short with broad shoulders. His face looked firm, unyielding. His long dark hair had been pulled back into a ponytail. Knife wounds crisscrossed his brown skin.
He was of Polynesian descent, but had little use for his heritage. In fact, his people embarrassed him. At one time, Polynesians had used technological advancements in boating to cross the Pacific Ocean. They’d ruled the South Pacific like kings. But subsequent generations had squandered this mighty empire. Now, his people preferred to hang out at resorts, holding luaus and other outdated ceremonies for gawking tourists.
“Well?” Simona said. “What is it?”
“ Nautilus is down.”
She tensed up. “How?”
“A militia—God’s Judges—arrived on the scene shortly before we ran the kill pattern. One of them must’ve fired a shoulder-based missile launcher. Direct hit, unfortunately.”
She rubbed her temples. “What’s Nautilus ’ condition?”
“We’re not sure. We tracked it for as long as possible. But it’s no longer responding to our signals.”
“So, it crashed.”
“Not necessarily. We were able to issue an emergency-landing directive before losing communications.”
Simona leaned back in her chair. This couldn’t be happening, not now. “The self-destruct protocol?”
“Activated, of course. But the protocol was issued after we lost communications so I’ve got no idea if Nautilus received it.”
“Can you find Nautilus ?”
Pascal nodded. “It shouldn’t be too difficult. At last contact, it was descending over a long stretch of abandoned farmland.”
“Good. Clean up everything before you leave.” Simona took a deep breath. “What about Lila Grinberg?”
“Dead.”
She allowed herself a small smile. “So, you’ve got the reliquary?”
“Not exactly.”
“Explain.”
“As you know, Lila hired Cy Reed’s Salvage Force to handle the excavation. They’ve disappeared along with the reliquary.”
Simona exhaled.
“Fortunately, we caught a break. Some tire tracks survived the latest dust storm. Based on their direction, I think Reed is heading toward the Nautilus .”
“He must be going to check on it. If you hurry, you can kill two birds with one stone.”
“Understood.” Pascal lifted his hand toward the screen, presumably to cut the connection.
“Jeremy?”
Pascal stopped short. “Yes?”
“When I say kill two birds, I mean it.” Simona stared into his eyes. “Once you have the reliquary, kill the salvage team.”
Chapter 17
Dirt whipped against the windshield as the truck went airborne. Seconds later, the vehicle landed on the cracked pavement with a thud.
“Maybe we should slow down,” Beverly said.
My gaze hardened. “I can handle it.”
She looked away.
I understood her concerns. The drought had caused most residents to abandon nearby farms for proverbial greener pastures. If we crashed, there would be no one to help us.
But I had my own concerns. The reliquary, although covered, was still vulnerable to the elements. Thieves were also a potential problem. But most of all, I just wanted to finish the trip as quickly as possible. I wanted to turn the reliquary over to Lila’s colleagues, to wash my hands of the whole mess.
I squinted. While my goggles improved nighttime vision, they also reduced depth perception. So, I’d removed them prior to taking the wheel. Fortunately, the truck’s headlights provided decent illumination.
Looking ahead, I saw what appeared to be an endless stretch of rocks and dirt. Some of the dirt whipped into the air. It swirled around in a funnel shape.
More dirt flew upward, joining the storm. It whirled around the truck until I could no longer see the landscape.
Tapping the brakes, I brought the truck to a stop. As I cut the engine, even more dirt swirled into the sky, forming walls of soil on all sides of us.
“Another dust storm.” Beverly’s eyes widened. “And a pretty big one from the looks of it.”
Dust storms were an unfortunate
He was of Polynesian descent, but had little use for his heritage. In fact, his people embarrassed him. At one time, Polynesians had used technological advancements in boating to cross the Pacific Ocean. They’d ruled the South Pacific like kings. But subsequent generations had squandered this mighty empire. Now, his people preferred to hang out at resorts, holding luaus and other outdated ceremonies for gawking tourists.
“Well?” Simona said. “What is it?”
“ Nautilus is down.”
She tensed up. “How?”
“A militia—God’s Judges—arrived on the scene shortly before we ran the kill pattern. One of them must’ve fired a shoulder-based missile launcher. Direct hit, unfortunately.”
She rubbed her temples. “What’s Nautilus ’ condition?”
“We’re not sure. We tracked it for as long as possible. But it’s no longer responding to our signals.”
“So, it crashed.”
“Not necessarily. We were able to issue an emergency-landing directive before losing communications.”
Simona leaned back in her chair. This couldn’t be happening, not now. “The self-destruct protocol?”
“Activated, of course. But the protocol was issued after we lost communications so I’ve got no idea if Nautilus received it.”
“Can you find Nautilus ?”
Pascal nodded. “It shouldn’t be too difficult. At last contact, it was descending over a long stretch of abandoned farmland.”
“Good. Clean up everything before you leave.” Simona took a deep breath. “What about Lila Grinberg?”
“Dead.”
She allowed herself a small smile. “So, you’ve got the reliquary?”
“Not exactly.”
“Explain.”
“As you know, Lila hired Cy Reed’s Salvage Force to handle the excavation. They’ve disappeared along with the reliquary.”
Simona exhaled.
“Fortunately, we caught a break. Some tire tracks survived the latest dust storm. Based on their direction, I think Reed is heading toward the Nautilus .”
“He must be going to check on it. If you hurry, you can kill two birds with one stone.”
“Understood.” Pascal lifted his hand toward the screen, presumably to cut the connection.
“Jeremy?”
Pascal stopped short. “Yes?”
“When I say kill two birds, I mean it.” Simona stared into his eyes. “Once you have the reliquary, kill the salvage team.”
Chapter 17
Dirt whipped against the windshield as the truck went airborne. Seconds later, the vehicle landed on the cracked pavement with a thud.
“Maybe we should slow down,” Beverly said.
My gaze hardened. “I can handle it.”
She looked away.
I understood her concerns. The drought had caused most residents to abandon nearby farms for proverbial greener pastures. If we crashed, there would be no one to help us.
But I had my own concerns. The reliquary, although covered, was still vulnerable to the elements. Thieves were also a potential problem. But most of all, I just wanted to finish the trip as quickly as possible. I wanted to turn the reliquary over to Lila’s colleagues, to wash my hands of the whole mess.
I squinted. While my goggles improved nighttime vision, they also reduced depth perception. So, I’d removed them prior to taking the wheel. Fortunately, the truck’s headlights provided decent illumination.
Looking ahead, I saw what appeared to be an endless stretch of rocks and dirt. Some of the dirt whipped into the air. It swirled around in a funnel shape.
More dirt flew upward, joining the storm. It whirled around the truck until I could no longer see the landscape.
Tapping the brakes, I brought the truck to a stop. As I cut the engine, even more dirt swirled into the sky, forming walls of soil on all sides of us.
“Another dust storm.” Beverly’s eyes widened. “And a pretty big one from the looks of it.”
Dust storms were an unfortunate
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