He spun, aiming his wild eyes at Pooh Bear.
"Ah, a good Muslim. You are Sheik Anzar Abbas"s son, are you not? The great Captain Rashid Abbas, commander of the elite UAE First Commando Regiment..."
"I fear I am not," Pooh Bear replied. "Rashid Abbas is my brother. I am Zahir Zahir Abbas, a humble sergeant and the Sheik"s second son." Abbas, a humble sergeant and the Sheik"s second son."
"The Sheik is a n.o.ble servant of Allah," Zaeed bowed respectfully. "I honour you as his kin."
Finally, Zaeed rounded on West, who sat with Horus on his shoulder.
"And you. John West Jr. Captain Captain John West Jr of the Australian SAS. The Huntsman. A name that floats around the Middle East like a wraith. Your feats have become the stuff of legend: your escape from Basra angered Hussein for years, you know. Till the day he was captured, he wanted that plane back. But then you vanished for a very long time. Disappeared off the face of the Earth. Most unusual-" John West Jr of the Australian SAS. The Huntsman. A name that floats around the Middle East like a wraith. Your feats have become the stuff of legend: your escape from Basra angered Hussein for years, you know. Till the day he was captured, he wanted that plane back. But then you vanished for a very long time. Disappeared off the face of the Earth. Most unusual-"
"Enough," West said. "The Wonders: Zeus and Artemis. Where are they?"
"Oh, yes, I am sorry. The Wonders. And Tartarus approaches, too. Mmmm. Forgive me, Captain West, but I haven"t yet grasped the basis of your belief that I will even want want to help you in this cause." to help you in this cause."
"The United States of America already has three pieces of the Capstone," West said simply. "They are well-equipped and well-informed, and well on their way to securing the entire Capstone. How"s that?"
"Good enough," Zaeed said. "Who leads the US force? Marshall Judah?"
"Yes."
"A formidable foe. Clever and cunning. And murderous. Although did you know he has a curious weakness?"
"What?"
"A fear of heights. But I digress. Brief me on your progress so far. You are using the Callimachus Text, I presume. Which means you found the Colossus first? Was it the rightmost pendant?"
"Yes ...it was," West said, surprised.
"Mmmm. And then came the Pieces from the Pharos and the Mausoleum, no?"
"How did you know they"d be found in that order?"
Zaeed sighed dramatically. "This is elementary. The Callimachus Text is written in the Word of Thoth-a most ancient and complicated language. The language itself contains within it seven levels of increasing complexity, dialects, if you will. Your young reader here"-he indicated Lily-"can only read one entry at a time, can"t she? This is because each entry in the Callimachus Text is written in an increasingly difficult dialect of the Word of Thoth. The Colossus entry is written in "Thoth I", the easiest dialect of the Word of Thoth. The Pharos Piece is in "Thoth II", slightly harder. The Oracle will ultimately be able to read all seven dialects, but not instantly."
"You can read the Word of Thoth?" Wizard asked, incredulous.
"I can decipher its first four dialects, yes."
"But how?"
"I taught myself," Zaeed said. "With discipline and patience. Oh, I forget, in the decadent West, discipline discipline and and patience patience are no longer talents that warrant respect." are no longer talents that warrant respect."
"How did you know the Mausoleum Piece would be entombed with the Pharos Piece?" Zoe asked.
"I have spent the last 30 years acquiring every scroll, carving and doc.u.ment relating to the Benben Benben that I could find. Some are famous, like the Callimachus Text, of which I possess a 9th-century copy, others less so-written by humble men who merely wanted to record the marvellous deeds they had done, like constructing great roofs over entire ocean inlets, or carrying marble pillars into the hearts of dormant volcanoes. My collection is vast." that I could find. Some are famous, like the Callimachus Text, of which I possess a 9th-century copy, others less so-written by humble men who merely wanted to record the marvellous deeds they had done, like constructing great roofs over entire ocean inlets, or carrying marble pillars into the hearts of dormant volcanoes. My collection is vast."
