The Cult of Osiris (31 page)

An uneasy silence hung between the two men before Osir backed away slightly. 'We wz/ifuid the pyramid ourselves,' he insisted. 'These two we'll . . . bury at sea. But we have other business first -the race.'

'You go,' said Shaban dismissively. 'I'll stay here and,' a cruel smile, 'politely discuss the pyramid's location with Dr Wilde.' Nina tensed.

Osir shook his head. You're expected there with me. Then tell them I'm ill.'

Sebak! This is for the Temple - you are coming with me.' He stared at Shaban. This time, it was the younger brother who backed down, though the tendons in his neck were tight. Osir addressed the guard. 'Watch them until we get back.' The guard nodded, and sat down on a chair facing the bathroom doorway as Osir and Shaban left.

When does the race finish?' Nina asked.

Four o'clock,' Eddie told her. What time is it now?'

She shifted to check her watch. Coming up on ten.'

Hey!' the guard shouted, raising his MP7. Keep still. And no talking!

Nina knelt back down, watching the guard. After a few minutes, his attention began to wander, the gun drifting away from the prisoners as he looked round the opulent cabin.

She used his distraction to glance over her shoulder. In a corner was a pair of nail scissors, one of the items Osir had scattered when Eddie pushed him into the bathroom. She had spotted them when she was first tied up. But with her hands firmly attached to the pipe, the only way to reach them was with her feet - and she couldn't do so without the guard noticing.

Six hours to find a way . . .

An opportunity took close to four uncomfortable hours to arrive.

The guard was also a racing fan. With the start imminent, he had switched on a large plasma TV. Its position on one wall meant he had to move the chair further away to see both the screen and his captives, dividing his attention.

You okay?' Nina whispered, her voice covered by the noise of the starting grid.

My knees are fucking killing me,' came the hollow reply. One good thing, mind - I'm not thirsty.'

She wrinkled her nose. Gross, Eddie.' A look at the guard; he glanced into the bathroom, but was clearly more interested in the race. 'Listen, there's a pair of scissors here. I'll try to kick them to you when the guy outside isn't looking/

He turned his head as far as he could. 'If you can get them to my legs, I can try to knock them behind the bog with my knee. But I can't move my hands much. If they end up too far away, we're fucked/

Then we'll have to get it right first time, won't we?' She gave him a half-hearted smile; he returned it.

Do it when the race starts,' he said. There's usually a prang in the first corner at Monaco -the crashes are what most blokes are really watching for/

I'll only need a few seconds.' Nina watched the guard; bar the occasional glance, he was fixated on the TV. The commentary was in French, but she understood enough to know that the cars were performing their formation lap before the start of the race proper.

Very slowly, she shifted her weight to one knee and slid her other leg out from under her body. Her muscles prickled painfully. The guard looked at her; she froze, afraid that he had seen what she was doing, before exaggeratedly cricking her neck to one side as if relieving stiffness. He frowned, then turned back to the TV.

The commentators became more excited as the cars took their places on the grid. Nina moved her leg out as far as she dared.

Ready?' she whispered. Eddie raised himself slightly on his toes.

The racers were in position. The guard leaned forward, watching the screen intently. Engines revved as the starting lights came on.
' Un, deux
_r
trois, quatie, cinq .
. .' The commentator paused in anticipation.
' AUezt'

The engine noise rose to a multi-tonal scream as the cars leapt away from the grid. '
C 'est Virtanen, Virtanetif
the commentator cried. The guard was almost out of his seat with excitement as Team Osiris's star driver took the lead.
Oh! Oh.' Mollsrd
s est
ecrsse!'

Someone had crashed going into the first corner. The guard jumped up - and Nina jerked her leg, kicking the little scissors.

Even with all the activity on the big TV, the guard couldn't miss the sudden movement in his peripheral vision. He whipped round, gun raised - as Eddie dropped his legs, covering the scissors. Pointing the MP7 at Nina, he rushed into the bathroom. 'I told you not to move!'

Cramp!' Nina gasped, not lying, as she flexed her leg. I've got cramp, it hurts! Don't shoot me, don't shoot!

