Preston Child - Mystery of the Amber Room

“May I have some water, please,” Purdue tried. After all, he had nothing to lose.

“Wasser!” Klaus shouted. He gave Purdue a warm smile that bore the authenticity of a lipless corpse as a woman brought in a sturdy container with pure, clean water. Had Purdue been able to stand on his feet, he would have run to meet her halfway, but he had to wait for her. Klaus set the empty mug in his hand down next to Purdue and poured some water.

“Good thing you bought two cups” Purdue grated out.

“I brought two mugs for two reasons. I assumed you were going to smash one of them. So I knew you would need the second one to drink the water you'd be begging for from,” he explained while Purdue grabbed the bottle to get to the water.

Ignoring the cup at first, he stuck opening of the bottle between his lips so violently that the heavy container hit his teeth. But Klaus took it away and offered Purdue the cup. Only when he had finished two cups did Purdue catch his breath.

“One more? Please,” he begged Klaus.

“One more, but then we talk,” he told his captive, and filled his cup again.

“Klaus,” Purdue gasped after finishing it to the last drop. “Could you please just tell me what you want from me? Why did you bring me here?”

Klaus sighed and rolled his eyes. “We have been through this. You are not supposed to ask questions.” He gave the bottle back to the woman, and she left the room.

“How can I not? At least let me know what I am being tortured for,” Purdue implored.

“You are not being tortured,” Klaus insisted. “You are being reconditioned. When you got first got in touch with the Order, it was to entice us with your Holy Lance that you and your friends had found, remember? You invited all of the high-level Black Sun members a secret meeting on Deep Sea One to show off your relic, yes?”

Purdue nodded. It was true. He had been using the relic as leverage to get into the Order's good graces for possible business.

“When you played with us that time, our members got into a very dangerous situation. But I am sure you meant well, even after you departed with the relic like a coward to leave them to their fate when the water came rushing in,” Klaus lectured with flamboyance. “We want you to be that man again; to work with us to obtain what we need so that we can all thrive. With your genius and wealth, you would be the perfect candidate, so we are going to… change your mind .”

“If you want the Spear of Destiny I'll be more than happy to give it to you in exchange for my freedom,” Purdue bartered, and he meant every word.

“Gott im Himmel! David, have you not been listening?” Klaus exclaimed with juvenile disappointment. “We can have anything we want! We want you to come back to us, but you offer a trade and want to negotiate. This is not a business deal. It is an orientation and only once we are convinced that you are ready, you will be allowed to leave this room.”

Klaus looked at his watch. He got up to leave, but Purdue tried to hold him up with a triviality.

“Um, can I have more water, please?” he croaked.

Without stopping or looking back, Klaus hollered, “Wasser!”

As he closed the door behind him, an enormous cylinder with a radius almost the size of the room lowered from the ceiling.

“Oh God, what now?” Purdue cried out in utter panic as it locked into the floor. The center panel of the ceiling slid open and started releasing a stream of water into the cylinder, drenching Purdue’s sore, nude body and muffling his cries.

What terrified him more than the fear of drowning, was the knowledge that they did not intend to kill.

Nina had finished packing while Sam had been taking one last shower. They were due at the airstrip in an hour, bound for Edinburgh.

“You done yet, Sam?” Nina asked loudly outside the bathroom.

“Aye, just giving me ass one more foaming. Be right out!” he answered.

Nina laughed and shook her head. Her phone rang in her purse. Without looking at the screen, she answered.

“Hello.”

“Hello, uh, Dr. Gould?” the man on the phone asked.

“This is she. Who am I speaking with?” she frowned. She was being addressed by her title, which meant that it was business or some insurance salesman.

“My name is Detlef,” the man with the heavy German accent introduced himself. “Your number was given to me by one of Mr. David Purdue's assistants. I am actually trying to get hold of him.”

“So why did she not give you his number?” Nina inquired impatiently.

“Because she has no idea where he is, Dr. Gould,” he replied in a gentle, almost timid manner. “She told me you might know?”

Nina was stumped. That made no sense. Purdue was never off the radar to his assistant. His other employees, perhaps, but never his assistant. It was pivotal, especially with his impulsive and adventurous nature, that one of his people always knew where he was going, in case something went wrong.

“Listen, Det-Detlef? Right?” Nina asked.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said.

“Give me a few minutes to locate him and I’ll call you right back, alright? Give me your number, please.”

Nina did not trust the caller. Purdue would not just vanish like that, so she reckoned it was a shady businessman trying to get Purdue's personal number by bullshitting her. He gave her his number and she hung up. When she called Purdue's mansion, his assistant answered.

“Oh, hi Nina,” the woman greeted her when she heard the familiar voice of the pretty historian Purdue always kept company with.

“Listen, did a stranger just call you to speak to Dave?” Nina asked. The answer caught her completely by surprise.

“Aye, he called a few minutes ago, asking for Mr. Purdue. But truth be told, I have not heard from him today. Maybe he was gone for the weekend?” she speculated.

“He did not check in with you about going somewhere?” Nina pushed. It worried her.

“The last I had him in Las Vegas for some time off, but he was going to travel to Copenhagen on Wednesday. There was a posh hotel he wanted to visit, but that's all I know,” she reported. “Should we be worried?”

Nina sighed hard. “I don’t want to start a panic, but just to be sure, you know?”

“Aye.”

“Was he traveling with his own jet?” Nina wanted to know. It would give her a place to start looking. On affirmation from the assistant, Nina thanked her and ended the call to try Purdue's cell phone. Nothing. She rushed to the bathroom door and stormed in, catching Sam just wrapping his towel around his waist.

“Hey! If you wanted to play, you should have said so before I got all cleaned up,” he grinned.

Ignoring his jest, Nina rambled, “I think Purdue might be in trouble. I'm not sure if it is Hangover 2 kind of trouble or real trouble, but something is off.”

“How so?” Sam asked, following her into the room to get dressed. She filled him in on the mysterious caller and the fact that Purdue’s assistant have not heard from him.

“I suppose you have tried his cell?” Sam suggested.

“He never switches off his phone. You know he has that funny voicemail taking messages with the physics jokes or he answers, but it is never just dead, right?” she said. “There was nothing when I called him.”

“That is very strange,” he agreed. “But let’s just get back home first and then we can snoop around. This hotel he went to in Norway…”

“Denmark,” she corrected him.

“Whatever. Maybe he is just really enjoying himself. It is the man's first ‘normal people' kind of holiday in — well, forever- you know, the kind where he does not have people trying to kill him and such,” he shrugged.