Page 46 of Tides of Fire

A weapon that would make the world’s nuclear arsenal obsolete.

The man hoped to be able to control quakes, to turn those continent-size chunks of ancient planetoid into earth-shaking weapons.

She slowly nodded. “If those papers can offer any answers...”

Aigua collected his e-tablet from her desk. “That’s why I hired a strike team to secure the artifacts over in Singapore.”

Before Daiyu could respond, a loud klaxon rang from outside.

Her secretary rushed in with Aigua’s son. “There’s a major problem down in the med lab!”

12

January 23, 3:10P.M.SGT

Republic of Singapore

Held at gunpoint, Seichan could not prevent her attackers from yanking her Glock out of her boot holster. Her hands were zip-tied behind her back. She glared at Valya the entire time.

Gray was also bound and stripped of his weapon.

Next to him, Kwong breathed hard. The museum director’s wrists remained free. Valya clearly did not consider the small man a threat. Plus, the pistol grinding into his ribs encouraged his continued cooperation.

Their capture was all done swiftly and surreptitiously. A glance around revealed no cameras pointed their way. They had been ambushed in a blind spot. She and Gray likely only lived so they could be questioned later. The Chinese would want to know how deeply the U.S. was involved in all of this. Or maybe the strike team feared leaving any bodies behind for a roving security guard to stumble upon and raise an alarm.

Still, from the glee in Valya’s eyes, Seichan guessed the likeliest reason for their capture: to make their demises more painful and prolonged.

Once they were secure, Valya turned aside and spoke into a wrist radio. “Lock down the security control room. We’re hard out in ten minutes.” She then waved her SIG Sauer to the others. “Get them moving.”

They were hustled quickly toward the elevator. Guns were kept out of direct view. Several men split off and headed for the stairwell on the far side, to cover the museum’s other flank.

“What are you looking for?” Gray asked as he was pressed into a corner of the elevator.

Valya rolled her eyes at him, clearly not willing to share anything. She tapped a stolen keycard to allow them up to the floor above. Either her team had been supplied with the security cards, or they’d dispatched a few researchers to obtain them. Seichan failed to understand why Valya hadn’t already completed her task.

Why wait to ambush us?

The answer came as the assassin’s eyes narrowed on Kwong.

Valya needed him.

Their lengthy museum tour must have stymied her raid. She had been forced to lie in wait, keeping hidden, until she could secure the director. Everything had been on hold until this moment.

As the elevator opened, Valya herded them into a small lobby. She stopped before a door that led out onto the fifth floor. Beyond it, Seichan heard a muffledpop-popping, accompanied by a single strangled scream. The other half of the strike team must be sweeping and securing this level. From the gunfire, the assailants were no longer concerned about leaving dead bodies in their wake.

The door flung open ahead of them. A student researcher burst out, trying to escape the gunmen behind him—only he ran into Valya’s blade. She thrust the dagger deeper into his chest, twisting the hilt. The young man fell to his knees. Valya ripped her blade free and slashed his throat, silencing his rising scream. She kicked him aside.

Kwong choked and tried to back away, but his captor pressed the pistol’s muzzle harder into his spine.

With the floor cleared, they were marched down a hall. It opened into a research lab sectioned by long rows of workbenches. Microscopes and photographic mounts lined the tops. Three more bodies draped the floors in pools of blood. Ahead, one of the gunmen guarded the far hall that led into a suite of offices. Valya left another man behind them to protect that flank. The other seven closed ranks around their group.

Valya pointed to a door at the back of the research space. “Over there.”

Their group hurried across and pushed into a cavernous storage room. Crates and boxes climbed shelves. The place smelled musty. Dust motes hung in the air. Valya led them unerringly to the back wall, to a six-foot-tall circular door of black steel. A large wheel fixed its center.

The vault door had an antiquated look to it, like something out of the turn-of-the-century. Only from the glowing red pad next to it could one tell that the door had been retrofitted with a biometric lock.

No wonder Valya had needed to secure the director.

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