.
An aircraft was heading straight for the beacon. Powering over the desert was an AgustaWestland AW101 helicopter, a civilian version of the military Merlin transport. The hold of this particular example had been fitted out with seats, all of which were occupied.
Alexander Stikes, seated directly behind the pilot, would have much preferred the twenty-four places to be filled with mercenaries under his command, but the surviving members of the Group had decided they wanted to witness the discovery of the meteorite first-hand. They had arrived in the Ethiopian capital the previous day and waited in Addis Ababa’s most luxurious hotel, such as it was, for the ongoing search to produce results. It was a harsh irony: one of the world’s poorest countries being visited incognito by a small group of people whose personal net worth outstripped that of the entire nation.
He turned to speak to Warden. ‘We’ll be there in a few minutes.’
‘Are you sure this is the place?’ the Group’s chairman demanded.
‘Not one hundred per cent, but considering the circumstances it seems highly likely. A volcano would fit nicely with the Atlantean priestess’s reference to the forge of Hephaestus. Benefits of a classical education,’ he added at Meerkrieger’s raised eyebrow. ‘And our aerial reconnaissance drone spotted a vehicle crossing the desert towards it some hours ago; it’s still there.’
‘Wilde and Chase?’ said Warden.
‘Who else?’ Sophia said from beside Stikes.
The former officer nodded. ‘Considering that there’s absolutely nothing in this part of the desert that would be of value to man or beast, they’re the only people I can think of who would have a reason for coming out here.’
‘But we don’t know they’re in the country,’ Brannigan said from behind Meerkrieger.
‘And we don’t know they’re not. Chase has proved very adept at getting around the world unnoticed.’
‘Good for him,’ said Larry loudly. Eddie’s father was seated towards the back of the cabin with the mercenaries, under guard. The man next to him had standing orders from Stikes if the prisoner made a nuisance of himself, and he carried them out by driving an elbow hard into Larry’s stomach. The older man curled up in pain, gasping for breath.
‘We know they left Switzerland,’ Stikes continued, dismissing the interruption, ‘and they didn’t return to the US, so it’s highly probable that they’re here. Wilde apparently has some sort of inbuilt direction finder, after all. And they have a very strong incentive to find the meteorite before we do.’
‘You’d better hope they haven’t,’ Warden said, with an undercurrent of threat.
Stikes concealed his look of derision until he had turned away to check the view ahead. The volcano was rapidly growing. His cold eyes scanned it, searching for anything standing out against the barren rock . . .
‘There,’ he said. ‘There they are!’ He pointed, indicating his find to the pilot, who turned the helicopter towards it.
Warden leaned forward to look. A small block of colour was visible on the mountainside: a vehicle. ‘Land as close to it as you can,’ he ordered, then addressed Stikes. ‘Will you be able to find them?’
‘Tracking is one of my specialities,’ the Englishman told him smugly.
The pilot brought the helicopter into a hover over