“Asshole.” Ley crouched, retrieved her commpad, then walked over to the container holding their belongings and grabbed everything.

  “Kora?” Eli said.

  The teenager, still shaking, pointed at the hole in the wall. Jade and an unknown man walked towards them, kitted out in combat gear.

  “This way. Hurry,” Jade said.

  Seconds later, they were out of the building. Jade guided them around the back. Bullets pinged off the cladding as they ran. Jade and the man fired back, forcing their attackers to duck for cover behind some blue barrels. A rusty old clunker of a hoverplane flew over the roof. Now Eli saw that the cage was attached to some sort of magnet. The craft spun and released the cage. It flew through the air and crashed into the armed men, sending several flying. The transport then landed to block their retreat. Eli hesitated. Wasn’t that craft their ticket out?

  “Not that one!” Jade sprinted to the corner of the building and pivoted, bringing up her rifle. “That one.”

  The warehouse sat among a dozen others on a long wharf. There were no ships in dock, and the whole place appeared to have been abandoned. Hovering level with the wharf was a sleek black aircraft with sharp curved lines that reminded Eli of a manta ray, a sea creature that had long fascinated him. Once they were all on board, Jade said something to the unknown man, and he sprinted away. Jade then jumped in, slamming the door with a hiss.

  “On board,” Jade said.

  “Copy that. Buckle in, ladies and gents.” It was Vasquez.

  There were six seats, in rows of three, behind the pilots. Like before, Eli strapped Nox into a seat between himself and Ley. The sleek hoverplane hummed with power. Keeping low, it skimmed over the harbour water gathering speed.

  “Here we go,” Vasquez warned.

  The craft shot up vertically, forcing Eli’s stomach down, then levelled out. It was a much smoother ride than the clunky transport they had travelled in to reach Okinawa. The Earth seemed much farther below than before, and when Eli glanced up, stars were visible. It seemed he could reach out and touch them. He had dreamt so many times of seeing them in real life. They were awe-inspiring.

  “Where to?” Vasquez said, pushing controls on a large screen.

  Jade glanced over her shoulder. “UK?”

  Eli nodded. “London.”

  “Shouldn’t we do more research first?” Colter asked. “I mean, flying to this place we don’t even know about seems like a dumb idea.”

  “He’s got a point,” Ley said.

  “I have a contact I can speak to,” Jade said.

  “Let’s do that first.”

  “Will someone give me a destination before we have UCA missiles blowing us into oblivion, for fuck’s sake,” Vasquez said.

  Jade spun back around and jabbed her finger at the screen. “Climb.”

  The hoverplane glided effortlessly upwards.

  “I thought we decided this earlier,” Eli said. “London is where Saint Paul’s is.”

  “I’m just floating the idea. Shouldn’t we be more cautious?” Colter said.

  “And let Zapata beat us to it? You know that he’s going to have people working on this.”

  “Maybe, but we don’t know this place.”

  “It’s okay. I’ve been there before, on assignment,” Jade said. “Why don’t we vote?”

  “Fine. Still a bad idea,” Colter said.

  “Raise your hand if you agree that we should go to London now.” Jade put her hand up, as did Kora and Eli. Colter folded his arms defiantly.

  Shrugging, Ley said, “Wherever we go, we’re going to be in danger. Might as well try.” She raised her hand too.

  “London it is. Home of dreary weather and even worse tea.” Vasquez leaned forwards and entered the city name into the flight computer. Moments later, the hoverplane banked as it adjusted course.

  “Had me worried there.” Jade unclipped her harness and hugged Colter before acknowledging Eli, Ley and Kora with a smile. “When I got back to the onsen and saw the mess, I thought the worst. No signal on your commpads until someone switched it on. Then I got a lock on your location.”

  “Took us by surprise, but we had an escape plan in the works,” Ley said.

  “Who were those guys?” Colter asked, seemingly forgetting he’d been arguing seconds earlier. Eli had always liked that about his friend: he had the ability to push aside disagreements and move on.