Get back down!' She complied. Pressing the gun against her, the guard bent to check that she was still tied, then leaned down to look at Eddie's bonds. All were still secure. 'Keep still,' he ordered, returning to the cabin. After a few suspicious glares into the bathroom, he turned back to the race.

Did you get it?' Nina whispered.

Eddie lifted his right leg, revealing the nail scissors under it. Slowly, carefully, he lowered it again and dragged the scissors a few inches forward, then raised his leg and moved it back to its original position before repeating the move. After a minute, the scissors were just in front of his knee.

This is the tricky bit,' he muttered. He angled his leg out to one side. Okay, here we go. . .'

He jerked his knee forward.

The scissors slithered across the polished floor, clacking against the back wall. Eddie winced, but the TV had drowned out the faint noise. He reached for them with his fingertips.

They fell short by mere millimetres.

Bollocks!' he growled. The rope tying his wrists to the pipe was already pressed against a protruding joint; he couldn't slide his hands any closer And if he tried to raise his body higher for leverage to push his wrists further through the loops of rope, the guard would see.

He had to take the chance. He levered himself upwards, lifting his backside into the air.

It was undignified, but it worked. The extra weight pushed his wrists little by little through the rope as he wriggled. Hairs were ripped out and friction burned his skin, but his fingers were getting closer to the scissors, closer . . .

Hey!' The guard ran into the bathroom - just as Eddie's fingertips reached the scissors. The Englishman snatched them up and clenched them in his fist. 'Get back down!'

'Ow, for fuck's sake!' Eddie gasped as the man kicked him.
'I
've been like this all day,
I
'm bursting!
I
need a piss!

The guard laughed. 'You're in the right place!' Still chuckling, he checked the ropes again. Satisfied they were still tightly fastened, he went back to his seat.

Are you okay?' Nina asked quietly.

He didn't help my backache, but
I
've got the scissors.' He fumbled them round in his hand, opening the blades as wide as they would go and pressing one against the rope. Might take a while, though.'

He began sawing. The small blade and the cramping of his hand made it slow going, but the rope's strands eventually started to fray and split. Ten minutes passed; twenty. The guard remained engrossed in the race, Virtanen involved in a close battle to hold the lead. Half an hour gone. The race was over a quarter done, Osir and Shaban's return drawing closer . . .

Eddie let out a small grunt. Eddie?' whispered Nina. Did you do it?

Yeah,' he replied, keeping the scissors hooked on one finger as he tugged at the rope with his thumb. The severed loop came loose; he slipped his wrist free, then quickly unfastened his other hand. Problem is, we're still trapped in a toilet by a man with a gun. Can you get him in here?

Til try.'

Nina lifted her leg again, letting out a strained gasp. The guard stood, annoyed by the interruption. 'I told you to stay still!' he said as he entered the bathroom.

Please,' she said through a mask of pain, 'my leg hurts so much, I can't stand it any more!'

You won't have to for much longer,' he said with a sardonic smile, shoving her back into a kneeling position. He examined the ropes round her wrists, then bent to check Eddie's bonds.

They weren't there.

Eddie's hand shot up with savage force and stabbed the scissors point first into his eye.

That the blades were less than an inch long below the hinge didn't matter - the entire length of the scissors disappeared into the guard's skull. The pain and shock froze him in place - long enough for Eddie to roll sideways and grab him by his shirt, yanking him downwards. There was a horrible crack as the man's head struck the flush lever, and he collapsed twitching on to the lavatory.

Eddie pushed the guard face first into the swirling bowl. Collecting the MP7, he quickly untied Nina. Flushed with success,' he said, grinning.

She rolled her eyes. Is he dead?'

After all that? I hope so.' The flush cycle ended, the water turning pink round the man's part-submerged head. Eddie watched for several seconds to make sure no bubbles rose from his mouth or nose, then checked the MP7. It was fully loaded: twenty rounds. This is more like it - no pissing about with revolvers like we're still in the fucking nineteenth century.

Nina gratefully stood, rubbing her aching legs. What's the plan?'

Same as last night. Get back to shore, find Macy, find this pyramid. And shoot anybody who gets in our way. Sound okay?'

