The Curse of Medusa

A look of grim determination crossed Brooke’s face. “Now I think we can all understand the importance of what’s happening today. This isn’t just about rescuing the President, or stopping these maniacs from killing millions of people. This is about the vital national security of the United Stated and some of our most highly classified secrets.”

“So what’s our next move?” Kim asked. “We still have no idea who’s behind this.”

Brooke sighed. “We have two problems — we need to know where these guys are operating out of — for that we wait to see where the Novak lead takes us. The other problem is we need to know just how this thing has the power to turn people to stone. That’s why you’re here, Alex. I know you can do that for me. Please remember this isn’t something we can throw out to just anyone. No one can ever know about what we’re talking of here, all right?”

Alex and Kim nodded, but Hawke wasn’t so sure.

“And one more thing, while we’re on this. You should all know that The Tomb of Eternity was quarantined by Eddie Kosinski’s office.”

“The Tomb of what?” Kim asked.

“On whose orders?” Hawke asked, ignoring Kim.

“An unknown official, and I can say no more than that… Now, we have to get back to these attacks.”

Outside the office, Hawke, Kim and Alex walked back to the main office, still buzzing with people on phones, trawling through computer records and CCTV footage.

“You know what I’m thinking?” Alex said.

Kim was still speechless.

Hawke looked at Alex. “If that’s the second highest classification, what the hell is the first?”

“Pretty much,” Alex replied, and turned to Hawke and Kim. “Listen, I need to grab a coffee — I’ll catch up with you in a second.”

It was true that she needed a coffee, but it was also true that she needed time to herself to think about whether or not she should make another call to Ryan Bale. As she made her way along the corridor, she decided she needed to make that call.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Vincent Reno cracked his knuckles and walked toward Agent Kevin Novak. Not for the first time today he’d found himself thinking about his ex-wife Monique and their twin sons Léo and Louis. He hadn’t seen his kids for weeks, but he worried about them all the time. The world was dangerous enough without scumbags like Kevin Novak adding a spark to the fuse. “Okay, mon ami, we need to talk.”

Novak struggled against the ropes binding him to the kitchen table and blinked in the harsh strip-light shining in his eyes. “I don’t know anything… I swear it.”

Vincent powered a fist into his face, splitting his lip open for the second time tonight. “Not good enough. We know more than you think, but we need you to help us with some of the details, or… this is going to be a long night, n’est-ce pas?”

“Jesus, Doyle, who the hell is this guy?”

Vincent leaned forward and rolled up his sleeve to reveal a large tattoo of a burning grenade. “Légion Étrangère, mon ami.” He gave a broad grin and nodded his head with pride. “You can call me Reaper.”

“Just tell us, Novak,” Doyle said. “Right now you’re going down for the rest of your life. If you help us out you could get some leniency.”

“Look, I meant what I said…”

Vincent coiled his fist back.

“No!” Novak turned his head away in a vain attempt to dodge the punch. “Please — wait… let me finish. I’m just the little guy, all right? I shouldn’t have helped them, I know it now, but they offered me a lot of money, plus they said they’d kill Karen if I didn’t go along with them.”

Vincent turned to Doyle. “Who is Karen?”

“His kid sister.”

“Ah, le chantage…”

Novak was now almost hyperventilating with fear. “I mean it, and now I’m in deep shit.”

“I’ll say you are,” Doyle said. “You’re part of a conspiracy to kidnap the President of the United States, Novak. They killed the Vice President and the Speaker.”

“I had no idea they were going to do that. All they asked me to do was get them some information about the President’s car, I swear it.”

Vincent’s eyes widened. “Ah — now we get somewhere, non?”

Doyle frowned. “Keep talking, Novak.”

“This is a big operation, Doyle — bigger than you can imagine. The guy behind all this is one evil bastard and I’m not kidding. He owns people all over the world — and I’m not just talking about drug-dealers and small time cons, I mean he owns politicians and bankers. And the people who work for him — he has some kind of weird hold over them because they are scared shitless of him.”

Vincent sighed. “Sounds like Monique…”

Doyle leaned over him. “Where can we find this son of a bitch?”

“I swear I don’t know, and maybe you don’t want to find him in case of where it leads…”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“I got the feeling that maybe he wasn’t at the top of the tree, if you catch my drift — like maybe he was following orders.”

Vincent pulled the PAMAS from his belt and disengaged the safety. He ripped one of the cushions from a kitchen chair and held it down on Novak’s chest.

“Woah!” Novak turned to Doyle for help. “What the fuck, man?”