  “Wey men. To be more specific, hired goons. The UCA has a lot of military bases on Okinawa with too much downtime. Many soldiers moonlight for extra credits and out of sheer boredom. Never hard to find people to do your dirty work.”

  “So, not Zapata?” Eli was confused. When the guard mentioned someone wanting to talk to them, he had assumed it was the former commander without a doubt.

  “Possible, but TSS data showed a high-speed transport leaving Guam in a shipping convoy heading to Europe. Only reason we noticed was because that’s unusual. Anyone with a craft capable of supersonic speed travels up here, in the exosphere. Why take a plodding route when you can be in Europe in a couple of hours, unless you were trying to hide your presence? The analysts on this operation think it was Zapata, but we can’t be certain.”

  “Then who?” Colter asked.

  “I have suspicions. My money is on someone high up in the corporation — to have the authority and credits to arrange the operation. Anyway. You seem sure about London?” Jade swivelled her chair so that she faced them.

  Eli filled her in on what they had learned from their research. She nodded and asked a few questions, but otherwise remained quiet until he had finished.

  “That was a good idea to use TIVeR, Kora.”

  “Well, yeah. I know. Thanks. Seemed like a better idea than going to danger.”

  “And you guys were right in assuming the scan of Saint Paul’s happened after it was moved to York.”

  “Wait. The cathedral is in York, not Derby?” Ley queried.

  “Yes. Why? Does that change things?”

  “Nah. Just figured they’d move it to the capital.”

  “Ah. I see the confusion. York is the capital of the United Kingdom. Derby was only temporary.”

  “I’d like to know what’s waiting for us in London,” Eli said.

  “That I can help you with.”

  The screens on their seats came to life and Jade brought up overhead camera views. “We call these satellite images. The TSS has hundreds of satellites orbiting Earth, and I can call up near-real-time shots.” She enlarged the image until Eli could see the city more clearly.

  A wide river snaked through a dense urban area. A lot of it was covered in vegetation, and many of the buildings had crumbled into the streets. Some areas were under water, but not as many as he’d imagined.

  “Doesn’t look too bad.”

  “No. UK government officials started a massive drainage project a few years back, in association with the Dutch. Huge tracts of land that were flooded have now been drained. They have a new system that controls water levels. The North Pole is recovering too. The area of ice in the summer grows larger every year.”

  “So, the planet is recovering?” Ley said.

  “In most places, yes. Africa and parts of America are still a long way off.”

  The image enlarged again. Jade highlighted the space where the cathedral once stood. A massive concrete slab was the only indication something was missing. Most of the surrounding structures were absent too, or in ruins.

  “I still can’t see how two cities lie underneath. It must be metaphorical,” Eli said.

  “I was thinking about that earlier,” Jade said. “The cathedral lies near the border of two cities. London, and I think Hackney.”

  “London is the city, though?” Colter said.

  “I know. Confusing. London is the name for the original area. As villages surrounding it grew, and London grew, they became all part of greater London, but each area retained its name and was governed by its own council.”

  “Sounds like a bureaucratic nightmare,” Eli said.

  “I can only imagine it was bad, but yeah. I’ve heard a story or two.”

  “So, it’s to do with the border meeting under the church?” Ley said. “Two cities. Heed them. Did they have trouble in the past and she’s warning us?”

  “Maybe. It’s hard finding any old maps. Why I was so long was because I was contacting an old friend in MI9. UK intelligence. He’s digging up some and sending them to me. What I did find was a lot of data about hidden chambers built under the crypt, to hide artefacts during the wars. It’s entirely plausible that Fisher hid something in there or buried herself.”

  “S’pose we’ll find out. Hell of a way to go,” Eli said. “Anything we need to know on the ground?”

  “Yes. My contact in MI9 warned me that, to protect their city, the government released an assortment of modified beasts to patrol. Most are aquatic, so if we stay out of the water, we should be fine.”

  “Beasts like what?”

  “Hounds. Insects.”