"The Callimachus Text is unhelpful on the Zeus and Artemis Pieces," West said. "Zeus is lost. And we believe Artemis is somewhere in St Peter"s Basilica, but we don"t know exactly where. Do you know where they are?"
Zaeed"s eyes narrowed. "The pa.s.sage of time and many wars have scattered these two Pieces, but yes, I believe I do know their resting places."
Pooh Bear leaned forward. "If you know so much, why have you yourself not gone in search of these Pieces before?"
"I would have if only I had been able, my Muslim friend," Zaeed said smoothly. "But I fear I was not as nimble then as I am now." As he said this, Zaeed rolled up his right pants-leg, to reveal hideous scarring and fire-melted skin on his lower leg.
"A Soviet fragmentation grenade in Afghanistan in 1987. For many years, I was unable to even walk on it. And a man with limited movement is useless in trap-laden quarries and inlets. While I retrained my withered muscles throughout the"90s, building them up again, I researched all I could about the Capstone. I was actually grooming a team of mujahideen in Afghanistan at the time of the attacks on New York and Washington DC to hunt for the Pieces. But then the September 11 attacks happened and Afghanistan was plunged into chaos. And I was captured by the Americans. But now my leg is strong."
"The Zeus and Artemis Pieces," West repeated. "Where are they?"
Zaeed grinned a sly smile. "Interestingly, these two Pieces that defy your search are neither hidden nor concealed. Both exist in plain sight-if only one knows where to look. The Artemis Piece, yes, it is indeed in St Peter"s in Rome, in no less than the most holy place the most holy place of the Cult of Amun-Ra. As for the Zeus Piece..." of the Cult of Amun-Ra. As for the Zeus Piece..."
Zaeed leaned back in his chair, recited the appropriate verse from memory: "No thunderbolts did he wield, no wrath did he bear, No victory did he achieve.
Indeed, it was only the Victory in his right hand that made him great, Oh, winged woman, whither didst thou fly?"
Zaeed looked at West. "It was only the Victory in his right hand the Victory in his right hand that made him great." that made him great."
West followed his line of reasoning. "The Statue of Zeus at Olympia was said to hold in his right hand a smaller statue of "Winged Victory": the Greek G.o.ddess Nike, a woman with wings coming out of her back, like an angel or the figurehead on the prow of a ship. And since the figure of Zeus was so immense, its statue of Winged Victory was said to be life-sized."
Zaeed said, "Correct. And if it was Victory who made him great, we must look not for Zeus Zeus"s Victory. Thus the verse asks: whither did she fly?
"Now, as I"m sure you know, many life-sized statues of Winged Victory have been found around the ancient Greek world. But after a comprehensive study of the works of Pheidias, the sculptor of the statue of Zeus, I have found only one statue of Victory that possesses the features of his superior level of artistry: fine lines, perfect form, and the rare ability to reproduce the appearance of wet wet garments in marble. garments in marble.
"The specimen I have found is the greatest surviving example of Greek sculpture in the world today, yet ironically, Western scholars still a.s.sign its construction to an unknown artist. It was found in 1863 by a French archaeologist, Charles Champoiseau-"
"Oh, no way..." Wizard gasped in understanding. "It"s not ..."
Zaeed nodded. "The very same. Champoiseau found it on the Greek island of Samothrace, and thus the statue now bears that island"s name: the Winged Victory of Samothrace.
"It was taken back to France, where its genius was quickly appreciated, whence it was taken to the Louvre. There it has sat to this very day in pride of place on a great landing at the top of the Daru Staircase, underneath a high domed ceiling in the Denon Wing of the Louvre in Paris."
The Halicarna.s.sus Halicarna.s.sus sped towards Europe. sped towards Europe.
It was decided that the team would split into two.
West would lead one sub-team to Paris to go after the Zeus Piece, while Wizard would lead a smaller team to Rome, to chase the Artemis Piece. As for Zaeed, he would stay with Sky Monster on the Halicarna.s.sus, Halicarna.s.sus, bound and secured. bound and secured.
Everyone scattered around the plane, some to rest, others to research, others to just prepare for the missions ahead.
It happened that Pooh Bear found himself preparing his guns near Mustapha Zaeed, still handcuffed to his chair.
