Andy McDermott - The Tomb Of Hercules

“No bulk discount?” asked Chase sarcastically.

“You know, I hadn’t thought of that. Maybe I could sell them in six-packs.” Yuen gave him a mocking grin. “But the point is, now anyone can become a nuclear power, whether they be a country, a terrorist organization or even just a rich guy who really, really wants to keep the neighborhood kids off his lawn. All they need is the money.” He took another step towards Chase. “So, for the price of a couple of fighter jets, you can have a fifteen-kiloton nuclear device that’s so simple and rugged any illiterate peasant can operate it, can be disassembled and carried by two guys, or even one if he puts his back into it, and has a design that’s absolutely foolproof. Your own personal Hiroshima, for a very reasonable price. Pretty cool, huh?”

“That’ll only get you two point four billion dollars,” Chase pointed out. “You won’t exactly knock Bill Gates off the rich list.”

Yuen smirked again. “You’re not thinking of the big picture-which is why I’m a billionaire, and you’re a loser with thirty seconds left to live. Think of the paranoia when the major governments realize there are nukes running loose! They could be anywhere-they could even be in their capital cities right now! That means a massive spending boost for the military, homeland security, intelligence services… and all the corporations that contract for them. Like mine. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.” He glanced over his shoulder at Sophia. “Is that the look you wanted?”

The look on Chase’s face was actually as blank a mask as he could manage as he tried to conceal his thoughts. This was his last chance, the only remaining moment for him to break free…

But he knew he couldn’t succeed. Each of the four men pinning him against the wall was as strong as he was, and if even one of them pulled the trigger in the split second it would take him to move, he would be dead.

Not that it would stop him from trying. He tensed his muscles, about to make a final desperate attempt to throw off his captors… when something occurred to him.

It was a trivial thought, a question, in the circumstances totally irrelevant. But even as it entered his mind, Chase realized that he had to know the answer.

“Wait,” he said, as Yuen opened his mouth to order Chase’s death. “The map Nina found-what’s it got to do with the nukes? Why do you want to find the Tomb of Hercules?”

Yuen seemed genuinely surprised. “The Tomb of Hercules? I don’t give a rat’s ass about it-the only reason I pretended to was because Sophia asked me.”

“That’s quite enough of that, dear,” said Sophia from behind him-

A bullet exploded from a messy exit wound in his chest as Sophia shot him. Yuen’s mouth opened in a silent scream, then he collapsed to the floor.

Before anyone had a chance to react, Sophia turned and shot one of the uniformed security guards in the head, blood splattering the wall behind him. The other security guard managed to bring his gun around-only for one of the bodyguards to shoot him in the stomach. He dropped to the floor, writhing in agony-and Sophia fired another shot into his back. The man instantly fell still.

For a moment, hope rose inside Chase-Sophia had just been playing along with Yuen, waiting for the right time to help him…

The hope was crushed as she lifted her gun again, aiming at him. The two bodyguards stepped away, keeping their weapons trained on his chest.

“So,” said Chase, recovering from his shock, “I guess couples counseling didn’t work out.”

“Show some tact, Eddie,” Sophia said in a clipped tone of mock offense. “I’m recently bereaved! I need some time to grieve for my late husband.” She looked down at Yuen’s corpse for half a second, then back at Chase. “There, that should do. Thank you, boys,” she told the bodyguards, who nodded respectfully.

Chase regarded the two men warily. “So what now? You going to kill me too?”

“Don’t be absurd. I never discard something I need. If I’d wanted you dead I would have had you shot while you were still dangling from your parachute. Yes, I knew you were coming,” she added on seeing Chase’s expression. “I hid a tracking device in that awful leather jacket of yours while we were on the flight to Botswana. I knew you’d keep wearing it.”

Chase cautiously lifted his hands to search his pockets. “Outside chest pocket, left side,” Sophia told him. “Where you used to keep your cigarettes before you stopped smoking. You never used that pocket for anything else, so I knew you wouldn’t check it.”

His fingertips touched metal and plastic, and he took a small rectangular device from the pocket before tossing it in disgust to the floor. “The question still stands, Sophia,” he said. “What do you want with the Tomb of Hercules?”

She smiled coldly. “You’ll see. But for now, I need to collect my own personal Hiroshima.”

“Why?”

“As I said, you’ll see.”

Chase looked towards the window and the assembly line below. “There’s only one completed bomb.”

“I only need one.” Sophia addressed one of the bodyguards. “Philippe, you stay here and watch Eddie until we’re ready to leave. If he tries anything, shoot him in the legs, but try not to kill him. For now.” She gave Chase a little grin, which he didn’t return, before turning to the larger man of the two. “Eduardo, come with me. I need you to carry something to the plane.”

“Yes, ma’am,” said Eduardo. With a final triumphant glance back at Chase, Sophia strode from the room, the hulking bodyguard following her.

The other man, Philippe, waved his gun, directing Chase to take a seat at the circular table. “So, Philippe,” he said as he reluctantly obeyed, “on first-name terms with Sophia, are you?”

Philippe said nothing, moving around the table, out of his reach.

“’cause I know that she doesn’t normally get too familiar with the help,” Chase went on. “Unless…you’re something more than that?” He noticed a very slight twitch around the bodyguard’s eyes. “Or you think you’re going to be. Is that it? You think that if you help her, you’ll get to shag her?”

“Shut up,” said Philippe, annoyed.

“Yeah, I thought so. You know, she’s crap in bed. Just lies there like a dead fish.”

Philippe stepped forward and struck Chase painfully on the base of the neck with the butt of his Glock-19 pistol. “I told you to shut up! Talk again and I will shoot you!”

Chase stayed silent, rubbing his neck, but knew he’d found a potential weakness. Sophia almost certainly had promised the bodyguard favors, including sex. The question was, how could he turn this to his advantage?

A couple of minutes passed, neither man speaking. Chase slowly swiveled his chair to get a better view over the bomb factory, and with dismay saw the other bodyguard pushing a cart bearing the completed weapon towards the far end of the chamber, Sophia strutting ahead of him. There was presumably another exit, hidden from view by the machinery. Neither wore a hazard suit, suggesting radiation levels in the room were safe for short exposures.

They passed out of sight behind the furnace. Chase frowned. He couldn’t let her leave with the bomb…

“She’ll betray you,” he said.

Philippe was unprepared for the comment. “What?”

“Sophia. She’ll betray you, same as she did to me… and Yuen.” He pointed at the corpse on the floor. “Once she’s got what she wants from you, she’ll dump you-and if she thinks you might cause trouble, she’ll kill you.”

“I told you to be quiet.”

Chase turned the chair, his back to the bodyguard. “I mean, do you seriously think she’d be interested in a bloke like you? You’re just a bit of rough, mate. Soon as she gets bored with you, you’re gone! She’s like one of those insects that bites off the poor bastard’s head once they’re done-”