  “Great. And human trouble?”

  “All cleared. We’re going in as tunnel engineers to test the integrity of the metro train system. Lucky for us, the UK government is keen to move back to London as soon as possible. There are a lot of people in the city working and such. If we keep our heads down, go in and out, no problem.”

  “Then what?” Ley said. “If Fisher is down there, we destroy her remains, right?”

  “That’s the plan.”

  “Good,” Colter said. “Now, how about a beer?”

  Eli rubbed his temples with his thumbs. While he was relieved to have escaped the clutches of whoever had wanted to talk to them, his fear remained. Nox, sensing his trepidation, rested his head on Eli’s thigh. Eli absentmindedly scratched the area behind the dog’s ears. The fear he felt was that they were not being cautious enough. Zapata, in his opinion, was working with someone. Jade had told him in the labyrinth that many sought Dr Stacy Fisher because whomever had the knowledge held the key. And those same people would stop at nothing to get their hands on it.

  Were they leading someone to the prize unwittingly? He didn’t like how they had been found so easily at the onsen. Something was off.

  CHAPTER 28

  York.

  United Kingdom.

  Zapata eyeballed the clean-cut man wearing a tweed suit, much like the man’s ancestors had worn for hundreds of years, and whose descendants probably would for centuries more.

  “Duke Howard. Good to see you.” Zapata offered his hand, but Howard ignored it.

  “Still haven’t bothered to learn how to address my class, I see, Karl.”

  “And you still won’t shake my hand?”

  “Your staff can follow. I have a car for them.” Howard stared at Zapata with the stiff upper lip the English were famous for.

  “Your Grace, Duke of Norfolk.”

  “Close enough.” Howard shook Zapata’s hand and gave him a curt nod.

  “I thought you Brits would have done away with all that pomp and circumstance nonsense.”

  “Tradition is an honour and a privilege. We remember our ancestors by doing such.” Howard walked Zapata to the waiting Bentley as his aide opened the door then closed it after the pair were inside and seated. Once the vehicle was moving, Howard closed the privacy screen and flicked a switch so that the windows darkened. “Rather odd request you sent me, old chap. Perplexing to say the least.”

  “What can I say? Looking at religious artefacts is a new hobby.”

  “Indeed. You have rather inconvenienced me. Just this morning, His Royal Highness asked me to oversee the reclamation of the fens. If I get that right, I can then move on to Norfolk. After two hundred years, my family can take their rightful place on the land we have owned since the sixteenth century.”

  “Same thing I want. Well, that and Saint Paul’s, for twenty-four hours.”

  “It is done. I owe you my life for what happened in Yemen, but we’re all square after this. Do I make myself clear?”

  “No problem, Your Grace.”

  The Bentley left the private airport and headed north on the A19. The road had been improved dramatically since Zapata had last visited the British capital. Gone was the cracked and potholed surface, replaced with a smooth, uniform blacktop. The British economy had boomed in recent years. Decades of new mining and gas exploration had paid off. Manchester and Liverpool had become tech hubs, exporting their expertise to the world. The United Kingdom was regaining the superpower status they once had, and CEO Young could provide them with an opportunity to increase that power.

  The York skyline soared above the rolling green hills. Dotted with modern, sleek skyscrapers mixed with centuries-old buildings, the city was far enough north to escape the hot, dry winds that blew up from Africa. The north of England, protected by geography, had always been fertile land and perfect for farming.

  The Bentley turned right onto the A64 and, after two hundred metres, turned left into Historic England. Zapata had always thought the small city was garish and in bad taste. Contained within the thirty-square-kilometre park were the iconic buildings of not only London, but the whole of England. Buckingham Palace had been lovingly recreated at the end of a new Mall. The British Museum, Albert Hall, Brighton Palace and Westminster Abbey lined the wide avenue. At the far end was Saint Paul’s Cathedral.

  The Duke was waved through security with barely any scrutiny, and the small convoy halted outside the gleaming white church. On the flight over, Zapata had briefed Adler and her team, instructing them to scan every millimetre of the building using the latest drone technology.