"h.e.l.lo, my brother," Zaeed whispered. "May Allah bless and keep you."
"And you," Pooh Bear replied, more out of religious habit than because he meant it.
"Your father, the sheik, is a great man," Zaeed said. "And a fine Muslim."
"What do you want?"
"The presence of the Jew concerns me," Zaeed said simply, nodding at Stretch over on the far side of the main cabin. "I can understand your father aligning himself with these Westerners for convenience, but I cannot believe he would ally himself with the Jewish State."
Pooh Bear said, "The Israelis were not invited to join this mission. They discovered us somehow-and threatened to reveal our mission unless we allowed them to join it."
"Is that so? How typical," Zaeed hissed. "Then I am doubly glad that you are here, my friend. The second a.s.sembling of the Capstone will be one of the greatest moments in all of human history. Before the end, all will show their true colours. When the time comes, Allah"s brethren should stand together."
Pooh Bear just kept his eyes downcast.
In West"s office in the rear of the plane, West, Wizard, Zoe and Big Ears were gazing at the brown leatherbound diary West had found inside Hamilcar"s Refuge: Hermann Hessler"s notebook detailing his search for the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World during World War II.
Translating it from the German, they found several references that they understood: WORD OF THOTH-MULTIPLE DIALECTS OF INCREASING DIFFICULTY ... NEED TO LOCATE THE ORACLE FOR PRECISE TRANSLATION...
CATHOLIC CHURCH = CULT OF AMUN-RA.
COLOSSUS: THIRD NECKPIECE.
MYSTERIOUS BUILDING EXPEDITION IN 85 BC.
IMHOTEP VI + 10,000 WORKERS;.
ALL MARCHED WEST TO SECRET LOCATION ON COAST NEAR CARTHAGE;.
A WORKER"S PAPYRUS FOUND AT ROSETTA MENTIONS THE MAN"S PARTIc.i.p.aTION IN AN EXTRAORDINARY CONSTRUCTION PROJECT: THE COVERING OF AN ENTIRE COASTAL INLET AND THE FABRICATION OF A SECTION OF COAST. FOUND AT ROSETTA MENTIONS THE MAN"S PARTIc.i.p.aTION IN AN EXTRAORDINARY CONSTRUCTION PROJECT: THE COVERING OF AN ENTIRE COASTAL INLET AND THE FABRICATION OF A SECTION OF COAST.
THE MEN WHO PLACED TWO COVERED TREASURES TWO COVERED TREASURES IN THE INNERMOST HOLY CHAMBER WERE ALL EXECUTED. IN THE INNERMOST HOLY CHAMBER WERE ALL EXECUTED.
PHAROS AND MAUSOLEUM PIECES???.
Accompanying these last entries was a teletyped order from Heinrich Himmler himself authorising Hessler to use a U-boat to trawl the entire North African coast of the Mediterranean for the false section of coastline.
There were also some hand-drawn hieroglyphics that Wizard translated aloud: "THE CHOICE OF MANONLY ONE OF THE TWO RITUALS MAY BE CHOSEN.
ONE BEGETS PEACE,.
THE OTHER POWER.
ON THE FINAL DAY,.
A CHOICE MUST BE MADE,.
A CHOICE MADE IN THE PRESENCE OF RA HIMSELF.
THAT WILL DETERMINE THE VERY FATE OF MEN."
Wizard leaned back. "It"s a reference to the two incantations- the rituals. But only one of them can be performed when the Capstone is placed atop the Great Pyramid."
They found other references, however, that they did not understand. Like these rather ominous inscriptions: 1ST INSCRIPTION FROM THE TOMB OF IMHOTEP III:WHAT AN INCREDIBLE STRUCTURE IT WAS,.
CONSTRUCTED AS A MIRROR IMAGE,.
WHERE BOTH ENTRANCE AND EXIT WERE ALIKE.
IT PAINED ME THAT MY TASK-WHAT WOULD BECOME MY LIFE"S MASTERWORK-WAS TO CONCEAL SO MAGNIFICENT A STRUCTURE.