Andy McDermott - The Midas Legacy

‘They were taking a huge risk. An armed assault in the middle of Reykjavik? They must be desperate.’

‘Or greedy.’

‘Trakas always was,’ said Olivia, shaking her head. ‘He was determined to make a fortune in business, but he also made a couple of attempts to run for the Greek parliament. Not that he ever won.’

Eddie gave a mocking snort. ‘What’s worse than a politician? A wannabe politician.’

‘A failed one, at that,’ said Nina. ‘But he succeeded at something: he got both the Crucibles.’ Her expression hardened. ‘And he threatened my family to do it. He hurt my family. I’m not going to let him get away with that.’

The mountains of Greece rolled past beneath the chartered business jet as it cut across the country on its way to Athens International Airport. Nina was not admiring the view, however, instead reading a digest of a scientific paper about nuclear transmutation on an iPad.

Eddie was not looking through the window either, but nor was he engrossed by a screen. He was watching his wife with a pensive expression that became deeper — and more aggrieved — as the minutes passed.

Finally he could contain his feelings no longer. ‘We shouldn’t have done this.’

Nina looked up from her tablet. ‘What?’

‘Come to Greece. Or left Macy with Holly again.’

‘We could hardly bring her,’ she said. ‘I’m not prepared to put her at risk, not after what happened in Iceland. Especially when we’re going to see someone who’s attacked us twice already.’

‘Which is why we shouldn’t even have come in the first place. You should have handed the whole thing over to Interpol and let them sort this twat out.’

‘I would have — if Trakas hadn’t made it personal. I want to confront him face to face about what he’s done.’

‘And he’s letting us do that,’ Eddie said suspiciously. ‘How do we know we’re not walking straight into a trap?’

‘For one thing,’ said Lonmore from a nearby seat, where he was enjoying a glass of whisky, ‘he’s got nothing to gain. He’s got both Crucibles, so it’s not as if there’s anything else he wants from us — and he must know that we’ve told other people we’re meeting him. If anything happens to us, he’s the number one suspect. For another… I know him. He’s been my friend for over forty years — he’s my son’s godfather!’ He shook his head. ‘To be honest, it’s hard to believe that he’s behind all this.’

‘Well, maybe he’s changed. Money does that to people. Especially when it’s in the form of a shitload of gold.’

‘We’ll see.’ The businessman sighed. ‘I hope you’re wrong. I really do.’

‘How old is your son?’ Nina asked.

‘Oh, he’s not mine,’ Petra quickly clarified from beside her husband. ‘We’ve thought about having kids, but haven’t gotten around to it yet. We’ve only been married for two years.’

‘Spencer was my son with my first wife,’ said Lonmore. ‘She passed away twelve years ago. Cancer.’

‘I’m sorry,’ said Nina. Lonmore nodded in appreciation.

‘Sorry,’ Eddie echoed, before continuing: ‘Hang on, you named your son after yourself? That’s such an American thing. If you did it in England, nobody would ever stop taking the piss out of you.’

‘Fortunately, we don’t live in England,’ said Lonmore. ‘But Spencer’s now twenty-five, and he’s gone his own way.’

‘I’m surprised he isn’t on the Legacy with you,’ said Nina.

Lonmore and Petra exchanged looks. ‘That’s, ah… kind of a contentious issue,’ he said, shifting awkwardly. ‘He actually did have the Lonmore family’s second seat. But he had some personal problems, so he… stepped down. But,’ he quickly continued, escaping the uncomfortable topic, ‘it’s not the first time someone’s left the Legacy. Laura did the same when she married your father.’

‘You knew her?’

‘Yes, although not too well, I’m afraid. She was several years older than me. Fenrir knew her much better. I do remember that she was very sharp, though, very smart. She could easily have had a career in politics or law. But she was also very focused on what she wanted to do, which was archaeology, so… Well, no one knows better than you. I guess you’ve got a lot in common with her.’

Nina smiled a little. ‘Thanks.’

‘How does it work if someone leaves the Legacy, then?’ Eddie asked. ‘Seems like it’d mess up the balance.’

Lonmore put his hand on Petra’s; she grinned in response. ‘I was lucky because I had Petra to take Spencer’s place.’

‘Yeah, over some objections,’ she said, her good humour dissipating at the memory.

Nina cocked her head, intrigued. ‘Sounds like they don’t like new blood coming in.’

‘The others like to keep it in the family, yes,’ said Lonmore. ‘Especially Fenrir.’ His voice dropped, becoming almost conspiratorial. ‘Sarah only has a seat because she’s his proxy while he holds the chair. He may be married to her, but it’s Anastasia he fully trusts with the Legacy. She’s utterly devoted to him.’ A snigger. ‘It’s a little creepy, actually.’

‘And what about Olivia?’ asked the redhead.

The businessman slowly leaned back and drained the remainder of his glass. ‘I’m not sure it’s my place to tell you this kind of thing, but…’ He popped back upright. ‘Okay, she was absolutely livid when Laura left. They had a huge bust-up over her wanting to marry your dad, yes, but some of it…’ He hesitated, only continuing at Nina’s urging look. ‘It meant that Olivia lost a huge amount of her say in the Legacy, because she didn’t have another family member to back her up.’

‘Two against two against one, right?’ said Eddie.

Lonmore nodded. ‘Sometimes worse than that. But she’s been in that position since the 1970s, and it’s stuck in her craw.’

The pilot announced that they were on their final approach. ‘So, this bloke Trakas is expecting us,’ said Eddie after everyone had fastened their seat belts. ‘Which is a bit Bond villain-ish. What can we expect from him ?’

‘There’s a helicopter waiting to take us to his yacht,’ said Lonmore.

‘Also Bond villain-ish!’

‘He’s out somewhere in the Cyclades islands. Once we meet him, I guess we’ll have to play it by ear. He’s a direct man, so you won’t need to beat about the bush about telling him why you’re here, Nina.’

‘Good,’ she said. ‘Because I wasn’t planning to.’

‘On the other hand, flat-out accusing him to his face of robbery and murder might not go down too well, so… maybe I should handle things to begin with?’

Nina folded her arms. ‘Fine by me. Just so long as you know I’m going to do what I came here to do.’

After landing and clearing customs, the two couples were escorted to the waiting helicopter — which bore a familiar sun-like yellow logo. It took off, turning south-east and soon clearing the coastline to head out over the Aegean.

Islands were strewn across the sea like gravel scattered over blue baize. Most were volcanic in origin; Nina knew that farther out was Santorini, once thought to be a possible location for Atlantis. The helicopter’s destination was closer and more northerly, however: the little island of Poria, nestled amongst dozens of still smaller rocky offspring.

They landed on a beach. A man with the salt-etched features of someone who spent a lot of time at sea waited on a nearby jetty with a motor launch. He helped the new arrivals aboard, then set off. ‘So where’s Augustine?’ asked Lonmore.