I'd prefer it without the shooting part, but otherwise, yeah.' She went into the cabin, retrieved her possessions from the desk where they had been dumped, and was about to go to

the door when she changed her mind and instead crossed to the zodiac. Osir and others had been working on it through the night; more notes were scattered about. She picked up a photo of the entire relief and shoved it in a pocket. Just in case,' she told Eddie, who had recovered his own belongings and was now waiting impatiently near the door. T don't think Osir'II give us another chance to look at it.'

Still think we should just smash the thing,' he said, checking the corridor. Okay, the quickest way down'll be jumping off the balcony to the rear deck. Are you up for that?'

I'll be okay,' she said, touching his head. The only treatment he had been given after being shot was a large adhesive bandage stuck roughly over the cut; it was now dark with dried blood. That at least meant the bleeding had stopped, but the wound still needed attention. What about vou?'

I'll live. Good job it didn't hit my face - it would've ruined my good looks.' A grin creased his battle-worn visage; she smiled back. 'You ready?'

She nodded. Eddie entered the corridor, quickly moving to the glass door. A couple of Osir's bikini-clad girls were sunbathing below, a trio of the yacht's crew with them, watching the race on a flatscreen TV. Two of the men were armed. Well, strolling casually to the boats is out.' He raised the gun. 'On three, we both jump. Soon as you land, run for whichever boat's in the water, start it, and
do not stop for anything.
They're going to kill us anyway - if they catch us again we won't get a second chance. All right?'

All right,' Nina reluctantly agreed. I'll tell you something, though.'

What?'

I'm not depressed any more.'

Yeah, nothing like a death threat to pep you up, is there?' They kissed, then Eddie pushed the door open. 'Okay, one, two, three -
go\

They burst out into the hot Mediterranean sun and vaulted the railing.

The drop was almost nine feet; Nina's landing was painfully hard, making her fall. Eddie fared better, dropping into a frog-like crouch before springing back up. One of the women shrieked, the other staring at him with dull surprise. The men jumped up, the armed ones fumbling for their guns.

Eddie's MP7 clattered, two silenced bursts stitching lines of bloody holes across the pair's chests.

Noise from behind—

He spun and fired another burst at another man beneath the balcony, a gun spinning from his hands as he was thrown back against the blood-splattered bulkhead.

Nina got up. 'You okay?' Eddie asked. She nodded. 'Good. Get to the boats/ As she set off, he covered the remaining people. The shrieking woman had progressed to full-blown screams, her companion still regarding him with blank-eyed bewilderment. The unarmed man was eyeing the dead crewmen's guns. 'Can you all swim?'

The responses from the trio were in the affirmative. 'Good. You've got three seconds to start!' He waved his gun at the yacht's side. They got the message and jumped overboard.

He ran after Nina, pointing the gun back at the yacht's superstructure as he reached the stairs to the dock. Another green-jacketed man appeared, pulling the charging handle on his MP7 - only to take a burst from Eddie's gun and crash over a lounger. Knowing his weapon was down to its last few rounds, Eddie dropped it and snatched up one of the dead men's guns as he went past.

Nina checked the boats, not liking what she found. Both speedboats had been winched out of the water, the only floating options for escape being jet skis. 'Eddie, I hope you know how to ride these things, cause I don't have a clue!

Just start one!' He fired a few shots to force a crewman back into the ship, then jumped down to join Nina. I'll drive!

She started the engine, looking in concern at a prominent warning sticker about the danger from the little craft's powerful underwater jet blast. It says we should be wearing wetsuits.'

Yeah, and we should be wearing life jackets too, but we'll have to make do!' He vaulted aboard in front of her 'Take the gun, and don't fall off!'

She clutched the MP7 and gripped his waist tightly as he twisted the throttle, sending the jet ski blasting away from the yacht in a plume of spray.

20

211

Osir stood at the window of the VIP box, face almost pressed against the glass as the race leaders screamed past - with Mikko Virtanen fronting the pack. 'Yes!' he cried, pumping his fist. It was only OIG's second year as primary sponsor of what had previously been the second-tier Monarch team, but the results already spoke for themselves - and with a win at Monaco, the most prestigious race of all, the publicity boost for the Osirian Temple would be beyond measure.