  Zapata wound down the window, and Adler approached from the vehicle behind. “We’re ready, sir.”

  “Very good. Don’t disappoint me.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Howard signalled for his driver to move on, and they drove another five minutes before pulling into a lush estate, the house of which was set back off the road, on a small hill. Manicured gardens complete with topiary hedges welcomed visitors.

  “Capability Brown designed this in 1755. Apart from a few minor changes, it’s the same,” Howard said. “Older than your country, old chap.”

  “It’s impressive. Must cost a fortune in upkeep.”

  “In the past, yes. Gnats work for a lot less.”

  Looking around, Zapata couldn’t see the small village he’d seen nestled on the back side of the hill the last time he was at the Duke’s residence.

  “We moved it,” Howard explained. “It’s on the far side of the forest now. The Duchess grew tiresome of the noise and stench.”

  “Why we keep ours underground.”

  “Quite.”

  After Zapata had been shown to Howard’s study and refreshments had been delivered, the door was locked, and the two old friends embraced.

  “It’s been too long,” Zapata said.

  “Twenty years. Thought I’d never see you again. Damn shame what happened to you, Karl. Damn shame. You know I couldn’t petition on your behalf, don’t you?”

  “Yes. I understood that. But now I do need your help.”

  “Anything.”

  “Tell me. Are you still in favour with the King?”

  “As much as anyone can be these days. He is showing signs of the sickness.”

  Zapata almost burst out laughing. Sometimes fate fell right into one’s lap. He had needed to come to Britain anyway to strengthen his alliance with the peerage, and Fisher’s riddle had pointed to the same place. Plus, he needed an edge to get the United Kingdom on his side, and Howard had just provided one for him.

  “What if I told you I can provide a cure?”

  “Then I would bend the knee and swear fealty to you. Our scientists have sought one for over thirty years.”

  “As has everyone.”

  “I thought the Chinese were close?”

  “They can slow the wasting down considerably, but not stop it.”

  “And they don’t share? Typical.”

  “During my purgatory as commander of Lincoln, I spent years wondering if it was our fault. Maybe the religious people were right and there is an omnipotent God. We, the Thule, played with the fabric of the universe and are being punished for it. The wasting disease is God’s way of righting the balance.”

  Howard smiled briefly and poured out two tumblers of Glenlivet whisky. He added ice to his, but not Zapata’s. “More and more people are flocking back to the church in this country. Like the old times. There are those who say it is needed. I…”

  “You have?”

  “A few times, yes. Lisel likes it, and the teachings are true to a certain degree. Don’t worry, old chap. I’m still dedicated to our objective. We Brits have a saying. King. Country. Family. I live by it.”

  Howard topped up their drinks. “Does this cure have something to do with your interest in Saint Paul’s?”

  “It’s another piece to the puzzle. Best you don’t know. Plausible deniability.”

  “All right, then. I can speak to the King on your behalf.”

  “That is all I ask.”

  “You’re a student of history, are you not?”

  “Indeed.”

  “Then I’m sure you know the tale of Eos and Tithonus.” Howard sipped his whisky.

  “I know they’re Greek. Never could read through those. It was always Zeus lying with some woman or another.”

  “True. But there are those who think they were more than just tales. That they were a warning. This wasting disease, for one. Our science prolonged life, but still we weren’t happy. We wanted immortality. It became the new holy grail. It fractured my country’s government in their pursuit of it. My father didn’t think we should pursue it, and he often quoted the story of Eos and Tithonus. Eos took Tithonus from the royal house of Troy to be her lover. She was so in love with him, she begged Zeus to make him immortal, but forgot to ask Zeus to grant him eternal youth. Tithonus aged and eventually became bedridden. Old and frail, he no longer had the strength to lift his limbs. Over time, he became a cicada, eternally living, but begging for death to overcome him.”

  “I can see why it sounds like a warning.” Zapata nodded.